Car of the Month October: IROC-Z Concept & SVT Cobra R

Burned_Rubber
I was able to come up with a few decent laps with this one. Time has permitted me with only a couple tunes in the last weeks. This and the FITT challenge. Heres the pic, I hope it isn't too grainy. I'll add the specs a little later when I get the tv back.


Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R 2000 View attachment 465427

Paint: Azzurro Dino
Rims: Standard size Boyd Cottington Legacy painted Matte Silver

PP: 550
HP: 563
WEIGHT: 1,400
WEIGHT DIST: 54/46
TIRE(S): Sports Soft

GT Auto:
Oil Change - No
Rigidity Improvement - No
Front Aero -none
Wing - Mount C, Wing F, Winglets H, Height -8 Width +8, painted Azzurro Dino
Flat Floor - none
Other - none

SUSPENSION: Full Custom // Brakes: Racing
RIDE HEIGHT - 100/110
SPRINGS - 8.20/8.00
COMP - 4/4
EXT - 7/7
ARB - 4/5
CAMBER - 0/0
TOE - -0.10/0.08
BRAKES - 5/4

TRANS: Full Custom (install all power upgrades first!)
FINAL TO - 4.500
TOP SPEED TO - 124mph
1ST - 3.300
2ND - 2.450
3RD - 1.910
4TH - 1.530
5TH -1.260
6TH - 1.060
7TH - n/a
FINAL - 3.200
(^^^Adjust for top speed here)

LSD: Full Custom
INITIAL - 16
ACCEL - 9
DECEL - 8

CLUTCH TYPE: Triple-Plate
CARBON SHAFT: yes
TORQUE CENTERING DIFF: n/a

POWER PARTS:
ENGINE TUNING - Standard
COMPUTER - Sports
EXHAUST - Racing
MANIFOLD - Standard
CATALYTIC CONVERTER - Sports
INTAKE TUNING - Tuned
SUPERCHARGER - yes
POWER LIMITER - 100%

WEIGHT REDUCTION - Stage 3
CARBON HOOD - Body Color
WINDOW WEIGHT - Yes

BALLAST - 97kg @ +35
DOWNFORCE - 0/20
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Looking forward to testing this, along with the other Cobras.

Joke coming for those old enough to get it....
"Wasn't Dino purple?"
 
Anyone up for more reviews?

Having done all the IROCs, and getting set to test the Cobras, one more IROC joined in. So before I begin posting some SVT fun.......

@danlimski IROC Camaro review:

This was an easy build after doing @sinof1337 since his had all upgrades as well. Simply change the oil, add improve rigidity, and change some settings. Yours was also listed with RS which is different but I decided to test it that way and attempt to beat your posted lap times. Up first was a few quick laps around Road America! I know, I know, PD did not model that track (really would love it if they did), but @smskeeter23 did. Lovely version with what he had to work with, and built to spec as close as possible. Now that I have a feel for car and track, and some fun for myself too, in with the real stuff.

Off to Indy, and the oval. Had not run many laps here in GT6, but a ton in GT5. So took a few lap to get the correct line and braking. Pushed off of 2 several times, but once a found my rhythm I was putting down decent laps. Had good entry, but center and again, sometimes off of 2 were tricky but....
Best lap - 52.624

Up next was a few laps across country and to the desert. Big Willow. Good rotation with patience needed in turn 2 sweeper exit. Too quick and hard with the throttle would get me sideways, some minor understeer elsewhere but not bad. Trans set well for here as we're the brakes. To date, I've logged more miles here then any other track, so I know a good tune and line. This tune does well, as almost all of my muscle cars have spent time here, this one was fun. And fairly quick too.
Best lap - 1:14.617

Final journey, across the big pond and another Indy. Brands Hatch Indy that is. Tricky turn 1 but fun when you nail it. Final turn also tricky but patience with throttle and your good to go. Overall, this tune has left over understeer as most do, and can get loose on throttle exit but flows nicely everywhere else. The brakes do their job, and the gearing works. Fun tune, very enjoyable.
Best lap here - 45.765
 
Bowtie-muscle
Anyone up for more reviews?

Having done all the IROCs, and getting set to test the Cobras, one more IROC joined in. So before I begin posting some SVT fun.......

@danlimski IROC Camaro review:

This was an easy build after doing @sinof1337 since his had all upgrades as well. Simply change the oil, add improve rigidity, and change some settings. Yours was also listed with RS which is different but I decided to test it that way and attempt to beat your posted lap times. Up first was a few quick laps around Road America! I know, I know, PD did not model that track (really would love it if they did), but @smskeeter23 did. Lovely version with what he had to work with, and built to spec as close as possible. Now that I have a feel for car and track, and some fun for myself too, in with the real stuff.

