- 1,003
So we're road testing over 50 cars, on 3 tracks, to see where they all stand when the smoke clears. (and there will be smoke) Along the way, we'll develop pet peeves with cars, learn various traits, take special likings, and drive some into walls.
This will be the first part, of 2, for the first track, and reviews, due to the massive amount of time this track requires, you may know of it, because it's the most talked about racetrack since GT4 came out, the Nurburgring Nordscleife.
All cars bought used have recieved an oil change, car wash, and chassis refresh, excluding the few 6.2mi cars, also, all cars have been fitted with N2's, to let their true characteristics out.
Jumping straight in, here are the cars, listed with their years, power, weight, and top speed, in order of oldest to newest.
1983 - Nissan Fairlady Z 300ZX / 228HP - 1380KG / 161.34mph
1984 - Nissan Skyline HT 2000 RS-X / 204HP - 1250KG / 145.70mph
1985 - Mazda RX-7 GT-Limited / 185HP - 1280KG / 149.24mph
1985 - Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 / 203HP - 1145KG / 148.95mph
1987 - Buick GNX / 280HP - 1600KG / 148.34mph
1987 - Lotus Esprit Turbo HC / 218HP - 1146KG / 160.71mph
1988 - Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z / 233HP - 1468KG / 151.91mph
1988 - Nissan Silvia K's / 184HP - 1140KG / 146.22mph
1988 - Toyota Supra 3.0 GT Turbo A / 239HP - 1570KG / 156.24mph
1989 - Nissan Skyline GTS-T Type M / 215HP - 1260KG / 150.41mph
1989 - Nissan 300ZX 2seater / 279HP - 1510KG / 172.35mph
1989 - Nissan Skyline GT-R / 309HP - 1430KG / 167.17mph
1990 - Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 / 381HP - 1600KG / 188.21mph
1990 - Mazda RX-7 GT-X / 206HP - 1260KG / 155.40mph
1990 - Toyota Supra 2.5GT TT-R / 277HP - 1520KG / 167.04mph
1991 - Mercedes 190 E 2.5 16 evo II / 235HP - 1340KG / 154.29mph
1991 - TVR V8 S / 243HP - 1050KG / 162.87mph
1991 - Nissan Silvia K's / 206HP - 1170KG / 157.78mph
1992 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR / 249HP - 1240KG / 140.88mph
1993 - Mazda RX-7 Type RZ / 256HP - 1240KG / 167.05mph
1994 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI / 270HP - 1230KG / 146.05mph
1994 - TVR Griffith 500 / 345HP - 1060KG / 187.92mph
1995 - Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec / 324HP - 1540KG / 174.03mph
1995 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR / 269HP - 1260 / 152.72mph
1996 - Nissan 240SX / 217HP - 1250KG / 158.81mph
1996 - Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport / 330HP - 1496KG / 180.90mph
1997 - Toyota MR2 GT-S / 247HP - 1270KG / 162.33mph
1997 - Honda NSX Type S / 280HP - 1320KG / 176.00mph
1997 - Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 / 289HP - 1561KG - 168.16mph
1997 - Toyota Supra RZ / 330HP - 1510KG / 180.27mph
1997 - TVR Cerbera Speed Six / 354HP - 1130KG / 190.85mph
1998 - Audi S4 / 264HP - 1510KG / 160.96mph
1998 - Nissan 300ZX 2by2 / 282HP - 1580KG / 171.96mph
1998 - Mazda RX-7 Type RS / 291HP - 1280KG / 171.92mph
1998 - Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 / 320HP / 1680KG / 173.97mph
1999 - Honda S2000 / 247HP - 1240KG / 160.17mph
1999 - Nissan Silvia Spec R Aero / 250HP - 1240KG / 166.95mph
2000 - Chevrolet Camaro SS / 331HP - 1560KG / 174.90mph
2000 - RUF 3400 S / 310HP - 1300KG / 175.65mph
2000 - Clio Renault Sport V6 24V / 253HP - 1335KG / 153.91mph
2000 - Nissan Skyline GT-R / 333HP - 1540KG / 173.15mph
2000 - Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R / 371HP - 1628KG / 170.04mph
2001 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI Prodrive / 309HP - 1430KG / 167.53mph
2001 - Audi RS4 / 385HP - 1620 / 179.87mph
2002 - Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A / 297HP - 1270KG / 172.85mph
2002 - Honda NSX Type R / 295HP - 1270KG / 180.53mph
2002 - Lotus Esprit V8 / 358HP - 1380KG / 191.31mph
2002 - Ford Focus RS / 220HP - 1050KG / 149.64mph
2002 - Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II Nur / 342HP - 1560KG / 172.25mph
2003 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8 RS / 320HP - 1320KG / 151.30mph
2003 - Audi S4 / 346HP - 1660KG / 170.99mph
2003 - Nissan 350Z / 286HP - 1320KG / 173.09mph
2004 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI Spec C / 326HP - 1370KG / 171.69mph
2004 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8 MR GSR / 327HP - 1400KG / 170.15mph
2004 - BMW M3 / 344HP - 1570KG / 179.65mph
2004 - Pontiac GTO 5.7L / 357HP - 1690KG / 159.37mph
2004 - Lotus Elise 111R / 192HP - 860KG / 161.10mph
2005 - Ford Mustang GT / 300HP - 1568KG / 157.27mph
Aside from mere laptimes, I'd like to give my own perspective, on each and every car, on what's good, bad, and ugly, along the way laptimes will be posted, and the cars will be in order based on those laptimes, from oldest to newest.
There will also apprear beneath each review, LS#2's Ratings: These are my perspective ratings on aspects of each car, (NOTE: cars with 6 gears have a possible rating of 10, and each gear less will cost .5 points, so a fantasic 4-speed can only get 9 points)
Lap: 8:38.400 - Nissan Fairlady Z 300ZX '83
This is the definition of a fun car, and also the definition of a twitchy car, though it has very good brake turn-in, and turn-in in general, steering was darty, the rear held no hesitations in coming out of line, and the loads of wheel spin through 2nd gear, and even 3rd, did not help it's case, a very unstable car, with highlights consisting of acceleration, braking power, and never understeering once.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.75 Speed: 8 Handling: 7 Brakes: 8 Gears: 7.5
Lap: 8:47.375 - Nissan Skyline HT 2000 RS-X '84
This car has a massive brake plow, diving straight like a dump truck, but, along with that, and it's general lack of oversteer, makes it a very stable car, and very easy to drive to it's limit. The gears could use work, as not only did they stretch it's narrow powerband, but were slow in changing, costing many precious seconds around this massive track, as well did the lack of tire grip, on acceleration, a car with this amount of power you'd never expect to burnout like it does, but, nevertheless, it has pretty good cornering grip, despite the large amounts of bodyroll.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 6.5 Speed: 7 Handling: 7 Brakes: 7 Gears: 5
Lap: 8:50.878 - Mazda RX-7 GT-Limited '85
A low-milage, premium edition RX-7, promised a fun drive, and it delivered, while the rear had a strong tendancy to lose hold of things, it remains easy to catch, making you want to do it again and again. A very stable car, despite the oversteer. Gears felt great, never losing power, shifting fairly quick, has average cornering limit though, and could use more power, as the brakes felt great, and could've stopped a lot more speed.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 6 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:45.559 - Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 '85
A Semi-Racing suspension comes stock, and though we felt it was against the spirit of the rules to play with it, it's a good thing to have, and this suspension could use some sorting. If the rear isint sliding, the front-end is, good in a few corners, this car generally dissapointed us big-time. Despite it's low speeds around the track, it was still very unstable, bumpy over some spots, and lofty on others, it's the ultimate backwards suspension compromise. gears were too long for it, didnt shift with to much haste, brakes were good, thank the Lord, it was this car's only real saving grace, as pep was hard to find, and fun wasnt found at all, which was what we expected most out this ol' bag.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 5 Speed: 6 Handling: 6.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 6.5
Lap: 8:36.875 - Buick GNX '87
A heavy, giant, American muscle car, with more brains than brawn. Has a good, but funky powerband, could use another gear or two, or an actual programmed automatic, to help with the long gears, though it does shift quickly, it's nothing like an automatic should be. It's definetly a boat, and flops and wallops abound in the hills of these mountains, so extra special care must be used when turning up here, or you'll end up losing lots of time, in every corner. Amazingly, despite the general lack of attention paid to the suspension, stablility was never an issue, likely due to it's weight.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7 Speed: 7 Handling: 6.5 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:24.603 - Lotus Esprit Turbo HC '87
A Lotus. I love Lotus', as they never dissapoint, even with only 218HP, this car moves very well, and despite it's power disadvantage, it kept up with, and beat, many faster cars, as Lotus always does. The rear was always willing to come out, but when it did, it didnt cost speed, and that's important, aside from that, it also has one of the highest cornering limits of all the factory cars in GT4, making it a real pleasure to drive. The brakes felt fine, always stopping the car in plenty of time, which is all you can ask for. The Gears, however, are probabley this car's only downfall, though they never took it out of it's powerband, they could be spaced a little better, and it could shift a little faster, an average gearbox, on an above average car.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9.5 Speed: 7.5 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:33.096 - Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z '88
Despite assumptions made, this was one of the more surprising cars in the test, dealing with all 177 curves far better than anticipated. The trans seemed good, shifting fast, and never removing the engine from it's haven of power, which amounted to a car that can do very nice powerslides, and never lose time from shifting. A very stable, neutral car, when on or off the gas, (unless spinning tires) and even neutral when braking hard, with cornering that'll rival it's foriegn rivals.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7.5 Speed: 8 Handling: 7 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:45.008 - Nissan Silvia K's '88
Superfun car, drift abound from everywhere, very quick for the amount of power, but could use more. Great powerband, trans does ok job of transferring that power to the ground, just toss this thing in, and let it slide through.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 6 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 7 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:43.274 - Toyota Supra 3.0 GT Turbo A '88
This car had high hopes, coming in, but let me down, very much. It's not bad, it's just doesnt have anything special, the brakes are ok, the handling's ok, the accelerations ok, a bit sluggish for the power, if you ask me, and the gears are ok. Felt very heavy, in every turn, and up every hill. Nothing special here.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 5 Speed: 7 Handling: 6 Brakes: 6.5 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:40.342 - Nissan Skyline GTS-T Type M '89
215hp, and faster round the 'ring than the 240hp Supra, sums it up. Though it drives simliarly, with better high-speed handling, the lighter weight offsets the power, but improves handling a small margin, spins it's tires a bit easily, semi-understeery, with decent brakes. Not to much fun in this bag.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 5.5 Speed: 6.5 Handling: 6.5 Brakes 7 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:21.199 - Nissan 300ZX 2seater '89
This is the fastest 80's car in the game, uber fast, despite the tank-like weight, tail-happy makes interesting, controllable though, good high-speed pull, and handling, very capable, just don't trust the brakes, or you'll die. at least after driving these other cars, anyway. Fun, and spectacular for an '89, overshadowed by today's standards though. Gets a good gear rating because of great powerband.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 8.5 Handling: 7 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:21.057 - Nissan Skyline GT-R '89
Call it a draw? More power than a 300ZX, and lighter, but no faster, likely due to AWD drivetrain losses, nose heavy handling, understeery, good limit though, be careful, and go fast. enjoyable.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7 Speed: 8 Handling: 7 Brakes: 8 Gears: 7.5
Lap: 8:07.854 - Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 '90
What a demon, this thing hauls balls. Advanced in it's time, loads of power, but an oddly narrow powerband, for a V8. Actually a good handling car, but doesnt seem quite so, with this much power, good brakes stop it, pretty stable, though a bit twitchy at speed, this car has potential, though all is overshadowed by that impressive speed, and the powerband livining up. Gears are too long, if quicker, we might see a sub-8 minute run here...
