Running Cheap in the Roadster Enduro

  • Thread starter Der Alta
  • 60 comments
  • 12,747 views
Uncle Harry
Can these only be obtained via a Xport?
Click to expand...
Ahhh... Someone picked up the hint.

Well, after seeing Smallhorses attempting this race in a stock LTD edition, I figured I'd have a go at it in a similar car.

Pulled out my previous car, reset the oil via Sharkport, and jumped in. Turning 126 hp on Normal tires. I didn't qualify.

Similar to Smallhorses, I'll skip the boring part. By lap 18 I knew I wasn't going to win. I figured at that point, I've got nothing left to lose, so why not fight to see if I can at least win a medal (AKA 3rd place).

I'm not quite as good as Smallhorses, as I was only able to post a 1'45.193 for a fast lap.

Final Results:
Miata LS: 1:13'36.108
Miata 1.8 RS: +16.368
Miata (j): + 24.811
Me: +27.391 (2.6 seconds off a medal)
Miata (j): +1'04.055
Miata (j): +1'05.535

I have worn the engine in a bit, so now I'm up to 128hp.

Epilogue:
SmallHorses: 1:13'54.863
Der Alta: 1:14'03.499
Difference of 8.636 seconds, meaning when Smallhorses is well on his way to drunk, he's more than 2/10ths faster per lap than I.

Granted, he qualified, I didn't and he was running 4 hp more than I (for the most part). I may have to try this again sometime this week.

AO
 
Here's your partially insane race annonucer RVD to bring you coverage of the Apricot Hill Enduro sponsored by Mazda and PD. It looks like it'll be a very close race due to RVD choosing the slowest Roadster clocking in on the dynos at only 124 HP. To make matters even more interesting, he's running w/ stock tires and politely declining to qualify. :crazy: What a spectacular day to race!!!! :) It's sunny w/ very few clouds in the sky and low humidity to make this a very comfortable drive through the park. But let me say this now, this race will not be a Sunday ride through the park. :P Instead it'll be about 6 drivers all racing each other as hard as possible to claim the prize trophy and 100,000 credits. Enough of my pre race commentary, let's see the starting lineup:

Starting Grid

1. Mazda Miata 1.8 LS
2. Mazda Miata (J)
3. Mazda Miata (J)
4. Mazda Miata 1.8 RS
5. Mazda Miata (J)
6. Mazda Miata (J) (me)


Pit Stops

Mazda Miata 1.8 LS- 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39
Mazda Miata (J) - 11, 22, 33
Mazda Miata (J) - 11, 22, 33
Mazda Miata 1.8 RS- 9, 18, 27, 36
Mazda Miata (J)- 7, 14, 21, 28, 35
Mazda Miata (J) (me)- 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35


Race Results

1. Mazda Miata (J) (me)- 1:13'20.939
2. Mazda Miata 1.8 LS- 1:13'41.856 (+ 20.917 sec)
3. Mazda Miata 1.8 RS- 1:13'49.761 (+ 28.822 sec)
4. Mazda Miata (J)- 1:14'00.280 (+ 39.341 sec)
5. Mazda Miata (J)- 1:14'37.342 (+ 1:16.403)
6. Mazda Miata (J)- 1:14'41.467 (+ 1:20.528)

Fastest Lap- 1:44.763 (Lap 27)

Average Lap w/ pitstops- 1:50.023


Post Race Thoughts

What a race that was! 👍 The fans won't be able to sleep tonight after this one. For the first 30 laps of the race, there were numerous position changes among the leaders due to their different pit strategies. Now for an interview w/ the race winner: " My car was hauling ass all day. Thanks to my pit crew for giving me a great car and fast pitstops. I thought the 1.8 LS had me beat for a while until thise last 10 laps. He was on soft tires giving him a huge advantage on the 3 lap stints. But in the end less pitstops and patience won over speed and softer tires. Of course I have to thank my sponsors: Mazda, Sony and PD; If they didn't exist this race would've never happened, Goodyear for their excellent tires, and of course all the fans for coming out to show your support! :cool: " This has been a live commercial free race from Apricot Hill brought to you by PD, Sony, Mazda, and Goodyear. As always, remember to drive carefully in the real world! :P Good night everyone! :)
 
I was debating going for a 5 lap stint, as my tires weren't quite fully red at that point. But my guess was they'd be red not 1/2 way through the 5th lap. Thus negating gain the lack of two pit stops would have given me.

