Car of the Week 228: COTY GTS Finale

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Lobby is up and running people!!!

Cheers

So about 1 hour ago? So the time changed yet again and I got up at 4.45 am on a free day yet again for almost nothing...maybe post a day before when it's gonna start? This is definatly the last time I wake up so early for this. This is like the 4th time I join 1 hour too late because of the entire time zone sh...
I'm honestly PISSED right now.
 
So about 1 hour ago? So the time changed yet again and I got up at 4.45 am on a free day yet again for almost nothing...maybe post a day before when it's gonna start? This is definatly the last time I wake up so early for this. This is like the 4th time I join 1 hour too late because of the entire time zone sh...
I'm honestly PISSED right now.
Yeah I remember it being a bit of a prick when I first started joining, but once you know the time you aim for, it gets a lot easier... Daylight savings can make things confusing though when it comes into effect!
 
Since Corona Virus has shut down most of the world and people are at home, would any of you be interested in doing some COTW meets. This won't be our official night but it will be just for fun, where we just set up a room and choose a N class or Gr. class and just race what cars we have in our garage. Let me know if would be interested in doing some races.
 
Since Corona Virus has shut down most of the world and people are at home, would any of you be interested in doing some COTW meets. This won't be our official night but it will be just for fun, where we just set up a room and choose a N class or Gr. class and just race what cars we have in our garage. Let me know if would be interested in doing some races.
I'm keen for whenever! If they run at similar or slightly earlier times, I should be able to join in 👍
 
Nissan's Hot Hatch Of Choice!!!
And the one that stole the show....

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My NFS Underground 2 240SX replica attempt.

The Nissan 180SX is, in my opinion, that of an under appreciated car. Essentially a hatchback S13 Silvia, it packs in all the same equipment, but just doesn't get the same representation! It's loved by drifters and cringey teenagers who call themselves "JDM Enthusiasts" because they drove their Mum's Honda Insight once, but in the wider community I couldn't really tell you the last time I saw one, either on a track or in a parking lot.

Oh, but don't get me wrong. I'm not dogging the car. As I said, it's very familiar to me. It has the same SR20 4 cylinder I know and love, the hatchback body style which I really seem to do well in, and the H pattern 5 speed manual which I'm just so at home banging through gears in, I love it!

There was lots of awesome racing on Tuesday night, but there were two particular highlights for me. The Brands Hatch battle between myself, @RobboGTAddict and @Racer283 was great fun, it was close, it was clean, and I was fearing for my life each time a move was made on those narrow, winding corners!

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The DC2 has entered the chat.

Then the Autopolis race, now THAT was fun!!! With BoP in play, I actually swapped out my 180SX for a slightly more familiar vehicle to me, the DC2 Integra. The dogfight that ensued against @Baron Blitz Red and @Vic Reign93, all with the added pressure of my family deciding to sit down and watch, made for one of my most enjoyable races in recent weeks, except my recording setup decided not to record it!!! :eek:

Also I had quite a bit of fun in the oddball race Baron set up at Fuji. With such extreme fuel depletion, mixed with the fact that we weren't even starting on a full tank meant that a whole extra layer of tactic had to be employed. I enjoyed it!

But the Integra's done stealing the show, back to the 180SX.

It's not fast, but it is zippy. It's not grippy, but it does cling to corners well. It's not modern, but it puts a smile on my face when I'm driving it regardless. Being dirt cheap, you can buy up a bunch of them and roll up to the meet with several liveries and swap them out after each race. And you can still have a bunch of fun in it, despite probably never having a chance in a Sport Mode or Daily Race.

It's a sleeper for me!

Also, some videos. I decided to try out the scheduling feature, so the 180SX vid will be live tomorrow morning ;)

 
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Apologies for the double post, just a news flash thing about tonight. The plan at this stage is to just run a few fun races, quickfire style just like we do in our regular meets. Because the 180SX is still technically the COTW, we could do a few more races in it, but I was thinking of just running various BoP settings so we have a bit of variety tonight (N300, N800, Gr.4, etc).

However in addition, I'd like to grab some shots of "traditional" COTW races, with heaps of cars racing in close proximity. So on top of the BoP races there will be a few specific car races.