Off to Indy, and the oval. Had not run many laps here in GT6, but a ton in GT5. So took a few lap to get the correct line and braking. Pushed off of 2 several times, but once a found my rhythm I was putting down decent laps. Had good entry, but center and again, sometimes off of 2 were tricky but....
Best lap - 52.624

Up next was a few laps across country and to the desert. Big Willow. Good rotation with patience needed in turn 2 sweeper exit. Too quick and hard with the throttle would get me sideways, some minor understeer elsewhere but not bad. Trans set well for here as we're the brakes. To date, I've logged more miles here then any other track, so I know a good tune and line. This tune does well, as almost all of my muscle cars have spent time here, this one was fun. And fairly quick too.
Best lap - 1:14.617

Final journey, across the big pond and another Indy. Brands Hatch Indy that is. Tricky turn 1 but fun when you nail it. Final turn also tricky but patience with throttle and your good to go. Overall, this tune has left over understeer as most do, and can get loose on throttle exit but flows nicely everywhere else. The brakes do their job, and the gearing works. Fun tune, very enjoyable.
Best lap here - 45.765
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time to test the tune out. Your reviews have helped me with my tuning and its much appreciated.
Dan :)
 
Bowtie-muscle
Anyone up for more reviews?

Having done all the IROCs, and getting set to test the Cobras, one more IROC joined in. So before I begin posting some SVT fun.......

@danlimski IROC Camaro review:

This was an easy build after doing @sinof1337 since his had all upgrades as well. Simply change the oil, add improve rigidity, and change some settings. Yours was also listed with RS which is different but I decided to test it that way and attempt to beat your posted lap times. Up first was a few quick laps around Road America! I know, I know, PD did not model that track (really would love it if they did), but @smskeeter23 did. Lovely version with what he had to work with, and built to spec as close as possible. Now that I have a feel for car and track, and some fun for myself too, in with the real stuff.

Off to Indy, and the oval. Had not run many laps here in GT6, but a ton in GT5. So took a few lap to get the correct line and braking. Pushed off of 2 several times, but once a found my rhythm I was putting down decent laps. Had good entry, but center and again, sometimes off of 2 were tricky but....
Best lap - 52.624

Up next was a few laps across country and to the desert. Big Willow. Good rotation with patience needed in turn 2 sweeper exit. Too quick and hard with the throttle would get me sideways, some minor understeer elsewhere but not bad. Trans set well for here as we're the brakes. To date, I've logged more miles here then any other track, so I know a good tune and line. This tune does well, as almost all of my muscle cars have spent time here, this one was fun. And fairly quick too.
Best lap - 1:14.617

Final journey, across the big pond and another Indy. Brands Hatch Indy that is. Tricky turn 1 but fun when you nail it. Final turn also tricky but patience with throttle and your good to go. Overall, this tune has left over understeer as most do, and can get loose on throttle exit but flows nicely everywhere else. The brakes do their job, and the gearing works. Fun tune, very enjoyable.
Best lap here - 45.765
Click to expand...

Thanks for the shoutout on the track :cheers:

Glad you like it :D
 
Had some fun with the IROC-Z yesterday, getting a feeling for how it handles. I think that this is the first muscle car in the game I've actually driven, so I'll just take a few more days to try and make it go faster.

Also, how come I can't find Bathurst in my Free Run track list? I was going to do the setup there, but yeah... Trial Mountain it was then.
 
viotunes
Had some fun with the IROC-Z yesterday, getting a feeling for how it handles. I think that this is the first muscle car in the game I've actually driven, so I'll just take a few more days to try and make it go faster.

Also, how come I can't find Bathurst in my Free Run track list? I was going to do the setup there, but yeah... Trial Mountain it was then.
Click to expand...
Test in Arcade Mode, it's there.
 
@Wydopen 550pp SVT Cobra review:

I was really looking forward to testing this one after driving your IROC. And I was not disappointed at all.
Took it for a joy ride around Indy in the Tour of America Event. Plenty of power for the long straights, good slow corner rotation and great grip in the medium to faster corners. Some exit oversteer if you don't use a touch of throttle control, and once or twice it got sideways mid corner in faster corners, but totally manageable. Brakes and trans were both set well, although the final gear needed a little stretching for this course. This tune would make for a good test car to use to get to know and learn this track, or any new track for that matter. Just an easy yet fast drive, and it will keep you on your toes on exit, but with the horsepower supplied this should not be a surprise. Think I could do better with more laps and pushing harder, but I had a best lap of 1:37.428. For me, I would say that's pretty good. Not a track I'm overly fond of but I'm getting better at. Always found it boring and tiresome, but with the right car, or cars, it's starting to grow on me.

