Finally - a SILVER on the Nurburgring Nordschleife

[Ealirendur]

Roll on, silver foxes! Forty-mumble dad, here.

I have been trying to persuade my own father to get a rig; I shall persist! To be fair, he's more likely to cruise than race.

I got it done at 600pp on Race Hards (6'26.556). So far, I only know of one car that that's feasible with for me; Takata Dome '03.

I think it would be worth trying any of, to work on the track, with level of challenge via tire choice and spec level:

1) CLK Touring car (goes to nearly 650pp, designed to run here. Not enough puff at 600 with Race Hards for me)
2) RX-7 TC
3) GT-R TC
4) Camaro SS RM, IS-F RM
5) Most "LM"s (50/70 downforce)
6) Jaguar XJ-13 (I suggest Praiano's tune - another silver fox!)

Downtuned LMPs will be hard work (though they'll certainly be fast!) for pretty much anyone - the modified torque curve is pretty brutal for throttle control.

It may be also possible to take it in an Elise RM, or even a maxed GSX-R/4, but on Softs only, I would think (limited top end speed could be an issue).

We've got a pretty good age spread going in the WRS!

 

[bodaddy]

Good job Steamcat. I had to try this one a few times until I finally won. BTW I will be 48, wait, let me check my drivers license. Yep 48 in June.

Might I add, are you using any driving aids like traction control or ASM? if so, I would highly recommend turning those off. I have been playing GT since it first came out and just recently started turning those off because of all the advice of the fast drivers. They really, really slow you down. I couldn't ever win the AMG academy stuff until I turned them off and learned to feather the gas like I'm supposed to. I promise, once you do that, you won't want to use them any more because you won't want to get use to them again and slow yourself down.

 

[Biggles1961]

Well done steam cat.I'm 50,been playing GT since GT1,but just started with GT5 last October.I've never had the time to really learn the Nordscheife,and I'm awful at driving it.
One day...one day....

So I hear your cheers!

 

[bodaddy]

Well done steam cat.I'm 50,been playing GT since GT1,but just started with GT5 last October.I've never had the time to really learn the Nordscheife,and I'm awful at driving it.
One day...one day....

So I hear your cheers!

Might I suggest you do the AMG Academy events. All levels. You will be much better at it afterwards. They really helped me a lot. Nordschleife is the long one right?

 

[Eezee]

I just got to ask the older people here, what do your kids or wives say when they see you playing GT with such passion?

 

[Morgoth_666]

Well done steam cat.I'm 50,been playing GT since GT1,but just started with GT5 last October.I've never had the time to really learn the Nordscheife,and I'm awful at driving it.
One day...one day....

So I hear your cheers!

It does take a lot of practice to get really comfortable. But once you do, there's nothing else that really satisfies like a good blast around it. The biggest thing for me was just learning each section of 4-5 flowing corners so I didn't get lost. Then you can work on finding the fastest line through one part at a time while relaxing a bit on the others.

The AMG events are a big help, but even those are a bit long to learn all at once, since each portion is as long as most full-sized tracks.

 

[FormulaKimball]

Does anyone else besides me wish you could do the four segments of the 'Ring as in the AMG Academy but practice with other cars? Like if you gold the AMG Academy you could "unlock" the four track segments in practice/arcade. The Academy is awesome to keep going back to though, so you can work on track sections you may not know as well!

 

[gordie44]

Does anyone else besides me wish you could do the four segments of the 'Ring as in the AMG Academy but practice with other cars? Like if you gold the AMG Academy you could "unlock" the four track segments in practice/arcade. The Academy is awesome to keep going back to though, so you can work on track sections you may not know as well!

Yes I wish you could practice on the ring with traffic and be able to pick any car instead of the two Mercs. Hopefully the traffic would be a bit more realistic as well.

Nordschleife is the long one right?

👍

 

[m8h3r]

You guys should start up a group. I'm sure you could show us young guys a thing or two 👍

 

[byegad]

To me the issue, when I started, was learning the track. I'm now at the stage that I know where I am and what the next corner is like. The AMG Academy was useful in getting me through the Lupo race with a Gold and I revisited it each time I needed to run the Nordscheife in the A spec races.

