Some questions on the higher-end GT League events....

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-In GT League, I'm having a bit of a hard time with two events: the F1500T Championship in the Professional League is the first one. I'm particularly worried about having a non-clean race, and not getting the 1.5x bonus. I want to be cautious since these things have insane speed and acceleration, but I don't wanna fall too hard behind, either - I do seem to be able to overtake around three positions by the end of lap 2, FWIW. Should I also be careful about throttle control with these cars? Maybe I ought to be OK with coasting a bit every now and then, too...

-The other GT League event I'm struggling with is the Gr.3 Endurance at Monza, where I've only been able to finish P3. I'm using the Z4 GT3 - I've even tried using RS tires, but I've still been behind the leader by a good 20 or 30 seconds. I'm usually getting lap times between 1:50 and 1:55, depending on my tires, the state of them, and if I'm in traffic. Oh, and my fuel map is always set to 1. And for endurance races in general, is there a general pattern I should follow when the accelerated tire wear/fuel consumption differ from another? Like in this Monza race, the fuel use is 3x while the tires are at 4x - does this discrepancy mean anything as to what tires I should use, or does the track's overall layout mean more in this regard?

For both of these events, I don't wanna try tuning the power/weight because that doesn't seem too fair, so I wanna see if I can change my broader strategy instead.

-Finally, I don't have PS Plus to confirm this at the moment, but you *do* still get experience and money for racing in both Sport Mode and in lobbies, right? Including the 1.5x Clean Race bonus, if applicable? Do you guys ever fret about the Clean Race Bonus in GT League, or do you just try to do your best and put a larger focus on clean racing when it's online play?
 
Regarding the F1500T, I thought those races were pretty easy to win, but it's another thing all together to get the clean race bonus. Shouldn't take long though. No need to worry if you don't get the clean race bonus every time, because you'll still get the win money, and you can just race it again to get the bonus later on. As far as the handling of the 1500 goes, it's prone to oversteer, so be careful with your inputs. If you're still getting the hang of driving then maybe try using CSA (countersteering assist) if you're not a purist who calls that blasphemy.

I haven't raced the Monza endurance yet, but just the other day I finished the Dragon Trail Gardens race in first with over 1 minute between me and 2nd place. I wasn't really aware of what to expect regarding tire wear and pit stops, but for the first several laps I was running fuel map 1 and my fuel ran out really quickly compared to my tire wear, so when I pitted I used Racing Medium tires (in hindsight, you might be able to get away with soft tires too) and used that to catch up to the 1st place guy. Once I had the lead I started mapping to 5 or 6 in the turns and changed map down to 1 on the straights for more speed. By this time the 2nd place guy's tires were toast so he was slowing down dramatically. I'm not sure what the deal was, but that guy (AI) put up a seriously competitive time before the first pit and I wasn't sure if I was going to catch him without doing something drastic, but he just eventually slowed down and never made laps that fast again, even after I had the lead for awhile. Again, this was at Gardens, not at Monza, but I bet a similar strategy will work there. Try to figure out how often your leader is pitting, what tires he's using, and try to push beyond that so you can extend 1 or 2 laps beyond when he pits. Usually if you can pit 1 less time than him, you win without trying too hard.

Yes, in online races you still get the clean race bonus along with the normal credits you get for just finishing.

Personally I try to get the clean race bonus all the time because it's a good practice to get used to for online racing, but don't sweat it too much because it's just AI. Use these races to hone your skills and once you start racing online you'll be better for it and more respected. I'd rather lose a clean race than win a dirty one. This will also help you rack up experience points much quicker in the long run.

Best of luck to you.
 
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For Monza I used the 458. I think I even put BoP on. Start the race on RH and you will have fuel for 7 laps. Try to extend the stint to 8 laps either through short shifting or fuel map 2. After that fill the car up completely and you will be able to go 11 laps in fuel map 1. Do this for the next stint too and you will finish the race with 1 stop less than the AI which should give you an easy win.


The only tip I can give you for the F1500T races is to increase downforce to the max. This makes the car a bit easier to drive. Other than that it is just a matter of overtaking cars without going off track.
 
The best GR3 car stock is almost certainly the Beetle. It had to be nerfed in the Sport Mode early on which tells you a lot. I won with the Beetle using Fuel 1 and stopping when fuel was low, I did power up a bit though (to the top of level 1), probably more of a challenge stock but still think you would have a good chance to win with it.

EDIT - agreed, if you can take one less pit stop than the AI it makes a huge difference.

For the T1000, I'll be back. :lol:

No, wait, you said F1500T - I won these at the start before the handling was changed and haven't tried since but consensus seems to be handling got worse with the change.

