Beater or Sleeper? GT6 Car of the Week Thread

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^Don't be sad about it! Even if you lost, the important thing is you tried. And you can always try again, and we here at the COTW thread have your back on this no matter what.
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Keep in mind that my Le Mans car is sponsored by Bail. As in: "Can you call someone to help me make bail?"

Tonight went a little better, though.

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Next week is our annual Car of the Year awards, more on that in a moment, but Jan. 3rd is also the birthday of our very own @JackRyanWMU . To celebrate, join me in saying happy birthday, and....

Congratulations JackRyanWMU! My gift to you is this week's selection of Car of the Week, so what'll it be?

JackRyanWMU
Merry Christmas to you as well!

Since it's the last week of the year, I'm thinking of doing something a little different and end 2015 with a bang. In honor of an excellent book I had the pleasure of reading, I would like to select...
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The NASCAR Stock Cars!

JackRyanWMU
And yes, I know they're not Stock and that Toyota doesn't sell a V-8 powered rear-drive Camry. Fact is though, I became a motorsports fan because I first became a NASCAR fan.
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You are aware that we don't only turn left, correct? I hope you're prepared to drive this thing on the streets of London, if it is selected. Even the streets of Monaco could present their own problems. That said, I'm amazed that NASCAR fans know how to read. Once again, Car of the Week teaches me a new lesson.

Congrats yet again to @Vic Reign93 for his I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Butter time of 2:39.811 at BRNO last week. This week's Playing With TTs! event is at Willow Springs, Big Willow, and should be available shortly.

Special Announcement​

As I mentioned before, it's time for our annual Car of the Year awards! Below are the categories that have already been selected from last year and suggested for this year. If there is another category that you'd like created, submit your idea along with nominations, and I'll work it in. Please PM me with your selections no later than Friday, January 1st at 5p CST.

This year's awards are:

Bridgette Wilson Award for Best Hair and Makeup
Tammy Faye Baker Award for Worst Hair and Makeup
Susan Lucci Award for Best Supporting Actor/Actress
Joe Dirt "I'm-your-sister" Award for best American Automobile
Kim Kardashian "Bitch-How-Is-You-Not-A-Hobbit?" Award for Most Overrated
Susan Boyle Award for Most Underrated
Vanilla Ice Ice Baby Award for Best Performance Over A Single Lap
Wall Street Journal "Too Big To Jail" Award for Priciest Model
Ted Thomas Memorial Trophy for Driver of the Year
Worst Car of the Year
Best Car of the Year

And this year, we'll also introduce:

The New Kids On The Block Award for Best New Member
The Ron Howard's Rush Award for Biggest Rivalry between COTW Regulars
The Disney-Owns-Everything Sleeping Beauty Award for Sleeper of the Year
The Ray Rice Award for Beater of the Year (too soon?)
The Bernie Ecclestone's Not Dead Yet Award for Track of the Year
The Whitney Houston-Before-Coke, Greatest Love of All Award for Community Service

Again, please make sure your selections are sent to me before Friday, January 1st at 5p CST. Winners will be announced the following Sunday, with no individual winner chosen for next week. We'll resume our normal CotW operations the following week, starting on January 10th.
 
Well, leave it to an American to pick the most 'Murican thing to be in in terms of motorsport, both as a spectator and as a driver. And now I have to cringe at the prospect of turning right with these heavy (remember remember, the Jeff Gordon of December) barges at Monaco, thanks for the nightmares...

As for the rest, I want to place a request for this song to be used as the main and only theme song of 2015's final COTW week;


Think 'Murican, drive 'Murican. And yes, the Camry can also count...
 
Sorry for the late review :dopey:

MG MGF '97
142 hp / 7,000 rpm
128 ft-lb / 4,500 rpm
1,070 kg (2,359 lbs)

MG TF160 '03
158 hp / 7,000 rpm
128 ft-lb / 4,500 rpm
1,150 kg (2,535 lbs)

The MGF has 16 fewer hp's but the same amount of torque as the TF160. It also has the benefit of being 80 kg (176 lbs) lighter. The MGF hit a 2 mph higher maximum speed on the front straight than the TF160, and both cars needed to slow to a minimum of 70 mph through the first corner.

