Hi Priano,
My Test of the DODGE RAM 1500 LARAMIE HEMI QUAD CAB '04
I tried this set-up offline and online on nurburgring GP/F circuit. (I like this circuit as it has a combination of all kinds of corner and gradients to test suspensions, braking etc)
Here it goes (my comparison sometimes is with the Ford SVT Lightening and the Toyota Tocoma X runner and my tune). All set to 546PP.
My RAMM tune:
- Very good on standing start acceleration great beats all cars I raced online in the 540pp category.
- Very good braking ability for a big truck can go reallllllllllly deep and block the car from turning and then leaves them nowhere to go as the truck is to big for them to go anywhere when turning into the corner (last chicane is classic example)
- On quick direction changes due to the weight it has understeer and no option but to slow then turn into corners where other balanced cars can take it on the throttle or scrub just a bit of speed.
Traction is good and I think this is more due to the 4WD but no wheelspin either, it can out drag most cars from slow corners.
- On acceleration is slow but due to the weight it’s understandable. I think with a better gear set-up it ill improve. Getting to top speed is a problem and you probably get passed on the straight.
Driving Style:
No particular strange driving style except I brake a little early and hit apex early and then "pump" the throttle mid corner to maintain a HIGH mid corner speed and maximise exit corner speed. I also feel for the front of a car in fast corners and modulate the throttle to bring the front into a fast change of direction.
With trucks I tend to be more careful on entry and coast the corner in rather then sharp apex turning. The Ford Lightening and Tacoma X runner are exceptions as they have great front ends.
Method:
All aids off except ABS set to 1.
Offline: First lap bring tyres to temp. Below is from 2nd lap onwards. I did 10 laps after each corner I paused and wrote down what I felt.
Online I created my own room and just raced on my own or 5 times I raced a Ferrari scudi, LFA, a 88 Civic and some others.
First corner:
Brake same point as Ford Lightening, and instantly notice the grip and braking stabability is much better. After 10 laps braking I looked at the telemetry and I could see I was braking for a shorter distance which tells me the RAMM has good stopping power which was a surprise as I thought it was heavy and I have to brake earlier. I hug the corner very tightly no need to go on the outside curb as the turning on MAX gets me through the corner. I then plan to feather the throttle to get maximum traction. Accelerating out I get GREAT traction looking at the telemetry and Ghosts I can see the traction (without wheel spinning) is a real advantage of the RAMM as I can see it pushes out all the BHP and it accelerates fantastically. No rapid oversteer problems here, Throttle control isn’t required that much as the RAMM grips well from standing/low speed start. Looking at my telemetry the RAMM is much better getting to the second corner then the Lightening and Tacoma – it gains traction a little quicker no oversteer and I approach turn 2…
Out of the 11 laps I did I out dragged the other trucks 9 times out of 10, from this corner. The 4WD works great. 0
Second corner:
Approaching the corner the left wheel goes on the grass as the turning is surprisingly good. I brake and no dramas no braking instability, suspension working well no body roll, I hug the corner and I car drive this corner like a car I pump the throttle keeping the revs high. The corner is not long I can accelerate out of the corner quickly onto the outside. I go on the rumble strip and I can see I am accelerating well out of corners. Looking on the telemetry the Ford lightening is faster as you can really throw it in the corner as it is lighter and carry higher entry and mid corner speed. It’s always quicker in ghost mode difference. Looking at the telemetry I put it down to simply accelerating and completing the corner quicker then the RAMM. The Tocoma is also up there with the Ford Lightening. However, the RAMM has a trick up the sleeve the car is a monster under braking/traction from slow corners and I am sure I can get that time back on the other 2 faster trucks in turn 3….
3rd corner:
I dive into the corner braking unbelievably late!!! I tried my braking points and if I braked same point/marker as the Ford and Tacoma I always slow down to much. So I brake late (which I don’t like on this corner as I like to maximise my exit) but I know this truck is great exiting corners because of its superior acceleration/traction from corners. I like to brake early here to bring myself into a good line for corner 4. Again I brake in and there and I get a bit of under steer on braking/turn in, but that’s ok it’s manageable and you can’t drive this like a car.
Telemetry and Ghost car seem to carry more corner speed (but not much corner to make a difference) BUT the trump card is the RAMM on the exit no traction problems –GRIP and whoosh you fly forward I always get to corner 4 before the other trucks just by superior acceleration (4WD).
4th corner:
I brake a little, and throw it into the easy right hander I turn and wait until I get to the end of the corner and accelerate hard. I can again see the exit is great compared to the other trucks. No dramas a simple corner and no traction problems and I accelerate to end of sector 1.
For Consistency the Tacoma is the better truck in Sector 1 for me.
5th corner:
Accelerating hard I make serious speed with all those BHP and I approach the corner. This corner is very difficult due to the mid and exit undulations and bumps in cars I was executing the same as if you hit the bump the suspension is compromised and you understeer wide on the exit and sometimes off track.
