GTR > Gran Turismo Reviews > Scion FR-S
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DC9990
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Test Drive Your Sexua.. Spirituality
Rx7 Style
Rx7 Style
Mazdas sporty RX-7 was taken off the production line in 2002 after 3 generations (FB, FC & FD) it was Mazdas pursuit of performance. This, the Spirit R Type A is considered to be Mazdas ultimate sports car. Boasting 276bhp & weighing just 1270kg with 50:50 weight distribution its easy to see why its considered to be the ultimate RX7. With great potential to be tuned there are many tuners out there trying to make Mazdas RX-7 even better & much faster creating highly tuned monsters creating close to 600bhp & weighing a little over a tonne.
Track used:
The track I decided to test all the cars on was Deep Forest Raceway, I chose this course as it has a little bit of everything so it test the car as a whole & doesnt just reward high powered cars or super grippy cars. Around Deep Forest you need a good well balanced car. Also the small bumps around the track bring out any slight problems with the setup.
Tyres used:
All cars used today are running on the same Sports Soft tyres. Although some cars may have been tuned on different tyres & therefore may not handle well on the Sport Softs I feel it is only fair to give all cars the same tyres.
Tuners reviewed:
RKM Motorsports
Real Replica Tune
Js Tuning
DCs tune
Karelian MotorWorks
Praianos Tunes
Red Valley Racing
RKM Motorsports
First up is the R400 from RKM Motorsports, I must be honest that I was expecting quite a lot from these guys after trying their Lotus Elise back when the Extreme Seasonal came out. This car has the lowest horsepower of the entire group tested with less than 400bhp but that doesnt matter as this first section is all about how well the car handles & how enjoyable it is.
Unfortunately it doesnt do amazingly well in that department either, although the car has good traction & overall rear grip thanks to the big rear spoiler its also the reason why there isnt enough front grip & the car has a tendency to understeer when pushed through the corners. Though it can be easily countered by increasing the steering angle though going round a long corner at 100+mph with your arms crossed over is not ideal.
The engine however is great, instead of just bolting on a turbo to increase power RKM have modified the engine itself improving the responsiveness of the engine. This coupled with the great traction this car has gives you the feeling that you can put your foot down without having to worry about spinning out or coming off the throttle while regaining control. It really does give the driver a lot of confidence.
I think with a bit less downforce this car couldve done a lot better.
On some tracks a car with this power & weight with stock settings is actually faster. On Tsukuba this tune was a tenth slower than stock settings with this power & weight, mostly due to the understeer.
Final thoughts: Good rear end sacrificing the front a little, could be a good car for DS3 users.
Final score: 80
Real Replica Tunes
Next is the R-Magic Pink from Real Replica Tunes, There are a number of RX7 tunes at Real Replica but I ended up choosing this one. Why I hear you ask? This is possibly one of the most fun cars I got to review out of the group. The R-Magic Pink is a very tail happy car but its the sort of tail happiness that you thoroughly enjoy. I must admit I did spend a few laps just throwing it in the corners & keeping that rear hanging out. I imagine this would be amazing fun on the Touge though that brings me to the only downside to this wonderful car, It might be a bit low/stiff for the touge as you can feel the bumps, the car stays very stable over them though, you just feel them. So if youve got a T500RS like me or another strong FFB wheel youll feel the jolts.
Final thoughts: Definitely a tune for when you just want to have fun or go sideways
Final score: 90
Js Tuning
When I first saw the specs for this car I was slightly baffled, 440bhp no problem in the power department, the weight is what confused me, 1168kg, Why didnt he make it lighter?! Anyway, I started this review arrogantly expecting my own RX7 to be at the top, how wrong I was. Im glad to say that Js RX7 is by far the best handling car I tried during this review. It may not be the fastest car here but its the easiest car to take to the limit & keep it there consistently lap after lap. I did the most laps in this car & 90% of the laps were within a tenth of each other. It really does give you the confidence to push just that little bit more without worrying about losing control or wildly understeering into the grandstand, it has so much grip it made me wonder if I was still using Sports Soft tyres & the brakes, Dont even get me started on the brakes, at first sight I saw 4:8 I was expecting it to act like a handbrake getting the rear out too much, nothing of the sort though. I felt comfortable to slam on the brakes, turn in & still beautifully hit the apex. This car would be great at late lunges on the inside of opponents.
