Beater or Sleeper? GT6 Car of the Week Thread

Managed 0.58.125 on Brands Hatch Indy circuit, stock car with an oil change and all aids off except abs 1.
Cool car to drift. ah!
But the gear change drops so much :ouch:
 
Niku Driver HC
Ah, the GNX, "Darth Vader's car". I do remember comparing it to the Delorean DMC-12 a while ago on GT5, for one of my own reviews. For a '80's muscle car, it's a impressive ride, but the chassis (much like the old days of the muscle car) can really use some mods before you throw it at the Nurb', if you're crazy like that... Looks menacing, I wouldn't like having one of these in my rearview mirror, it would scare the bejaysus out of me.
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^^This would've been helpful a few hours ago...^^

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I like to have one in my garage in some kind of garish metallic gold. :lol:

You can make a reasonable and fun Nordschleife setup at 450pp, it suffers top end trying to drag the weight and boxy shape up the hills. Better at 500pp or more.
 
Life in the fast lane - with Rex Whips

"I had driven all day and all night long, down roads I have never driven, through places I had never been and crossed borders I never thought I would cross. My pursuers kept appearing in my rear-view every now and then, but it had been a good number of hours since I had last seen them - before I had reached the port and jumped on the next ferry to wherever. They had been driving a very sinister looking black car, something that screamed 'gangster' in a not-at-all-subtle manner, a car that was supposed to look threatening. It was what made me take one look and flee from it - whoever that car belonged to wanted to make themselves look like a threat and it was working. I had employed every bit of my 'sports driving' expertise to keep the barge-like Volvo Estate ahead of them in what was clearly a much faster car, staying away from straight roads and staying on the twistiest lanes I could find. It seemed that despite the squat, muscular profile of my persuers car, it was (if anything) more unsettled by cornering than the big Swede.

0650031-Volvo-240-Estate-240-GL-2.3-Estate-1986.jpg


Anyhow, On this giant cargo-ferry, parked amidst a sea of cars and vans, I felt I finally had enough cover to relax for a while, so got out of the car and went to find the toilets to freshen up a little. The ferry was large and well appointed, with a bar and a resturaunt, so I decided to go and get something to eat. The journey was to take only a short time and was to land me in France where I intended to lie low for a few days while I work out who these people were that were after me and what it was they wanted. I settled at a table by a porthole window and watched the stormy seas as I ate and tried to figure out what was going on. Aside from possibly jealousy of me being the English-speaking worlds premier local cable TV and specialist motoring periodical car reviewer, there wasn't anything I could see as a motive. I wasn't rich - I have been very Taoist in my rejection of wealth (a concept that just clicked with me spiritually with me after a brief conversation with a monk at a bus stop many years ago) so that wasn't it, I didn't have any state secrets and had no particular connections to any powerful individuals.

Then it occurred to me.

To those huge and powerful motor manufacturing corporations, I was a dangerous man. One negative word from me could lead to a huge groundswell of public opinion against a manufacturer, leading to the loss of hundreds of millions of pounds, dollars, yen or whatever. Probably. My scathing review of the towing ability of the Suzuki Jimny in the Towing & Towers Fortnightly, a motoring magazine I occasionally review for, saw a dramatic drop in sales in the East Cheshire and Derbyshire area in 1998 of nearly 2%. Suddenly, the motivation for someone to want me silenced was as plain as day. I let the revalation sink in as I finished off my delux egg and cress sandwich. This was big. I needed a plan.

images


When I got back down to the vehicle deck, I spotted a man standing by the biege Volvo I had driven there in. I ducked behind another car before he could see me, and started to weave between the car's, crouching to try and get a better view. Beside the man who I could now see was a 'lookout', I could see a couple of feet sticking out from under the Volvo. They were doing something to the car - cutting the brakelines, putting a bomb or a tracker on it or something. My heart began pounding in my chest, I couldn't get back in that big beige estate again, that much was obvious and whoever these to people were, they were after me and I had to do something about it. My eyes scanned my surroundings looking for a weapon or something I could use to stop these guys in their tracks. By the ramp at the front I spotted a fire extinguisher and decidded that would have to do so I moved off to get it. There was also a workmans tool kit on the flatbed of a pickup truck, so i helped myself to a screwdriver. I also spotted, parked out of eyeline from the Volvo behind a van, the car my pursuers had been driving - a Buick GNX - sat unlocked with the keys still in the ignition. I now had my plan. Seeing the port coming into view, I knew time was short and it was now or never.