Cars within ~0.500 seconds:

1:30.913 - 383 - Mazda MX-5 1800 RS (NB, J) '00
1:30.960 - 383 - Hyundai Tiburon GT '01
1:31.041 - 378 - Honda CR-X Del Sol SiR '92
1:31.108 - 398 - Mitsubishi GTO SR '95
1:31.112 - 387 - BMW 2002 Turbo '73
1:31.133 - 395 - Mini Cooper S '07
1:31.156 - 399 - Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder GTS '03
1:31.306 - 396 - Alfa Romeo Spider 3.0i V6 24V '01
1:31.363 - 386 - Nissan Skyline GTS25 Type S (R32) '91
1:31.384 - 381 - Nissan Silvia Spec-S Aero (S15) '99
1:31.404 - 390 - Mini Cooper S Countryman (R60) '11
1:31.414 - 401 - Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione '91
1:31.417 - 377 - MG TF160 '03
1:31.580 - 399 - Pontiac Sunfire GXP Concept '02
1:31.606 - 387 - Toyota Corolla Runx Z Aerotourer '02
1:31.644 - 373 - Toyota 2000GT '67
1:31.757 - 371 - Toyota MR2 1600 G-Limited Super Charger '86
1:31.872 - 387 - Mazda Axela 23S '03
1:31.901 - 387 - Alfa Romeo 156 2.5 V6 24V '98
1:31.920 - 394 - Opel Vectra 3.2 V6 '03

Well, the Eclipse Spyder '03 sounds like a competitor. It's got a 200-ish horsepower V6 engine and a convertible top. The second-generation (NB) Mazda MX-5 is a rival as well.

Overall, the TF160 a fun car, but I can think of about 160 cars I'd rather drive. Like a Toyota MR2 Spyder '99, which is over half a second quicker than the MG. The '02 MR2 with a six-speed transmission was even faster, beating the TF160 by just over 2 seconds!




And the MR2 replay for kicks:

 
If you're wondering where the title of the above-mentioned book (which is an excellent chronicle of the 1979 Season and the beginning of NASCAR's surge in popularity), it comes from a quote from Cale Yarborough in regards to this infamous incident with Donnie Allison at that year's Daytona 500 that many still consider NASCAR's greatest finish:



Hope you all are ready to put up your dukes and fight to the finish this week! ;)
 
Ah...NASCAR. The endless sport that seemed to entertain my youth until a certain change happened and I just got bored with it. I once knew the majority of the racers out on the track, and now I barely know any.

I feel that GT's representation of NASCAR is probably one of the best in recent games that I've played. It's kinda difficult, yet it still remains fun.

I am deeply saddened, however, that my favorite driver and livery will probably never make it into Gran Turismo...

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I suppose I can keep on playing Forza for that one reason.
 
Just in case I wasn't clear, please make sure your Car of the Year nominations include cars we've tested from week 53 until now. DO NOT nominate cars we have not tested.

Individual awards will be for GTPlanet members. Do not nominate non-GTP members.
 
McClarenDesign
Just in case I wasn't clear, please make sure your Car of the Year nominations include cars we've tested from week 53 until now. DO NOT nominate cars we have not tested.

Individual awards will be for GTPlanet members. Do not nominate non-GTP members.
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Instructions unclear, did not mention we could not award ourselves. Award trophy is now lodged in rear orifice. Somebody please call for help.
 
Lewis_Hamilton_
Instructions unclear, did not mention we could not award ourselves. Award trophy is now lodged in rear orifice. Somebody please call for help.
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Pay attention to that trophy, you never know when a German may do a run-in and "borrow" the award underneath your nose... Or perhaps in the case, underneath your rear end.

And this "choice issue" is rather silly, it's a good thing that people like me pay attention... *slowly walks away whistling*
 
So we finally getting around to one of the biggest spectator sports in motorsports, heck of a note to end 2015 on. :cheers:

3 different years of "Stock" Cars ( and there's no quotation marks big enough to clarify how much of a contradiction that is. :lol:) and many different choices from each year.

It's the most amount of choice we'll probably ever get for a COTW pick and yet they all have 620PP so are choices won't have any obvious advantages or disadvantages.

So it looks like we're judging NASCARS in GT6 as a whole, not on a individual car.