Although with this news, I'll have to experiment with that on my next attempt.

Excellent run RVD. BTW, I heard Mr. Thursday night wasn't being pushed as much. ANy thoughts?

AO
 
Uncle Harry
Noticed the other night that the field for this race changes.
The first field on entry is always the 1.8i (1.8LS in NTSC), 1.8 RS, and 3 older style MX5's.
After doing exit and re-enter 2 1.8RS show up and only 2 older style MX5's.
Ran the 7th race on my German save and finally won a Silver OO2.
Very easily won my Opel Calibra with this car. 👍
I now have the 3 Opels on my English Game.
I just need the blue 1.6 MX5 from the Beginner GT World cup to complete my collection of winnable MX5's.
Click to expand...

Fantastic work, my friend!!
You've got to be my soulfriend when it comes to collecting cars. I can't stand the vauxhalls, 'cause here in Norway they've called Opel, and thats the way it should be! So like you, I've got to play a german save file, win the opels and then trade them to my english one. Thanks to you, I now know the easiest way to get that cool Calibra (if I'm lucky enough to get a F1 car, that is). I also MUST win every mx-5 with a special color, 'cause I just love that car. Still there's alot of work to do due to that endurance, but you really have inspired me!

THANKS ALOT! :)
 
Well, my next run was even closer.

I took the advantage noted earlier that qualifying would help. I managed to nail second place with an admirable 1'45 low lap time. This allowed me to avoid the back markers during the first few laps.

By lap 20, it was shaping up to be unwinnable, but extremely close. I'm absolutely exhausted, and over tired, so that may have been a contributing factor. However I can't bank on that very much as I've posted my fastest lap to date. 1'44.500. That was on lap 38.

At this point, I know I started with a partially worn in car, as it was at 128hp at the beginning. Now here at the end, it's showing 130hp.

An excellent enjoyable race, that I'm looking forward to running again, with to see how much closer I can get, and possibly win this. The car is currently "Strait out of the box". So it comes down to practice. Which I'll note I've got loads of by now. Not quite enough, as I'm still a slight bit off from where I could be. I know of three points that are 50/50 in getting right.

So now, what you've all been waiting for. The results

My time: 1:13'32.497
AI time: 1:13'22.572
I lost by 9.925 seconds. Or about 1/4 second per lap. So damn close.

AO
 
Woohoo!

Back from vacation and the rest seems to have done me good.

Back to trying to win that damned yellow '89 Miata again and I thought I'd give the normal tyres a go again, and, wow, was it a close 'un!


Stuck with the 4 lap pit strategy to keep things super close as I notice RVD was able to win by a good margin on a 5 lap strategy.

I qualified 2nd again (to avoid all the costly timewasting trying to pass the other AI cars in the first few laps, as I usually insist on adhering to WRS rules and avoid bumping them if at all possible)

Final result :eek:

'93 Miata Ltd Excellent Green Mica (Me) 1'13.29.567 :D
'00 Miata LS +0'00.089 :scared:
'98 Miata 1.8RS +0'22.142
'93 Miata +0'30.240
'89 Miata +1'12.252
'89 Miata +1'14.536

Fastest Lap 1'44.478 👍

Lost the lead down the straight to the tight hairpin on the last lap, but held a tighter line through the hairpin and out of it to retake the lead and the '00 Miata LS turned into the back of me as I passed which lost him a little time. I was leading with clear air through the sandtrap chicane but his superior HP meant he caught me towards the finish line, and although no contact was made, a little Schumacher-esque positional defence meant I clinched 1st by less than a 1/10th! :embarrassed:

Won another Excellent Green Mica VA Limited '93 Miata for my troubles.
:mad: Now I've got to go and do it all again (& again & again & again.)

It will be mine, that '89 Yellow Miata, oh yes, it will be mine.....
 
Der Alta
My time: 1:13'32.497
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Smallhorses
(Me)1'13.29.567
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Damn!
Fast lap difference: 0.22 seconds
Total race difference: 2.930 seconds
Average lap difference: 0.073 seconds.

I'd say that our two races would be near mirror images.

Excellent run, Smallhorses.

