Car Reviews by beeblebrox 237

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Beeblebrox237

Beeblebrox237

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Beeblebrox_237
Hello there! I am beeblebrox237. I started this thread because I wanted to post some car reviews of my own. I have seen others doing this and felt that it might be fun to write a few reviews myself. I am not, however, a fantastic driver. I would describe myself as average. I also use a DS3. All of my reviews will include my personal best lap times from the Nurburgring Nordschleife, and the Top Gear Test Track. Remember that these times are my own, and you could probably beat them yourself. Finally, all lap times will be conducted with no driver aids except ABS (1) and sport hard tires (I will not review race cars). I would appreciate feedback, and suggestions for future reviews. So, let's begin!

My reviews so far:
Ferrari F40
Ferrari 599
Volkswagen Sambabus
Aston Martin DB9
Ferrari 458
Mercedes Benz SLS AMG
Suzuki GSX-R/4

Lap time leaderboards
Nordschleife:
599-7:47,097
SLS-7:48,363
458-7:52,572
GSX-R/4-7:57,992
F40-8:03,834
DB9-8:07,923
Sambabus-13:43,782

TGTT:
458-1:19,630
SLS-1:20,173
599-1:22,413
DB9-1:23,762
GSX-R/4-1:23,846
F40-1:24,609
Sambabus-2:12,471
 
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Ferrari F40

The Ferrari F40 is probably my favorite car in GT5. It is such a visceral ride. If you drive it well, it is great fun, but if you drive it badly, then it kills you. When you first drive it, you notice that it loves oversteer. The rear end always wants to be in front, not unlike early Porsche 911s. However, as you acclimatize to the car, you find that it is remarkably free of over or understeer, and has a huge amount of grip. It also goes like Usain bolt with a rocket up his arse in a straight line, but like Usain bolt, it’s acceleration is only mediocre at speeds above, say, 130 MPH.
However, the grip is only accessible when the car is driven smoothly, something that is difficult at best. Not only that, but it is very slow compared to something like the 458 … when you aren’t backwards in a cloud of smoke. It is, then, a very difficult car to drive. I wouldn’t recommend it for novices who want to win.
So why, then, is it so good? Well, to quote Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti, “You can have so much fun with the F40, starting with the explosive acceleration. Compared with a modern car, does it handle all that well? Not really, but you have to work for every mile an hour you carry through a corner and I love that. It is massively fast and so raw, no soundproofing, none of that stuff, the closest thing to a race car I’ve ever driven on the road.” In short, It is massively fun to drive. Think of beating Simon Cowell with a sledgehammer. More fun than that.
In my humble opinion, there are two ways to drive an F40. You can wither throw it into a corner and slide out of it sideways in a cloud of smoke, wheels spinning, engine screaming (cough cough Clarkson cough cough), or you can finesse the throttle and steering and corner without the slightest hint of drama. When driven the first way, it is a fantastically thrilling drift car, but when driven the second way it is perhaps even more fun. Fun the same way that bullfighting is fun. You feel accomplished because you tamed a beast that was trying to kill you.
In short, the F40 is thrilling to drive if it hasn’t killed you. It won’t win many races, but you won’t care. You’ll be too busy cackling madly about the ferocious power and fantastic handling. “The problem with modern supercars is that to explore their limits on the road is impossible. In the F430 you had to be doing a crazy speed down a country road to get any excitement out of it. You get in the F40 and you’re going a bit slower through a corner, but having an absolute blast” –Dario Franchitti.

Lap Times:
Nurburgring Nordscleife-8:03.834
Top Gear Test Track-1:24.609
 
Great review, keep it up!
 
Ferrari 599

The Ferrari 599 is rather odd. You see, it looks spectacular, so you immediately want to buy one when you get on GT5 for the first time. Then, after you've earned enough money, spent it on something else, earned it again, and bought the car, It doesn't seem as good as you had hoped. It's, well, boring.
Yes, it is quick. It should be, with 611 bhp, but it feels slower than, say, a VW bus. At least that's kind of fun to drive, in an odd sort of way. Its balance is generally mild understeer, and these characteristics might make you think it would be good for novices. Well, no. It has so much power that if you even tap the throttle in a corner (to try to keep it from understeering into a wall, perhaps), the back end will snap around. This makes it a good drift car, but not great. It is, as I said, boring. There's really not much else to say. "You see, if it's a car you can only really use on special occasions, you want it to feel special, and somehow it doesn't ... I respect it hugely, the same way I respect the technology in my iPod, but I don't love it"-Jeremy Clarkson
It's quick, boring, and feels like a luxury car with an Enzo's engine. No, scratch that, it's just stupid. don't buy one. Buy an LF-A. Or a VW bus.

