SHOE's COMPLETE GUIDE TO LE MANS 24h RACING

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Furinkazen
I've got 4000 miles on my Ford Mk IV having run multiple seasons of endurance racing with it, challenge accepted :sly:
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I like how the photo he linked, was definitely a "bragging" moment, for Ford, showing how successful they were, yet there are like 60 Ford GT40s running about there; three of them were bound to end up on the podium. :lol:

Edit: I count at least 11.
 
No idea what year that was... Or even how many were in the race the year they swept the podium. Fair point that additional cars increases the chances of success. A lot still depends on the quality of the machine and drivers of course.

Was is not the only year the podium was swept?
 
BJBEOSmitty
No idea what year that was... Or even how many were in the race the year they swept the podium.
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:lol: I'm just proud of Mazda; they brought two 787Bs, and one of them won. Success rate: 50%


Seeing 11 Ford GT40s in that photo (including the one that's far back in the photo) starting the Le Mans race, and knowing that only three can get onto the podium, it meant like 29% success rate.


Mazda only went twice, to Le Mans, to prove that they could win, but, afterwards, they couldn't afford it. Having won, in their second outing, with only two 787Bs on the track, tells me that Mazda's success rate would be better than Ford's. :lol:


Oh, by the way, I'll apologize now; I'm a Mazda fan. My buddy owns an RX-7, and likes to use it, to snap my neck (the boost in that car is insane!) So, perhaps I'm a bit biassed. :lol:


Full info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans


-13 Ford GT40s
-3 finished
-10 did not finish
-0 laps margin of victory (between the two top GT40s)
-21 laps margin of victory (manufacturers-Ford over Porsche)
-Pole Position - #3 Shelby-American Inc. - 3:30.6
-Fastest Lap - #3 Shelby-American Inc. - 3:30.6
-Distance - 4843.09 km
-Average Speed - 210.795 km/h
 
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MrMelancholy15
:lol: I'm just proud of Mazda; they brought two 787Bs, and one of them won. Success rate: 50%


Seeing 11 Ford GT40s in that photo (including the one that's far back in the photo) starting the Le Mans race, and knowing that only three can get onto the podium, it meant like 29% success rate.


Mazda only went twice, to Le Mans, to prove that they could win, but, afterwards, they couldn't afford it. Having won, in their second outing, with only two 787Bs on the track, tells me that Mazda's success rate would be better than Ford's. :lol:


Oh, by the way, I'll apologize now; I'm a Mazda fan. My buddy owns an RX-7, and likes to use it, to snap my neck (the boost in that car is insane!) So, perhaps I'm a bit biassed. :lol:


Full info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966_24_Hours_of_Le_Mans


-13 Ford GT40s
-3 finished
-10 did not finish
-0 laps margin of victory (between the two top GT40s)
-21 laps margin of victory (manufacturers-Ford over Porsche)
-Pole Position - #3 Shelby-American Inc. - 3:30.6
-Fastest Lap - #3 Shelby-American Inc. - 3:30.6
-Distance - 4843.09 km
-Average Speed - 210.795 km/h
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787b is also more modern and was build to be durable.

Back in the days of the ford Gt40's the cars wern't as reliable or good. Plus ford was a big company so putting a lot of ford gt40's wasn't hard for them.

If mazda continued le mans though i think they woulda kept doing good.

Shoe67... the lsd did help. putting the acceleration sensitivity from 8 down to 7 and raising the initial by 1 actually helped.
 
Hmmmm

% of Fords finishing that were beaten by any Non Ford in the field? 0%! :)
The 787b is a remarkable story...
 
BJBEOSmitty
Hmmmm

% of Fords finishing that were beaten by any Non Ford in the field? 0%! :)
The 787b is a remarkable story...
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They were both remarkable, thus the reason that they are so famous world wide...
 
True.

I wonder how well the current 787b's sell? Are they holding value? Maybe a 787b that is a few in he's taller. Is and slightly longer? Does the 787bX1 turn any heads? :)
 
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BJBEOSmitty
True.