Remember - in the F1500T races you can use soft tyres but the AI is on hard which gives you an advantage.
 
For Monza I used the 458. I think I even put BoP on. Start the race on RH and you will have fuel for 7 laps. Try to extend the stint to 8 laps either through short shifting or fuel map 2. After that fill the car up completely and you will be able to go 11 laps in fuel map 1. Do this for the next stint too and you will finish the race with 1 stop less than the AI which should give you an easy win.


The only tip I can give you for the F1500T races is to increase downforce to the max. This makes the car a bit easier to drive. Other than that it is just a matter of overtaking cars without going off track.

Sounds good! And regarding shifting in general, can I still get a rough idea of when to short-shift by using the hood cam? It doesn't really display exact RPM values like it does in the bumper cam, but could I still get an idea of where the power band is and so on? I would think the power band would be when the meter that represents RPMs is filled & blinking, but I'm not 100% sure.
 
Sounds good! And regarding shifting in general, can I still get a rough idea of when to short-shift by using the hood cam? It doesn't really display exact RPM values like it does in the bumper cam, but could I still get an idea of where the power band is and so on? I would think the power band would be when the meter that represents RPMs is filled & blinking, but I'm not 100% sure.

In the Ferrari thats the case. The highest power is at the top of the rev range. Other cars are different. For example the Supra is at peak power when the meter is filled about halfway.
 
First point: Throttle control is very much key with the F1500T-A, plus finding that "flow" with the car since it's definitely a handful to drive.

Second point: Last time I remembered, I managed to clear the Gr.3 Monza endurance with the Subaru WRX, I think with Racing Softs and fuel mapping set to 1. It's been months since I last did it, but I'm certain that's how I cleared it.
 
Minor update on the Monza Gr.3 endurance: I sorta compromised with my desire to avoid tuning, and used one of the more recent BoP settings for the Z4 GT3 (IIRC, it was as of 1.15?). A few days ago, my best finish was P3 - today I got P2! And on top of that, I think a few mistakes I made prevented me from getting P1, and not very minor ones, either.

Here was my strategy: I start out with RM wheels (though I'm considering RS wheels, too) since you also don't start with a full tank of fuel. I also set my fuel map to 2, and I keep driving until I can see my fuel gauge turn red (which is shortly before the fuel warning text appears), then I bump up the fuel map to 3, and potentially short-shift so I can stay on-track for an extra lap, insofar that I pit around the end of lap 8. Then I also change tires to RHs, and between that and my fuel, they're able to keep me from pitting until around lap 20, where I stick with RHs, and a full tank is just enough fuel for the remainder of the race. My lap times - if I'm not trying to avoid bumping into traffic - are usually around 1:51:xxx, maybe 1:53:xxx at most, and the latter is usually when I'm stuck behind traffic. I'm also wondering about that second chicane - as long as I have two wheels on the curb, is it still a "clean" race even if the other two wheels are further inside the turn? Or do I absolutely need to have two wheels always on the tarmac itself?

Regardless, I plan to keep using this strategy until I get P1, since I think what's holding me back is some of the avoidable mistakes I've made in previous attempts.
 
The 1500 is the only car I have to drive at TCS level 4. I move the brake balance all the way forward to stabilized the car under braking. The 1500 is so peaky. It mimics the old formula cars with a huge, laggy single turbo. I maximized the downforce but I didn't alter weight or power. TCS was the biggest helper though. Sometimes we have to let go of the ego and accept help. Where in the past I shunned the use of TCS at all in GTSport I use it as a tool, just as real drivers do.

Sark
 
I remember I did the Monza Gr3 Endurancd race using the M6 BMW.
- racing soft tyres
- fuel on max speed
- 3 stints on racing soft tyres (21 laps) and the last one on racing hard. If you feel like, you can go for another 7 laps stint and then go for an extra pit around the 27th or 28th lap. You should be leading by a super safe margin by then.

This strategy goes well with the Viper and Beetle as well. It's even easier with them.

I did it with the car fully stock and TC 2, can't remember the delta times though.

Hope I helped.

Edit: basically every endurance race can be beaten driving on soft tyres and fuel map on max speed. At least that's how I did the Gr3 on Monza, the two endurances from mission challenges (Gr4 at Alsace and the Porsche at Maggiore) and the Porsche at Suzuka in GT league.
 
I remember I did the Monza Gr3 Endurancd race using the M6 BMW.
- racing soft tyres
- fuel on max speed
- 3 stints on racing soft tyres (21 laps) and the last one on racing hard. If you feel like, you can go for another 7 laps stint and then go for an extra pit around the 27th or 28th lap. You should be leading by a super safe margin by then.

