Stock A-Spec Seasonal #20 - (Japanese '90s, Muscle, European - 3/11 to 3/25)

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This is a thread series for the seasonal time trials that focuses on completing the challenges (i.e. beating the gold target times) with stock versions of the cars. This means that instead of maximizing your PP with upgrades and focusing on getting the fastest laps on the in-game leaderboard, you are attempting to complete the challenges with the bare minimum amount of 'car' and money-spent as is possible.

With the new more open ended format means that part of the challenge will be finding a stock car that has the lowest PP or lowest price depending on your view. It is also difficult to predict which types of tires a car will come with before purchasing.

Warning: Some of these challenges are getting to be extreme and should be approached with caution! :banghead:


In order to participate your car must be stock.

1) A stock car is essentially any car as it is when purchased from the dealership or won as a prize: it will have had no modifications, added parts, or adjustments done that affect how the car performs.
2) No oil changes are permitted: if you have had an oil change you must wait until the effects of the HP boost have been removed by driving over 300 km.
3) You must use the original tire type that came with the car, unless dirt or snow tires are required.
4) No changes to any “Car Settings” are permitted: they must ALL be left at their default values. [Note: cars that come with Fully Customizable Suspension that were purchased or won prior to patch 1.11 must have the suspension settings restored to default in order to be updated with the new stock suspension settings.]
5) No SRF or ASM is permitted: other “Driver Assists” are permitted.

Basically, the ONLY changes you may make to a car include: painting the car and changing a car’s racing number. Any other changes means your car is not stock.


Stock A-Spec Seasonals #20:

Beginner-Level Japanese '90s Challenge: SS Route 5 - 450 PP - SH
Intermediate-Level Muscle Car Battle: Trial Mountain - 550 PP - SH
Expert-Level European Hot Hatch Race: Madrid Reverse - 450 PP - CS


The Stock Seasonal Spreadsheet:

A few members have begun a leaderboard of sorts where individuals will be able to input their info into a public document. This is not so much a competition as a way to compare all sorts of data. At this point the data that is recorded for entries is as follows:

PP - Best Lap - Total Time - Car - Tires - Drive - Power - Weight - Rabbit - Rabbit Total Time

Link to the GTP Stock Seasonal Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kDEW2OWUxHfq9PTR4G4-HKXl3veLfq0sXhvwiPYMUGw/

Notes about the Spreadsheet:
Tabs will generally be ordered with the newest seasonal events at the left.
Gold times are ordered based first on PP (lowest PP at the top), and then total time.
Bronze and Silver times are ordered based solely on total time (fastest time at the top): these entries will be grayed out.
If you are comfortable with entering your info please do so.
Only create one entry per car for your best total time for that car.
To add an empty line: right click (PC) on a gray row number box and select add a row above or below.
If you make a mistake or change something you did not mean to change hit undo once or a few times.
 
My results so far with a wheel and an automatic transmission:

450PP Japanese ‘90s at SS Route 5:
434PP
– 1:40.551 – 5:26.584 – Mazda efini RX-7 Typre R (FD) ’91 – SH – FR – 252hp – 1260kg – SKYLINE GT-R V spec N1 (R34) ?? – 5:29.547


550PP Muscle at Trial Mountain:
454PP
– 1:42.323 – 9:05.846 – Shelby GT350 ’65 – SH – FR – 304hp – 1270kg – Viper SRT10 ACR ’08 – 9:06.344


450PP European Hot Hatch at Madrid R:

I could not find any car with CS tires with which I could win. I tried the following which were 9:07.xxx or more while the rabbit is consistently below 9:00.xxx (with the exception of one crash where it was 9:06.xxx while I was still only 9:07.xxx):

Lotus Europa S.2 15th Anniv ’68
Renault Sport Clio R.S. ’11
Audi TTS Coupe ’09 [fastest lap time 1:42.272]
BMW M Coupe ’98
Volkswagen Scirocco R ’10
Renault Sport Clio V6 24V ’00
Vauxhall VX220 Turbo ’00.

From the tuned car I used I would wager you need 1:38.xxx lap times at a minimum to win.
 
