PD CUP in a 300ZX TwinTurbo 2by2

[Smallhorses]

OK, if you're one of those folks obsessed with thrashing the competion by miles, keeping a 100% win ratio or doing the 229 Day thing, look away now. This write up is not for you.

If, however, you've enjoyed the excitement of reading one of the PD cup reviews by Neon_Duke, Der Alta, Mustang-Man, etc and are into seriously challenging racing then, strap yourself in, and be my guest as I take you through my hardest and yet most enjoyable run of the Polophony Digital Cup yet.....

On my old mem card, I've got a Nissan Z concept, Jag XKR and Skyline R33 GT-R with 520 miles on from running this, but they all seemed to eclipse the competition after the 2nd round of pit stops and I'd end up running the last few laps miles out in front on my own.
I'd already done this championship on my exisiting memory card in the S2000 Type V and while it was a challenge, I was still finishing somewhere around 10 and 50s in front of the competition. I wanted some more excitement. (I also needed to complete my F1 collection without having to wait for 100% complete, so I was hoping to win F094/S ) Looking at the Power to weight ratio of a car in the dealer is generally a good way to go, and since for PD cup the rest of the field is generally populated with Japanese cars like the RX7 or Skyline which post about 4.5 - 4.9 PWR, I'd figured the S2000 at 5.1 would be tricky. Even that proved not to be nail-biting enough and I went off in search of something else. That's when I came across Nissan's Fatboy. 💡
At 1580kg, the 2by2 version of the 300ZX is heavier than most Skylines!
It also comes with only 276HP, (some cars say 276 in the dealer and have greater than 300HP when you get them home!) which gives a PWR of 5.724.
So I bought a black 300ZX TwinTurbo 2by2 and christened it Fatboy.
As its a 500 mile + series, I decided to begin with to give the car a bath and some new oil. This done, I went to see who'd like to earn some easy money by racing the Fatboy. Looking shiny & black with the Gold 5-spoke wheels with Silver rim from OZ racing, I arrived at Trial Mountain with 281HP and PWR of 5.662.
I fitted it up with some T2 Super-slicks, turned off ASM and TCS completely ('cos I always race without them. Its all down to driver skill now!)

Sitting at the back of the grid for the first race, my competition filled in the spots in front of me.

1) Toyota Supra RZ(J) according to dealer has PWR of 4.631
2) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec II(R32,J) according to dealer has PWR of 4.885
3) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR(J) according to dealer has PWR of 4.358
4) Subaru Impreza 22B-STi Version(J) according to dealer has PWR of 4.379
5) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec(R33,J) according to dealer has PWR of 4.904

Looked like a nice bunch of guys, and an all Japanese flavour to the championship.
Even though I was giving away over 1 whole point of PWR to 3 of the competiors cars it looked as though it was Game-On!
(I did reload a few times to get contestants that'd be close enough to keep up with, knew from past experience that the Nissan Z concept, NSX, or Elise 190 would just trounce the Fatboy hands down!)

Trial Mountain II (20 Laps)

Chose not to qualify, as I knew it would be fruitless, even starting at the front of the grid, in an FR car with no TCS I knew I'd get smoked by the 4WD competitors right away. Also assumed the Supra which was 70kg lighter than the Fatboy would have TCS on and leave me for dead of the line too! So as the lights went green for the 1st time in 10, I was left in 5 puffs of tyre smoke as they piled off into the 1st bend.... (and besides, Fatboy wasn't quick enough to qualify 1st! )

OK I'm not going to carry on in this longwinded way for 20 laps of each race or it'll be Christmas by the time I'm done, and as I write I'm itching to get back to racing instead of typing! Suffice to say I'll post the results as they came in and any interesting points from each race!

