How about a "Virtual Track Day"?

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FastEddie12

FastEddie12

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I've had an idea:idea:



Update:The idea has become (virtual) reality...


We have a virtual track day, going from track to track each week, using "typical track day cars"(sic). The idea is to use road cars, lightly modded to a level that a track day addict would go to, that can still be used on the road (so no stage 4 turbos, no F/C trannies, that sort of thing).

I'd expect to see lots of Elises, Caterhams, Evos, TVRs, Corvettes, M3s, you know the sort of thing.

I'm thinking that you start off with a standard car with sports suspension and exhaust, and each week you can modify one part up one level, up to a pre-set maximum.

While times would be posted, and people will get competitive with each other (as at a real track day), it would be more about the car you bring and about how it's modified each week.

Oh, and maybe (although it would be unpoliceable) if you have a massive accident, the car gets written off and you try to defraud the insurance company! :dopey:

What do you think?

The rules so far:

Virtual Track Day Series​

A series of track days for lightly modded sports-biased road cars at various permanent tracks around the world.

Eligibilty:

Any road car in keeping with the Track Day theme.
4 door cars will have to be a distinct sports model of higher output than standard in order to be eligible (eg Type R Accords, M5, E55 AMG etc). This rule excludes most kei cars, except such as the Beat, Cappuccino and AZ-1.
No Concept cars, prototypes, ’tuning cars’ or racing cars.
The Volvo 240GLT is also banned as it is not in the spirit of the competition and it’s butt ugly.

Modifications:

Modifications will be strictly controlled according to the following rules:
The only tyre allowed will be the control tyre: S1.
All cars will start with a base setup as follows: sports suspension, sports exhaust, chassis refresh (optional), oil change and roll cage (opt).
At each track, competitors will be allowed one further modification of their choice, which must only be one level higher than the previous spec.
The following mods are not allowed: stage 4 turbo, no gearbox mods, no nitrous system S1 tyres only.
Budget Division cars will start with a stage 1 NA tune, unless they are turbocharged as stock, when they will start with a stage 1 turbocharger.
Budget Division cars will also start with a racing flywheel.

Divisions, Sub-Divisions & Classes:

There will be four divisions: 1) Classics Division (up to 1979)
2) Budget Division (1980-1989)
3) Modern Division (1990 on)
4) Millionaire’s Division (C 100,000+)

You may enter up to 3 cars but each must be from a different division. This is to promote diversity.

Each division may be divided into sub-divisions and classes, depending on demand. For a sub-division or class to be activated, there must be at least 4 entries. Any remainder will be eligible for the division points, but sub-division and class points will only be awarded if the sub-division or class is activated.

Points:

Place points will be awarded for the first six places in each division, sub-division or class: 1st place, 6 pts, 2nd place, 5 pts, 3rd place, 4 pts, etc, but you can only win one set of these points for each car. So a class winner does not collect more than 6 place points, even if he is also the fastest in the division.

There will also be overall division points awarded for the two fastest cars overall in each division: 2 points for 1st, and 1 point for 2nd.

Similarly, there will be 2 “FTD” points awarded to the person who puts in the “FTD” – Fastest Time of Day.
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Well, that certainly sounds like a bit of fun! The question is, how do you police the '1 mod per track' rule? I know that it's cheating, and that cheating takes the fun and challenge out of it, but people may do it. Maybe it should be open only to replay supported racers (or whatever it is). Or maybe a screenshot/digi-cam shot of the parts list, either from the set up menu, or the car specs screen, might be required as a form of scrutineering.

I would be keen to give it a go anyway, as I can supply a digi-cam shot to verify car setup.

Don't know about the insurance company bit though...
 
That would be interesting,but the problem is that i don`t have digi-cam or capturing device,but i am a honest man,so i do not cheat,and i want to participate.Say the regulations for cars.
Cheers!
 