450PP Japanese ‘90s at SS Route 5:
390PP
- 1:48.113 - 5:51.96 - Civic Type R (EK) '97 - CS - FF - 176HP - 1050 kg - Supra RZ '97 - +.073

Easy then not so much coming to the line.

550PP Muscle at Trial Mountain:
462PP
- 1:43.890 - 9:09.505 - Mercury Cougar XR-7 '67 - SH - FR - 319HP - 1418 kg - Corvette ZR1 (C6) '09 - +.906

What a great car. Only problem was doing 115 mph banging off the rev limiter on the back straight while the 'vette came from 2 seconds back like it was launched by NASA.

450PP European Hot Hatch at Madrid R:
440PP
- 1:43.000 - 9:08.766 - Renault Sport Megane R.S. Trophy '11 - CS - FF - 261HP - 1387 kg - Alpha Romeo 147 GTA '02 - +.375

Tried this car against the 135i and couldn't come close. Gold first with a stock 111R against the BMW and then tried several other cars. Closest I got was 2nd with the Scirocco R '10. Tried the Megane again and got the field with the Alpha:dopey:👍.
 
Not the best of times but I'm not the best of drivers either :D

All assists off except ABS=1 and BSI=on. MT with clutch + 3 pedals (G27). Bonnet camera.

550PP Muscle at Trial Mountain:
541PP
– 1:42.128 – 9:11.453 – Corvette Z06 (C6) '06 – SH – FR – 502hp – 1421kg – Ford GT Concept '02 – 9:12.114

(already added it to the spreadsheet myself)
 
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450PP Japanese `90s at SS Route 5:
380PP
- 1:48.037 5:47.583 Honda Civic SiR-II (EG) '92 - CS - FF - 164hp - 1040kg - Skyline GT-R Special Color Midnight Purple II (R34) '99 - +.008

Maybe I should have tried another lineup, Supra and GT-R got in the way too much in the first sector.
 
450PP Japanese ‘90s at SS Route 5:
390PP
- 148.277 - 551.55 - Civic Type R (EK) '97 - CS - FF - 176bhp - 1050kg - ImpreZA Coupe WRX Type R S - 551.787

550PP Muscle at Trial Mountain:
453PP
- 144.699 - 916.097 - Mustang Mach 1 '71 - CS - FR - 302bhp - 1615kg - ford gt concept '02 - 916.213
Lots of fun, slight block at end and only 111mph top speed


450PP European Hot Hatch at Madrid Reverse:
443PP - 140.725 - 900.561 - TTS Coupe '09 - CS - FF - 268bhp - 1415kg - Megane R.S. '08 - 910.3
 
450PP Japanese ‘90s at SS Route 5:
442PP
- 1:41,716 - 5:30,376 - Lancer Evolution IV GSR '96 - SH - 4WD - 277bhp - 1350kg - Skyline GT0R M.N.P. II (R34) '99 +04,226

it's my first try at this, hope I got all the rules correct :p
 
450PP European Hot Hatch at Madrid R:
427PP
– 1:41.575 – 9:02.510 – Renault Sport Clio V6 24V ’00 – CS – MR – 249hp – 1335kg – 147 GTA ’02 9:04.129

After trying many different groups of opponents I hit one group that went slow enough for me to catch up: Golf VI R ’10 and 147 GTA ’02 were two starters (the same Alpha Romeo as @GTFireball ). Very nice times with the Clio @Ed_Night !
 
450PP Japanese ‘90s at SS Route 5:
428pp
- 1:43.431 - 5:42.173 - Honda S2000 ’99 - CS - FR - 242bhp - 1240kg - Impreza Sedan WRX STi - 5:44.661

Tried it with a couple of MX-5s but although it's easy enough to get to the front I couldn't keep them behind me on the final straight without blocking.

550PP Muscle at Trial Mountain:
492PP
- 1:43.198 - 9:06.316 - Tesla Model S Signature Performance '12 - SH - RR - 422bhp - 2018kg - Corvette ZR1(C6) ’09 - 9:06.485
454PP - 1:43.430 - 9:09.776 - Shelby GT350 ’65 - SH - FR- 394bhp - 1270kg - Corvette ZR1(C6) ’09 - 9:09.855
433PP - 1:46.002 - 9:22.917 - Acura NSX ’91 - CS - MR - 266bhp - 1365kg - Ford Shelby GT500 ’13 - 9:23.125

Still no luck at Madrid. I'll have to look out for the Alfa rabbit.
 