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 10 Handling: 7 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 5
Lap: 8:41.945 - Mazda RX-7 GT-X '90
We asked for more power, and we got it, just not enough. Great high speed handling, though it was quirky in a few corners, suspension couldve made this a great performer. Also seemed a little sluggish over 80, but we're blaming that on a massively fast 'Vette. Good car though, and a capable one, in it's own class.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7.5 Speed: 7 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:26.477 - Toyota Supra 2.5GT TT-R '90
This car is much better than the '88, in some ways, but is twitchy, easy to wreck, overshdowed by it's rivals, which are superior, and it's saving grace is good brakes. saving the laptime, and the car, and my life. good car, just not up to par. Gets a wonderful, intoxicating engine sound at 7000 rpm, making you want to stay there all day.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 6.5 Speed: 8 Handling: 7 Brakes: 8.5 Gears: 7.5
Lap: 8:32.401 - Mercedes 190 E 2.5 16 evo II '91
Consider this the Camaro's rival, though it's just a 4-banger. A 4-banger!?!?!? A wonderful 4-banger at that, NA, 235hp, it's all that, and even though the powerband doesnt look good, shifting right around redline results in no engine lag, even though the gearing could be better. You almost have to love this car, for what it is, and what it isnt. It is, a fantasic 'ring car, with great high-speed handling, the best so far, good brakes, and a very capable track car. It isnt, neutral, this thing pushed, much more than I'd like, making it somewhat hard to drive through some corners, but high grip makes it work, very fun car.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 7.5 Handling: 8 Brakes: 8 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:21.674 - TVR V8 S '91
The only sub 300HP TVR in the game, it proved an interesting view on what TVR's would do without their drastic pwr/wt ratio's. From the start, the gears dissapointed, as most any car with 2nd gear ending at 60ish, is in trouble, at least, when 2nd induces wheelspin, and 3rd bogs, which is exactly the problem with this car's gearing. Handled like every other TVR, with constant mild understeer, and wheelspin taking a bit to counteract the understeer, but has a good cornering limit nonetheless, with good brakes, likely designed for stopping about 100 more HP. Not the most fun car to drive, as it doesnt really do anything special, but a good all-arounder, with a lap time to prove it. Very capable track car, especially given the power.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 6.5 Speed: 8 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 8.5 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:36.752 - Nissan Silvia K's '91
It's well rounded, doing everything good, fantastic drifter, for those that like that, makes it work well on the 'Ring, very predictable, always sliding, peppy little car, even with low power, light, very fun, just don't get carried away with the drifting, at least, not if you going for a fast lap. Nice gears allow for quick changes, and a powerband never left alone.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 7 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 7 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:49.614 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR '92
A 250HP FF car, in a AWD appearance package. understeer, and more understeer, pitifully slow around corners, so bad, I couldnt even tell you what the brakes were like. gears to short. cornering grip: forget it.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 4 Speed: 7 Handling: 5 Brakes: 7?? Gears: 6
Lap: 8:21.405 - Mazda RX-7 Type RZ '93
The newer, sexier RX-7, here at last, and looking good, with the power I wanted, and how I wanted it. Turns out, this things highly unstable, a constant drifter, but not a graceful, fast one like the 240, unpredictable, with occasional understeer, just to freak you out. Capable though, if you drive it right, it'll move, quick car, that could beat all it's competition, with a little suspension tuning, or a lot. yeah, a lot. good car though, if you're experienced. Good gearing, as always, good shift too, as always, whaddya expect, it's an rx-7.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 6.5 Speed: 7.5 Handling: 7 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:36.121 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI '94
Scared, scared to drive this after the EVO nightmare, but fortunatly, this is lightyears better, in every way, faster, handles better, though not great, decent brakes, but still crappy short gearing. could gain 5-10 second with better gears. quick shifting though.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 6 Speed: 7.5 Handling: 6.5 Brakes: 7 Gears: 7
Lap: 7:59.074 - TVR Griffith 500 '94
So fast, what can you say? explosive power overwhelmes rear tires up to 80mph, but if you feather it right, you'll take off like a rocket, smoking even the ZR-1. light, and bouncy, good grip on the tarmac turning wise, and with no weight to stop, it does so quickly, semi-unstable, but gets the job done, and will hammer on other tracks.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 10 Handling: 8 Brakes: 8 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:13.990 - Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec '95
Great, track-ready car, albiet maybe a bit overhyped, it has good reasons, as it has good performance, and is strong in every catagory. Brakes were perfectly good, acceleration was sprightly, speed not a problem, handling very nice, though a bit to much oversteer makes you back off the throttle at times. very nice gearing, changes a little slow, but nothing bad. Fun car to drive at the limit, though hard to get perfect, could improve, but the best driver so far.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 8 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:44.146 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR '95
Still plows excessivly, still drives like a dump truck, still don't like it, but much quicker, faster, less understeer than previous model, but still slower than Subaru. Gears still to quick, but change quick, which helps, powerband still to narrow, though not bad, a vast improvement, with vast improvement left.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 6 Speed: 7.5 Handling: 6 Brakes: 7 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:37.089 - Nissan 240SX '96
The newer 240sx, the first 2 proved fun, and capable, but aside from the new looks, this car packs pretty much the same punch. It's slowly climbing, still drives about the same, still has about same handling limit, and it's extra power is offset by it's extra weight, perhaps a bit easier to control, but just as fun, minus small amounts of dissapointment, and just as good, we're looking forward to the 250hp one, later on.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 7.5 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 7 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:02.126 - Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport '96
The C4 Corvette, at first I expected a slightly faster Camaro, which is somewhat true, minus the slightly, this thing hauls, has a nice powerband, right at the top, handles very well, stays sure footed through most of the 177 turns, has a very high limit, and has good acceleration, making it a top all-around performer, besting the mighty ZR-1 by 5 seconds, with some odd 50 hp less. Brakes could stop, oh, I don't know, 50hp, and 104kg more?
Great car, very good in every way, minus the long gears, could be shorter, but change in a fast heartbeat.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 9 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 9.5 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:21.407 - Toyota MR2 GT-S '97
Mid Engine, RWD, 2 seater, the MR2 is. Wild little car here, with massive oversteer, nearly constantly, despite my best efforts. Very fun though, and very quick, could probably shave 5-10 seconds if it just had a little more rear grip. Very high cornering limit, in most corners, and remarkably quick for 250hp, with a everest-like powerband, good brakes, very nice, just hard to use them when the rear's dancing. gears were good, but this 4-banger could definetly use a 6-speed.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 8 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 8.5 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:08.811 - Honda NSX Type S '97
Another MR, another oversteering car. A good one though, turning in a nice lap, was one of the top dogs in it's day. Very nice gearing, shift slow though, could probly gain 3 seconds with a quicker shifter. What can I say? it's an NSX, everything was good, handling great.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 9 Handling: 9 Brakes: 9 Gears: 9
Lap: 8:17.109 - Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 '97
Not an SS
, but a Z-28 will do. So unbelievably neutral, you don't know what to do with it, there's almost never any corrections to make, it practically drives itself. Handling limit was high, higher than expected, balance was supurb, oodly, this car's problem was it's go-paddle, more than anything. Brakes 👍 Gears 👍 👍 Love the gears. Handling 👍 ahhh, still dissapointed it isn't an SS, and looking for 31HP.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 8.5 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 9 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 8:07.171 - Toyota Supra RZ '97
The Supra's back, and better than before. much better. So much better, you'd swear it was a different car. Oh, it is? ok then. Great car here, very good handling, very neutral, very balanced, very good brakes, gears are among the elite, in the same great club as the Camaro, loving the gears, very quick shifts too:tup: And then, the downside. this car has no traction, if this car, had to chose, between tire grip, and extinction, well, that answers itself. R.I.P. Toyota's last sports car. Love the car though, It's a rocket:tup: very nice, grip, can be worked around, hell, can't even hardly race with N tires anyways, so who cares, right? 👍 bring it back Toyota, you bastards!