This strategy goes well with the Viper and Beetle as well. It's even easier with them.

I did it with the car fully stock and TC 2, can't remember the delta times though.

Hope I helped.

Edit: basically every endurance race can be beaten driving on soft tyres and fuel map on max speed. At least that's how I did the Gr3 on Monza, the two endurances from mission challenges (Gr4 at Alsace and the Porsche at Maggiore) and the Porsche at Suzuka in GT league.

That was exactly how I did it, even used the Subaru too. I would only take 7 laps of fuel at pit stops, tires every stop too. I led from between laps 15-20 and was never passed again.
 
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Ah, I see. So maybe next time, I'll use RS tires for the first two pit stops, then RHs for the remainder of the race? I usually pit around lap 8, then again around lap 20, and that's usually all I need as far as fuel goes - though I barely have enough. I'm thinking I ought to see if I can get my fuel to last a bit longer - maybe see if I can particularly wait until the end of lap 9 to pit, instead?
 
Use the aston on the gr3 race, go soft, hard, hard and it will smash it by over 50 secs.
Agreed. I've also used the Aston, Mustang, Evo and AMG GT. Two stops by shifting early, with one yellow light.
For the final stint, RS tyres(not necessary) can be used to make up more time.

AI are slow at the right-left turns before the four right-handers. Easy to make up time there.
 
Ah, I see. So maybe next time, I'll use RS tires for the first two pit stops, then RHs for the remainder of the race? I usually pit around lap 8, then again around lap 20, and that's usually all I need as far as fuel goes - though I barely have enough. I'm thinking I ought to see if I can get my fuel to last a bit longer - maybe see if I can particularly wait until the end of lap 9 to pit, instead?

It's not a big deal, but you can also note how long does the fuel last untill you have to pit again for tyres.

Example: if the tyres of your choice are going to last 7 laps long, when you pit there's no need to fuel more than that. No need to refuel 100%. You can shave some time from your pitwork this way and get the best of your strategy.

And then you plan on going RS twice and RH for the last stint if you want. Or RS,RH, RS and then RH again (I did like that with the Viper). But as I said there's no need. Only if you feel like "playing" the event a little more in deep for imersion simulation purposes.

Because the events are way too easy. For what people share here, maybe every car in the category is capable of winning these races in their stock forms. Maybe.
 
Because the events are way too easy. For what people share here, maybe every car in the category is capable of winning these races in their stock forms. Maybe.

If it's "way too easy," why haven't I already gotten P1? I can't even go off-track by mistake even once, or for a moment. And the closest I've been to the leader is when I'm 9 or 10 seconds behind. I'm even using the BoP settings on my Z4 GT3, which buffs it.
 
If it's "way too easy," why haven't I already gotten P1? I can't even go off-track by mistake even once, or for a moment. And the closest I've been to the leader is when I'm 9 or 10 seconds behind. I'm even using the BoP settings on my Z4 GT3, which buffs it.

I don't want to sound rude or play Captain Obvious, but practice makes perfection.

Maybe some time spent in time trial could help one to shave tents or even seconds from his laptime.

Maybe if the rabbit is too fast or op, one can always re-enter the event and get a diferent grid.

Maybe the car behaviour doesn't match the driver/player style. (I love the Subaru cars but I just couldn't beat the Monza endurance driving the Sub Gr.3. However some other player said here in this thread he beat it with the Subaru. Go figure)

Taking notes on when the IA pits may help one to adjust his race strategy too.

And again, don't wanna sound rude or anything, but practice practice practice.
 
If it's "way too easy," why haven't I already gotten P1? I can't even go off-track by mistake even once, or for a moment. And the closest I've been to the leader is when I'm 9 or 10 seconds behind. I'm even using the BoP settings on my Z4 GT3, which buffs it.
Conserving fuel, I've been down 50 seconds. I don't take tyres for the first stop. That saves some seconds. The race starts you with about 7laps of fuel. If you can stretch that to 10-11 laps, your next stint, you can push or conserve/run long to lap 21-22. From there, if you fuel one lap over finish, distance, you can push the whole way.

As mentioned, for 48 minutes, it's not a laborious race. Practice practice practice and have fun.
 
I don't want to sound rude or play Captain Obvious, but practice makes perfection.

Maybe some time spent in time trial could help one to shave tents or even seconds from his laptime.

And again, don't wanna sound rude or anything, but practice practice practice.

