200pt A-spec races

[Shannon]

Beginner Hall: Pickup Truck event with a stock Dodge Ram will yield you 200 a-spec points.

Hell, you can even give it a supercharger to kill the competition and still get the points.

 

[bigjoe]

Stumbled on one last night. Entered a basically stock Bathhurst RX7 in the El Capitan 200 mile race. I was against the Supercharged Shelby and a Lotis Elite. 200 points, so I figured I wouldn't have a chance. On hard tires I went to a 9 second lead but the Shelby caught up by my first pit stop. Turned out I'd have to stop one more time than the Shelby (me every 11 laps, the Shelby every 14) so I almost gave up. But I put on medium sport tires on the front and started gaining a second or so a lap. Wound up winning with about a 58 second lead. Good race. The Bathhurst handles so well, even on sport tires, it is fun to drive!

 

[route_66]

The Mini lineups hold true to the idea. Here's a way to find out.
Take your One in to the race, write down about 5 lineups and the points and look at how the points correlate to the entire lineup. That, you could have one Cooper-S but your points will be different if you have 1 One vs 2 One's in the lineup.


Yeah... well learning not to car about a Win/Loss percentage is the first step in the program. Must... let... go.... For some reason I still care enough to keep it above 50%. No idea why. Think it about it this way... if you never lose, how do you know that you're racing as competitively as you're capable of?


Thanks for the warning on Silver Arrow, I was thinking about that one. I did it for a whopping 4p with a 190E TC. There are certain races in the game where the lineup NEVER changes. BMW M and Vette! are two examples. Maybe Legend is one of them? And there a plenty of other manufacturer races that make sure to have at least one of each kind of car involved (Mini is a good one)

The Lupo entry was excellent!

Think I'll be stuck in route_66s exhaust for a while. Too damn talented a driver!

Awww Shucks, I'm nothing special (Route_66 - Feigned humility a speciality!). Indeed Famine did originally say it was only the best car that determined the points, but I'm sure he was mistaken, It is the whole line up - but biased slightly towards the front - eg in BMW race with 2 "d"s and 4 "i"'s you get less points if an "i" starts first, than if a "d" starts first.

A-Spec points are calculated by (I think this is the consensus from Famine's thread)

1. PWR (not just power)
2. Weight (which explains the Dodge Ram - same PWR but higher weight = more points)
3. Tires (worse = better)
4. Downforce (lower = better)

These are averaged over the whole field. Get a Fiat 500 at the back of the pack and you'll still get no points.
and that's it. Suspension makes no difference (including ride height), nor do brake settings, transmission settings, driver aids or anything else.

As for the system being a little on the suspect side, yeah PD didn't get it spot on, but if you put any kind of points system in any game then people (like me!) are going to try and get as many as they can. And if bragging rights are all you get, then when I break 100000 (which i think i'll manage eventually) I'm damn well going to brag.

65000 down, 35000 to go.

 

[RenesisEvo]

65000 down, 35000 to go.

Ah nuts. I have, oooh, 96,500 to go?
Still - I think it will be good to do. Gets some use out of my cars, and makes me improve my skills at the same time. Now I have to refrain from posting useless comments for 3weeks... I want GT4 back!

 

[jdw]

Sorry to say but I believe I've found a suspect entry in the list.

In my version of the game (NA), the Audi S4 is not allowed in Liga B. It doesn't matter if it's stock or modded to over 380hp... it's not allowed.

If whoever added that to the list could double-check the entry and the version of the game they're using, it would be helpful.

 

[mbavaria30s]

thought i'd note in this thread, too, since it's applicable and seemingly more popular

stock mitsu cz-3 tarmac '01, oil change @ race of turbo sports :: High Speed Ring, 200points, only minimal blockage needed at the long straight to the finish line. Key to winning is a perfect launch and turning, and the right lineup.

 

[Bilgewater]

I was only getting 60 a-spec points with a cobra in the cobra cup, but I have managed to win several of the races using a shelby G.T. 350 and got 200 a-spec points for the races I've won.

Really run races, actually. I put a computer chip, NOS, full tranny and suspension on my GT, and I'm getting beat on the straights, but I own the competition on top speed and the corners.