Lap Times:
Nurburgring Nordschleife-7:47,097
Top Gear Test Track-1:22,413
 
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I vote for the Sambabus. 'Tis awesome. Speaking of, you shoudl do a review of one.
 
Perhaps I will. I have a couple other cars I want to review, but I welcome suggestions. What does everyone think I should test?
 
beeblebrox237
Perhaps I will. I have a couple other cars I want to review, but I welcome suggestions. What does everyone think I should test?
Click to expand...

DB9 & Ferrari 458
 
might as well keep the ferrari run going.. 458 and Enzo next? then maybe Ford GT, LF-A, Z06, MP4-12C, etc :)
 
ooh! do the volkswagen golf GTi R32.
 
Volkswagen Sambabus

Well, the VW bus is, in my opinion, greatly underrated. Most know it as the car you must drive to unlock the Top Gear Test Track:bowdown:, but it has more to offer (and I don't mean homemade drugs from the 60's).
Yes, the top speed is, well 84 MPH going downhill. It's about 30 when you're going uphill. 0-60 takes several days, and a very long stretch of tarmac. It is not, then, quick. It is, however, fun.
How so? Well, I tested mine on sport hard tires (it comes with comfort mediums), and found that it had so much grip that you could take virtually any corner flat out. If it's too tight, it will scrub speed until it is going slow enough. These qualities give it a terrifically forgiving nature.
I believe that its best use would be for use as a vehicle to learn tracks. Two laps in this and you know the track pretty well. It's so slow that I took a perfect line through virtually every corner. In addition to this, the interior view is excellent. Most interior views are realistic, but make it hard to see the road right in front of your car (I prefer the camera where you cannot see any of your car). The VW gets around this problem, as it has large expanses of glass, a high driving position, and totally safe speeds.
I don't recommend buying one to win races, but it is a surprisingly good vehicle. It isn't necessarily the best car for learning a track, but it is very good for this. And you know what, it's pretty cool anyway.

Lap Times
Nurburgring Nordschleife-13:43,782
Top Gear Test Track-2:12,471
 
Cool reviews mate 👍 I agree with what you say about the F40, while it's hard to tame If you get it right it can be awesome fun.

I also agree with what you've said on the 599... It's just missing that spark which the F40 has so much of :/

As for the samba bus, I feel it has a lot of heart. In the putter of it's little engine come the lyrics "I think i can, I think I can."
It is however part of a huge group of under-appreciated, under-used cars. Right next to everything from the original beetle to the Toyota Sera, to countless MX5's and 3000gt's. In fact anything up to about 400pp is extremely rarely used online or in seasonals or even a-spec... Which is sad because there is a lot of fun to be had in those little beasts :sad:

Oh, yea what was I saying... Nice reviewing mate 👍
 
The 599 is indeed weird. It's the fastest model currently for sale, but it's front engined. The California is a cheaper tourer.
 
Aston Martin DB9

The DB9 is gorgeous. It is. However, because it is somewhat luxurious, I skipped over it, and went straight to the more hardcore machines like the Ferrari 430 Scuderia. This proved to be a mistake.
And not because I don't like the Scuderia. It's brilliant, just not as brilliant as the DB9. The DB9 may seem like it is a level below the Ferrari's and Lamborghini's with only 470 bhp, but it doesn't need 5 or 6 hundred horses to be fun. Its acceleration is more than adequate, and as an upside it doesn't light up the rear tires every time you tap the throttle.
in addition, it has a wonderfully communicative chassis. When I first drive it I could tell that there was a large engine up front, yet it didn't exhibit much understeer. It does have softer springs than some performance machines, so expect a bit of body roll. This roll is not entirely bad, as it is not excessive and helps to indicate what the car is doing. It has a large amount of grip, enough to make it easy and fun to drive.
Don't think that you can't drift it, however. It slides with ease, and is more fun to drift than many more hardcore supercars. It also recovers from skids very easily, in part due to the suspension, but mostly, I think, because of its brakes. The brakes are fantastic. That's all that needs to be said.
I highly recommend that you buy one of these beauties. They will give you untold driving pleasure, yet are quick enough to win races. I painted mine in Botanical Green Metallic (from the Jaguar XKR), and I think it looks fantastic. But then, it is a fantastic car.

