Close Competition

[jeffgoddin]

Just wanted to start a thread about this. Occasionally I run a particular car with a particular setup at an event and only win in the last lap or so, and by less than a couple seconds, and only after some serious fighting for the lead. Not a total cheater win, bashing and running the leader off track, and not a runaway easy win, but a satisfying hard fought win.

Thought it would be nice to hear from others when they find a particular combination that is like this, since I would like to try them out myself.

And to get it started, a race I just ran:

Grand Touring Cars at Grand Valley with the Audi A4 tuned just so:
Weight Reduction 3
Semi-Racing Suspension
Soft Slicks
Sports Brakes
Brake Balance Controller
Full Racing Gears
Clutch-3
Customizable LSD
Flywheel-3
Carbon Driveshaft
ROM
NA-2
Port Polish
Engine Balance
Racing Muffler

which altogether gives you 295hp

my settings were:

transmission: first set auto to 1, then:
1st: 3.540
2nd: 2.717
3rd: 2.120
4th: 1.701
5th: 1.382
Final: 2.683

suspension:
ride height: minimum
dampers 6/5
camber 1.6/1.2

brake balance 16/12

LSD: just changed accel to 25 both front and rear

feel free to play with settings to adjust to your driving style, but with this power and these components it should be a close and exciting race.

 

[Kingofweasles]

Hmm...The closest I can think of that can qualify for this thread was when I was messing around with a fully RM'ed Aston Martin DB7 using MadMax86's set-up from the "Lap Time Challenge Thread". I ran it with Super-Softs at the Gran Turismo All-Stars race at the Super Speedway...And won by around Half a second from the 2nd-Placed car.

Granted, the field didn't have either a Toyota GT-ONE or Nissan 390 GT1 in it, but still it was quite a fun race. Also, running the Volkswagen New Beatle LM at Rome under similair circumstances was quite a hoot as well. The next challenge I want to try? The Laguna Seca 200 using the '96 Mitsubishi GTO LM.

 

[jeffgoddin]

Just ran another close one, definitely required clean hard racing to win. Audi S4 stock at 80's-5 Tahiti. Starlet finished a couple seconds back, but immediately after the finish when the AI took over the Starlet was ramming me from behind within 1/3 of a lap. My winning time was 3:52.920.

 

[blazing escudo]

ah, i remember when i won the muscle car series with nearly stock Superbird....
only reducing the weight and using medium tires...

 

[jeffgoddin]

Another very close race at the same test track, Grand Valley Touring Car Cup.

BMW 328Ci tuned to 302hp, with weight reduction 2, brakes, semi-race suspension, medium slicks, custom tranny, clutch-2, fly-2, and 1.5 way LSD. Basically a little lighter tuning than the Audi above.

Again, the rest of the competition pulls away off the line, but I got lucky and one went wide at the hairpin so I ran down the back through the S to the 2nd hairpin in 5th.

As usual, I gained more ground in the tight S corners leading up to the sharp left into the tunnel, where I found myself in 3rd behind a Camaro and a GT-R R34 V-Spec.

A Supra RZ quickly exchanged places with the Camaro though to round out the top three with my 328Ci and the R34 V-Spec. Spent the rest of the race playing tag with them, I'd get ahead by a couple car lengths and sure enough, next corner they'd come inside and push me off my line to regain the lead.

Had to rely a lot on slipstreaming down the main drag.

At the start of the third lap, the Supra got a little too carried away down the drag and found himself in the sand at the hairpin, at which point it was down to me and the GT-R for the win, though the rest of the competition was still maybe just a second behind us.

In the final lap, crossing the bridge into the final tunnel I found myself along side the GT-R but on the inside, where some late braking and taking the corner at my car's grip limits enabled me to pull ahead maybe a carlength.

Through the final tight double hairpin (chicane?) I nervously guarded my lead, and sure enough the GT-R tried to edge me off my line,

but I was far enough around and still able to grab enough pavement to push myself ahead, follow a better line through the final corner,

and take the win by 0.8 seconds, the rest of the field all within 1.5 second except for a lone straggler who when wide way back at the 2nd sandy hairpin. Whew!

And as you can see, once the AI took over, my lead didn't last very long! Close race!

 

[Midnight Snacks]

Cool

 

[karelpipa]

nice race debriefing

but i spotted that if i fit Supersofts its like you gained 150+hp by only that.A
nd you can win almost everything.
So theres the question:
How can i match competitors tyres ? in GT5 and 4 you can determine that by watching replays, but in the old days...i dont know how.
I mean tyres has great influence to lap times (more twisty course, greater advantage). and i want to have same tyres as AI. please help
GT1 had at least weight and HP lists in every championship.

