Stock A-Spec Seasonal #5 - (450PP, 550PP NRC, 600PP RC - 8/06 to 8/20)

[Hastatus]

This is a thread series for the seasonal A-Spec Races that focuses on winning gold in the stock versions of the cars. The A-Spec seasonal appears to be very open ended allowing people to choose a wide variety of cars. This format should often allow players to use their favourite cars. One of the challenges, however, will be finding the cars that come with the right tires.

Warning: Some of these challenges might be extreme and should be approached with caution!


This thread is for people to post the cars they used to win gold which used the following limitations:

1) Car must be stock: no upgrades to cars are permitted (this includes upgrades that do not increase PP such as transmissions).
2) Fresh oil changes in order to temporarily increase HP and PP are not permitted. If you have done an oil change recently you should lower your car's power to the non-fresh-oil-change HP level or wait until the HP has returned to the OEM oil level.
3) You must use the original tires that the car came with.
4) No "Car Settings" like Brake Balance can be adjusted.
5) No SRF or ASM is allowed: other Driver Assists are permitted. [SRF is obviously permitted if PD has forced drivers to employ it.]

Note: The adjustments to camber in patch 1.11 have resulted in different stock suspension settings on cars that come equipped with fully customizable suspension. Any cars you owned before the patch will continue to have the old settings. Remember to reset these to the new/current stock values.

Stock A-Spec Seasonals #5:

Beginner Level Non-Race Car Challenge: Tsukuba - 450 PP - SH
Intermediate Level Non-Race Car Challenge: Silverstone Grand Prix - 550 PP - SH
Expert Level Race Car Challenge: Nurburgring Nordschleife - 600 PP - RH

 

[Hastatus]

My results with a wheel and automatic transmission:

Beginner at Tsukuba:

Corvette Coupe (C2) ’63 – 429PP – CS – First group: 5:09.877, 5:09.961, 5:07.671 vs Honda NSX ’01 (5:09.194, 5:07.873, 5:06.600).
Corvette Coupe (C2) ’63 – 429PP – CS – Second group: 5:06.866 vs Mazda efini RX (5:07.100).


Intermediate at Silverstone:

Shelby Cobra 427 ’66 – 536PP – SH – 12:24.570 vs LFA Nurburgring Package ’12 (12:25.392) [Passed the rabbit in lap 2 but made a slight mistake and it overtook me; I passed it again in lap 3 and it stays very close behind throughout the rest of the race waiting for you to make any slip up on this very slippery track; third place, Ferrari SP1 ‘08 was 22 seconds behind!]


Expert at Nurburgring (about 50-60 seconds behind!):

GT-R N24 GT Academy ’12 – 548PP – RH – 8:14.251 vs Ford GT LM Spec II Test Car (7:37.564). [37 seconds behind]

Cobra Daytona Coupe 15th Anniv ’64 – 541PP – RH – 4th - 7:54.526 vs Ford GT LM Spec II Test Car 7:35.685 [19 seconds behind].

Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 Touring Car – 594PP – RH – 7:45.685, 7:43.576 vs GT-R R35 Touring Car (7:39.893, 7:39.718) [6 seconds and 4 seconds behind]. Tried another group with worse results: 7:41.580 vs GT-R Concept LM Race Car (7:31.378) [11 seconds behind].

Nissan GT-R GT500 Stealth Model – 597PP – RH – 7:29.017 vs GT-R Concept LM Race Car (7:26.867) [3 seconds behind]. Then I tried another group and got 7:30.382 vs Ford GT LM Spec II Race Car 7:31.291 and Ford GT LM Race Car 7:31.856. [The GT-R Concept LM Race Car was the fastest rabbit I saw.]

