Beater or Sleeper? GT6 Car of the Week Thread

Hopefully @LVracerGT can join us again soon, that was a ton of fun!

I should have some videos up soon, but there was tons of action so I might miss a few things. Fantastic job by everyone, even though the servers sucked.

 

Oh, I think I've raced him before, a long long time ago.

I hope you are online tonight and that I am able to join. The servers were awful for me last night, what a world of good that maintenance did. I couldn't stay in a room for more than 5 minutes, then in the end, couldn't even enter one. Gave up and played on my PC instead.

 

We were speculating that PD might be live testing the next update.

 

I'll join in the fun for the next weeks race Just mean I have to get up ULTRA early :/

 

I agree. The irony is, on Monday, I was typing "I can smell an update coming" just as I was kicked off the servers with a maintenance message. I was half expecting to see something then after it was over, but we'll have to wait a little bit longer.

 

Lewis I had the same idea on Monday after the race but didn't happen though. Also on Tuesday there was a lot of lag in the room and many people disconnecting from the races but it was fun racing against LVracerGT.

As for the "07 Mazda Atenza, it's an all right car in my opinion. It takes a light bit getting use to how it handles but it's an all right car. From the last two cars we've driven I've enjoyed the Mirage Cyborg more so than the Atenza and Lantis/323F.

 

It was a lot of fun racing with you guys Unfortunately due to my work schedule I'm not sure I'll be able to attend regularly without losing much needed sleep.

@Lewis_Hamilton_ we have raced before, I remember because I know it's gonna be a tough win when you're in the room

 

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I first bought the Atenza/6 because it was the nearest premium model to my real-life '09 Chevrolet Malibu way back in the first month that GT6 came out. Little would I know that I would pull it out of the bag nearly a year later and it would provide my first official win in Gran Turismo Tuesday competition. Given that accomplishment, I couldn't find a way around not making it my next COTW selection. Granted, since putting it under the "Beater or Sleeper" microscope, I'll admit it may not be the most exciting or dynamic car in the world, but given what this was seemingly average family sedan is capable of, taking this car through the Tail of the Dragon or even up to the summit of Pikes Peak wouldn't be any hardship at all. The 6 is definitely worthy of the "Sleeper" title.

And just going to put this here for personal vanity. This black firesuit in two black Mazdas was a winning combination two weeks in a row.

 

I just tested the Atenza 23Z '03 standard car at Laguna Seca on CH tires. Here's how it stacks up against its successor:

23Z
2.3L
175 hp / 6,500 rpm
158 ft-lb / 4,000 rpm
1,390 kg (3,064 lbs)
382 PP

76 hp/L
17.5 lbs/hp

25Z
2.5L
168 hp / 6,000 rpm
167 ft-lb / 4,000 rpm
1,470 kg (3,241 lbs)
375 PP

67.2 hp/L
19.3 lbs/hp

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1:56.870 - 23Z
1:57.566 - 25Z

 

Oops, the ancestor is actually the faster one, egg on the 25Z's face... Standars may look bad from a graphical context, but not on a perfomance context.

 

It backs up what I said in my review, the new car is good but the older models have less weight and more power.

Out of curiosity @SuzukaStar , how do you think the concept version of the Antenza will stack up?

If I remember correctly, the concept versions had 4 speed autos compared to the standard cars 5 speed and the '07's 6 speed.

 

I feel like this is becoming one of my favorite threads and I've only been reading for a couple of hours. Is it okay for me to join next week's CotW, and put out my own opinions?

 

Sure, just send a message to @McClarenDesign if you want take to part.

We race on Tuesday at 10PM CST ( works out at around 4AM on Wednesday for the UK so check your time zone beforehand ).

If the times aren't suitable, you can still pick up the car and still write your review on it.

 

Atenza Concept '01 is a few tenths quicker than the 23Z with a time of 1:56.170

2.3L
175 hp / 6,500 rpm
158 ft-lb / 4,000 rpm
1,300 kg (2,866 lbs)
384 PP

For every 1 hp, the Concept carries 1.1 fewer lbs of mass than the 23Z, and 2.9 fewer lbs than the 25Z.

 

Sounds accurate. Congratulations devilracer1987!!!

