Acura DN-X. Love it or hate it??

[Parnelli Bone]

I just discovered this car last week and did a bit of online research. Long story short, I am a bit fascinated by the Acura DN-X...which in real life features both gas and electric technology like an ordinary hybrid, yet does so with a sporting aspect. The 3.5 liter gas engine powers the rear-wheels and there are 4 electric motor/generators (one for each wheel). In addition, this concept car has a long long list of extras to complement the driver...I'm not gonna go into all that; I'm primarily interested in that 2WD gas AWD electric combo.

In the game it's hard to tell if PD is trying to simulate this. The DN-X rides like it's on rails and does some weird things. Kick in the gas full blast and there's a sound similar to a close-ratio gearbox, which I'm assuming is supposed to be the motors assisting the gas engine.

No it's not my favorite car, but I was somewhat astounded to find quite a few people hate the DN-X after reading a bunch of old posts here.

So what's your opinion on this somewhat controversial car? Love it? Hate it? Dont care? 💡

 

[Duke]

I used it as an Excuse-o in the Costa d'Amalfi rally to win the Toyota RAID to sell.

It seemed like a decent car, and certainly went like stink. I have to admit, however, that I'm completely underwhelmed by all the concept cars in the game. I think for the most part they drive extremely unrealistically, they're nearly all ugly, and they have zero resale value. Most real concept cars are cobbled-together mockups with tons of engineering left to do on them, and would never put up with regular street driving, let alone racing. They're typically completely unsorted in handling and have serious cooling issues.

I find this rose-colored-glasses view of the concept cars extremely arcade-like, and so I never drive them.

 

[Orion]

I like how it drives, but hate how it looks.

 

[AOS-]

the only thing i've ever tried doing with it was doing a massive long wide donut with N1's at Gymhanku. So 0 opinion, yes its ugly...even i can draw better

 

[BobK]

Meh. Not a terribly exciting car. I never would have known anything was unusual about it just from driving it in GT4.

Duke makes an excellent point! +rep!

 

[Parnelli Bone]

Meh. Not a terribly exciting car. I never would have known anything was unusual about it just from driving it in GT4.

That's thanks to the fact that PD no longer puts info along with the cars we drive like they did in previous games. The only reason
I know so much about is cuz I'm fascinated with most cars and need to learn all I can about them.

...come on people....more opinions & votes!

 

[Orion]

The thing I hate about the DN-X is how I thought it had a racing transmission, but it was stock.

The car is just as heavy as everyone on GTP put together.

 

[Tornado]

Actually, I believe the car only weighs 1400kg. Which is less than the normal NSXs, which are both far less powerful and not AWD.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

Well so far, more people hate it than like it! And most of all, most people don't care for it at all!

 

[Orion]

Actually, I believe the car only weighs 1400kg. Which is less than the normal NSXs, which are both far less powerful and not AWD.

That's probably because the regular NSX is built for comfort, then the Type S was for some people who would sacrifice a little bit of comfort for more speed, then the Type-S Zero and Type-R are the ones for pure enthusiasts. The A/C was removed on the Type-S Zero and Type-R. The DN-X isn't a car that's out in the streets, and I'm sure it weights more than 1400Kg's in real life. PD made a few mistakes with weight, like the Volvo 240GLT Estate being 500Kg heavier than it should be.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

That's probably because the regular NSX is built for comfort, then the Type S was for some people who would sacrifice a little bit of comfort for more speed, then the Type-S Zero and Type-R are the ones for pure enthusiasts. The A/C was removed on the Type-S Zero and Type-R. The DN-X isn't a car that's out in the streets, and I'm sure it weights more than 1400Kg's in real life. PD made a few mistakes with weight, like the Volvo 240GLT Estate being 500Kg heavier than it should be.

That's very true also. PD has a habit of mis-quoting data and making mistakes...but if you do internet research on the DN-X you'll find plenty of info listed again and again on different websites...and that info was obviously copied from the original press release on the DN-X when it was shown at the Detroit car show a few years back because it shows up again and again word-for-word on these different sites.