I'm thinking of having a class system, divided up between age, weight and power. Thus you would have a class for Classics (pre '80), for used 80's cars (the cheap seats, if you like), and for the moderns. Then the moderns would be divided into lightweight and heavyweight (</>1000kg), and they in turn would be segregated by power (perhaps <249PS, 250<399PS, <400PS).

This would mean all the Lotus/Caterhams would have their own class, as would the 280PS Japanese, and there would be a class for the Supercars.

It would only be eligible for sports-biased road cars (so no Honda Odysseys:yuck: ), although we might have a special class for "hire cars", ie bog-standard, unmodified modern saloons :D. Absolutely no concepts, though, and race cars would just complicate matters further (though I know you do get them at a real track day).

Oh yes and tyres would start at N2 and go up to S1.

Not sure about policing yet, but your idea sounds good, Goose.
 
FastEddie12
The idea is to use road cars, lightly modded to a level that a track day addict would go to, that can still be used on the road (so no stage 4 turbos, no F/C trannies, that sort of thing).
Click to expand...
have you been to a proper track day?

you should go to one that isnt like one of these ferrari/porsche things and you wont believe what turns up :lol:

at our last one at knockhill there was a VW Scirocco turn up and it was DESTORYING modified elises and a 911 GT3RS, and at an other one there was a lightly modified skoda octavia vRS at anglesey and it was half a second slower round there than tiff got a lamborghini gallardo round there.
so if your going the track day addict way......then the cars wont be lightly modified ;)


*sorry if it sounded like i was getting on at you i didnt mean for it to come across like that* :)

p.s. the Honda Odyssey is bad ass :lol: who wouldnt want a 190mph MPV :lol:
 
If you want to make this competive, you can separate everyone by very strict classes. Then, the choice of upgrade every week really makes a difference.
 
maybe the classes should be derived from bog-standard power to weight? that way, as l2ev said, the upgrades would be all important.

Holdenhsvgtr - what he's trying to do, is get away from the usual OLR scene, and give it a different feel. Most of us would have been to a track day or two, and realise what sort of cars show up, I for one had the pleasure of taking a race-ready HQ and VN Commodore Saloon Car for a strap around Malalla (track that was near me at the time), and boy was THAT a blast!
 
FastEddie12
I've had an idea:idea:

We have a virtual track day, going from track to track each week, using "typical track day cars"(sic). The idea is to use road cars, lightly modded to a level that a track day addict would go to, that can still be used on the road (so no stage 4 turbos, no F/C trannies, that sort of thing).

I'd expect to see lots of Elises, Caterhams, Evos, TVRs, Corvettes, M3s, you know the sort of thing.

I'm thinking that you start off with a standard car with sports suspension and exhaust, and each week you can modify one part up one level, up to a pre-set maximum.

While times would be posted, and people will get competitive with each other (as at a real track day), it would be more about the car you bring and about how it's modified each week.

Oh, and maybe (although it would be unpoliceable) if you have a massive accident, the car gets written off and you try to defraud the insurance company! :dopey:

What do you think?
Click to expand...

My cars all have a setup like this. I call them "Street Version" as they have light modifications on them. Because I am a huge Track Meet racer, I do make alot of "Street Version" cars just to drive them for fun. :)

Now, as for your idea, I really like it. I will give it a try if some people are willing to do the same :)

As for gooseter said about replays and screenshots, I'm eligible to it because I have a TV Tuner with the PS2 locked on it :)
 
I will be getting a TV tuner of sorts this week, I saw one in my local computer shop today, it's a USB2 TV Port
 
Hey, this sounds pretty cool. I'm in as long as it's well organized and fun--and it looks that way so far!
 
gooseter
I will be getting a TV tuner of sorts this week, I saw one in my local computer shop today, it's a USB2 TV Port
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USB TV Tuner are weak man. Get a Leatek WinFast TV2000 XP, I have one. It's a pci card. You got FM radio, cables, antennas, remote control with the sensor, it's a real package deal. :)
 
Thanks for the responses, guys, I thought I had BO or something yesterday:sly:

OK, I'm going to go for this. We do need to sort some workable rules before we start, then a class/points system, and a calendar. Once we're all together, we'll be off! 👍 Once we've decided something, it'll go in the first post of this thread.

