◆ SNAIL [Spec] Racing - Currently Recruiting for GT7 - JOIN TODAY!!Open

[Worst_Driver]

Anyone up for a practice lobby?

I’ll be on around 7:30-8:00. I’ll open a lobby if @Dragonwhisky doesn’t host his usual practice lobby.

 

[Dragonwhisky]

Warmup lobby will be open shortly. Will be closing it down about 8:30 tonight. Got a couple things I want to get done before racing tonight.

Lobby open. Goin' for a smoke while I wait for others to join.

 

[DublDee]

Both approaches work well. Yours eliminates reaction time and might be a hair faster. That approach isn't common.

TBH I use your suggestion with the Lambo, and if you time just right it’s a touch faster but the 2nd gear start also works well.

 

[Dragonwhisky]

@radliffracing , you're welcome to join, even though you won't be racing tonight.

 

[Mac1032763]

Check out our very own @vovik05 putting SNAIL in the news!!

Spoiler: More Snails in the news!

Don't miss GTPlanet's feature of our very own @CoachMK21!


Congrats to @Neovre for making his debut at Le Mans
(where he scored an incredible P5 finish!)




Congrats to all the SNAILs who competed in the
2015 GT Academy USA Finals!!

2015 USA Finalists

Back Row: @LoCoArMeN, @vovik05, @Ryan Lynch, @Ricky Wilson, @TRL_Importlife, @Tyler Utley, @gtr3123
Front Row: @ConnorWolf, @Crystalline_T
Not Shown (qualified for, but unable to attend finals):@GTP_Compton3, @Matt Sierras, @msgt-sd
* - advanced to Silverstone finals!!

And good luck to the SNAILs who are competing in the 2016 GT Academy Mexico Finals!!

2016 Mexico Finalists

@Enzo_Goiko (second from left), @Ness (second from right), and @pakicote (far right)

Welcome to SNAIL
From our humble beginnings, SNAIL (aka Sunday Night American Interactive League) is now the largest console-based sim racing league in the world. Our mission is to provide our members with clean, intense, and competitive racing - regardless of skill level! We believe that providing full grids of evenly-matched competitions is the most realistic way to race, improve skill, and refine racecraft! Our league night is Sunday at 9:30pm Eastern / 6:30pm Pacific, but we also have a a wide variety of other events held on other nights of the week. If this sounds like something you'd like to be a part of, please keep reading to learn more about us and how to join.

What Makes Us Different
SNAIL is the only sim racing league in the world that's able to combine five key features into one consolidated package. First of all, we provide you with evenly-matched competition to drivers of all skill levels. In fact, the intense level of competition that we produce has established SNAIL as the "go to" place to prepare for GT Academy. And if you want to keep track of your improvement along the way, you'll be glad to know that we keep the most comprehensive race data available on GTPlanet. We also feature an interactive process that allows all of our members to have a say in which cars and tracks we race. And last but not least, we're the only league that awards our members with valuable prizes just for racing with us!

Evenly-Matched Competition
Have you ever watched a professional race where drivers with completely different skill levels were competing on the same track? Of course not! That wouldn't be fun to watch, let alone fun to participate in. Unfortunately, that disparity of pace is something you'll often find in organized online racing. When this happens, you'll be lucky to have just a few drivers that you're truly competitive with. Everyone else will usually either be faster or slower than you. We prevent that from happening in SNAIL by dividing our drivers into separate divisions based on speed and skill. This results in full grids of evenly-matched competition and creates the closest and most intense sim racing experience around!

Prepare for GT Academy
If you'd like to compete in GT Academy, there's no better place than SNAIL to hone your skills to the elite levels necessary to make it to the finals. You need to be the best of the best to make it to Silverstone, and that's exactly what the drivers in our top division are. Half of last year's and half of this year's Silverstone Finalists have raced in SNAIL. And since our race format (which features multiple sprint races) is almost identical to the format used at the GT Academy national finals, they were able to use their SNAIL experience to help them advance to Silverstone. Click here if you want to advice from last year's eventual champion and click here if you want advice from last year's runner-up.

Valuable Prizes
Have you ever wished you could win free stuff just for having fun? If so, then you might want to know that our members win valuable real-world prizes just for racing with us! These prize are based on participation and not on race results. Some examples of prizes our members have won include GranStand sim racing products like this, this and this, ButtKicker products like a Gamer2 and a Wireless ButtKicker Kit. You can also join Team SNAIL and earn even more prizes, such as shirts (e.g. S.N.A.I.L. shirt, F1 shirt, GT Academy shirt), video capture devices (e.g. Hauppauge PVR), sim racing equipment (e.g. Playseat Evolution), and even gift cards (e.g. Amazon and PSN).