Well, obviously it's not "way too easy" then, is it? I just tried it again today - started with RHs, kept my fuel map to 3 so that I could pit at the end of lap 8 but only for fuel w/o changing tires, then pitted again around lap 20 to both get more fuel and change tires to another set of RHs. Even after the second pitstop, I had to keep my fuel map to 2 so that I didn't completely run out of fuel by the end of the race, and even without making mistakes (which I did on one of the last laps, but that's besides this point) I was still a whole minute behind the leader - none of the top three even pitted around lap 28. That's some real bull right there. The only reason I keep bothering is that I still get the money/exp/mileage, plus progress towards the achievements for distance driven, time driven, and fuel burned. I had an easier time getting the "Beat Zico" trophy in WipEout HD Fury, ffs.

I think anyone who says they can beat the Monza Gr.3 Endurance with a stock Z4 GT3 is a liar, too, as well as anyone who claims they've been a lap ahead of the leader without cranking up the power to the maximum & the weight to minimum. At the moment, I can't even beat it with the BoP settings that adds power! What next, you gonna show me how to capture the Mew hiding under the truck that's parked near the SS Anne, too? The only explanation I can think of is that the AI is so variable, it can be completely pathetic for some players and unbeatable in others, like the double-slit experiment. There is no way in hell that anyone can get a clean P1 finish in this race, with a stock Z4 GT3, one lap ahead of the leader. No. Way.
 
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So I took the Z4 for a spin at Monza out of curiosity. Everything stock, no Bop or tuning. RS tires at fuel 1, pitting on laps 8, 16 and 23. Put in a fastest lap of 1:49.983, with a range between that and 1:52. Took the lead on lap 20 and won by 23 seconds. Heaps of fun.
 
Well, obviously it's not "way too easy" then, is it? I just tried it again today - started with RHs, kept my fuel map to 3 so that I could pit at the end of lap 8 but only for fuel w/o changing tires, then pitted again around lap 20 to both get more fuel and change tires to another set of RHs. Even after the second pitstop, I had to keep my fuel map to 2 so that I didn't completely run out of fuel by the end of the race, and even without making mistakes (which I did on one of the last laps, but that's besides this point) I was still a whole minute behind the leader - none of the top three even pitted around lap 28. That's some real bull right there. The only reason I keep bothering is that I still get the money/exp/mileage, plus progress towards the achievements for distance driven, time driven, and fuel burned. I had an easier time getting the "Beat Zico" trophy in WipEout HD Fury, ffs.

I think anyone who says they can beat the Monza Gr.3 Endurance with a stock Z4 GT3 is a liar, too, as well as anyone who claims they've been a lap ahead of the leader without cranking up the power to the maximum & the weight to minimum. At the moment, I can't even beat it with the BoP settings that adds power! What next, you gonna show me how to capture the Mew hiding under the truck that's parked near the SS Anne, too? The only explanation I can think of is that the AI is so variable, it can be completely pathetic for some players and unbeatable in others, like the double-slit experiment. There is no way in hell that anyone can get a clean P1 finish in this race, with a stock Z4 GT3, one lap ahead of the leader. No. Way.

Whoa! Stopped reading when you said the word LIAR.

The Endurances are indeed easy.

Bottom line: RS tyres, fuel map to max speed, and do flying laps every lap. Period. Pit whenever you need. You'll be fine.


If it's taking somehow longer for you to get the hang of it, it's ok. But once you master the car(s) it is a series of easy (and fun) events.

Go practice and then you'll see.

#peace
 
think anyone who says they can beat the Monza Gr.3 Endurance with a stock Z4 GT3 is a liar, too, as well as anyone who claims they've been a lap ahead of the leader without cranking up the power to the maximum & the weight to minimum
Challenge accepted

I'll do both. Watch this space
 
Alright, so to try something else while I keep trying the endurances, I've been trying the F1500 races. How do you get a clean P1 on these races? Should I still follow the principles of only trying to pass on corner exits & straights, rather than try to brake later than the AI as a turn comes up? I've got the downforce cranked all the way up, but otherwise, I refuse to tune the power/weight. It feels like the AI is all over the track, and just when you think you've passed a car, they catch up and you're wheel-to-wheel. Even though I did get P1 in the Brands Hatch race, it wasn't a clean race, and I was maybe a couple seconds ahead. Maybe I ought to take a look at the power band chart for the F1500, too?

