LeMONS to LeMANS Season 3 [Wednesday]

News)
Current standings can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/a/huyler.ne...9OdENsOFNTN0Zld0NJV2RFRjlKWWdYMWc&output=html


Objective)
Purchase a cheap car that has 385 performance points or less and show up to the first race. After each race, points are awarded based on placement and totaled at the end of the series to determine the winner. Extra credits are awarded to spend on your car as well. The loser gets the most credits to improve their car while the winner gets the least. The goal is to rotate out leaders by giving underdogs a little more to spend on their cars. Run what you brung and hope for the best finish each week. Pit strategy and accident avoidance will play a key role. Prize cars will be awarded at the end of the series to the top performers.

Initial Vehicle Selection)
Race Cars, Rally Cars, Concepts and Tuner brand cars are prohibited.
Car must start at or below 385pp AFTER a complete engine and chassis refresh.
Car must have at 200 miles at 385pp.
0-mile cars are only allowed if they are at 380pp.
Car must be at least decade old (between 19xx-2001). Newer cars are prohibited.
For cars under 385pp, power and weight mods are allowed for the first race to get it to 385pp.
Any modification that does not directly affect pp is not allowed for the first race.
This includes: Chassis reinforcement, transmissions, drivetrain improvements, and suspension improvements.
Aero parts will be prohibited from the first race.
Ballast and Power Reduction will also prohibited for the first race.

Tires and Other Freebees)
Tires will be free (not included in budget) and compound restriction will increase with each race starting with Comfort tires and ending with Racing tires. Paint, wheels, oil changes, engine rebuilds, and chassis rebuilds will also be free as there is no way to police that sort of thing. Aero kits are not free.

Price Changes)
Due to the price of the custom tranny, and certain vehicle's dependence upon it to reach top speeds, The custom tranny's price has been dropped to 7,500 credits for this series. If you have 7,500 credits to spare and your car is bouncing off the rev-limiter, I'd suggest purchasing it so you can reach your drag-limited top speed on the final race of the season.

Race format)
Time: Wednesdays. Room opens for warmup at 9:30PM EDT (GMT -4). Race starts at 10:00PM.
Length: Each race will be roughly 1 hour in length
Damage: Set to full -- cars involved in accidents will have to pit for repairs or drive with damage
Penalties: Off -- races will be reviewed and points/credits will be deducted as necessary. In short, follow GTP OLR rules.
Grip: Set to REAL -- off track excursions will add dirt to tires and racing in the rain will be challenging
Tire wear/fuel consumption: On -- pit stops are not required but often lead to the fastest average lap times

Qualifying)
9:30PM EDT - Room opens for qualifying

* When entering the track, watch the map to make sure you don't interfere with someone already on their hot laps.
* If you make a mistake, yield to faster cars on the track as to not ruin their qualifying lap too.
* Do not exit to the lobby for any reason.
* Do not enter pit road for any reason (if you get damage, tough luck).
* When you are happy with your time you can either continue running laps until the time runs out or you can park out of the way. Do not interfere with any other drivers on the track after you have finished qualifying.
* If restarts are required (due to massive wrecks, lag, or missing cars) qualifying position is not gauranteed


Entering and Exiting the Pits during the race:
Do not cross the white line. Yield to faster cars on the track in the first turn by staying on the same side of the track as the pit until you reach racing speeds.

Schedule)
X) August 24th -- Pre-season warmup -- Circuito de Madrid -- Comfort Soft
1) August 31st -- Laguna Seca Raceway -- Comfort Soft
2) September 7th -- Fuji Speedway -- Sport Hard
3) September 14th -- Autumn Ring -- Sport Medium
4) September 21st -- Nürburgring Nordschleife -- Sport Soft
5) September 28th -- Suzuka Circuit (weather change) -- Racing Hard / Rain Tires
6) October 5th -- Road Course – Daytona
7) October 12th -- Circuit de la Sarthe (full 24hr cycle, weather change)

Awards)
1. = 20 Points, 0 cr
2. = 16 Points, 1,000 cr
3. = 13 Points, 2,500 cr
4. = 11 Points, 5,000 cr
5. = 10 Points, 7,500 cr
6. = 9 Points, 10,000 cr
7. = 8 Points, 12,500 cr
8. = 7 Points, 15,000 cr
9. = 6 Points, 17,500 cr
10-16. = 5 Points, 20,000 cr

* Award money can be banked until after next race
* Parts cannot be sold off once installed (if you purchase a sport exhaust and later want to upgrade to a racing exhaust you have to pay full price for it)
* Tires are free so money only has to be spent on performance mods

Missing Races)
* Drivers receive no points for missing races
* Drivers receive 5,000 credits to maintain their vehicle for the next race.

Keeping it Fair)
1. Driver chooses a car and submits specifications to race steward prior to the start of the series.