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 9.5 Handling: 9 Brakes: 9 Gears: 10
Lap: 7:55.589 - TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97
TVR is back, faster, and still has that pwr/wt thing going on. 3.194??? Oh well, the show goes on, and the TVR's a rocket,but it still can't turn. not fast, anyway. even when spinning the rear tires, which is quite often, it still takes a couple moments to start doing anything resembling oversteer. I guess the brakes are ok though:tup: the stopped this beast, before the walls, just don't try turning when braking hard, cause it won't, (which makes the brakes seem worse, but I assure you, they're pretty darn good) gears, long, but not long enough to stop the burnouts. Not so much fun as the other one though
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7.5 Speed: 10 Handling: 7 Brakes: 9.5 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:33.605 - Audi S4 '98
Audi joins the group, with the S4, which was simply not prepared to run with the big boys, but it did run with a couple of cars with similar power/weight figures, proving a pretty decent AWD car, but, has that common, heavy, sliding moment, where you just can't go on the throttle at all, you just have to let it settle, otherwise you get that viscious, back-forth sway mid-turn, which is very bad, and kills lap times. If you drive it right, you get very good balance, quick shifts, and enjoy a wonderful Audi powerband:tup: But be careful when braking, cause this 🤬 will spin like a top if you slam the brakes coming down from a high speed, though I was fortunate enough not to experiance this, it was clearly evident as a possibility. Nice car:tup:
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 8 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 9
Lap: 8:25.451 - Nissan 300ZX 2by2 '98
Wow, this is a beutiful car, gotta love the way she looks at ya. They say beauty is only skin deep, and to a point, they're right. Nice car, but it's hard to appreciate when it's beginning model, built 9 years ago, is faster, because this car remains unchanged, except for modern technology's added almost 200lbs to it. It is more stable, and somehow, just easier to drive, in fact, I was sure this lap was faster then the old one's, by quite a bit, but it just doesnt have the juice. Sadly, the same as the older one, just slower.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7.5 Speed: 8 Handling: 7 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:02.237 - Mazda RX-7 Type RS '98
Oooohh, the RX-7 has arrived, and arrived in style, that is, speed in style, and fantasically good-looking style. I'm not sure a car can drive much better than this, it's drive quality's a ranking higher possibly, than the Z-28's, a small amount of oversteer, rather than absolute neutral, which is nice, but a great limit, in every way, maximum stability, never a corky moment, It's quite clear Mazda figured out how the suspension needed to be. Great brakes, perfect for the car, same great gears, a bit dissapointed in the lack of a 6 speed, but they work fine, so, don't fix what ain't broke, must be the logic used. Well, the car's fantasic, with no flaws in drivability, so who's to argue?
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9.5 Speed: 9 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9
Lap: 8:21.637 - Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 '98
Oddly, not the heaviest car in this comp, but very close. It's a boat, but gives a pretty pleasant drive, if your gentle, just don't rush it, or you'll hit the wall But, if your looking for, and able to, drive a car, without going balls to the wall, this is your cruiser. Great powerband, solid, all-around, no real weakness, other than mass. great gears, very nice:tup:
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 9 Handling: 8 Brakes: 8.5 Gears: 10
Lap: 8:23.423 - Honda S2000 '99
Oversteer, all the way, is the case of the S2000, but it is controllable, making it an absolute blast to drive. It's a bit of a twitch-a-holic, with very darty steering, but a great cornering limit, that is second to not many. good brakes, with good gears, but shifts so slow, you can light a cigarette between gears In the end, it doesnt matter, cause you're having a blast, in what just might be the fastest 250HP track car, in the game.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 10 Speed: 8 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 9 Gears: 7.5
Lap: 8:21.039 - Nissan Silvia Spec R Aero '99
The fastest so far, of the 8:21 club!👍 (which is getting massive). And, fast enough to already be pouncing on the S2000's dreams of being the fastest track car in the 250hp range. Very neutral, which = 👍 Great car, balance, control, grip, braking, gears, it has it all.👍 eveything is good, nothing is bad, a vast improvement over an already good, capable car.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 8.5 Handling: 9 Brakes: 9 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 8:12.828 - Chevrolet Camaro SS '00
Looked forward to this car, because of the '97 I loved so much, and this one's actually the SS And it proved good, it just wasnt the fun, completely balanced, overall car the '97 was. It was faster, it had just as good brakes, gears, and handling, problem is, it understeers, that's really my only gripe, is the understeer, makes driving it much less fun, and hinders what could've been a better lap time. Powerband was worse, but gears were able to go farther, aka rev-limiter raising, which helped out.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7.5 Speed: 9 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 8.5 Gears: 9
Lap: 7:58.720 - RUF 3400S '00
Whether you fancy looks, or performance, drag racing, or road racing, autocross, or, well you get the point. This car is fantastic in every way, shape, curve, and form. It's so good, the only notes I wrote down about it were these "Great, Perfect, Superb". Guess that sums it up:tup:
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9.5 Speed: 9 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 8:21.337 - Clio Renault Sport V6 24V '00
I swear I'm not making these times up, really. Don't miss: this has the second highest pwr/wt ratio in the 8:21 club so far:tup: That really tells you that it has some work behind it. Oversteers, just like the other MR's, makes you take it a little easy sometimes, but a great drive, with great handling, top quality drivers car:tup:
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9.5 Speed: 8 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 9 Gears: 9
Lap: 8:01.880 - Nissan Skyline GT-R '00
The Skyline's back, and ready to rumble, and proves it's worth, in every form possible. Man, this things just does something right, it's not the best handler, though close, it's not the fastest, it does have great gears, but they don't shift the fastest, brakes are top-notch, late-braking is a specialty. But it all works so well together, as evidenced by the lap times, despite it's heavy weight, Nissan did good.👍 Real good.👍 Gotta love it, but gotta wonder how much faster it could be with just a little more rear grip:idea:
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 9 Handling: 10 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 8:01.884 - Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00
Shockingly good, again, drove it before, thought it was okay, never expected it run run side-by-side with a Skyline though. Pretty neutral, balanced, brakes, grip good. Gears a bit long, but with it's powerband, it doesnt matter much:tup: Nice car, try it yourself:tup:
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 9 Handling: 9 Brakes: 9.5 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 8:16.617 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI Prodrive '01
Still a little pushy, and the brakes could use work. Watch the rear on hard braking, cause it brakes like an Audi
So vastly improved, one doesnt know where to begin. Oh, it's faster. Oh, and it has milestones less understeer, and the gears are a touch longer (well, not really, but it does more rpm's) still shifts lightning fast, good brake power, so, all-in-all, a very nice car.👍
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7.5 Speed: 8.5 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 9
Lap: 8:17.720 - Audi RS4 '01
Don't miss: 180 in a station wagon!👍 but, the push, shove, plow, well, this does all 3, doing all often, as well. Typical Audi brakes, rear can dive if you touch the wheel, so watch it. Unstoppable underslide, I call it, when these gazillion pound boats start sliding, and can't be stopped, which is exactly what this does. Hate the length of 2nd, after the short first, 3rd is also longer than it has to be, overly quick 4th, 5th, & 6th gears, given that these simply stretch too far, causing slow shift times, and overworking the fantastic Audi powerband. Dissapointed, expect better from Germany.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7 Speed: 9.5 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 7
Lap: 7:58.663 - Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A '02
Mazda dialed out even more oversteer, unfortunatly, the '98 was more fun, and given the extra power and less weight, might beat this one. A great car, nonetheless, same great handling limit, gears, and brakes, a little faster, (still no 6th gear ) but not much new here.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 9 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9
Lap: 7:53.318 - Honda NSX-R '02
The new NSX-R Yup, and that never changed, best handling limit in this entire test, definetly more than 295hp, and you'll never convince me this thing has less than 350ish at the crank, it's simply to fast, even with the light weight. Still drives like the MR cliche though, understeer on hard braking, oversteer on lift-throttle, yada, yada. Hard to drive just right, but if you can, it's faster than a speeding bullet, besting most any sub-400HP car. Gears great, but shift Honda-slow. Great car, through and through:tup: 👍
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 9.5 Handling: 10 Brakes: 9.5 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 7:53.127 - Lotus Esprit V8 '02
When I say the NSX can best most any sub-400HP car, I'm not including the Lotus. This car was fantastically fun to drive, handled great, braked great,and had wonderful gears, with one of the best powerbands, ever.👍
