Okay, I've run four cars but I'm getting kind of tired so I'm gonna stop here for the night.
I'll just go ahead and post all the data I have now and keep this post updated with new results as I get them.
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Course: Grand Valley East
Assists: TCS : 1 / ABS : 1 / Grip Reduction : Real
Tunes: Engine Overhaul / Chassis Maintenance / Sport Hard tires
Lotus Europa Special '71 132hp / 117ft-lb / 730kg / 411pp
Laps run: 15 / Best on: 11 /
Time: 1'23.460"
Notes: Boy this car was loose, I ran two red laps to start trying to get a feel for it, then on lap 3 I put down a time I chased for seven more laps; I was getting ready to call it quits when I dropped a magic lap that beat it by two full seconds, and chased that for a few before finally giving up. It was fun to drive after getting a feel for it, but it was still trying to slide out from under me throughout.
Mitsubishi 3000GT SL (J) '98 233hp / 212ft-lb / 1600kg / 408pp
Laps run: 13 / Best on: 8 /
Time: 1'21.470"
Notes: Haha, after the Europa this thing is quite the change; from a light, slippery MR to a heavy, planted 4WD. My very first lap felt very slow, but the timer says it was only 1'22.997", and this thing is meant to be
lower PP? Suffers from understeer, but less than you'd expect from a 1600kg 4WD; overall not a bad drive.
Mazda KUSABI CONCEPT '03 150hp / 135ft-lb / 900kg / 404pp
Laps run: 12 / Best on: 6 /
Time: 1'19.960"
Notes: Initial impression: "Holy crap this car feels
quick *looks at time* holy crap this car
is quick"; my lap times just keep going down right along with the PP. I don't drive very many FF cars, but if more of them handled like the KUSABI I definitely would; this thing is a dream, with the slightest of understeer and amazing breaks I could drive this all night. But we have more cars to run.
DMC DeLorean S2 '04 207hp / 222ft-lb / 1288kg / 412pp
Laps run: 12 / Best on: 8 /
Time: 1'20.585"
Notes: Oh wow, this car is awful; it's got the understeer of an FF
and the slide-happy tail of an FR. It took me four laps to put down one I was even almost happy with, and another four laps to get a halfway good one. This one was just not fun to drive and fought me the whole way.
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Chevrolet Corvette Stingray L46 350 (C3) '69 365hp / 410ft-lb / 1490 kg / 470pp
Laps run: 12 / Best on: 12 /
Time: 1'19.924"
Notes: I am so sorry to the DeLorean that I ever said anything bad about its tail being too slide-happy. So sorry. This car was incredibly difficult to control; I had to be extra careful on the throttle exiting every single corner of the track or it would get away from me and ruin the lap. It took me the full twelve laps to get one where the tail stayed in check the whole time and I didn't take the corner slower than if it had. I don't ever want to drive this car stock again. Also the transmission really hurt this car's time here; with only four gears I hit its top speed of 123 before I even crossed the finish line, so from there to the first right hand I was forced to be slower than the car wanted to be.
Lotus Motor Sport Elise '99 211hp / 151ft-lb / 700kg / 490pp
Laps run: 20 / Best on: 18 /
Time: 1'16.556"
Notes: This has been one of my favourite cars to drive since GT3, so I was looking forward to this one, though I was a little scared of its stock handling, especially after having to lower its tires from R1 to S1. It was a bit loose but not nearly as bad as the Stingray, and definitely much more fun to drive.
Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Coupe '00 439hp / 419ft-lb / 1775kg / 490pp
Laps run: 15 / Best on: 12 /
Time: 1'15.750"
Notes: This thing's brakes are just bad; I had to break for the first right at like 180m. Whether it was actually the brakes or just the momentum it carried due to its weight I can't guess, I just know it took an awful long time to stop. Besides the brakes, it had slight understeer going into turns and slipped a bit coming out of them, but overall was pretty easy to drive.
Shelby Series One Super Charged '03 335hp / 304ft-lb / 1202kg / 494pp
Laps run: 13 / Best on: 12 /
Time: 1'14.115"
Notes: Quick and agile. This car was great to drive, with its only downside being a slippery tail end, but it's not too bad. I set a blistering lap 1 that I couldn't beat until 12, and even then only by four tenths.