Tell us what Japanese FF we'll be driving this week.... sigh

So... it's not Japanese?! It's... it's... it's a bloody Christmas miracle! The 2008 Ferrari 458 Italia!

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Apparently I've been a good boy this year! Don't forget to send me your submissions for Car of the Year before the deadline. See below.

Special Announcement:

There will be no winner chosen for week 52, our 1 year anniversary. Instead, please send me a message (titled Car of the Year) containing your picks of the Best and Worst car we've tested all year. Week 52 will be our Car of the Year ceremony, with various awards handed out. If there's a goofy award that you'd like to nominate (Worst Facial Feature- Fisker Karma's mustache, for instance) then include that in your PM and I'll try to work it it.

In the event of a tie, the winner will be chosen by myself as the tie-breaker. Submissions must be entered no later than 12/31/2014 (31/12/2014 for everyone across the pond) at 11:59p. The winners will be announced for week 52, and I'm sure we'll do something for that Tuesday. Please keep all votes to cars that have been reviewed by us over the year- a handy list is on the OP (so the Karma was a bad example, but you get my point).

Finally, please also select a Driver of the Year. Please base your decision on not just racing prowess, but also content of posts within this thread. Otherwise it'd be down to Vic and Lewis, and everyone deserves their shot!

If you have any questions, please message me directly.
(Please note that the '07 Mazda Roadster RS (NC) is not qualified for this award)

 

That'll be 12pm for me, I can do that. Also my opinions will be less based on laptimes and more on how I feel the car is like to drive.

 

I want one of these cars in real life! Haha
It was an easy choice for car of the week

 

There's no right or wrong way to do a review so feel free to do yours any way you please... there are many different "styles" that have been shown over the 37 pages so far, so just have fun with it!

Cheers

 

My tiger style is stronger than your dragon style, but not as powerful as your doggy style.

What?

 

That's my question, Mr. Mcclaren. Did you watch some cheesy 1990's martial arts movie to get that line?
Also, a Ferrari for COTW? Well, no need to think much for a veredict then. I mean, it's the freakin' 458! A legend!

 

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Snoop Dogg.

 

Oh, I thought it was from House of Flying 50 Cent Daggers. My movie knowledge is very fuzzy, it seems...

 

As is mine, I thought it was from that other movie,

I think it was called, Bulletproof Tupac.


Yes I would like a window seat on that ticket to hell.

 

When I say "who's the master?", you say "Sho'Nuff!". Now kiss my Converse!

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Yet again, can we just take the girl instead ?

Or since this weeks choice being a Ferrari, take the car including the girl ?

Looking forward to testing a stock 458

 

I bought a 458 today, stripped the weight out and power capped it for 550pp.

In the lobbies that I was racing in it was very competitive; great off the line, quick to turn and very fun to drive, especially around Grand Valley and Trial Mountain.

My only concerns about the car right now in this spec are that it has a tendency to understeer mid-to-late corner and at low speed it can feel a little sluggish, most notably at Grand Valley's final chicane.

I get the feeling that a race Diff or adjustable Suspension can cure these, but I'm worried that I might impair the handling in other areas if I do decide to adjust.

If I can cut out the understeer though it'll be my go-to car at 550pp

 

Kiss my Converse indeed. Man, I love these cheesy "Black Martial Arts" movies... It's like watching a episode of "Kung Faux" all over again.

Hey, you're PJ, one of the drivers for Really Rubbish Racing, right? It is surprising that even a RRR member hangs around these parts. You already tuned your 458, did you find any issues with the stock setup? Just wondering.

 

Yeah, I'm a RlyR driver, been racing with the club for 3 years Would be nice to see some GTP people come over our way sometime.

In stock trim the car felt fine on Sport Softs; I ran with the stock springs in a race and finished near the front, then went to the Racing Soft Springs upgrade for Trial Mountain and have been using them ever since. The car did have understeer issues when left stock however, less so after stripping weight out of the car.

 

As we learnt last night, the 458 has some pretty serious rivals in the form of the Lambo LP670-SV, SRT Viper and the NSX Concept.

My only concern is the same one that got brought up when we raced the 288 GTO, how do you categorise a high end supercar in the COTW way?

May have to give the guys in Woking a call.