 

[nowcontrol]

Beginner Level Non-Race Car Challenge: Tsukuba - 450 PP - SH = Honda S2000 '06 @ 423pp [CS] .. Beat the 'Elise 111r' by .4

Intermediate Level Non-Race Car Challenge: Silverstone Grand Prix - 550 PP - SH = Tesla Motors Tesla Roadster '08 @ 463pp [SH] .. Beat the LFA Nurb by .8 with a little blocking on the straights because it was quick to catch me up out of the corners in the final laps.

 

[StirlingMoose]

Beginner Level Non-Race Car Challenge: Tsukuba - Buick GNX '87 (427PP CS)

I bought the Buick last week whilst looking for something for the Tsukuba TT, expecting, from its funereal appearance, a sedate, wallowing, understeering pig. But not a bit of it. It's surprisingly nimble for an undertaker's car. Only managed silver in the TT but had a lot of fun doing it so I thought I'd give it another outing. I bought a Corvette Coupe (C2) '63 at the same time but, despite having a couple of PP less, I thought the Buick was the better car. Just beat the NSX with a time of 5:03.8.

Intermediate Level Non-Race Car Challenge: Silverstone Grand Prix - Ford RS200 '84 (432PP SH)

As @nowcontrol beat me to my car of choice again (I'm going to have to start getting home earlier on Thursdays) I thought I'd try another one I bought last week but wasn't eligible for the TT. Took the lead on lap 3 and had to battle it out with a 430 Scuderia for two and half laps. Regained the lead on the final chicane and won by a smidge. Fine car.

 

[MadMax]

Beginner : Scirocco R '10 vs NSX Type S '99 winning time 6:03.186 Comfort Soft tyres 435pp/252bhp/1410kg (prize car)

Intermediate : 430 Scuderia '07 vs LFA Nür , won by over 17 seconds with time of 11:57.533 Sports Hard tyres 549pp/502bhp/1350kg (took lead in sector 1 lap 2 , prize car)

Expert : R8 LMS ultra (Audi Sport Team Phoenix) '12 vs R35 TC , won By 1.117 seconds with time of 7:34.364 Racing Hard tyres , 599pp/528bhp/1250kg (prize car)

 

[Flinx]

Beginner Level (5 minute race) 450 PP Non-Race Cars @ Tsukuba

5:04.513 - Lotus Elise '96 - CS - 408 PP (Rabbit: Ford Focus ST)
6:02.847 - Renault Clio V6 24V '00 - CS - 423 PP (Rabbit: Lotus Elise 111 R)
5:04.351 - Acura NSX '91 - CS - 433 PP (Rabbit: Nissan Skyline R 32)

The Clio was the fastest of the pack, forced me to do a fifth lap.

 

[MisterWeary]

Loving this stock challenge thing, decided to man up and turn off all the aids too (except ABS because my last non-ABS experience was with the Shelby Cobra and it nearly broke me!):

450PP Beginner Non-Race Car Challenge
PP 448 - (best lap) 1'05.655 - TVR V8S '91

550PP Intermediate Non-Race Car Challenge
PP 545 - ineligible/SS tyres - HPA Motorsports Stage II R32
PP 540 - (best lap) 2'19.649 - Ferrari F430 '06

600PP Expert Race Car Challenge
PP 594 - ineligible/SS tyres - Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo
PP 594 - (best lap) 6'52.xxx - Nissan SKYLINE GT-R R34 Touring Car
PP 599 - too tail twitchy - Audi R8 LMS ultra (Audi Sport Team Phoenix) '12
PP 594 - (best lap) 7'05.xxx - Ford (AU) 2000 Ford Falcon XR8
PP 597 - (best lap) 6'38.824 - Nissan GT-R GT500 Stealth Model​

The first two challenges I should have really picked a car with lower PP, these were too easy in hindsight. The expert however...yikes! That was hard yakka. Kudos to you @MadMax for taming that Audi, I could barely get it around the first few corners 👍 The Stealth wasn't too hard in the end, I think I took the lead on the mini-Karrousel. I enjoyed driving the Skyline and Falcon but I just didn't have the patience to push it right to the edge which I think it needed in order to get close.