Furthermore, the information in GT4 we can compare (weight, engine size and dimensions anyway) matches the info found on all the websites that the DN-X is listed.

but yeah, PD does screw up a lot. I read that Car & Driver story yesterday and it said that for many cars, the programmers don't even do any field research at all so far as handling & specs go. The only cars they really get to drive and field-test are the ones car-companies are willing to hand over to PD for awhile. Since Nissan, Mazda, Honda, Toyota etc are right there in Japan, these car-makers are the ones who typically get the most realistic shot...the rest of the cars in the game (like that ancient Volvo for instance) are based a bit on speculation & what the game-programmers are able to read, but not usually anything they'd get to view and drive; hence all the mistakes that get made are made by programmers who are probably stressed with the imminent world-deadline of the latest PD release.

...lord what a long post.

 

[Orion]

Tha'ts very true also. PD has a habit of mis-quoting data and making mistakes...but if you do internet research on the DN-X you'll find plenty of info listed again and again on different websites...and that info was obviously copied from the original press release on the DN-X when it was shown at the Detroit car show a few years back.

Yeah, the Opel Speedster Turbo somehow weights about 200Kg heavier than a Opel Speedster, come on the turbo doesn't weight 500 pounds... That means the turbo weights as much as the Big Show.

Furthermore, the information in GT4 we can compare (weight, engine size and dimensions anyway) matches the info found on all the websites that the DN-X is listed.

The Honda S2000 has me confused here, some places it's a 2.0Liter, some others are 2.2L, and others are 2.4L in engine size. They all put out around the same 250HP or so.

but yeah, PD does screw up alot. I read that Car & Driver story yesterday and it said that for many cars, the programmers don't even do any field research at all so far as handling & specs go. The only cars they really get to drive and field-test are the ones car-companies are willing to hand over to PD for awhile. Since Nissan, Mazda, Honda, Toyota etc are right there in Japan, these car-makers are the ones who typically get the most realistic shot...the rest of the cars in the game (like that ancient Volvo for instance) are based a bit on speculation & what the game-progammers are able to read, but not usually anything they'd get to view and drive; hence all the mistakes that get made are made by programmers who are probably stressed with the immenent world-deadline of the latest PD release.

Exactly, that is why the S2000 drives and sounds so realistic, expecially in GT3 where there was oversteer. They must have not encountered american muscle when it comes to sound, I'll tell you that. They had to program 729 cars, handling, specs, gear ratios, grip, etc. All games have thier mistakes though. The Mitsubishi Eclipse has realistic gear ratios, as the 5th gear is quite quick. Even in games like Need For Speed Most Wanted. Every game has the 5th gear a quick gear, atleast when it was stock.

...lord what a long post.

Longer posts = more information usually. 💡

 

[Parnelli Bone]

I think (perhaps) in the case of the S2000, perhaps the various engine sizes represent Japanese, Euro, and North American displacement sizes and year-to-year upgrades? 💡 I'm just guessing.

One of the biggest mistakes in PD history was the Venturi Atlantique 300. Here's what I wrote about it a couple years back:

Nowhere is it stated on any website with Venturi specs that the Atlantique 300 has 2 turbos (the 400 does, though). Nor does it have a 2,946 cc engine (the real one is 2,975 cc's, and it's only a single-cam engine with 2 valves per cylinder...not a twin cam with 4). Also, the power figures are way off, which is absolutely mysterious.

The real-life car has 277 hp, not 213. Perhaps Polyphony Digital was quoting the KW figure (or trying to), which is 206 in real-life. To make matters more complicated, PD quotes the Atlantique 300 as having 302 hp in their info. WTF? And lastly...it's spelled Atlantique with a U. PD's spelling of this word varies throughout the game: sometimes it's spelled with a 'u' and sometimes it isn't!

On the test track, the Atlantique 300 behaves like a 213 hp car, that's for sure. Real-life testing of the 300 repeatedly quotes the 0 to 60 time as 4.9 seconds just like the game does, yet I couldn't seem to break 6. Even when dropping the clutch with high revs, the best I could manage was 5.5 seconds. Passed the mile in 14.7 seconds, and at this mark, the Atlantique hadn't even stolen 100 mph yet!