I wonder how well the current 787b's sell? Are they holding value? Maybe a 787b that is a few in he's taller. Is and slightly longer? Does the 787bX1 turn any heads? :)
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I haven't heard much about them recently. Only during Le Mans week when they have all of the old group c racers
 
💡 Well I find this now. After 11 hours into it.

I choose to go with the Formula GT at Lemans and it's actually was my second attempt.

My first attempt I went some 5 hours in the rain and then the power went out in my neighborhood.
My second attempt and I would find out 6 hours into it that it had no head lights. It's been pouring rain for 11 hours and I have been driving in the dark for 6 of them with only having tiny lights off in the distance to aim for.

It started raining really hard and I been running racing soft tires the whole time. Car is not tuned. I started feeling more and more instance of the steering wheel going limp which I guess is simulating loss of grip and I was spinning out more often so I stopped for Race Rain tires.
Went out again and the car felt like a under steering dump truck and had less grip then before so I was spinning out a lot more. I went in the next lap to put soft tires back on. Haven't tried any other tire type sort of thought I'd stick with what I knew was working. I guess this is the rain glitch not sure why racing slicks work better then rain tires.

The FGT runs 11 to 12 laps depending on how much you spin tires and waste gas while accelerating out of corners. In the rain the soft tires do not even wear so I really only have to pit just for fuel.

I can't wait for day break and I really wish the rain would end. :sick:

I absolutely should have done my research prior to starting the race. This post will really help for the next 24hour at the Ring.
 
Seems like a fun time in that FGT. Try using the racing line. It will allow you to see at night since you have no headlights. Also, this guide should help you with some tuning in your next attempt so that you don't have to deal with the understeer issue. How far ahead are you at the moment?
 
Shoe67
Seems like a fun time in that FGT. Try using the racing line. It will allow you to see at night since you have no headlights. Also, this guide should help you with some tuning in your next attempt so that you don't have to deal with the understeer issue. How far ahead are you at the moment?
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Thanks for the tip, didn't even remember I had that as an option.
I am 11 laps ahead even not seeing where I am going. Running pretty much 3:40 range - 4:00 min a lap in the dark, fastest lap was 3:27 in the wet when I could see.
 
jumper5836
Thanks for the tip, didn't even remember I had that as an option.
I am 11 laps ahead even not seeing where I am going. Running pretty much 3:40 range - 4:00 min a lap in the dark, fastest lap was 3:27 in the wet when I could see.
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Ok, you are doing good. Read the OP and you should find info on AI times and laps. I can't recall exactly, but I believe it was 3:30 dry and 4:00-4:10 in the wet to win. So you are doing fine. 380ish laps should win
 
I just completed the race yesterday after about a week in progress. I could have either used the Minolta, Nissan R89C, Mercedes CLK-LM or Peugeot 908 hdi. Decided to use the Nissan because I thought the car was fast enough to win but slow enough still to be interesting. Completed 387 laps (best was 3:20.544) which was enough to win the race by 12 laps over the Hybride Judd. It was a real grind as I expected but definitely more enjoyable than the Tsukuba 9 hours. It's these long races where I appreciated having the rather rubbish logitech driving force over no wheel at all.
 
brooksy22
I just completed the race yesterday after about a week in progress. I could have either used the Minolta, Nissan R89C, Mercedes CLK-LM or Peugeot 908 hdi. Decided to use the Nissan because I thought the car was fast enough to win but slow enough still to be interesting. Completed 387 laps (best was 3:20.544) which was enough to win the race by 12 laps over the Hybride Judd. It was a real grind as I expected but definitely more enjoyable than the Tsukuba 9 hours. It's these long races where I appreciated having the rather rubbish logitech driving force over no wheel at all.
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Good race! Must have had a lot of rain if the Judd did only 375 laps? Also, tsukuba is terrible. Too boring...
 
Shoe67
Good race! Must have had a lot of rain if the Judd did only 375 laps? Also, tsukuba is terrible. Too boring...
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The race was dry all the way until midday on Sunday, then it rained non stop for 4 hours. I had actually considered using the Mercedes because I knew that it was slower than the other cars but I decided against it on the grounds that it was an unpleasant car to drive. There was an A.I CLK-LM and it finished in 8th place! It was quite a stiff grid with a Hybride Judd, Bentley Speed 8, BMW V12 LMR and Toyota GT-one etc.