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Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII GSR '03 330hp / 344ft-lb / 1410kg / 479pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 6 /
Time: 1'14.553"
Notes: I don't know if it's the AYC or what, but this 4WD drives like a dream; if the game hadn't told me it was 4WD I never would've guessed it because there isn't a hint of understeer.
Nissan Skyline GT-R Mspec Nür '02 351hp / 365ft-lb / 1580kg / 481pp
Laps run: 15 / Best on: 15 /
Time: 1'15.004"
Notes: This is another car that doesn't quite feel like a 4WD, but not in a good way; it's still got some understeer, but its tail will slip out from under you in the exits.
Ford Mustang GT '05 309hp / 329ft-lb / 1568kg / 457pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 10 /
Time: 1'17.358
Notes: Has a bit of understeer, but the tail never slipped out on me so that's good. It felt a bit slow and lumbery, and its time isn't the best, but it wasn't too hard to drive.
Ford Taurus SHO 244hp / 238ft-lb / 1509kg / 412pp
Laps run: 15 / Best on: 8 /
Time: 1'20.618"
Notes: It understeers, it feels slow, it
is slow; this is exactly what I expect when I think of FF cars. Not much else to say, except that it did perform roughly on par with the other low-400s so far, so it's not as straight bad on this track as it was on Trial Mountain for GNR1987.
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Honda NSX '93 284hp / 224ft-lb / 1350kg / 445pp
Laps run: 15 / Best on: 9 /
Time: 1'17.429"
Notes: My NSX really wanted to paint that entire first right hander black, and by God did it try its damndest to do so. Even after 15 laps it was still getting away from me, but it wasn't so bad as the Stingray.
Honda NSX '95 287hp / 226ft-lb / 1350kg / 446pp
Laps run: 12 / Best on: 7 /
Time: 1'18.028"
Notes: I expected this to basically be the same car, but I swear it was harder to control the tail of this one than the '93, and the lap times seem to agree with me.
Honda NSX '97 286hp / 231ft-lb / 1350kg / 448pp
Laps run: 12 / Best on: 6 /
Time: 1'16.758"
Notes: I don't know if the NSXes are getting better or if I'm getting better at driving NSXes, but this one wasn't too bad; it definitely had a slippery tail but it was manageable.
Honda NSX Type R '92 296hp / 235ft-lb / 1230kg / 469pp
Laps run: 12 / Best on: 10 /
Time: 1'14.891"
Notes: Well this one was definitely an improvement over the rest, but with 20+ extra PP I would certainly hope so. It handled pretty well, still a slidey tail but nothing too crazy.
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Tommy Kaira ZZ-S '00 201hp / 152ft-lb / 690kg / 482pp
Laps run: 12 / Best on: 9 /
Time: 1'17.291"
Notes: A small, light MR, it drives just how you'd both expect and hope, with a bit of tail slide if you put the power down but not so much as to be impossible to control. I had a blast driving this car, even if it did end up being rather slow for its PP.
Lotus Elise Sport 190 '98 196hp / 148ft-lb / 670kg / 492pp
Laps run: 15 / Best on: 4 /
Time: 1'17.181"
Notes: A small, light MR, it drives just how you'd expect and fear, with a ridiculous amount of tail slide if you don't manage the power perfectly, and nearly too much to control. I think I put down as many red laps as clean ones in this, it just kept getting away from me. I could see it being fun to
dtive, but when
racing it was just frustrating.
Oullim Motors SPIRRA 4.6 V8 '04 335hp / 330ft-lb / 1205kg / 491pp
Laps run: 15 / Best on: 6 /
Time: 1'16.615"
Notes: Ugh, this one was as bad or worse than the Elise Sport 190, with plenty of frustrating oversteer and bad laps run.
Audi RS 6 '02 466hp / 431ft-lb / 1840kg / 495pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 7 /
Time: 1'15.902"
Notes: Drives like your standard 4WD, with a bit too much understeer and a general feeling of slowness around the track.
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Hommell Berlinette R/S Coupe '99 170hp / 149ft-lb / 950kg / 400pp
Laps run: 13 / Best on: 10 /
Time: 1'20.200"
Notes: This car was beautiful to drive, especially after the last two MRs I did. It was quick and responsive with only a hint of tail sliding; I am definitely going to be driving this car again.
