Top Gear Challenge: Pain in the unmentionables

[Fashion Cat]

The Elise challenge I got GOLD BABY.

The Elise is such a pain but SOOOOO FUN when you know its secret handshake, so to speak. I learnt the ins and outs of getting a hold of counter steer. Basically I highly recommend getting a 900 degree wheel so your hand motor skills have that much more degree and finesse to know where is the best counter steer point.

EDIT: I confess I did use the active wheel assist, and traction control, and some other things

 

[raceur]

EDIT: I confess I did use the active wheel assist, and traction control, and some other things

Great, now post back when you've done it without all of the above!

 

[meeekael]

Was doing it with no aids. The first time I actually finished the race I got silver. Was pretty happy with it. So many DQs....Might have a go with more things turned on tomorrow.

 

[chimuel]

I golded all of them, the second tier was definitely challenging but once I figured out the quirks of the Elise it all went smoothly. My experiences with the Elise was that the rear end would slide out to my right during heavy breaking at the first corner, compensate well enough and you should be able to pass the first two opponents. Going into the second corner you can outbrake about half the field and that put me in 5th. By Gambon I'd end up at 2nd place and outbrake 1st place going into Hammerhead the second time around.

EDIT - I used no TCS, ASM, SR. Just ABS set to 1.

The beginner and advanced levels were easy, just really really boring [Well, maybe except in the advanced one where the trucks would cross into each other in follow-through]

 

[wendle73]

Sorry a bit off topic, but what is the last challenge? not as frustrating as the first two i hope.

 

[chimuel]

Sorry a bit off topic, but what is the last challenge? not as frustrating as the first two i hope.

It's the VW Typ 42 (Kubelwagen) race. It's slow and you have to keep the car from redlining so you don't hit the rev limiter and drop your speed... oh, and there's a surprise in the middle.

 

[Inasnt]

A track that everyone sees on tv and is hanging to go, and they put a stupid VW Combi as the car???

What a stupid idea they came up with

 

[JamieH76]

The 'buses' are possible to gold once you get 5 or 6 practice runs in. Watch for the AI shunting your rear quarter on the straights and sending you into a spin.

I've tried the Elise test.... Christ on a bike! That's tough! I may have to swallow my pride and turn on some assists.

It's really worth getting gold on the buses as you get access to the Top Gear track in Arcade and practice.

 

[TommyWizard]

Beat both of these last night.
The ELise are fast wee buggers, and using the pad's isnt the biggest advantaqge. But dabbing the brakes helped keep the back end in check and late, late breaking at hammerhead, around the outside of about 3 cars really does prevent you from being in traffic.

I only managed Bronze in the Samba becasue some idiot decided that he didn't like the fact I was going to win. I was in 2nd, he tagged me and I ended up in 8th. I will revisit it some day to put it to bed, but not in the near future. Really dislike that chellange alot.

 

[Dessy182]

This just takes practice. Without a doubt the lotus is the hardest car to handle at that stage in the game and I struggled a lot. You just need to get an understanding of the car and make mistakes so you can learn what is the best line through each corner and eventually you will nail it. The AI are very slow through the last 2 corners too, so a lot of time and places can be gained there if you are keeping with their pace.

 

[raceur]

Later in the game there's a Lightweight British event at the TGTT for which I have selected a 111R so may as well get the practice in!!!!

Re the Elise...it is possible. I got Bronze but could easily see Silver or Gold with more practice but decided to just get on with the game instead. Quick tips:

- on the high speed corners do not lift off suddenly. This induces lift-over oversteer. In fact, lift as little as possible. Err on the side of braking in a straight line before the corner. You'll be able to power out. When you do lift, do so very gently and smoothly
- make sure you are well to the right coming up to the follow-through so your radius is as large as possible
- get the nose tucked well in towards the end of your braking and kiss those apexes. If you run wide you'll be tempted to increase throttle around the turn...disaster time.
- be really gentle about squeezing the throttle on. No, hang on, even more gentle than that.
- and if you have the corner right then you should be gently applying throttle as you unwind the lock after the apex. Probably the best tip I can give. This is not a FWD car where the only penalty for mashing the throttle and hauling on the steering wheel post-apex understeer and tyre wear.

For this event the AI is very slow thru Hammerhead and around to Gambon, so don't worry about not catching them the rest of the time.

 

[firerider23]

Got bronze with the samba bus challenge and i couldnt get anywhere past brozne so decided to make it stay that way but the lotus OMG wish that car wasn't created nor the AI but its really really really hard the car slides so much when i turn like i was driving on snow had to drop the ps3 console on the ground to atleast fell good.

 

[LarsBK]

I got silver on the first top gear challenge, and later I tried the Lotus one and gave up pretty quickly. When I came back to the first one, the challenge had two laps. Did it always have that? Getting gold with two laps wasn't really a problem.