 

[Flinx]

550 PP Intermediate Non Race car challenge @ Silverstone

2:18.973 (best lap) - PP 510 - Lamborghini Countach LP 400 '74 -SH - Ferrari F 430

Great drive, maybe a tad to fast.

 

[s_mushrooms]

450 PP Beginner Challenge

1:09.216 (best lap) - Lancia Stratos 15th Aniv - CS/434PP - Rabbit: NSX Type S '99
1:09.920 (best lap) - Lancia Stratos '73 - CS/410PP - Rabbit Honda NSX '01​

So much fun sliding the Stratos sideways through the bends with huge clouds of smoke from those CS tires blanketing the track! Might see if I can pull this off in the standard Stratos. (EDIT: Stratos '73 results added. Passed the NSX on the final curve, and won by .277")

550 PP Intermediate Challenge

2:28.917 (best lap) - Mitsubishi HSR-II '89 - SH/489PP - Rabbit: 430 Scuderia '07
​

 

[StirlingMoose]

Expert Level Race Car Challenge: Nurburgring Nordschleife - Ferrari 330 P4 '67 (591PP RH)

A chance to use my favourite classic race car and for it to be competitive. I suppose I must have Mr Rubber Band to thank for that. It took several goes and there were a few frustrating second places on the way but I enjoyed every minute. Except the crashes. I picked a grid that seemed beatable and stuck with it. The car to beat was a GT-R R35 touring car, driven I think by a gentleman of Polish descent. Lap time was 6:41 or thereabouts.

 

[MisterWeary]

Had a chance to go back and try the intermediate race with a couple of lower PP vehicles...if I had more time I would have perhaps tried something like the Subaru S206 or maybe something in the 450PP range...I'm curious to know how low a PP one could still win the 550PP race with?

550PP Intermediate Non-Race Car Challenge
PP 505 - (best lap) 2'24.550 - Aston Martin DB9 Coupe '06
PP 485 - (best lap) 2'25.855 - BMW Z8 '01​

Neither of these were too hard to win, the Gallardo kept catching up on the straights but then I'd make some distance on the corners.

Loving this stock challenge thing, it's helping me to increase the size of my garage too 👍

 

[nowcontrol]

Beginner Level Non-Race Car Challenge: Tsukuba - 450 PP - SH = Lotus Elise '11 @ 395pp [CS] .. Best lap = 1:09.150





The Lotus didn't quite cut it at Silverstone......



Got up to 3rd early in lap 3 with the rabbits still 25 seconds ahead, just not enough power to close down that gap before the line.
Best Lap = 2:39.7

 

[MisterWeary]

Went back to the beginner race and tried a few more cars:

450PP Beginner Non-Race Car Challenge
PP 409 - (best lap) 1'10.450 - Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupe Chrome Line
PP 395 - (best lap) 1'11.882 - MINI COOPER S '07
PP 388 - (best lap) 1'09.551 - Lotus Elise '11​

Couldn't win with the Mini but with a select line up it might be possible. The other two were a nice drive, it was nice to beat the 111R with my lesser Elise. Nice try at winning the 550 @nowcontrol, I didn't even remotely consider that madness 👍

 

[Flinx]

600 PP Expert Level Race Car Challenge @ Nürburgring Nordschleife

6:42.529 - 582 PP - Jaguar XJ13 '66 - RH - Nissan GT-R 35 TC

Great car but i needed several tries to finally nail the gold.

 

[nowcontrol]

Intermediate Level Non-Race Car Challenge: Silverstone Grand Prix - 550 PP - SH = Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX GSR '05 @ 449pp [CS] .. Best lap = 2:33.2



Got up to 3rd from 5th going around Luffield on lap 3 while the GT-R was 6 seconds ahead and closed the gap to 2 seconds on the start of lap 4. Grabbed 1st position going through Maggots/Becketts and the GT-R was pretty much glued to my rear bumper for the rest of the race, he did try to run up the side of me a few times but couldn't manage to pass me before his brake zones.