I brake and can feel the front go light, so I scrub more speed as I can feel I understeer wide on exit, the back skips right on the bump into the corner, braking seems good I scrub speed off, turn left, left and mid-corner bump makes the truck bounce and go wide, I brake and bring the front in and can see the front suspension bouncing giving me little confidence to accelerate HARD out of the corner as I feel the truck may snap but I decide to be brave and I accelerate hard the front grips and the rear (4WD working great) and I can go onto turn 5. Main problem here I think is the suspension and the inconsistent bumps on the exit and undulations of the track. But this is a bumpy corner for all cars -some cars absorb it better (e.g. ford Gt test spec). Telemetry shows I am slower into this corner (see above), but from mid to exits I am faster due to the superior exit speed and the less understeer this truck now has.
The truck by now I figure out that the best parts of this Truck is the mid to exits of corners so the next corners I will maximise the RAMMS strengths and try to take advantage of its good braking and maintain good mid corner speed and then BOLT FAST out of the corner taking advantage of the 4WD.
6th corner:
Having learnt in driving the RAMM in earlier corners I am going to change my driving style into turn 6 the tight right hander. I will brake late into the corner take a wide entry so I can accelerate out on full gas earlier. I hit the corner and I can feel again the truck braking good and then I take a late turn-in and then start to gently "pump" the throttle to maintain a higher corner speed without de-accelerating too much. I REALLY want to let go and accelerate hard no sign of understeer due to my change in driving style, I see the exit and start to press accelerator harder and can feel the truck grip and go wide, wide, oversteering and I ease off and before I know it the corner is exiting and I accelerate out HARD. Gearing here seems spot on here I can take it in gear and maintain great acceleration. The suspension seems well coping with the cambered corner well the front bounces a little but it doesn’t stop me turning or anything.
7th corner:
After good exit acceleration to the right loop I feel the acceleration is MUCH better due to the transmission settings rather than default. Again another corner I will brake late into the corner take a wide entry so I can accelerate out on full gas earlier. I hit brakes at and take a wider entry into the corner I notice the braking again is good.
Corner entry and mid corner I am slower then the other trucks but the improvement in the tune is that we can start working with the truck mid corner so I start to pump the throttle to keep my speed high. The turn in is good no understeer, get the front in nicely and hug the inside I don’t want to have big large acceleration phases as I know with the 4WD it kick me out onto the sand on exit. Here I am just reacting to the car does it understeer? I ease off is it gripping well? I accelerate a little more. I see the exit and a hit the throttle I am far enough on the inside of the corner to really hit the GAS hard I feel feel the oversteer kicking me wide but I stay on it maximum turning to avoid the sand on the exit. GREATTTTTT feels sooooooo good exiting this corner as I know I killed the corner and the other trucks just cant touch me on exit!!!
Out of 11 laps I feel I can drive this corner and maximise the exits really well. If you go in wide the truck works great (this tactic is devastating online for PP races more on this later). If you charge into the corner like other cars brake late, sharp turn-in and hard accelerate out the Truck finds it harder to respond well and you have to scrub off to much speed mid-corner and it hurts the strengths of the truck –exits. Telemetry and Ghost truck shows I approach the corner a little behind the Tacoma and Ford Lightening as they are lighter you can carry more corner speed. However on the exit phase the RAMM kills the other trucks (and most cars), and up the steep hill it has more BHP to out drag those and I quickly catch them just as I approach the fast chicane corner!
8th/9th corner:
I see my acceleration up the hill is much better I hit a higher speed, on the stock transmission settings of the RAMM I easily out accelerate and pass the old set-up RAMM. And it also kills and catchs up with the lighter trucks up the hill and we can take the fight for another couple of corners to see if we can out perform them with this new tune. This is a quick chicane VERY challenging, and with cars with good front downforce we can just blend off of the throttle and control the slides by careful throttle and a touch of brake to get through the corner.
In trucks there is no alternative but to brake and then try to get on the gas early as possible. I approach the chicane brake and turn in…. Left I feel the understeer then I turn right and feel the oversteer, I turn a lot to make the corner hit the green inside curb. On exits I feel the power oversteer this truck has so much power through its wheels if you don’t ease of you in the gravel. The truck instantly gives me better turn in then my older tune, but I just cannot negotiate the chicance fast like the Ford Lightening and Tocoma, I tried 11 times and I just can’t. The problem I think is the rapid change of direction its heavy, has 4WD and the turn in suffers at speed. This chicane shows up the main problem with this truck.
Suspension working seems ok with rapid change of direction. The truck makes you want to play and trust it but it’s a truck and you just cant do this chicane like a car. Out of the 10 laps only 2 times got it the way I wanted. With trucks be prepared to negotiate these complex corners differently. So I concentrated on trying best to get into the corner slower but trying to maximise the exit more.
