Beater or Sleeper? FH3 Edition! Thanks for coming.

[Obelisk]

>Dead thread
>NOT STOPPING.

Anyways, I apologize about the absence of loud engines and squealing tyres, but I think we all had a hectic holiday season.

No winners were chosen, so I'll have to make the car choice. This time, I think the choice of car will be one everyone can handle!

It's the...

1986 Audi #2 Sport Quattro S1!

This week's time trial-

Wait! The Quattro has a Preset!

This is my surprise gift to you guys here! If a car has a pre-set, we get to test that as well.

For the standard S1, we're going to run at Dry Reservoir Trail in the Outback, and for the S1 Hillclimb Preset, it's the Switchback Trail, also in the Outback!

Have fun!

 

[Thomas2012]

This car is a literal monster, the scream of that 5cyl is iconic and pure music to my ears. Being a rally icon though it will be widely known that this car will be fast but what it can achieve may or may not surprise.

 

[SLP950]

I will put in some times tonight, looking forward to this one!

 

[The Stig Farmer]

Very old-fashioned piece of kit here. Heavy steering and bad weight distribution, but it sounds good, and the aero lets you commit at speed.

 

[Obelisk]

Finally, I can write a review!

It's quite an old piece of kit, sure. But it fits perfectly in the Horizon world. Not sure why, but it just feels natural.

The car itself has an excellent noise and great driving dynamics on all sorts of terrain. It's let down by its seemingly rough acceleration and low overall speed, but as long as you keep it in its butter zone (short tracks) it's a sleeper. This thing is also an absolute beast on cross country and trail routes and will send SUVs running for their mothers. Overall an excellent car.

Dry Resevoir Trail: 2:21.275

Switchback Trail: 2:12.833

 

[Thomas2012]

I had to give this car a revisit and then complete a run in the S1.

 

[SLP950]

Okay, the gearing is a little off for my tastes, but it has really good grip. I didn't expect it to be as good as it is, so I'm calling it a sleeper. Managed some pretty good leaderboard times too!
Dry Reservoir Trail, stock: 2:18:172 (this time isn't on the leaderboards, I'd already set a faster time with an upgraded Alfa Romeo GTA)

Switchback Trail, upgrade preset: 2:06:894

 

[Obelisk]

Switchback Trail, upgrade preset: 2:06:894

By God, you've humiliated the rest of us!

And that concludes this week!

For our stock Time Trial, congrats to @SLP950!

Spoiler: Stock TT

SLP950: 2:18.172

Thomas2012: 2:18.500

The Stig Farmer: 2:19.239

RMedia Obelisk: 2:21.275

For the Preset Time Trial, congrats @SLP950!

Spoiler: Preset TT

SLP950: 2:06.894

Thomas2012: 2:11.272

RMedia Obelisk: 2:12.833

The Stig Farmer: 2:13.734

Next up, our car chooser winner(?).

For the first time, human-machine relationships have been incredible and cooperation unbelievable!

Congrats, @ImaRobot!

I didn't get through the full list, but I had to stop at the...

It's the 1988 Lamborghini Jalpa!

It's always been a personal favorite.

Might wanna double check your preferences there.


This week's TT will be on Coalcliff Drag, a Street Race!

Can you teach this old dog new tricks?

 

[SLP950]

Eww the Jalpa... it looks so 80's supercar, but it's kind of a pain to drive... I used it for a random Rival event and wasn't too impressed, but it may have been a bit out of it's element for the course I put it on. I'll give it a go here and see what happens!

 

[Thomas2012]

Somewhat interesting choice, never really looked into or heard of the Jalpa outside of Forza... Especially with FH3 being my first haha. I'll try and find some time to give this a shot was limited with the Audi's running and will be evem more with this. To keep a great thread going time will be found 👍

 

[ClydeYellow]

YASSSSSSS JALPA TIME. Count me in.

 

[Thomas2012]

I want to like the Jalpa I really do but I couldn't really find a reason to. Felt slow and unappealing to me. But hey it's a Lamborghini... I guess?

 

[ImaRobot]

I have to agree, the car was very uninspiring to drive. I don't think it was paired well with the track, as you where mostly just running full throttle, so it may have made things seem worse than it was. Would have loved to try it out on a more technical track.

I would rate this a beater. Heavy steering, some odd instances of oversteer, and just all around bland. I'd imagine I would have rated it differently had it been on a different track, but as it sits, it just wasn't fun.

@Thomas2012 do you do your hotlapping in an actual race? lol.

 

[Thomas2012]

I have to agree, the car was very uninspiring to drive. I don't think it was paired well with the track, as you where mostly just running full throttle, so it may have made things seem worse than it was. Would have loved to try it out on a more technical track.