2. After each race, car and mods installed will be made public and cars must be shared for others to inspect.

3. Inspection process will involve verifying parts purchased are what is installed and lap times are consistent with those seen in the race.

4. Parts chosen for subsequent races must be submitted prior to the start of the next race and will not be made public until after the race is completed.

Registration)
1. chuyler1
2. Sl3ight
3. WiiFreak
4. Dabney
5. Diabolic
6. Bowtie
7. morbo
8. gjbaldwin60
9. Cujo 940
10. Durandal7
11. JOE2011/mmkhellraiser
12. GrayFox32
13. ShobThaBob
14. vitin01
15. Dikarika
16. jamesybograt
XX. lunari

Initial testing for vehicles...



Here are some potential vehicle selections, along with Grand Valley East Reverse lap times. We will not be running this track, but I like to use it as a testing ground because it helps reveal corner speeds, and acceleration from both 2nd gear and 3rd gear. A little bit of elevation helps too.

1:20.684 Toyota MR2 Spyder '99 -- Fastest car of the lot, but will require a transmission upgrade mid-season.
1:21.093 Toyota MR2 SC '86 -- Quite a handful to drive but lots of potential.
1:21.150 Mazda Roadster '98 -- not as quick as the MR cars but corners cleaner.
1:21.398 Nissan 240zg '71 -- nice car, but no turbo option.
1:21.595 Mazda 110s '67 -- Stage 3 engine and racing exhaust makes it a blast, but not much room for improvement
1:21.643 Hyundai Tiberon Turbulence '99 -- It's an FF but not too shabby
1:21.656* Toyota MR2 '86 -- Mid rpm turbo to start, Can probably run with the other MRs.
1:21.846 Toyota 2000GT '67 -- A blast to drive but lacking in corner grip.
1:21.939 Nissan SILVIA Q's AERO (S14) '93 -- Very tall gears, and no turbo option. No thanks.
1:21.950* Eagle Talon Esi '97 -- Another quick FF
1:22.134* 206 S16 '99 -- Another FF that is light enough to go easy on tires
1:22.286 Honda CR-X del Sol SiR '92 -- Fast in a straight line, but no torque or corner grip.
1:22.574* Infinity G20 '90 -- A bit on the heavy side
1:22.891* Nissan 280z '78 -- I had a good run with this last season but no turbo option killed my chances
1:23.645 Mitsubishi Lancer EX 1800GSR '83 -- absolutely horrible car no matter what you do with it
1:26.077 Alpha Giulia Sprint GTA 1600 '65 -- Fun to drive, but very slow.

* tested last season at 375pp. A few more mods could improve their times.

I'll post the transmission poll in here so it gets more exposure.

This is to decide if FC Transmission will be a free upgrade for next season. Another possibility is making it cheaper.

The idea is to equalize the field and make a larger variety of cars competitive.

I'm in. I'm gonna do both Tuesday and Wednesday again.

I'm in again

Count me in again as well.

I'm ready for another showdown w/Wii tonight. I assume others will be there as well and boy I'd just be tickled if three of you all could come betwen myself and him.

Definitely in. No car choice yet. Will let you know.

After following almost all of last season, can't wait to join in on both nights, car choice TBD.

sign me up!

I'm in.. car selection to follow

I'm still looking for a '70 Skyline GT-R (KPGC10). If anyone has a stock one to trade hit me up. Just let me know what you want for it.

sl3ight

I'm still looking for a '70 Skyline GT-R (KPGC10). If anyone has a stock one to trade hit me up. Just let me know what you want for it.

Click to expand...

I want to give it too you, but I tested it. Must not allow golden child to fall into enemy hands.

Sign m up and can u give me a list of cars to use. That would be a major help thanks and see u on the track!!!!

PSN: mmkhellraiser


CAR: NISSAN SKYLINE 2000gt-r (KPGC110) 1973

Sign me up! Car: TBD

I'm definitely good to go for wednesdays. I'll PM car sometime in the next couple of days.

PSN - rosooftw

No rush on car selection just yet. Use the time wisely to test out different vehicles. Take a look at the season 2 thread and race results to see what works well.

Let's talk transmissions.

Looking at the poll it's pretty clear opinion is divided. Makes sense, since it'll take away some peoples advantage gained by smart car choice. I think we're pretty much in agreement that the price of it should be lowered though.

The 5 and 6 speed Close Ratio boxes are 6k and 8k respectively. I think the FCs price should be lowered to 7 or 8k. That keeps it as a bit of a pricey upgrade but it won't kill your budget for the rest of the season. What does everyone think?

I say make it 7,500 credits. That means if you place 5th or worse late in the season due to topping out on the straight, you can install it and hope your car can keep up...or you can install something like a mid-rpm turbo and hope your car pulls enough of a gap at the beginning of a straight to pull ahead.