 

[Rey-FD]

Okay, update.. I finally got gold in the bus race, Take that Volkswagen! ugh I dislike those Kombi's now..

 

[TommyWizard]

It is a brilliant challenge, you know you can accomplish it, but doing so is just so so difficult.

PD is trying to teach life lessons here lol.

 

[JB Motorsports]

The intermediate with the Lotus on the Top Gear Test Track is a true test, but once you understand it, it almost makes you laugh at yourself.

My tips for Gold…

I didn’t change the aids, so I don’t know what “stock” is for this challenge. I also use a wheel…

1St – You have to use a lot of gas and brake. Going into turn one…I’m probably close to 50% gas and brake before I actually release the gas pedal. It’s really just a feel though. You can’t just hit the brakes and must use the gas and brake to keep the car straight.

Make sure you stay to the inside of the silver Lotus in turn 1 to set yourself up for an inside move going into Chicago.

2nd – Going into Chicago you should have a blue Lotus on your outside, you want to clear him and quickly fade to the inside of around the slow corner… there you want to keep it tight and slower and you will pass all the cars up to a maroon lotus or a black lotus. If you get around the black one – Great…if not it’s not big deal… but if you can’t clear the maroon one or the black one, just make sure you stay behind them – DON’T GET NEXT TO THEM or it will be a DQ cause they will put you in the grass.

3rd – Stay to the outside, the maroon or black lotus will drift over to the left giving you an open lane on the outside going into the Hammerhead… You’ll pick up a few spots by out breaking and will be setup on the inside of the exit… On exit you should either be passed a green lotus or just behind – either way you are good to go…

4th – Stay flat through the follow through (I think that’s the corner – it’s the one that shakes the tires on the show…) and stay to the outside… if you go inside, the AI comes quickly back to the inside and the result is a DQ… Brake late going into Gambon (spelling?) and you will pass the dark blue Lotus… you might also get a light blue lotus on the next turn, but don’t need to…

5th- Just be smooth from here on out… don’t try push the car too hard… you only have two cars to pass and you will catch them. Take what the car and track give and remember to slowly come of the gas while slowly applying the brake to not upset the balance of the car. You should be able to get the yellow lotus in either Chicago or the Hammer head and be setup for a one on one battle with the red lotus going into the follow through which you will overtake in Gambon. Just make sure when entering Gambon on the first and second lap to give an extra tap to the brake pedal..the AI like to really slow down for this corner and you may catch them almost at a complete stop in the middle of the turn… so just slow up just a little to make sure you have enough control to avoid them and not DQ.

It’s a challenge, but it’s rewarding when you complete cause it is a very good test of car control!

 

[colic]

Here is a post I put in another thread, I will make a HD video of the Samba bus getting gold if wanted? Found the bus really easy gold on maybe 4th go but as others say it is the AI that was the real pain!!

Here is a video I made of the stage getting gold, I was using a G25 wheel ABS1 TCS 1 Manual Transmission all other aids off

[YOUTUBEHD]9Kag51GJBMo[/YOUTUBEHD]

I just set back up my HD recording device for the PS3 and not got the settings right at the mo so the quality is not as good as I expected :/

 

[ceasarschariot]

ive gotten silver but read a piece that stated if u get gold, the top gear track will open up to race!! if thats true, im going to give that old bus a trashing lol !!

 

[Vortech347]

colic, wow damn good driving. so are you driving 2 footed or 1? Also I can't believe that bump on the 1st place car. You must have been damn close to being dq'd.

 

[ChUnKieBaLLz]

man!! Just got Gold with the Elise. Honestly, without a wheel, I don't know how anyone can pull it off. Anyone with the DFGT, set your Rear Brake Bias to 8 right when you start the race, and your car will be less tail happy when you're not braking in a straight line. And only brake hard in a straight line. When braking into a corner, keep some gas while gradually increase braking and turning, so your car doesn't lose its balance. So this is how I did it..TCS 0, ABS 1

First corner, take it at around 73-4km/hr, once out of apex, be gentle on the gas and gradually gun it through to Chicago. Make sure you're not in a position to bump or get bumped, or else you'll get DQ'ed, so brake a bit if you need to avoid a car. Brake late into Chicago, take it at around 59-60km/hr. By this time, you should be 7th or 8th position when going back on the straight.

Brake late into hammerhead, take the turn slow at about 53km/hr and gradually gas up. You should be able to get into 6th position easily after hammerhead, and if lucky, 5th position. Next, brake at follow-through to about 125-130km/hr, and gun it as soon as your car is stable. You should be able to take Bentley at around 164km/hr, get up to 170km/hr and pass the 4th car before braking for Bacharach. Brake straight into Bacharach to about 110km/hr, while being careful you don't bump into the 2nd and 3rd car. Then overtake the 3rd car, brake at Gambon and take the corner at 65-70km/hr.

