Eiger Nordwand advice needed.

  • Thread starter Thread starter IvanOffalich
  • 14 comments
  • 956 views
IvanOffalich

IvanOffalich

Messages
314
United States
United States
Messages
IvanOffalich
I am doing the World Classic Car Seasonal, or at least attempting to. It's the one with the 1969 or earlier cars that are 500 PP or less.

I am having one of two problems, or both, and I'm not really certain which it is. Having tried a few different cars, I found that the Guila TZ2 Carrozzata Pizziola Joe Garriagola (kidding) worked out pretty well as far as handling and acceleration for me on the Madrid course.

Now I'm attempting to do Eiger Nordwand (tarmac, not the dirt track), and I'm having much more trouble than I should.

I usually can figure out what I need to do to win an event, whether it be pick the right car for my driving style or fine tune my driving to maximize my lap times, you get the idea.

However, with this car on this event, I'm not able to drive quickly enough to catch the first place "rabbit". The rabbit in question is a G4, which, after trying one out on the Madrid track, doesn't seem like the speediest car. Maybe the AI car is different. Who knows?

I've done everything that I can to eliminate wheel spin and take the curves smoothly. I've retried the track a bunch of times. The car seems to handle well, and I'm not having to fight it. However, the G4 has a head start, like all of these races, and I have only managed to see him just before the last curve, but have not been able to catch up to, or pass him.

So, I've narrowed it down to two possibilities:

1. I need a car with better acceleration, or one that can handle better so that I can take the curves a little faster. I'm not sure what, if anything, is going to be faster in this age group/PP group. I'm open to suggestions on this one of course.

2. Somehow my driving line(s) through the course are wrong and I'm not able to keep or maximize my speed. I think that I'm doing it right, but then again, I might have something wrong. If need be, I can type up what I'm doing for the lap, but only if it's necessary. That would be a lot of typing for something that might not help. :)

So, does anyone have any suggestions? A different car? A different attack pattern? Something to watch out for on the track that can cost precious time?

 
Eiger is a real technical track. There are two or three corners that are very demanding and greatly contribute to reduced lap times. The last corner of the switchbacks before it flattens out at the bottom end are like that. Most cars have a tendency to want to bring the back end around there, but if you get on the throttle and make a quick flick to the left before the corner, you can usually come flying out of that corner with little drama and a lot of speed carried to the next corner. The corner after the tunnel is vital as well. Often you come out of there blinded by the sun so you have to know where you are and your turn in point by the undulations you can feel on the track. To get it right you usually have to have a couple of tires in the dirt to the right, nearly touching the guardrail.

The final corner, the sweeping right, is tricky as well. Usually I go in deep, the car wants to drift to the outside so you let it, a quick flick to the right as you approach the exit and the car is lined up for a fast, straight exit. You should be in the dirt on the right and then the left before the finish line for maximum speed on the front straight.

In the Alfa, try max downforce and see if that works. It's a good handling car. Can't remember if I even did this seasonal or what car I used. You might go over to the Seasonal forum and scroll back and try to find that particular seasonal as I'm sure there will be car setups and choices in there that others have tried and worked for them.
 
First off, try a 2D, it can beat the G4 at 500PP.

Secondly, if you don't have that car, I might be wrong but I think you can restart the race and get a different line-up so you're not facing the G4. That could help you beat that track, because the G4 is pretty unbeatable unless you have the right car. And the Chaparral 2D '67 is the best car in the 500PP range and is eligible so give it a go if you have it or ask someone on your friends list to share it.
 
If none of the above works, I had a good laugh using a 550BHP 1969 Camaro. And like the above post stated, restart the race until a G4 isn't in it.
 
Thank you, Johnny and Iain. I do have a 2D (I just checked.)

I will also try to hit those lines. I think I can get more out of the final turn, but I'm pretty sure that I've got the second switchback nailed. I'm usually flying over the bridge.

The one before it, I'm not positive of. I always feel like I'm coming out of that very slowly.

I'm also not certain that I'm nailing the curve before the tunnel as well as I should, but that may just be me wanting to go 200 mph through it, knowing that I can't. In other words, a feeling that I'm going slowly when I'm going the right speed.

I have a feeling that if I can maximize the cornering on the first switchback and the last corner, that might actually do it.

I was averaging about 19 seconds per lap, but I did manage to hit a 17 once. A 17 each time would do it, essentially, but I don't know what I did differently for that lap. I didn't notice anything different about how I drove on that lap and was surprised when I saw the time.
 
IvanOffalich
Thank you, Johnny and Iain. I do have a 2D (I just checked.)

I will also try to hit those lines. I think I can get more out of the final turn, but I'm pretty sure that I've got the second switchback nailed. I'm usually flying over the bridge.

The one before it, I'm not positive of. I always feel like I'm coming out of that very slowly.

I'm also not certain that I'm nailing the curve before the tunnel as well as I should, but that may just be me wanting to go 200 mph through it, knowing that I can't. In other words, a feeling that I'm going slowly when I'm going the right speed.