10th corner:
Acceleration when you get 8 and 9 corner right dictates how quick you get to this corner, and therefore 8 and 9 is sooo important for this truck (see above my tactic). Very tricky corner brake,turn bumps and camber all make this a difficult corner to do right.
It looks wide and you can take serious speed into it – but in a truck you can’t as you know the turn-in back on to the track be slower then a car. Here I see this 90 degrees corner and brake HARD due to the speed I got up the hill I get quick turn in and no sign of understeer as this is a short sharp corner, I accelerate slowly and go wide as the oversteer kicks in I keep on it and feel the suspension working due to the outside curb is raised. Truck takes this corner well –I like it. The key to this corner in this truck is to go slower into the corner and accelerate out with a GOOD line for 11th corner and the straight.
11th corner:
I want to get through this corner quickly with good speed to maximise my top speed. I take a wide line and then I do NOT brake, I let the Truck de-accelerate, I hit the apex with the I do small pumps of the throttle getting ready to accelerate hard. I get to the end of the corner and accelerate it and it brings me outside the corner and when I see the green curb at the exit I floor the throttle and down the straight. No oversteer here, and I belt it down the back straight. Acceleration is good I am catching the Ford Lightening, Tomoma and catching them along the straight and then I see the chicane I see my braking point.
12/13th corner:
I get to a great top speed and I brake late and the stopping power of the RAMM does not let me down. I braked later on my fast lap then the Ford lightening and Tocoma and it stays with me it don’t go straight on. I turn in -LEFT -pump the throttle- and RIGHT and accelerate out and feel the back really planted and a slight oversteer is controllable . The truck felt good through the chicane I think the turn in and reduced understeer with the tune is helping a lot I can change direction but the truck is great in the chicane.
Last corner:
I approach the corner and this is a difficult corner to get right. I play to the RAMMS strength I brake late and take a wide entry and as soon as I hit mid corner slowly, slowly, put on the GAS, and then hit the throttle hard. This corner really shows how much understeer the truck has and with the tune its vastly reduced. With trucks you can’t really compare with cars but against the Ford Lightening, Tacoma and Silverado its VERY good handling. I feel the front most times is going to understeer BUT it grips at the last minute and I can accelerate away. I am defiantly slower in this corner then other trucks. The phase which hurts this truck is the 4WD during mid-corner I just cannot to large acceleration as it makes me slide wide, as the front wheels are driving forward. I accelerate towards the line and its another “experience” driving the truck.
Conclusions:
Driving trucks and comparing them to cars is not the way to judge how good this truck and tune is. I been fiddling around with the trucks for months now, and praiano definitely made improvements to the truck. Its 4WD make it a positive and negative the cornering is made difficult when you need to keep tight lines and not understeer wide when accelerating to keep up corner speed.
The trick with this truck is not to drive is like a car but drive it to its strengths which is to brake late into the corner and then plant the throttle and accelerate out. The stock understeer and oversteer on power is reduced thanks to the tune. I like it. But I probably change the torque diff closer to 70-30 or 75-25, to help in corners 8/9, last corner I tried it and it definitely makes a difference but then I lost out on sheer acceleration out of corners on the rest of the lap. I also think reducing the front LSD initial torque helps you drive the truck closer to a car.
Suspension (for me) is spot on I have no issues with this it copes with all the camber on the track and bouncing on bumps and curbs and there is enough suspension travel. Traction is great and it feels great out dragging trucks and cars!
Transmission is vastly improved on stock settings so much so the acceleration is helped so I can easily catch-up with the Ford and Tocoma trucks and even pass them before next corner.
Right onto Online playing, Guys and Girls this truck is a monster in the 500-546PP range TRUST me this truck can win!!! It’s a weapon! Some reason its better online handles better (a bug?) It’s so wide if you position it carefully you force them outside the corner all the time and they never pass you as you drift wide as you exit the corner, they have to back off or go off track. I won over 3 days in in the RAMM. You have to enter this truck in races what plan to its strengths –slow to medium corners. I won in Monaco, Nurburgring GP/F and another circuit which is for rally cars. The secret is that off the grid at the start the car has SOOO much more BHP that your first into the first corner because of the 4WD and excellent standing start traction!!!! When in front if you brake late and maximise your exit, cars can’t get a real run on you to challenge you cleanly. This is what makes this truck devastating online. Also with so much BHP you can out drag cars on the straight (if there is a nice point and squirt corner before the straight). In addition cars trying to hit you out of the way get a surprise as their car gets damaged or get a penalty.
Thanks to this tune and a little tweaking of the LSD/torque diff you can really race this. Is it the fastest truck?? it’s difficult to say it doesn’t accelerate quickly as the Ford Lightening or Tocoma or SSR but it makes up for it in other areas (a lot of BHP for the PP). I like this tune and if you see me online with my trucks don’t try to hit my truck just because I am beating you
, because chances are when I get in front its hard for you to pass me cleanly!