Lap Times
Nurburgring Nordschleife-8:07,923
Top Gear Test Track-1:23,762
 
Hi - yeah great reviews.

I'm a huge Ferrari fan, and have always liked the 458 Italia.

Can I make a suggestion - please do a review on the 458 but use COMFORT SOFT tyres - if you want times to be close to real life and great feedback in the new 2.0 updated physics.

I've been testing stock cars on different tyres around Tscubka, timing them and comparing this GT5 time to real life times (as on fastestlaps.com) and I have found the following (since 2.0)....

For SALOONS/HATCHBACKS - use COMFORT MEDIUM (yes medium). I did a 1.09.xxxx in the scooby 22B around the track (5 laps before I did a near 'good' lap time) and the real life time was within 0.2 of a second. (Using SPORTS HARD TYRES was 4-5 seconds quicker!!!, and COMFORT SOFT was 2 seconds quicker so not realalistic)

For SUPERCARS - use COMFORT SOFT. All of the above was repeated and I matched the real life times on these tyres for the 458 and a Nissan GTR. The F40 time was 1.5 seconds slower than real life, but I found it difficult to get the best out of on this track (maybe the long gearing, although with more pratcise I think I could get very close to the real time).

RACING CARS - If a road going sport GT version (like Kaz's 24H Ring car), use SPORTS SOFT. Any other racing car (le mans etc, F1, touring cars,) use RACING HARD max. Anything above this are way to grippy.
 
Ferrari 458

Now many people out there say that their favorite car is the 458, but I am not one of them I believe I can sum up the 458 in one word: disappointing. Now please, bear with me. I do not wish to offend, just give my opinion.
The 458 is, as a whole, a very handsome car, but I cannot stand the opening at the front. I've seen one in real life and it makes no difference. However, styling is highly subjective, and many love the 458 in this respect. There are more reasons, however, why I don't like it.
The handling does not suit a car of its caliber. there is quite a lot of understeer, until you get on the throttle, and then the rear end steps out. These qualities make it hard to drive the 458 smoothly, and this in not aided by its massive power output. I'm all in favor of speed, but it has so much power that the rear wheels want to spin in any sort of turn, and the powerful brakes feel inadequate.
It is a little bit of fun to drift, but driving it is like driving a Formula 1 car for fun. The car is too serious; it just doesn't work. It's blisteringly quick, but leaves me wanting some soul. The car feels cold, like it was designed by people who only care about stats, not fun.
I realise, of course, that this is not true in real life. The car is, according to many reputable motoring journalists, full of spirit. I don't know if PD messed the car up, it's really like that, or, most likely, I am missing something. Anyway, I don't like it. I sold the car without any regrets.

Lap Times
Nurburgring Nordschliefe-7:52,572
Top Gear Test Track-1:19,630
 
Mercedes Benz SLS AMG

The SLS is notable because it is on the cover of the game. There, I said it. Well, it is notable for some other things too. Jeremy Clarkson said of it, “I love it more than I love my own limbs.” I’m not sure I’d cut an arm off for it (How would I operate the amazing dual clutch transmission?), but it is terrific.
The looks are controversial, but I quite like the appearance. I also like the doors, but they are not really relevant in the game. Sad. The acceleration, though, is anything but sad. It will go from naught to sixty in the time it takes Clarkson to destroy two rear tires, and will sound terrific doing so. But wait, there’s more!
Possibly the best thing about the SLS is the handling. Understeer is almost totally absent, but it won’t bite you if you get on the throttle too early exiting a corner. Instead, it goes into a beautiful yet easy to control drift. It’s fast, yet you can still have fun. Not only that, but it has character, an element missing on so many other cars. It’s not something you find on a spec sheet; you have to feel it while driving.
The fact is that when you drive it you know that it was designed by car enthusiasts and not scientists. Sure, it is a brilliant piece of engineering, but all of that leaves your mind when you slide around a corner with it. In fact, the only flaw it has is that it feels a touch soft. When you drive it you feel slightly too isolated from the road.
Honestly, though, I still love it. It’s not as good as, say, an F40, but it’s brilliant nonetheless, and wholly deserves to be a signature GT5 car. It’s not hard to drive quickly, nor is it difficult to have fun in or drift. Buy one, now. You won’t regret it.