98952617.dW082LMW.NZJan081860.jpg


I sneaked between the cars until I got to the Volvo, being careful to arrive on the other side of the car to the lookout. I then quickly stabbed the screwdriver into the tyres on my side, dropping the car onto the person below, trapping them. The squashed pair of feet let out a muffled scream, which the lookout then bent down to check out what had happened, giving me an opportunity to run around to his side of the car. As the lookout realised I was next to him, I dropped the fire extinguisher onto his head and he quickly went quiet. I then stabbed the remaining tyres, firmly pinning his partner to the floor under the massive bulk of the 240GLT.

smoke_jr.jpg


When the Ferry arrived, the Buick was fortunately one of the first to be let off, giving me a headstart to get away before anyone noticed what happened further behind me on the deck. I was pleased to find the GNX had a proper engine and a decent amount of power, which it released in a steady low-piched growl and I used it to propel me from the ferry port at top speed. The releaf coursed through me and I started to feel the tension escape my shoulders, until at a roundabout outside the port, I dicovered why this black beast of a car couldn't keep pace with a flabby estate around bends and understeered straight over it. The car, it turned out was fine in a straight line, but show it a bend and it wallowed into its soggy suspension, cocked a wheel and understeered horribly. It also bounced very uncomfortably with every simgle bump and cresting hills was both painful and terrifying. With this in mind, I decided to head north to Holland.

The Buick for me had gone from my predator to my saviour and no matter how bad it's road manners, I loved it for keeping me alive almost as much as it scared me for nearly killing me at every corner or roundabout we arrived at.

Still, it had kept me alive.

For now."
 
Niku Driver HC
I don't want to be the jerk and say "I told ya...", but... I told ya. :dopey: There's a reason why they call these "Muscle cars", the brain comes as a optional extra, so don't forget to ask Buick for a refund. Oh, and tell them to pay the hospital bill too.
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Funny thing is that my GNX which is a 550pp power cruiser (power cruiser been the perfect way to sum it up. Stocks Trans, exhaust and suspension but everything else maxed.) ran round the ring in a online race and won.

This was against quite a few other 550pp racers including a F430 so if anyone built up a GNX specifically to race at 550pp it might be a sleeper in more ways than one. ;)
 
1987 Buick GNX​

1-Syracuse - Night.jpg

Lookin' good

The stock ride came in at 276hp/427pp, my mild tune brought that up to a respectable 402hp/477pp. Again, I found her very well behaved, not nearly as tail happy as the late 60,s - early 70's muscle cars I grew up with. With another 20 years development on those cars I suppose that is to be expected. The stock 4-banger had very long, well spaced gearing...the tuned versions 5-speed would take care of that. Brakes were nothing to write home about, but again, much better than the older muscle cars...they got the job done. Body roll was minimal side to side, fore and aft she would nose dive heavily under braking, but maintained control. No need to upgrade suspension or brakes on the tune. So, how did she do on the track?
Apricot Hill Raceway.jpg

Pass for the lead at Apricot Hill, two wheels on track is good...right?

For her first taste on track I chose the National-A, National Championship for cars with 500pp or less on SH tires. I selected the 3 lap event at Apricot Hill.
Stock: P2 @ -0.801 / total 5:17.428 / best 1:44.471
Tuned: P1 @ +1.018 / total 4:56.096 / best 1:37.xxx

That was fun and easy, too easy and the Buick was wanting more. So we took a look at the IB-Fighting muscle series for cars with 600pp or less. I went with the 3 lapper at Spa Francorchamps. The stock ride would be woefully under-powered by about 125pp, but the tuned version just may have a shot. As expected, even though the stock car got trounced by over 35 seconds, she did turn in a respectable P4, the lead group consisting of a Viper-ACR, Vette-ZR1 and a Viper SRT. The tuner turned into a real barn burner, luck of the draw gave me a tamer line-up: Viper SRT, Vette Z06 and a Shelby Mustang...no ACR or ZR1.


Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.jpg

First pass for the lead, I take out the Viper at Fagnes, he gets me back at Campus...
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps_1.jpg

Second pass for the lead entering Stavelot...

Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps_2.jpg

With the Viper and Shelby side by side making a run into Blanchimont I go low to block the Viper and the Shelby takes the lead on the outside...
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps_3.jpg

Knowing the Shelby will go hard on the brakes and inside entering the chicane I let the Buick roll fast and outside, stab the throttle in the short chute and stand on the brakes exiting the chicane, this puts me along side the Mustang and on the inside for the final pass for the lead.

stock: P4 @ -35.70 / total 9:16.470 / best 3:03.305
tuned: P1 @ +.496 / total 8:46.316 / best 2:53.911
Goodwood Hillclimb.jpg

The tuned ride was a handful at Goodwood.

Goodwood Hillclimb TT, best of five runs:
stock: 0:59.579
tuned: 0:55.757

That was a blast, I don't think this will be the last of my on track antics with the Buick. Final verdict:
stock: sleeper
tuned: wolf in sheeps clothing 👍
 
@MustangManiac you painted the wheels red? Have you gone mad??!?!?!?


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8:33.076 bone stock... Buick also showed me where the bills go, but we seem to disagree about the fit....
 
We'll be adding an extra race at the end of our usual #GranTurismoTuesday online meetings, the new Toyota FT-1 Concept. Please ensure you have the update and the car before you join the room.

Thank you.
 
that is a fun little car
i got a 7:15 on the ring and it wasnt very clean at all
i would bet that a good lap would be 6:30-6:45 with a good driver

and btw i painted my gnx Lime Green :sly::D
 
I'll be on tonight as soon as I can. I get home from work about a half hour after the online meeting starts, and last week it was about another half-hour before a spot opened up in the room and I could join up.
 
I tried the GNX fully tuned on SH tires earlier in the day and thought it handled horribly, but it does have a monstrous amount of torque.

Driving it 100% bone stock tonight though, it exceeded my expectations. I thought it handled quite nicely, understeer and oversteer was within a nice range, and for an 80's muscle car, made use of the CS tires quite well. It's definitely better in GT6 when it's stock compared to how it was in GT5 in my opinion, though I certainly won't be using it in any competitive high PP races, I could not get it to handle any better at all, which when it's tunable up to 688hp, is a big problem.

It was a lot of fun to drive completely untuned however, and it's a car I wouldn't mind going back to. It's pretty good at drifting too.
 
@un4givn85 the paint on my GNX is Black Cherry Metallic which I got from a Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 '70.👍👍

While I had done some suspension tuning on my GNX I was a bit surprised by how much grip it had on Comfort Soft tires at the stock weight and power.

Would like to suggest that in future sessions the first 2 or 3 races be only open to that week's CotW and NOS prohibited.
Having other cars that are getting driven somewhat recklessly on track is a bit annoying at least for me.:drool:

Anyways thanks @McClarenDesign for hosting the session and everyone else for letting Ol'Harvey Wallbanger join the crowd.:cheers:
 





Didn't get Daytona, and I don't know why. I saved the replay... More vids are still uploading, including A Flock of Regals!
 
If you believe that Buick has always been merely the transport of Geriatric Society, then you really don't know Buick. (Sadly, I could not obtain the funding for either Peyton Manning or Shaquille O'Neal to deliver that line...)

From the shapely designs of Harley Earl in the post-war era, to the rip-roaring GSX of the muscle-car days, the Three Shields brand has its share of unique, stylish, and fast cars. And of course, there's the Regal Grand National. What makes the car special is not just the car itself, but the era it lived in. In a time when Vanilla Ice was rapping about his "5.0" V-8 that could barely reach 200 HP, the turbocharged V-6 of the GNX made nearly 300. It could not only outrun the Corvette in its day, but unlike most 80s cars, it could go toe-to-toe with its muscle car ancestors on the dragstrip. At a time when GM was overlorded by bean counters who preached of cost-cutting and mass appeal, the Grand National demanded a premium and was dedicated to the enthusiast...which perhaps explains why such a brilliant car had a sadly short production life.