On a 1 stop strategy at trial mountain I was able to swap the lead with the Supra and R33 Skyline a few times during the race They stopped after 5 laps each, and R33 Skyline after 6laps. R32 Skyline & Evo VI were noticably quicker for 1st 3 laps, but pitted after a much slower lap each on lap 4, which allowed the rest of us to catch up. On lap 15 after pitting again for tyres the Supra & Impreza surrendered the lead and 2nd place to the Fatboy and R33 Skyline, but as R33 Skyline pitted on lap 18 he was passed by the Supra. Supra was gaining hand-over-fist on me after their last stop but was able to remain as a cucumber and put in some clean laps on degrading tyres to win by a slender margin.

Results for Race 1 (Cumulative points follow in brackets)

1) Nissan 300ZX TwinTurbo 2by2(J) 34'12.132 (10)
2) Toyota Supra RZ(J) +4.670s (6)
3) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec(R33,J) +17.580s (4)
4) Subaru Impreza 22B-STi Version(J) +19.493s (3)
5) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR(J) +51.380s (2)
6) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec II(R32,J) + 51.623s (1)

Midfield Raceway II (20 Laps)

A relatively uneventful race in which the same pit strategy as the previous race led to another win for the Fatboy, except the R33 Skyline wasn't able to capitalise on the Impreza's 3rd stop and settled for 4th place. (I did reload and restart this race, as the 1st time I was unceremoniously dumped off the track at the tight hairpin by one of the Skylines 🤬 and lost a lot of time! Since the races are so close in the Fatboy, it has to be 20 near perfect laps to even come close to finishing 1st so I decided to only count unforced errors against me.) I got a much better idea of things to come from this race, as the gulf in straight line speed between me and them became more apparent down the long straight.

Results for Race 2 (Cumulative points follow in brackets)

1) Nissan 300ZX TwinTurbo 2by2(J) 29'30.281 (20)
2) Toyota Supra RZ(J) +9.064s (12)
3) Subaru Impreza 22B-STi Version(J) +11.966s (7)
4) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec(R33,J) +23.604s (7)
5) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR(J) +52.777s (4)
6) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec II(R32,J) + 56.470s (2)

That's all for now folks , will post the rest of this story later on.... Wife has just called to say she's out shopping and drinking after work with her mates, so it sounds like its time to put in another 2hr run around Rome in the Mini. I'll take notes this time so I can post it, now I know there's other people out there who're interested in good racing experiences.

 

[Smallhorses]

Back again! Did the 2hr Rome Enduro, damned 206 put me into a wall about 4 laps from end and I lost precious seconds on the BMW. Finished 1.560s behind him after 2hrs. GRRRRRRRR! Still, means I have to do it again now to try and grab that Delta Rally car!

Anyway. Rome enduro leads me nicely into 3rd PD cup race in the Fatboy, as it was Rome II.

Rome II (20 Laps)

Rome II hasn't ever been a favourite of mine, but I was able to keep up with the pack reasonably well once they started to wear their tyres out. Someone needs to have words with those AI Skylines again though as they were barging everyone in this race! Interestingly the Impreza was the quickest AI car in this race, leaving the Supra some 9s in his wake. Same pit strategies as before for everyone.

Results for Race 3 (Cumulative points follow in brackets)

1) Nissan 300ZX TwinTurbo 2by2(J) 34'32.188 (30)
2) Subaru Impreza 22B-STi Version(J) +5.381s (13)
3) Toyota Supra RZ(J) +14.924s (17)
4) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec(R33,J) +36.219s (10)
5) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR(J) +55.259s (6)
6) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec II(R32,J) + 56.592s (3)

Special Stage Route 5 II (20 Laps)

Don't know what it is about this track, either I'm really quick round here, or the AI is just super-slow (suspect the latter!) After 3 races which were fairly close, the biggest margin of victory being 9s so far, I was expecting another close race to the line with the Supra or Impreza shaving seconds off my lead in the final 5 laps. Not the case at all. Trailed the pack round the 1st lap thanks to the inevitable wheelspin off the line, but was right with them by turn 1 of lap 2. Passed everyone except the Supra by the end of lap 2 and left them trailing for the rest of the race. Won by my biggest margin, but definitely the least exciting race.
The oil light came on at some point in this race, but I don't remember which lap.