 

[jeffgoddin]

First, I follow Parnelli's guide to GT2 races.

Basically, use normals on most Sunday and Clubman cups and some of the other very low power events (GT Country events, 1st two 80's, etc.), sports tires on most other medium power events, and slicks on the fast, high level events, from Hards to Supersofts as the races get to the highest level. For Mfr Events, normal cars are on normals, R modded cars on sports, except for a couple high powered unmodded events are on sports (Viper).

Using Parnelli's guide as a starting point, take a car with the right weight to power ratio to an event that should then be challenging with the tires you think would be right. You should be slower off the line than the competition, but will eventually catch up with some good driving around corners. Notice in the corners, when you're close to other cars and almost running the same line if their tires are slipping, or if you can go faster than them on the same line without slipping, and then maybe your tires are too sticky. If they go faster than you around corners, then try softer tires yourself.

 

[jeffgoddin]

Just had a nice race that's thread appropriate. You know how in the Supertouring Cup events if the Civic '93 Si shows up all of a sudden it's a lot harder to win? Yeah...

Just tried a Mazda 323 GT-X '92 4WD with the following mods: race kit, semi-race susp, sports tires, sports brakes and bbc, all transmission mods, turbo-2, IC-2, and Port Grinding to bring hp up to 246.

Ran it at Trial Mtn, Supertouring. By the end of the first lap, made it into 2nd. After the hairpin on the 3rd lap after the back straight, there's the squiggly bit, yeah? and then the downhill right that kind of leans out. Got right up to the Si finally at that point, and then down to the sweeping left that goes to the chicane right before the finish I was able to dive inside, but lost speed and was overtaken, only to again dive inside for the chicane, and finished just 0.131 ahead.

Very close race, had to concentrate the whole time, and push my machine to the limit. Trying BTCC class cars here, great fun. This appears to be a very good tuning level to have close races (about 4.3 kg/hp, the GT-X was 4.36)

 

[Parnelli Bone]

Hey, I really like the pics & story above. I love them close races too!

 

[jeffgoddin]

Thanks! Yeah, GT2 provides plenty of opportunities for close, challenging racing, which is why I'm still playing it. When you can feel that your adrenaline is pumping, your oxygen levels are up, your concentration is locked, and every action you take is precise to within a few hundredths of a second, all because one mistake will lose you the race. Yeah, good stuff!

 

[Epic B]

Not really a "close" race, but I do know a good challenge if any of you want it. Try to win the SSR5 enduro using the Taevion FTO, against two Toyota GT-Ones. Although the car is one of the fastest if not THE fastest front drive in the game, its 378 hp is nothing two the Toyota's 672. But just try SSR5 in the FTO. It's not exactly easy, not exactly hard, but it's good racing. For an even harder race, use stock or sports tires. I used soft slicks, but it's totally possible to use lesser tires.

Not a close race, but a challenge.

 

[jeffgoddin]

Just had the most wonderful race of my GT2 career! Historic cup-2 Rome Circuit against the GT40 in my tuned 240Z '71.

I added: Stage 2 weight reduction, supersoft slicks, semi-race suspension, race flywheel, triple clutch, 1.5 way LSD, NA-2, ROM, race exhaust, and port polish, for 270hp I think it was. About 125K Credits invested total.

As expected, playing catch up from the start


Getting close down the short straight to the hard 145 degree right corner


Even closer through the following 90 degree right, I seem to be keeping his line pretty well despite lack of downforce, but he's only on Mediums


got him


sucking fumes


Right on his tail the whole way down the back straight, drafting


getting a little loose coming out of the soft left as I pull out from the GT40's draft for a late braking-drafting-passing on the inside maneuver. You can see he's already braking here, and I'm about 0.1 second away from that.


there's my brakes


no more tire smoke, now turn!








coming out onto the main drag


but he takes me towards the end of the straight after returning the drafting favor


and so I'm back on his tail soon enough


I find a place to attack, choosing the inside line on this sweeper left after the hard 90 degree right


and it pays off, I take back the lead. notice the different angles the cars are facing? we're actually on the exact same line. but he's MR and I'm FR, so my end kicks out a little bit.


he makes his move towards the end of the back straight, coming up along the inside for this soft left.


and just like that my lead is gone again


but wait... could I have deliberately chosen the outside line for that soft left so that I'd be set up for an attack to the inside for the 2nd to last corner?

yup


and that's all she wrote, win by 0.346 second. we weren't a second apart the whole race (after the start...) nice, clean race, no unsportsmanlike conduct, felt great!