I have a feeling that if I can maximize the cornering on the first switchback and the last corner, that might actually do it.

I was averaging about 19 seconds per lap, but I did manage to hit a 17 once. A 17 each time would do it, essentially, but I don't know what I did differently for that lap. I didn't notice anything different about how I drove on that lap and was surprised when I saw the time.
Click to expand...

Throw the car into those technical sections with all your might. Make sure you have the right line, and keep practicising.
 
I haven't driven that track in awhile and can't remember exactly how long it is but 19 second laps? I know its a short track but wow...
 
poopity
I haven't driven that track in awhile and can't remember exactly how long it is but 19 second laps? I know its a short track but wow...
Click to expand...

I meant that as an abbreviation. In other words 1:19 and 1:17. Sorry if that was confusing.

Update:

The 2D will not work for this track for me. It sits at 600 PP and lowering the power on it will drop it to 532 PP at the least. None of the parts can be put to standard or removed, so that's as low as I can get it. I may have done weight reduction to it, which can't be undone, so others might be able to lower it to 500 PP, if they haven't done that. I'm not sure how it was when I got it. I honestly don't think that I've ever driven it, so I doubt that I did the weight reduction.

I did do the Aero on the Guila and that helped a little. Johnny was right about the last turn. I really was doing that one wrong. First of all, I was braking way too early when I was coming up the hill. After I got that down, I realized that I was releasing the brake too late. I finally found the right spot, but I'm not hitting it every time, but at least I know where it is. When I do it right I come up the hill into the turn and when I release the brake, it turns perfectly into the edge of the road that Johnny mentioned and lines me up to graze the edge of the left side. It's like hitting a pocket, or a sweet spot.

With the Aero being maxed, I'm able to push the car just a bit more. This is very good except for the second switchback. I'm hitting the curve inconsistently now, but I'm working it out.

I also managed to find a sweet spot/throttle position (using the DS3 analog stick for a control) for the big curve after the bridge that goes more smoothly through it. When I hit that, I can get a lot of speed up for the tunnel exit, and then the curve just after can be taken pretty quickly which gets me to the last curve sooner. I was able to improve on my line on that post tunnel curve, but I was pretty decent to begin with.

I also noticed that while keeping track of my lap times, I was letting it distract me from braking correctly for the first turn. Silly me. :dunce:

If I can work out the consistency for the first turn entry, the second switchback exit, and the final turn whole, I will have it. I did manage a high 1:16, I just need to do it well on every lap while dealing with the traffic. I was able to get right on the lead car's bumper near the end of the race, but I overshot the last turn by trying to hard to catch him. It's definitely doable in this car. I just have to practice a little more.

For now, it's lunchtime for me. Thanks for the help everyone. :)
 
You can add ballast and reduce aero to get to 500PP on the 2D. It's light enough to begin with so adding weight instead of reducing the power so much will help you get down to 500PP, but not lose so much speed.
 
I didn't realize that. I'll try that after lunch. :)
 
I've a feeling I used the Jag race car for this. A bit of a cheat with ballast and limiter but I got to the stage where I just wanted to get it done.
 
There are some excellent tunes for the Jag and 2D in the current FITT Shootout you can find in the tuning forum. I just posted my reviews of all of them but there are a couple of can't miss one's there. You may need to use your own parts to make sure you keep the PP low but the suspension settings should transfer.
 
Sorry that I didn't get back to you guys until now. I got busy.

Update:

After adding weight to it, I used the 2D and it ended up actually being overkill for me. Even driving sloppily (because I wasn't used to the car yet) I was able to pull 1:15-1:16 laps and had first place by the 4th lap.

I think I will revisit this Event later and practice with that Alfa until I can nail it. I apparently need the practice on this track.

Thanks to everyone for the help. :)
 
IvanOffalich
Sorry that I didn't get back to you guys until now. I got busy.

Update:

After adding weight to it, I used the 2D and it ended up actually being overkill for me. Even driving sloppily (because I wasn't used to the car yet) I was able to pull 1:15-1:16 laps and had first place by the 4th lap.

I think I will revisit this Event later and practice with that Alfa until I can nail it. I apparently need the practice on this track.

Thanks to everyone for the help. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah I redid it yesterday with the 2D just to see if I could still do it against the G4, and I won by the finish line of the 4/5th lap. It's not hard with the 2D, as you can see. But it's really up to you whether you need to do it with the Alfa. Considering the competitors are all street cars, any race car with aero is overkill.

But that's just nitpicking. Fact is you've done it now.
 
I figure that it's good practice. I know I can do it in the Alfa, it's just a matter of driving consistently. Not to be a braggart, but I caught the G4 on the curve between the bridge and the tunnel. :sly:


Edit: Now that I think about it, the only reason I was that far ahead was because I sloppily drove into the side of a couple of the other cars on the turns. I didn't mean to, but I ended up going around the corners more quickly. See what I get for bragging now? :dunce:

 
Back