Which track do you use to test your setup?

  • Thread starter ajemm
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ajemm

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I was wondering if you guys have an all-purpose track to road test your cars. I've used Rome in GT3. I thought it had a good mix of turns, a fairly good straight-away, and wasn't too long. What are some of your favorites?
 
sears point is one of my favorite tracks; with its off-camber rolling turns and switchbacks, it definately values a stable car. I have to say though, that testing at the nurburgring really brings out the pros and vices of each car. If youre car can get its back end loose (controllably) in the low speed switchbacks, but is completely stable in the high speed jittering sections, your car is solid for any track in the game.
 
I like Sears Point also. That downhill left-hander is sweet. Nurburgring is kicking my butt. I've finally got under under 8 minutes.... in my M5. lol You're right 50/50, once I did get to stay on the pavement, all the other tracks in the game are gravy.
 
Nurburgring is good to get a general feeling, but I think its too difficult and too long to test changes in set-up. (Or I'm not good enough and impatient.) I'm nowhere near to being able to get consistent lap times there, so I can't tell if my adjustments are making things better or worse.

I can get very consistant lap times at Tsukuba, so I often use that track. Do five laps, look at best time, adjust settings, repeat. Tsukuba doesn't have any elevation changes, so try Midway as well.
 
Motorland for its variety of low speed turns.
Capri rally for all those tight hairpins where you have to get on the brakes early.
And of course Nurburing for high speed stability.

It takes me hours to get a car the way I like.
 
i really like midfield. it's got a small tight corner and a big sweeper and some straights and turns on the straights. i think it's got a good dynamic selection of corners for tuning a car for different conditions, and it doesn't take too long to go around so you don't forget how you went last time, like i would around nurburgring

other mentions go to trial mountain, deep forest and el capitan, but they're mostly just fun :D
 
i use tsukuba like 90% of the time, laguna seca is also a GREAT one.

dont' really like the nurburgring, it's too long, and hard to get consistency on.
 
I use midfield always have. It has good layout to test cornering and to set the gear ratio on the transmission. Set it so it tops out at the end of the straight and then i got a pretty good setup for most tracks.
 
Seattle, El Capitan and Midfield. Seattle is the perfect course to test out sharp 90 degree turns and how the car takes hills.
 
I always use midfield if i want to get a general feel for the car and create a general setup. Dispite all the folks saying nurburgring:

a) its way too long to get consistent lap times

b) i found that it has many more high speed sections than most other tracks in the game, and therefore requires a longer gear ratio setting than the average track

c) it wasn't in any of the previous GT games and I personally don't want to learn an entirely new (4 mile?!) track simply to test my car.

I would suggest that in order to get the best feel for the changes you are making, use the track that you know the best, the track you can make the best times on. It has always been midfield for me. you definately don't want to test on a track that you suck at =]

also if you are having trouble with a certain competition it is best (obviously) to tune on the course(s) that you will face there for the best specific setup.

-Shmak
 
i never thought that a such a lack motivation for learning REAL tracks existed. Nurburgring is the top car-testing track in the world...even GM is now sending some of its new cars to be tested at the ring...doesnt that say something? BMW has a permanent connection with the place...and look at how amazing Bimmers are! Because its so difficult...shouldnt you desire it more?? besides youll be a much better driver all around. it might not be optimal for top speeds, but for handling it is absurd to not use it. Grow some balls and challenge yourself; it is worth it i promise.
 
I always use Nürburgring, but most of the time I never finish a full lap. To me its best because there are alot of uneven road surfaces which tests the suspension and agility of your car.
 
