Californicatable

[sesselpupser]

Personally, I think the super-smooth shifting 'boxes are amazing. I THINK it was in Evo magazine they compared the acceleration traces of various kinds of gearbox, including Audi's DSG, BMW's SMG and the 599's F1 shifter, the gap was so tiny in the Ferrari's that there's just no pause in the acceleration, its just one big push. It might not be as much fun in a game, but for winning a race I know which I'd rather have!

For example yesterday I was doing the S series Suzuka tuned car race in a Mine's Skyline and only managed to catch up with the S2000 GT1 in the lead because it had too many gears and lost time on each shift, so it was quite even until I was in sixth. The California has 7 gears, but virtually no gap in the shifts, so it might as well be a CVT 'box (which, ironically, are occasionally configured to have simulated 'gear changes' with a small torque shove every now and then).

Also, I think the California has the same level of electronic aids as the 599 and 430, at least it's still got the Matinetto (if that's how you spell it), or the small switch in the 4-5 'o' clock position on the steering wheel. I doubt that's scientific proof but it's something, plus its a Ferrari so you can bet its loaded with computers, but unlike most cars, all of them can be turned off. Except for the ECU and such. That would just be embarrassing.

 

[Blitz187]

Very nice handling car... but personally I think it's BUTT ugly.... looks like a cheap korean car on steroids and kind of girly.... not my thing... but the ride is great!

 

[HaylRayzor]

As always, looks are subjective. The old "beauty is in the eye..."

I like the look. I like it better with the top up And I'd absolutely LOVE it if it came in yellow, but oh well.

 

[Blitz187]

As always, looks are subjective. The old "beauty is in the eye..."

I like the look. I like it better with the top up And I'd absolutely LOVE it if it came in yellow, but oh well.

Good tip for ferrari and the looks is just my opinion I dont know maybe it will grow on me... 👍

 

[Vaxen]

One question: where is this mystery downforce coming from?

The car sits relatively high, and there's no rear wing, and yet you have 15 front and 20 rear downforce in the game. This gives it a significant handling advantage over the other Ferraris.

 

[J-PaP]

One question: where is this mystery downforce coming from?

The car sits relatively high, and there's no rear wing, and yet you have 15 front and 20 rear downforce in the game. This gives it a significant handling advantage over the other Ferraris.

just because a car doesn't have a wing doesn't mean it wont have downforce. A lot of newer cars now don't make use of wings now. They rely on undercar aerodynamics. Front/rear diffusers now are designed to create downforce.

Ferrari enzo, audi r8, etc. make use of this

 

[HaylRayzor]

One question: where is this mystery downforce coming from?

The car sits relatively high, and there's no rear wing, and yet you have 15 front and 20 rear downforce in the game. This gives it a significant handling advantage over the other Ferraris.

A valid question. Since the downforce is fixed I never paid any attention to it, but that certainly explains the great corner grip this car has.

Ferrari press says the FC develops over 150lb of downforce at 125mph. I don't know how pounds translates into downforce points in the game, but I would think 20 points of downforce would be more than 150lb.

 

[gator of kana]

Before we start saying that the Cali is too fast for its spec lets remember the GT-R. It should be nowhere near as fast as it is. But for some reason it seems to break the laws of physics in real life. Lets wait to see Top Gear put it around their track before we start judging the potential of the car.

/PalleRaa

The GT-R is actually suppose to be the fastest out of the other supercars in its class in the game, and Top Gear has already put it around the track if you seen the last season this summer. Polyphony Digital needs to enforce the grip levels of each car to the right amount, when that happens the GT-R will leave other supercars in the dust

 

[Palleraa]

The GT-R is actually suppose to be the fastest out of the other supercars in its class in the game, and Top Gear has already put it around the track if you seen the last season this summer. Polyphony Digital needs to enforce the grip levels of each car to the right amount, when that happens the GT-R will leave other supercars in the dust

I know all about how fast the GT-R is. Both in-game and in real life. I can see now that I didn't put myself clear. What I meant was that we should wait for Top Gear or others to test the new California before jumping to conclusions about how fast i should be in real life.

 

[kingcars]

I don't like it, it's a very loose car. Brake in a straight line, turn in and the rear slides out. Either there is too much front bite or there is a pathetic rear suspension set up, for me.

It feels like it is a rear engined car, not a mid, and definitely not a front engined config.

Massive tuning should not be required to make the car drive "normally" on R3 tires at HSR.

The physics feels like it is catering to drifters now.

I've been driving it on HSR, London, and Suzuka on S2 tires without any tweaking whatsoever. And it sure does push into a corner like an FR car.

 

[the Interceptor]

Before we start saying that the Cali is too fast for its spec lets remember the GT-R. It should be nowhere near as fast as it is. But for some reason it seems to break the laws of physics in real life.

There's little magic about how the GT-R is as fast. The reason for its speed lies within the electronic systems that optimise grip and improve cornering abilities hugely, which leads to perfect body control and high corner exit speeds, which lead to good lap times.

 

[Paulie]

Rather than start a whole new thread I thought I'd vent some frustration here with regards to the California.

When are PD going to stop BS'ing everyone with it? Am I honestly supposed to believe that the California (a heavy convertible) is faster than the smaller, lighter, more powerful, supercar crushing Z06? Look at the online Suzuka lap times, you'll see that the California is only a few tenths off the un-touchable GTR even. Look, the California might be an alright car, but all I'm saying is no way it's that fast.

 

[Leonidae]

California is sort of a cheater car.. why? because most sources quote the weight being around 1750kg instead of 1450 (fifth gear for example).. and then there's the downforce. Somehow I can't see how mere underbody venturis could be accountable for such a huge downforce. in addition, top down should cause drag and slow the car down... But I do believe that it is faster than Z06.. Mostly because it has good tires and proper rear suspension, not to mention reasonable gearing.

 

[Paulie]

California is sort of a cheater car.. why? because most sources quote the weight being around 1750kg instead of 1450 (fifth gear for example).. and then there's the downforce. Somehow I can't see how mere underbody venturis could be accountable for such a huge downforce. in addition, top down should cause drag and slow the car down... But I do believe that it is faster than Z06.. Mostly because it has good tires and proper rear suspension, not to mention reasonable gearing.

You would say that. Thing is, Corvette can still accelerate faster and IRL handles quite well, so it all has to be handling, and quite a considerable gap in handling too to catch up to the GTR and beat the Corvette. As I said, for a heavy convertible it can't be that good. As you said, the aerodynamics don't match up either.

 

[Leonidae]

indeed. Ferrari must have directed some lubrication money towards PD to make their products appear better than what they are.. bit like Nissan and Honda have done.

 

[ImprezaAddict]

At first, I gave the car a big "meh", but then I tossed it around Fuji and it performs pretty well.

(The F430 is a disappointment though)

 

[Paulie]

indeed. Ferrari must have directed some lubrication money towards PD to make their products appear better than what they are.. bit like Nissan and Honda have done.

Perhaps, but at least when you play the Nissans or Hondas "stock" they're pretty close to acceptabe speed for those cars, just when you get online and play to a PP limit they're always faster. The California on the other hand, simply out performs what it can probably do IRL.