Spec Racing
SNAIL has always been a one-make series, but when we decided to prohibit tuning in all of our races, we became the first "spec" racing league on GTPlanet. Spec racing ensures that success is determined primarily by driving skill and not by differences in power, gearing, suspension, weight, or aerodynamics. Because variables in the car are eliminated, spec racing is the truest measure of driver skill! It also produces intense battles for position because all of the cars are equally strong or weak in the same areas of the track. Plus, you'll never spend hours tuning cars or wondering if someone is truly faster than you or if they just have a better tune.

Race Format
Our league night lasts for two hours and is split into three rounds. Each round consists of two races that last 10 to 12 minutes on a predetermined car and track combo. At the beginning of each round, a brief qualifying session determines the order of the starting grid. The first race is set to 'Fastest First' to reward the best qualifiers and the second race is set to 'Reverse Grid' in order to promote on-track action. Points are awarded based on our "perfect" points system. After a round is completed, we move on to the next round and repeat the same process with the next car and track combination. Once all three rounds are complete, we tally up the points and then let our interactive format kick in.

Interactive Participation
Our unique format allows everyone to have a say on which cars and tracks we race. It's also used to strike a balance between familiarity and variety of our car and track combos. In other words, the progression of cars and tracks that we race is slow enough for us to learn them well, but fast enough that they don't get "old". At the end of every league night, everyone votes on which car and track combo they enjoyed the least. The combo that receives the most "elimination votes" is dropped from the next week's lineup entirely. The combo that receives the second most votes is also dropped, but only partially. This is where our prizes come into play:

Prizes
A prize is awarded to the divisions winners with the three highest scores*. The division winner with the highest score gets Prize A. The division winner with the second highest score gets Prize B. The division winner with the third highest score gets Prize C: (NOTE: We now have a new process for breaking ties in the elimination vote)
Prize A: The right to select the new car and track combo to replace the combo that was voted off
Prize B: The right to replace either the car or the track of the combo that received the second most votes
Prize C: The right to "freeze" either the car or the track of the combo that received the second most votes

Promotion and Relegation
Although we split our drivers into separate divisions based on performance and skill level, we realize that our drivers are constantly improving and deserve a chance to climb the ladder of success. That's why we promote and relegate drivers before every season based on the results and data compiled during the previous season. This is also done to ensure that our races are as competitive as possible for all of our league members, top to bottom. Regardless of which division you're in, you will almost always be fighting to gain or defend a position on the track. Simply put, no other Gran Turismo league in the world can offer this much competitive racing to so many different skill levels.

Comprehensive Race Data
It's not always accurate to promote and relegate drivers based on championship points alone. That's why the massive amounts of data we track are invaluable to our league. You'd be hard-pressed to find a sim racing league anywhere in the world that tracks driver data and race results more comprehensively than we do. In fact, our SNAIL Data document contains so much information that we have to archive old data to avoid exceeding the GoogleDoc's maximum capacity! You can use this data to track the points championship for each season and compare yourself to other drivers in categories such as fast laps, total race pace, total points, average points per race, and power rankings.

Rules
We expect all drivers to follow our OLR Rules and pursue good racecraft at all times. If you're not sure what good racecraft is, watch this video. It can be summed up in one simple 'Golden Rule' of motorsports: It is the responsibility of the overtaking driver, meaning the car that is attempting to execute the pass, to make sure that the pass is made cleanly and incident free. If you don't agree with this rule or don't think it applies to you, this is not the league for you. If you ever feel like a driver is not following the rules, please wait until league night is over, then file a Racing Incident Report. Our Stewards will review the incident and issue the appropriate penalties.

Settings
Lobby Settings
Tire Settings:

Spoiler: GT6 Information

Based on Dealership PP (not the PP after an oil change)
below 349 PP -> Comfort Mediums
350-399 PP ---> Comfort Softs
400-449 PP ---> Sports Hards
450-499 PP ---> Sports Mediums
500-549 PP ---> Sports Softs
550-599 PP ---> Racing Hards
600 PP & up --> Racing Mediums

How To Join Us
Step 1: Post a reply (by clicking the 'Reply' button at the bottom of this post) stating, "I have read the first post and would like to join," and tell us how you heard about SNAIL. (Do not start a conversation with anyone, just post your request on this thread).
Step 2: Watch the thread for a reply to your post and follow the instructions provided.
Step 3: Purchase the three cars listed in the lineup for our next races.
Step 4: Wait to be assigned to a division and then join that division's lounge on Sunday night.
If you are not sure which division you are assigned to, please check the Offical Driver List

For a list of helpful links and FAQ's, please click here.