Lap Times
Nurburgring Nordschliefe-7:48,363
Top Gear Test Track-1:20,173
 
I suggest reviewing standard cars, something different and many that haven't been reviewed multiple times like the premiums
 
Nords
599-7:47,097
458-7:52,572

&

TGTT:
458-1:19,630
599-1:22,413

hmm :confused:
 
mcleeve
Hi - yeah great reviews.

I'm a huge Ferrari fan, and have always liked the 458 Italia.

Can I make a suggestion - please do a review on the 458 but use COMFORT SOFT tyres - if you want times to be close to real life and great feedback in the new 2.0 updated physics.

I've been testing stock cars on different tyres around Tscubka, timing them and comparing this GT5 time to real life times (as on fastestlaps.com) and I have found the following (since 2.0)....

For SALOONS/HATCHBACKS - use COMFORT MEDIUM (yes medium). I did a 1.09.xxxx in the scooby 22B around the track (5 laps before I did a near 'good' lap time) and the real life time was within 0.2 of a second. (Using SPORTS HARD TYRES was 4-5 seconds quicker!!!, and COMFORT SOFT was 2 seconds quicker so not realalistic)

For SUPERCARS - use COMFORT SOFT. All of the above was repeated and I matched the real life times on these tyres for the 458 and a Nissan GTR. The F40 time was 1.5 seconds slower than real life, but I found it difficult to get the best out of on this track (maybe the long gearing, although with more pratcise I think I could get very close to the real time).

RACING CARS - If a road going sport GT version (like Kaz's 24H Ring car), use SPORTS SOFT. Any other racing car (le mans etc, F1, touring cars,) use RACING HARD max. Anything above this are way to grippy.
Click to expand...

I will take your suggestion into account when testing, thanks. I did actually have a go in the 458 with comfort softs and all of its problems were exacerbated. However, in the interests of comparability, I am still going to do laps on sport hards.

DoomtrainUK
I suggest reviewing standard cars, something different and many that haven't been reviewed multiple times like the premiums
Click to expand...

Sounds like a reasonable suggestion. Did you have any cars in mind? I was thinking of doing the Cizeta V16T.

NEO_saffy_7
Nords
599-7:47,097
458-7:52,572

&

TGTT:
458-1:19,630
599-1:22,413

hmm :confused:
Click to expand...

I assure you these are the correct times. Not sure how they turned out like that, but I might buy another 458 and try to whittle down the Nurburgring time. I'm definitely not the best driver out there, but I should be able to do better than what I have now.

Thanks for the comments everyone!:)
 
masterrawad
ooh! do the volkswagen golf GTi R32.
Click to expand...

Sorry for not replying to this on the previous post, I will review one of these as soon as I see one in the UCD. What do they run, 30 grand?
 
beeblebrox237
Sorry for not replying to this on the previous post, I will review one of these as soon as I see one in the UCD. What do they run, 30 grand?
Click to expand...

give or take.
 
I'm loving these reviews, beeblebrox. I do have some suggestions for you. I enjoy reading your reviews, but they seem a bit short. I wish you would describe the car a bit more, and just write more in general. Also, it really adds to the review if you can upload photos. In case you don't know how to do that, you have to view the photos in your album in GT5, and select the option, "upload to XMB photo menu" or something like that. Then, you exit the game and go to the photo album through the PS3 menu. Then plug in a thumb drive. When you select the photo, press triangle and click on "copy". This will prompt you the option to copy it to the thumb drive. Then, remove the thumb drive and insert it into your computer, and copy the photos from the thumb drive to your computer. Then, upload the photos to your Photobucket account. From there, you can select an option on the photo that copies the photo's web address. Then paste it on to one of your reviews.
It's not as complicated as it sounds. :)
 
Dooglers8
I'm loving these reviews, beeblebrox. I do have some suggestions for you. I enjoy reading your reviews, but they seem a bit short. I wish you would describe the car a bit more, and just write more in general. Also, it really adds to the review if you can upload photos. In case you don't know how to do that, you have to view the photos in your album in GT5, and select the option, "upload to XMB photo menu" or something like that. Then, you exit the game and go to the photo album through the PS3 menu. Then plug in a thumb drive. When you select the photo, press triangle and click on "copy". This will prompt you the option to copy it to the thumb drive. Then, remove the thumb drive and insert it into your computer, and copy the photos from the thumb drive to your computer. Then, upload the photos to your Photobucket account. From there, you can select an option on the photo that copies the photo's web address. Then paste it on to one of your reviews.
It's not as complicated as it sounds. :)
Click to expand...