550PP Muscle at Trial Mountain:
A few more:
490PP - 1:42.274 - 9:01.804 - Challenger SRT8 '08 - SH - FR - 425HP - 1878 kg - Ford GT '06 - 9:02.900
486PP - 1:37.776 - 8:42.168 - Shelby Series One Supercharged '03 - SH - FR - 319HP - 1202 kg - Viper GTS '13 - 8:42.880
435PP - 1:41.739 - 8:59.969 - Ford Focus RS '02 - SH - FF - 216HP - 1050 kg - Corvette Stingray (C7) '14 - 9:00.915

@Hastatus or @StirlingMoose you may wish to check the P/W calc in the Madrid sheet. I couldn't figure out how to paste the equation from another sheet so I simplified. I'll just wait next time.
 
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Using the DS3 controller I had a LOT of trouble with the beginner race this time around. I could get into the lead with under 400PP cars but couldn't maintain it in the final straight. The closest I came was with the Toyota Celica SS II but finished 3rd only .294 seconds back when I was passed on the straight. Finally got angry and brought in my stk Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo ringer car for an easy win...

In the Int race I am down to a 475 PP '90 Corvette ZR1 for the win. Am close with 451 PP '00 Mustang Cobra but haven't won with it yet.
 
490PP - 1:43.964 - 9:09.352 - Challenger SRT8 '08 - SH - FR - 425HP - 1878 kg - Ford GT '06 - 9:09.871

the Challenger is actually a great car to drive, especially for a muscle car...
 
Using the DS3 controller I had a LOT of trouble with the beginner race this time around. I could get into the lead with under 400PP cars but couldn't maintain it in the final straight. The closest I came was with the Toyota Celica SS II but finished 3rd only .294 seconds back when I was passed on the straight. Finally got angry and brought in my stk Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo ringer car for an easy win...

In the Int race I am down to a 475 PP '90 Corvette ZR1 for the win. Am close with 451 PP '00 Mustang Cobra but haven't won with it yet.

That final straight is a killer. If only the finish line were a bit nearer. Have you tried the Civics? They usually shine at this type of race.

Edit to add a couple more for Trial Mountain, one of them actually a muscle car.

550PP Muscle at Trial Mountain:

463PP - 1:43.768 - 9:07.778 - Tesla Roadster '08 - SH - MR - 277HP - 1238kg - Ford GT '06 - 9:08.370
451PP - ??? - 9:15.204 - Chevrolet Camaro SS '69 - SH - FR - 298HP - 1401kg - Viper GTS '13 - 9:15.415

The Roadster just runs rings around them. Even lapped one of them. Mind you it was some dodgy-looking pick-up.
The Camaro's pretty nice too. Runs out of steam on the long straight though. And on the short straight if you get it right. Did they really make these cars so they'd top out at 115mph? I'd bet that most of the people that owned one these cars back in the day modified them.
 
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Did they really make these cars so they'd top out at 115mph? I'd bet that most of the people that owned one these cars back in the day modified them.

Yes. They were mostly built to be 1/4 mile go fast rather than as high speed "GT" cars. Not too much distance between stop lights. Other than racers to suit a track, I don't think most people modified the final gearing - at least not for higher top end speed.
 
I added a bunch more cars in the Trial Mountain race, really starting to get a feel for the track and it's becoming a lot of fun! :) Started with the higher pp cars though and slowly working my way down the pp list.

Everything already added to the XLS sheet.

