Laguna 200

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Duke

Duke

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Well, much like Der Alta, I just spent an hour or more tuning and adjusting my car for this race, trying to reach a competitve selection.

And I got creamed. I gave up on it at 45 laps out of 90. The funny thing is, it was almost the slowest car there that was kicking my ass.

I wanted to use the Autobacs MR-S, because I haven't really driven it much, and it seems like a great car for this track. I loaded T4s, Turbo 1, and Turbo 2 onto the trailer and headed out. In my first qualifying session, with Turbo 1 on the car, I was turning 1':23.xxx" laps. The C5R was running about 2 seconds faster. Even with pits figured in, I can't win the race.

Next qualifying session, neither the Viper nor the C5R shows. With Turbo 2 / 512 hp, I'm about half a second behind the Esperante. So I started the race, and as I feared, I took the lead right away, and had a decent margin when the Esperante pitted out from behind me. This is 5 laps into a 90 lap race, and I didn't want to be lonely.

So I reloaded and rentered the race 10 times until I got the same field: Esperante, Lister, GT40, Vertigo, and CLK Touring Car. Back to Turbo 1 and 409 hp. A quick qualifier lands me in 4th, and running about 1-2 seconds behind the Esperante. Great! Competitive but winnable. I started the race.

All was well until I pitted on 10. There was lots of great close action and lead swaps, but at my pit, the Vertigo got by as part of a crowd. When some of them started pitting, he assumed the lead. And just kept walking away, lap by lap. I pitted again on 20 and fell farther behind. I pitted again on 30 and fell farther behind. The Vertigo just kept inching away, and he didn't pit until lap 37! At that point I caught up to within 20-odd seconds of him, but I had to pit again on 40, and I fell back to 45 seconds behind by the midpoint. He's probably only going to pit 1 more time to my 4 more pits! So I quit.

What a pain in the butt. I've never gotten 37 useful laps out of any tires on any car on any course... Which means I've got to go back to the extra power, and maybe step back to T3s. In which case I might as well tackle the Viper and C5R.
 
Weird...maybe the AI speeds up when it's in first or something? But that'd have to be specific to enduros...Weird.
 
I hate this race. I recently tried to race it with a 330HP Clio Race Car, but the AI cars wouldn't let me. Even though I had a lot less HP compared to them, they would still rear end me if I pulled ahead of them.

I run with no traction, or acceleration control of any kind, even limited slip differential settings, and I would spin out every time they would touch me.

I think I'll try it with the Tickford XR8. Stock, of course. Laguna is a track that needs a quick accelerating car. Tiny turbo jobbies aren't going to cut it I think. I think the job requires a car with a good V8 engine with normal aspiration, but nothing overkill. The XR8 seems like it would work fine. Heh, we'll see.

Edit: I just tried it with the CLK Touring Car, with stock setup, and T5's. I was racing in second place, about 3 seconds behind the C5R, with the Viper on my backside. I spun out when he bumped into me, and I feel to third place, about 13 seconds behind the C5R, and about 8 seconds behind the Viper.

The C5R pitted on lap 7, and the Viper pitted on 8, and I had to pit on 9. Both the Viper, and I, past the C5R as it pitted, but the Vertigo took over second place. Then the Viper pitted, and the Vertigo was in first, and I feel from second place to fourth place when both the Viper, and C5R, passed me when I pitted. The lead was held by the Vertigo when I gave up racing on lap 10. I hope that makes sense.

So, it sounds like it to me, that the CLK Touring Car is the car to use, with T2's maybe, if you want a close race. I didn't have the Tickford, so that might work too. I have to try it some other time.

Edit 2: I just bought the Tickford. I ran it with T2's in the front, and T4's in the rear. This was a perfect match. I pitted on lap 19. This will give 4 pit stops for the race. On my first pit, I was in second place, just 8 seconds behind the Viper which pitted every 7 laps. I would end up in first every time he pitted, so I think the Tickford set up this way would be a for sure win, thanks to the Viper's pit strategy, but it's a good challenge as well.

I ran the race without the C5R, but I imagine it has to pit so often, the Viper would beat it anyway. Since I think I can beat the Viper, I can beat the C5R if it happens to pop up. If not, I wont race against it. I'll do it solo against the Viper.

I'm on lap 19, and I'm going to quit. Paying over 1 million for this car just to run this one race doesn't seem like a smart idea. Especialy when I'm trying to save as much money for my last race. It's going to be the Formula GT race. I plan to buy all the F1s with the dual memory card trick, so back to the dealer it goes.
 