I have read the first post and would like to join, I heard about you from RadliffRacing

 

[Worst_Driver]

D1 lobby open

 

[racingchamp30]

D2 Lobby Open.

Edit: Closed original lobby room and opened new room. Gurney was having issues getting into original lobby. Canoworms is able to get in fine.

4 in D2. Gurney and Jamcar has made it in.

 

[Akzl298]

Hosts are clear to start

 

[nmcp1]

I have read the first post and would like to join, I heard about you from RadliffRacing

@Mac1032763

Here's your official SNAIL Welcome Post!​

Thanks for your interest!
Here's what you need to know (and do) in order to join SNAIL Racing League:

We run a clean league by enforcing a strict penalty system based on the SNAIL OLR (which is a modified version of the GTP OLR). We also expect all of our drivers to know and follow The Good Racecraft Guide. Please become versed in both if you aren't already. Once that is complete, please follow the steps below to complete your entry into the league:

1. You start a conversation and add zer05ive, JLBowler, nmcp1,llNovall, Akzl298 & Dragonwhisky
as participants.

The conversation title should be "Request To Join".

2. SNAIL Administrators will respond with specific instructions on what you need to accomplish to join the SNAIL [Spec] Racing.

3. Place the following links (URLs) in the favorites (or bookmarks) in your web browser for quick reference. Please make every effort to read and understand the following links. Over the years a great deal of time and effort has gone into creating this league and we would like nothing more than to have you but we ask that you take the time and effort to do your homework. 99.9% of any question you may have about SNAIL can be found in the posts below.

• Original Post
• Drivers List
• SNAIL OLR Policies and Guidelines

4. You drive fast and clean on Sunday 👍

Again, the original post has everything you need to know about what to expect on Sunday night and what you will need to have completed in order to be competitive. If you have any questions, please feel free to post your question on the thread.

During the week we run a number of different events, we encourage all SNAILs to join as many as possible.
Welcome to SNAIL

 

[JamCar0ne]

New room for D2.

 

[Akzl298]

August 2024 Season has been archived.

 

[racingchamp30]

D2 Replays Uploaded.

 

[Dragonwhisky]

D1 Replays shared.

 

[Worst_Driver]

Scores votes and data done for D1.

@Nicktune Really happy to see you back on track. Still as fast as ever without practice and more than a month off. Re-bienvenue

@Dragonwhisky Thank you for the replays, much appreciated !

 

[CANOWORMS1]

Scores and votes recorded for D2.

 

[CANOWORMS1]

I may have found a scoring glitch. More likely it's my score entering ability. I need IT to check it out. I've re-entered the values with no change.
RacingChamp finishes: 2, 4, 4, 2, 1, 1 Score for the night: 90
Canoworms finishes: 1, 2, 2, 1, 3, 4 Score for the night: 89
Truth be known I'm just happy to be within a point of RacingChamp. But is this an issue with the spreadsheet, or as I suspect an issue with me.

 

[Dragonwhisky]

I may have found a scoring glitch. More likely it's my score entering ability. I need IT to check it out. I've re-entered the values with no change.
RacingChamp finishes: 2, 4, 4, 2, 1, 1 Score for the night: 90
Canoworms finishes: 1, 2, 2, 1, 3, 4 Score for the night: 89
Truth be known I'm just happy to be within a point of RacingChamp. But is this an issue with the spreadsheet, or as I suspect an issue with me.

Here's the point breakdown;

There's no glitch there. That's how it's supposed to work.

 

[CANOWORMS1]

Here's the point breakdown;

View attachment 1387908
There's no glitch there. That's how it's supposed to work.

Of course. I'd forgotten FL scored a point. I knew it was me.

 

[A_Higher_Place]

Sorry for the abrupt leave last night guys. That Lambo combo was too frustrating for me. I think that combo is gonna be my practice this week as I can't stand not knowing how to drive it 😂.

Also, I've been summoned for jury duty selection early this morning so couldn't make the last two races anyways. Hope it's an interesting case 👀

 

[Akzl298]

Scores for 9/8 transferred to data.

 

[A_Higher_Place]

Just got offered a spot in the AMG Virtual Championship 👀

 

[Worst_Driver]

Sorry for the abrupt leave last night guys. That Lambo combo was too frustrating for me. I think that combo is gonna be my practice this week as I can't stand not knowing how to drive it 😂.

Also, I've been summoned for jury duty selection early this morning so couldn't make the last two races anyways. Hope it's an interesting case 👀

Well I hope deliberation won't be too long. Just tell them that you have an extremely important event on sunday night.