So then I took it off to my personal test track, which has been given a bit of an upgrade, this is where I have been spending most of my time lately and I'm really figuring the quirks out. Throttle control on exit of slower corners, of course, but with really good entry and mid corner, though some slower/tighter corners it did get a tiny bit tight. Loads of corners here, and lots of shifting between 2nd and 5th which makes for good fun and really picks apart suspension habits. Overall really good handling, gearing worked almost perfectly here. The looseness also seemed to help in some places. My best lap was 2:10.630. Not a bad lap.

Even a Chevy guy like myself will find enjoyment driving this baby. Really well done sir! Keep coming back with more and I will surely be driving them.
 
@shaunm80 500pp SH SVT Cobra review:

I managed to get this off to Madrid before the Seasonal closed, thought this would be interesting since the rotarys always cause understeer. Good place to see what you've done with it. And of course, mid corner push in the 3 usual places, but not as bad as expected. Slower entry helped, and the setup allowed for easy power down on exit. Unless of course you get a quick trigger finger (yes I use R2 trigger for the accelerator ;)), then it could get a touch loose. Very quick and easy win, AI did not put up much of a fight, but the gearing was too long as I never hit 6th. I also was using more 1st gear than usual, but it worked and worked well. In fact, my first two laps were only .009 apart, mostly do to where I caught slower traffic. Unlike my typo with your IROC, which I falsely claimed a lap in the 1:26 range, my best lap was 1:36.663, and could easily be faster. Nice job.

So then I had to try it at Midfield, my favorite track for this pp range and tire choice. Solid and stable with no surprises. The tune does what you want, when and where you want, and the laps just kept getting faster. Great fun with tons of grip, but how would it stack up in my lap time test? Your tune gave me a best of 1:18.006! That would be faster than my 96 Grand Sport, and Civic Type R. And not far behind a 480pp Elise '11 which you would expect to be faster. So I say Bravo Sir.

Now if your 550pp tune is as good ;), well you will just have to wait a bit longer now won't you? :mischievous:
 
Bowtie-muscle
@shaunm80 500pp SH SVT Cobra review:

I managed to get this off to Madrid before the Seasonal closed, thought this would be interesting since the rotarys always cause understeer. Good place to see what you've done with it. And of course, mid corner push in the 3 usual places, but not as bad as expected. Slower entry helped, and the setup allowed for easy power down on exit. Unless of course you get a quick trigger finger (yes I use R2 trigger for the accelerator ;)), then it could get a touch loose. Very quick and easy win, AI did not put up much of a fight, but the gearing was too long as I never hit 6th. I also was using more 1st gear than usual, but it worked and worked well. In fact, my first two laps were only .009 apart, mostly do to where I caught slower traffic. Unlike my typo with your IROC, which I falsely claimed a lap in the 1:26 range, my best lap was 1:36.663, and could easily be faster. Nice job.

So then I had to try it at Midfield, my favorite track for this pp range and tire choice. Solid and stable with no surprises. The tune does what you want, when and where you want, and the laps just kept getting faster. Great fun with tons of grip, but how would it stack up in my lap time test? Your tune gave me a best of 1:18.006! That would be faster than my 96 Grand Sport, and Civic Type R. And not far behind a 480pp Elise '11 which you would expect to be faster. So I say Bravo Sir.

Now if your 550pp tune is as good ;), well you will just have to wait a bit longer now won't you? :mischievous:
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Thank you for the kind review. It appears that you too found one of my sleeper cars for seasonal races which make life a little more interesting. A new sleeper car I must say as I didn't have this before CoTM thread, but I was impressed in how this big american muscle car could eat up the street circuits. Dominic Toretto would no doubt approve of this tune if he got his hands on it :)

1.18.006 is very quick for a 500PP car around Midway. I am not surprised you found it good there because that is where I tuned it up. Infact, I hope the 550PP version gets the royal seal of approval too as that was tuned at the same track. I will wait patiently to find out how that one went.
 