550PP Muscle at Trial Mountain:

516 Breyzipp 1:40.372 8:54.976 Viper GTS '02 SH FR 448 1569 3,50 Viper SRT10 ACR '08 8:55.860
521 Breyzipp 1:39.987 8:56.999 GT40 Mark I '66 SH MR 354 1080 3,05 Viper SRT10 ACR '08 8:57.677
526 Breyzipp 1:40.687 8:59.273 Corvette Stingray (C7) '14 SH FR 453 1500 3,31 Ford GT '06 9:01.661
534 Breyzipp 1:37.454 8:44.369 Viper SRT10 Coupe '06 SH FR 508 1565 3,08 Viper SRT10 ACR '08 8:45.439
536 Breyzipp 1:41.053 8:52.744 Cobra 427 '66 SH FR 484 1068 2,20 Viper GTS '13 8:53.376
541 Breyzipp 1:42.128 9:11.453 Corvette Z06 (C6) '06 SH FR 502 1421 2,83 Ford GT Concept '02 9:12.114


One question though, if I redo a race with the same car and suppose my total time is not improved but I got a new best lap record, should I update that then? I think sooner or later that scenario will happen. :)
 
@breyzipp : Total time takes priority over lap time; and your lap time must be from the same race that your posted total time is from.
 
Beginner-Level Japanese '90s Challenge: SS Route 5 - 450 PP - SH
351PP
- 6:04.021 - Eunos Roadster J-Limited (NA) '91 CS - FR - 117bhp - 950kg vs NSX Type R '92 +0.100 sec behind bl 1'52.742
326PP - 6:20.861 - DEMIO GL-X '99 - CM - FF - 98bhp - 960kg , 3rd 9.691 sec after Lancer Evolution VI GSR '99 1:59.421

Intermediate-Level Muscle Car Battle: Trial Mountain - 550 PP - SH
408PP
- 9:17.892 - Plymouth XNR Ghia Roadster '60 - SH - FR - 250bhp - 1500kg vs Ford GT Concept '02 0.448 sec behind , bl 1:45.042 (passed the rabbit at the lefthan corner before back straith)

Expert-Level European Hot Hatch Race: Madrid Reverse - 450 PP - CS

408PP - 9:14.683 - Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 '85 - CS - 4WD - 200bhp - 1145kg vs BMW.. 17 sec behind, bl 1:43.434
423PP - 9:03.768 - Opel Speedster Turbo '00 - CS - MR - 197bhp - 1005kg 3rd vs Clio V6 24V '00 9.679 sec ahead , bl 1:41.803
2nd line up Scirocco R '10
8:58.230 2nd 1.462 sec from rabbit , bl 1:41.167 (the rabbit was in the wall on last lap but recovered quickly)

3rd line up 147 GTA '02
423PP - 9:04.880 - Opel Speedster Turbo '00 - CS - MR - 197bhp - 1005kg vs 147 GTA '02 +1.309 sec behind , bl 1:41.834 ( The AI was rubbish , coming to full stop at the first chicane 2 times , causing me to loose a lot of time , yet having the right rabbit still made winning possible.)


Some blocking needed on the 90's and Muscle race on the longest straith.
 
@breyzipp : Total time takes priority over lap time; and your lap time must be from the same race that your posted total time is from.

Ok, thinking about it, it makes more sense to keep them together indeed. If you multiply best lap time x 5 and that result is not far below the total time, it means you've driven very consistent. If it's far off it probably means you either had a lucky best lap or you messed up one or more of the other laps. The delta-time between both is an interesting value as well, if it's too high it probably means you better redo that race since there is probably a lot of time to improve.

The same happens when you take a new car out, lap after lap you see yourself improving as you get used to the handling of the car and where it's boundaries are. The question is do you just leave it at that or do you give it another shot. I've redone my GT40 race and I believe I improved about 10 seconds on it...

These seasonal events are really great for comparing cars with each other, I learned a lot about all the different MR cars a month ago with that autumn ring reverse seasonal and the same is happening here now as well with American cars.

Example :
521 Breyzipp 1:38.626 8:47.207 GT40 Mark I '66 SH MR 354 1080 3,05
521 Breyzipp 1:43.411 9:11.340 CTS-V Coupe '11 SH FR 555 1940 3,49

The exact same pp yet worlds apart in regards of handling, performance and driving fun. The Cadillac is a nightmare to drive but it almost has double the weight of the GT40 as well. Still I don't know how PD assigns pp to a certain car but the CTS-V doesn't feel like it's worthy of being a 500+ pp car at all.
 