I tried to make this attempt last night, but lost one lap into the hairpin kitty litter. I knew that the 4 seconds I lost there were going against me. I also realized that at 8:30 at night and running on 4 hours sleep the previous night, I didn't posess the concentration to give my all.

This gives me incentive to run it again.

AO
 
Thanks Der Alta!

Keep at it, that LS is beatable by a slender margin...
Last race he qualified with a 1'42.311!!! compared to 1'46.3xx for me! Its certainly quick on super-soft rubber!
 
That's some damn fine racing smallhorses... 👍

I ran this last weekend as a test for a spot race I'm running at my home forum. Used the cheap Miata (can't remeber the exact model name, 2nd from the left at the Dealer) stock with stock tires...I did do an oil change.

I don't have the particulars, other than my fast laps were in the 1:44 range, and I see-sawed with the LS AI until the last lap, where he pitted at the end of Lap 39 and I ended up beating him by 11 seconds...

I'll be running it again this weekend, and have a more definative report by Sunday evening. ;)
 
Smallhorses
'00 Miata LS 1:13'42.203
Click to expand...

Der Alta
Miata LS: 1:13'36.108
Click to expand...

RVDNuT374
Mazda Miata 1.8 LS 1:13'41.856
Click to expand...

Der Alta
AI time: 1:13'22.572
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Luxy
Miata LS: 1:13'29.915
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First post I put in this thread, the 2nd place Miata LS had time of 1:13'21.630

When I beat it, on normal tyres, Miata LS had time of 1:13'29.656

In Der Alta's run that started the thread, Miata LS had time of 1:13'36.420

I've just run a 1:13'38.215 and came 2nd to the Miata LS which finished in 1:13'24.316. Bummer.

It seems very like the LS has several different "drivers" and has a 20s or so window in which it will finish, so if its going to be beaten on normal tyres, a finishing time of under 1:13'25ish should work, but not always.....

Actually I've just done some stats. From the 9 times for the Miata LS listed here, the average time is 1:13'31.631 with a standard deviation of +/- 7.919s
 
The time difference is due to the car in question having to pass the other AI on the climb back up the field after pitting and where abouts on the track the LS catches the car in front.
 
Uncle Harry
The time difference is due to the car in question having to pass the other AI on the climb back up the field after pitting and where abouts on the track the LS catches the car in front.
Click to expand...

I'd guessed that, but its a shame there's no way of predicting at around the 1/2 way mark whether a 1:13'30.xxx will win or lose this race.
Maybe I'll just go back to sports tyres now I've won once on normals, as I really really really must win that little yellow 🤬 :banghead: :mad:
 
Smallhorses I feel you need to change something to swing the prize car randomness in your favour. Try a yellow MX5 or exit the race a couple of times to try to upset the computers thinking, you may get lucky.
Try running under 72 minutes as time may be a deciding factor. Good Luck.

Edit, Use a fast car, lap the 1.8 LS once and then make him come last by blocking him and letting all the others past.
It might not work but it sure does improve the sameness of this race.
 
Uncle Harry
Try a yellow MX5
Click to expand...

Are you taking the Mickey?
I'm trying desperately hard to win the damned yellow MX5!!!!

Only kidding.... I'll just keep plugging away until I win it! Then its Trial Mtn 2hr over & over until I get the Lister Storm, and the Rome 2hr over and over until I get the Lancia Delta... then I'll get on with the rest of the game..... guess you could say I'm a stubborn 🤬 :banghead:
 
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Finally!!!!!

Just won again, on sports tyres, total time of 71'51.xxx and MOV of 1'39.xxx over Miata LS and have become the proud owner of the '89 Yellow Miata which is complete with a matching yellow steering wheel. Sweeeeeeeet.

Ok, I can now get on with the rest of the week's challenges, WRS, OGRS 15-lapper, Team Mini Tokyo challenge, 2hr enduros etc etc.....
 
Well done, Smallhorses!! I won that yellow MX-5 the first time out and didn't see the point in keeping it. I sold it imediately. Have a good day! :lol:
 
Oh rub it in, why don't you?!!!! :)

I wanted that particular Miata as I hadn't got it already on either of my game saves. I needed an '89 Miata to proceed toward the goal of having 2 complete game saves with at least 1 of every car in the garage and all with some miles on.
I have mem card 2 100% complete, mem card 1 is a work in progress, still at 60.3% as I'm trying to win rather than buy any cars that can be won....
 