Once you can circulate and win at lower pp values you can start build experience in the Challenge 4 650p race and the World Circuit Tours 750pp race.

I'm not that quick, my best time is around 6m 20s so far but I'm having a great time running different cars some of which win and others which are struggling to be anything but 12th.

 

[Lustika]

I just got to ask the older people here, what do your kids or wives say when they see you playing GT with such passion?

I am 41 and thought I was one of the oldest so this thread pleases me. My wife dont understand the fun in my gaming but as long as it dont affect the family its ok. She thinks I am way to old for this. My 3 children thinks its ok and their friend says that my children has got a strange father

I've tried to get my wife impressed when I managed a 69th place in the last TT but that did not work so well. But she let me have my homemade wheelstand in the livingroom so I I've got a very understanding wife who understands the joy it gives me even though she dont understand how it can be fun. And I am allways very happy after playing and all of the stress and pressure from work goes away so its a fantastic way to cool down and be able to be an unstressed happy man and father.

But for me the most important thing is to never forgot that this is just a game and I can play when its the right time and thats when everything else has been taken care of.

By the way, my youngest daughter thinks I am the fastest in the world so thats cool

 

[sidewaysfordays]

All gold liscenses and special events? Yupp, you're pretty quick!

Don't know what level you guys are/how much cash you've got in the game, but I suggest grabbing an LMP car and detuning to 650pp. Nearly a guaranteed win. 1,000,000cr/~6:15 - It'll pay for the car in 5 laps and you'll start making bank.

 

[mike_gt3]

Heres the stock Corvette ZR-1 run on racing soft, could been better but didnt bother with it much. 6:31.897

 

[JayCue58]

Jeez u da man lol

56 years old.....still try to win everything regardless of age
Bicycle races ,autocross, GT5....everything!
Oh ,and I like to practice the Nordscheife with the Redbull car,helps staying sharp

 

[roamer2629]

I am 41 and thought I was one of the oldest so this thread pleases me. My wife dont understand the fun in my gaming but as long as it dont affect the family its ok. She thinks I am way to old for this. My 3 children thinks its ok and their friend says that my children has got a strange father

I've tried to get my wife impressed when I managed a 69th place in the last TT but that did not work so well. But she let me have my homemade wheelstand in the livingroom so I I've got a very understanding wife who understands the joy it gives me even though she dont understand how it can be fun. And I am allways very happy after playing and all of the stress and pressure from work goes away so its a fantastic way to cool down and be able to be an unstressed happy man and father.

But for me the most important thing is to never forgot that this is just a game and I can play when its the right time and thats when everything else has been taken care of.

By the way, my youngest daughter thinks I am the fastest in the world so thats cool

The words of a wise man indeed.

 

[FormulaKimball]

I just got to ask the older people here, what do your kids or wives say when they see you playing GT with such passion?

My lady is pretty understanding considering she has to hear about it all the time. Our joke is "I just shaved another millionth of a second off my time!!" Also, you know that scene in Christmas Story where the dad has to fix the furnace, and the "string of obscenities in the heat of battle that hung over Lake Erie" and all that? That's me some nights if I'm having trouble putting together a clean lap, no rear-ending the slow AI or 4-wheel offs. Swear, restart. Curses, restart again. I need to chill, ha ha. She just yells "shut up" from the other room to cue my restraint when I'm being too loud. Passion, indeed

 

[steamcat]

Wow - lots of great comments here. Glad I started this thread !! To reply to some of them:
I use minimal aids - it really does help you go faster.
I have a DFGT wheel and homemade stand (out of an old Nordic Track trainer - delicious irony !!) that I can slip into the living room when I want to drive than move back into the extra bedroom out of sight afterwards.
I have a very understanding wife who thinks its quite amusing how much fun I have with GT. And it keeps me away from some of my other obsessions (eg. collecting old bicycles and parts with plans to rebuild them.....some day).
The biggest thing I've learned (and am still learning) is to go slow in the slow parts and go fast in the fast parts. I think the great motorcycle racer Kenny Roberts said that. Sounds really obvious - but very hard to do at times. I don't know how many times I've ruined a good run by trying to take a corner faster than I should thinking I could make up time. NOT !!