Results for Race 4 (Cumulative points follow in brackets)

1) Nissan 300ZX TwinTurbo 2by2(J) 33'28.146 (40)
2) Toyota Supra RZ(J) +49.653s (22)
3) Subaru Impreza 22B-STi Version(J) +53.645s (17)
4) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec(R33,J) +56.316s (13)
5) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR(J) +1'16.945s (8)
6) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec II(R32,J) + 1'25.745s (4)

Seattle II (20 Laps)

With the oil light on the HP was back down to 276 and the PWR back to 5.724, so things were going to be tougher from here on in. What I wasn't expecting was for the Supra to take off like a Greyhound on Steroids with the Impreza in hot pursuit.
Also they sprang another surprise, instead of pitting on lap 5 as they had done in every other race, the Supra went for new shoes after 7 laps and the Impreza at lap 8. R33 Skyline went in at lap 9. With a 4th place looming large after I stopped on lap 10, I decided to restart and qualify, no chance, I was struggling to keep in the 1'49s while the Supra is constantly posting high 1'46s! Still couldn't keep up and I restarted again, figuring the only way to stand a chance in this one was to pray the tyres would go the full 20 laps without a change. Seemed to working OK, though once again I spent a good deal of time leaving paint on the barriers thanks to a well timed nudge or 2 from the Skylines and the Impreza.
By lap 18, the Supra and Impreza had finished their 2nd and final pit stop and were carving huge chunks out of my already slender lead as I struggled with front tyres which were rapidly becoming red. My lap times dropped progressively from constant 1'50s to 1'51, then 1'52 and finally on lap 20 with virtually no grip left at the front a 1'55. As the Supra started Lap 20 stuck like glue to my back end, I had no choice but to let him by as I ran wide for the 1st sharp left after the chicane. I finished the lap by holding a tight line through the final double-apex left and avoiding contact with the barrier as the front end slid out to sneak home in 2nd place, just 4/10ths of a second in front of the Impreza who'd started the lap about 4.5s behind the Supra! All in all a good race, right down to the wire, and although I didn't win it, it was a hell of a lot more fun than the SS5 race previously.
The Evo VI's strategy seemed to work better in this race as he romped home in 4th ahead of the Skylines.

Results for Race 5 (Cumulative points follow in brackets)

1) Toyota Supra RZ(J) 37'07.587 (32)
2) Nissan 300ZX TwinTurbo 2by2(J) +4.017s (46)
3) Subaru Impreza 22B-STi Version(J) +4.490s (21)
5) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR(J) +27.143s (11)
4) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec(R33,J) +51.301s (15)
6) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec II(R32,J) + 1'20.760s (5)

Another 5 races to come soon. But that's all for now! Writing these things up takes ages doesn't it!!!

 

[Smallhorses]

Apricot Hill II (20 Laps)

After the disappointment of Seattle II the Fatboy arrived at Apricot Hill with a point to prove. As this track is a bit of a tyre muncher, the Supra and Impreza were up to their usual tricks of stopping every 5 laps, so it was back to the old Hare and Tortoise game again! After 15 laps I'd passed the Supra while he was in the pits and he came out on a mission. Took seconds out of me with every lap, but I held onto some hair-raising slides out of a few of the bends on the last couple of laps as the tyres wore down to finish a little over 6s ahead. Further back, the R33 Skyline did his best to pull off a coup and finish in front of the Impreza, they finished only 0.059s apart, but in the Impreza's favour at the finish line. Meanwhile the EVO VI's 3 lapper strategy left him trailing the field and meant that the R32 Skyline didn't collect the wooden spoon for the first time.