@shaunm80 550pp SVT Cobra review:

Not much to say here as it was very similar to your 500pp tune, only with more grip from the tire upgrade and more power. Funny thing though, I did not realize when testing the times this tune gave. I did run the same tracks for your's, @Wydopen 's and @Burned_Rubber 's, and your times were actually the fastest. In fairness, I did test yours last if that makes even the slightest of a difference although I do not believe it does. Not really a competition so no Winner's Circle for you, but it does speak to how well it was tuned. The gearing being spread a little further than the other two did not hurt either. So here is how it went:

First test was at Indy Road Course in the Tour of America event. It did get tight in the slow corners with some loose off but obviously not enough to harm the lap time. As with all three tunes, was in first well before the start/finish line so I had three good free and clean laps ahead of me. Just as stable as your 500pp tune, good braking and the trans just flat worked here. The surprise was the time, best lap of 1:37.353. That in and of itself is worthy of a celebration.

Next it was off to my personal playground, where once again it was the fastest of the three. Good power band mixed with great braking. Still a touch of loose off but helping in some areas. Power was actually still easy to get down. Good entry and mid corner rotation for the most part, and very stable if driven correctly, with the ability to smoke the rear tires if you get reckless and aggressive. This is almost a sleeper tuner, depending on the competition it is up against. Well put together tune, great job.
Best lap here was a 2:09.885!

Now go to the community page, load up my tracks and try it. Think you'll like the track, called Bowling Green Raceway. There is a longer, not as fast Bowling Green Test Track as well. See if you can beat my time. :dopey:
 
@sinof1337 550pp SVT Cobra review:

You listed it on Sport Medium tires, so the first part of your test was done on them although I did switch to Sport Soft for the second part.

Up first was the same Indy Road Course event, and on SM tires it still was not as challenging as expected. Easy win although I took first place later than the others, but not by much. Plenty of grip for lower grade tire but did show the lack of "tire" grip in comparison. Suspension wise, it was not bad all things considered. Better and faster than the IROC tune, but still some rear looseness on throttle exit. Managable with care to not just mash it to the floor, and like many cars here it had some mid corner push in the slower corners. Did find the rear like to slide mid corner on some of the higher speed sections if not on the correct line. Might not have pushed it hard enough, but finished with a best lap of 1:41.201. Stretching the gears would have helped as they were not long enough.

Now your turn on my custom track, but as mentioned, with SS tires. Wanted to see if the grip level came up, and it did. I liked it better on these tires, but they are the ones I generally prefer. Managed to run a clean lap of 2:11.000, rare to run a lap flat so just wanted to point it out. With the extra grip, the rear was much more compliant, and gave the car great turn in, slightly tight in the center on slower corners with just a hint of loose off. But in all a fun ride, even if the gears could have been a touch longer although not needed to be as long as Indy. Now the reason I pointed out the 2:11 flat lap, my best lap was a 2:10.999! Basically identical, and 25 turns to make or break a lap. Amazing for a track designed for alot of braking, accelerating and shifting while spending little time in high gear. Guess that makes it an easy driving and consistent tune, atleast to me anyway. I enjoyed this one.
 
@sinof1337 Fully Tuned SVT Cobra review:

For this one I went in a different direction, needed a break and thought I would try a 1 track test at Laguna. You did photo it there so why not. But to be fair, I ran it extra laps rather than two tracks. Found it very easy to drive, and extremely easy to get comfortable and confident. Really liked this tune. My times kept getting better, even though I struggled to find the sweet spot for braking into turn 1. But to be honest, I always do here (sad but true). Really good turn in, and no mid corner issues at all. Slight, just a tick loose on exit but maxed out tune shouldn't really surprise. Minor throttle control that is easily and quickly learned corrects. The trans, untouched, worked flawlessly here. Not sure you will be happy with my lap time but I was. 1:24.896, and always felt it should be better. Quick tune, loads of fun. A must try.
 
Bowtie-muscle
@shaunm80 550pp SVT Cobra review:

Not much to say here as it was very similar to your 500pp tune, only with more grip from the tire upgrade and more power. Funny thing though, I did not realize when testing the times this tune gave. I did run the same tracks for your's, @Wydopen 's and @Burned_Rubber 's, and your times were actually the fastest. In fairness, I did test yours last if that makes even the slightest of a difference although I do not believe it does. Not really a competition so no Winner's Circle for you, but it does speak to how well it was tuned. The gearing being spread a little further than the other two did not hurt either. So here is how it went:

First test was at Indy Road Course in the Tour of America event. It did get tight in the slow corners with some loose off but obviously not enough to harm the lap time. As with all three tunes, was in first well before the start/finish line so I had three good free and clean laps ahead of me. Just as stable as your 500pp tune, good braking and the trans just flat worked here. The surprise was the time, best lap of 1:37.353. That in and of itself is worthy of a celebration.