I'll admit, I've always liked this car for the reasons I stated. I've probably bought it in every Gran Turismo since it first appeared. It was even my first car in GT4, thanks to the bonus credits from playing GT3. Which is why I wanted to spend some extra time with it this week before I wrote my review.

I was so enthused by buying this car for GT6 that I immediately took it out to the 400 PP race at Grand Valley East. Upon driving it, I was quickly reminded of the things I loved about this car. It's profile is menacing and stunning, looming large in opposing rear views in its black paint. Its V-6 is not only devoid of turbo whine, but delivers a throaty rumble that will put some V-8s to shame. That said, it also quickly reminded me that this is not the best handling car in the world. My opponents behind me might have thought I was showboating with all the smoke coming out of my rear wheels in the corners, but none of this oversteer and wheelspin was intentional. I won the race, but definitely won ugly.

Deciding that the Comfort Soft tires was the cause of the handling maladies, I decided to swap them out for Sports Hards before taking my usual dozen or so laps at Ascari. And it was a definite improvement. The stickier rubber was a definite help in getting this beast of a car through the tight corners of the circuit in a best time of 2:39:017.​


Straightening some of these turns does tend to help, as well.


There's still a bit of body roll to watch out for.
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So in I went for racing night on Tuesday....and promptly found that the Comfort Softs would have to go back on...and that I'd be on the pole for my first race of the night.​


That's me leading the pack into the first corner at Laguna....I would not maintain this lead past the first corner.
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After a couple of races floundering around with the stock tires, I finally broke down and replaced the floaty suspension with a much firmer racing one. And this was certainly a big improvement as well. Though I was again a backmarker on the last race, I had a lot more confidence flinging the heavy Buick through tight corners.

So then, logic would dictate that the combination of the new suspension and Sports Hard tires would make an extremely effective antidote to this car's handling ills. And with that taken care of, it's hard to find another shortcoming for this car. I can definitely see souping this up and surprising some drivers in their Skylines or M3's with this.

I still like this car a lot. Which is why it's not only a Sleeper, but one of my favorite cars in Gran Turismo.


Steve McQueen in "Le Mans"-wannabe tested and approved.
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And while the old Grand National may have had a short life in its old form, it's heartening news indeed that the "New GM" will soon be reviving this unique nameplate. And that's something even non-fans of Peyton and Shaq can like.
 
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What does the "sleeper" refer to? The GNX is a supremely good car, that's why they're worth so much money when they come up for auction. Also, it's always been a very good car in all the games it's appeared in. Mine in GT6 seems as good as ever - have they altered something on it?
 
TenEightyOne
What does the "sleeper" refer to? The GNX is a supremely good car, that's why they're worth so much money when they come up for auction. Also, it's always been a very good car in all the games it's appeared in. Mine in GT6 seems as good as ever - have they altered something on it?
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Ah, but they look like any other Regal. It's up to you to make the call.

Here's another vid from #GranTurismoTuesday (it's a thing)... chase footage!

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McClarenDesign
Ah, but they look like any other Regal. It's up to you to make the call.
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A poor choice according to that definition, I've only seen on GNX in real life but it didn't look very standard or sound it. I think a sleeper is normally meant to be a car whose performance astonishes despite all else. The famous Datsun 510 in Forza 3 might be a good example, the car was tunable to be an NASA-class drag racer as I recall.

The GNX is badged as a GNX, is a world famously sought-after individually-numbered muscle car and, if anything, I've read that people are disappointed with its comparative performance in previous GTs rather than considering it a sleeper.

I'll wait for you to blow me away with the 2CV edition :D
 
Driving the GNX makes me wish they had the 1989 Indy 500 Turbo Trans Am in the game, but I am a little biased.

I remember my first ever race at the local drag strip I wound up against a GNX. It ran the 1/4 mile in the lows 11s!
 
2 final vids from Tuesday. The first is on-board footage of an excellent chase. This is how you keep a faster car behind you.

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The final video featuring A FLOCK OF REGALS!

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