Results for Race 6 (Cumulative points follow in brackets)

1) Nissan 300ZX TwinTurbo 2by2(J) 33'17.202 (56)
2) Toyota Supra RZ(J) +6.221s (38)
3) Subaru Impreza 22B-STi Version(J) +24.510s (25)
4) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec(R33,J) +24.569s (18)
5) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec II(R32,J) + 1'09.885s (7)
6) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR(J) +1'35.733s (12)

Deep Forest II (20 Laps)

Best race of all of them for a super close finish, but thanks in part to a stupid mistake by me in spinning the Fatboy between the 2 tunnels with sharp left turns on about lap 12. Was able to pass Supra when he pitted for the last time, but he took so much time out of me in the last couple of laps that the MOV for this race was under a second, but I hasten to add, with no blocking or veering involved.
The shortness of Deep Forest track meant that the Supra and Impreza used their usual 3 stop strategy , but every 6 laps instead of 5, while the R33 Skyline was able to go 8 laps between stops. I pitted at lap 10 and span out while I was warming up the 2nd set of tyres! Thanks to his 2 stop strategy, the R33 Skyline posted his best finish in this race, just 2.9s off the winning time.

Results for Race 7 (Cumulative points follow in brackets)

1) Nissan 300ZX TwinTurbo 2by2(J) 30'08.258 (66)
2) Toyota Supra RZ(J) +0.472s (44)
3) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec(R33,J) +2.982s (22)
4) Subaru Impreza 22B-STi Version(J) +12.260s (28)
5) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR(J) +32.317s (14)
6) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec II(R32,J) + 1'03.120s (8)

Special Stage Route 11 II (20 Laps)

Another let down for the Fatboy, and this time I had to settle for 3rd place as there was no way on earth I could keep up to the Supra and Impreza in this one.
I again went with a 1 stop race, and they stuck to the 3 stops, every 6 laps format. Knew this was pear-shaped when I was 9s back from Supra by the end of lap 2! And he'd worked his way through the field after starting 4th!
As this began to look like a race between the Eastbourne Zimmer frame relay team and the US olympic relay team, I early on knew that 3rd was the highest I'd probably get, and I'd have to work at that! There's just something about tracks with Armco around them that Skylines love, not for the racing, but because they got something to bounce off, and something to bounce you off too! Passed the R33 in several places during this race, cleanly under braking for a few bends and in just about every case he ploughed me into the barriers at the next turn!
An eventful race nonetheless, the Supra romped home in 1st, followed by the Impreza, and I managed to stave off the attentions of the R33 Skyline sufficiently to clinch 3rd place.

Results for Race 8 (Cumulative points follow in brackets)

1) Toyota Supra RZ(J) 48'02.686 (48)
2) Subaru Impreza 22B-STi Version(J) +18.021s (34)
3) Nissan 300ZX TwinTurbo 2by2(J) + 23.924s (70)
4) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec(R33,J) +27.823s (25)
5) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR(J) +1'05.177s(16)
6) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec II(R32,J) + 1'13.193s (9)

Grand Valley Speedway II (20 Laps)

What more can I say? I love this track to bits. Always have, always will.
Gave another excellent close finish, but with a surprise challenger. This time it was the Impreza that excelled round here, a bit of a surprise after the sharp turns of SS11 that I'd thought would suit the 4WD car more, and the smooth turns of GVS on which I was expecting a stiff race from the Supra.
As it was, the 3 of us battled our way from the back of the grid to cover 1-2-3 in under 5s at the flag. Meanwhile, once again the EVO VI's amusing 3 laps then pit strategy left the R32 Skyline to avoid making it 8 out of 9 booby prizes!

Results for Race 9 (Cumulative points follow in brackets)

1) Nissan 300ZX TwinTurbo 2by2(J) 45'27.619 (80)
2) Subaru Impreza 22B-STi Version(J) +1.326s (40)
3) Toyota Supra RZ(J) +4.532s (58)
4) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec(R33,J) +29.156s (28)
5) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec II(R32,J) + 1'11.205s (11)
6) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR(J) +1'15.290s (17)

Tokyo R246 II (20 Laps)

