Coastin's new and improved diary!

[Coastin']

That's right, folks!

It's NEW and IMPROVED!!!​

Rules are the following:
- [R] mods only in races in which the AI uses [R] mods as well.
- Slicks only with [R] mods.
- Car type must match event type (e.g. only sedans in Sedan Cup, only german cars in German Nationals, and to make it even more complicated and realistic for example: only 2.0L N/A tuned sedans of more than 4200mm length in the Super Touring Trophy, just as the real Super Touring rules in 1999 said, same for GT300, GT500 and so on).
- No ASC or TCS.

Other than that there are no regulations because I in my last diary I found it to take the fun from the game (especially any HP limitations, it's just too much of a hassle to always check for that. I'll just do my best to make it a challenge for myself to try racing with unusually slow cars).

Will report on my general progression, car updates and also give detailed reports about special races such as endurances or multiple-race series and as always illustrate it with authentic low res screen shots.

[big fat edit] I'm already 18 days into the diary now (disregard the fact that the original post is nearly four months old, I had some exams and some other things, also summer in general to distract me from playing).

Chose the ... wait a minute, is that a Micra? Oh hell yeah, a Micra as my first car!

There's various stuff installed already, it's doing a little over 200HP now. And just as I got enough cash I got the next sensation to bring some life into my garage.

It's the iron mask! An '87 R31 GTS-R which in my eyes is the most beautiful Skyline (except for the R33 and its mighty nose maybe). With weight reduction stage two and the power boosted to some 215HP it was in fact able to bring me to first position in the Grand Touring Car Trophy (it was a close call, had a Supra and a 3000GT stuck to my tail almost all the time) and earn me the (for my part) beloved Daishin Silvia GT. Which I think is a pretty good result for 13 race days and no race raced twice. Will sport the Silvia and see if I can take on the GT All Stars to milk the purple cash cow.

Having some problems mastering the licenses though. Not that I wouldn't be able to get them at all (having all except for S at the moment) but I want to gold them and only did it with four tests of the B license so far. Any tips on how to master them, especially when using a keyboard? Help would be appreciated and I hope you'll enjoy my further updates now that I have some time to play again.

 

[Falcon787B]

Awesome, I like the sound of this! This'll bring nostalgia flooding back when you report on the various lisence tests, some of those were the bane of my early GT2 career

I await the next post with interest

 

[Coastin']

Update, update!

Had to abandon the diary just as I started because I had more important things to handle but now it's holidays, I'm stuck at my parents's place and have time to play again. Check the first post for all the news about my career and have fun following my further endeavors to master the game. 👍

(If you want any detailed information about my race progression or license results so far just let me know.)

 

[Coastin']

Day 19

Well, that was easy. Kind of. Took on the GT All Stars at Red Rock Valley with my small but agile Silvia GT and look who made it!

Opponents (in order of arrival at the finish line):
+0:02:817 [R] Vector M12 LM
+0:03.987 [R] Dodge Viper GTS-R
+0:04:057 Lotus Elise GT1
+0:04:305 [R] Saleen SR Widebody
+0:13:498 [R] Lister Storm V12

Now for the thrills (and there were many). Challenging such high powered racing monsters sounds easier than it is because the AI in GT2 is considered to be rather retarded. But opponents with some ot them only a bit short of 700HP are killing a 413HP car on the straight. And that's exactly what happened often enough on the fast-paced RRV race track with its wide turns and long straights, the first time being the start. Just after the countdown they disappeared into the distance. Somehow the AI's biggest weakness at Red Rock Valley are the S-turns at which I always managed to catch up on them and slowly overtake them one by one. The Elise was leading for three rounds in which the Vector and the Viper always managed to block my way, together with me getting on the dirt in the first S-turn of round two and losing some time, but as soon as I got past them I could quickly catch up on the Elise starting a lone duel at the forefront. Caught up and overtook in the corners while it rushed past me on the straights. Luckily I was able to make it enough of a lead in the fifth round while it screwed up and fell back to the fourth place. And damn me, was my smile big when I made it over the finish line first - by the way without any tweaked settings because I'm very comfortable with the Daishin as it is and because I tend to make it rather worse than better whenever I touch a car that's already race tuned.
So yeah, sold the Speed 12 as I have absolutely no use for it at the moment, having a bit of cash now thanks to it and looking forward to build myself a nice Sedan (later with race mod) to get on the Luxury Sedan Cup and the Super Touring Trophy. What would you recommend me to use? Was thinking about the Audi A4/S4, Toyota Chaser (which looks awesome race-modded by the way) or Mitsubishi Galant as the car I'm looking for has to be both somewhat luxurious as well as race-modable and moderately agile. Do you think they'd count as luxury sedans?

Also last but not least an overview of which races I have beaten so far.

Gran Turismo League:
Japanese National Championships - first race

Special Event:
Sunday Cup - Tahiti Road, High-Speed Link (Ring? whatever it's called)
Clubman Cup - Rome Short Course, Grindelwald
FF Challenge - Tahiti Road, Midfield (which was a b**ch to beat in a Micra with 200HP against cars with 345HP limit)
FR Challenge - Clubman Stage R5
Global Compact Car Cup - all
Grand Touring Car Trophy - Red Rock Valley
Gran Turismo All Stars - Red Rock Valley

So yeah, that's it so far. See you guys around (still hoping for some general advice on the license tests).

 

[GT_Prologue5]

Wow! You won that RRV race in a Daisin Silvia? I remember race modding a S4 and I couldn't even win! Good job my friend.

Choose the S4 for the sedan thing, it's more than enough

 

[Coastin']

Wow! You won that RRV race in a Daisin Silvia? I remember race modding a S4 and I couldn't even win! Good job my friend.

Thanks mate. I remember trying it with several modded 3000GTs and RUFs in an earlier safe and couldn't make it either. The great aero kit of the Silvia making it a fox in the turns seems to cut it, as well as my better driving since then (learning slowly but steadily).

Choose the S4 for the sedan thing, it's more than enough

That's what I thought but it's more fun to find out what would JUST be enough. Always looking for a challenge, that's us GT gamers, am I right?

 

[GT_Prologue5]

That's what I thought but it's more fun to find out what would JUST be enough. Always looking for a challenge, that's us GT gamers, am I right?

Indeed. Although I did that after I had beaten it and was just looking for some $$$. Although I have not played GT2 in a while. Been more into GT5, getting ready for GT5's physics and additions. But keep doing this, lately these forums are filling with nonsense.

 

[Coastin']

One update regarding the Super Touring Trophy car I'm trying to build:

The real life regulations regarding that series are pretty rough so I have to disregard any car that isn't 2.0L, shorter than 4200mm and doesn't give enough power with N/A tuning. I'll see what's left (an Alfa 156 maybe?) and in the meanwhile I'm going to do all the Nationals in the Gran Turismo League with various cars and report on that later.

Just a thought on the side: Is a Kei car tuned to more than 64HP still a Kei car? Japanese road regulations say it wouldn't. What do you think would be appropriate to race in the Kei Cup?

 

[Nero9]

The GT4 regulation for the K-cup is something like "1000 mm or less in width/height/length (not sure which one)
For GT2 i used a tuned Subaru 360. Fully tuned in the first race, toned down a bit in the 2nd and 3rd race.
You'll rarely see a Subaru 360 in the Subaru used car showroom so - the next option : Fiat 500R.
You can also use any other K car.

 

[Coastin']

Thanks for the reply, Nero. GT2 just gives a useless HP restriction and I'm trying to get as close to reality as possible instead trying to build my Kei car according to the japanese laws. Also:

Day 27

Still confused about the various regulations I decided to finish the Japanese Nationals, the Sunday Cup and the Clubman Cup and take on the 80's Sports Car Cup (except for the first race because I don't have an 80's car matching the HP regulations at the moment). Said and done. Only the 80's Cup one was kind of tricky because the Starlets and AE86s were buggingly agile. Did almost all of the races in my Skyrine and ... well, I kinda fell in love with it (as far as it goes for falling in love with a car in a game of course).
Gifted it a nice set of rims and decided not to put any turbo upgrades in so I could keep that beautiful, roaring sound it's now making with 250 something HP and all the other necessary upgrades. It's a great little beast.

And for you not to lose the overview, here's a list of my current garage:
- Nissan Micra/March Super Turbo '89
- Nissan Skyline GTS-R R31 '87
- [R] Daishin Nissan Silvia GT '99
- [R] Nissan Skyline Silhouette Formula R30
Got the Formula which is new in my roster out of the last 80's race and decided to keep it because some day I will HAVE to milk the purple cash cow that is the Speed 12 some more times in order to finance my other cars and that thing is a real monster on the track although it only runs with 555HP.
I'll just see what I can do next without getting worried about fictional rules and report back as usual. See you!

 

[GT_Prologue5]

I like that Skyline.
Oh, and don't sell the first car. It's like selling a child...

 

[Coastin']

I like that Skyline.
Oh, and don't sell the first car. It's like selling a child...

Don't worry, I never sell cars I bought and built up myself. 👍

Day 33

A CHALLENGER APPEARS!

"Some say it eats Lamborghinis for breakfast, and that Rambo has got one as a project car. All we know is that it's a Ferrari's american cousin!" (kudos to anyone who gets that reference)

Guess what I bought it for. The Muscle Car Cup? And the US Nationals? Goddamn right! And thanks to that mutant engine and my magical wizard skills (I somehow even made it turn!!) both series were mostly just a walk in the park. Raced the second and third US race first, then took it to the Muscle Car Cup and used the PT Spyder prize car to win the first US race and then sold all the three price cars because they weren't of any worth for me anymore.

Also "Good news, everyone! I've taught the toaster to feel love." And also I finally found a project car to build up for the Super Touring Trophy. 2.0L engine, no more than six cylinders, NA tune only, at least 4200mm long, four doors. Everything fits the regulations of 1999 perfectly. Ladies and gentlemen, your applause, please!

Will race the Italian Nationals in this charm of a sedan first and then convert it to a race car worthy being called a race car. More on that and other things the next time!

 

[Nero9]

Wow lookin good!

 

[Parnelli Bone]

I love GT2 pics! Even though they're cruder than GT4's photomode, they still convey a sense of excitement.

 

[Coastin']

I love GT2 pics! Even though they're cruder than GT4's photomode, they still convey a sense of excitement.

Yeah I always try to make them look good which isn't easy at all at such a low resolution and annoying HUDs everywhere.

Day 40

Imagine the atmosphere at a real touring car racing day. All the noise, all the eagerness in the air, all the excitement.

That's what racing the Super Touring Trophy was like for me. The Alfa sports only 270HP maximum so it were some fair races against the other touring sedans and sometimes I had quite a hard time getting past them. Modified and took it there right after completing the Italian Nationals with the unmodified road version (which was kind of easy). Those touring car races had such a special feel to them, boosted by the awesomeness that the Alfa is. It drives great, it looks good and it sounds awesome. I don't understate it when saying this was my favorite racing series so far. Hope there will be more like it.

Also I'm currently trying to make a choice on what to use for the GT300 (<300HP) and the GT500 (<500HP). Was thinking about a [R] TVR Cerbera 4.5 or a [R] Renault Clio Sport 6V for the GT500 because those aren't the heaviest cars around and I'm getting sick of using Japanese rides for everything and anything. What do you think, folks?

 

[Nero9]

Uh...using a 300 HP car in the GT300? Are you serious?
You'll never catch up with the 400-odd horsepowered race cars.
Using a 500 HP car in the GT500? Possible. Maybe the Concept Car LM?

 

[Coastin']

Uh...using a 300 HP car in the GT300? Are you serious?
You'll never catch up with the 400-odd horsepowered race cars.

Yeah, these are the official regulations for the real life GT300. And this sounds like you're challenging me to do it.

Using a 500 HP car in the GT500? Possible. Maybe the Concept Car LM?

Tried the Clio and the TVR in the first GT500 race already without saving. Not that they were able to keep up with them on the straights but the curves weren't that much of a problem, and with a little more tweaking the settings I can see getting through there just fine. Remember, I beat the All Stars in a Daishin Silvia before. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!

 

[Parnelli Bone]

Damn...Nero9 is right. I looked at my GT2 power/weight spec notes...

http://www.gtcarreviews.com/id22.html

to find that I regularly used to run somewhere between 410 and 425 hp in these races, and yes I would push my power down as low as I could (to eliminate overkill). The GT300 is (for some reason) a much tougher set of races than other GT2 events. According to my notes...

GT300
{I-B license}

P2P= 4.77 (cars under 2,000 lbs.)
5.15 (2,000-2,400) 5.73 (2,401-2,800)


Long considered THE most challenging series in the game, in this series you're surrounded by drivers dueling in real-life JGTC (Japanese GT Championship) cars who really know the courses. They won't drive into the grass at Deep Forest or spin in Laguna's corkscrew. So assuming you're not using an Excuso, you're really gonna need your wits here, especially if you follow the guidelines above.


• You'll need soft or super-soft slicks, racing suspension, full-modifyable gears, full-racing bodykit...basically anything that'll help. If you actually race one of the super-lite cars from this series (the Daisun Silvia, for instance) you may want to go with sports or hard slick tires for a challenge. The 1st P2P ratio for this race is taken from the Cusco Subaru Impreza, but i've won various races in this series with lesser cars.

 

[Coastin']

Thanks for the input, Parnelli. And once again your website proves to be very useful!

Just did some research on my own, raced the GT300 for a bit and found out that it's nearly impossible but might not be completely impossible after all. These are the facts I have to work with: The only cars with acceptable weight/power ratio are the Motorsport Elise (4.76 at 298HP) and the ZZ-S Coupe (4.72 at 279HP (max power)). The ZZ-S has a race mod available and is quite comfortable to drive altogether. I just fear it not having enough power and taking corners too slowly (in my eyes it's a bit dull when turning). The Elise on the other hand is faster, turns better but HOLY DAYUM, it's like someone built it just for spinning out.
Didn't fiddle with the Elise's settings much so far but I can't see making it seriously better. So with this one I need all the help I can get. My current settings for Grand Valley East look like this:

Spring rate: 8.0 / 9.5
Ride Height: 75 / 75
Damper Bound: 6 / 8
Damper Rebound: 6 / 8
Camber: 2.0 / 0.8
Toe: 0.10 / 0.15
Stabilizer: 3 / 5

Brake Controller: 16 / 14

Gear Ratio: 10 auto

Turning's excellent as long as it doesn't spin out. The problem is that it spins out almost as frequently as before. What would you guys change about it? Would lowering the spring rate help with the bumpy parts it's so prone to spinning out at? Anything wrong about the damper or the toe?

 

[LeGeNd-1]

Great diary so far! Keep it up 👍

I used to be able to win the RRV All Stars with 300 HP rally cars (Xsara, 206, Delta Integrale, etc) and win the GT300 and GT500 with the BP Trueno (325 HP IIRC), so it's definitely possible. You lose out majorly in acceleration and can only gain ground in the corners and try to block them in the straight. Really tough. But fun