- 3,957
- Cleveland
Yeah, ripping off Falcon, felt like playing some today. Looked around for a minute (evidently if you're looking for a used car, it's Japanese or nothing...) and spied something that felt right in the Toyota lot. Haven't spent any real time on the Starlet that I can recall, and the Starlet Glanza V '96 for 9204Cr looked like fun. With enough left over for a semi-race flywheel.
Looked like this, except white:
Low on power, but light. All excited and ready to race, I head off to the GT Nationals in Italy to challenge Lancias and Fiats at Rome Short. I'll call my car Femme, short for Femme Fatale (FF, and Starlet=actress...) Femme's all revved up and off we go! But then I realize I have no idea how to drive this car, proceed to scrub corners, get rear ended and pushed off, and lamely limp home in third. Dammit.
Okay, some practice laps then. After 7 I have it down to 1:03.5, and consistently 1:05, and I'm getting comfortable with the breaking points and grip for cornering. Try again, and success! 0.7 second ahead of the Punto.
Next I easily whip Sunday's Tahiti and have a little cash which I spend on some cheap bits, full race flywheel, ROM, Stage 1 Weight Reduction, a cheap new exhaust, and sports suspension, leaving 396Cr in the bank. Hope I don't crash!
Take GT National 195hp race at Midfield easily, then have a bit of trouble with an old Mini at Trial Mountain. Dang, didn't know those things were so quick!
More money, more upgrades. Sports tires and racing intercooler. Did I mention how nice my new exhaust sounds? Not nearly fast yet, but competitive. I head over to Sunday's High Speed Ring for a real challenge.
And fall flat on my face. Cornering had gotten me into first, by the end of the first lap, but being passed by the Prelude must've done something to my confidence, because I no longer remembered how fast I could enter a corner. Totally messed up the middle twisty bits, couldn't recover, finished 3rd after a Spec R Aero and the Prelude...
Try again, this time getting passed by 3 on the main drag heading into the 2nd lap, but I kept my cool, stuck to my lines, passed them all in the middle slow section, and held on for a 0.2 second win. Whew!
Am noticing that I hardly get into 5th, and my powerband is peaky, and I spend way too much time below it. So I spring for Sports Gears, bank down to 396Cr again. Just for fun, I take my car to the drag strip and run a couple 0-1000m's first without the Sports gears, then with. 28.349 then 28.158, not much a difference, but not bad, and I'm sure I'll appreciate it more on the track. But I also realize that I should have a triple plate clutch to take full advantage of the new gearing.
Elise was tough on Clubman's Rome Short! After a bumpy start, rear ending the Barchetta, I stayed behind for most of the race, finally late braking and inside for the 2nd to last corner at a good speed for the pass, and hang on for the win by 0.386.
Triple plate clutch, and 0-1000m down to 27.758, that's more like it!
GT Nationals Deep Forest 216hp race - if you can hold the last corner flat out, the AI doesn't have a chance... that's everything I feel Femme is appropriate for in the low hp classes, time for some power! Turbo 1 to 180hp! 0-1000m down to 26.622 and Sports Gears still doing the job, may hit rev limit on very fast tracks...
246hp GT National events down easy, but I think brakes are in order now that I have this power, so brakes it is. Sunday's Red Rock isn't too bad, I was nervous, but I think I had better tires and suspension than the competition since I was able to hold more speed through the corners... going for semi-race suspension now. Clubman's Grindelwald next, took a few practice laps, then into the event. Not perfect, nervous with the S2000 on my tail, but finish 0.2 second ahead... Stage 2 Weight Reduction.