I was expecting this to be another toughie, with the Supra leaving us all to gape in awe at how quickly he could blast through the fast twists and turns of Tokyo.
In the end, this turned out to be a stroll, thanks to the AI's inability to avoid crashing into the wall on the penultimate turn before the start/finish straight.
I could have gone for the save/reload to guarantee the F094/S at this point, but I wanted to finish this race so that Fatboy could sit proudly near the top of the garage when sorted by mileage, just below the 4 F1s sitting there at over 900 miles each. In the end (and this'll give you an idea how much patience I have, and my wife for that matter!) I won a damned Escudo. So I exited, reloaded & raced again. A GT-One. D'oh. 4 more attempts gave another Escudo, another GT-One and 2 Speed 12s. Bummer. That's 6 attempts at a 41 minute race!
So eventually to preserve domestic relations I opted for save/reload tactic and decided I'd like to have the Red/White F094/S as I've the 2-tone Blue/White one on the other mem card, and have had the Black one and Black/Yellow one on my 1st 2 runs through GT3. 9 reloads later the right car appeared, and very sweeeeet it looks too! The results for the 1st of those 6 races follow.

Results for Race 10 (Cumulative points follow in brackets)

1) Nissan 300ZX TwinTurbo 2by2(J) 41'05.374 (90)
2) Subaru Impreza 22B-STi Version(J) +12.809s (46)
3) Toyota Supra RZ(J) +25.348s (62)
4) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec(R33,J) +34.940s (31)
6) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR(J) +1'16.948s (19)
5) Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec II(R32,J) + 1'18.993s (12)

 

[Smallhorses]

EPILOGUE

Felt sorry for the Fatboy, as it wasn't his fault that I had now only posted about 456 miles in him and accepted a 70% win ratio for the series in order to get the right car. So I indulged him, at the cost of a GT3 day I re-entered the last race at Tokyo R246 II and said I'd run the race as he was (no oil change or cleaning) and accept whatever field popped up, even if he did get trounced.

This is how it went.... I knew that hitting 500 miles at somepoint in this race was going to drop the HP to 274 so it was going to be exciting anyway!

As it was, I lined up at the back of the grid behind:-

1) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR (pitted every 4 laps)
2) Mazda RX-7 Type RZ (pitted every 6 laps)
3) Subaru Impreza WRX STi (pitted every 4 laps)
4) Chevrolet Camaro SS (pitted every 4 laps)
5) Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R (pitted every 6 laps)

I started out and was left for dust by the field down the main straight into turn 1. Again the AI insisted in crashing them all into the wall on the penultimate turn of the lap so I was able to gain some time each lap there by keeping it clean.
Even so, the Camaro SS was carving out a substancial lead but pitted on lap 4, allowing the RX-7, Mustang and Fatboy to pass him. He was soon out again and snapping at my heels, and he passed me by the time the RX-7 and Mustang pitted on lap 6. His lead extended over next 2 laps, but he pits again at lap 8 with only a 7 or so second lead, so I passed easily. I pitted myself at lap 10 and fell in behind the Camaro SS, RX-7 and Mustang. After they all pitted again at lap 12 it was plain sailing from there as I cruised to the chequered flag with the Camaro gaining massively over 4 laps but then falling back after he made another stop at lap 16 and handed 2nd place to the Mazda and 3rd to the Mustang. As they pitted on lap 18, the Camaro was able to pinch back 3rd place from the Mustang, while the 4WD Japanese entrants fought for scraps at the tail end of the field.
After doing this race 6 times and improving my Tokyo II laps, I finished in 40'52.823, some 12.5s faster than the first race result I posted for the last race before. (Incidentally best time out of the 6 previous attempts was 40'38.xxx when I got into a serious hot-lap rut and managed to avoid swapping paint with Skylines or barriers!)

Results for Fatboy's final race

1) Nissan 300ZX TwinTurbo 2by2 40'52.823
2) Mazda RX-7 Type RZ +35.742s
3) Chevrolet Camaro SS +44.668s
4) Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R +47.452s
5) Subaru Impreza WRX STi +1'25.104
6) Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR 1'26.314

Fatboy has now had a wash and new oil, sits proudly below the F1s (and the 63HP Mini Cooper I did every non-rally race in Arcade mode in, , which has over 700 miles on it!), with 288HP, PWR of 5.426 and 522.0 miles on the clock.