 

[Marsiglio]

I didn't read the entire thread because it is 10 pages so somebody might have mentioned this already.

I used a Lotus Elise 111R '04 in the British GT Series and was able to get 200 points per race. The car had most of the mods installed but I used the Engine tune up instead of the turbo.

 

[RenesisEvo]

I was only getting 60 a-spec points with a cobra in the cobra cup, but I have managed to win several of the races using a shelby G.T. 350 and got 200 a-spec points for the races I've won.

Really run races, actually. I put a computer chip, NOS, full tranny and suspension on my GT, and I'm getting beat on the straights, but I own the competition on top speed and the corners.

Interesting - you get kicked on the straights, but you have a higher top speed - surely if you have a full tranny, you could reduce the gears a bit for some acceleration on the twistier tracks, and then you'd reign supreme?

 

[route_66]

Sorry to say but I believe I've found a suspect entry in the list.

In my version of the game (NA), the Audi S4 is not allowed in Liga B. It doesn't matter if it's stock or modded to over 380hp... it's not allowed.

If whoever added that to the list could double-check the entry and the version of the game they're using, it would be helpful.

I think it was me, and I used the S4. I have the PAL version and IIRC the S4 came with 400+ hp stock (I vaguely remember Top Gear Testing an S4 and saying it had a 424hp V8). Liga B is the more powerful set of cars right? where you win the AMG Merc 190? that's the one I did.....let me check.......

Yup. I did use the S4 for that series, and won the Merc. It's the last race in European Hall on my version. Perhaps the NA version has a less powerful version of the car? Or it's just an obscure difference between versions? Anyway, It works for me.

EDIT:/ Ignore those power figures, I was just looking for some data to back it up and I couldn't find any, so I might be wrong. I'm SURE It was an S4 I drove that race (I have done it. It needed ballast I got 200 points and it was an Audi) I will check properly later when my Girlfriend's not here...................

EDIT 2:/ Checked my race diary - Audi S4 '03 - 346hp, participated in Liga B and won. Then I tried to reenter in the same S4. Worked fine.

 

[Gentry Coach]

Am currently working on Hot Hatch and getting my butt kicked.

Have one race:
Squeaked a 191p on Suz East in a Mini Cooer dt/su ups, NA1 and chip vs.
Golf R32, Cooper-S, Alfa 147 GTA, Focus RS and an M Coupe

If I can get rid of the chip I can get 200p but it's really hard.
I know I can get 200p on Trial (I was ahead twice) but haven't won yet. Think I'm dead at Paris and SS5 Oh well, see what I can do.[/QUOTE]

I used the BMW 120i for the Hot Hatch. I just had to work the settings, lineups until I got to 200. I did it in series mode so I could qualify first.

Also used a VW Golf, got 200 on three races but couldn't win Trial Mountain and SS 5. (That's when I went with the BMW)

 

[Gentry Coach]

Alfa Romeo Sprint ('65) gets a pretty easy 200 pts in the Italian races.

I am currently using the Citroen C 3 in the French races. I haven't finished yet but have gotten 200 pts in the first three races. I don't really remember the settings I'm using (I just mess with adding/deleting mods till I get a 200 pt race).

Won all races in the French Championship except the Grand Valley reverse. Got my butt handed to me repeatedly. Finally won, but only a 146 PT race. Anybody had any luck with a 200 PT race at Grand Valley?

 

[oceantech]

here is another one - I did check the main list and didn't see it - so apologies if it is a duplicate:

I used the older Alpha Romeo Gulietta 1600 (the prize car you get from the Alpha Romeo Manufacturers race) with a few mods (Stage 1, Sports Hard/Soft combo - chip & sports muffler I think - definitely with Nitrous).

I was able to win the Festa Italiano in the European Hall relatively easily at 200 point per race.

I am playing with combos for the Alpha Romeo manufacturers race - so far no luck at 200 points/race - that is - I can create 200 point races, I just can't win them.

 

[Hyperglide]

Anyone know how to win the Speedster cup and the 206 cup? Way to damn hard to win and get even 4th with fully tuned cars. So frustrating it get's me to the point where I yank my fastly receding hairline, out faster and faster.

 

[Hyperglide]

Am currently working on Hot Hatch and getting my butt kicked.