Next it was off to my personal playground, where once again it was the fastest of the three. Good power band mixed with great braking. Still a touch of loose off but helping in some areas. Power was actually still easy to get down. Good entry and mid corner rotation for the most part, and very stable if driven correctly, with the ability to smoke the rear tires if you get reckless and aggressive. This is almost a sleeper tuner, depending on the competition it is up against. Well put together tune, great job.
Best lap here was a 2:09.885!

Now go to the community page, load up my tracks and try it. Think you'll like the track, called Bowling Green Raceway. There is a longer, not as fast Bowling Green Test Track as well. See if you can beat my time. :dopey:
Click to expand...
Thanks once again for another great review. I shall download your track soon too.
 
@Burned_Rubber 550pp SVT Cobra review:

First off, I truly hope all is well at home with the new addition. :D

Now for fairness and honesty, yours was the first of the Cobras that I tested. So keep in mind, lap times may reflect this. This would also setup how I would test the others, to keep things similar. My first impression was that the brakes were a tad weak, but this could have been as simply as me adjusting to a new car. Second was, this is a really well put together setup, gonna be hard for the others to top. Or perhaps this was a sign of things to come.

Up first was a trip to Indy Road Course, Tour of America event. Before long I had taken first and had open track in front of me. I should tell you, this is where I thought......did I properly adjust the downforce? Oh well, keep going. The suspension was fantastic, brakes I just started backing up just a touch to get right. The trans was a little short, but so we're most as the long exit to the front stretch really allows you to get high speed. Not too big of a deal, but could have been just a bit better if higher gear, but you had no clue this is where it would be tested. Great fun, easy win, and the Car stayed online and did what I asked. Never skipped a beat or missed a corner after half way on lap 2. Very impressed I must say. My best lap was 1:37.641. A good bar for the others to match I think.

Then it was off to my testing ground and a few laps in Arcade Mode, grip set to real. The tune just simply felt better and even more enjoyable. Fantastic grip, great throughout the entire corner regardless of which it was. This time the downforce was changed from 15 to 20, although it neither hindered or improved much, if anything it gave it improved exit. :dopey: Every part of the time just worked well and the laps flew by, getting better with each new tricky corner, and every lap. Absolutely did not want to stop driving it here I was having so much fun. My best lap, 2:10.451. Really glad you got to add this tune in this month, and hope others give it a go.

As for me, I saved it for last review as it still is my favorite of the month. Lap times were slower than the others, but not by much, and they each were close to being as good. Picking my favorite is not usual, but @Wydopen had my favorite IROC, this was my favorite and most enjoyed Cobra. :)
 
Thanks for giving it a try @Bowtie-muscle I'm happy that you liked it 👍. As for the newest edition, she is doing great! She slept about 6 hours straight last night and she is a month old today. Thanks for the well wishes :)
Without spending a lot of time on tranny tuning I couldn't find the right combo of fast and quick without sacrificing one for the other. I'm not real suprised that the others had faster lap times, if only marginal, and would be curious to know if you have suggestions on how to improve the overall performance in this pony? I would love to have this my go-to car for 550pp seasonals. Thanks again for a good review Bowtie, I'm happy to hear you really enjoyed my car. :cheers:
 
Burned_Rubber
Thanks for giving it a try @Bowtie-muscle I'm happy that you liked it 👍. As for the newest edition, she is doing great! She slept about 6 hours straight last night and she is a month old today. Thanks for the well wishes :)
Without spending a lot of time on tranny tuning I couldn't find the right combo of fast and quick without sacrificing one for the other. I'm not real suprised that the others had faster lap times, if only marginal, and would be curious to know if you have suggestions on how to improve the overall performance in this pony? I would love to have this my go-to car for 550pp seasonals. Thanks again for a good review Bowtie, I'm happy to hear you really enjoyed my car. :cheers:
Click to expand...
Only suggestion, try this and you will earn credits as well. Go to the Indy event at Your of America and run a race as posted. Then change final from 3.200 to 3.100 and run another race. Then drop to 3.000. You will find 3.000 May lack exit of the right corners but should improve overall lap time. It will also allow you to know which final to use depending on track selection. 3.200 Will work on several, but 3.1 Or 3.0 Will benefit others. Leave the rest of the tune as is.

Kiss that princess for me, I remember those days well and few compare to it. My daughter is now 10 and she still holds that part of my heart and knows how to brighten my day.
 

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