High revving V8, 4 Speed gearbox, 2 wheel drive and a loose screw behind the wheel, we'll see who can hold up the best under pressure on race night. ;)

And remember folks...

"The Car Is Heavy" :sly:
 


I can't believe nobody has brought this up yet in regards to the MG: you want to talk about reliability issues, say hello to a British sports car from a company owned by the Chinese....

Thankfully, since Gran Turismo isn't "The Real Broken Oil Line Repair Simulator", we can focus on the car itself. Unfortunately, the car itself is pretty underwhelming. The front end styling looks like it belongs on a 10 year old midsize sedan, the engine doesn't put out much power, and the transmission doesn't feel sharp. But the real problem with the TF160 is that it's a mid-engine car that doesn't want to act like one. A normal cornering load makes the car understeer like some of the poorer of front drive cars we've had. Only the most aggressive steering and throttle inputs will make the car start to turn it like its specs say it ought to, but I found this handling characteristic made it difficult to anticipate what the car would do in corners.

I have to call the MG a Beater. If you want a sharp handling modern roadster, buy a Miata. If you want to own something like a classic British roadster, buy an old Lotus.

 
I don't need to do any tests in GT6 to come up with a final opinion about the NASCAR cars.

NASCAR cars were built to go around oval tracks like the Daytona, not race in technical circuits like La Sarthe or Suzuka. They are heavier than any other race car in the game (besides the Pajero Evo, but you can use weight reduction on it), and they handle like a tank when they are on tracks where they don't belong. Cars around this PP range demolish the NASCAR's on non-oval tracks, such as the F1 GTR or the R18 TDI. Even the top speed isn't that good, because from the top speed tunes that @CORRUPTEDDISC made, the NASCAR cars can top around 225 mph with his tune, compared with the aforementioned F1 GTR or R18, which top 250 and 265 respectively with his tune.

Overall, the NASCAR is a good contender for the beater of the year unless on ovals where it belongs. However, racing NASCAR online is hella fun.
 
I'd love to join in but it seems like my PS3 was KIA, shame I really love doing the time trials and doing my short reviews. Hopefully I can contribute once GTSport is out. :/
 
All Your Base
I don't need to do any tests in GT6 to come up with a final opinion about the NASCAR cars.

NASCAR cars were built to go around oval tracks like the Daytona, not race in technical circuits like La Sarthe or Suzuka. They are heavier than any other race car in the game (besides the Pajero Evo, but you can use weight reduction on it), and they handle like a tank when they are on tracks where they don't belong.
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Funny, I found the stock handling to be more neutral than Switzerland. From a Sauber fan, that says A LOT!

 
Not sure of the veracity within my opinion, but personally I believe that the NASCARS's handling is neutral... at mid-to-high speeds. Which makes sense after all; the last you want when travelling at speeds over 200 mph is an unstable wobbly car, especially when you are running inside a cauldron composed of 40-plus cars. Well, people like Joey Logano might beg to differ, but I digress. Once you are forced to drive through a low-speed corner/harpin, all the torque kicks in and the rear immediately steps out of line without a single word of warning. That's makes the act of driving a NASCAR so clumsy and frustrating, in my honest opinion. Well, that and the fact that each car's settings are solely focuses on oval tracks and need tweaking to work properly on other types of tracks...
 
Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and...

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Oh, boy...it's been one heck of a year. From Lotus engineered Isuzus to the last purpose-built MG, it's been one crazy ride. What better way to finish it off than taking a look at the most American thing ever made, a NASCAR stock car.

I've got to be honest, as I left Andalusia in the morning (feeling great after winning a 10 lap countryside race in the rain...in an Audi quattro rally car) to drive down to pick up this week's car, I didn't know what to expect. I'd been told it was V8 powered, rear-wheel drive, and it boasted over 500 horsepower. I immediately thought it was a Corvette of some sort. Maybe a ZR1, or even the new C7 Z06. I drove the RS6 down the dirt road, drooling with anticipation of hearing that LS engine crank for the first time. But when I rounded the corner, and the bright blue paint and 88 graphics hit my eyes, I was shocked.