2 words, faster car.

I find the enduro's all easy, the only hard thing is the endurence part of it all, it can take ages for one race!
 
The point is to not drive something that will blow away the competition. I've got a dozen cars that would easily stomp the AI. But if I have to do 90 laps at any track, I want to be racing, not just sightseeing.

I thought about the Benz racer, but in qualifying the AI Benz was in the basement by a huge margin. I realize this is probably because the AI can't drive, but even so, I don't want to herd some barge around the track for 90 laps.

The MR-S racer was very comfortable at Laguna, and with 400 hp it would have owned the Panoz and everything else despite a big acceleration disadvantage. Except for a 37-freaking-lap pit schedule by the Vertigo.

Maybe I'll try the Vertigo... but I doubt I'll get that kind of mileage out of the tires, even on T2s. Besides, I like to pit a lot during enduros. Otherwise it gets lonely.
 
Originally posted by neon_duke


The MR-S racer was very comfortable at Laguna, and with 400 hp it would have owned the Panoz and everything else despite a big acceleration disadvantage. Except for a 37-freaking-lap pit schedule by the Vertigo.
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yeah....what a bluddy cheater....what kinda tyres are on these Ai cars?...

using a faster car Venom would only leave you bereft of a challenge....

you get more satisfaction using a car like the MR-S rather than humping the AI daft in your supra race car....
 
Originally posted by neon_duke
Besides, I like to pit a lot during enduros. Otherwise it gets lonely.
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You could just get ina faster car and slap on softer tires to force yourself to pit more often,..
 
Well, I was running T4s on the MR-S and pitting on a 10-lap schedule. I think I'll up it to the 500 hp Turbo 2, and reload until I get the C5R but not the Vertigo in the field. I don't think I could take the Viper, either, since it pits on an 8-lap schedule. Why people like the C5R over the Oreca GTS I'll never know, since the Viper is faster and easier on front tires.
 
Originally posted by neon_duke
Why people like the C5R over the Oreca GTS I'll never know, since the Viper is faster and easier on front tires.
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Viper is a lot more squirelly IMO. But most certainly much faster.
 
I find it very easy to drive quickly (well, what passes for quick in my hands, anyway). On the contrary, I don't get along with the C5R at all, particularly since the front tires are half dead by the time you leave the pit lane.

For the street version I like the Viper better too. I did a comp recently with about a 300 kcr budget for a fast lap at Apricot Hill, and I never got the Z06 to handle like the Viper GTS, either. I guess I'm just not a Bowtie kinda guy.
 
I dont lik ethe C5R....its pap....

there are plenty better cars out there...
 

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IMO,.. the Grand Sport (suprisingly) is a much better handling machiine than the Z06,...

And I hear what you say about C5R,... understeer is an understatement, lol.
 
I went into that race with my Tom's Castrol Supra. All stock. I spent quite some time tuning that car and wanted to try it out. put on T3's. The Viper was in the race so I knew it would be a tough one. Can't remember my pit strategy. I think I pit 1 less time than the Viper. My car stuck to the road like glue though and I ended up winning by almost a full lap. I then raced it again to run against the C5R. Same story.

P.S. The C5R is a great car just needs to be setup properly.
 
Why not just grab an F1 car and thrash the competition? at least thats what id do!!!
 
Originally posted by neon_duke
The point is to not drive something that will blow away the competition. I've got a dozen cars that would easily stomp the AI. But if I have to do 90 laps at any track, I want to be racing, not just sightseeing.
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Because I think it is stupid to waste an hour and 45 minutes of my time without trying to learn something from it and overcome some challenge.
:rolleyes:
Why would you get in an F1 and thrash the competition?
 
thrashing the competetion in a F1 car.. doing what ...wheelspining on their heads? What has the competition ever done to you aye?
 
i never said the competition had done anything to me, i just said the best way to win is with an F1 car.
 
Originally posted by nitro_2003
i never said the competition had done anything to me, i just said the best way to win is with an F1 car.
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No, that's the easiest way to win. It's also the most boring and pointless. Virtually anybody with 2 thumbs can do that. Like I said, if I have to do 90 laps in one go, I want it to be worthwhile doing.

The best way to win is with a very closely matched car that is barely ahead of the competition until the very end.
 
