Gran Turismo 7 Custom Race thread

[Voodoovaj]

I'm putting this here for the Spec 3/DLC folks who keep talking about how these races don't exist in the game. Yes, it takes credits and effort Regarding credits, what are you doing with excess credits? You can't cash out. Regarding the effort, if it's too much effort to make the races, how badly do you really want them? Especially since you can balance them to your liking.

60's Trans AM (5Laps) - I will put racing liveries on everything eventually (650pp)


DTM (5 Laps) 650pp


Aussie Supercars (5 Laps) 700pp


90's GTLM (3 Laps) 700pp



I want to change my opinion on Sophy 3.0 in custom races. I HOPE Sophy 3.0 is included in the custom races for everyone, but since it is only mentioned in the DLC, it may simply be for those DLC events. I still believe that it's going to be akin to Sophy 2.0 with weak boost, but will there be a noticeable difference in the base game's custom races? I'm not so sure now. On the flip side, when they say "Sophy 3.0" they may simply be referring to the single player events, just as adding Sophy 2.0 was only a reference to the custom races. We shall see.

 

[benjoi84]

@Voodoovaj I think you're doing good by posting these examples, but I'll just say from a personal perspective the thing holding me back from exercising my ability to set up these races is not credits... it's time.

As much as I appreciate the effort by yourself, @Theufcveteran and @pritchyTim for researching and balancing the potential of the Custom Race feature, I've had to mostly abandon the Custom Career due to the huge time-sink.

What Spec 3, and the DLC, seem to represent is the "ideal" pick-up and play scenario for people who want proper competitive racing within a few button presses. Don't get me wrong, I adore tuning and messing around with cosmetics for my Garage Cars, but the restrictions on Custom Races limit the experience somewhat. Unfortunately I find myself gravitating to the so-called 'physics simulator' definition of GT7, where I'm just driving cars to see how they feel and I'm not too bothered about credits or progression.

I think what people are really asking for, myself included, is a competitive race scenario curated by the developers in order to represent tangible game progress, outside of Sport Mode (where, divisive as it is, is the only place you can really test your driving skills).

 

[Voodoovaj]

I think what people are really asking for, myself included, is a competitive race scenario curated by the developers in order to represent tangible game progress, outside of Sport Mode (where, divisive as it is, is the only place you can really test your driving skills).

Oh, I agree. It has been a ton of time and effort. We, here in the custom race thread, have been guinea pigs for this DLC, in my opinion. I know dev check the most popular forums and threads regarding their games.

Many people don't have the time/patience to build out these events themselves. It will be great to see them included in the game.

 

[pabloprp69]

@Voodoovaj I think you're doing good by posting these examples, but I'll just say from a personal perspective the thing holding me back from exercising my ability to set up these races is not credits... it's time.

As much as I appreciate the effort by yourself, @Theufcveteran and @pritchyTim for researching and balancing the potential of the Custom Race feature, I've had to mostly abandon the Custom Career due to the huge time-sink.

What Spec 3, and the DLC, seem to represent is the "ideal" pick-up and play scenario for people who want proper competitive racing within a few button presses. Don't get me wrong, I adore tuning and messing around with cosmetics for my Garage Cars, but the restrictions on Custom Races limit the experience somewhat. Unfortunately I find myself gravitating to the so-called 'physics simulator' definition of GT7, where I'm just driving cars to see how they feel and I'm not too bothered about credits or progression.

I think what people are really asking for, myself included, is a competitive race scenario curated by the developers in order to represent tangible game progress, outside of Sport Mode (where, divisive as it is, is the only place you can really test your driving skills).

To be fair, though, you don't need to go above and beyond to have a good time with Sophy AI. As has been stated multiple times, using gr 3 races with BoP on (hence cars fully stock) can provide a great racing experience. We can always tweak here and there, but in a basic level, the enjoyment is there. I think the most important thing to know about proper setup is boost weak, and frankly, this forum has done a tremendous job in raising awareness regarding that.

I really don't think half of single player population has given a fair chance to Sophy. It's a great tool and addition to the game, and when update 2.1 rolled out, that became arguably the best update in the whole game by a mile. Sophy is flawed, obviously, but it's going in the right direction. Can't wait to see the improvements in the next update.

 

[benjoi84]

To be fair, though, you don't need to go above and beyond to have a good time with Sophy AI. As has been stated multiple times, using gr 3 races with BoP on (hence cars fully stock) can provide a great racing experience. We can always tweak here and there, but in a basic level, the enjoyment is there. I think the most important thing to know about proper setup is boost weak, and frankly, this forum has done a tremendous job in raising awareness regarding that.

I really don't think half of single player population has given a fair chance to Sophy. It's a great tool and addition to the game, and when update 2.1 rolled out, that became arguably the best update in the whole game by a mile. Sophy is flawed, obviously, but it's going in the right direction. Can't wait to see the improvements in the next update.

You're absolutely right. Unfortunately I'm a weirdo who really likes racing road cars. I've had enough of Sport Mode (and its 'flavour of the month' BoP) ramming GT3 cars down my throat week after week.