And meanwhile, I think I'll try to short-shift more on the Monza race - I think keeping 2 at the first chicane, and then 4 up until the large straight (before the s-bend). At the actual s-bend, I'll shift down to 4th again, then gear up to 5th/6th in the straight before the hairpin, wherein I'll once again shift down to 4th until the start/finish straight begins. Hopefully, I'll only need to pit twice - once around the end of lap 7 or 8, and ideally around the end of lap 20 or 21. Finally, I think I'll go over the grid as I start the event - if I see the M6 GT3 cars in the bottom half or third of the grid, I think I'll be good to go.

EDIT: You don't suppose the fact I'm playing on a DS4 and not a wheel changes anything, does it? I'm pretty sure it's just my driving style/strategy - at least more than my choice of hardware...

EDIT2: I suppose I could also take a look at some videos of other players doing these races on YouTube for guidance - I just saw one vid of someone doing the Brands Hatch F1500 race, and getting a clean P1 finish and a ~20 second lead! In which case, perhaps I could do to take some notes. Like maybe I should take note of when this guy takes P1 in the race, and therefore, if I shouldn't be as aggressive - keeping a cool head is a virtue in almost any scenario, isn't it? I think he had TCS cranked all the way up, too - do you think that alone really changes things that drastically?

EDIT3: Yeah, I think I'm definitely gonna short-shift that first chicane on Monza. I've noticed that if/when I shift into 1st, and when I'm accelerating into that broader curve (which is between the first two chicanes), I seem to lose a bit of traction, and quite consistently if I stick in 1st. I'm thinking of experimenting with both only going down to 2nd, and even 3rd if there's still some skidding as I accelerate from 2nd gear. I think I could also ease off the throttle for the s-bend before the hairpin, too, to further save fuel.
 
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And meanwhile, I think I'll try to short-shift more on the Monza race - I think keeping 2 at the first chicane, and then 4 up until the large straight (before the s-bend). At the actual s-bend, I'll shift down to 4th again, then gear up to 5th/6th in the straight before the hairpin, wherein I'll once again shift down to 4th until the start/finish straight begins. Hopefully, I'll only need to pit twice - once around the end of lap 7 or 8, and ideally around the end of lap 20 or 21. Finally, I think I'll go over the grid as I start the event - if I see the M6 GT3 cars in the bottom half or third of the grid, I think I'll be good to go.
Honestly don't play with the fuel map and just short shift in the Z4

I won by 1:48 and P2 was literally in front of me. If I only had one more lap I can lap him as well
 
When the yellow flags come out at the first chicane and upon arrival, the leader is perpendicular to the track, makes it so much easier.
 
I feel like I'm still struggling a bit with the F1500 races. I also heard the F1500 is one of the hardest cars to properly drive in GT Sport at the moment - is there any credence to this? It would make sense, since I recall that more modern F1 cars have around 600 or 700HP, versus the 1980s cars that the F1500 is based on, and had almost 1000HP! So far, I feel that cranking up the TCS to level 5 has helped a little, and I heard maximizing the downforce can help, too, especially with reducing the skidding. It feels like I loose a chunk of traction at high RPMs, especially towards the end of gear 3. Would messing around with the actual gear ratio help at all, here? Or perhaps the LSD?

I've also been studying this YouTube channel, "PureGameplay Motorsport", who has replays uploaded from the F1500 races in GT League - but how does he never skid at all? And in his replay of the Suzuka race, how is he able to overtake a car just after the chicane before the start of the first lap?! Could I really be this disadvantaged by using a DS4 versus buying a wheel?

EDIT: I did find someone's setup on YouTube - seems to have a gearing that's meant to minimize turbo lag. I'll give it a swing and report back - and if it's especially fruitful, I'll post the link/specs, too.
 
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The F-1500 was a nice car (difficult, but rewarding) in 1.13. Then 1.14 came and just ruined the whole car. It's undriveable. The youtuber you saw probably posted those videos while it was still 1.13
 
The F-1500 was a nice car (difficult, but rewarding) in 1.13. Then 1.14 came and just ruined the whole car. It's undriveable. The youtuber you saw probably posted those videos while it was still 1.13

Good to know - glad to hear it's not just me being a goony bird. Aye, so maybe I'll just stick around, and try other events. And maybe I ought to retry the F1500 races after an update, in case its driving gets fixed?

EDIT: And yeah, it looks like that video was before the 1.14 update.
 
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This F1500 is a total crock of shiz... not only is it ridiculous to handle with the stock setup, the AI can’t even drive it properly now and often just plow right into you, get past then lift off.....

I found a decent ish setup but the way this car behaves is piss poor. I also noticed that it sounds horrible in cockpit view, if your near any other cars you can’t even hear it, making gear changes harder to manage before the jet engines turbo kicks in. I’ve managed to ace brands and Suzuka but at Brazil the AI just trolls off into the distance....
 
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