I guess I have to find something to criticise about the car though & there is only really one area where I felt the car was slightly lacking, The Engine, Though the Mid range turbo does improve the torque I feel that if the engine was just that little bit more responsive it couldve done that little bit better to get a possible 100.
(Picture taken direcetly from the tuning page)
Final thoughts: Amazing car, very well balanced, great car for learning tracks.
Final score: 95
DCs tune (mine)
This car is the result of years of tuning from GT4 to GT5 all on Tsukuba Circuit, as I stated earlier I was expecting this to be one of, if not the top car here because of course its tuned the way I want it to be. With 464bhp its not the most powerful car in this review but I never intended it to be, I tuned this for handling, balance & above all else laptimes. This car has great cornering speeds thanks to the enormous amount of overall grip & with the great traction you can confidently get on the power early & use the full potential of the highly responsive engine with the short gear ratio. It does lack power when compared to the near 600bhp tunes that it has to compete with but the good balance makes up for the 120bhp handicap. Also the car might be a bit low for bumpy tracks as some bumps can really send a jolt through the steering wheel though the car doesnt seem to pay attention to the bumps & just breezes by as if nothing happened.
Final thoughts: Loads of grip, great traction & cornering ability. Very well balanced.
Final score: 90
Karelian MotorWorks
This one has a bit of a story, I messaged all the tuners that I was reviewing their cars & this tuner got back to me asking me to use an updated tune because the original suffered from horrible understeer by the time I got his reply requesting me to use his updated tune I had already got my notes & laptimes for the original tune so I went ahead & tried the 2 tunes side by side. I dont know if it was a typo in part of the settings but the updated version was way too tail happy, so much it was uncontrollable & I couldnt get a decent time so here is the Spirit KMW from Karelian. Its quite a beast with over 525bhp. That being said it is a very tameable beast, think of it like a house trained T-rex. If you show it some respect it will dominate most other cars out there, if you dont though, it will eat you for breakfast & wonder where its next snack is. This car is all about throttle control, with some decent control you can have this beast going sideways effortlessly & have amazing fun at it to boot. It does have a surprising amount of traction though it is very limited due to the amount of power this car produces. I couldnt really find a downside to this car, the only thing I could say is the power, this car requires a bit of skill to get the most out of it.
Final thoughts: Lots of power & lots of fun, needs a bit of skill though.
Final score: 85
Praianos tunes
To quote Jeremy Clarkson POWER! with over 580bhp even Jeremy would have enough power here. At first I was very critical about this car, I didnt think it had enough grip & thought it was your typical point & squirt car. All power & no handling. Then after a few laps the tyres got to their best & I started getting used to the car & all of its power it started to behave, I still believe that there might be too much power in this car for Sports Soft tyres & Im sure it would be brilliant if I was using Racing tyres but Im not & it struggled to put all of that power down. It did have a slight bit of understeer more than likely due to the power. It is a very very fast car though.
Final thoughts: Sports tyres cant cope with this much power but its still a very fast tune
Final score: 85
Red Valley Racing
This is not a car, its a rubber smoking masochist that has a personal vendetta against me & was trying to kill me. On a track that is smoother than a babies bottom this car might be alright but on a track with any slight bump you will either be facing the wrong way in a cloud of smoke or pulling bits of steering wheel out of your teeth after slamming into the barrier. I spent most of my time in this car just trying to get a lap out of it that didnt involve a spin or a crash.
Maybe Im not skilful enough to control this but when in the middle of a corner just starting to slowly feather the throttle if the boost kicked you would end up 6 feet under.
(borrowed from tuner)
Final thoughts: Not enough grip, very unstable over the slightest of bumps. Needs racing tyres
Final score: 70
Ranked on scores:
1st Js Tuning - 95
2nd DCs Tune 90
3rd Real Replica Tunes 90
4th Karelian MotorWorks - 85
5th Praianos Tunes - 85
6th RKM Motorsports - 80
7th Red Valley Racing - 70
Lap times:
1st Praianos Tunes 117.114
2nd DCs Tune 117.527
3rd Red Valley Racing 117.600
4th Karelian MotorWorks 117.698
5th Js Tuning 118.440
6th Real Replica Tunes 119.309
7th RKM Motorsports 119.828
Final thoughts:
I always believed a well balanced car could lap faster than a car with tonnes of horsepower. After this review I have both proven my point & gone against it. The fastest cars today were those that I ranked lowly in terms of handling & excitement. The bottom 2 were in the top 3 laptimes.