Have one race:
Squeaked a 191p on Suz East in a Mini Cooer dt/su ups, NA1 and chip vs.
Golf R32, Cooper-S, Alfa 147 GTA, Focus RS and an M Coupe

If I can get rid of the chip I can get 200p but it's really hard.
I know I can get 200p on Trial (I was ahead twice) but haven't won yet. Think I'm dead at Paris and SS5 Oh well, see what I can do.

I used the BMW 120i for the Hot Hatch. I just had to work the settings, lineups until I got to 200. I did it in series mode so I could qualify first.

Also used a VW Golf, got 200 on three races but couldn't win Trial Mountain and SS 5. (That's when I went with the BMW)[/QUOTE]

Did you try Nitrous upgrades? Nitrous really helps the little 4 bangers.

 

[route_66]

Anyone know how to win the Speedster cup and the 206 cup? Way to damn hard to win and get even 4th with fully tuned cars. So frustrating it get's me to the point where I yank my fastly receding hairline, out faster and faster.

Use racing tires. IMHO the Speedster cup is harder than the 206.
For the Speedster cup, use an NA Speedster, full NA tune, chip, exhaust, gearbox, stage 2 weight and full racing suspension. 200pts on R1 tires and it can win, but it's still hard. practise, and if you're still struggling, put a wing on and turn up the downforce, or switch to softer tires.

The 206 cup can be won WITHOUT power mods. Put all the power into the FF drivetrain and it'll understeer and wheelspin like a total pig. Use the 206 RC with R1's, and gearbox/susp mods. If you can't manage that, put some extra power in and stick a 1-way LSD in, or use the 206 rally car.

These races are still hard! practice, practice, practice. If i can do it, you can do it. good luck.

PS - don't feel to bad about struggling, the AI cars are MORE than fully tuned in both races, and it cheats like a B*****. You tend not to notice but it will happily wallride every corner at Opera with no loss of speed and acclerate out of corners at full throttle and pick up speed While wheelspinning (Watch the replays from in an AI car - you can hear the wheelspin, but there's no loss of traction. Super TCS? gits.)

 

[jdw]

Ahhh... I've been working the rest of the European Hall this weekend as well.

Well, like they say, great minds think alike


Festa Italiano:
Alfa Giulia Sprint GTA 200/197/200
vs. Lancia, Alfa 147 GTA, Alfa Spider, Fiat Turbo+ and Alfa GTV.
The 200 was w/dt/su ups, racing muffler, chip and S3s. The 197 replace the muffler and chip with an NA1 and switched back to regular tires.

In all honesty, the only reason I won these is because the computer was ALL over the place... in the sand, in the grass, criss-crossing the track, occasionally hitting the wall. It was difficult enough just navigating a clean line through them! They were a little more composed at Monaco, which is why I had to upgrade to an NA1. Couldn't rely on them to screw up for my win. Still, the fiat did hit the wall on the final turn about 1/2 the time which made for a 4 second difference, enough for me to squeek by.


Tour France: UGHH! Finding the right lineup and carwas hard work. Without resorting to N tires and ballast, there's only about 3 or 4 that can actually achieve 200p (the C3, Xsara, maybe the Avanatime?). Watch out for the Hommel and Clio 24V.

w/o Nitrous
Megane 16V for 158/87/158/158/158
vs. Peugeot 106 S16, Clio Phase 2, 106 Rallye, Clio 16V and Peugeot 206RC
158 was with dt/su ups, racing muffler, chip and S3s. Had to go with NA2 instead on Sarthe and it will still hard.

w/Nitrous
Megane 16V for 198/144/198/198/198
vs. Same lineup as before
198 was dt/su ups, S1s. 144 was with NA1 and regular tires.



Hot Hatch:

w/o Nitrous
Mini Cooper for 152/166/200/191/135
200 was dt/su ups and NA1, 166/191 added chip (two lineups),152 added S3s and SS5 when with NA2 instead of chip. 3 different lineups.

w/Nitrous
Mini Cooper was good for 200p across the board w/dt/su ups, chip,muff,S3s N@75
vs. Clio 16V, Audi A3, Ford Focus, Golf R32 and Cooper-S (had this lineup for the last 3 races in the non-Nitrous version). The Focus was the one to watch.