Ginetta G4 '64 94hp / 99ft-lb / 454kg / 443pp
Laps run: 12 / Best on: 11 /
Time: 1'25.520"
Notes: I think this is the slowest car I've done yet, and it's at 443pp? That just seems way off. Though the track probably had
some to do with it, because I barely got to use 5th gear at all; it shifted up at 110mph and only ever hit 113. Overall it was an average light MR, with more tail slide than the Berlinette and less than the Elise Sport.
TVR Griffith 500 '94 357hp / 368ft-lb / 1060kg / 502pp
Laps run: 8 / Best on: 1 /
Time: 1'17.153"
Notes: I hate this car, I had no fun at all driving it, it had horrible understeer and horrible brakes, I couldn't get a single good lap out of it, I gave up after eight laps because it was just frustrating. It probably wouldn't be fair to include this time in the chart because it was such a poor lap, but it really was the best I could make myself do.
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI RS T.M. '00 325hp / 315ft-lb / 1260kg / 479pp
Laps run: 13 / Best on: 7 /
Time: 1'15.225"
Notes: This LanEvo doesn't have an AYC, and it drives a lot more like a Skyline than the last one, with understeer and a slippery tail, though the tail did take a lot of pushing before breaking loose. I'm not really a fan of such high rear torque splits in 4WD cars, I feel like if you want to drive an FR you should just pick an FR, there are plenty to choose from.
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Toyota Tacoma X-Runner '04 259hp / 296ft-lb / 1687kg / 421pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 4 /
Time: 1'20.366"
Notes: Slow and lumbering, with amazing brakes. Its tail will kick out on you if you push it too hard in the exits, but not too much.
Vauxhall VX220 Turbo '00 206hp / 193ft-lb / 1005kg / 429pp
Laps run: 11 / Best on: 9 /
Time: 1'18.538"
Notes: Slippery, a bit too much for my taste, but not undrivable.
Buick GNX '87 288hp / 376ft-lb / 1600kg / 433pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 7 /
Time: 1'19.870"
Notes: Understeer and tail slide, just what I'd expect from an American car in GT5. At least it had good brakes.
Ford Focus RS '02 277hp / 231ft-lb / 1050kg / 442pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 10 /
Time: 1'17.294"
Notes: Here is another FF that drives well enough for me to actually enjoy it; it has slight understeer but nothing too offensive, and it feels quick.
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Acura CL 3.2 Type-S '01 271hp / 242ft-lb / 1592kg / 424pp
Laps run: 11 / Best on: 7 /
Time: 1'19.657"
Notes: I forgot to write these until after the Legacy was tested, so I guess it didn't leave much of an impression on me. It was a standard FF, with a bit of understeer and nothing special.
Subaru LEGACY B4 RSK '98 286hp / 259ft-lb / 1440kg / 440pp
Laps run: 15 / Best on: 15 /
Time: 1'18.180"
Notes: I had a hell of a time dealing with this car's understeer. I could not seem to get it to go where I wanted it to at all.
Toyota SOARER 43SCV '01 288hp / 332ft-lb / 1730kg / 435pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 10 /
Time: 1'20.805"
Notes: And here's one where I had a hell of a time dealing with the tail end. It wasn't totally out of control, just slippery enough to scrub tenths off my times if I hit it too hard too early.
Mazda MX-Crossport Concept '05 268hp / 293ft-lb / 1600kg / 432pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 10 /
Time: 1'18.079"
Notes: This thing's got the same magic Mazda concept brakes the KUSABI has, now I'm really curious if Mazda really does put crazy good brakes on their concepts or if PD just increased their effectiveness to make the concept cars stand out against the production road cars. Anyway, this car doesn't say what its drivetrain is but it's a 4WD, and it drives about how you'd expect it to, though its understeer problems aren't as bad as most.
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Mazda RX-7 Type R (FD, J) '91 264hp / 226ft-lb / 1260kg / 440pp
Laps run: 11 / Best on: 10 /
Time: 1"17.636"
Notes: Pretty solid FR, was fun to drive even with its slight tail sliding.