I think it neutralizes the transmission strategy. What I mean by that is, you may have a slight advantage with a short-geared car up to possibly race 3 or 4...but if you place well in those first 4 races you'll have to give up your dominance to install the transmission for the final 3 or 4 tracks. On the flip side, a tall geared car might not have the same acceleration through the first part of the season but will have the cash to buy more performance parts for late season speed.

Unless I hear strong opposition, I'll add it to the ruling.

I'm in for Wednesday as well!!!

diabolicwyvern

I want to give it too you, but I tested it. Must not allow golden child to fall into enemy hands.

Click to expand...

Fools, mighty fools. Only I can harness the power!

Listen to this great noise my wheel just started making.

sl3ight

Listen to this great noise my wheel just started making.

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That's a feature.

chuyler1

I say make it 7,500 credits.

Unless I hear strong opposition, I'll add it to the ruling.

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I'm casting my vote for 10,000 instead of 7,500.

What ever you decide to do on Wednesday, we will follow on Tuesday.

I would like to join the series.

vitin01

I would like to join the series.

Click to expand...

Sure, I'll add you to the list. For the new folks, please check your schedules and make sure you can commit to the entire series. Also, watch the video in the 2nd post for an idea of the type of racing we do. Actually, the video displays a little rough "rubbing" at times but notice we aren't pit manuevering, punting, or weaving down the straights. If you can't handle racing wheel to wheel without causing damage to yourself or others...this may not be the series for you.

Also, if we get too much interest for one of the days, we may have a same-make race-off among the new-comers.

One other item. Although vehicle selection is open, some drivers found out the hard way last season that certain cars simply don't perform well in an endurance setting. Make sure you test lots of vehicles and experiment with initial part selection. Non-pp related parts are not allowed, but there is still strategy in picking the right pp-related parts to get your car to 385. For example, add the expensive parts before the season starts so you don't have to purchase them later using your reward credits.

I have placed some example lap times in the 2nd post to give drivers an idea of what vehicles do well. Cars that are up to 2 seconds slower per lap can still draft other cars on the track. Anything more than 2 seconds slower will require significant modifications just to get up to the pace of cars that are quick without the modifications.

I have a thought on the transmission issue that might satisfy both sides of the debate. What if we assigned the FC transmission a PP value, lets say 10pp. So if you want to run the FCT your car would need to be 375 instead of 385 to start the season.

10pp was the first thing that popped into my head, so I really didn't put any thought into that number.

That won't really work...because it'll just limit drivers to picking cars from last season but with an added transmission. Plus, most drivers won't need it right away, they just want the ability to purchase it for a reasonable price later.

The way it stands now, you are stuck in a catch-22 selecting any car that has a top speed under 150 mph, and it is guaranteed you cannot win the championship. It comes down to the following scenarios...

Car with 165-170 mph top speed:
Late in the season, driver purchases a high-rpm turbo and has a top speed of over 155 without the draft.

Car with 140 mph top speed:
Driver can purchase the high-rpm turbo but will be stuck bouncing off the rev limiter at 140 mph.
Or driver can purchase the tranny for the same price but might only hit 145 mph since they don't have the boost.

Optionally, if we reduce the price, the driver could install a mid-rpm turbo and the tranny for the same price. This would give them a top speed lower than the driver who chose a car with proper gearing, but it won't take them out of the race completely.

Also, please note the changes to credits from last season. I have backed off the lower end slightly to prevent the huge gap in speed we saw at Monza last season. Since many of the tracks will be fast this season there is even greater chance of sandbagging to super-mod your car for the late season races. Placing 6th twice will be equivalent to placing 10th followed by 3rd in both points and credits.

1. = 20 Points, 0 cr
2. = 16 Points, 1,000 cr
3. = 13 Points, 2,500 cr
4. = 11 Points, 5,000 cr
5. = 10 Points, 7,500 cr
6. = 9 Points, 10,000 cr
7. = 8 Points, 12,500 cr
8. = 7 Points, 15,000 cr
9. = 6 Points, 17,500 cr
10-16. = 5 Points, 20,000 cr

* Drivers receive no points for missing races
* Drivers receive 5,000 credits to maintain their vehicle for the next race.

Vol Jbolaz

I'm casting my vote for 10,000 instead of 7,500.

What ever you decide to do on Wednesday, we will follow on Tuesday.

Click to expand...

That's funny, I was going to say 5,000 sounded better, perhaps that is evidence that 7,500 is the right number.

I'm planning on running 1 car that doesn't need a transmission and 1 that won't have a chance without it, so I suppose whichever way the price goes will both help and hurt me.

chuyler1

* Drivers receive 5,000 credits to maintain their vehicle for the next race.

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What does this mean?

Also, I'm going to send my car choice here shortly.