What a Star!

Now then. Anyone got any good ideas what I should try it in next? Just for SAG.
Has anyone out there ever won it in an FWD car? I'm sort of thinking the Integra Type-R may have a chance against the right competition, although I've tried Trial Mountain enduro in an ITR and it seems to get left behind quite quickly.

PM me or post ideas on here & I'll have a crack at it.

 

[Famine]

Has anyone out there ever won it in an FWD car? I'm sort of thinking the Integra Type-R may have a chance against the right competition, although I've tried Trial Mountain enduro in an ITR and it seems to get left behind quite quickly.

Yes. Me.

I got the Integra Type-R to finish second, behind the lead Supra but crucially on the same lap, on the Trial Mountain 2 hour race too.

On one of those days I wasn't busy doing the 229 Day thing...

 

[Smallhorses]

Yes. Me.

I got the Integra Type-R to finish second, behind the lead Supra but crucially on the same lap, on the Trial Mountain 2 hour race too.

On one of those days I wasn't busy doing the 229 Day thing...

Sweet. Was it the ITR that you used?
What was the competition? Did you win every race?
Or did you fall foul of SS11 and Seattle as well?
Can you remember what sort of average lap times you were posting in the Trial Mountain race?

As I said before, Godlike status reaffirmed Famine!

Where in Yorkshire are you? I'm a Cheshire lad from Northwich originally, but am soaking up the sun in California now!

 

[Famine]

Oh Seattle I got absolutely kicked on. SSR5 is the easiest to win.

If the Z Concept is there, forget it. Go have a coffee or something, because you're not coming back from that... I can't recall lap times offhand, but I seem to remember sticking the first seven race times into the GT3Times database. I'll not check, because if I'm not in bed in the next 10 minutes, I'll be dead.

I'm in the bit of Yorkshire 240 miles south of it... But my home (spiritual and my dad still lives there) is Sheffield. I'm an Owl, for reference

Northwich to California... Any reason? Got room for a lodger?

 

[Smallhorses]

Northwich to California... Any reason? Got room for a lodger?

There are many!

Mainly the pay is better here, rain is almost unheard of between April & November,
there are mountains for snowboarding in, driving a Miata with the top down on the Pacific coast highway is fun, and 5500 miles is a safe distance to support Northwich Victoria from without getting ridiculed!!!

 

[Smallhorses]

Oh, and my birthday is July 4th, I get the whole country to help me celebrate with fireworks and all, and I'm guaranteed never to have to work that day 'cos its a national holiday here!

 

[Andrew R]

Really good write-up smallhorses. Sounds like you had a lot of fun. I am dreading doing this championship. I think i will just trounce the competition in my 1st run of the championship and then look for challenges but I am nowhere near the level where you and famine and a lot of the guys are around here. I can only just beat the ameature leagur japanese GT in a stock tickford falcon but I bet you guys could slaughter the competition. Oh well, more practice for me.

- Andrew

 

[Smallhorses]

Really good write-up smallhorses. Sounds like you had a lot of fun. I am dreading doing this championship. I think i will just trounce the competition in my 1st run of the championship and then look for challenges but I am nowhere near the level where you and famine and a lot of the guys are around here. I can only just beat the ameature leagur japanese GT in a stock tickford falcon but I bet you guys could slaughter the competition. Oh well, more practice for me.

- Andrew

Thanks!
If you want an easy ride in this championship, use your Nissan Z Concept with Super-Slick (T2) tyres and an oil change. It's gentle enough on tyres that it will run most of the races without pitting and you'll beat the competition on this fact alone. Even if you aren't putting in hotlaps every time, if you can lap within 2 or 3s per lap of the leaders and keep the car on the road you'll win it easily.
Hope this helps and you get the F094/S first try, and you're not cursed with an Escudo!

