Hi Krenkme, just popping in for a...
...review.
Tested on update 2.07 offline, sixaxis controller, grip reduction real, aids off (except ABS 1)
STOCK (except for weight reduction and engine stage 3)
Grand Valley East 1:07.3
Degree of difficulty: extreme! Lots of entry understeer makes it hard to clip the apex. And then on the way out, it is very easy to induce snap oversteer. Lots of body movement and chassis is slow to react. Rear is unstable under brakes, and braking distances are quite long. Suspension bottoms out a fair bit, which is very unusual for stock settings. In a word, yuk.
PARTS ONLY (default settings, except LSD 5/5/5)
Grand Valley East 1:05.6
Laguna Seca 1:31.9
In hindsight, the stock setup wasn't so bad! Based on speed in a straight line, this setup should be at least 5 seconds quicker than stock at Grand Valley East. But due to hilariously bad cornering antics, even the (far from ideal) stock setup closes the gap at each corner. The extra power amplifies all of the previous bad habits and also adds some new ones. Lots of entry oversteer, which means the car is now unstable at all times. Lurching mid-corner body movement upsets the handling balance. Gearing is far too short. I haven't mentioned traction, because there is none!! Yuk squared.
Much the same story at Laguna Seca, plus the rear is easily upset by road camber.
CLUELESS TUNE
Grand Valley East 1:04.9
Laguna Seca 1:29.5
A bit more predictable at Grand Valley than default settings- the extra understeer is a welcome relief. The chassis does seem to have less vices, but with such a fundamentally unstable car and a monster engine that can provoke snap oversteer in 4th gear, it's always going to be a tricky car to drive. Gearing is a huge improvement.
The news is much better at Laguna Seca. Here, the handling is much more predictable and the car is, dare I say it, actually enjoyable to drive. Still a very fine line between taking a corner reasonably well and ending up backwards in the fence. But at least now you know there is a proper reason for it, rather than the whim of a moody italian. If this were any other car, I would still be moaning about many other handling problems...but this isn't a car, it's an F40!
Overall, Clueless have made an F40 tune with 694 hp that can actually be enjoyable to drive. This is a massive achievement.