 

[Theufcveteran]

You're absolutely right. Unfortunately I'm a weirdo who really likes racing road cars. I've had enough of Sport Mode (and its 'flavour of the month' BoP) ramming GT3 cars down my throat week after week.

Some quick fun you can have is just picking a car and loading up some preset settings for any track and using random opponents.

Here are some race settings that are designed to be re-usable for any track with minimal changes except laps, time of day, and setting weather to random. I get a lot of fun out of 3/5 lap sprints.

These settings are from the Integrale Shuffle League so they have notes about boost which you might already be aware of, but I'll leave them in so if anyone sees this who doesn't know about why boost weak is ideal, they'll see it.

Spoiler: Settings

Tyre Compounds:

• Vehicle Default or Player Choice for Custom Cars

Tyre Compounds for Racing Cars:

• Vehicle Default and Inter/Wet tyres if required (purchasable from the Race Shop)

ECU/Power Restrictor Percentage:

• 94% (Gran Turismo Racing Kart 125 Shifter)
  
  
• 96% (all other cars)
  
  
• The Power Restrictor can be bought from the Race Shop in the pre-race menu, where there are panning shots of the track, or in any existing GT7 event’s information page
  
  
• Apply percentage reduction after loading into the pre-race menu and do not change any custom race settings after applying the reduction, or the AI cars will adapt to this lower PP rating and negate the balancing
  
  
• After a race, revert the percentage back to 100% via a new settings sheet, and flip back to the 96% percentage settings sheet in the pre-race menu of the next race
  
  
• This ECU/power restrictor percentage reduction is not required when racing against GT Sophy, only against regular AI

Start Type:

• Grid Start (Regular AI)
  
  
• Rolling Start - 15 m (GT Sophy)

Boost:

• Weak (heavily recommended to avoid significant AI slowdown when they are far ahead, and Weak boost speeds them up a bit in general)

Balance of Performance (BoP):

• On (when possible, usually with Group racing cars)

Rival Cars Selection:

• Random
  
  
• For races that are made a one-make by the game, such as if you enter with the Gran Turismo Racing Kart 125 Shifter or Aston Martin Valkyrie, loading custom race settings that were saved while driving these “one-make” cars will set the Rivals Car Selection option to “One-Make”.

Rival Cars Difficulty:

• Player Choice (Default is Intermediate)

Slipstream Strength:

• Player Choice (Default is Weak)

Weather Selection Method:

• Custom Weather -> All Slots Random
  
  
• Weather must be adjusted to this setting each time the custom race settings are loaded, as it defaults to Preset Weather upon loading saved race settings

Variable Time Speed Rate:

• 5x

All Other Settings (except Laps/Time of Day):

• Default or Player Choice

 

[pabloprp69]

You're absolutely right. Unfortunately I'm a weirdo who really likes racing road cars. I've had enough of Sport Mode (and its 'flavour of the month' BoP) ramming GT3 cars down my throat week after week.

What you can also do is pick a few road cars that are similar in PP and go fully stock to the track. Nurburgring with 500-600pp cars fully stock is a blast. Just make sure the cars have all the same tire compound. Of course, the lower your car's pp, the more challenging it gets. I find somewhere around 25pp less than the AI is the sweet spot for a fun challenge.

 

[RSF_5]

Here's the next round of the BTCC-style touring cars custom race. The following cars are on the grid:

• VW Golf VII
• VW Scirocco
• Honda Civic FK8
• Honda Civic FL5
• Ford Focus RS
• Subaru Impreza Type S
• Mitsubishi Lancer Final Edition
• Toyota Corolla
• BMW M2
• Mazda Atenza Sedan XD

Again quite a tough challenge across the entire field and great great fun. Enjoy:

 

[Voodoovaj]

Here's the next round of the BTCC-style touring cars custom race. The following cars are on the grid:

• VW Golf VII
• VW Scirocco
• Honda Civic FK8
• Honda Civic FL5
• Ford Focus RS
• Subaru Impreza Type S
• Mitsubishi Lancer Final Edition
• Toyota Corolla
• BMW M2
• Mazda Atenza Sedan XD

Again quite a tough challenge across the entire field and great great fun. Enjoy:

What PP levels are you using? 650?

 

[RSF_5]

What PP levels are you using? 650?

They are between 625 - 645PP, with the Subarus and Mazdas being lowest on PP and the Civics and Golfs highest

 

[Theufcveteran]

Hi everyone, about the GT7 Extended Package program I'm making, I would like to ask for folks interested to please submit any ideas you have for events, things to do in the game (it can include playing existing GT7 events with certain cars).

I'm struggling for ideas after other projects I've worked on, things are just slow and I don't want to re-tread old ground. I don't know if I could get this out by February without asking for community requests.

Your username of choice will be at the top of an event's page in the program. Please keep custom grids to an absolute minimum if possible, as the idea behind the program is also to be quick-setup races, either being against random opponents, group racing cars, or one-makes (select from garage one-makes with custom names is okay also).

If your event has rain, keep in mind that only regular AI can drive in the rain as of November 2025.