If you are going for an endurance race where consistent laptimes will be beneficial I would definitely recommend the Js tuning car, it was by far the best car today unfortunately it was also one of the slowest but only by a little over 1 second. If you just need a super fast car & dont mind crashing once or twice then obviously the Praianos car was the fastest by almost half a second. If you just want some fun while racing the Real Replica car is the one for you.
If you got to the end I want to thank you & I hope you have enjoyed reading my first review
Any & all criticism would be appreciated & I hope you enjoy my next review.
Onboy123
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Original review posted here.
Of the many tuners here on GTPlanet, RKM has the NSX. MFT has the Spirra. JG has the MKIV Supra. And KMW has this, the RX7. All these cars are their ‘signature’ cars, it’s their flagship, their greatest offering. And, more often than not, they define the tuner. They speak of the tuner, it’s the essence, the spirit of their work. The NSX was a fun all rounder, like RKM. The Spirra was a bonkers murderer, in the same way MFT is a bit bonkers. The MKIV Supra was a simple car which just drove well, like JG. So, in order to understand KMW’s tuning priorities, all you need do, is drive this. If this is to be worthy of being known as the spirit of tuner, it should be different to everything else. It should live up to everything the tuner has written in the OP. So this, it should just shout ‘KMW!!!!!’ within a lap.
As it turns out, it took two turns. Two turns, and I already know what to expect from KMW. On the edge fun, on the edge handling, with a droplet, like »-« this much, of health and safety. Good. Because this is the most fun, the most visceral, the most exciting, the most alive RX7 I have ever, ever driven! It’s a bit bonkers, yes, but its so controllable! What a wake up call, it’s 9:00AM, I’m barely awake, but this just sends several thousand volts down my spine at every corner. It’s such a ‘drivers’ car. You can feel what it’s going to do, how it’ll act. It lets you see more of the track, it shows you areas which you would have never thought existed. One example. Turning into the ‘Followthrough’, the high speed right hand corner on the TGTT, I’ve driven through there enough times to know that it’s a flat turn. But, in this, I can see it running over bumps which didn’t exist until now. That’s how sensitive it is. It’s one of those cars which I can say ‘yes, I’d like to drive this on the ‘Ring’. Only 3 cars have had that ‘honour’ before. That’s how good it is. And I think I can safely say that this among the top 5 RX7’s I’ve ever driven. The only thing I would say that needs improving on this, is the brakes need more work, it’s a bit weak for slowing a bolt of lightning like this. But on the whole, this has to be, as I say again, one of the top 5 RX7 tunes I’ve driven.
So yes, this car does seem to deserve the title of being KMW’s spirit. But that’s not to say it can’t be bettered. In fact, it has been bettered. By the KMW RX7 Evo 1.
It’s basically an updated, angrier and more dangerous version of the already lairy KMW RX7. The difference is, that (Italics) was a car for serious drivers who wanted a laugh. This is for serious drivers who want a serious drive. You have to be serious, no joking about. If you do, you die. Simple as that. It’s even faster than the original ‘Spirit’, and even more bonkers and scary! I can see why it’s been detuned, it’s fast and mental enough as it is with 500hp, god knows how it’ll drive with the 540 the first ‘Spirit‘ had! The only issue is that because it’s so lairy offline, only god knows what it’ll be like with the much looser online physics. Still, who cares about online? What matters is how does this drive offline, and how does it compare to the pre-Evo KMW RX7.
Well, as said, it’s much more flamboyant with more oversteer, it’s harder to be consistent, you’ll either spin or get red flagged for saving it from the spin, but it is much more rewarding a car to drive, and marginally faster. The gears, though a pain to set up for some reason, are nicely setup, gives it a lot of acceleration without sacrificing too much top speed. Though it could be slightly better if 6th wasn’t positioned so weirdly low, I guess it’s like that to give a higher top speed. But less power is faster in this case, no doubt. It’s around 0.4 of a second faster, for that matter.
Now for the tricky question. Which one would I have? The more powerful, older version or the less powerful, edgier new one? Well……it’s a close call, but I think, on balance, I’d take the one for the normal drivers. I don’t think 0.5 of a second is a good enough excuse to trash the tyres with the newer tune. It’s either that, or I’m not good enough to enjoy this version yet. Not by a long way.