Originally posted by eddieturner2002
thrashing the competetion in a F1 car.. doing what ...wheelspining on their heads? What has the competition ever done to you aye?
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... glad you asked...
Let's see, Slam me into walls, push me off the track, spin me out(when drifting), ram me, brake early
all I can think of
 
I'd do it in an F1 the first time (Like I did) and then do it in some other car...last time I remember I did the enduro I used a stock Denso sard...it was in an old Gt.com competition and I think I came 2nd or first (to the Viper)...it was close though...I think.
 
i know what ur trying to do neon. can i suggest running ur 001 down to oil change levels and then doing the seattle formula gt race. it was the hardest race i ever managed to win. not least because of the AI's dubious pit strategy. i can't remember the exact details but i had to pit almost twice as many times as them cause they had more hp, and seemed to have better tyres. i was behind in like 3rd place until the last pit stop when i came out ahead with about 4 laps to go and ended up winning by 8 seconds. wikkid :)
 
Without gettng into too much detail such as pit strategy and exact set-ups and all, I found the JGTC NSXs to be the absolute best for enduro wins against any field 'cept the Miasmas at Apricot Pits, of course. It's not so far ahead that it's a walk in the park, but even relatively un-tuned, it can hold it's water against the American monsters and the Vertigo. Set-up can be adjusted according to the competition, all the way up to trouncing the prototypes at Monaco if need be, though it's close-ish for about the first third of that event. I'm just biased pro-NSXs, I suppose. Still, it's undeniable they handle easily, which is exactly what you need at Laguna Seca, so as to cut down on overall kitty litter time.

Incidentally, unless I'm running without a tire meter, I always use T2s.

Anyway, I find the Raybrig gets the best acceleration, oddly enough, though I'm tempted to say the Castrol is best overall, no particular reason why... Maybe 'cause it hasn't got a Crayola color scheme? Funny, they're all so closely matched (read: identical) in specs, but you can't tune them the same way.
 
Originally posted by Atomic Wedgie
Without gettng into too much detail such as pit strategy and exact set-ups and all, I found the JGTC NSXs to be the absolute best for enduro wins against any field 'cept the Miasmas at Apricot Pits, of course. It's not so far ahead that it's a walk in the park, but even relatively un-tuned, it can hold it's water against the American monsters and the Vertigo. Set-up can be adjusted according to the competition, all the way up to trouncing the prototypes at Monaco if need be, though it's close-ish for about the first third of that event. I'm just biased pro-NSXs, I suppose. Still, it's undeniable they handle easily, which is exactly what you need at Laguna Seca, so as to cut down on overall kitty litter time.

Incidentally, unless I'm running without a tire meter, I always use T2s.

Anyway, I find the Raybrig gets the best acceleration, oddly enough, though I'm tempted to say the Castrol is best overall, no particular reason why... Maybe 'cause it hasn't got a Crayola color scheme? Funny, they're all so closely matched (read: identical) in specs, but you can't tune them the same way.
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i actually attempted this with the RayBrig last night but abandoned after 10 laps....i find it a bit slippery with hard tyres i found it hard do gain any real distance on the C5R....

next time, i'll use the 787B :trouble:
 
I won the Laguna Seca Enduro in a stock Arta NSX.;)
 
Originally posted by Atomic Wedgie
Without gettng into too much detail such as pit strategy and exact set-ups and all, I found the JGTC NSXs to be the absolute best for enduro wins...
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That's true, and it's also the reason I'm not considering the Raybrig for Laguna so far: I've driven it a lot and have a lot of miles on it. In addition to looking for competition, I'm also trying to use as many different cars as possible, hopefully not using a given car for more than one series or enduro. That's why I'm not running my Oreca Viper, also, though it's one of my favorite cars.
Incidentally, unless I'm running without a tire meter, I always use T2s.
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I started that way as well, in the first 60% of the game. But I found it gets lonely and tends to lead to a lot of clock-racing. So for the last few enduros I've purposely run softer tires and tried to pit on a schedule that approximates the medium-hot AI cars. That's where the Vertigo bit me in the butt.

Thanks for all the input, gang!
 
I used the Vertigo with no upgrades, with the T2s. I was pitting every 14-15laps, and the Oreca Viper was doing so about every 8 laps. It didn't matter, the more powerful Oreca was still making up the time with faster laps because I chose such hard tires. I gave up at mid-way, I knew I couldn't catch that car.

Anyway, I gave it another go with T4's, and an NA Stage 1 upgrade. The Viper and I made it a much closer race, but his pit strategy was to pit every 6-7 laps, so it's hard to tell if that was closer racing. The race was over by lap 50, when I was now over 15 seconds ahead and the Oreca had just pitted.

As for the CLK Touring Car, he finished last (in the AI's hands) in the second raace I'd run. I found that silver car had spun out at least four times at that sharp final turn.
 
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