Holden, I know exactly what you mean. I'm considering allowing the 80s group extra modifications, making it a kind of dark horse. For example, most older, ratty cars you see are all roll-caged up, and tend to be (well, end up) very highly tuned. Maybe we have a "blow-up clause", where you can only use a very heavily modded car for 3 meetings...:D

Goose, I like the idea about basing classes on standard power and weight, I think that would push the competition in an interesting direction. 👍

I don't know if I made it clear, but when I say "one mod per week" the idea is you go up step by step, so your "one mod" can't be a step from stock to stage 3 turbo.:dopey:

What about limits on tuning, guys? I think no F/C tranny, but it's such a vital part of tuning that might be a very irritating handicap. How about close/super close trannies? People quite often change diffs and such IRL, so I don't think that's too outlandish. I think clutch/flywheel should be allowed as what they principally do is speed up the gearchange, which is too slow as stock anyway. I think chip, exhaust, porting, balancing and displacement should all be allowed, as should intercoolers. Wings? I'm pro wings, what do you guys think?

I'm not keen on NOS in circuit racing, but it might be fun to allow it in the '80s class. As I said before, I'd like to leave stage 4 turbos out, but I'm open to suggestion on that one. My big worry is that it would hand turbos a massive advantage. I'm not worried about limiting weight reduction: the last increment is so small people probably won't go for it anyway.

Chassis refresh and oil changes are maintenance and not mods, so they won't be part of the "one mod per week" rule. Roll cages are obviously in, but I don't think many would go for that as their mod. Maybe allow it from the start? Wheel rims are free, brakes are a pointless mod so you can have them. Anything else?

Any policing tips welcome, and thanks again for the response,

Ed
 
FastEddie12
Thanks for the responses, guys, I thought I had BO or something yesterday:sly:

OK, I'm going to go for this. We do need to sort some workable rules before we start, then a class/points system, and a calendar. Once we're all together, we'll be off! 👍 Once we've decided something, it'll go in the first post of this thread.

Holden, I know exactly what you mean. I'm considering allowing the 80s group extra modifications, making it a kind of dark horse. For example, most older, ratty cars you see are all roll-caged up, and tend to be (well, end up) very highly tuned. Maybe we have a "blow-up clause", where you can only use a very heavily modded car for 3 meetings...:D

Goose, I like the idea about basing classes on standard power and weight, I think that would push the competition in an interesting direction. 👍

I don't know if I made it clear, but when I say "one mod per week" the idea is you go up step by step, so your "one mod" can't be a step from stock to stage 3 turbo.:dopey: I would suggest a maximum of CASH on mods. I don't know if it can be done because the cost of the mods in GT are very costful.

What about limits on tuning, guys? I think no F/C tranny, but it's such a vital part of tuning that might be a very irritating handicap. How about close/super close trannies? People quite often change diffs and such IRL, so I don't think that's too outlandish. I think clutch/flywheel should be allowed as what they principally do is speed up the gearchange, which is too slow as stock anyway. I think chip, exhaust, porting, balancing and displacement should all be allowed, as should intercoolers. Wings? I'm pro wings, what do you guys think? I'd say no trannies at all. Clutch, flywheel and the rest allowed. Even close/super close trannies is an handicap.

I'm not keen on NOS in circuit racing, but it might be fun to allow it in the '80s class. As I said before, I'd like to leave stage 4 turbos out, but I'm open to suggestion on that one. My big worry is that it would hand turbos a massive advantage. I'm not worried about limiting weight reduction: the last increment is so small people probably won't go for it anyway. As everybody knows a little about me, they know I'm anti-NOS. lol

Chassis refresh and oil changes are maintenance and not mods, so they won't be part of the "one mod per week" rule. Roll cages are obviously in, but I don't think many would go for that as their mod. Maybe allow it from the start? Wheel rims are free, brakes are a pointless mod so you can have them. Anything else?