A little harder to drive, than the NSX, it's certainly faster, losing only on a few corners. Brakes could stop it a little faster, but that's not to say they arent very good, just not perfect. What can I say about this car, to explain how much I like it..... It's the first car in this test, with nothing I don't like.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 10 Speed: 10 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 9 Gears: 10
Lap: 8:31.831 - Ford Focus RS '02
Not bad, for a Front-Driver, eh? eh? 👍 with a little work, this could definetly break the 8.5 barrier, definetly. Needs Tire grip, another gear, and lots of less oversteer. yes that's right. Oversteer. Drives like a chimpanzee on crack-cocaine, makes an entertaining drive, to say the least. Be careful, or you'll burnout all the way through 3rd gear. Remember when I called the '92 EVO a 250HP FF car? that was an insult to this car, not the EVO. 220HP and actual FF, bests early Sub's and EVO's alike, cause it's simply better.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 8 Handling: 8 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9
Lap: 8:07.733 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8 RS
The new, improved EVO, the EVO 8. I chose the RS, because it's simply the quickest, around racetracks, despite it's 1 less gear, and 20mph lower top speed. It's lighter, and... Lighter. It actually has less power, oddly, and is a 5-speed, instead of 6. Now, why in the hell would Mitsubishi spend money, just to make it have a 5-speed trans, and a slightly different engine, that has lees power? Completely minimizes it's extra goodness, though doesnt completely erase it. Balanced, predictable, and pretty smooth, it's a very good car, just nowhere near the Skyline realm of Japanese AWD King. Great Brakes, and the usual lightning-quick gear changes.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 9 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 10 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:15.261 - Audi S4 '03
Less power, more weight than RS4, faster time, what do you think? Does typical AWD shift/rocking motion in corners, if you mess up, must stay holding throttle till she's settled, and then go, do it right, and she'll scream, well, for a boat, anyways. Love this car, actually grew to love the way it drives, once figured out, it's very nice. Weight transfer is especially important with this sled full of lead, as it feels heavy, cause it is heavy. Audi brakes, careful with 'em, Great gears, somehow just worked really well.👍
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9.5 Speed: 9.5 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 8.5 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 7:59.961 - Nissan 350Z '03
Cracked 8 mins, even if only by .039 Awesome gearing, works perfectly, shifts super fast, very good handler, though hard braking and turning at the same time doesnt go over well, an excellent car.👍 One of my favorites, since day 1, one of the first cars I ever bought, and possibly the most used, love it, love it, love it.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 10 Speed: 9 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 9.5 Gears: 10
Lap: 8:04.347 - Subaru Impreza STI Spec C
Still brakes like an Audi, changing the saying to "brakes like an Audi, or Subaru) , massive oversteer upon braking possible, and spinning like a top standard, if you mess up. Actually, this felt sloppy, overweighted, and generally slow, through corners, and I expected it to lose to the EVO RS, despite what I'd heard, so it's either decievingly fast through corners, or, more likely, much quicker in a straight line. The Beefy 2.5L Boxer engine never failed to have punch, hard punch, no matter if I used 4th when I could use 3rd or not, actually saving time, at times, cause even with lightning-quick shifts, you still lose time, plus you don't wanna rev these to redline anyway, so it definetly helps. Powerband: 👍 Gears were standard rally gears, to quick for me, but very functional on the track, and with it's ability to skip downshifts, it's good for calling great, and good enough for 171mph on the test course!. Very nice improvement, officially in Skyline territory!👍 👍
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 9.5 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 9.5 Gears: 10
Lap: 7:58.843 - BMW M3 '04
Gotta love the M3, just not as much as it's 2 greater brethren, which would simply be too much for the other cars in this comp. sorry. But, the M3, Like the 350, is one of the first, and most driven cars I've had, and I love it, for everything. Very neutral, though occasional oversteer happens, that's certainly better than understeer, cause dammit, I like oversteer, it's fun, and fast:tup: Neutral car, nonetheless, very good brakes, requires some skill to drive right though, and the gears could be better, hate the 1-2 shift, and all of the first 4 are to long, it's got six, but only uses 5, bummer. Shifts slow too, it's all a shame, cause with different gearing, it could give the top 2 cars here a run for their money, and being half the price, it'd just might take it too.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 10 Handling: 9 Brakes: 10 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:08.768 - Pontiac GTP 5.7 '04
I got one of these shortly after I bought the game, modified it, and stopped driving it shortly after. Bought one recently, don't know why, drove it around, and surprise! this thing drives like every car should. It may not have the blistering acceleration of some, the handling of others, the perfect gears of yet others, or... okay, the brakes are top-notch. But it drives so neutrally, so well-behaved, it's like watching a 300lb man do ballet. It's just so graceful, so balanced, such an easy drive. and has surprisingly high handling limits. Speed was probably this cars biggest fault, likely due to weight, and the powerband is certainly not to die for, but it has potential.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 10 Speed: 8.5 Handling: 9 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 8:14.325 - Lotus Elise 111R '04
Twitchy, Darty, oversteery, you know the Elise, it's the lightweight MR car. Has a wonderful handling limit, screams around corners, just doesnt have enough oomph to keep up with the big boys, that's all. Very light, easy to wreck, but a fun & entertaining drive. Brakes don't stop it fast enough, and the trans takes longer than a Honda to shift, without these problems, we'd be seeing 8min flat times from this 'lil guy.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 10 Speed: 8 Handling: 10 Brakes: 8 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:21.049 - Ford Mustang GT '05
9 cars, within .65 seconds around the 13.2Mi, Nurburgring! holy crap:tup: Absolutly insane, who woulda thought?
On to the 'Stang, well, I was amazed, I never really drove the 'Stang GT, cept one 400km run before, cause I thought it sucked. Well, it's not the fastest, best handling, yada, yada, but it's a very nice, great drive. It's too heavy, needs a 6th gear, and a wider powerband, with those, we'd be talking about a great performer, probabley. Drives very neutral, one of the few cars I can turn up, and listen to, in the entire game, sounds great:tup: brakes well, has nice gears, just not enough.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 8.5 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9
Temporary Standings:
8:50.878 - Mazda RX-7 GT-Limited '85 - 6.917
8:49.614 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR '92 - 4.980
8:47.357 - Nissan Skyline HT 2000 RS-X '84 - 6.124
8:45.559 - Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 '85 - 5.647
8:45.008 - Nissan Silvia K's'88 - 6.205
8:44.146 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR '95 - 4.698
8:43.274 - Toyota Supra 3.0 GT Turbo A '88 - 6.569
8:41.945 - Mazda RX-7 GT-X '90 - 6.067
8:40.342 - Nissan Skyline GTS-T Type M '89 - 5.851
8:38.400 - Nissan Fairlady Z 300ZX '83 - 6.053
8:37.089 - Nissan 240SX '96 - 5.753
8:36.875 - Buick GNX '87 - 5.710
8:36.752 - Nissan Silvia K's '91 - 5.685
8:36.121 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI '94 - 4.552
8:33.605 - Audi S4 '98 - 5.718
8:33.096 - Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z '88 - 6.298
8:32.401 - Mercedes 190 E 2.5 16 evo II '91 - 5.713
8:31.831 - Ford Focus RS '02 - 4.764
8:26.477 - Toyota Supra 2.5GT TT-R '90 - 5.489
8:25.451 - Nissan 300ZX 2by2 '98 - 5.600
8:24.603 - Lotus Esprit Turbo HC '87 - 5.261
8:23.423 - Honda S2000 '99 - 5.023
8:21.674 - TVR V8 S '91 - 4.327
8:21.637 - Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 '98 - 5.251
8:21.407 - Toyota MR2 GT-S '97 - 5.136
8:21.405 - Mazda RX-7 Type RZ '93 - 4.847
8:21.337 - Clio Renault Sport V6 24V '00 - 5.287
8:21.199 - Nissan 300ZX 2seater '89 - 5.406
8:21.057 - Nissan Skyline GT-R '89 - 4.628
8:21.049 - Ford Mustang GT '05 - 5.230
8:21.039 - Nissan Silvia Spec R Aero '99 - 4.968
8:17.720 - Audi RS4 '01 - 4.210
8:17.109 - Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 '97 - 5.408
8:16.617 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI Prodrive '01 - 4.630
8:15.261 - Audi S4 '03 - 4.805
8:14.325 - Lotus Elise 111R '04 - 4.476
8:13.990 - NissanSkyline GT-R Vspec '95 - 4.746
8:12.828 - Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 - 4.714
8:08.811 - Honda NSX Type S '97 - 4.712
8:08.768 - Pontiac GTP 5.7 '04 - 4,733
8:07.854 - Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 '90 - 4.198
8:07.733 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8 RS - 4.119
8:07.171 - Toyota Supra RZ '97 - 4.577
8:04.347 - Subaru Impreza STI Spec C - 4.196
8:02.237 - Mazda RX-7 Type RS '98 - 4.400
8:02.126 - Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport '96 - 4.469
8:01.884 - Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00 - 4.378
8:01.880 - Nissan Skyline GT-R '00 - 4.631
7:59.961 - Nissan 350Z '03 - 4.610
7:59.074 - TVR Griffith 500 '94 - 3.075
7:58.843 - BMW M3 - 4.564
7:58.720 - RUF 3400S '00 - 4.188
7:58.663 - Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A '02 - 4.272
7:55.589 - TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97 - 3.194
7:53.318 - Honda NSX-R '02 - 4.301
7:53.127 - Lotus Esprit V8 '02 - 3.854
pwr/wt ratio's in red
This will be the first part, of 2, for the first track, and reviews, due to the massive amount of time this track requires, you may know of it, because it's the most talked about racetrack since GT4 came out, the Nurburgring Nordscleife.