I would rate this a beater. Heavy steering, some odd instances of oversteer, and just all around bland. I'd imagine I would have rated it differently had it been on a different track, but as it sits, it just wasn't fun.

View attachment 619671

@Thomas2012 do you do your hotlapping in an actual race? lol.

Wait... You can do rivals for this event? What... Lol I always do my laps in rivals but I went to the Street race event hoping for the option but it never came up so I thought for some reason I can't...

 

[ImaRobot]

Wait... You can do rivals for this event? What... Lol I always do my laps in rivals but I went to the Street race event hoping for the option but it never came up so I thought for some reason I can't...

It's actually in a separate tab from the usual events. When you go to the Rivals tab while paused, you select street race instead. Its upper right to the original rivals events.

 

[Thomas2012]

It's actually in a separate tab from the usual events. When you go to the Rivals tab while paused, you select street race instead.

*Facepalm* Ah I should of known... Thanks for that 👍

 

[ImaRobot]

*Facepalm* Ah I should of known... Thanks for that 👍

I'd imagine you should be able to get some time shaved off of it, considering there isn't any moving obstacles, besides traffic cars.

 

[Thomas2012]

I'd imagine you should be able to get some time shaved off of it, considering there isn't any moving obstacles, besides traffic cars.

Possibly, the drivatars weren't too bad (May of had them set to new player difficulty compared to the usual unbeatable lol) As long as I start in the same position as the Rivals version it should be alright, I'll try check it out tomorrow

 

[Obelisk]

The track choice I'll take fault for. I failed to realize that the Jalpa isn't quite as insane as something like the Countach. It is still a Lamborghini, though.

I'm going to start my review by saying that the Jalpa is a sad case of Overshadowed By Awesome. Its bigger brother, the Countach, stole all of the fame and attention. I didn't even know the Jalpa existed until it showed up in Horizon 2, it's that overshadowed.

On the rivals event, it actually was kinda pleasant to drive. Well behaved but able to get out of hand if treated poorly. I will admit, it's a bit sluggish...But hey, it's from 1988!

I ended up at a 3:24.771, in spite of some unwanted Initial D action at a few turns.

Great car for what it is, and has quite a bit of potential for A or S1 class. Its Overshadowed status also lends to its final rating of Sleeper.

 

[ImaRobot]

I haven't done one up in Fh3, but in FM6 it was a completely different beast when modified. It was one of my favorite cars when playing online. Modified I would definitely label it as sleeper, but in stock trim I'm undecided, partially from the track we're using right now.

 

[Obelisk]

I haven't done one up in Fh3, but in FM6 it was a completely different beast when modified. It was one of my favorite cars when playing online. Modified I would definitely label it as sleeper, but in stock trim I'm undecided, partially from the track we're using right now.

Feel free to try some other tracks with it.

 

[Populuxe]

I've always like the Jalpa, but that's probably due to my unusual taste in cars. I enjoy driving it. I've done the race, but I'm going to try it again in rivals mode and see if I can improve my time.

 

[SLP950]

Okay every body, settle in as I have a *full review* of THE JALPA.

(In my best Jeremy Clarkson voice)
BOLD. BREATHTAKING. POWERFUL.

These are words typically used to describe the offerings from Italian car maker Lamborghini. Unfortunately, they don't fit when describing the Jalpa. From certain angles, it screams 1980's auto styling.

The wheels for example, are dated but still quite attractive.

It's side profile resembles a "sporty" door stop.

Indeed, it has some muscular, masculine lines.

But there is one issue when describing the Jalpa's looks that can't be ignored.

THE HEADLIGHTS. Pop ups are quite common in this era of design and some models are made more endearing by their inclusion, but in the case of the Jalpa, they look like a frog-eyed afterthought.

In fact, they're so massive they can obscure AN ENTIRE HOT AIR BALLOON.

Now, on to the interior, accessible via a classy, beautiful square door handle:

Typical '80's fare here. Simple gauges, and basic, boxy cues, plus that classic gated Lamborghini shifter.

There isn't much room for storage in the trunk, with the battery and Air Con fan taking up much of the space.

The V8 engine is mounted transversely behind the driver, giving the Countach's brother classic mid engine handling characteristics, that is, requiring the brave pilot to stab the brakes, transferring weight to the front end so the tires can grip and avoid understeer, then mashing the gas to transfer the weight back to the rear so the tires can grip and avoid oversteer. It takes a bit of practice but the Jalpa can be made to take a corner. Speaking of corners, they're where it's most entertaining to drive, as the engine in the Jalpa fails to produce enough power to truly make the straightaways of Coalcliff drags, where I tested the Jalpa, engaging and enjoyable.

