Tsukuba 4 hour

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Freakyweakywoo
Using the newest Roadster from the Mazda Dealership that I had, had for a while, figured if I'm stuck in cockpit view for 4 hours I may as well have something to look at. I am a bit of an MX-5 fan, having already put 370 miles on this car before I even start. Slapped some Sport Softs on and headed out to the track.

First 20 minutes flew by, trying to hit 1:10.xxx laps with minimum tire wear was actually a lot of fun. Sounds like something James May would say, but it was. My lead grew to 12 seconds, then suddenly it was 11, then 10, then 9! What the hell? Had a quick car burst free of the pack and was hunting me down? Back to 10, 11 and then 12. Very odd, had me scared for a while.

Can't remember when but I think around 45-50 minute mark I hit traffic and clear it with little trouble. My closest rival isn't so lucky and by the hour mark I'm 30 seconds up. Fuel and tires still looking good. At around 1:20 disaster struck! My daughter woke up from her nap. I really thought I would have shredded a set of tires by this point, but nope.

I pit and suspend much earlier than I wanted to. I'll be hitting the track again later when she goes to bed and I can get the wheel out again, so far quite fun actually.
 
I'm sorry to hear about the silly pit-suspend-AI issue presenting itself again.

From your report, it seems like you have to hit 1:10-1:11 pretty consistently to get a good race. Just a couple of quick questions:

1) Which of the MX-5s are you racing? The '89 or the '91?
2) Are they stock or have you done any tuning, specifically PP-wise?
3) Are you driving with any aids on?

It's been one of those races I've been postponing again and again but really should do. Tsukuba's definately not my favourite track, but the MX-5 is an ok car. I have a sort of ambivalent relationship with it - I like it in theory, but tend to get a bit bored when actually driving it, so I'm hoping to cure both and perhaps even finding those last few tenths I'm always looking for on Tsukuba in any car.
 
I think the 4-hour Tsukuba might be a good race if you have the right car. It's been a while since i've done it (in an overpowered car). I guess it could be a close race with a pack of contenders for victory if there is no rabbit car in the line up.
I don't know about the grids though.
 
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I was using the Mazda Roadster RS (NC) '07 I think, 163hp ish. I don't think I had any upgrades, the AI sucks enough to beat it in a like for like car. I just didn't want to "waste" 4-hours losing on my first attempt. I've had League races all week so haven't had chance to get back into it. Will start this again on Sunday.

I was using the Mazda Roadster RS (NC) '07 with no upgrades and Sport Softs. The way I was driving I think I could have gotten away with one stop. It is forcing myself to try to never screech the tires that was keeping the race interesting. 1:10.5xx to 1:11:5xxx seems to be quick enough to pull away.

Tha AI is horrible in traffic, I went from -12.xxx.xxx to -35.xxx.xxx in about three laps, so using a lower powered MX-5 might be more of a challenge. The 91 has my favorite interior, so I might try that on Sunday instead.
 
Maybe you find this useful, you have a link to an old report (Spec I) and a few notes about this race in Spec II.

Hun200kmh
Being a Endurance Racing fan (in real life and in gaming) but also a married guy with kids that cannot aford the luxury of keeping the PS3 all to himself, and blocked away from everyone else in the house, I have been longing for the save feature that Spec II finally gave us.

During Spec I was able to do the litle races + the Tsukuba 4 hours (writeup of this one here: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=199272 )

After I got Spec II I decided to go for the other Endurance Events and I have already made both 4 Hour races, the Indy 500, the Suzuka 1000, and am doing now the Tsukuba 9 Hours.

I don't pretend to be doing here full writeups, nor do I have the talent and attention to detail I see elsewhere. My aim is simpler, I want to share what I think is essential for a good racing experience in these long races.

So, if your plan is to overpower the AI and field the X2010 or X2011 whenever possible, this thread is of no use to you.

I care about: AI pace. AI strategy. My pace. My strategy. And I want to feel the sweet taste of victory (make no mistake, I'm not masochistic), but i want to feel the need to drive skillfully to get it.


So, here's my experience shared for all that may want to read. I'll start by a quick recap of what I've done so far, and then will write about the ongoing Tsukuba 9 hours. My plan is to keep this thread updated up to the finish of both 24 hour races.

Again, these are not Race Reports. Just a few random notes of what I think might be useful/worthy of mention.



1. Endurance Career so far


a) Tsukuba 4 Hours - Did it in Spec I (came 2nd, see thread linked above) and again in Spec II (won it).

Noticeable differences were these:
1. My tires (SH) lasted longer;
2. Lead AIs are more competent at overtaking/lapping the field.


No problems whatsoever with the supposed "Tsukuba Save" glitch. Then again, I follow the rules :D

My advices for an interesting race:

1. pick a Miata that allows YOU to lap no better than 1'09 in the best conditions. If possible, use the clutch and H-Shifter, no ABS too.

2. You should save your tires and aim for a four-stint race (one per hour), but that's pushing it, you can literally lose the time gained in many laps of skilled driving/racing with just ONE off. My advice is ... 5 stints (45 to 50 minutes each)!

(continues about other enduros ...)
Click to expand...

There's also an excellent writeup on the Tsukuba 4 Hours (and other enduros) by Touring Mars, here:

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=5747971#post5747971

Best of luck! 👍
 
Did a few test and I think I could one stop this. I was driving for over about and hour twenty before my daughter forced the pitstop. I was running smooth and fuel wasn't an issue.

Any idea how often the AI pits? It seemed they were going to run a one stop race too.
 
I'm a little apprehensive of using the Primium '91 car with no mods. I was running far slower than I thought I would in testing, but I know the 08 is too quick. I could run 1:11s and keep the tires good until over the two hour mark. Is the AI running stock MX-5s or slightly modded ones?

I love your reports Huh, Mars' are great too. I doubt mine will be quite up to those levels.
 
Looks like I did it wrong. Entered a fairly tuned mx5 that could easily set 1:08 laps - 1:05 if I pushed it on new tires - I had 6 pit stops because I was just beating the SS to death (on purpose) - still ended up winning by 2 laps up... very boring, looks like I'll try it again with a normal car.
 
Just done the 1st hour of this and I've got a lead of 4-5 seconds now (lap 53) over the Roadster RS (NC) '07. It was just 1-2 seconds until we hit traffic on lap 34 then I pulled a few seconds advantage as we dealt with the pack.

I'm using the Eunos Roadster (NA Special Package) '89 on Sport Hards with the following mods:

Stage 1 weight reduction
Carbon bonnet
Lightened windows
Race Air Filter + intake
Titanium Exhaust + Race Cat and Manifold
All drivetrain mods
5-speed close ratio transmission
Fully adjustable suspension

Best lap so far was 1'09.696 (lap 11) but been hitting low 1'10s and 1'11s since with one or two 1'12s. I think I can make 70-80 laps on my tyres so far before the first stop (using DS3 with only ABS set to 1).

Interested to see if I can win this, should be close judging from other peoples experience.
 
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