Any policing tips welcome, and thanks again for the response,

Ed
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Comments in bold :)
 
this sounds very interesting . . . :D . .

well maybe you just could give money each week . .

week 1 buy a car for 15'000 + spend 5'000 on parts
week 2 spend 10'000 on parts
week 3 spend 20'000 on parts
week . . . . you know what I mean . . I hope . . but you shouldn't know the amout of money you can spend next week . . so you can't plan your mods . .

(I'm not sure if you should be allowed to "safe" money for the next week though . . )

and later we just could buy more expensive cars and start all over again . . so you don't need all those classes . .

and it's kinda like you did start in this game . . .

edit: and why not an Honda Odyssey? . . the guy who would buy this one wouldn't be very fast the first few weeks . . but maybe he's gonna kick some ass a few weeks later . . could be fun!
 
I'm trying to avoid restrictions based on money, simply because at a real track day there is no cash limit on what people can spend. However there are (usually) time limits and practicality limits, especially with a dual purpose car, so I'm trying to replicate that with this system, while at the same time giving people a challenge to go for.

Also people tend to be quite 'reactive' with their tuning (IRL) - if they think an area needs improving, they'll improve it, week by week.

I also want the class system to throw up a few odd-ball cars, as you get at a real track day, rather than have everyone turning up in a Motorsport Elise, or whatever.
 
MugenVTEC
USB TV Tuner are weak man. Get a Leatek WinFast TV2000 XP, I have one. It's a pci card. You got FM radio, cables, antennas, remote control with the sensor, it's a real package deal. :)
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This one has FM radio, and remote control, for $150. How much is the Leadtek one that you're describing?

MugenVTEC
As everybody knows a little about me, they know I'm anti-NOS. lol
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I agree with MVTEC on this one, N2O shouldn't be allowed, as I don't think it is in the spirit of the competition.

It would seem that there is enough interest to perhaps run a test series, but before that could happen we would need to establish a ruling body of a few members to keep things organised, but ultimately it's FastEddie12's call obviously.
 
Also i would like to mention different class for Turbo and NA cars,i think that mix of cars in a class is some sort of unfair,if you want to NA tune your car you would have to spend more money,and i would personally (if competing) compete in NA tuned car.
 
good point you have there a112 abarth, although turbo cars and NA cars have their inherit advantages and weaknesses, I personally believe that if the cars are tuned within the constraints of the rules of the series <grammar??? then it *should* even out over the course of a lap.

I would suggest that it be run on a series of shorter tracks, with maybe 1 or 2 longer ones (eg. driving park, suzuka, tsukuba, tokyo etc.)
 
Thanks again, guys :cheers:

OK, NOS is definitely out; nice idea about the turbos, Abarth, I'd also like a separate class for FF (you'll be glad to hear, looking at your sig;)), as they have a severe disadvantage in GT4, and I'm sure people would like to use them. I've got to look at these classes though: if we end up with too many we'll be spreading ourselves too thin.

And yes a couple of "marshalls/stewards" to help out would be appreciated 👍 Volunteers please.

I think I'm pretty close to a full set of modding rules, just need to sort the classes. No time now, but will update the 1st post this evening (probably about 8 hours from now).

Cheers for your help again, everyone,

Ed
 
*puts hand up*

Can I volunteer?
 
gooseter
good point you have there a112 abarth, although turbo cars and NA cars have their inherit advantages and weaknesses, I personally believe that if the cars are tuned within the constraints of the rules of the series <grammar??? then it *should* even out over the course of a lap.

I would suggest that it be run on a series of shorter tracks, with maybe 1 or 2 longer ones (eg. driving park, suzuka, tsukuba, tokyo etc.)
Click to expand...