And then I meet my first real challenge. Clubman's Rome Circuit. Argy-bargy would be the term for it. I'm down on power, there's a freaking Chimaera 4.5... I think I can win this... So try again. More frustration and 2nd place... okay, full on racing exhaust it is! Ooo! That's a nice grumbly sound now! I bet they'll be intimidated! Dang it! Chimaera and Clio V6 Sport are so not fair! Was able to eek out a lead out of the last corner, then the purple monster just cruised past me, 2nd again! Maybe I can up my redline? (I race AT, I know, lame...) I try a Port and Polish, nope. But I see now my 0-1000m is down to 26.155 at 126mph. Try this a 4th time... maybe got lucky, the Chimaera got tangled up in traffic and was 4th going into the 2nd to last corner, which I took the best I'd done so far, which enabled me to stay ahead and not get rammed at the last corner, gunning it with everything I had, yup, here comes the Chimaera, but not enough! Femme for the win!!!
Whew! Try the Engine Balance to help the redline, nope. But up to 195hp now, and 0-1000m down to 26.050. Won a bunch of races easy after this. Alfa GTV Coupe was fast at Italy's GT National, Mustang GT '98 at US, getting clear of the bargy Beemers at Germany's national was a bit of a chore, and the Type R Civic at the FF Midfield challenge 345hp event was kind of tough. I try the FF 395hp challenge, and whew! The Celica SS II is fast! But I had him beat on braking, even without taking the last two corners/chicane of Trial Mountain straight.
Japan's 345hp event is fun, just to see the other cars! STi ver VI, FD RS '98, NSX Type S Zero, 300ZX 2 seater Turbo, GT-R r34 V Spec! We're even on low speed accel, but they catch me by the end of the main drag. But clean driving keeps me ahead of them through the corners, and I have enough on the last lap to keep the lead. Yay! Eat my Starlet's dust, suckers!
And then I have a race with a Shelby Series 1. Oh god, maybe this is a bad idea. I have less than half the power allowable in this event, US Nationals. But, if you can't take the corkscrew clean, you can't beat me!
Yup, I'm in last to start...
But, I corner well and am soon up inside the two old Mustangs...
And yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not the direction you want to be facing, Shelby... though he may have had some help from the Camaro...
Both a little unsettled, I pass cleanly and let my cornering do the rest...
Of course Shelby would stick close behind, and when the car in front won't let you pass... give him a little nudge and go through... yup, back in 2nd...
But not for long, passed him on the inside in the next corner, then looking through the rearview, the whole pack miffed the corkscrew this time... clean air ahead and running for home, I take the checked with great satisfaction!
Looked like this, except white:
Low on power, but light. All excited and ready to race, I head off to the GT Nationals in Italy to challenge Lancias and Fiats at Rome Short. I'll call my car Femme, short for Femme Fatale (FF, and Starlet=actress...) Femme's all revved up and off we go! But then I realize I have no idea how to drive this car, proceed to scrub corners, get rear ended and pushed off, and lamely limp home in third. Dammit.
Okay, some practice laps then. After 7 I have it down to 1:03.5, and consistently 1:05, and I'm getting comfortable with the breaking points and grip for cornering. Try again, and success! 0.7 second ahead of the Punto.
Next I easily whip Sunday's Tahiti and have a little cash which I spend on some cheap bits, full race flywheel, ROM, Stage 1 Weight Reduction, a cheap new exhaust, and sports suspension, leaving 396Cr in the bank. Hope I don't crash!
Take GT National 195hp race at Midfield easily, then have a bit of trouble with an old Mini at Trial Mountain. Dang, didn't know those things were so quick!
More money, more upgrades. Sports tires and racing intercooler. Did I mention how nice my new exhaust sounds? Not nearly fast yet, but competitive. I head over to Sunday's High Speed Ring for a real challenge.
And fall flat on my face. Cornering had gotten me into first, by the end of the first lap, but being passed by the Prelude must've done something to my confidence, because I no longer remembered how fast I could enter a corner. Totally messed up the middle twisty bits, couldn't recover, finished 3rd after a Spec R Aero and the Prelude...
Try again, this time getting passed by 3 on the main drag heading into the 2nd lap, but I kept my cool, stuck to my lines, passed them all in the middle slow section, and held on for a 0.2 second win. Whew!