50/50
i never thought that a such a lack motivation for learning REAL tracks existed. Nurburgring is the top car-testing track in the world...even GM is now sending some of its new cars to be tested at the ring...doesnt that say something?
Click to expand...

yes, it says that GM are a motor vehicle manufacturer, testing suspension points and chassis rigidity and driver comfort and build quality on a piece of metal they have designed and shaped and built from scratch. lives could possibly be at stake with some of these things, so you'd hope they test their cars at alot more than just nurburgring. manufacturers also crash test their cars, does that mean there should be a section in gt4 where you run into a wall at different speeds?

i'm not saying the 'ring isn't a bad track, because it's heaps of fun. try taking small fryz' arcade m3 test in it (see spot race forum). but i don't need to do laps around countless corners for 7 minutes or more to tell that my new damper/camber settings aren't what i like or hoped to achieve

gran turismo is still a game, and we're guys sitting in front of the tv, not a motor vehicle manufacturer. the quicker you can fine tune settings over a dynamic range of conditions, the quicker you can get out of the settings screen and into racing on tracks and winning money the better, because that's what the game is all about

that's what i reckon anyway :) the other best thing about video games is you can do whatever you like, because it's your savegame and nobody else's
 
May Seem, Cheap But My 2 Faves Are Trial Mountain & Chicago There 2 perfect tracks, with straights and complex turns, + highspeeds, With A Liitle Elevation, :drool:
 
No one runs with Nurburgring settings on any other tracks... Each track has their own settings... If you want to flat out be fast at a specific track, you generally have to put in hours and hours there...

I know every road track in the game except the 2nd half of Nurburgring... I usually drive at Tsukuba because the fastest way around that track is with great handling... HP and top speed does little to help your lap times...

I also have a special setting for Trial Mountain and Deep Forest... Those are what I consider drift tracks because you have to drift more than a few turns for fastest lap times... So they require special attention...

Nurburgring is the only track in the world like itself... Every other track in the world is flat, wide, and a lot shorter... 99.99% of the time you race a car at the ring, you have to "raise" the ride height... In general tuning terms, this raises the center of gravity... If you think optimum Nurburgring settings are fit for any other track, then you're sadly mistaken... If it works in the game, I can assure you it won't work in real life...

I never mod the cars to race, I only mod them to do certain things... Either drift or break lap records... I always race with stock suspension and stock gear ratios and stock cars to better prepare myself for online play...
 
My all around generic "like the way the car feels" track has been Midfield since GT3. I know every nook and crany, though I'm still gettin' used to the steep bends in the high speed S..we all know the one.

In addition to midfield in GT4 I like Costa Di Almafi. I've done that one so many times to get the Raid Rallye car that I know it pretty good now. Forwards and backwards. It's nice and tight and is great for testing the stability of your car through corners.

I'm thinkin' Circuit de la Sarthe will be a great super car tester but I've got to get that one down. I'm worse at it than the ring. I love the ring! 👍
 
I use the ring to practise my driving but for setting up my cars I use 2 tracks - midfield for racing circuits and deep forest for the more winding courses (think el capitan, trial mountain) I also use this setting for the Ring but with higher gearing.
 
Shmak
I always use midfield if i want to get a general feel for the car and create a general setup. Dispite all the folks saying nurburgring:

a) its way too long to get consistent lap times

b) i found that it has many more high speed sections than most other tracks in the game, and therefore requires a longer gear ratio setting than the average track

c) it wasn't in any of the previous GT games and I personally don't want to learn an entirely new (4 mile?!) track simply to test my car.

I would suggest that in order to get the best feel for the changes you are making, use the track that you know the best, the track you can make the best times on. It has always been midfield for me. you definately don't want to test on a track that you suck at =]

also if you are having trouble with a certain competition it is best (obviously) to tune on the course(s) that you will face there for the best specific setup.

-Shmak
Click to expand...

12 miles n change it is the most challenging track i hated it at first now i wont test any where else its where the elite tune there cars
 
after playing it more, i would actually say nurburgring is crap for testing a setup, unless all you're interested in is downforce. the track has almost no low speed corners, the tightest flat hairpin you take at the top of 2nd gear and that's hardly educational. the rest of the time you're either flat out using skill to stay on the track, or taking sweepers in 3rd/4th and i don't think any car is pathetic enough to not turn under those conditions

nurburgring. lots of fun, great challenge, not good for setups
 

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