Schwarzwald Liga A:

Bone Stock 120d for 200p - YEAH, finally a stock win!!!
vs. Audi S3, TT 3.2, BMW Z4, M Coupe, 330i



Schwarzwald Liga B:

Non-nitrous
M3 w/dt/su ups went 155/165/175/175/175 (only tires changed)
vs. Merc SL 55, BMW M3 CSL, Audi RS 4, Merc CLK 55, Merc SL 600 '04

Nitrous
Merc SL 500 '04 went 200p across the board w/dt/su ups, S3s
vs. same lineup as before.

 

[route_66]

Tour France: UGHH! Finding the right lineup and carwas hard work. Without resorting to N tires and ballast, there's only about 3 or 4 that can actually achieve 200p (the C3, Xsara, maybe the Avanatime?). Watch out for the Hommel and Clio 24V.

w/o Nitrous
Megane 16V for 158/87/158/158/158
vs. Peugeot 106 S16, Clio Phase 2, 106 Rallye, Clio 16V and Peugeot 206RC
158 was with dt/su ups, racing muffler, chip and S3s. Had to go with NA2 instead on Sarthe and it will still hard.

w/Nitrous
Megane 16V for 198/144/198/198/198
vs. Same lineup as before
198 was dt/su ups, S1s. 144 was with NA1 and regular tires.

Intresting, I'll be doing that series in a minute - how about the Alipines? No good? too light? ballast and tires on the Hommell or Alpine? Megane Coupe (the used one)? I require a 2CV for the manufacturer race. I hate the 2CV. I bet I can't get 200pts with it either.

EDIT:\ finished PD Cup in the Dodge RAM, couldn't keep up stock, needed full gearbox to give it some top speed. With that done, 200pts a race and it won them all (not by much though - the Impreza and 350Z in the field were really pushing me all the way)

 

[RenesisEvo]

Intresting, I'll be doing that series in a minute - how about the Alipines? No good? too light? ballast and tires on the Hommell or Alpine? Megane Coupe (the used one)? I require a 2CV for the manufacturer race. I hate the 2CV. I bet I can't get 200pts with it either.

Hommell: drives nicely, but I found the Clio V6 was too much for it on the Sarthe straight, mind you i didnt have a custom gearbox at the time. Had some power modifications and S3, and I was getting I think around 80 a race when the Clio was there. Not to sure - it has been a while since I did it. And rather dissapointed in putting all that money into winning a 2CV. So there is a chance the Hommell could get 200, but somehow I can't see it being the safest bet. Better than a C3 possibly!!

2CV racing - I had suspension and drive train-upgrades, and got about 30-50pts for a race. Using manual gives u a huge advantage, but I just cant see a way of getting 200pts. N1 tyres would make cornering interesting... (screeching tyres? In a 2CV? Not unless its Bergwerk my friend...)

 

[jdw]

Intresting, I'll be doing that series in a minute - how about the Alipines? No good? too light? ballast and tires on the Hommell or Alpine? Megane Coupe (the used one)? I require a 2CV for the manufacturer race. I hate the 2CV. I bet I can't get 200pts with it either.

EDIT:\ finished PD Cup in the Dodge RAM, couldn't keep up stock, needed full gearbox to give it some top speed. With that done, 200pts a race and it won them all (not by much though - the Impreza and 350Z in the field were really pushing me all the way)

I kind of like the Alpine 310. I got used it in the Alpine series. I think it was too light vs. HP to get enough points. Driving RR cars can certainly give a seat-of-the-pants feel when you have to turn the nose into the turn early and pray it's not *too* early! Don't have my notes with me to dbl-check that I tested it in a stock config. The 110 is probably out of consideration.

Think the 106 Rallye barely hit 200p against the strongest lineup.


Tried out the Hommell and hated it. Of course, I keep everything default so perhaps with some tweaking it could be a fun ride. Getting the Hommell down to 200p is questionable. Of course, since it's so light adding ballast might just work. Again, I don't have my notes with me but I *think* it was about 80p for the same lineup.