The Spirit of Tuning
Part 2- Karelian MotorWorks RX7 duo
Part 2- Karelian MotorWorks RX7 duo
Of the many tuners here on GTPlanet, RKM has the NSX. MFT has the Spirra. JG has the MKIV Supra. And KMW has this, the RX7. All these cars are their ‘signature’ cars, it’s their flagship, their greatest offering. And, more often than not, they define the tuner. They speak of the tuner, it’s the essence, the spirit of their work. The NSX was a fun all rounder, like RKM. The Spirra was a bonkers murderer, in the same way MFT is a bit bonkers. The MKIV Supra was a simple car which just drove well, like JG. So, in order to understand KMW’s tuning priorities, all you need do, is drive this. If this is to be worthy of being known as the spirit of tuner, it should be different to everything else. It should live up to everything the tuner has written in the OP. So this, it should just shout ‘KMW!!!!!’ within a lap.
As it turns out, it took two turns. Two turns, and I already know what to expect from KMW. On the edge fun, on the edge handling, with a droplet, like »-« this much, of health and safety. Good. Because this is the most fun, the most visceral, the most exciting, the most alive RX7 I have ever, ever driven! It’s a bit bonkers, yes, but its so controllable! What a wake up call, it’s 9:00AM, I’m barely awake, but this just sends several thousand volts down my spine at every corner. It’s such a ‘drivers’ car. You can feel what it’s going to do, how it’ll act. It lets you see more of the track, it shows you areas which you would have never thought existed. One example. Turning into the ‘Followthrough’, the high speed right hand corner on the TGTT, I’ve driven through there enough times to know that it’s a flat turn. But, in this, I can see it running over bumps which didn’t exist until now. That’s how sensitive it is. It’s one of those cars which I can say ‘yes, I’d like to drive this on the ‘Ring’. Only 3 cars have had that ‘honour’ before. That’s how good it is. And I think I can safely say that this among the top 5 RX7’s I’ve ever driven. The only thing I would say that needs improving on this, is the brakes need more work, it’s a bit weak for slowing a bolt of lightning like this. But on the whole, this has to be, as I say again, one of the top 5 RX7 tunes I’ve driven.
It’s basically an updated, angrier and more dangerous version of the already lairy KMW RX7. The difference is, that (Italics) was a car for serious drivers who wanted a laugh. This is for serious drivers who want a serious drive. You have to be serious, no joking about. If you do, you die. Simple as that. It’s even faster than the original ‘Spirit’, and even more bonkers and scary! I can see why it’s been detuned, it’s fast and mental enough as it is with 500hp, god knows how it’ll drive with the 540 the first ‘Spirit‘ had! The only issue is that because it’s so lairy offline, only god knows what it’ll be like with the much looser online physics. Still, who cares about online? What matters is how does this drive offline, and how does it compare to the pre-Evo KMW RX7.
Well, as said, it’s much more flamboyant with more oversteer, it’s harder to be consistent, you’ll either spin or get red flagged for saving it from the spin, but it is much more rewarding a car to drive, and marginally faster. The gears, though a pain to set up for some reason, are nicely setup, gives it a lot of acceleration without sacrificing too much top speed. Though it could be slightly better if 6th wasn’t positioned so weirdly low, I guess it’s like that to give a higher top speed. But less power is faster in this case, no doubt. It’s around 0.4 of a second faster, for that matter.
Now for the tricky question. Which one would I have? The more powerful, older version or the less powerful, edgier new one? Well……it’s a close call, but I think, on balance, I’d take the one for the normal drivers. I don’t think 0.5 of a second is a good enough excuse to trash the tyres with the newer tune. It’s either that, or I’m not good enough to enjoy this version yet. Not by a long way.
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- 6,057
- Cebu
- SayakaMiki1337
- Kawauchi2568
Only cuz you're very preoccupiedBut I think it's safe to say, the hero of this page was DC. Just look at that review! One thing though, DC, I'd leave the tuners mentioned in that review a link to the page, just so they know you've done it.
That's more like it.
Well, DC was a terrific candidate when he applied here. I'm glad I took the opportunity
Onboy123
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- Onboy123
Of course you can go ahead, it's that you need the perfect timing to post it when the raving has cooled off
Screw that, you go ahead, I have other cars to review too anyway
It's not going be raving as such just more 'strolling down memory lane' than gunning it sideways.
Edit: what's FTFY? And why haven't you linked the Countach review?
Oi, final thing, banner. Where is it? Even the old Enzo one would do.
