Testing begun! I am going to use a single post and edit as I go I think. Fastest will be listed first
with stock/parts impressions if applicable. In the interest of saving space I will put up only the final tune impressions. I will do proper "ground up" reviews for all of these and post in the appropriate threads at a later date. 👍 Hoping to get everyone done and then go for one more run in each car afterward.
Lap Times
2'01.801" - Trial Celica '03 (Dr. Slump)
2'01.943" - ITR DC5 '04 (Praiano63)*
2'02.281" - Atenza 25Z '07 (Rotary Junkie)*
2'02.481" - Trial Celica '03 (Basilea)
2'02.633" - ITR DC5 '04 (Jackthalad)*
2'03.552" - ITR DC5 '04 (zero_speed)
2'03.634" - C30 '09 (VTiRoj)*
2'03.837" - ITR DC5 '04 (Brave Bear)
2'03.992" - SRT4 '03 (Shmogt)*
2'04.201" - ITR DC5 '04 (-raVer-)
2'04.278" - CTR '08 (Acan)
2'04.330" - Eclipse GT '06 (mafia_boy)
2'04.375" - Eclipse GT '06 (Drewsifer3x)*
2'04.380" - Accord EX '03 (d24689)
2'04.484" - CTR '08 (AssassinTuner)
2'04.873" - CTR EP '01 (slowGTR)
2'04.889" - CTR '08 (cool-dude3007)
2'05.481" - C4 VTS '05 (XDesperado67)
2'06.398" - FTO GPX '94 (Dylans1o)*
2'07.768" - Mirage Cyborg ZR '97 (C-ZETA)
*Second run improvement
Dr. Slump - Trial Celica SS-II '03 - 2'01.801"
Sharp steering like the Atenza with incredible speed. This one has a higher top speed than the other Celica which was just slightly more useful on the end of the straight. It is a bit slidey into the first corner but it corrects quickly and mostly on its own.
Praiano63 - Honda Integra Type R '04 - 2'01.943"
Not a lot to say about this one in my notes. It was quite good all around, as evidenced by having the (current) top time on my leaderboard. The car turns well when coasting off-throttle and at a constant speed. My biggest gripe would be that the brakes seemed to be a tad too snatchy and could have been lightened up just a click or two. Also, were this the real world I would have to see a chiropractor.This is just about the harshest ride ever. I found bumps on the track I didn't know existed. A random pebble on the track and I might be flipped on the roof!
Rotary Junkie - Mazda Atenza Sports 25Z '07 - 2'02.218"
The steering is very sharp, almost to the point of being twitchy. It was strange in some of the sweeping turns but nigh perfect in the mid and low speed sections. The brakes were also a little on the strange end of things. Not as stable as I would have liked coming into the first turn. I slid through the entry a bunch trying to get used to it. Fine just about everywhere else though. The car feels bigger than most (and maybe that helps) but it also feels fast.
Basilea - Trial Celica SS-II '03 - 2'02.481"
Fast! Mad speed but bounces off the limiter by the end of the straight. Understeers a bit at higher speed. I had particular troubles in the last tunnel and last corner.
Jackthalad - Honda Integra Type R '04 - 2'02.633"
This one actually surprised me a bit. I felt like I was fighting the car the whole way around the track. It felt very twitchy and hesitant to turn in at mid and high speed corners. The brakes felt rather unstable at the first corner here as I was sliding in about 80% of the time. Still, high up on the board in spite of all that.
zero_speed - Honda Integra Type R '04 - 2'03.552"
Good balance on this car. The steering is responsive but not twitchy or overly sharp. I would add maybe a click more on the brakes as they felt a little sluggish in a couple corners.
VTiRoj - Volvo C30 R-Design '09 - 2'03.634" (+5'00" Swedish Meatball penalty)
Having used a couple dozen of Roj's tunes already this one took less time to get used to than the others. Thus far this car has been the smoothest and best turning around the track. I didn't need to improv through the final turn ever and for the first 15-20 minutes in the car every lap was blue. It was easy enough for me to drive that I could concentrate more on adapting the car to the track than myself to the car. I found most of the understeer to be gone or minimal except coming out of the first turn and the left before the first tunnel.
Brave Bear - Honda Integra Type R '04 - 2'03.837"
Steering feels good on this one. I found the brakes were a little soft for my liking. I think the largest downfall here was that I was bouncing off the limiter before the end of the straight. That little bit of speed might give a couple ticks off the time.