So yeah, you might be able to use them but it'll be the ballast and road tire route.
If you do got that route, there's a few others that can be made to work (Xantia comes to mind)

I think it was me, and I used the S4. I have the PAL version and IIRC the S4 came with 400+ hp stock

That could end up being my mistake. Just checked a car spec FAQ (still PAL but better than nothing) and noticed there are TWO S4s. The used one starts at 261 and the new one starts at 336. I'll bet I was using the used one.

Will dbl-check tonight and see if it's the same for the NA version!


EDIT- Yes... it was my mistake. There are TWO S4s and I was using the Used one. So... the New one is allowed and the Used one isn't.



Congrats on the RAM win. I always try to avoid it just like I try avoid nitrous. But then I have plenty of nitrous entries now... sometimes it can't be helped

Too bad the RAM isn't considered a "classic"

Look forward to hearing which car you make work!

 

[route_66]

Right......I've tried the 206 RC (nope) the Megane (didn't like it) the Renault 5 turbo (bette, but too light for good points) and the Hommell (too light, turns into a brick when you put weight on it).

So I was getting quite cross.....and then the Alpine. Gentlemen we have a winner. Stock it was getting 125 against the Clio V6, so on with N2/N3, a bit of weight (90kg at the back. Yes, at the back) and 200pts here we are......massive traction under acceleration (and massive understeer), insane throttle lift oversteer - dive into a corner and you either lose 20 seconds to a massive spin, or you gain half a second from a perfect on the limit corner. Seriously, put the ballast in the back, the Alpine manufacturer race (182pts) I did on N1's, with 200kg in the back and it's deranged. You've got a serious challenge just to get used to it, but when you do.......ohhh yeah!

BUT, it's won at Opera and it's won at Sarthe (blocking frenzy!), so I think it'll win everywhere else. It's also wicked fun to drive - 2CV here I come (doesn't really seem worth it!)

Oh and as for the 2CV, N1 tires and 200kg in the back. I'm gonna make that little POS drift....................lol.

EDIT:\ finished the series. won them all, however I would say that the Alpine is not going to be everyones cup of tea. It has NO power and you spend every straight shouting at it to get a move on. It will spin out or understeer off the track at the slightest provocation and can only just beat the Clio (and i mean just .001 seconds up at Sarthe). But when you get it right, it really feels like you got it right, not the car, not the game, it's all you, which is brilliant fun. I recommend it only to those of you with serious patience and who don't mind a little frustration in their racing (Come on, come on he's pulling away....right I'll get him into the corner......brake turn in.........spin. crash. restart. this happens a lot )

EDIT 2:\ the 2CV is the biggest POS ever. 122pts with N1's and 200kg ballast and it drives exactly the same as it did without them (like a POS). It's also riduculously easy to win the series as you can change down toa ccelerate out of corners (with MT) and the AI doesn't 122? that's the best I can get? 122? grrrrrrrr........

On the upside my status screen just broke 75000pts. only 25000 ish left.........

 

[GrandpaLonghair]

My 2 cents worth for the Japanese compact car cup: `87 Nissan BE-1(mine had 0.0 miles on it) with no oil change, racing susp., full customizable tranny, racing flywheel, triple clutch, full custom diff, racing brakes, soft sports tires, body rigidity, & most important of all, nitrous.

With the nitrous set to 100 and on 99% of the time, and the suspension & gearing set appropriately for each track, I won all the races at 200 points per. Also took the time to qualify first(using nitrous) for each race. The first three races were very close, but the last two very easy. I hope this is useful for someone out there. 👍

 

[jdw]

A-Spec points are calculated by (I think this is the consensus from Famine's thread)

1. PWR (not just power)
2. Weight (which explains the Dodge Ram - same PWR but higher weight = more points)
3. Tires (worse = better)
4. Downforce (lower = better)

With all due respect, I read Famine's thread a couple days ago and didn't find much in it. AFAICT, there's a bunch of conjecture based on limited, anecdotal data that's not properly isolated. There's just not enough data to reasonably speculate on a trend. I found some suspicious experiments ("proving" that suspension settings didn't change A-spec points by only twiddling the ASM and TCS nobs??? Ehhh...bad way to go about it).

Don't get me wrong, they were valuable experiments, but they're just not enough to draw conclusions from.

Perhaps he has something there, but I haven't seen it yet.


