Mad Finn Mazda MX-5 Clubsport '07
Speed 7/10
Handling 5/10
Looks 8/10
Overall 6.5/10
EDIT: BIG HUGE IMPORTANT NOTE: I PERFORMED ALL TESTING USING THE DS3, SINCE I DON'T HAVE A WHEEL YET. I SHOULD HAVE REMEMBERED TO INCLUDE THIS IN THE ORIGINAL REVIEW!!!
Where do I start on this one? I suppose let me say firstly, that in spite of what the score might indicate, this was actually a pretty good tune, but in your own description of the car, you suggest that it was designed with Tsukuba in mind. Fair enough, one of my favorite tracks, I often test there, and test there is what I did.
The track record is 51.875 seconds, set by
Keiichi “Dorikin” Tsuchiya (
according to Wikipedia). I consistently run low to mid 1:07’s in the MX-5 with only a tyre upgrade (to Sports Softs). At seeing such an extreme power upgrade, my hope was that you guys had somehow found a way to get all or at least most of those 352 Horsepowers onto the track using Sports Softs, possibly leading to some 58 second or better lap times (which would be in Time Attack territory).
So did you manage just that? Well, no… Did you come close? If 3 seconds off the mark is close, then yes. So, um, no, you didn’t come particularly close.
So let’s start off with the positives. You started with a very solid base car. The MX-5, any MX-5, is a big overachiever. For an econobox pricetag you get a solid roadster that feels perfectly at home on the track. Light, RWD, well-balanced, it exhibits only the slightest understeer on turn-in (a good thing for novice drivers), and while decently powerful it never really punishes you for putting the hammer down upon corner exit.
Then you gave it a bit of a Fast and the Furious bodykit treatment, and actually managed to make it stunning. Too bad you can’t go top down at the track. Wouldn’t be very realistic, I know, but man the replays sure would look cool.
Edit: When I used the term "unrealistic" I was making an assumption that Polyphony Digital probably felt it unrealistic to have the top down, since their physics model is probably based on aerodynamics of the car with the top up. Credit to Paulie from Lion's Den to pointing out that the MX-5's he's seen at real world spec races have typically had their tops down.
On to the tune. It definitely increases straight-line speed and acceleration while keeping the car stable. When it comes to tackling the corners, however, things all start to go a bit pear-shaped. I prefer late braking, and with your LSD setup it leads to wheelspin before I’ve even begun turn-in, assuming I haven’t already flown off the track (due to the soft brake bias settings). Adjust my braking habits accordingly, and the wheelspin shows up on corner exit. This is not to say the car is undrivable, or even difficult to drive, but when I take into consideration that you started out with the fun, forgiving MX-5 and turned it into a TVR Tamora, I have to hold the wheelspin issues against you.
Add loads of HP to a lightweight FR Roadster and don't be surprised if you end up like this...
On a more positive note, one thing I was impressed with was how you recognized the stock gearbox was more than capable of meeting your needs so you didn’t bother with a customizable one.
I tried out RKM’s suspension/LSD settings, and then my own, and achieved little reduction of wheelspin. I did achieve better traction under braking by increasing the bias and increasing Deceleration lock in the LSD. Ultimately, the only way to get what I wanted as far as handling was concerned was to put a set of Racing Softs on the wheels.
So, my conclusion is you simply added more Horsepower and torque than this car could handle (on Sport Tyres) and no amount of tuning will ever sort it out.
Now, onto the times. I did all laps for this one on Tsukuba using various setups including yours. To be fair to you, I did not include warmup laps or laps disqualified for offs or shortcuts.
Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap 3 Lap 4 Lap 5
1:08.757 1:10.666 1:08.392 1:08.311 1:07.520
Only upgraded tyres to Sports Soft, engine was broken in to 165HP@6500rpm.
1:07.477 1:09.444 1:07.195 1:07.858 1:07.783
Using your suspension and brake setup, with no power upgrades.
1:22.243 1:01.984 1:01.762 1:03.451 1:03.332
Your exact tune.
59.775 59.034 1:01.176 58.956 57.664
Your tune with Racing Soft Tyres
1:01.428 1:01.525 1:02.996 1:03.512 1:01.579
Your tune without the customizable LSD, notice times aren't much slower than the ones I achieved with your tune, but became more consistent.
1:00.991
When I went to a Stage 2 Turbo from the Stage 3, I actually got faster.
I didn't include the results I got with my own settings, since they were very similar to the times I got with your tune. The times I got using
RKM's setup were slightly slower, but then their setup is intended for
the NA, not NC (There ya go, RJ.) roadster.
I only have 280hp in my NC and that's more than enough for the Laguna Seca enduro. 👍
At least I've never seen one in the MX-5 races I've been to. I actually want to do one of these myself soon, have for a very long time, but it'll be a Tsukuba endurance tune, so an entirely different purpose. Then later down the track a general purpose tune like I normally do.
