Long term car effects in Enduros?

[Cowie]

Hey all

It may have been because I was tired and wanted to go to bed for the first time in 2009 or because I didn't search hard enough, so I thought I would ask the question myself.

I have tried on a few occasions to complete the 24hr endurance races, and all of the time it results in me being extremely frustrated at my car and handing the reigns over to b-spec Bob.

When I try to drive the car after having a break at say, the 15hr mark for example, particularly at Le Mans, I feel that the car is practically impossible to drive. It darts of in random directions many a time and simply cannot stay in any form of a straight line on the mulsanne straight (Sure, this is a very bumpy piece of track, but the way the car drives at this point compared to the start of the race is very different in my mind).

What I was wondering was, is this something that other people have experienced and it is another facet to the "reality" of the Gran Turismo series? Or should I harden up and get used to it?

If possible for all the tuning geniuses out there, are there some particular settings that could be changed or race tactics etc. I could employ to lessen the effects on my driving and decrease the number of sporadic spinouts? I have tried a few different tuning sets and they dont seem to make much of a difference to my experience when driving at the 15hr mark etc etc.

I understand this may not even be a sensible thread, but If I could find any help it would be muchly appreciated.

Happy 2009 for you all, here's to a great year!

Cowie =)

 

[FLK]

This should be in the settings forum really, but anyway...

Chassis degredation will occur during all 24 hour races as you have witnessed. The main thing is to get a good all-round setup beforehand and then learn to adjust once the chassis goes. Even better if you can get an already worn version of the car you wish to use then test that out and base your setup on that. If your unsure of some of the settings see Scaff's tuning guide thread in the settings sub-forum, it will explain and demonstrate everything you need to know.

I found I had to adjust my braking i.e. do it earlier and more gently until I settled in with the change in handling. For example dusting off a little speed (throttle lift or dab the brakes lightly) on the approach to Mulsanne Corner can help settle the car out before going into heavy braking. Each car will be different however so you just have to find out the best approach. Once you've adjusted you'll quickly pick your original pace up again.

Obviously a poor setup is a bad idea in 24 hour races as it will usually only get worse after half distance, though it can make things more interesting especially when you've had a 787B/Sauber C9 not that far behind you for the last 15 hours.

 

[DVNTST8]

I know exactly what you mean.

I picked the Bentley specifically for the 'Ring 24hr, because although it had less power, it had smoother power delivery and handled a little easier in the Family Cup tests I did to pick a car.

I drove the 88C-V in the LeMans races, but at the 'Ring I wanted something I wouldn't have to fight all the way around the track.

Now, I'm 10.5 hours in, and the Bentley is squirrelier than the 88C-V was, after initially being much smoother.

But I got lucky, and I'm racing against all GT cars in this one.

Might take me another week, but I'll get 'er done.

 

[LolCats]

Usually you get lower HP and a ridigity refresh needed. The more aggressive you drive, (or b-spec bob in my case) your car will lose horsies to a extent that it can not lose anymore. Great fact that is the F1 car has already lost all possible HP when you get it so it can't lose Horsies.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

^ Rather, the F1 car does not age. At all. The chassis does not degrade and the power never drops.

 

[Cowie]

oops... i thought i was in the settings forum, no wonder i couldnt find it straight away

thanks folks, much appreciated.

 

[mafia_boy]

Just to let you guys know, when you are doing races with a new car, you'll find that you will need a chassis refresh after just 500 miles. My stock Spec-C which I used for all my special conditions has just over 820km (about 510 miles) and it needs the chassis refresh now.
And it doesn't always affect it, it will still go straight, but on Mulsanne you have to realise that the road is bumpy as and the bumps are what causes the car to go towards the wall whereas with a fully fresh car, it will ride over the bumps and still go straight.

 

[sukerkin]

Designing an endurance car from the outset to compensate for the detrimental effects of oil and chassis degradation is an interesting experiment in it's own right and is good advice.

However, as you're part way through (or were, you've probably finished by now ), the best thing to do is become aware of the 'danger points' on the lap and prepare for them. It's usually best to just slow down to give you a chance to correct any random bump-steering effects that take place.

Another thing to note is the effects of wear seem to be cyclical - by this I mean that the cars handling will be dire for a while, then get better, then become dire once more. This has been especially commented on at the Nurburgring 24 hour i.e. it's not just my imagination .

 

[Dotini]

Since it's known that the Polyphony Digital Formula Gran Turismo is the "gold standard" in the chassis degradation department, it might not be incautious to hypothesize that the Sony PlayStation C60 LMP would be a good candidate to experiment with to verify these effects in enduros. Indeed, the "Pesky" is fast enough to go toe-to-toe with the FGT, and gets absolutely amazing tire life on soft rubber. Is it one of those specially gifted "golden" cars in the game?

 

[Open Addict]

In my experience I would try and start the race with a little piggy.

Example taken from GTP Forums > Gran Turismo > Gran Turismo 4 > 200pt A-Spec Races> Endurance Events post #238

Sarthe 11 24hour Enduro 200 points

Weapon of choice black Mazda 787b

v's line up
Sauber
Nissan 92
Nissan 89
Jaguar
Minolta Toyota

Mov 27 laps (just wanted to make sure ) 451 completed

I have noticed a lot of people complaining about the car 'going away' in regards to handling. My 787b on the other hand, came better the further into the race i went. I was able to post my fastest lap time on lap 448. how odd......

The problem ( ) I had was the car got better further in to the race. I must have had a starting set-up that allowed the car to come to me during the race. 👍


However if you continue on the post, you notice that the Sarthe 1 race I competed in, my Nissan 390 started 'going off' about 12 hours in. Fastest lap completed on lap 26. currently lap 320 something and can only get with-in 2 secondes of fastest lap.

I't definately can cause a problem to your times or you could get lucky.