Tires are obvious. So is downforce. So is adding power mods, getting an oil change and adding ballast. So is basing it on the entire field. Power and weight most definitely have something to do with it, but HOW is still a mystery. Is it formulaic enough to reverse engineer the formula? Not so sure...


I have plenty of anecdotes from data I've gathered than seem to counter his conclusions.



EDIT - Example from something I just tried: M3 1570kg @344hp vs. Audi S4 1660kg @346hp against the same lineup. You'd think that the S4 would get higher ASpec points yes? Well... actually, they have the EXACT same ASpec points provided you do one other thing..

ADD S3 tires to the M3!!!




I've at least a half dozen focused experiments I'd like to try if I get around to them...

A couple that come to mind.
1) Try out different configs in a couple of the "one car" races and see what happens. (e.g. S7 and A3). Is there much variance in the percentage change of various power mods (these DO change and will severly limit the experiment) Are the point differences consistent across different car levels? Can we conclude anything or not?

2) Try out all the stock cars of a STATIC lineup (e.g. the Vette or M3 race). Is there an observable trend in the data? Now play with configs much like #1. Is there a consistent trend?

Anyone take linear algebra and still remember it???

3) Maybe as part of #1. Take a car. Get points. Get WR1. Get points. Increase ballast weight so it has the same original weight. Get points. Do points match the original points?

4) Take 3 cars against the SAME lineup that give different A-Spec points (spread out betwen about 50 and 175). Like #1, try some different (yet the same amongst all 3 cars) mods. Note A-Spec point changes along with PWR variances. Are there any trends to be observed?

NOTE: Points SATURATE at 10p, so crossing that threshold will simply confuse the data. Don't do it!



One thing I'm hoping to get out of these... Does each car have a PRE-EXISTING database entry on which A-Spec points are based? In other words, does the game calculate power/weight on the fly? Or does it start with an initial value and augment that value based on the mods? If so, that could explain a lot of the inconsistencies.

In particular... some observations that are counter-intuitive.
- Take 3 cars against say... 3-5 lineups with a range of A-Spec points. (Good place to try this would be the high end races). Write them all down. Say Car #1 is 50p against lineup #1 while car #2 is 150p against lineup #1. Car #1 is 20p against lineup #2. Chances are Car #2 is 120p against lineup #2. In other words, it's a simple addition/subtraction operation. Doesn't make a lot of sense.
- Tires also seem to be +/- operations (although the amount differs based on the car).


I have a few others written down in my notes, but those come to mind.


And as for that RAM. IMO, it's a bug. Maybe it's data entries are screwed up? I don't have proof yet but there's plenty to indicate that it is. I think it's best to consider it an outlier and not worry about it... kind of like the difference between relativity and Newtonian physics

e.g. in the Sunday Cup, I gathered the points between it, a Ford Lightning and a Volvo Estate noting the PWR,weight and HP of each. Try it for yourself. It's ridiculous.

RAM experiment:
1) Take RAM, reduce weight, add power. Take another truck that's heavier and has less power (once the mods on the RAM are don). I'm willing to bet it that it will *still* get FEWER A-Spec points! If so, this would also tend to indicate that the values are pre-calculated and the RAM value is screwed up!


EDIT: Need to learn to type slower... or preview more carefully

 

[Bilgewater]

Interesting - you get kicked on the straights, but you have a higher top speed - surely if you have a full tranny, you could reduce the gears a bit for some acceleration on the twistier tracks, and then you'd reign supreme?

I did just that and managed to get 200 points on all the cobra races. Really fun except all those cobras on the same track had my screen jumping pretty bad.

 

[hitman146]

i always thought that you can get a maximum of 250 per race

 

[deadboy1975]

i always thought that you can get a maximum of 250 per race

nope the max is 200

250 is for the mission halls

 

[route_66]

With all due respect, I read Famine's thread a couple days ago and

(eidted for space, hope you don't mind - route_66)

RAM experiment:
1) Take RAM, reduce weight, add power. Take another truck that's heavier and has less power (once the mods on the RAM are don). I'm willing to bet it that it will *still* get FEWER A-Spec points! If so, this would also tend to indicate that the values are pre-calculated and the RAM value is screwed up!