Again Turbo`s are superior on short tracks where the car uses it`s high rpm,that`s where comes that classification.It would be good though,but again i would also like to see the Nurb and some other technical courses!

Forgot to mention:i`m not big fan of FF cars,just some of them,but that kind of classification is also good 👍
 
Good point, I didn't think of that! Mind you if you gear an NA right, you can have it in the right part of the powerband just as successfully as a turbo, but the extra torque of the turbo would give it the advantage I guess

<edit> What do people think about the inclusion of the nurb? Any tracks you would like to see in?</edit>
 
i would agree with the no nos rule as the only car ive seen turn up to a trackday with nos was a halo spray and im pretty sure it would damage your engine during a trackday,due to high engine temps and constant use etc,
i would limit it to one set of S1 tyres which are simlier to toyo R888's which are popular trackday tyres,and i would say keep the standard gearbox on the cars as it isnt really that common for trackday cars to have the gearboxs messed with except from a short shifter,i would also allow clutch and flywheel upgrades and driveshafts as you would need to do these irl to cope with the extra power the cars will have :)
 
All good points there, but tyre wear wouldn't be a factor, as you will need to get out of the run and into set up mode to fine tune your settings. However a 'control' tyre of sorts is not a bad idea at all.
 
Sorry, did I not mention it? The Nurb is in. It was always in: it's the Ultimate Track Day Experience :D . Sadly we can't provide the buses, bikes and mad Germans to share the track with, but you can't have everything...:)

I figured that could be the last stop, and I was thinking real tracks in general (but that's not vital), starting with something small, like Tsukuba. I also wanted to include Laguna Seca, and I'm a big fan of Infineon Sportscar course (seems appropriate...). I want to try a 5 track series to start with, which I think Goose would agree with, and I'm a democratic kind of a despot, so suggestions welcome. Sadly we can't go to Brands, Cadwell or Oulton we're stuck with what we got, but we can still have some fun.

And thanks Goose, I was hoping you'd be putting your hand up:) welcome aboard! :cheers: BTW I'm pretty rubbish at computers:scared: , so if you can deal with the video and picture side of verification, I'd be grateful. I don't want to have a heavy handed approach to this, though, and I don't want to exclude those (like me :dunce: )who can't upload a video. I'm thinking entrants must provide a top speed figure from the test track along with exact set-up. This will give an idea of power that we can verify. Or maybe (and I'm making this up as I go along) a speedo figure from the end of the main straight? If they're cheating, I think it would show up :odd: . Do you do a lot of OLR?

No gearbox mods! I agree with that, for exactly the reasons Holden outlined. And I think a control tyre is probably a good idea for the short series, so that would be S1s! :cheers: Thanks Holden!

I'm going to do a bit of thinking about the classes, and see what I can come up with. We're nearly there guys! :sly: Circuit choices please...👍

Ed
 
This seems like a great idea, would be better if it was online :| Could have ACTUALY trackday meets.
 
Tsukuba
Nurburgring
Laguna Seca
Infineon Raceway
I would like the Motegi and Suzuka(high speed and techincal examination,i know that most of you don`t like these 2,but i think that these tracks are good for the above mentioned things)
 
i would say include the fuji gt track as a power track would be good to make it fair if someone brings along a high power car
 
Nurburgring is perfect for track day. IRL you can pay ~30 US dollars to drive on the track if there are no events. A good amount of annual fatalities result from this though.

Anyway...what mode will be used for the driving. The one selection is pretty much a track day, but if you have other cars on the track, that can affect times. (drafting, getting blocked) So for accurate times the only mode we can really use is practice.

As for classes, I think we should find out how many people are interested first. For the first series, we should only use 1 - 3 classes just for a test. We can get this started a lot faster if we just come up with a single first class to start a test, unless there are enough people to have multiple classes...

...Oh, and count me in.
 
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