By the end of the 1st lap, you should be right behind the 2nd car for draft. If you repeat the steps again, you should be able to pass the 2nd car before Chicago, and the 1st car by drafting on the straight after Chicago. Then take it slow and easy and you should be able to clear the challenge with a Gold!

 

[Eunosthedeer]

The VW hippy wagon challenge actually isnt that difficult once you know the stratergies.

The trick is not to brake unless you have to. The biggest pain i found was rivals bashing into me or when i attempted to overtake one it clinged on to the back off me.

 

[ceasarschariot]

I just got 1st place in that blasted vw van ! im actually satiesfied with the sound quality of that old hippy bus, lol ! when you get gold a msg pops up stating the TGTT is open in arcade and practice modes. now on to figure out how to unlock the ring !

 

[sdstig]

Samba: Draft and rub the other buses. Also, be gentle with the brakes

Lotus: Turn on Active Steering and Skid Recovery. Brake gently for the first corner. Keep it flat through the followthrough.

with your Lotus strategy: I've tried that (maybe active steering isn't on) and I still end up disqualified, even when I get past the first corner which is the hardest part for me.




The Elise is such a pain! Such a squirmy little car. High cornering limits, but it will kill you once it's at the limit. It'll also kill the unexperienced Elise driver (like myself) when not at the limit.

 

[ChUnKieBaLLz]

with your Lotus strategy: I've tried that (maybe active steering isn't on) and I still end up disqualified, even when I get past the first corner which is the hardest part for me.




The Elise is such a pain! Such a squirmy little car. High cornering limits, but it will kill you once it's at the limit. It'll also kill the unexperienced Elise driver (like myself) when not at the limit.

Do you have a wheel or DS3? I can imagine it being a nightmare for DS3, but for wheel, it is definitely possible with lots and lots of practice.

 

[sdstig]

Do you have a wheel or DS3? I can imagine it being a nightmare for DS3, but for wheel, it is definitely possible with lots and lots of practice.

Yeah I have a wheel. So just lots of practice will do it? Ugh

 

[BAR-ZoNdA]

Yeah I have a wheel. So just lots of practice will do it? Ugh

break early before the corners, and power back on fully before the apex, youll find the other cars will go wide and slow through the corners, last 2 corners and the first corner in specific.

if your 5th by the end of the first lap your in good shape, and you should be able to get to 7th just after the hammer head.

 

[ChUnKieBaLLz]

break early before the corners, and power back on fully before the apex, youll find the other cars will go wide and slow through the corners, last 2 corners and the first corner in specific.

if your 5th by the end of the first lap your in good shape, and you should be able to get to 7th just after the hammer head.

Yes...the 1st corner driving line is actually hard to follow. Brake gradually when you get to 160km/hr, then try to control your car to turn at low 70ish km/hr for 1st corner. Then gun for Chicago and brake when needed to avoid cars. Hit up Chicago on the inside and start braking when you are near the tire wall. Make sure you brake in a straight line. Then gradually step on gas and gun it when you feel the car is stable again. Hammerhead, you can brake much later than the AI and you'll be able to steal 2 spots from there. On follow through, brake to 130km/hr b4 turning or else you'll slide out of track. Gun through the rest, and again, use late braking to your advantage, but watch out for the AI bumping you and getting DQ'ed. Once you start getting the hang of controlling the car and the tail, you'll be fine.

I was in 3rd place after 1st lap, so it just takes alot of practice and patience. Took me about an hour or so, so keep at it!

 

[sdstig]

I think my problems are trying to drive the Elise like other cars or I try to brake heavily while steering or steering too much

 

[stinger061]

Samba Bus challenge is still annoying me. Really want to unlock the track for practice runs but find myself getting frustrated after 2-3 disqualifications due to dodgy AI and then just going off to do something else

 

[Fashion Cat]

I've golded all the challenges - VW Type 2, Elise, and today was the German "Jeeps". As much as these are a pain in the ass, they do test you if you know something other than flooring the pedal without thinking and teach you to appreciate how much importance of having a good racing line and not losing critical speed. The Jeeps challenge was actually quite interesting. They have worse top speed than the VW bus but Mitsubishi EVO style handling, seriously.

A tip though:

Spoiler

Keep your gears in 4th gear all the time and don't bother with down shifting. The gear ratios are so close together that down shifting to 3rd gear just revs it over 9000 and doesn't gain you any ground.
By the time I was just before Hammerhead on the first lap, I was already 4th place. Slipstreaming, as hilarious as it is at these low speeds, is also key to get that additional boost.