 

[Der Alta]

Really good write-up smallhorses. Sounds like you had a lot of fun. I am dreading doing this championship. I think i will just trounce the competition in my 1st run of the championship and then look for challenges but I am nowhere near the level where you and famine and a lot of the guys are around here. I can only just beat the ameature leagur japanese GT in a stock tickford falcon but I bet you guys could slaughter the competition. Oh well, more practice for me.

- Andrew

DOn't dread this competition, it can be the funnest in the entire game.

In respect to the AI in amateur being impossible, they're not. THe secret is to know that they cheat. While beginner is set to use less than full throttle, the game designers wanted you to learn the tracks. In amateur, they wanted you to learn how to drive. In Pro, they wanted to challenge you with everything you've learned.

Yes, the Amateur AI cheat. THey're given a "boost" to stay within a few second of you. Run a race and lose. Note the time the AI post. Run it again with an insanely fast car, note the AI time. You'll see an amazing difference. Yet, when reviewing the AI (Via sharkport and MK's) they aren't anything out of the ordinary. In fact, people have taken identical car set-ups as the AI and not been able to come to a tiem anywhere close to the AI's. When in only a moderatly faster car than the AI (Such as the TIckford), they will only get a boost to stay within a few seconds of you. SO when you loose precious time by bumping a wall, they're all over you.

The key to having fun in the Amateur league, is to learn to drive the tracks properly. This will save you huge headaches. By driving the tracks very clean, you'll easily out drive the competition. You'll not win by huge margins, but you'll win. [insert Vin diesel quote here].

Now, on to Smallhorses write-up. Excellent. I've been looking for a fun car to run this in, again. I've run it in a handful of cars, and usually have the series wrapped up. I can honestly say I've driven the Tokyo Race less times than I have fingers on my hand. I'll have to take the Fatboy out and see how much fun he is to drive.

Looking forward to it.

AO

 

[Old Geezer]

Excellent Write-Up(s) Smallhorses:
GREAT to find a new "Kindred Spirit" who enjoys a "Real Race" or two!!! 👍...UB57

 

[Der Alta]

Well, I had a go at this earlier this morning. Jumped in the fatboy and took a shot at Deep Forest 2. Was holding right with the Skyline when he pitted on lap 14. I was unable to hold the lead up at the last corner. Lost it coming, due to my front left beiing spent.

Due to other distractions, I gave up at that point and shut it off.

An excellent write-up, and one that certainly bears further investigation.

Cheers

AO

 

[Duke]

Really good write-up smallhorses. Sounds like you had a lot of fun. I am dreading doing this championship. I think i will just trounce the competition in my 1st run of the championship and then look for challenges but I am nowhere near the level where you and famine and a lot of the guys are around here. I can only just beat the ameature leagur japanese GT in a stock tickford falcon but I bet you guys could slaughter the competition. Oh well, more practice for me.

No! Don't give up or sell yourself short. First off, the Amateur All-Japan GT has the most annoying and difficult and cheating AI of any series in the whole game. The "catchup boost" they get is legendary. I needed a Viper Oreca to win there. For reference, I'm usually near the bottom of any OLR competition: after playing for 18 months I'm still firmly in the lowest tier of the Weekly Series ladder.

The PD Cup is pure fun. If you want a guaranteed win, take the 350 Z or maybe an RX-7 RS. It's a little more fight in the SVT Mustang, which is what I used, but I won easily (2nd place at R246 and one other due to dirty oil). It's been done in the Elise 190 and the ZZ-S; I'll probably try it in the RX-7 Infini next time.

No need to bore yourself by using the GT One road car... good luck!

 

[Duke]

Well, I auditioned a number of cars for another run through the PD Cup. I'm trying to focus on cars that I've never driven before.

I saw from my notes that I was turning 1':36.high" laps at TM in the Mustang on T2s, which gave me a margin of victory of about 7.mid" without qualifying. So I figured I could go with a car running a second or so slower per lap and still win, hopefully with a very slim margin.