Here's what's in the project currently and what's planned (spoilers if you don't want to find out/if you want to find out when the program releases):

Spoiler: Current and planned events/things to do

• [ADDED] Use an Audi R8 4.2 '07 at Trial Mountain Circuit with these specific custom race settings
  
  
  
• [ADDED] Take a picture of your favourite European car at the Nishi-Shinjuku Scape in Tokyo, Japan.
  
  
  
• [ADDED] Win an all-Ferrari race at Autodrome Lago Maggiore using these specific custom race settings and the Select from Garage option
  
  
  
• [ADDED] Beat the Clubman Cup+ event at Tsukuba in a Nissan GT-R '17
  
  
  
• [ADDED] Race at night at Mount Panorama with Yellow lightbulbs installed on your car
  
  
  
• [ADDED] Equip a wide body kit, custom wheels, and all available aero parts on a car from 1993 to 2004, and race against random opponents at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Brands Hatch - Grand Prix Circuit, and Tokyo Expressway - Central Clockwise
  
  
  
• Driving the Super Formula SF23, complete a race at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Autodromo Nazionale Monza, and Autódromo de Interlagos with these specific custom race settings
  
  
  
• Complete a lap of x track in y time with z car (lap time will be completed by me to ensure it is possible - I'm a little above average skill wise)
  
  
  
• Finish 8th or above in torrential rain at Autopolis using these specific custom race settings
  
  
  
• Use an engine swapped car to beat Group 1/2/3 cars at Watkins Glen International
  
  
  
• Compete in a custom race at Dragon Trail - Seaside with aero parts and wide tyre track width on your car
  
  
  
• P1 GT-R one make at Deep Forest Raceway - Full Course
  
  
  
• GT4 race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
  
  
  
• GT3 race at Dragon Trail - Gardens Reverse (Magny-Cours kind of circuit)

Here's the thread: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...d-things-to-do-in-gt7-browser-program.434843/

 

[Weaves1983]

Is the custom race limit 30?

 

[05XR8]

Is the custom race limit 30?

Race saves? Race saves are 50.

 

[Weaves1983]

Race saves? Race saves are 50.

Ah that’s right. Thought I saw 30 somewhere. Stinks we’re limited in how many race saves we can have

 

[CodeRedR51]

Ah that’s right. Thought I saw 30 somewhere. Stinks we’re limited in how many race saves we can have

I just save one for each series I do, then load it and change race details.

 

[Voodoovaj]

So the debate came up in the DLC thread.

To get more difficult/challenge out of Sophy, do you tune down, use a rabbit car, or just balance?

I go for balancing the cars and giving Sophy the best chance of winning. I avoid or boosting Sophy relative to me and boost/nerf Sophy relative to itself across cars. For example, I have a 90's LMGT race that has the old JGTC cars mixed with converted street cars. The downforce on the GR3 cars is much higher than the street cars, which really handicaps them. So, I give the high downforce cars 5-10pp extra to compensate.

Tires - Everything is on RH, except for the cars that come stock with RM. I find that there is simply too much variation with tire compounds and it messes with the racing. Sophy seems to be better with RH/RM tires with behavior that seems natural. Sorry to those who love the street tires, I feel ya, but for Sophy RH is simply the way to go for the best results.

For mixed fields, I try to eliminate any variation:
- Downforce is set the same
- PP target
- Weight and power are kept close, but not the same

For One Make racing, I try to maintain the same conditions:
- Downforce set the same
- PP target
- **Varied power and weight (emulates a mixed field)

I prefer this to other methods because it avoid having to change the set up of a car. I can use any car I like without touching the tune sheet. I pick a car, load the race, and go.

As for the "rabbit" technique, I simply haven't seen it create any noticeable effect. I find that the single most significant factor is the track, with the Japanese circuits resulting in the most challenging races, and Tokyo consistently being the most difficult. Not to mention, I have seen what appear to be the game assigning a rabbit.

I shared this is in the DLC thread, but it's a good for this discussion. I rebalanced this race, changing it from a 700pp race to a 650pp race, and it was MUCH improved.

Everything is tuned to 650 (649.99-650.01). Engine swaps allowed. Everything has 150 rear downforce. Everything has 0 front downforce, except for the Lamborghinis. I gave them 10 so I could shave off some horsepower. I ran this same race 5 times. Each time, a different car hit the front. One it was a 512, twice it was a Countach, and twice a BMW. Each time, one pulled away while the others chopped and changed position. This video is the only one where I finished near the front. Usually, I finished around 5th. Side note, if I take this set up to Barcelona, I do better. If I take it to Tokyo, I hate myself inside of 3 laps.

 

[CodeRedR51]

As for the "rabbit" technique, I simply haven't seen it create any noticeable effect.

I have. In my GT4 series if I get into the "lead" I can pull away from the rest of the field. Last night I did a Mustang Challenge race with no rabbit car and as soon as I got into the lead the field artificially sped up to stay with me.

 

[Bojador]

I use a rabbit and it's noticeable. I prefer the rabbit because it's easier to set up most of the time.