My plan is to still be doing this when I turn 70- only I'll be faster than I am now :-)

 

[RReed43]

I just got to ask the older people here, what do your kids or wives say when they see you playing GT with such passion?

Once again I'm 69. I've been playing video games since there were video games and have had consoles and PC games ever since. I was really hooked on the original PacMan (in bar consoles) when it first came out and learned to run the pattern so I could stay alive indefinitely... that is until my brain was fried from the intensity.

My wife generally tolerates me having a race rig in my room and only complains if I get the sound to high. People do look at it a little strangely when they visit for the first time but given that my real life car is a Turbo Porsche Cabriolet they sort of see the fit.

I will occasionally get into another format game (the last being Assassins Creed) and have played most of the major formats along the way (Quake, Age of Empires, etc) but now I mainly concentrate on racing games. I race F1, Forza4 and GT5 but have yet to put together a PC racing setup. I have always liked fast cars and fast driving and GT5 is a great way to spend time and have fun.

I also used to play physical sports starting with basketball and tennis and then moved to golf as I got older. The beauty of computer gaming is that the physical limitations of aging impact one less then in physical sports. I think as computer game players age you will see them sticking with it, not dropping out. I think it will be a growing market for more sophisticated approaches which are being seen already in sim racing.

 

[Lustika]

The words of a wise man indeed.

Most kind. Thank you

 

[timmay1115]

I'm 44 and currently struggling with the Nordeshleife myself, the Minolta Toyota 88C-V I'm driving is awesome and I can pass a few cars, but learning the ring in it's entirety has been frustrating currently I have gold in the first AMG Challenge Sector but am stuck on silver in the second just .336 off gold and am starting to think I'll have more than a mighty few hours wrapped up in actually conquering the A-Spec Online Challenge 650PP race.

So if the BMW McLarenF1 GT-R is so good, where can we find one?

BTW I'm in a forum for those of us over thirty, primarily an FPS (MW3/Bf3) clan but we have a small dozen or so of us that play GT5 and have begun posting our woes and succeses there. Feel free to come check us out. Great community. AGA - Adult Gaming Alliance http://adultgamingalliance.forumotion.com/

 

[evansna]

I have a DFGT wheel and homemade stand (out of an old Nordic Track trainer - delicious irony !!) that I can slip into the living room when I want to drive than move back into the extra bedroom out of sight afterwards.
I have a very understanding wife who thinks its quite amusing how much fun I have with GT.

Hey Steamcat, nice to see another older wet coast racer! (51 and living on 'the island'). Your situation sounds very similar to mine, right down to the wheel storage in the spare room, and yes, an understanding wife is a great asset! I've done countless laps on the ring and still get a thrill from a good lap which is tempered by the frustration of putting a wheel wrong and chucking it in the barriers...

 

[The Dane]

So if the BMW McLarenF1 GT-R is so good, where can we find one?

Be sure to grab the shiny new one in the updated OCD now. I am 36 by the way, and I play the game as much as I can :-) .

 

[bodaddy]

You guys should start up a group. I'm sure you could show us young guys a thing or two 👍

That's what I thought, that is until my 2 oldest learned how to drive in this game. Now they put a whoopin' on me and I have to check my pride. Not letting it open my mouth.

But in all fairness to me and the older guys, I have honestly noticed that they don't hold back, where I will, in fear of crashing. I attribute that to the fact that I grew up racing gocarts, mini-bikes, the old curvy lake road in my first 911 in college(we were in the car business so I was blessed with awesome cars growing up, I was spoiled. I'm poor now though. haha), then dirt track, and I know what it's like to wreck and roll a car at over 120mph. It's scary and I catch myself not wanting to wreck or damage my car in GT5. I also know what it cost to repair. They just floor it and fly around turns where I won't. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it(it couldn't be my reflexes diminishing).