All cars bought used have recieved an oil change, car wash, and chassis refresh, excluding the few 6.2mi cars, also, all cars have been fitted with N2's, to let their true characteristics out.
Jumping straight in, here are the cars, listed with their years, power, weight, and top speed, in order of oldest to newest.
1983 - Nissan Fairlady Z 300ZX / 228HP - 1380KG / 161.34mph
1984 - Nissan Skyline HT 2000 RS-X / 204HP - 1250KG / 145.70mph
1985 - Mazda RX-7 GT-Limited / 185HP - 1280KG / 149.24mph
1985 - Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 / 203HP - 1145KG / 148.95mph
1987 - Buick GNX / 280HP - 1600KG / 148.34mph
1987 - Lotus Esprit Turbo HC / 218HP - 1146KG / 160.71mph
1988 - Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z / 233HP - 1468KG / 151.91mph
1988 - Nissan Silvia K's / 184HP - 1140KG / 146.22mph
1988 - Toyota Supra 3.0 GT Turbo A / 239HP - 1570KG / 156.24mph
1989 - Nissan Skyline GTS-T Type M / 215HP - 1260KG / 150.41mph
1989 - Nissan 300ZX 2seater / 279HP - 1510KG / 172.35mph
1989 - Nissan Skyline GT-R / 309HP - 1430KG / 167.17mph
1990 - Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 / 381HP - 1600KG / 188.21mph
1990 - Mazda RX-7 GT-X / 206HP - 1260KG / 155.40mph
1990 - Toyota Supra 2.5GT TT-R / 277HP - 1520KG / 167.04mph
1991 - Mercedes 190 E 2.5 16 evo II / 235HP - 1340KG / 154.29mph
1991 - TVR V8 S / 243HP - 1050KG / 162.87mph
1991 - Nissan Silvia K's / 206HP - 1170KG / 157.78mph
1992 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR / 249HP - 1240KG / 140.88mph
1993 - Mazda RX-7 Type RZ / 256HP - 1240KG / 167.05mph
1994 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI / 270HP - 1230KG / 146.05mph
1994 - TVR Griffith 500 / 345HP - 1060KG / 187.92mph
1995 - Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec / 324HP - 1540KG / 174.03mph
1995 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR / 269HP - 1260 / 152.72mph
1996 - Nissan 240SX / 217HP - 1250KG / 158.81mph
1996 - Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport / 330HP - 1496KG / 180.90mph
1997 - Toyota MR2 GT-S / 247HP - 1270KG / 162.33mph
1997 - Honda NSX Type S / 280HP - 1320KG / 176.00mph
1997 - Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 / 289HP - 1561KG - 168.16mph
1997 - Toyota Supra RZ / 330HP - 1510KG / 180.27mph
1997 - TVR Cerbera Speed Six / 354HP - 1130KG / 190.85mph
1998 - Audi S4 / 264HP - 1510KG / 160.96mph
1998 - Nissan 300ZX 2by2 / 282HP - 1580KG / 171.96mph
1998 - Mazda RX-7 Type RS / 291HP - 1280KG / 171.92mph
1998 - Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 / 320HP / 1680KG / 173.97mph
1999 - Honda S2000 / 247HP - 1240KG / 160.17mph
1999 - Nissan Silvia Spec R Aero / 250HP - 1240KG / 166.95mph
2000 - Chevrolet Camaro SS / 331HP - 1560KG / 174.90mph
2000 - RUF 3400 S / 310HP - 1300KG / 175.65mph
2000 - Clio Renault Sport V6 24V / 253HP - 1335KG / 153.91mph
2000 - Nissan Skyline GT-R / 333HP - 1540KG / 173.15mph
2000 - Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R / 371HP - 1628KG / 170.04mph
2001 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI Prodrive / 309HP - 1430KG / 167.53mph
2001 - Audi RS4 / 385HP - 1620 / 179.87mph
2002 - Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A / 297HP - 1270KG / 172.85mph
2002 - Honda NSX Type R / 295HP - 1270KG / 180.53mph
2002 - Lotus Esprit V8 / 358HP - 1380KG / 191.31mph
2002 - Ford Focus RS / 220HP - 1050KG / 149.64mph
2002 - Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II Nur / 342HP - 1560KG / 172.25mph
2003 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8 RS / 320HP - 1320KG / 151.30mph
2003 - Audi S4 / 346HP - 1660KG / 170.99mph
2003 - Nissan 350Z / 286HP - 1320KG / 173.09mph
2004 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI Spec C / 326HP - 1370KG / 171.69mph
2004 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8 MR GSR / 327HP - 1400KG / 170.15mph
2004 - BMW M3 / 344HP - 1570KG / 179.65mph
2004 - Pontiac GTO 5.7L / 357HP - 1690KG / 159.37mph
2004 - Lotus Elise 111R / 192HP - 860KG / 161.10mph
2005 - Ford Mustang GT / 300HP - 1568KG / 157.27mph
Aside from mere laptimes, I'd like to give my own perspective, on each and every car, on what's good, bad, and ugly, along the way laptimes will be posted, and the cars will be in order based on those laptimes, from oldest to newest.
There will also apprear beneath each review, LS#2's Ratings: These are my perspective ratings on aspects of each car, (NOTE: cars with 6 gears have a possible rating of 10, and each gear less will cost .5 points, so a fantasic 4-speed can only get 9 points)
Lap: 8:38.400 - Nissan Fairlady Z 300ZX '83
This is the definition of a fun car, and also the definition of a twitchy car, though it has very good brake turn-in, and turn-in in general, steering was darty, the rear held no hesitations in coming out of line, and the loads of wheel spin through 2nd gear, and even 3rd, did not help it's case, a very unstable car, with highlights consisting of acceleration, braking power, and never understeering once.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.75 Speed: 8 Handling: 7 Brakes: 8 Gears: 7.5
Lap: 8:47.375 - Nissan Skyline HT 2000 RS-X '84
This car has a massive brake plow, diving straight like a dump truck, but, along with that, and it's general lack of oversteer, makes it a very stable car, and very easy to drive to it's limit. The gears could use work, as not only did they stretch it's narrow powerband, but were slow in changing, costing many precious seconds around this massive track, as well did the lack of tire grip, on acceleration, a car with this amount of power you'd never expect to burnout like it does, but, nevertheless, it has pretty good cornering grip, despite the large amounts of bodyroll.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 6.5 Speed: 7 Handling: 7 Brakes: 7 Gears: 5
Lap: 8:50.878 - Mazda RX-7 GT-Limited '85
A low-milage, premium edition RX-7, promised a fun drive, and it delivered, while the rear had a strong tendancy to lose hold of things, it remains easy to catch, making you want to do it again and again. A very stable car, despite the oversteer. Gears felt great, never losing power, shifting fairly quick, has average cornering limit though, and could use more power, as the brakes felt great, and could've stopped a lot more speed.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 6 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:45.559 - Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 '85
A Semi-Racing suspension comes stock, and though we felt it was against the spirit of the rules to play with it, it's a good thing to have, and this suspension could use some sorting. If the rear isint sliding, the front-end is, good in a few corners, this car generally dissapointed us big-time. Despite it's low speeds around the track, it was still very unstable, bumpy over some spots, and lofty on others, it's the ultimate backwards suspension compromise. gears were too long for it, didnt shift with to much haste, brakes were good, thank the Lord, it was this car's only real saving grace, as pep was hard to find, and fun wasnt found at all, which was what we expected most out this ol' bag.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 5 Speed: 6 Handling: 6.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 6.5
Lap: 8:36.875 - Buick GNX '87
A heavy, giant, American muscle car, with more brains than brawn. Has a good, but funky powerband, could use another gear or two, or an actual programmed automatic, to help with the long gears, though it does shift quickly, it's nothing like an automatic should be. It's definetly a boat, and flops and wallops abound in the hills of these mountains, so extra special care must be used when turning up here, or you'll end up losing lots of time, in every corner. Amazingly, despite the general lack of attention paid to the suspension, stablility was never an issue, likely due to it's weight.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7 Speed: 7 Handling: 6.5 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:24.603 - Lotus Esprit Turbo HC '87
A Lotus. I love Lotus', as they never dissapoint, even with only 218HP, this car moves very well, and despite it's power disadvantage, it kept up with, and beat, many faster cars, as Lotus always does. The rear was always willing to come out, but when it did, it didnt cost speed, and that's important, aside from that, it also has one of the highest cornering limits of all the factory cars in GT4, making it a real pleasure to drive. The brakes felt fine, always stopping the car in plenty of time, which is all you can ask for. The Gears, however, are probabley this car's only downfall, though they never took it out of it's powerband, they could be spaced a little better, and it could shift a little faster, an average gearbox, on an above average car.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9.5 Speed: 7.5 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:33.096 - Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z '88
Despite assumptions made, this was one of the more surprising cars in the test, dealing with all 177 curves far better than anticipated. The trans seemed good, shifting fast, and never removing the engine from it's haven of power, which amounted to a car that can do very nice powerslides, and never lose time from shifting. A very stable, neutral car, when on or off the gas, (unless spinning tires) and even neutral when braking hard, with cornering that'll rival it's foriegn rivals.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7.5 Speed: 8 Handling: 7 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:45.008 - Nissan Silvia K's '88
Superfun car, drift abound from everywhere, very quick for the amount of power, but could use more. Great powerband, trans does ok job of transferring that power to the ground, just toss this thing in, and let it slide through.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 6 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 7 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:43.274 - Toyota Supra 3.0 GT Turbo A '88
This car had high hopes, coming in, but let me down, very much. It's not bad, it's just doesnt have anything special, the brakes are ok, the handling's ok, the accelerations ok, a bit sluggish for the power, if you ask me, and the gears are ok. Felt very heavy, in every turn, and up every hill. Nothing special here.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 5 Speed: 7 Handling: 6 Brakes: 6.5 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:40.342 - Nissan Skyline GTS-T Type M '89
215hp, and faster round the 'ring than the 240hp Supra, sums it up. Though it drives simliarly, with better high-speed handling, the lighter weight offsets the power, but improves handling a small margin, spins it's tires a bit easily, semi-understeery, with decent brakes. Not to much fun in this bag.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 5.5 Speed: 6.5 Handling: 6.5 Brakes 7 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:21.199 - Nissan 300ZX 2seater '89
This is the fastest 80's car in the game, uber fast, despite the tank-like weight, tail-happy makes interesting, controllable though, good high-speed pull, and handling, very capable, just don't trust the brakes, or you'll die. at least after driving these other cars, anyway. Fun, and spectacular for an '89, overshadowed by today's standards though. Gets a good gear rating because of great powerband.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 8.5 Handling: 7 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:21.057 - Nissan Skyline GT-R '89
Call it a draw? More power than a 300ZX, and lighter, but no faster, likely due to AWD drivetrain losses, nose heavy handling, understeery, good limit though, be careful, and go fast. enjoyable.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7 Speed: 8 Handling: 7 Brakes: 8 Gears: 7.5
Lap: 8:07.854 - Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 '90
What a demon, this thing hauls balls. Advanced in it's time, loads of power, but an oddly narrow powerband, for a V8. Actually a good handling car, but doesnt seem quite so, with this much power, good brakes stop it, pretty stable, though a bit twitchy at speed, this car has potential, though all is overshadowed by that impressive speed, and the powerband livining up. Gears are too long, if quicker, we might see a sub-8 minute run here...