The TSukuba race was almost unbearable. Even with the glorious howl of the XJ13's V12.
 
brooksy22
The race was dry all the way until midday on Sunday, then it rained non stop for 4 hours. I had actually considered using the Mercedes because I knew that it was slower than the other cars but I decided against it on the grounds that it was an unpleasant car to drive. There was an A.I CLK-LM and it finished in 8th place! It was quite a stiff grid with a Hybride Judd, Bentley Speed 8, BMW V12 LMR and Toyota GT-one etc.

The TSukuba race was almost unbearable. Even with the glorious howl of the XJ13's V12.
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Yeah I agree, driving that crap for 9 hours really put the "suk" in Tsukuba 👎
 
Afrodeezy
Yeah I agree, driving that crap for 9 hours really put the "suk" in Tsukuba 👎
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I wouldnt mind it if they had weather and time change...but it's just the same thing over and over
 
When I raced the 24hrs Le Mans, I used the Nissan Kaz used in the 24hr Nur.

It was a bit of a grind at times but I let my neighbour and cousin have a few stints and that but me behind by a few laps so I could have something to chase.

I am doing the 24hr nur currently in the GTR (R35) TC.

11hrs in and been raining since the start.

I find for these long races, if you have something to listen to, the time goes quicker. Music or radio is good. Comedy is better. Going to start listening to my newly purchased 12th man discography on tonights stints.
 
hatfield
When I raced the 24hrs Le Mans, I used the Nissan Kaz used in the 24hr Nur.

It was a bit of a grind at times but I let my neighbour and cousin have a few stints and that but me behind by a few laps so I could have something to chase.

I am doing the 24hr nur currently in the GTR (R35) TC.

11hrs in and been raining since the start.

I find for these long races, if you have something to listen to, the time goes quicker. Music or radio is good. Comedy is better. Going to start listening to my newly purchased 12th man discography on tonights stints.
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lol i gotta try listening to comedy. I think that would be interesting. I made my own soundtrack for enduro races but never thought of comedy. I gotta try that
 
DSUjoeDirte9
lol i gotta try listening to comedy. I think that would be interesting. I made my own soundtrack for enduro races but never thought of comedy. I gotta try that
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I listen to comedy when doing online races
 
Shoe67
Ok, you are doing good. Read the OP and you should find info on AI times and laps. I can't recall exactly, but I believe it was 3:30 dry and 4:00-4:10 in the wet to win. So you are doing fine. 380ish laps should win
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Well I couldn't turn the line on. Must be an option you have prior to starting the race.

But it stopped raining and dawn finally came but then it started raining again. Only had maybe a 4 hours when grip wasn't an issue. Fastest lap in the dry was 3:05. I did 380 laps and had around 50 min to kill. I was 38 laps up when I pulled over. The lead AI was in the Pescarolo C60 Hybride ’05 and it did only 357 laps.

Need to now pick a good car for the Nur now. Thinking going with the Audi R10 TDI '06 but it looks like it is very slow and better to go with an older R8. What to keep to an open cockpit car.

What are AI laptimes for the Nur.
 
I'm not sure for the Nurburgring lap times. I know it's about 160 laps, and you should be able to do 3 laps on tires. I'm guessing that it is about 8:20 per lap would be good enough.
 
Shoe67
I'm not sure for the Nurburgring lap times. I know it's about 160 laps, and you should be able to do 3 laps on tires. I'm guessing that it is about 8:20 per lap would be good enough.
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if its 8:20 then that race would be easy i would think.

I can drive the f40 faster than that.

XD

The AI does really suck at nurburg though imo for some reason... to many turns for them to comprehend i think
 
DSUjoeDirte9
if its 8:20 then that race would be easy i would think.

I can drive the f40 faster than that.

XD

The AI does really suck at nurburg though imo for some reason... to many turns for them to comprehend i think
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The issue is that the AI never push it. If you followed EXACTLY what the driving line tells you, your laps would be unreasonably slow also
 

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