Shmogt - Dodge SRT-4 '03 - 2'03.992"
There were lots of folks giving reasons why the SRT-4 wouldn't be a good car for this shootout, but I like that Shmogt ignored them and did his best to compensate for the downfalls. As mentioned, there are problems with smoking the tires getting on the throttle, but trying to be smooth (again, as mentioned by the tuner) seems to mitigate most of that. Turning is better than average in this field but there is a bit of understeer still found on exit that I did cause me some frustration. The brakes work well and the car is nice and stable even getting on them hard.
-raVer- - Honda Integra Type R '04 - 2'04.201"
There was some fairly prevalent understeer at high speed that was creeping into mid speed as well. The nose did tuck into the corner nicely on lift off, especially at lower speeds. Strangely, this car was faster for me pre-tune. My ghost would pull away from me on exit and shorter straights though I could catch up some on entry. Unfortunately, it was never enough to be able to beat it; this best time is still some .6 seconds slower than pre-tune.
Acan - Honda Civic Type R '08 - 2'04.278"
A well rounded car. There was some slight understeer on the brakes but a nice overall machine. I would have liked the steering a little sharper and the brakes a little harder.
mafia_boy - Mitsubishi Eclipse GT '06 - 2'04.330"
The car feels pretty good on most of the track. The steering is pretty neutral other than some understeer on brakes and a tad at high speed, particularly the last corner. No complaints other than that.
Drewsifer3x - Mitsubishi Eclipse GT '06 - 2'04.375"
This car is a nice surprise. The brakes felt nice and the speed was well in league with the others. However, it felt heavy in the corners and didn't like to turn. Any sort of lateral movement was laborious. However, it did somehow feel nice in T2, though the second tunnel did give me some trouble.
d24689 - Honda Accord EX Coupe '03 - 2'04.380"
Not much to complain about. The car felt good all around save for a small amount of understeer in the final corner.
AssassinTuner - Honda Civic Type R '08 - 2'04.484"
Yet another car that has been tuned to be very good overall. I found it to understeer a bit at higher speeds and didn't quite get to take the last corner as fast as I wanted. I do love the brakes on this one though. Good feel to them.
slowGTR - Honda Civic Type R (EP,EU) '01 - 2'04.873"
Nothing terribly remarkable with this car, good or bad. It felt decently sorted all the way around the track, something akin to an MX-5. There is some understeer but it can be managed fairly easily. It turns OK, stops OK. Again, I will pick on the brakes and say that they could be firmed up a click or two to cut down some of the braking zone on entry.
cool-dude3007 - Honda Civic Type R '08 - 2'04.889"
Another well rounded car. I'm a bit surprised it didn't get a faster time. There wasn't anything in particular I thought was wrong with it. I t felt good but just log a fast time.
XDesperado67 - Citroen C4 Coupe 2.0VTS '05 - 2'05.841"
A goofy car. It exhibits understeer through out its speed range making turn in difficult and exit a little hairy, especially if you clip the rumbles or curbs the wrong way. The biggest pitfall here, however, seems to be the brakes. They feel soft, yet somehow squirmy. The first corner was quite the slidey affair and proceeding sections just felt like they weren't doing quite as much as they should.
Dylans1o - Mitsubishi FTO GPX '94 - 2'06.398"
Understeer is the major downfall here. I found it to be very reluctant to turn in and very pushy on exit. Mid-speed seems to be the most affected though the last corner was also pretty scary. The brakes feel a little on the soft side and are unstable off the straight into the first corner. More often than not I found myself skidding into the entry here. The car looks to have decent speed but not quite enough to make up for the longish braking zones and handling difficulties.
C-ZETA - Mitsubishi Mirage Cyborg ZR '97 - 2'07.768"
I was a little disappointed with this one. It is so different from the rest of the field I was hoping it would stand out in performance as well. Sadly, it just doesn't turn. The front feels loaded up with lead and there is understeer all over the place. The brakes do well but compound the understeer problems and the speed is comparable but the corners are where the let down lies.
Now, it has to be said I am no good at tuning, but I did try a little tweak. I went in and changed the front toe from -.15 to -.25 and was able to drop more than .9 in just two laps. The front still felt heavy but it did turn in better. A little late to be useful in this shootout but perhaps useful information for the future.
And lastly, since I forgot earlier, driver's choice cars.
Rotary Junkie's Atenza - RJs cars and I usually don't get along as well as this. It was a blast to drive and I had to force myself not to go back to it until I had finished the rest of the cars I hadn't reviewed to that point. Sort of an "out of nowhere" choice that performed well.
AssassinTuner's Civic Type R - GTP tuners keep making me feel dirty by tuning good Hondas.
This one was very well balanced and in my opinion had the best braking feel. Whether it clocked a fast time or not it was a fun drive.
:bowdow:
