Car of The Month: April! - Build your own Racing Modification/Touring Car!

shaunm80
Nissan Fairlady Z (Z34) '08 (550PP RH)

deep-forest-raceway_1-jpg.498426
Click to expand...
Test: Trial Mountain 5 Lap shakedown.

Laptimes - DS3 (SS=2, X &[ ], stick for steering)
TC=1- 1:27.668
TC=off- 1:28.300

Also tested on G27.
Settings used SS=6, FFB torque=6, FFB sensetivity =10
G27 being used purely for the purpose of driving and getting use to it, so there will be no lap times for the wheel. I'm about 2 seconds off pace on average at the moment so there's not much point in using them. Just impressions of the driving performance will be made from this point of view.



Impressions: What can I say, other than if this was a blind test, I could tell you who tuned it ;) This is another fine example of the work done by Shaun over at Exeter GT. Solid, safe and not too shabby on the old lap times either from my experiences with this car-track combo. As you can see I tried it with and without Traction Control. Oh, come on you knew I would ;)
But there will be no talking about the brakes this time, other than to say that they are nicely balanced. And that for personal use I'll be running a little higher rear bias in the future :D. But the important fact is they do work really well as is 👍

As for the rest, There isn't really all that much to complain about either 👍. The transmission works really well, if anything I think a slightly shorter final gear would have been advantageous, but again that's a personal taste thing ;) And I can't comment on them too much, It's not one of my strong points :guilty:. The car really gets out the corners with some good pull and it's pretty easy to maintain good throttle control in longer mid-speed corners. The LSD works well with it too. All in all, a pretty sweet driveline set-up :)👍

The decision to shift the weight distribution a little rearwards was nice 👍 and for flatter tracks it's going to work wonders, but I think the car's performance suffered a little round here for it due to the undulations. There was just a little uncertainty from the front end over the crests I felt when in full-on attack mode :mischievous:, espescially in the adverse cambered turn 2 and the crest towards the end of the lap (Just before stopping to wave at Nessie :lol:) The suspension was pretty good too, I found the balance pretty nice but maybe just a little too stiff at times for this track. A couple of minor tweaks is all that'd be needed to remedy the lightness over the crests and make this a monster round here (IMO at least). I'm guessing when I take it to GVS it'll be just right :)

The only advice I feel I can give that can be of any benefit is. Keep tunes like this coming. This was quite possibly the most fun I've had in one of your cars yet:)👍.
From a personal perspective, I'd like to say. I don't know how you approch tuning for TC-0 FITT challenges, but if you tune it with TC-0 only, I think you might be doing yourself a dis-service :odd:. Every time I drive a car of yours tuned with TC-1, I enjoy it far more with TC off. The evidence above probably suggests to the casual observer that you'd not fare as well in lap times, but it's important to note that I ran the TC-0 laps first and only did 5 laps a piece (and wasted a couple of them :guilty:). If I went back I reckon I could go just as quick if not quicker with TC off, given a longer run (my normal tests are usually quite a bit longer than 5 laps :lol:). There was quite a bit of time left in the first sector for sure and a little later on too. But for me this is pretty darn close to a 10 DC without TC on (Low to mid 9s if it was supposed to be track specific for Trial Mountain :P) The Z34 isn't renowned for being a particularly "fast" car in it's PP range, so it may not set the leaderboards alight, but it's a nice car to drive and this tune makes it much better :bowdown:

I'd recommend this one to anyone who likes this car despite it's drawbacks (being somewhat on the heavy side :sly:). The tune is superb and can be relied on by drivers of all skill levels....and your replays will look good too :D:tup:


:cheers::gtpflag:
 
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Thorin Cain
Test: Trial Mountain 5 Lap shakedown.

Laptimes - DS3 (SS=2, X &[ ], stick for steering)
TC=1- 1:27.668
TC=off- 1:28.300

Also tested on G27.
Settings used SS=6, FFB torque=6, FFB sensetivity =10
G27 being used purely for the purpose of driving and getting use to it, so there will be no lap times for the wheel. I'm about 2 seconds off pace on average at the moment so there's not much point in using them. Just impressions of the driving performance will be made from this point of view.



Impressions: What can I say, other than if this was a blind test, I could tell you who tuned it ;) This is another fine example of the work done by Shaun over at Exeter GT. Solid, safe and not too shabby on the old lap times either from my experiences with this car-track combo. As you can see I tried it with and without Traction Control. Oh, come on you knew I would ;)
But there will be no talking about the brakes this time, other than to say that they are nicely balanced. And that for personal use I'll be running a little higher rear bias in the future :D. But the important fact is they do work really well as is 👍

As for the rest, There isn't really all that much to complain about either 👍. The transmission works really well, if anything I think a slightly shorter final gear would have been advantageous, but again that's a personal taste thing ;) And I can't comment on them too much, It's not one of my strong points :guilty:. The car really gets out the corners with some good pull and it's pretty easy to maintain good throttle control in longer mid-speed corners. The LSD works well with it too. All in all, a pretty sweet driveline set-up :)👍

The decision to shift the weight distribution a little rearwards was nice 👍 and for flatter tracks it's going to work wonders, but I think the car's performance suffered a little round here for it due to the undulations. There was just a little uncertainty from the front end over the crests I felt when in full-on attack mode :mischeveious:, espescially in the adverse cambered turn 2 and the crest towards the end of the lap (Just before stopping to wave at Nessie :lol:) The suspension was pretty good too, I found the balance pretty nice but maybe just a little too stiff at times for this track. A couple of minor tweaks is all that'd be needed to remedy the lightness over the crests and make this a monster round here (IMO at least). I'm guessing when I take it to GVS it'll be just right :)

The only advice I feel I can give that can be of any benefit is. Keep tunes like this coming. This was quite possibly the most fun I've had in one of your cars yet:)👍.
From a personal perspective, I'd like to say. I don't know how you approch tuning for TC-0 FITT challenges, but if you tune it with TC-0 only, I think you might be doing yourself a dis-service :odd:. Every time I drive a car of yours tuned with TC-1, I enjoy it far more with TC off. The evidence above probably suggests to the casual observer that you'd not fare as well in lap times, but it's important to note that I ran the TC-0 laps first and only did 5 laps a piece (and wasted a couple of them :guilty:). If I went back I reckon I could go just as quick if not quicker with TC off, given a longer run (my normal tests are usually quite a bit longer than 5 laps :lol:). There was quite a bit of time left in the first sector for sure and a little later on too. But for me this is pretty darn close to a 10 DC without TC on (Low to mid 9s if it was supposed to be track specific for Trial Mountain :P) The Z34 isn't renowned for being a particularly "fast" car in it's PP range, so it may not set the leaderboards alight, but it's a nice car to drive and this tune makes it much better :bowdown:

I'd recommend this one to anyone who likes this car despite it's drawbacks (being somewhat on the heavy side :sly:). The tune is superb and can be relied on by drivers of all skill levels....and your replays will look good too :D:tup:


:cheers::gtpflag:
Click to expand...
Thank you very much. I love it when I get long reviews like that. I am pleased to see that you enjoyed my tune and you are right, this isn't the fastest car in its PP class but it feels like it should be. Shed a couple of hundred kilos more from this car and it would be a lot faster but that isn't doable in PD land :(

For FITT, I always tune with TCS 0 and it takes me twice and long to get a tune I am happy with, I may try this technique of tuning with TCS 1 and then just removing the TCS completely if the different isn't that discernible. Awesome job testing and once again, my tuning style appears to be gaining a reputation if you can tell it by the style alone. I will take this as a compliment as intended and be happy in the knowledge that I have made some impression on GTPlanet over the last couple of years.

Ill keep working on cars for sure and hopefully (if you have time), see what you think of one of my other tunes.

Cheers TC :cheers:
 
shaunm80
Thank you very much. I love it when I get long reviews like that. I am pleased to see that you enjoyed my tune and you are right, this isn't the fastest car in its PP class but it feels like it should be. Shed a couple of hundred kilos more from this car and it would be a lot faster but that isn't doable in PD land :(

For FITT, I always tune with TCS 0 and it takes me twice and long to get a tune I am happy with, I may try this technique of tuning with TCS 1 and then just removing the TCS completely if the different isn't that discernible. Awesome job testing and once again, my tuning style appears to be gaining a reputation if you can tell it by the style alone. I will take this as a compliment as intended and be happy in the knowledge that I have made some impression on GTPlanet over the last couple of years.

Ill keep working on cars for sure and hopefully (if you have time), see what you think of one of my other tunes.

Cheers TC :cheers:
Click to expand...
My pleasure :cheers: I always prefer to giving long reviews like that (and sometimes even longer :crazy:) it gets the juices flowing better :D. Why use 10 words when you can use 1000!? :lol:

The car itself does feel like it should be quicker, but as far as good stable platforms to work with it's right up there. I'm quite partial to taking them round the Nurb, Sierra and Mount Panorama, even though I know I'm going to be trailing all those NSX-Rs and Miuras (BTW, if I find out it's your garage all those lovely Lambos with big silly wings everyone uses on-line are coming from, we're going to be having words :yuck: :lol:). Without the flat floor it actually does not too bad on some of the higher speed tracks like Monza and Fuji, but it's never going to be a world beater unfortunately.
 
Thorin Cain
My pleasure :cheers: I always prefer to giving long reviews like that (and sometimes even longer :crazy:) it gets the juices flowing better :D. Why use 10 words when you can use 1000!? :lol:

The car itself does feel like it should be quicker, but as far as good stable platforms to work with it's right up there. I'm quite partial to taking them round the Nurb, Sierra and Mount Panorama, even though I know I'm going to be trailing all those NSX-Rs and Miuras (BTW, if I find out it's your garage all those lovely Lambos with big silly wings everyone uses on-line are coming from, we're going to be having words :yuck: :lol:). Without the flat floor it actually does not too bad on some of the higher speed tracks like Monza and Fuji, but it's never going to be a world beater unfortunately.
Click to expand...
A lambo with a big wing.. it doesn't ring a bell with me... I am working on an pretty fast Lexus ISF right now. It should be insane when I am done with it. Enjoy the online races and I wouldn't advise this particular car going online.. it isn't that quick as you pointed out but some of the other tunes might be plenty quick enough for online races.
 
A tad early yes, but the next list of cars for the month of February have been added. And I started listing some of the tunes I will be posting soon and the ones I already have done.

If you know of any that I may have missed, please let me know. I spent millions of credits buying and checking cars but may have missed a few. No one has mentioned finding any from Asia, but maybe you know of one from Europe.
 
Bowtie-muscle
A tad early yes, but the next list of cars for the month of February have been added. And I started listing some of the tunes I will be posting soon and the ones I already have done.

If you know of any that I may have missed, please let me know. I spent millions of credits buying and checking cars but may have missed a few. No one has mentioned finding any from Asia, but maybe you know of one from Europe.
Click to expand...
I'll let you know if I find any 👍

I should have another couple of reviews coming for this one still. Built a pair of Scions earlier. You guys know the wheel is on the wrong side, right!? :lol: Dont worry I wont hold it against you :) they work more or less the same on the other side two ;) :P. And I'm still waiting for 575pp NSX to appear so I can try and knock R2D2's name off the top of those leaderboards :mischievous: (Surprise surprise he's kicking my butt in mine :( :lol:)

:cheers:
 
I have to go back through my garage and make a few changes to some cars which I will do this week.

For now, here is one of the cars that fits CoTM in its original form. Enjoy. :)

Maserati GranTurismo S '08 (Full Aero Version) (550PP SS)

Link here

apricot-hill-raceway_3-jpg.243535


600PP SS Version

Link here

apricot-hill-raceway-jpg.243538
 
shaunm80
@Bowtie-muscle - Are we supposed to add the same parts for Feb car of the month, that we added in Jan CoTM? What I mean is, do you expect to see full aero body kit, spoiler, flat floor, front aero, or just cars tuned on SS or RH tyres?
Click to expand...
Same, body kits and flat floor. Body kits optional but kind of loses the spirit. Flat floor are a must. Hence the limited list of cars.

List of cars for January may still be submitted even though the month has past. I have 20 or so of them, if and when I ever get around to posting. My Euro tunes should be up tonight or tomorrow.

Shhhhhh..........the Elise is a sleeper. Wow, is it quick for the pp and power level. Don't tell anyone :lol:
 
Bowtie-muscle
Same, body kits and flat floor. Body kits optional but kind of loses the spirit. Flat floor are a must. Hence the limited list of cars.

List of cars for January may still be submitted even though the month has past. I have 20 or so of them, if and when I ever get around to posting. My Euro tunes should be up tonight or tomorrow.

Shhhhhh..........the Elise is a sleeper. Wow, is it quick for the pp and power level. Don't tell anyone :lol:
Click to expand...
I already posted my sleeper.. It is ready and waiting. :) Transmission will need adjust for the track though incase I didn't put that on the tune sheet.

Edit: I thought I had posted it.. Oh, I need to get back to my garage and find it now.
 
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Took @Bowtie-muscle 's FITT Jaguar XKR-S and Aston Martin DB9 onto GVS, and got:

1:50.669 (Jag)
1:51.998 (Aston)

Both cars are really well tuned, but as you see the Jag is one and a third seconds faster. I had a lot of fun in both of them; both handle really nice, they accelerate great, really good braking, and they're stable. The Jag has the edge compared to the Aston, but really, you can't go wrong with either. Try them out and see for yourself.
 
RacingOtaku86
Took @Bowtie-muscle 's FITT Jaguar XKR-S and Aston Martin DB9 onto GVS, and got:

1:50.669 (Jag)
1:51.998 (Aston)

Both cars are really well tuned, but as you see the Jag is one and a third seconds faster. I had a lot of fun in both of them; both handle really nice, they accelerate great, really good braking, and they're stable. The Jag has the edge compared to the Aston, but really, you can't go wrong with either. Try them out and see for yourself.
Click to expand...
Glad you were able to get along with them, thanks for the review.

You can see, I wanted to test a theory. 2 cars built to be as identical as possible - Same power/weight/and almost identical torque. Should come down to tuning, but there has to be a reason the Jag is 6pp higher. More corner grip I believe, and the FITT results say the Jag was better. Aston was good, and I tried to make them feel similar, but is slower no matter what. Guess there is something to the pp system more than just power and weight. Their built in grip level adds some as well.

If you enjoyed those, my Gran Turismo S may be even better, depending on track choice of course.

Thanks again 👍 :)
 

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