Am noticing that I hardly get into 5th, and my powerband is peaky, and I spend way too much time below it. So I spring for Sports Gears, bank down to 396Cr again. Just for fun, I take my car to the drag strip and run a couple 0-1000m's first without the Sports gears, then with. 28.349 then 28.158, not much a difference, but not bad, and I'm sure I'll appreciate it more on the track. But I also realize that I should have a triple plate clutch to take full advantage of the new gearing.
Elise was tough on Clubman's Rome Short! After a bumpy start, rear ending the Barchetta, I stayed behind for most of the race, finally late braking and inside for the 2nd to last corner at a good speed for the pass, and hang on for the win by 0.386.
Triple plate clutch, and 0-1000m down to 27.758, that's more like it!
GT Nationals Deep Forest 216hp race - if you can hold the last corner flat out, the AI doesn't have a chance... that's everything I feel Femme is appropriate for in the low hp classes, time for some power! Turbo 1 to 180hp! 0-1000m down to 26.622 and Sports Gears still doing the job, may hit rev limit on very fast tracks...
246hp GT National events down easy, but I think brakes are in order now that I have this power, so brakes it is. Sunday's Red Rock isn't too bad, I was nervous, but I think I had better tires and suspension than the competition since I was able to hold more speed through the corners... going for semi-race suspension now. Clubman's Grindelwald next, took a few practice laps, then into the event. Not perfect, nervous with the S2000 on my tail, but finish 0.2 second ahead... Stage 2 Weight Reduction.
And then I meet my first real challenge. Clubman's Rome Circuit. Argy-bargy would be the term for it. I'm down on power, there's a freaking Chimaera 4.5... I think I can win this... So try again. More frustration and 2nd place... okay, full on racing exhaust it is! Ooo! That's a nice grumbly sound now! I bet they'll be intimidated! Dang it! Chimaera and Clio V6 Sport are so not fair! Was able to eek out a lead out of the last corner, then the purple monster just cruised past me, 2nd again! Maybe I can up my redline? (I race AT, I know, lame...) I try a Port and Polish, nope. But I see now my 0-1000m is down to 26.155 at 126mph. Try this a 4th time... maybe got lucky, the Chimaera got tangled up in traffic and was 4th going into the 2nd to last corner, which I took the best I'd done so far, which enabled me to stay ahead and not get rammed at the last corner, gunning it with everything I had, yup, here comes the Chimaera, but not enough! Femme for the win!!!
Whew! Try the Engine Balance to help the redline, nope. But up to 195hp now, and 0-1000m down to 26.050. Won a bunch of races easy after this. Alfa GTV Coupe was fast at Italy's GT National, Mustang GT '98 at US, getting clear of the bargy Beemers at Germany's national was a bit of a chore, and the Type R Civic at the FF Midfield challenge 345hp event was kind of tough. I try the FF 395hp challenge, and whew! The Celica SS II is fast! But I had him beat on braking, even without taking the last two corners/chicane of Trial Mountain straight.
Japan's 345hp event is fun, just to see the other cars! STi ver VI, FD RS '98, NSX Type S Zero, 300ZX 2 seater Turbo, GT-R r34 V Spec! We're even on low speed accel, but they catch me by the end of the main drag. But clean driving keeps me ahead of them through the corners, and I have enough on the last lap to keep the lead. Yay! Eat my Starlet's dust, suckers!
And then I have a race with a Shelby Series 1. Oh god, maybe this is a bad idea. I have less than half the power allowable in this event, US Nationals. But, if you can't take the corkscrew clean, you can't beat me!
Yup, I'm in last to start...
But, I corner well and am soon up inside the two old Mustangs...
And yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not the direction you want to be facing, Shelby... though he may have had some help from the Camaro...
Both a little unsettled, I pass cleanly and let my cornering do the rest...
Of course Shelby would stick close behind, and when the car in front won't let you pass... give him a little nudge and go through... yup, back in 2nd...
But not for long, passed him on the inside in the next corner, then looking through the rearview, the whole pack miffed the corkscrew this time... clean air ahead and running for home, I take the checked with great satisfaction!
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