I tried the RX-7 Infini, the only BMW, the Elise 190, something else I forget, and the Silvia Aero (I never paid it any attention, but it seems to be a very nice car, if a bit underpowered). I couldn't get any of these cars much below 1':40" in qualifying, so I didn't think I could take the win in any of them. Finally, I settled on a car I've never driven - the Impreza 22B. In fact, the only real time I have in any Impreza is an arcade race at R5 wet.

I must have misjudged how many times I pitted in the 'stang, however. I forgot the 350Z pits every 6 laps, but the 22B can easily go 10 on T2s. This means starting from the back of the pack, and pitting at midpoint, I've posted a 22.low" win at TM, a 20.mid" win at Midfield, and a 33.high" win at Rome.

It's a nice car to drive, but I'm not looking for a blowout. With 90 minutes invested and probably twice that left to go, should I punt and try less car, or should I keep going?

 

[Smallhorses]

Not only your choice of car, but also the competition can be critical in this series.
I've done this series twice on my new mem card, once in the S2000 TypeV and once in the Fatboy (see above) From previous experiences with PD cup, I've run in Jag XKR, Nissan Z Concept, Supra RZ, R33 Skyline, I know that the competition can make or break this series for you. If you're going to run something underpowered like the Silvia, then you should reload and re-enter if you're faced with the Nissan Z concept or Honda NSX in the line-up as they'll trounce you.
As Famine mentioned, its possible to win this series in an FF car like the Integra Type-R (I personally haven't had time to explore this avenue yet, I've been rather addicted to the Weekly race series since I signed up a couple of weeks ago.)
With the 22B Impreza you should have no difficulties on T2s as you said, even against these 2 hotshots.
As for the decision to carry on... tough one. It depends if you fancy winning a different coloured Speed12 or F094/S!
Good luck with whatever you decide on, its fun to race this championship anyway, and it really doesn't bother me too much if I don't win every race.

 

[Duke]

Well, since the 22b is putting me pretty far up on the competition, I quit the championship and debuted a few more cars. I rebought the Silvia Aero and T2s, then restarted the series without qualifying. My pit at lap 10 saw me 30.high"+ down, and even though the 350Z would pit 2 more times, it wouldn't be enough - hopeless. So I reloaded the game, quit the series again, and went back to the Subaru dealer. This time I bought a WRX STi wagon: about the same power as the older 22b, but 200+ kg heavier. I changed the oil and putting on running shoes (T2s again) and gave it the old school try, after reloadeing literally 25 times to get the 350Z back in the field. The little W(RX)agon was nice to drive, if a little tighter and softer than the 22b. However, -2.low" per lap over 20 laps was too much to overcome, and I finished 3rd. I was about -21.low" behind the 350Z, and about -1.mid" behind the FD RX-7, positioning to pass him when we crossed the S/F line.

So I quit without saving, and I'll finish the series in the 22b. I'll probably make the switch to 2 pit stops just to make it more competitive. I wish I had bought really soft tires, to make extra stops mandatory.

 

[phattboy]

One of the more enjoyable write-ups 👍 I especially liked all the detail and the competitive spirit of the thing.

By the way does this mean I'm a nissan

<----

phattboy

 

[Smallhorses]

By the way does this mean I'm a nissan

Nah! I doubt the Fatboy Nissan could keep up with the Phattboy 'Cruiser!

 

[Smallhorses]

Anyone else got any good ideas for a fantastically close race line up?
Car & competitors? I've probably got some time on my hands this weekend for a shot at this before the unveiling of GT4 next week, and fancied another shot at some nailbiting excitement.........
Let me know.

 

[Jetboy.]

D'you mean PD Cup, or anything? If anything, an RX-8 on Slicks at the 2hour race at Trial Mountain is great fun. I would advise adopting a 6-7 lap pit strategy; the NSX has a 5-lapper. When I ran this race, the NSX and I had a battle for top-spot for 59 laps until I began pulling away.

Edit: Try the 1997 Camaro Z/28 in the PD Cup. It is another heavy rear-wheel drive coupe with about 285 horsepower.

 

[Paiky]

Thanks for the inspiration for the PD CUP! I'll start the championship tomorrow with the Fatboy!