I totally missed my braking point and seems like @Kgffy decided to try my new racing line.

@A_Higher_Place taking the lead and running with it to the end. Sweet NISMO livery by the way.

Went a little too hot at the chicane on the last lap.

That jump really unsettled the car. @Salty Toloom and @Nicktune were more than ready to take back their positions before the last corner.

@Salty Toloom managed to secure 2nd place in front of @Nicktune and myself following in 4th. Well done !

Grand Valley as beautiful as ever.

 

[Gurney67]

D2 Lobby Open.

Edit: Closed original lobby room and opened new room. Gurney was having issues getting into original lobby. Canoworms is able to get in fine.

4 in D2. Gurney and Jamcar has made it in.

Thanks for all your help and patience. Do I need faster internet to take care of these connection issues? When doing the Connection Test in Sport, I'm now only getting 4out of 5 bars on all five categories and 23 ping... used to be 5/5 and a low as 18 ping

 

[JamCar0ne]

Thanks for all your help and patience. Do I need faster internet to take care of these connection issues? When doing the Connection Test in Sport, I'm now only getting 4out of 5 bars on all five categories and 23 ping... used to be 5/5 and a low as 18 ping

Suggest you first try power cycling your modem and router per @Oshawa-Joe 's procedure:

4) Power down router.
5) Restart Modem
6) After modem has finished restart, wait 5 min and power up router.
7) After router restart complete, wait 5 min and power up PS
8) Run PS network connection test, if test normal, ie: your download and upload speeds are where you expect, next step. If not, begin from step 1
9) Launch GT7
10) Go to Sport Mode and run connection test there, if test states that its a good connection, go to multiplayer and find and join lobby. If not normal go back to step 1

5 min may seem a bit long, but it serves the purpose of letting the electrons align properly. Doesn't hurt to use the egg timer on your phone.

 

[racingchamp30]

Thanks for all your help and patience. Do I need faster internet to take care of these connection issues? When doing the Connection Test in Sport, I'm now only getting 4out of 5 bars on all five categories and 23 ping... used to be 5/5 and a low as 18 ping

No idea because no one else has an issue getting into any rooms i will host. Cano said my bars were at 4 before he entered the room both times but you had barely any issue when jam car hosted.

 

[zer05ive]

View media item 2538​

Here are the unofficial results from our league night on September 8, 2024

Click here for this season's points standings and click a tab at the bottom for more detail.

Click here if the data linked above has already been archived and you would like to view it.

Division 1

1. GTP_Worstdriver --- voted to eliminate Round 3 - 95 (119.84 for Prize A)
2. Nic-KL ------------ voted to eliminate Round 2 - 85 (107.23 for Prize C)
3. Xrad-11 ----------- voted to eliminate Round 3
4. DRD_Niagara ------- voted to eliminate Round 3
5. Dragonwhisky ------ voted to eliminate Round 2
6. Rasta_Senpai ------ did not submit a vote
7. A_Mindful_Place --- did not submit a vote
8. Kgffty ------------ voted to eliminate Round 2

Division 2

1. RacingChamp30 ----- voted to eliminate Round 2 - 90 (66.47 for Prize B)
2. Canoworms1 -------- voted to eliminate Round 2
3. JamCar0ne --------- voted to eliminate Round 2
4. Gurney_67 --------- voted to eliminate Round 2

The round that received the most elimination votes was:
Round 2 - Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 '08 (SS) at Grand Valley Highway 1 - S03 Afternoon (8 laps)
Therefore the entire combo has been dropped from next week's line-up. Since @Worst_Driver wins Prize A, they get to choose an entirely new car and track combo to replace it.

The round that received the second most elimination votes was:
Round 3 - RUF RGT 4.2 '16 (SS) at Kyoto Driving Park Yamagiwa - S03 Afternoon (9 laps)
This means either the car or the track will be replaced for next week's line-up. Since @racingchamp30 gets Prize B, they have the option to freeze the car or the track, or they can give that option to the Prize C winner. If they give the freeze away, then they get to decide what car or track replaces the part of the combo that is left unfrozen by the Prize C winner.

Prize C goes to @Nicktune so they get whichever option the Prize B winner does not select.

Preliminary prize winners, please don't announce your prize selection until all incident reports have been filed and it has been confirmed that you don't have any penalties. It's also recommended that you review the SNAIL combo history and other data on our car and track history so that you can get an idea how many times we've raced each car and track. Please remember that originality is always appreciated, so picking cars and tracks that we've never raced is a plus (but not required). What's more important is that you thoroughly test any combo that you are considering before making it your official selection. For example, any car you select must not hit its rev limiter at any point during a race (even in the draft).

