As requested I've put the four
Pagani Zonda R '09 tunes head to head.
All 4 tunes were tested the the exact same Assists, Horsepower and Tranny Top Speed and on Racing Tires in order to provide the best comparison of the suspension settings, rather than power output. Please understand that I am just one driver. My results are not universal; the fastest for me, may not be the fastest for you. Also, some of these tunes are designed around different power:weight ratios, and due to this, may have some negative side effects do to not using the tune specifically as designed. Finally, these tests were preformed on a single track and do not represent the tune across multiple tracks, where the results could quite possibly be reversed. I reccomend you test them all for yourself, and find what suits your need.
Okay, that's all the hubjub.
I started with
Avid Racing Factory. I've come to really enjoy Avid's tune, but through multiple tests of their tunes, it's extremely clear that their recommended LSD settings, couldn't be further away from my personal needs. To rectify this, I've added a second review, which includes the use of an altered LSD set up. As with many of my reviews, I will do some minor tuning, to try and produce the fastest lap I can, but I always try to review the tune 'as written' before making any changes.
The Avid tune, is supposedly based on Racing Hard tires. This absolutely did not work for me. I threw some Racing Softs on, and even that wasn't enough to combat the LSD preference difference, but I was able to post a decent lap time of
1:41.683. For those unfamiliar with
why Avid LSD don't work for me, it's because I'm rather aggressive with my cornering technique, and I like to get back to the gas quickly and I don't want to drive in a state of paranoia that the car is going to constantly swap ends on me.
Once I adjusted the LSD to something more forgiving to lead footed people like myself, I managed to drop off 8 tenths
1:40.863. Not a bad pick up for a shot in the dark LSD guesstimate. Avid's tunes are always very balanced and rather conservative. By conservative I mean, the car isn't going to be what I consider 'on edge'. Now, on edge can be a great thing when you're willing to sacrifice comfort, consistency and multiple laps. If all you want to do, is go balls to the wall and break a lap record, that you'll more than likely never be able to duplicate, then on edge is great. But for those of us, who expect to spend multiple laps in a car, for say... a 5 race, 10 lap series event, consistency is far more important. It's a smart choice to sacrifice 2 tenths a lap, rather than to risk spinning out at any given corner and blowing the entire race, if not series. Even further proving this point, is online racing, where not only will you be running multiple laps, but tire wear will be taken into account. On edge, means your tires will get ripped to shreds a lot quicker than the competition, making that wild ride, a lost cause. Avid shines in creating tunes that you can depend on. With some minor adjustments to Avid's tune, to match those of the following contenders, I feel Avid could quite possibly provide the best results, but this has yet to be tested.
Next up was
seoulspirit. This was not a tune created by an actual garage. Simply a person who designed a tune of their own, that wanted to share it with the forums. A great notion, but I'm sorry to say it fell short on producing. Unfortunately, this tune simply couldn't keep up, but to be fair, was only 1.2 seconds per lap behind 3rd place,
1:42.855, which is respectable in the broad scheme of things. This car was far too tight for me, the tightest of all 4. I, personally, can't stand a tight race car. I actually prefer on edge to tight, lol. The tune stands out from the rest, just at first glance, but I'm willing to try anything, as I'm loyal to results, not realism!
The third tune tested was that of
Tharains Tuning Temple. I've expressed concerns previously with Tharains neglect of toe and camber settings, and this tune doesn't stray from that trend. Moving on from that, Tharain's tune provided the most turn-in of all 4 tunes. If that's what you're looking for, then this tune may suit you best. For myself, I'm forced to see the entire corner as a whole. Turn in is great, but not at the expense of center and exit ability. I'm not sure if that's what happened here, or if possibly this is more turn in than I personally feel comfortable with. This could very well match up with a driving style that differs from mine, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least.
Despite all of the above, Tharain managed to turn a
1:42.812, but this lap time is not a fair portrayal of the tunes ability. What this actually displays is that my driving skill lacks the finesse needed to nurse this car around the track. So, I again swapped LSD settings to try again. Doing so resulted in a near identical lap time to that of Avid, with a
1:40.867. Only a difference of .004! But I do feel that Tharains tune had more potential than this .867. So to be fair, I'd say this hybrid was quicker than Avids, but I feel this is more based on the Downforce difference between the 2 tunes, where Tharain used Max, and Avid's were considerably lower. The second glaring issue, is that Avid's Ride height was roughly 10mm higher than Tharains, but oddly enough so is Blueshifts. Drop the ride height, up the downforce, and I think Avid will take the lead of these 3.
Fourth and Final is
Blueshift. A smaller shop, that I was skeptic about. One that completely took me by surprise, both in location as well as application. On the track, this tune literally didn't feel faster than the others. It felt like it was slower, looked like it wasn't getting that great of grip, didn't feel like it rotated as much as I prefer, and was a bit tight on exit, but the tight exit, seems to be the car's natural tendency as this was present in all 4. Or possibly just my driving. Either way...
Well, after driving a clean, but what felt lack luster, lap the time came out to be
1:40.540. The best of all 4 on only the second lap. I was literally stunned and confused. It actually made me double check that I wasn't a full second off, lol. So, not only did this obliterate the best 'as written' tune by a full second, it also managed to beat the hybrid LSD set up by 3 tenths. And just in case you're thinking this was one of those cars that can rip 1 great lap, and then put you into the grass the next 9 times out of 10, let me assure you, it was not. 3 out of the 5 laps I ran, were all sub 1:41. This was no random occurrence. The car was extremely comfortable, relaxed and consistent. It still felt stiff and uneventful through the remaining laps, but it just seems as if it calmly carries more speed throughout the track, without making any scenes. This LSD setting was actually quite great. I felt it needs to actually be bumped
up a tiny bit, to give the car a little more bite off the corners.
Hopefully this will suffice AnsonMaddox?
....which is a good thing sometimes. 