Some supercar. Too bad Gran Turismo got those numbers wrong, it kinda sells Venturi short, as well as Peugeot-the actual maker of the 3 liter V6 engine.
------------
And you're right...they obviously didn't get to experience American muscle! I have YET to hear a solid-sounding Sport, semi-racing, or full-racing exhaust!!! which pisses me off! Some of the stock exhausts sound okay, but haven't these guys ever watched a NASCAR or (better yet) Speed World Challenge race in which GT2 cars like the Viper and Corvette are often given in-cockpit cameras??? They sound absolutely magnificent! Not like the dumb "vacuum cleaner" soundbytes PD occasionally used.

 

[lurchbeetle]

It sounds awesome but its brakes just flat out suck!

 

[Orion]

Venturi Atlantique 300

Which GT game had that car?

I will +Rep you Parnelli for teaching me about these cars. But the dreaded spread rep first message appeared.

 

[sukerkin]

...lord what a long post.

Aye, it may have been a long post but the content was very key to those of us who have being bleating for years about there being a pro-Nippon bias in the game 👍.

Okay it seems more that it's a sin of omission rather than malice but it's still aggrivating when you have an understeering TVR .

Which GT game had that car?

I will +Rep you Parnelli for teaching me about these cars. But the dreaded spread rep first message appeared.

GT2 has the Atlantique's my friend. Sort of Garlic-smelling Ferrari's that you can actually get to go quite well with serious spanner-work.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

Which GT game had that car?

I will +Rep you Parnelli for teaching me about these cars. But the dreaded spread rep first message appeared.

GT2 had Venturis....it's sort of like a French Ferrari. I believe Venturi is now out of business; hence they're not in GT4?

 

[Tornado]

Yeah, the Opel Speedster Turbo somehow weights about 200Kg heavier than a Opel Speedster, come on the turbo doesn't weight 500 pounds... That means the turbo weights as much as the Big Show.

http://greengod320.tripod.com/siteb...-interview-20041209025138532.jpg.w300h451.jpg
Thats actually accurate. The Speedster Turbo did weigh that much more than the Speedster.
A similar example that isn't accurate is the MR2 G and MR2 G-Limited. In that example, they got the weights backwards.

The Honda S2000 has me confused here, some places it's a 2.0Liter, some others are 2.2L, and others are 2.4L in engine size. They all put out around the same 250HP or so.

The S2000 was a 2.0L originally, and was changed to a 2.2L in 2004 in America. It stayed a 2.0L in Japan until last year, and is still a 2.0L everywhere else. It was never a 2.4L.

That's probably because the regular NSX is built for comfort, then the Type S was for some people who would sacrifice a little bit of comfort for more speed, then the Type-S Zero and Type-R are the ones for pure enthusiasts. The A/C was removed on the Type-S Zero and Type-R. The DN-X isn't a car that's out in the streets, and I'm sure it weights more than 1400Kg's in real life.

Irrelevant to the discussion, and no it doesn't. The DNX is still faster than all of the NSXs (the real ones, anyways), and it still isn't actually that heavy in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Orion]

[/URL]
[/COLOR][/B]Thats actually accurate. The Speedster Turbo did weigh that much more than the Speedster.
A similar example that isn't accurate is the MR2 G and MR2 G-Limited. In that example, they got the weights backwards.

The S2000 was a 2.0L originally, and was changed to a 2.2L in 2004 in America. It stayed a 2.0L in Japan until last year, and is still a 2.0L everywhere else. It was never a 2.4L.

Irrelevant to the discussion, and no it doesn't. The DNX is still faster than all of the NSXs (the real ones, anyways), and it still isn't actually that heavy in the grand scheme of things.

Ohh, learn something new everyday.

This game said it was a 2.4L Honda S2000, even PD says so when you read the discription of the regular S2000. The discriptions are at the dealership BTW in GT3.

I talked about NSX's because it seemed like we started going off topic on the NSX.