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 10 Handling: 7 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 5
Lap: 8:41.945 - Mazda RX-7 GT-X '90
We asked for more power, and we got it, just not enough. Great high speed handling, though it was quirky in a few corners, suspension couldve made this a great performer. Also seemed a little sluggish over 80, but we're blaming that on a massively fast 'Vette. Good car though, and a capable one, in it's own class.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7.5 Speed: 7 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:26.477 - Toyota Supra 2.5GT TT-R '90
This car is much better than the '88, in some ways, but is twitchy, easy to wreck, overshdowed by it's rivals, which are superior, and it's saving grace is good brakes. saving the laptime, and the car, and my life. good car, just not up to par. Gets a wonderful, intoxicating engine sound at 7000 rpm, making you want to stay there all day.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 6.5 Speed: 8 Handling: 7 Brakes: 8.5 Gears: 7.5
Lap: 8:32.401 - Mercedes 190 E 2.5 16 evo II '91
Consider this the Camaro's rival, though it's just a 4-banger. A 4-banger!?!?!? A wonderful 4-banger at that, NA, 235hp, it's all that, and even though the powerband doesnt look good, shifting right around redline results in no engine lag, even though the gearing could be better. You almost have to love this car, for what it is, and what it isnt. It is, a fantasic 'ring car, with great high-speed handling, the best so far, good brakes, and a very capable track car. It isnt, neutral, this thing pushed, much more than I'd like, making it somewhat hard to drive through some corners, but high grip makes it work, very fun car.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 7.5 Handling: 8 Brakes: 8 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:21.674 - TVR V8 S '91
The only sub 300HP TVR in the game, it proved an interesting view on what TVR's would do without their drastic pwr/wt ratio's. From the start, the gears dissapointed, as most any car with 2nd gear ending at 60ish, is in trouble, at least, when 2nd induces wheelspin, and 3rd bogs, which is exactly the problem with this car's gearing. Handled like every other TVR, with constant mild understeer, and wheelspin taking a bit to counteract the understeer, but has a good cornering limit nonetheless, with good brakes, likely designed for stopping about 100 more HP. Not the most fun car to drive, as it doesnt really do anything special, but a good all-arounder, with a lap time to prove it. Very capable track car, especially given the power.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 6.5 Speed: 8 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 8.5 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:36.752 - Nissan Silvia K's '91
It's well rounded, doing everything good, fantastic drifter, for those that like that, makes it work well on the 'Ring, very predictable, always sliding, peppy little car, even with low power, light, very fun, just don't get carried away with the drifting, at least, not if you going for a fast lap. Nice gears allow for quick changes, and a powerband never left alone.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 7 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 7 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:49.614 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR '92
A 250HP FF car, in a AWD appearance package. understeer, and more understeer, pitifully slow around corners, so bad, I couldnt even tell you what the brakes were like. gears to short. cornering grip: forget it.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 4 Speed: 7 Handling: 5 Brakes: 7?? Gears: 6
Lap: 8:21.405 - Mazda RX-7 Type RZ '93
The newer, sexier RX-7, here at last, and looking good, with the power I wanted, and how I wanted it. Turns out, this things highly unstable, a constant drifter, but not a graceful, fast one like the 240, unpredictable, with occasional understeer, just to freak you out. Capable though, if you drive it right, it'll move, quick car, that could beat all it's competition, with a little suspension tuning, or a lot. yeah, a lot. good car though, if you're experienced. Good gearing, as always, good shift too, as always, whaddya expect, it's an rx-7.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 6.5 Speed: 7.5 Handling: 7 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:36.121 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI '94
Scared, scared to drive this after the EVO nightmare, but fortunatly, this is lightyears better, in every way, faster, handles better, though not great, decent brakes, but still crappy short gearing. could gain 5-10 second with better gears. quick shifting though.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 6 Speed: 7.5 Handling: 6.5 Brakes: 7 Gears: 7
Lap: 7:59.074 - TVR Griffith 500 '94
So fast, what can you say? explosive power overwhelmes rear tires up to 80mph, but if you feather it right, you'll take off like a rocket, smoking even the ZR-1. light, and bouncy, good grip on the tarmac turning wise, and with no weight to stop, it does so quickly, semi-unstable, but gets the job done, and will hammer on other tracks.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 10 Handling: 8 Brakes: 8 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:13.990 - Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec '95
Great, track-ready car, albiet maybe a bit overhyped, it has good reasons, as it has good performance, and is strong in every catagory. Brakes were perfectly good, acceleration was sprightly, speed not a problem, handling very nice, though a bit to much oversteer makes you back off the throttle at times. very nice gearing, changes a little slow, but nothing bad. Fun car to drive at the limit, though hard to get perfect, could improve, but the best driver so far.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 8 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:44.146 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR '95
Still plows excessivly, still drives like a dump truck, still don't like it, but much quicker, faster, less understeer than previous model, but still slower than Subaru. Gears still to quick, but change quick, which helps, powerband still to narrow, though not bad, a vast improvement, with vast improvement left.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 6 Speed: 7.5 Handling: 6 Brakes: 7 Gears: 7
Lap: 8:37.089 - Nissan 240SX '96
The newer 240sx, the first 2 proved fun, and capable, but aside from the new looks, this car packs pretty much the same punch. It's slowly climbing, still drives about the same, still has about same handling limit, and it's extra power is offset by it's extra weight, perhaps a bit easier to control, but just as fun, minus small amounts of dissapointment, and just as good, we're looking forward to the 250hp one, later on.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 7.5 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 7 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:02.126 - Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport '96
The C4 Corvette, at first I expected a slightly faster Camaro, which is somewhat true, minus the slightly, this thing hauls, has a nice powerband, right at the top, handles very well, stays sure footed through most of the 177 turns, has a very high limit, and has good acceleration, making it a top all-around performer, besting the mighty ZR-1 by 5 seconds, with some odd 50 hp less. Brakes could stop, oh, I don't know, 50hp, and 104kg more?
Great car, very good in every way, minus the long gears, could be shorter, but change in a fast heartbeat.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 9 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 9.5 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:21.407 - Toyota MR2 GT-S '97
Mid Engine, RWD, 2 seater, the MR2 is. Wild little car here, with massive oversteer, nearly constantly, despite my best efforts. Very fun though, and very quick, could probably shave 5-10 seconds if it just had a little more rear grip. Very high cornering limit, in most corners, and remarkably quick for 250hp, with a everest-like powerband, good brakes, very nice, just hard to use them when the rear's dancing. gears were good, but this 4-banger could definetly use a 6-speed.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 8 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 8.5 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:08.811 - Honda NSX Type S '97
Another MR, another oversteering car. A good one though, turning in a nice lap, was one of the top dogs in it's day. Very nice gearing, shift slow though, could probly gain 3 seconds with a quicker shifter. What can I say? it's an NSX, everything was good, handling great.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 9 Handling: 9 Brakes: 9 Gears: 9
Lap: 8:17.109 - Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 '97
Not an SS
, but a Z-28 will do. So unbelievably neutral, you don't know what to do with it, there's almost never any corrections to make, it practically drives itself. Handling limit was high, higher than expected, balance was supurb, oodly, this car's problem was it's go-paddle, more than anything. Brakes 👍 Gears 👍 👍 Love the gears. Handling 👍 ahhh, still dissapointed it isn't an SS, and looking for 31HP. LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 8.5 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 9 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 8:07.171 - Toyota Supra RZ '97
The Supra's back, and better than before. much better. So much better, you'd swear it was a different car. Oh, it is? ok then. Great car here, very good handling, very neutral, very balanced, very good brakes, gears are among the elite, in the same great club as the Camaro, loving the gears, very quick shifts too:tup: And then, the downside. this car has no traction, if this car, had to chose, between tire grip, and extinction, well, that answers itself. R.I.P. Toyota's last sports car.