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Everyone pretty much knows the gist of what NASCAR is. A few manufacturers from the USA (and one from Japan, weirdly) pay for their logos and light designs to be plastered on a stock car shell, which are then raced around an oval (or the occasional road course) for something like 200 laps. A lot of people say it's stupid and its monotonous, but honestly, it's really tough to do. When the cars have 700+ horses and you're experiencing Gs on a colossal level whilst driving on a near 90 degree angled banking, it really gets to you, and that's why I have nothing but respect for everyone in NASCAR. But, none more so, than Dale Earnhardt, and when he died in 2001, that's when I lost interest in the sport.

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Since then, new regulations and laws have changed the sport, and here I am, looking at one of the latest cars to come from it all...Dale Earnhardt, Jr's 2013 National Guard Chevrolet SS (at least it's one of the Earnhardt's cars), and I have to drive this around a track. Oh dear...I'm not excited for this...not one bit.

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First thing's first, I'm going to have to get another vehicle to tow this thing with.

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The first stop as always is my test track, and the first thing I can say off the top of my head about NASCARs is the fact that they are fast. Blindingly fast. I've driven a fair amount of American muscle cars in my day, and they're all sort of fast, but not like this. Everything becomes a blur going down the sides of the car as you run down a straightaway. It's almost addicting, but then you remember that there's a lot of curves on this track.

However, I wasn't going to become disheartened by this. The last time I drove a muscle car on this track, it was that Chevy Nova, and I found it surprisingly nimble for such an old girl. So, maybe...just maybe, this stock car will be the same way.

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But it's not, not by far. In fact, this is the few times where the stereotype of American cars only being able to travel in straight lines is true. It's SO understeer prone, and at the same time, it's oversteer prone. Let me try to explain this: If you attack a corner cautiously with lots of braking and intuition, the moment you step on the gas to power out of the corner, the back will break loose, along with all hell. Try to attack it with some medium amounts of speed all the way through, and it will refuse to turn. I don't know how these guys drive these things around a road course, because I found it sickening and irritating, full stop.

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If you aren't careful, this car will kill you. Good luck with keeping this on the track in any twisty bits...heaven forbid anyone tries to take this on the Nurburgring.

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After fussing with the car for a little bit longer, I did manage a lap time of 2:57.860, which is, slightly ironically, the fastest lap time I've ever mustered on this track. I should have attempted another clean lap, seeing as I went off a few times, but I didn't want to have anything to do with it. Then they told me I had to race one. **** it all.

Then they told me it was going to be on Daytona Superspeedway, alongside some actual NASCAR drivers.

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Astonishingly, this is where the NASCARs come into their own. Less braking, more speed and power. It's honestly fun trying to keep yourself pinned to those high bankings. And those NASCAR professionals are also fun to race with...they give you one hell of a challenge, and I love it. I wanted to do more.

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I may have come in like fourteenth place, but I still had a great time. And I'm honestly happy to find something that this car is useful at, though I shouldn't have been surprised. It's what these cars are built for, going around and around, over and over again. It's what they were designed to do, and it does it well. You did good, you big fat brute, you did good.

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The Verdict

If I would have stopped the review after my run on the course, I would have given this car an assured beater rating for all the trouble it gave me. But after assessing that it just doesn't belong on tight courses like that, and seeing it do such a great job at Daytona, I'm honestly torn. So, I think it's deserving of a neutral rating and a spot in the stockyard. If my job was just about ovals, it'd be a sleeper...but it's not. But if you like that sort of thing, then look no further than the purpose built oval carver that I've got right here.

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R.I.P. #3
 
One thing that I will say in favour of the NASCAR's of GT6 is that they make superb drift cars. They have oodles of torque at the blip of the throttle, a decent amount of weight to prevent the power from running away with itself, and plenty of rear overhang for counterbalance.

As circuit racers however, the weight and sheer size works against you on technical tracks and the fact that they are about as aerodynamic as a library hinders their competitiveness on higher speed circuits.

My overall verdict would be : Fairly obviously perfect for one make racing, and also drifting. But slow for their power and not competitive enough for their PP against GT class machines. You'd be better off turning one of your classic muscle cars into an old school NASCAR replica. Far more useable and unique.

[Edit : And for those who perhaps don't know, there are actually quite a few NASCAR's on GT6 which aren't in the dealerships, but are rather found in the 'Suggested Cars' section, from slightly older years.]
 
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