Finally! I won the Miata Roadster, in the cheap roadster on Normal tires.

Total time: 73’10.012

Fast lap: 1’43.458

Started at 137hp Finished at 137hp

MOV: +21.848

A few small notes. The tires wore a bit harder due to having more power. The HP noted above, was due to an oil change and full run-in. I'd go bakc and try again, but I'm on to new challenges. (Hey, feel like running 250 hp around Trial Mtn?)

And I walk away with a pretty sunburst Yellow Miata.

This also tips my mileage over to 39,071.0 miles driven in the game.

AO
 
A grand job Der Alta!

Here's a few suggestions for running TM 2Hrs with 250-ish HP.

Toyota Celica GT-Four. (Oil change, try to run against Mazda RX-7 but not Supra or NSX.
See Why I hate AI....part 2 in the write-ups thread for how close this race can be! )

Renault Clio Sport V6. (No oil change. Against anything but NSX)

Nissan Silvia Aero (new one) (Oil change, run against anything but NSX)

Toyota MR-2 GT-S (Oil change, run against NSX)

Honda S-2000 (Oil change, run against NSX) This is an extra close race, I won by only 2.3s after 2 Hrs!!!!

I'm still trying to win the Lister Storm V12, so I've done TM 2Hr a number of times, and I'm all for making it interesting, so I'm trying all sorts of entries to see what gives a fun race!
 
Smallhorses
A grand job Der Alta!

Here's a few suggestions for running TM 2Hrs with 250-ish HP.

Toyota Celica GT-Four. (Oil change, try to run against Mazda RX-7 but not Supra or NSX.
See Why I hate AI....part 2 in the write-ups thread for how close this race can be! )

Renault Clio Sport V6. (No oil change. Against anything but NSX)

Nissan Silvia Aero (new one) (Oil change, run against anything but NSX)

Toyota MR-2 GT-S (Oil change, run against NSX)

Honda S-2000 (Oil change, run against NSX) This is an extra close race, I won by only 2.3s after 2 Hrs!!!!

I'm still trying to win the Lister Storm V12, so I've done TM 2Hr a number of times, and I'm all for making it interesting, so I'm trying all sorts of entries to see what gives a fun race!
Click to expand...
*snicker* oddly enough, I was running the MR-2 GT-s on T2's. By Lap 11, I was fairly confident of an easy run against the NSX. As my VW (real life) is now past 170,000 miles, i've been looking at new cars. What better way to experiment than with GT3? That S2000 looks quite inviting.

Whichever one I win with here, I'm going to run it again in the PD Cup to see how well I can do with similar power.

Thanks

AO
 
It's quite the job to get your hands on all the different Mx-5's you can win in this race (and quite fun too!)..

But if you're a true car collector like Smallhorses, or just a big fan like me, you just gotta have them all :)

So far I've got these:

Mx-5 (1989), 119hp - J Limited/Sunburst Yellow
Mx-5 (1993), 132hp - VR Limited A/Mica Melrot
Mx-5 (1993), 132hp - VR Limited B/Excellent Green Mica (twice)

Only missing the Mx-5 1.8RS which comes in Sparkle green metallic!

Oh and it would certainly be nice to get one of those F1's so I can win some Opels (playing with german text), and then trade the whole lot to my original game!
 
What fun! I used my yellow LS w/T2's and finished at 1:12:44.xxx which I know is nothing to write home about, but it was still challenging and fun. I'd started this race twice earlier, but hit the sand several times early on, so I decided to quit and drive more carefully in the future. I started from 6th, grabbed the lead on the 8th lap and fell behind only briefly. I'd planned to pit after lap 20, but at lap 23 my tires were still mostly yellow, so I waited until lap 28 to pit. I even got lucky on the prize car picking up my first F/688. I'm going to go back and run it again with Sport Tires.
 
Bump ! Sorry, but great thread !

I am going to run the 1.8i, and want it to be close, what tires does the AI 1.8i use in the race ? I am going to pit with him on his pit pattern, and due to an oil change, im not going to qualify and start from the back of the pack
 
I think he uses T5s. At any rate, he pits about everyt three laps.
 
Yeah, he's on too-soft tires for the race. What a Dummy.

You can get away with using sport tires here and you'll be able to go more than 3 laps, too.
 

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