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- 35,312
- Downtown North Dakota
- Cy-Fi
For being a review thread, you guys sure do a lot of off topic bickering. A fair chunk of the last page or two could should have taken place through either PM's or VM's.
Think about it from an outsiders perspective. Do you think they're going to take this thread seriously if they come in expecting to see a review only to find that a good chunk of the thread is complaining about missing links and banners?
Think about it from an outsiders perspective. Do you think they're going to take this thread seriously if they come in expecting to see a review only to find that a good chunk of the thread is complaining about missing links and banners?
- 2,239
- caswellhouse
Agreed. You guys do a good job reviewing but like every other thread you guys end up in this one has been hijacked by you. Yes i know its your thread, but you hijacked it 
its an inside job lol.
Keep up the great reviews but keep the small talk to aim or something. Tho sometimes funny it is a turn off to try to find your relevant posts.
its an inside job lol.Keep up the great reviews but keep the small talk to aim or something. Tho sometimes funny it is a turn off to try to find your relevant posts.
Onboy123
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Okay. I appologise for that, our child side got the better of us. And we'll promise from now on not to bicker so much.Agreed. You guys do a good job reviewing but like every other thread you guys end up in this one has been hijacked by you. Yes i know its your thread, but you hijacked it
Keep up the great reviews but keep the small talk to aim or something. Tho sometimes funny it is a turn off to try to find your relevant posts.
Onboy123
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Power. Beauty. Soul.
But not as you'd expect………
But not as you'd expect………
No, I’m not talking about Aston Martin, I’m talking about something which defines these words better than anything else. Something Italian. Something red. Something with a motorsport history. Something beautiful. Something like this.
Power....
450 horse power, to be precise. Enough to worry most of the metal made in Modena. Certainly more than any other road going Alfa around. In fact, it has more power than the 155 TI of DTM fame. The power is delivered in a short, sharp blow like you’d get from Ferrari or Lamborghini, but it’s not scary. It maybe an impersonation of the prancing horse in terms of the concept, and it delivers the excitement that they raging bull gives, but it doesn’t deliver the pants ruining fear. It’s also good at making use of every one of those horses. On a wet SSR7, I’ve seen 180+mph out of this thing. So it’s certainly not lacking in the speed department.
Beauty…
Pretty, isn’t it? I know my pictures don’t do it justice, but putting that aside, you have to admit. It is beautiful. I know there are those who say ‘What?! Why not the Ferrari 458 or the Maserati GT or the X/Y/Z?’ Well, because all the cars I listed have some visual faults. The 458 looks amazing, yes, but the back is a bit…weird. The Maserati is the exact opposite, ok arse, but slightly iffy front, if you ask me. This though, I’m struggling to fault it. Yes, it’s not as dramatic as a Lamborghini and yes, it might look a bit simple. But whoever said beauty needs to be complex? The E-Type Jag wasn’t, it was basically a streamlined bar of soap with a roof, and that is still considered as one of the best looking cars ever made. Simple works here. It’s a classical silhouette. Long bonnet, short sloping rear, no overhangs. It’s one of those cars which will still look good 10, 20 years later.
Soul…
Soul. The one thing any Alfa must have. The signature of the brand. It should have a zing to it. A special feeling that it‘s alive, it’s a living thing in the corners. And it doesn’t disappoint. The steering is sharp, the car responds quickly, the tail loves to come out and play, and it never tries to kill you. The handling reminds me of the old Spider, it’s playful and exuberant without being scary. Sure, it's not the most sophisticated car you've ever driven, and yes, you’d probably trash the tyres after a lap with all the drifting, but you really wouldn’t care. Partly because it’s quite a manageable brute, even when the tyres are under stress, it's still very easy to drive. But mostly, the main reason you wouldn't really care about the tyre destruction is because you’ve had such a good time!
To sum up then, the 8C is the ultimate road legal definition of ‘Power, beauty and soul’. Which just so happens to make it quite a damn good car as well.
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- Cebu
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As Jezza has said, the 8C proved that car can be art.
Updated and organized the OP. To some people who thought I didn't even do reviews, think again, I linked some of my reviews worthy to be read. Pardon me if it's filled with RKM, that was my preferred tuning garage when I first stepped my foot on the article writing business.
Updated and organized the OP. To some people who thought I didn't even do reviews, think again, I linked some of my reviews worthy to be read. Pardon me if it's filled with RKM, that was my preferred tuning garage when I first stepped my foot on the article writing business.