So all in all, what can be said? '80's styling, massive pop ups, soft suspension, not a lot of power. It can be hustled but it just isn't fun to do so. A beater in my book.

The lap: Utilizing the afore-mentioned gated shifter and the manual transmissions decent gearing nets the quickest acceleration, provided you wind the V8 up to redline. This course is fairly straight, with only a few corners really giving the tires and suspension a workout. If you brake early, then turn in, then throttle out before the rear starts to slide too much, all while maintaining as smooth a line as possible, the result is 3:21:335.

 

[ClydeYellow]

Sooo... The Jalpa. Say what you want about Countach-es and Testarossas, the Jalpa is the 80s: picking up where the 70s had left (with the Silhouette), adding more flash to the bodywork, and leaving the substance underneath pretty much untouched. And I love it.
Its a car so unmistakeably representative of an era - marrying immortal stylistic cues with cheap detailing and antiquated engineering choices - that it couldn't be more 80s if it came with a free David Hasselhoff.

And it goes exactly as you'd expect - its handling is not the most precise, and there is more than a hint of understeer, but ultimately the car respons well to the driver's inputs. It's a great car for cruising around and feeling like a Cuban drug kingpin, there's no doubt about that. However, as the laptimes show, 70s brakes, 70s suspension and 70s engine make it a somewhat uncompetitive package...



...but wait, what's this?

Meet my solution to the Jalpa's underlying power - a Jalpa in which a LS crate engine, mated with a Tremec T56 Magnum transmission, was shoehorned. Modern perforated rotors promise immediate stoppage from behind a set of lightweight Fifteen52 3-pc wheels; the chassis's been stiffened, the soft suspensions replaced with a set of racing coilovers, and there's way more rubber to bring that extra power to the pavement.



Does it go fast? Yes. Does it sound awesome? Hell yeah! Does it look like if it were a person, it could murder your extended family? Well, as long as the headlights stay down...

So, when all is said and done, what's the verdict?

For me, the Jalpa in stock form is a beater. Oh, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love it, perhaps exactly because of its scruffy underdog nature. However, it's a very good platform that begs to be built into an A- or S-class monster. And with a better engine inside, it instantly becomes true sleeper material...

 

[Obelisk]

At least this isn't Jalpanik. Amirite?

Starting to see a nice turn-out again, sweet!

Anyways, obligatory stuff:

Time Trial:
Congrats, @SLP950!

Spoiler: Lap times

SLP950: 3:21.335

RMedia Obelisk: 3:24.771

ImaRobot: 3:25.672

ClydeYellow: 3:25.906

Looks like @SLP950 has become the @Vic Reign93 of the Forza BOS thread.

Now for our winner this week!

For the first time, we've made contact with alien life forms!

Congrats, @SLP950!

So many to choose from... How about we test a barge?

How about no? Last time I tested a barge, I had to use an elephant, Cheez-its and a bench to free my car.

Maybe something like the...

Photo couresty of IGCD.com!
It's the 1970 AMC Rebel "The Machine"!

This week's time trial will be the Tugun Bypass Sprint in Surfer's Paradise!

Show them what this American anarchist can do!

 

[Vic Reign93]

Looks like @SLP950 has become the @Vic Reign93 of the Forza BOS thread.

*Glass smashes*

Well It looks like i'm taking a chopper back to the mainland and teaming up with a Rebel to bring a little 'Anarchy From The UK' to the roads of Australia.

 

[Populuxe]

I like this circuit. Challenging but rewarding, too. Nice balance of high speed and slow speed sections. I'm a big AMC fanboy, so the Rebel is a treat for me. Big, floaty barge of a car, exactly the sort of cars I grew up in and learned to drive in. Even so, it's a lot of fun and surprisingly well-behaved, if you take it's heft into consideration before tossing it into a corner. Sleeper, definitely.

 

[Obelisk]

I like this circuit. Challenging but rewarding, too. Nice balance of high speed and slow speed sections. I'm a big AMC fanboy, so the Rebel is a treat for me. Big, floaty barge of a car, exactly the sort of cars I grew up in and learned to drive in. Even so, it's a lot of fun and surprisingly well-behaved, if you take it's heft into consideration before tossing it into a corner. Sleeper, definitely.

Do you think you could try to run a clean time? Would help me rank it a bit more nicely.

 

[Populuxe]

Do you think you could try to run a clean time? Would help me rank it a bit more nicely.

I ran a 3:16.600 that was clean.

 

[Obelisk]

I ran a 3:16.600 that was clean.

I'll just count the 3:15 you posted.