Love the car though, It's a rocket:tup: very nice, grip, can be worked around, hell, can't even hardly race with N tires anyways, so who cares, right? 👍 bring it back Toyota, you bastards! LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 9.5 Handling: 9 Brakes: 9 Gears: 10
Lap: 7:55.589 - TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97
TVR is back, faster, and still has that pwr/wt thing going on. 3.194???
Oh well, the show goes on, and the TVR's a rocket,but it still can't turn. not fast, anyway. even when spinning the rear tires, which is quite often, it still takes a couple moments to start doing anything resembling oversteer. I guess the brakes are ok though:tup: the stopped this beast, before the walls, just don't try turning when braking hard, cause it won't, (which makes the brakes seem worse, but I assure you, they're pretty darn good) gears, long, but not long enough to stop the burnouts. Not so much fun as the other one though LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7.5 Speed: 10 Handling: 7 Brakes: 9.5 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:33.605 - Audi S4 '98
Audi joins the group, with the S4, which was simply not prepared to run with the big boys, but it did run with a couple of cars with similar power/weight figures, proving a pretty decent AWD car, but, has that common, heavy, sliding moment, where you just can't go on the throttle at all, you just have to let it settle, otherwise you get that viscious, back-forth sway mid-turn, which is very bad, and kills lap times. If you drive it right, you get very good balance, quick shifts, and enjoy a wonderful Audi powerband:tup: But be careful when braking, cause this 🤬 will spin like a top if you slam the brakes coming down from a high speed, though I was fortunate enough not to experiance this, it was clearly evident as a possibility. Nice car:tup:
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 8 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 9
Lap: 8:25.451 - Nissan 300ZX 2by2 '98
Wow, this is a beutiful car, gotta love the way she looks at ya. They say beauty is only skin deep, and to a point, they're right.
Nice car, but it's hard to appreciate when it's beginning model, built 9 years ago, is faster, because this car remains unchanged, except for modern technology's added almost 200lbs to it. It is more stable, and somehow, just easier to drive, in fact, I was sure this lap was faster then the old one's, by quite a bit, but it just doesnt have the juice. Sadly, the same as the older one, just slower. LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7.5 Speed: 8 Handling: 7 Brakes: 7.5 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:02.237 - Mazda RX-7 Type RS '98
Oooohh, the RX-7 has arrived, and arrived in style, that is, speed in style, and fantasically good-looking style. I'm not sure a car can drive much better than this, it's drive quality's a ranking higher possibly, than the Z-28's, a small amount of oversteer, rather than absolute neutral, which is nice, but a great limit, in every way, maximum stability, never a corky moment, It's quite clear Mazda figured out how the suspension needed to be. Great brakes, perfect for the car, same great gears, a bit dissapointed in the lack of a 6 speed, but they work fine, so, don't fix what ain't broke, must be the logic used. Well, the car's fantasic, with no flaws in drivability, so who's to argue?
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9.5 Speed: 9 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9
Lap: 8:21.637 - Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 '98
Oddly, not the heaviest car in this comp, but very close. It's a boat, but gives a pretty pleasant drive, if your gentle, just don't rush it, or you'll hit the wall
But, if your looking for, and able to, drive a car, without going balls to the wall, this is your cruiser. Great powerband, solid, all-around, no real weakness, other than mass. great gears, very nice:tup: LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 9 Handling: 8 Brakes: 8.5 Gears: 10
Lap: 8:23.423 - Honda S2000 '99
Oversteer, all the way, is the case of the S2000, but it is controllable, making it an absolute blast to drive. It's a bit of a twitch-a-holic, with very darty steering, but a great cornering limit, that is second to not many. good brakes, with good gears, but shifts so slow, you can light a cigarette between gears
In the end, it doesnt matter, cause you're having a blast, in what just might be the fastest 250HP track car, in the game.LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 10 Speed: 8 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 9 Gears: 7.5
Lap: 8:21.039 - Nissan Silvia Spec R Aero '99
The fastest so far, of the 8:21 club!👍 (which is getting massive). And, fast enough to already be pouncing on the S2000's dreams of being the fastest track car in the 250hp range. Very neutral, which = 👍 Great car, balance, control, grip, braking, gears, it has it all.👍 eveything is good, nothing is bad, a vast improvement over an already good, capable car.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 8.5 Handling: 9 Brakes: 9 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 8:12.828 - Chevrolet Camaro SS '00
Looked forward to this car, because of the '97 I loved so much, and this one's actually the SS
And it proved good, it just wasnt the fun, completely balanced, overall car the '97 was. It was faster, it had just as good brakes, gears, and handling, problem is, it understeers, that's really my only gripe, is the understeer, makes driving it much less fun, and hinders what could've been a better lap time. Powerband was worse, but gears were able to go farther, aka rev-limiter raising, which helped out.LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7.5 Speed: 9 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 8.5 Gears: 9
Lap: 7:58.720 - RUF 3400S '00
Whether you fancy looks, or performance, drag racing, or road racing, autocross, or, well you get the point. This car is fantastic in every way, shape, curve, and form. It's so good, the only notes I wrote down about it were these "Great, Perfect, Superb". Guess that sums it up:tup:
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9.5 Speed: 9 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 8:21.337 - Clio Renault Sport V6 24V '00
I swear I'm not making these times up, really. Don't miss: this has the second highest pwr/wt ratio in the 8:21 club so far:tup: That really tells you that it has some work behind it. Oversteers, just like the other MR's, makes you take it a little easy sometimes, but a great drive, with great handling, top quality drivers car:tup:
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9.5 Speed: 8 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 9 Gears: 9
Lap: 8:01.880 - Nissan Skyline GT-R '00
The Skyline's back, and ready to rumble, and proves it's worth, in every form possible. Man, this things just does something right, it's not the best handler, though close, it's not the fastest, it does have great gears, but they don't shift the fastest, brakes are top-notch, late-braking is a specialty. But it all works so well together, as evidenced by the lap times, despite it's heavy weight, Nissan did good.👍 Real good.👍 Gotta love it, but gotta wonder how much faster it could be with just a little more rear grip:idea:
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 9 Handling: 10 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 8:01.884 - Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00
Shockingly good, again, drove it before, thought it was okay, never expected it run run side-by-side with a Skyline though. Pretty neutral, balanced, brakes, grip good. Gears a bit long, but with it's powerband, it doesnt matter much:tup: Nice car, try it yourself:tup:
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 9 Handling: 9 Brakes: 9.5 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 8:16.617 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI Prodrive '01
Still a little pushy, and the brakes could use work. Watch the rear on hard braking, cause it brakes like an Audi
So vastly improved, one doesnt know where to begin. Oh, it's faster. Oh, and it has milestones less understeer, and the gears are a touch longer (well, not really, but it does more rpm's) still shifts lightning fast, good brake power, so, all-in-all, a very nice car.👍 LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7.5 Speed: 8.5 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 9
Lap: 8:17.720 - Audi RS4 '01
Don't miss: 180 in a station wagon!👍 but, the push, shove, plow, well, this does all 3, doing all often, as well. Typical Audi brakes, rear can dive if you touch the wheel, so watch it. Unstoppable underslide, I call it, when these gazillion pound boats start sliding, and can't be stopped, which is exactly what this does. Hate the length of 2nd, after the short first, 3rd is also longer than it has to be, overly quick 4th, 5th, & 6th gears, given that these simply stretch too far, causing slow shift times, and overworking the fantastic Audi powerband. Dissapointed, expect better from Germany.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 7 Speed: 9.5 Handling: 7.5 Brakes: 8 Gears: 7
Lap: 7:58.663 - Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A '02
Mazda dialed out even more oversteer, unfortunatly, the '98 was more fun, and given the extra power and less weight, might beat this one. A great car, nonetheless, same great handling limit, gears, and brakes, a little faster, (still no 6th gear
) but not much new here.LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 9 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9
Lap: 7:53.318 - Honda NSX-R '02
The new NSX-R Yup, and that never changed, best handling limit in this entire test, definetly more than 295hp, and you'll never convince me this thing has less than 350ish at the crank, it's simply to fast, even with the light weight. Still drives like the MR cliche though, understeer on hard braking, oversteer on lift-throttle, yada, yada. Hard to drive just right, but if you can, it's faster than a speeding bullet, besting most any sub-400HP car. Gears great, but shift Honda-slow. Great car, through and through:tup: 👍 LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 9.5 Handling: 10 Brakes: 9.5 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 7:53.127 - Lotus Esprit V8 '02
When I say the NSX can best most any sub-400HP car, I'm not including the Lotus. This car was fantastically fun to drive, handled great, braked great,and had wonderful gears, with one of the best powerbands, ever.👍
A little harder to drive, than the NSX, it's certainly faster, losing only on a few corners. Brakes could stop it a little faster, but that's not to say they arent very good, just not perfect. What can I say about this car, to explain how much I like it..... It's the first car in this test, with nothing I don't like.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 10 Speed: 10 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 9 Gears: 10
Lap: 8:31.831 - Ford Focus RS '02
Not bad, for a Front-Driver, eh? eh? 👍 with a little work, this could definetly break the 8.5 barrier, definetly. Needs Tire grip, another gear, and lots of less oversteer. yes that's right. Oversteer. Drives like a chimpanzee on crack-cocaine, makes an entertaining drive, to say the least. Be careful, or you'll burnout all the way through 3rd gear. Remember when I called the '92 EVO a 250HP FF car? that was an insult to this car, not the EVO. 220HP and actual FF, bests early Sub's and EVO's alike, cause it's simply better.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 8 Handling: 8 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9
Lap: 8:07.733 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8 RS
The new, improved EVO, the EVO 8. I chose the RS, because it's simply the quickest, around racetracks, despite it's 1 less gear, and 20mph lower top speed. It's lighter, and... Lighter. It actually has less power, oddly, and is a 5-speed, instead of 6. Now, why in the hell would Mitsubishi spend money, just to make it have a 5-speed trans, and a slightly different engine, that has lees power?