Easy win at Tsukuba with the Evo IX, but the TVR V8S did stay close once I'd passed him.

 

[croozer_63]

Once again, the mighty Masseratti cleaned them up at Silverstone, easily. The wr-x, st-I (I think) did the job at Tsukuba , once again, very easy. The masseratti at Silverstone was a lot of fun. Toyota hybrid was the go to at the 'ring. Nissan gt-500 stealth also a winner. Great stuff PD, keep up the good work.

 

[StirlingMoose]

Beginner Level Non-Race Car Challenge: Tsukuba -
Renault R5 Turbo '80 (388PP CS)
BMW 2002 Turbo '73 (387PP CS)

The Renault is particularly fun to chuck around.

Also ran -
Toyota 2000GT '67
Mini Marcos GT '70
Nissan 240ZG (HS30) '71
Golf GTI '76

Of which the Golf, despite being the lowest PP at 359, was the best contender with a second place. The Datsun suffered from understeer and poor brakes and the other two are just too slow, although the Marcos thrashes them round the corners.

 

[Tintorera]

600PP Expert Race Car

PP 599 - 7'06.317- 4th - Audi R8 LMS ultra (Audi Sport Team Phoenix) '12
PP 597 - 6'40.841 - 2nd - Nissan GT-R GT500 Stealth Model

The Audi R8 i a handful to drive. The GT-R is safe and predictable, and a win should be possible with a few more tries.
Still with the 6'40 lap I was 4,5 sec behind the winning car.

Any suggestions for a stock car to win this?

 

[ItsHim]

600PP Expert Race Car

Any suggestions for a stock car to win this?

MR cars seem to be the weapon of choice. The GT 40 LM Spec II Test Car (the black premium one), power-limited to 600pp, beat the GT-R 35 TC rabbit with a swift but rather conservative lap with a good 8 seconds still on the table.

Was too lazy to note the exact time, but there's no excuse to not own this car anyway so have some fun

I think I reduced rear camber a bit but otherwise stock and ABS 1. Don't forget to reset all suspension settings to default if you already own this car.

 

[Flinx]

You may base your suggestions on the info given in the OP.
Using a power-limiter is a no-go as is changing any settings.

But you have a valid point with resetting the suspenion to default as 1.11 introduced new values.

 

[StirlingMoose]

Intermediate Level Non-Race Car Challenge: Silverstone Grand Prix - Lancia Stratos 15th Aniv (434PP CS)

Many thanks to the well-mannered driver of the Gallardo who, after going off at the final chicane, chose to slow down to avoid hitting me when rejoining the track, letting me through to win by about a second. This is in contrast to the lout in the LFA who, under the same circumstances, chose to come flying over the chicane and boot me off the track. When it happened for the third time I thought it was time to pick a different grid.

 

[Hastatus]

You may base your suggestions on the info given in the OP.
Using a power-limiter is a no-go as is changing any settings.

But you have a valid point with resetting the suspenion to default as 1.11 introduced new values.

Yeah I keep forgetting to update the info for this. Thanks for reminding me.

 

[nowcontrol]

Intermediate Level Non-Race Car Challenge: Silverstone Grand Prix - 550 PP - SH = Mazda RX-8 Type S '07 @ 429pp [CS] .. Best lap = 2:33



This was a fun, and slightly slippery race, Took the lead from the Gallardo at Stowe on lap 3 due to him overshooting his braking point, then we were constantly swapping 1st position throughout lap 4 and 5 until he overshot again at Stowe and let me and the rest of the 5-car-train close behind me passed.

And as expected, It was an easy win with the RX-8 at Tsukuba with the NSX '01 close behind.