Lotus Evora '09 291hp / 265ft-lb / 1330kg / 468pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 9 /
Time: 1'13.996"
Notes: This was a brand new car, but I took the time (~90 minutes) to break it in so it would be on par with the rest of my UCD car tests. Holy crap this thing is
fast, and for an MR its tail is
very well behaved. First car I broke 1'14" with, and it's only got 468pp. Crazy.
Lotus Esprit Turbo HC '87 224hp / 229ft-lb / 1146kg / 431pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 10 /
Time: 1'17.422"
Notes: It felt quick, and ran an okay time, but whoa was it ever slippery; I had to be extra careful of my tail end through nearly the whole course, so it was a bit stressful to put down as low a time as I did.
Lotus Esprit V8 '02 359hp / 300ft-lb / 1380kg / 485pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 7 /
Time: 1'14.501"
Notes: This was a brand new car, and I didn't have an hour and a half to break it in so all I did was change the oil. This Esprit was also very slippery. I don't think I like driving these in time trails at all, there is just too much pressure and they slide way too easily.
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Lancia STRATOS '73 191hp / 171ft-lb / 980kg / 414pp
Laps run: 12 / Best on: 10 /
Time: 1'18.734"
Notes: Very slippery tail end, another stressful time trial, but I feel like I got a pretty good time with it.
Mazda RX-7 Type RZ (FD, J) '92 261hp / 224ft-lb / 1230kg / 443pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 8 /
Time: 1'17.175"
Notes: Not a bad drive, if a bit standard FR with a bit of tail slide; felt very much like the '91.
Mazda éfini RX-7 Type RZ (FD) '93 265hp / 227ft-lb / 1240kg / 440pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 9 /
Time: 1'17.378"
Notes: Another fun, if completely expected, FR with just a touch of tail slide; I'm gonna go ahead and skip a few years of RX-7s now, I think.
Mazda RX-7 Type RZ (FD) '00 303hp / 253ft-lb / 1270kg / 467pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 2 /
Time: 1'15.748"
Notes: When I finished my lap and saw the time I was surprised at how much faster this RX-7 was than the previous three, because it
felt like it drove just about the same.
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Nissan Fairlady Z Version ST (Z33) '02 296hp / 280ft-lb / 1450kg / 459pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 9 /
Time: 1'16.006"
Notes: Boy this car didn't feel much like an FR; it had some understeer and had to be seriously pushed for its tail end to kick loose. Felt very solid, a bit stiff, but wasn't a bad drive.
Mercury Cougar XR-7 '67 335hp / 450ft-lb / 1418kg / 469pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 10 /
Time: 1'18.601"
Notes: Here's another old muscle car with only four gears and a bouncing rev limiter before the S/F line, so it had a hard cap of 118mph and thus an unfortunate and unavoidable reduction in lap time. This time it drove like you'd expect, with ridiculous understeer and not much tail slide in the corners.
Chrysler 300C '05 356hp / 408ft-lb / 1878kg / 463pp
Laps run: 10 / Best on: 7 /
Time: 1'16.607"
Notes: Wow, from an old American car that wanted another gear, was hard to turn and needed pushing to slide, to a new American car that ignored its top gear, turned well and seemed to think 90° was a perfectly acceptable angle to drive at at all times; I'm not sure I could find two more different cars if I tried. It was fun to drive, and I'm seriously thinking of slapping dome C1s on it and just going to town in a drift competition, but it was difficult to tame into a solid Time Trial lap.
Chevrolet Corvette GRAND SPORT (C4) '96 342hp / 354ft-lb / 1496kg / 472pp
Laps run: 25 / Best on: 25 /
Time: 1'15.667"
Notes: What a difficult car; at high speed it has heavy understeer and at low speed the tail slides out in the turns. I could not get a solid run until the 25th lap, which is just unacceptable.
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And finally here are the charts and graphs so generously done by GNR1987:
Trend lines, both labeled and not:
And the bar graph:
Then a very pretty collection of all the raw data:
And finally the tire data:
All of these images can be found in vector form, rather than raster as above, in the attached PDF file, which can be found attached to
this post.
...but mad props for actually doing this work. Perhaps to go forward would require a collaborative effort among a number of drivers, in order to build a better picture of the situation. 
