This is my first post in the forums i believe and i'd just like to start off by saying well done Scaff. That has to be the most comprehensive guide to tuning in GT4 i have seen to date. I take my hat off to you mate.
Thanks for the feedback IronM@ask and I'm glad you found the guides to be interesting and also that they have brought you to GTPlanet, easily the greatest single GT resource on Earth (even if we do say so ourselves) and a damn nice place as well.
I do have a couple of questions regarding the initial layout and default settings of the car/s in the example.
1. I'm not sure if I read over this part or not, but a quick skim back through the guide failed to reveal. In the initial "default" setup of the M3, were the Driver Aids turned on or off?
As I'm at work at present I can't check if I specifically said it in the guide or not, but all my tuning is done without driver aids at all.
They have a major effect on the cars behaviour, particularly ASM (and to a lesser degree TCS), which will make the effects of tuning very difficult to read and can lead you down 'wrong' paths.
2. In addition, do you advocate the leaving on/turning off of the ASM and TCS on every car before attempting a tune?
As you can probably guess from my reply above I advocate turning them off for every car, I tuned the TVR Speed 12 and Alpine A310 with no driver aids so it perfectly possible to work with even the most unruly cars with a decent set-up and a modicum of driver ability (particularly throttle control in the case of the Speed 12).
3. In your M3 CSL example you have not performed any of the "power" or "weight" modifications. If one was to make additional power and weight reduction modifications, would this change the characteristics of a car to the extent that it would require a "start from scratch" approach to the tune? Or would the previous settings hold true to the car no matter what the changes in BHP or weight?
I do say (if I recall correctly) at the end of the second example (guide 2) that changes to the power and/weight of a car may require a change in set-up, it does to a degree depend on the nature and extent of the changes and the car itself.
Certainly a major boost in power will require some work, but you will normally find the most work is often required from a big change in weight (as it effects the suspension settings so much).
I always try and plan out any mods to a car and build from that point, with practice you can start to see patterns of cause and effect. For example weight reduction very often will require a reduction in spring rate, damper values and stabilisers, not because you want the car softer but because the reduction in weight effects the balance between suspension and the car (spring rates that are soft on a 2000kg car will be stiff for a 1000kg car).
I ask these questions because I am trying to perform a tune, following your method, on the first car I bought in GT4. It is a Toyota STARLET Glanza V '97 with absolutely every modification money could buy. As you might imagine it handles like crap lol. Even my B-Spec driver (Skill: Overall 7292; Machine 90; Course 72; Battle 72) can't keep the bloody thing on the track through corners, preferring to power on out into the sandtraps mid corner.
I began the tune by removing every "removable" modification I had made, then making a start on tuning using the method outlined in the guide. I then stopped and thought that maybe this was pointless as when I put all the power mods back on it would change the handling completely.
Anyway, thanks again for writing the fantastic guides and I look forward to your answers to my questions. Maybe after I sort these issues out I will be able to provide some good tuning examples of my "maxed out" machines for the GTPlanet community.
Thanks, IronM@sk
Maxed out tuning is always a challenge and with certain cars (in particular FWD ones) a lower limit will often be the quicker option, its hard to say specifically as it varies form car to car, but I would always advocate building the car in stages and tuning as you go. It may take longer but you almost always get the result you are after.
Regards
Scaff
👍 5 star guide
tune my mazda for full speed help 
great job