IMPORTANT: When posting your Prize A or Prize B selection, please list the complete in-game name of the car and/or track you are selecting. For example, if you want to choose the Integra Type R as your car selection, post "Honda Integra Type R (DC2) '98". If you want to select Monza for your track, post "Autodromo Nazionale Monza". Being specific helps us to update the lineup accurately and also helps avoid any confusion among the drivers. Also, please be sure to list the HP and Weight (LBS) of any car you select. For track selections, include the Preset Weather and the Time of the Day (e.g: S01 Afternoon) or else it will be left to default. Available settings can be found under Time/Weather Settings, when creating an online Lobby, after selecting your track.

Car Selection Guidelines
See Section 3 of the SNAIL OLR, Policies and Guidelines.

Track Selection Guidelines
See Section 3.1 of the SNAIL OLR, Policies and Guidelines.

 

[Dragonwhisky]

View media item 2540
This week's prize winners are clear to make their selections. Good racing!

The IR Submission Form is now closed.

We have 1 incident on file. Target deadline for reviews is NLT 10PM Eastern on Friday, September 13, 2024.​

@Worst_Driver, @racingchamp30 & @Nicktune will be included in a conversation shortly.​

Banner by @GamingPete​

 

[racingchamp30]

Prize B: Freeze Track

 

[Worst_Driver]

I'll make my pick tomorrow. I'm waiting for the UCD refresh of course.

 

[Buffalo_DRD]

Niagara's Weekly What I saw Column:
20240908 Edition

@Nicktune - Great to have you back on the track after a tough last month you had.
@radliffracing - Nice to see you join us in the practice lobby. Hope to see your name on the driver's roster next Sunday
@A_Higher_Place - Congrats on being selected in the AMG Virtual Championship. Make us proud buddy.

Feels like it's been forever since I raced on a Sunday with the busy August I had. Grids were smaller this past Sunday (8 in D1 / 4 in D2) but many long-time Snails were out so hoping for a bounce back next weekend.

Combo #1:
Early in C1R1, Tights turns and sliding cars made for sparks flying on the walls. @Worst_Driver , @A_Higher_Place and @Xradkins got away quickly and all left paint on the walls battling for position.

That chicane was tight in the 1st lap. It was the best place for a group shot in the twilight lighting.

Several different lines were taken in the chicane. @Worst_Driver picked an unconventional one in this pic but he must have felt good about it as he also adopted it in the last lap, ultimately costing him a podium as he dropped from 2nd to 4th place.

@Dragonwhisky saw me struggle for grip in Combo #1. Here he is closing the gap on me probably thinking "C'Mon Niagara, is this necessary?"

Combo #2:
I don't think Combo #2 was very popular in D1 but I'll confess that it was my favorite combo of the night. I wasn't particularly fast or good at it but I lapped it quite a bit during the week and my goal was just to keep it on the track, which I mostly managed to accomplish.

@Dragonwhisky (in his signature Subaru Lapis Blue Pearl...did I get that right??) decided to go 5-pin bowling in lap #2. He knocked down 4 of the 5 pins. Somebody else helped him complete his spare shortly afterwards.

Staying with @Dragonwhisky , with the prevailing winds coming off the ocean, these fans got a dose of dust in their mouths and eyes.

Everybody made mistakes on the tricky T1 but the crash of the night award goes to @A_Higher_Place . We were battling for 2nd on lap 4 when he lost control and destroyed his Gallardo.

A few laps later, my battle continued with @Xradkins who took a page from my playbook and clouded my vision as we neared the finish line.

This tricky combo made it difficult to get a group shot somewhere other than on the 1st straight. We are a few turns into C2R2 where things already got complicated. But the paying fans seated in this section got their money's worth.

Combo #3:
It was getting late and our grid shrunk down to 6 cars for the last combo of the night.

But the racing continued to be good. @Salty Toloom might have just blown his braking point here.

There were good battles for leads in this combo. @Nicktune and @Worst_Driver went at it in C3R1.

And @Xradkins and @Worst_Driver in C3R2 battled for 3 or 4 laps before @Xradkins slipped up. And yes @Xradkins , "The RUF is on Fire".

I don't highlight things that result in incident reports but I'll end by sharing that I reported myself for an error I made on C1R2. I overreacted to a car hitting the wall in front of me and my error cascaded into a few other cars getting caught up in a mess behind me. Apologies to those involved.

That's what I saw last Sunday, see you at the Car-Show.
Thank you for your patience.