Completely minimizes it's extra goodness, though doesnt completely erase it. Balanced, predictable, and pretty smooth, it's a very good car, just nowhere near the Skyline realm of Japanese AWD King. Great Brakes, and the usual lightning-quick gear changes.LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8 Speed: 9 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 10 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:15.261 - Audi S4 '03
Less power, more weight than RS4, faster time, what do you think? Does typical AWD shift/rocking motion in corners, if you mess up, must stay holding throttle till she's settled, and then go, do it right, and she'll scream, well, for a boat, anyways. Love this car, actually grew to love the way it drives, once figured out, it's very nice. Weight transfer is especially important with this sled full of lead, as it feels heavy, cause it is heavy. Audi brakes, careful with 'em, Great gears, somehow just worked really well.👍
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9.5 Speed: 9.5 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 8.5 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 7:59.961 - Nissan 350Z '03
Cracked 8 mins, even if only by .039
Awesome gearing, works perfectly, shifts super fast, very good handler, though hard braking and turning at the same time doesnt go over well, an excellent car.👍 One of my favorites, since day 1, one of the first cars I ever bought, and possibly the most used, love it, love it, love it. LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 10 Speed: 9 Handling: 9.5 Brakes: 9.5 Gears: 10
Lap: 8:04.347 - Subaru Impreza STI Spec C
Still brakes like an Audi, changing the saying to "brakes like an Audi, or Subaru) , massive oversteer upon braking possible, and spinning like a top standard, if you mess up. Actually, this felt sloppy, overweighted, and generally slow, through corners, and I expected it to lose to the EVO RS, despite what I'd heard, so it's either decievingly fast through corners, or, more likely, much quicker in a straight line. The Beefy 2.5L Boxer engine never failed to have punch, hard punch, no matter if I used 4th when I could use 3rd or not, actually saving time, at times, cause even with lightning-quick shifts, you still lose time, plus you don't wanna rev these to redline anyway, so it definetly helps. Powerband: 👍 Gears were standard rally gears, to quick for me, but very functional on the track, and with it's ability to skip downshifts, it's good for calling great, and good enough for 171mph on the test course!. Very nice improvement, officially in Skyline territory!👍 👍
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 8.5 Speed: 9.5 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 9.5 Gears: 10
Lap: 7:58.843 - BMW M3 '04
Gotta love the M3, just not as much as it's 2 greater brethren, which would simply be too much for the other cars in this comp. sorry.
But, the M3, Like the 350, is one of the first, and most driven cars I've had, and I love it, for everything. Very neutral, though occasional oversteer happens, that's certainly better than understeer, cause dammit, I like oversteer, it's fun, and fast:tup: Neutral car, nonetheless, very good brakes, requires some skill to drive right though, and the gears could be better, hate the 1-2 shift, and all of the first 4 are to long, it's got six, but only uses 5, bummer. Shifts slow too, it's all a shame, cause with different gearing, it could give the top 2 cars here a run for their money, and being half the price, it'd just might take it too.LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 10 Handling: 9 Brakes: 10 Gears: 8
Lap: 8:08.768 - Pontiac GTP 5.7 '04
I got one of these shortly after I bought the game, modified it, and stopped driving it shortly after. Bought one recently, don't know why, drove it around, and surprise! this thing drives like every car should. It may not have the blistering acceleration of some, the handling of others, the perfect gears of yet others, or... okay, the brakes are top-notch. But it drives so neutrally, so well-behaved, it's like watching a 300lb man do ballet. It's just so graceful, so balanced, such an easy drive. and has surprisingly high handling limits. Speed was probably this cars biggest fault, likely due to weight, and the powerband is certainly not to die for, but it has potential.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 10 Speed: 8.5 Handling: 9 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9.5
Lap: 8:14.325 - Lotus Elise 111R '04
Twitchy, Darty, oversteery, you know the Elise, it's the lightweight MR car. Has a wonderful handling limit, screams around corners, just doesnt have enough oomph to keep up with the big boys, that's all. Very light, easy to wreck, but a fun & entertaining drive. Brakes don't stop it fast enough, and the trans takes longer than a Honda to shift, without these problems, we'd be seeing 8min flat times from this 'lil guy.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 10 Speed: 8 Handling: 10 Brakes: 8 Gears: 8.5
Lap: 8:21.049 - Ford Mustang GT '05
9 cars, within .65 seconds around the 13.2Mi, Nurburgring! holy crap:tup: Absolutly insane, who woulda thought?
On to the 'Stang, well, I was amazed, I never really drove the 'Stang GT, cept one 400km run before, cause I thought it sucked. Well, it's not the fastest, best handling, yada, yada, but it's a very nice, great drive. It's too heavy, needs a 6th gear, and a wider powerband, with those, we'd be talking about a great performer, probabley. Drives very neutral, one of the few cars I can turn up, and listen to, in the entire game, sounds great:tup: brakes well, has nice gears, just not enough.
LS#2's Ratings: Fun: 9 Speed: 8.5 Handling: 8.5 Brakes: 10 Gears: 9
Temporary Standings:
8:50.878 - Mazda RX-7 GT-Limited '85 - 6.917
8:49.614 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR '92 - 4.980
8:47.357 - Nissan Skyline HT 2000 RS-X '84 - 6.124
8:45.559 - Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 '85 - 5.647
8:45.008 - Nissan Silvia K's'88 - 6.205
8:44.146 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO GSR '95 - 4.698
8:43.274 - Toyota Supra 3.0 GT Turbo A '88 - 6.569
8:41.945 - Mazda RX-7 GT-X '90 - 6.067
8:40.342 - Nissan Skyline GTS-T Type M '89 - 5.851
8:38.400 - Nissan Fairlady Z 300ZX '83 - 6.053
8:37.089 - Nissan 240SX '96 - 5.753
8:36.875 - Buick GNX '87 - 5.710
8:36.752 - Nissan Silvia K's '91 - 5.685
8:36.121 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI '94 - 4.552
8:33.605 - Audi S4 '98 - 5.718
8:33.096 - Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z '88 - 6.298
8:32.401 - Mercedes 190 E 2.5 16 evo II '91 - 5.713
8:31.831 - Ford Focus RS '02 - 4.764
8:26.477 - Toyota Supra 2.5GT TT-R '90 - 5.489
8:25.451 - Nissan 300ZX 2by2 '98 - 5.600
8:24.603 - Lotus Esprit Turbo HC '87 - 5.261
8:23.423 - Honda S2000 '99 - 5.023
8:21.674 - TVR V8 S '91 - 4.327
8:21.637 - Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 '98 - 5.251
8:21.407 - Toyota MR2 GT-S '97 - 5.136
8:21.405 - Mazda RX-7 Type RZ '93 - 4.847
8:21.337 - Clio Renault Sport V6 24V '00 - 5.287
8:21.199 - Nissan 300ZX 2seater '89 - 5.406
8:21.057 - Nissan Skyline GT-R '89 - 4.628
8:21.049 - Ford Mustang GT '05 - 5.230
8:21.039 - Nissan Silvia Spec R Aero '99 - 4.968
8:17.720 - Audi RS4 '01 - 4.210
8:17.109 - Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 '97 - 5.408
8:16.617 - Subaru Impreza WRX STI Prodrive '01 - 4.630
8:15.261 - Audi S4 '03 - 4.805
8:14.325 - Lotus Elise 111R '04 - 4.476
8:13.990 - NissanSkyline GT-R Vspec '95 - 4.746
8:12.828 - Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 - 4.714
8:08.811 - Honda NSX Type S '97 - 4.712
8:08.768 - Pontiac GTP 5.7 '04 - 4,733
8:07.854 - Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 '90 - 4.198
8:07.733 - Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8 RS - 4.119
8:07.171 - Toyota Supra RZ '97 - 4.577
8:04.347 - Subaru Impreza STI Spec C - 4.196
8:02.237 - Mazda RX-7 Type RS '98 - 4.400
8:02.126 - Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport '96 - 4.469
8:01.884 - Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00 - 4.378
8:01.880 - Nissan Skyline GT-R '00 - 4.631
7:59.961 - Nissan 350Z '03 - 4.610
7:59.074 - TVR Griffith 500 '94 - 3.075
7:58.843 - BMW M3 - 4.564
7:58.720 - RUF 3400S '00 - 4.188
7:58.663 - Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A '02 - 4.272
7:55.589 - TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97 - 3.194
7:53.318 - Honda NSX-R '02 - 4.301
7:53.127 - Lotus Esprit V8 '02 - 3.854
pwr/wt ratio's in red
Good stuff - a lot of work and a nice, detailed description 👍 Well done!