But I also have made us a racing setup with the wheel and chair and all, and really started to push it in the TT's, and turned the aids off and started driving like I grew up learning to. They can't come close to me on them(I consistently get in the top 500 and getting better, which they think is awesome). But I'm making them learn to drive without aids now so it won't be long until they are showing me up again. I do get proud of them for that even though it did hurt my pride a bit at first.

 

[BLUES40T5]

I just got to ask the older people here, what do your kids or wives say when they see you playing GT with such passion?

I´m turning 41... my wife think´s that i´m still a kid
and yes i am, all men of us r kids right.... my kids like when i play and their friends think´s that i´m a cool dad....whos play´s PS3

And i dont gonna stop playing....and i dont gonna grow up...




http://www.youtube.com/user/BLUES40T5/videos

 

[Ealirendur]

Be sure to grab the shiny new one in the updated OCD now. I am 36 by the way, and I play the game as much as I can :-) .

Actually, the updated OCD is quite the gold mine. Be sure to grab the CLK Touring Car, BMW M3 GTR Race Car as well if you don't already have them - I've got a few of each since they will take different build levels with Engine Stages.

Excellent cars both (for this event even, kitted up), and I've found low-mileage road CSLs and GTRs very difficult to find (most of the standard Beemers, in fact). Those two could also conceivably beat the F1, maxed, on Racing Softs.

Personally, I think sim racing should be one of the more understandable-by-mainstream hobbies. I wanted another one that didn't involve noise, or scheduled-leaving-the-house, and I've centered on GT5 to avoid sending mixed messages to my son at this stage (other than the ones involving, y'know, attention, balance, screen-time, obsession.... ). I'll probably go back to do some coding in future, but why not do at least some of that in a driving sim, or related app?

 

[g2010ag]

Another old fella here, was born in 1951. Just golded the Vettel Challenge last week. Have a DFGT wheel set up so that it can be stored against the wall next to the TV then pulled out and in front of the sofa to race. Our friends find it amusing but not any more unusual than the pool table in our front room.
I got hooked on video gaming back when the grand kids' PS1 quit working. I bought them another then I found I could stand the old one on end and it worked. I had played Crash Bandicoot with the grand kids and had fun with them. Once I had a playstation of my own I looked for a game that I would enjoy and found the GT series. That was about two weeks before GT2 came out. I have been hooked ever since.

 

[MikeKyu]

I just got to ask the older people here, what do your kids or wives say when they see you playing GT with such passion?

40 here. My wife has no problem with it. I work hard and this is by far the best hobby that I have undertaken since we've been married (bar dart leagues, poker, street and track racing my GT-R and 68 Mini and golfing). I am around the house more and easily accessable. Playing offline I can pause and help her out with whatever she wanta help with. I play online after she and my son go to bed.

My kid is 8 years old and could care less. He loves flash games and his wii and nintendo DS3. He loves watching the races but for some reason is terrified to try to sit in the seat and give it a go.

My mom was in town recently and she gave it a go. She is a remarkable driver in real life and adapted to the game well. She had so much fun with it that she is giving serious thought to buying a rig for herself. Lots of questions from her about it.

 

[roamer2629]

Another old fella here, was born in 1951. Just golded the Vettel Challenge last week. Have a DFGT wheel set up so that it can be stored against the wall next to the TV then pulled out and in front of the sofa to race. Our friends find it amusing but not any more unusual than the pool table in our front room.
I got hooked on video gaming back when the grand kids' PS1 quit working. I bought them another then I found I could stand the old one on end and it worked. I had played Crash Bandicoot with the grand kids and had fun with them. Once I had a playstation of my own I looked for a game that I would enjoy and found the GT series. That was about two weeks before GT2 came out. I have been hooked ever since.

Crash had a kart racer which was lots of fun too

 

[guyr1]

I am 46 and have played all of the gt series. My wife moans about the time I spend on the playstation ( often creeping to bed at 3 am ), but the funny thing is she bought me both the playstatiion and gt5.

 

[killerjimbag]

I'm 50 in a week and I host lounges with the over 35 crowd all the time, add my PSN name abetterplaya. I stole my 19 year old sons account it's my name now.👍