EDIT: Need to learn to type slower... or preview more carefully

Interesting. I think you are right about the cars having a set value that then varies around the mods, rather than PWR being calculated on the fly, and would agree that the RAM seems to be a glitch, the Range Stormer is 350hp @ 2500kg and with 200 ballast should achieve the same results as the RAM but it doesn't.

Some things i've noticed:

1) I've tested suspension properly, changing one value at a time against the same line-up in several cars. none of the suspension settings or driver aids affect the points INCLUDING ride height, despite what some people have said.

2) The A-spec points are on an exponential scale at both ends, for example you have to change more things to get from 180 to 200 or 0 to 20 than you would to get from 80 to 150 (I recognise that I haven't explained this well, if anybody else can phrase it better, please do)

3) I maintain that the only factors that affect A-spec points are PWR, tires, downforce and opponent line-up. How the game ranks the cars and whether they have fixed initial A-spec values for PWR doesn't really matter that much when it's faster to get high points by trial and error than to try and work out the maths PD used.

Yes, I remember my Linear Algebra (potentially you could create a series of simultneous equations from the A-spec points of different cars and see whether the base value is the same......) but it doesn't seem like it would be worthwhile to apply it when there are so many unknowns. For example, if PWR is being calculated on the fly (or even if it's not) which power figure (garage, settings screen, replay) is the GAme using for it's calculations (or base figure)? Is the calculation on a straight PWR or is it biased towards power? weight? whilst the simplest method would seem to be to use simply Power/weight it could be any ratio, with constants we couldn't calculate:
eg 2/5*Power / 3/5*Weight? the actual formula is going be pretty complex given the number of variables, here's one I made up:

If Car A is racing cars B, C, D, E and F and
b=arbitrary constant x (tires (A-B) + downforce (A-B) + power (A-B) +weight (A-B))
c= as above but between cars A and C
etc.

then
A-spec points = base points x 1/5(b) x 1/5(c) x 1/5(d) x 1/5(e) x 1/5(f)

Now this formula (obviously) is inaccurate, but it does show the number of variables used and also that there is probably at least one if not more constant involved that would be nigh on impoosible to calculate. Add on the fact that the scale is exponential and you can see that orders (squared, cubed, etc) come into play and we don't know these either. Then you've got glitches like the RAM which would mess up any attempted calculations further (the RAM is only obvious because it always gets 200pts, but what if other cars glitched at less obvious values?)

So after all that maths, what i'm saying is it would be an utter pain to work out how PD implemented the system. However we know which things we can change for better points and that makes it possible to keep doing this by trial and error.

Finally, it doesn't really matter, glitches or not I'm confident that no-one will get a huge A-spec score on the cheap (i.e. with the RAM, you can't use it all the time) and that the effort being put in to get the highest score will be worthwhile.

If you think you can work it out with Algebra, then be my guest and I'll have muchos respect for you if you can do it, but I just don't think it's worth it.

Oh and the other reason I'm doing this is to see if there's a prize at the end. I'm guessing there isn't, but if I get to 100000 points and don't get anything then:
1) I'm going to have a big brag about it.
and
2) At least I'll have let everyone else know they won't get anything for it!

thanks for reading. Sorry for the maths and huge post. Back to racing...........

 

[nismofreak]

I am starting the DTM Cup with the AMG 190 Evo II. The max points is 196 with R1/R2 tyres and full ballast (no oil or turbo upgrade). BTW, it is a fight and half on all the tracks except Nurburgring and High Speed Ring! 👍

For the Fuji 2005, you will need some type of power-adder. I will try to do it with NOx.

"Keep on A-spec'ing!"

 

[jdw]

New entires.

Pan Euro:

Stock BMW M3 GTR was good for 200p across the board against
a Merc SL 65, TVR T350C, Cizetta, Audi RS 6 and... that McLaren.

British GT:

Stock Aston Martin Vanquish was good for and easy 200p across the board against
aTVR T350C, Tamora, Cerbera Speed Six, Tuscan Speed 6 and Esprit 350

 

[Messiah]

Not 200pts but a decent haul for a stock car - Evolution Meeting, the Evo 8 MR (top car in the range) grabbed at least 112pts stock. The lower cars in the group should easily be capable of much more...