Endurance Cars
Honda S2000 Type R
This seems to be a very capable car, tuned slightly to an exacting specification. It has only partial power upgrades, and not even the full effect of Stage 1 Lightening, once you include the ballast. So then, logically, this car would feel slightly at-ease while driving, because it's not pushing the limits of what's possible for the car, or even coming anywhere near that point. In fact, the upgrades really only amount to an evolutionary, humble improvement over the already powerful and lightweight S2000 from the factory.
Similar to the slight statistical change, the attitude of the car is much as you'd expect of a normal S2000. The suspension in its most-used form, S1-Tyred, feels supple, perhaps soft under braking, cornering, and acceleration all alike. The natural balance of the car is standard GT4 fare: understeer with, enthusiastically driven, the possibility of oversteer. Under braking there's some standard GT4 understeer, and under throttle, there's some standard GT4 tiny oversteer. The actual balance of the car, though, in the bigger picture of power-versus-handling, is quite pleasant, and overall the car is quite neutral. It is neither under- nor over- powered, it corners perhaps slightly more quickly than most, and its cornering behaviour strikes an agreeable compromise in almost every way.
What this car is, then, is not fantastic, or terrifying, or safe, or poor. Repeatedly lapping a track with it, a driver's perception of the car slowly melts away, and eventually only the driver remains. Anything good that happens gets credited to the driver, and anything bad that happens is the driver's fault. Because this is such a neutral, medium car, driving it isn't exhausting in the least, the way driving some lively cars may be, and it does a lovely job of putting the driver in the correct endurance mindset of lasting concentration and fluid motion.
Be warned, though: On S1 Tyres, the suspension feels perhaps slightly too soft. On R1 Tyres, it just feels broken. There is no reason to use it on R1 Tyres, because there is still also the:
Supra TRD300
This car, on the other hand, seems a low-level car fully-tuned (minus, perhaps, a dash of power) to, coincidentally, the required level. It's got Stage 3 Lightening to it's brother's Stage 1, and the motor is putting in a respectable effort to keep up with (and slightly surpass) its brother. Statistically, not much seperates this from the Honda, but it's plainly clear that this car is trying very hard to keep up, and while driving, things are more difficult here because it is pushing the boundaries of its potential, and the famously clumsy Supra chassis. But despite all the struggle, it never does completely catch up to the famously nimble and precise S2000 form.
This car has slightly more power and weight than the S2000, and driving it immediately after the Honda truly magnifies the sense that something isn't working properly. The stiff suspension of the car most portrays the desperate effort it makes at cornering with dignity and flowing motion, but there's still simply not as much absolute grip as in the S2000, so there's always either epic understeer or slight oversteer, neither good for laptimes nor tyre wear. There's slightly more thrust and much less swerve in the Supra, and laptimes suffer to the tune of about 1 second per lap.
Driving in this car, there's always the feeling that you're compensating for its unwillingness to be hustled, and as such it is a much more exhausting car to drive than the first. If you let yourself forget, even for an instant, exactly what car you're driving, you'll adopt normal driving habits and the drive will suddenly become amateurish, the record line obliterated. It takes, then, substantial concentration to drive, but it's not very rewarding in the way some difficult cars are. Some difficult cars have perhaps an oversteer or wheelspin problem that masks true potential, and the driver is delighted to overcome it. Here, a driver who counters the car's problems merely gets rewarded with near-competence. It's an exhausting and exasperating car to drive, and the 5-lap test run felt like a very, very long time indeed.
But then, you equip it with R1 Tyres, and suddenly it all makes a good bit of sense. The stupidly rigid suspension becomes supple enough, and the car wakes up as a whole. There's still a touch of sloppiness, yes, but this is still a Supra, and it is a brilliant Supra (of an incapable breed). We shouldn't be comparing it to the S2000, because it's at home on S1 Tyres. This Supra, stiffly sprung and reasonably balanced (though slippy), should never be put on S1's the way the S2000 should never be put on R1's.
Verdict
Even though these cars were co-released into MFT, they shouldn't be compared directly to one another, because they are cars of different breeds. The S2000 is a high-class car modified very slightly, and very comfortably to suit a lower class of race, while the Supra is a low-class car completely modified strenuously to suit a higher class of race. The S2000 is a remarkably well-done car, perhaps not mind-bashingly exciting, but well-suited to its declared task of endurance. The Supra, meanwhile, is a merely passable attempt at an ambitious project, and I can't truly recommend it when it's surrounded by such great company here at MFT. As far as lumbering Supras go, it is agile and athletic, but otherwise you're better-served choosing another MFT creation (detuned Bluebird, anyone?) for endurance racing.
...
Oh well. Considering Leo's history of producing good tunes, I suppose this was an issue of car choice more than careless tuning. It's probably an optimal Supra, just not an optimal car.
. I'd like a tune for the Nismo GT-R LM Road-Going Version. I would like the engine response to be improved and handling to be tightened up a little. Mainly I'd like to use it for Citta Di Aria and Coasta Di Almafi, but to perform well on Tokyo Route too.