490PP - 1:43.964 - 9:09.352 - Challenger SRT8 '08 - SH - FR - 425HP - 1878 kg - Ford GT '06 - 9:09.871

the Challenger is actually a great car to drive, especially for a muscle car...

Just drove it as well and to be honest I find it a bit too heavy and understeery to be fun. I thought the '70 model would be a bit more agile since it weighs significantly less but that one suffers greatly from the stock gearbox with a top speed of about 170-180 kph. :)

For me the most fun cars here for this event are the Corvettes and the Vipers, best balance between agility and grip with lovely engine sounds. Also very fun are the Cobra 427 and the GT40 Mark I but those are much lighter cars so it's a bit trickier to keep them on the track. :)
 
Question - as you get down lower in pp, isn't it more becoming about resetting the event to have a weak grid rather than racing? For example for the Muscle car event I did a faster lap & total time in the Tesla Roadster yet I had a stronger rabbit opponent and only finished 3rd. But I can't be bothered to jump in & out of the grid to find the weaker rabbits and redo it again. Not saying other people are doing that, but I'm just pointing out it influences the result of becoming first or not significantly. I could change my record from being greyed out at the bottom to being part of the list by finding a weaker grid.

1st 463 StirlingMoose 1:43.768 9:07.778 Tesla Roadster '08 SH MR 277 1238 4.47 Ford GT '06 9:08.370
3rd 463 Breyzipp 1:43.061 9:06.003 Tesla Roadster '08 SH MR 277 1238 4,46 Viper SRT10 ACR '08 9:02.608

How the cars are distributed in the middle of the field influences total time as well, you could either get hindered in a corner by a car, or you could very well be able to slipstream behind it in the tunnel instead. Makes up quite a difference in the end.
 
@breyzipp , the whole point is to find cars that can win the event , thus searching for the weakest possible grid too. if you get 3rd you haven't succesfully passed 2 cars which would have affected your total time.
It is usefull to have total time & lap times to see the car's potential / for comparison.
 
Yes I passed 2 fewer cars but that doesn't mean anything. If I would have slipstream-passed them in the tunnel I would have been even faster. If they would have held me up at choke-point corners then I would have been slower. That is the point I was making with my previous post, it's all so random.

I sure don't feel like resetting the grid over & over to find a weak grid so that I can finish 1st with each car I try. Once I've done 5 laps with a certain car I prefer to move on to the next, especially for events like this one where the list of eligible cars is long enough. My main interest & fun for these seasonal races isn't what car can win it or not, I'm more comparing the cars with each other or comparing my lap & total times with other players to see how I did. And it's always nice to discover cars I've never driven before which end up being fun rides, today that was the Infinity Concept Coupe '06 which has excellent grip.
 
@breyzipp I see grid reloading as a necessary evil. I don't like doing it because it's tedious and it's a bit of a cheat, but sometimes you have to do it if you want to win with a particular car. And winning is what these threads are about after all. Sometimes I have a lot of fun in a race without winning, and you often get a much better race experience coming fifth rather than first because you're competing against more evenly-matched AI rather than passing a load of road-blocks to chase down the rabbit. But if you prefer driving stock cars (as we all do otherwise we wouldn't be here) and you want to win sometimes you have to look for the easier grids. For example at the Madrid race I don't think there is a single stock car that can beat the commonly occurring grids.
I think a better way to organise A spec races would be to have a range of say ten line-ups to choose from, ranging from beginner to expert. That way you could choose a race based on the car you wish to enter and your ability. Maybe in GT7.
 
550PP Muscle at Trial Mountain:
A few more:
490PP - 1:42.274 - 9:01.804 - Challenger SRT8 '08 - SH - FR - 425HP - 1878 kg - Ford GT '06 - 9:02.900
486PP - 1:37.776 - 8:42.168 - Shelby Series One Supercharged '03 - SH - FR - 319HP - 1202 kg - Viper GTS '13 - 8:42.880
435PP - 1:41.739 - 8:59.969 - Ford Focus RS '02 - SH - FF - 216HP - 1050 kg - Corvette Stingray (C7) '14 - 9:00.915

@GTFireball -Just have to love blowing past those Corvettes with a Focus! :lol: Thank you for posting this; I would never have thought to try that! 👍
 
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