 

[MisterWeary]

Intermediate Level Non-Race Car Challenge: Silverstone Grand Prix - 550 PP - SH = Mazda RX-8 Type S '07 @ 429pp [CS]

I think that surely takes the cake for lowest PP to win the Intermediate race...awesome work 👍

 

[ItsHim]

You may base your suggestions on the info given in the OP.
Using a power-limiter is a no-go as is changing any settings.

But you have a valid point with resetting the suspenion to default as 1.11 introduced new values.

Even with default camber the GT40 is a killer, so that shouldn't be a problem at all if these settings are left alone. Thanks for reminding me though.

If the OP doesn't like the use of power limiting he'd probably should make things clear in his first post.

 

[nowcontrol]

If the OP doesn't like the use of power limiting he'd probably should make things clear in his first post.

This is a fair statement, and I believe the guidelines in the OP could be clearer on this matter so I would suggest from now on that #4 read a little more like this.......

4) No adjustments may be made to any "Car Settings" like Brake Balance, Suspension Kit [RC], Differential Gear [RC], Centre Differential [4WD/RC], Downforce, Ballast, or Power Limiter, they must all remain set at default values.

@Hastatus, would you agree?

 

[Flinx]

Well, we should keep things simple, shouldn't we?

1) Car must be stock: do not change any settings or parts nor do an oil change or use the power limiter.
2) Use the original tires that the car came with. [aside from rally seasonals as no car has stock dirt tires.]
3) SRF or ASM is prohibited: [SRF is obviously permitted if PD has forced drivers to employ it.]
4) Other Driver Assists (Traction control and ABS) are permitted.

Just an suggestion, but maybe worth to have a look at it.

While we are at some talk about the regulations for this kind of race i might have another point to raise.

As long as road cars are concerned i will strongly support the strict course with not touching anything on the car.
But as we are talking about race cars i always feel the need to adjust some of the settings. Especially the gearing is way off for most race cars, for high power cars as LMP's you cannot use gears 1 and 2.
My main point is that race cars are always provided with a base setup which has to be altered to the track. This mirrors reality since every team spends a lot of time to adjust the car settings to the track, regardless if you race NASCAR, Formula One or Rally.
Maybe we can divide this kind of seasonals to bone stock cars aka road cars which will be raced as bought and race cars which are not allowed to buy parts but which can be setup to the driver's liking and driving.

 

[nowcontrol]

But as we are talking about race cars i always feel the need to adjust some of the settings. Especially the gearing is way off for most race cars, for high power cars as LMP's you cannot use gears 1 and 2.
My main point is that race cars are always provided with a base setup which has to be altered to the track. This mirrors reality since every team spends a lot of time to adjust the car settings to the track, regardless if you race NASCAR, Formula One or Rally.
Maybe we can divide this kind of seasonals to bone stock cars aka road cars which will be raced as bought and race cars which are not allowed to buy parts but which can be setup to the driver's liking and driving.

This is why I hardly ever really bother with this 'stock' challenge at the expert level if it involves race cars, because the whole of the 'PD' stock settings for them are just rubbish and it makes these cars almost unbearable to drive, and never in a million years would I believe that a race car would run with those settings IRL.

But I don't think it would be fair to allow adjustments for race cars here, however small they might be. If you don't want to run stock then just skip it, I do my adjustments and match the pp limit and post my efforts in the main threads for those races.

 

[Hastatus]

@Flinx : I will not budge on tuning even for race cars for one simple reason (which nowcontrol also pointed out just as I was about to post): that is what the other Seasonal threads where people discuss their tunes are for.

@nowcontrol : I will consider adjusting the text for this upcoming week's seasonals. I'll probably add more examples as per your suggestion for "car settings", remove the option to use limiter to reduce oil change power boosts (since it doesn't remove torque), and see if it can be simplified with a little restructuring as suggested by Flinx. I'll post it here later so people can look it over first. BTW Nice job with the RX-8! 👍

 

[Flinx]

Thanks for the fast replies. 👍

You both answered in the way i expected to, we should stick to the don't-touch-any-slider policy.