I'll look into it. How easy is it to get a photobucket account? I don't have one currently.
 
Can you do one of the Cizeta and the GTR please?
 
Suzuki GSX-R/4

The GSX-R/4 is, in its description, described as a four wheeled version of the GSX-R motorcycle. It is, in fact, the closest thing to a KTM X-Bow there is in GT5. I think it is a fantastic car, and it is very easy to drive fast.
The GSX-R/4 is not powerful. In fact, it only has about 170 bhp. However, it is quick in a straight line because it is so light. Unfortunately, the acceleration beyond about 120 is like that of molasses, and is virtually naught when going up a slight hill like that at the end of the Nurburgring’s main straight. On the other hand, the car is entertaining at low speeds, and the power won’t overwhelm the rear tires.
In fact, the lack of power is very good when considering handling. I believe it would be a monster if it had 300bhp. It does not, however, and so is terrific. Turn in is crisp, and it doesn’t understeer under braking. There is no understeer under 100 MPH, and it is very easy to drift. In fact, going into Aremburg, at the Nordschleife, I went almost immediately from full brake to full throttle while drifting the car through the corner. I found, interestingly, that the automatic transmission refuses to shift down to first until a very low speed, so you are left in second at low RPMs. However, this is actually a good thing, as it prevents wheelspin and allows you to just slam on the gas exiting a corner. Overall handling is as crisp as a cold shower, but at speeds over about 100 it begins to understeer a bit. It is prone to spinning if you aren’t careful. It’s still fun, though.
The appearance is very good, not my favorite. I think that the overall shape looks like an upside down bathtub, with all due respect to the Porsche 356, but a very racy bathtub. The red detailing on the headrest fairings adds a nice touch, and makes the car look pretty good in red, even though the only parts that get painted are the front wings and doors. I find it a bit odd that the passenger seat is covered in the game, but there is probably some reason for this, like aerodynamic drag. Or maybe not. Anyway, the headlights and taillights look like they just came from a stealth fighter, as does the back end. It looks pretty nice, with the exposed rear springs and exhaust exits. I recommend a rear wing from GT Auto, as it really completes the look of the car. Also, the interior view is terrific, and this is, don’t forget, a standard car. The only problem is the part of the car you can see from the cockpit, which looks, well, like a standard car.
I, personally, am going to have a go at tuning it. It is very quick and fantastically fun to drive, but I want it to be epically quick, like an Enzo. The Enzo is a bit crap, though. So, in conclusion, if you see one of these fantastic four wheeled motorcycles in the UCD, buy one. It’s as good as a X-Bow as you’ll get, for now.

Lap Times
Nurburgring Nordschleife-7:57,992
Top Gear Test Track-1:23,846
 
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great stuff keep it up.
would recommend the Holden Commodore SS for a review if it didn't sound so bad, the vette v8 sounds great for real but not so in GT5. So my recommended review is for the RUF RGT.
 
Right, my cars to review are as follows (subject to change):
Cizeta V16T
Nissan GTR
Ruf RGT (if I can buy one)
Ferrari Enzo Ferrari
Ford GT
Lexus LF-A
Corvette Z06 and ZR1
Mclaren MP4-12C
VW R32 (if I can buy one)
 
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beeblebrox237
I assure you these are the correct times. Not sure how they turned out like that, but I might buy another 458 and try to whittle down the Nurburgring time. I'm definitely not the best driver out there, but I should be able to do better than what I have now.
Click to expand...

It is very easy to lose a lot of time on Nordschleife, little mistakes could lose you 1-2 seconds a sector without even noticing it, this widens the gap and therefore the comparison won't be realistic. However, consistency provides a good time comparison ;)

Good reviews mate 👍
 
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