So then, could everyone please have the following cars ready:
Toyota SF-R Racing Concept
De Tomaso Pantera
Ford Focus Gr.B

You'll notice that they're all cars we've raced before, so hopefully no one has to go out and buy anything. Hope to see you all tonight, don't forget to bring a mask ;)
 
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Apologies for the double post, just a news flash thing about tonight. The plan at this stage is to just run a few fun races, quickfire style just like we do in our regular meets. Because the 180SX is still technically the COTW, we could do a few more races in it, but I was thinking of just running various BoP settings so we have a bit of variety tonight (N300, N800, Gr.4, etc).

However in addition, I'd like to grab some shots of "traditional" COTW races, with heaps of cars racing in close proximity. So on top of the BoP races there will be a few specific car races.

So then, could everyone please have the following cars ready:
Toyota SF-R Racing Concept
De Tomaso Pantera
Ford Focus Gr.B

You'll notice that they're all cars we've raced before, so hopefully no one has to go out and buy anything. Hope to see you all tonight, don't forget to bring a mask ;)
What time are you guys racing? I've always wanted to join in the COTW races but I haven't had an active PS Plus membership until recently.
 
What time are you guys racing? I've always wanted to join in the COTW races but I haven't had an active PS Plus membership until recently.

Our typical day we race is Tuesday night at 9PM MST but we are trying to get some off day races going since everyone is most likely home from the Corona Virus.
 
Apologies everyone for disappearing for as long as I have, but finally, I have gotten some cockpit time in a couple of the last few week’s COTW contenders. The cars I tested were the Lamborghini Hurucan GT3 and the Nissan 180SX!

First up, the raging Italian bull. I have a bit of a love hate relationship with this car. Sometimes, it feels extremely sloppy and tailhappy on track, and others it feels precise and predictable. The main problem most people seem to have with this car is corner exit oversteer, but it’s a car that demands a particular driving style. If you slam on the power it will snap sideways and at best you’ll lose a bunch of time, if you don’t spin altogether. However if you gradually apply power at the same time as you unwind the steering on corner exit, the Lambo hunkers down and launches out of corners without drama. Weirdly enough, this is one of the few Gr.3 cars I’ve run that actually responds well to a bit of rotation, with a slight bit of trail braking knocking tenths off your lap times. The problem is, any further than that, and the car goes completely numb and you’re just a passenger as it goes around in a bunch of smoke and wheelspin. Because of this, it’s terrifying to even get remotely close to the limit for fear of being spun off track. There’s a fantastic sweet spot here, but often you’ll be too scared or too dead to find it. It’s a hard car to drive, and you’d probably be faster in an Audi R8 GT3, but if you take the time to know the car, and to learn it’s handling quirks, the Lamborghini Hurucan GT3 is amazingly competitive at most tracks. And that’s why I love it. Personally, I think it’s a sleeper, not because it doesn’t look like a fast car, but because most people see it as undrivable and don’t realize what a track weapon it can be.

Now onto the Nissan 180SX. Right off the bat, I have to say that this is a good car. It looks cool, and there’s no real weaknesses that the track testing could reveal (except for perhaps slightly tall gearing, but that’s what you’d expect on a road car). But I just couldn’t fall in love with it somehow. Perhaps it’s just me, but when I drive a car, I look for a special something, an interesting quirk or character trait to distinguish it from other cars. And after doing some hot laps at many different tracks, I couldn’t find any. Like I said, the car is great on track, there’s no surprises, it always does what you want, but what makes a car special is it’s character, and the Nissan doesn’t really seem to have any. There were some points where I forgot I wasn’t driving a Mazda RX-7 FD, but then the lack of rotary engine noise reminded me of what I was piloting. I guess that must be why I didn’t fall in love with it. To me, it’s just an RX-7 without the rotary, Superman without kryptonite, or a bowl of vanilla ice cream. It’s good but I kind of find myself wanting some chocolate sprinkles.

Sorry again for the lack of reviews, the global situation has been a bit of a roller coaster here in Canada, thankfully I’ve remained healthy, but it’s taken priority over everything else right now. I haven’t had time to grind money to drive most of the newer cars. Don’t worry, I’m all good, just had to sort some stuff out first. Hope you enjoyed the review!
 
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