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[llNovall]

I also noticed that drafting doesn't play a huge factor here. Tires were fine, fuel was fine. Cars are stable. Overall a good time. Can't wait to get a full field out there.

Glad to hear rooms are stable. Looking forward to some racing.

 

[IceWarden]

Well that kind of stable, yes. But I meant my car handled in a stable and controllable way

 

[socalnatv]

FL was a 1:51.9 last night. It’s not the only time that Phlano and I have both been in the 51.9 area, it’s happened a couple times. Average laps were in the mid 52’s for me.

I am set at 640 PP and downforce and weight numbers are at your specs on page 1 of the thread. I’m sure that Cayman is set up according to specs also. We’ve had lots of close battles between the two of us and last night was another one. Tire wear was an issue for me, not sure about Phlano.

Keep in mind, since NOVA announced the rebirth of this series, I’ve put in a lot of time running that combo. Myself and a few others have done several 5-6 lap races there, so I’ve got LOTS of practice with it. It’s really the only thing I’ve been doing in GT these days.

We also ran some of the other tracks, and as NOVA has mentioned, that Camaro is not as fast at other tracks.

 

[IceWarden]

Yeah that tracks with what I saw. We were all 30secs back at the end of 16 laps. The rest of us averaged mid 34's. Dipped into high 33's once or twice. Not sure it's practice related Practice has a diminishing return effect. Not 2 secs.

But it's fine. I knew going in that I wasn't picking the fastest car or having the best tune (or even the fastest driver) I just want to have some good races. And last night proved at least I'll have a couple of cars nearby for some fun.

 

[IforceV8]

I saved a copy of the replay if you want it Nova. The room was set at 640PP so that spec was right, the problem like I said before in this thread since most of the cars were nerfed of downforce the Cayman is now in a class by itself.

In the race I held back for a few laps to see how stable the connection was and the draft/dirty air. The cars were stable and the draft was barely noticeable. Maybe the aftermarket Amazon brand wings dont actually contribute anything to the experience. Ice and I had a good Nissan vs Toyota battle, I caught and passed him but ran out of grip a couple of laps from the end and ran wide at turn 1 and let him go. I tried to make a last lap charge but the car was used up.

Is TC allowed or not? The rules in the first post say no and allowed. As a one right stick throttle and brake driver I prefer it on personally.

 

[IceWarden]

I saved a copy of the replay if you want it Nova. The room was set at 640PP so that spec was right, the problem like I said before in this thread since most of the cars were nerfed of downforce the Cayman is now in a class by itself.

In the race I held back for a few laps to see how stable the connection was and the draft/dirty air. The cars were stable and the draft was barely noticeable. Maybe the aftermarket Amazon brand wings dont actually contribute anything to the experience. Ice and I had a good Nissan vs Toyota battle, I caught and passed him but ran out of grip a couple of laps from the end and ran wide at turn 1 and let him go. I tried to make a last lap charge but the car was used up.

Is TC allowed or not? The rules in the first post say no and allowed. As a one right stick throttle and brake driver I prefer it on personally.

Yeah I was wondering what happened. But the tire situation makes sense...you were getting a little squirrely in the last several laps coming out of the corners. But yeah...good battle. Fud closed the room so quickly I didn't even think about saving it

 

[Phlano099]

I'd have to see it to believe it, and to verify the specs are in check. I spent some time this morning in the Camaro in an online lobby. Fastest I could get out of a near perfect lap was a 1:52.8 with optimal at 1:52.6. I'm sure there may be a drafting 1:51.9 in there, but thats on the ragged edge for me.
Keep in mind, the pp system does not account for tracks. A car that could be weak here, could be dominant at a different venue. Also, we are all starting at the same pp level to start the season using the various cars, so we also need to consider the differences in skillsets, tuning ability, etc. I'm certain after an event or two, better parity will develop.

Sand was behind me when he ran the 1:51.9

My best was on lap 13 1:52.289

 

[llNovall]

I saved a copy of the replay if you want it Nova. The room was set at 640PP so that spec was right, the problem like I said before in this thread since most of the cars were nerfed of downforce the Cayman is now in a class by itself.

In the race I held back for a few laps to see how stable the connection was and the draft/dirty air. The cars were stable and the draft was barely noticeable. Maybe the aftermarket Amazon brand wings dont actually contribute anything to the experience. Ice and I had a good Nissan vs Toyota battle, I caught and passed him but ran out of grip a couple of laps from the end and ran wide at turn 1 and let him go. I tried to make a last lap charge but the car was used up.

Is TC allowed or not? The rules in the first post say no and allowed. As a one right stick throttle and brake driver I prefer it on personally.

Thanks Iforce, yes if you could, please share the replay and link it here if you dont mind...looks like it was a good data collection race.
I do see where the df was nerfed for some cars, but what I noticed, is if you raise the fron df, the pp goes up, forcing you to lower hp to offset, or the other way around. The rear df, lowers pp to some degree when df maxed out, and raises pp when lowered which also gets offset by hp adjustment. It really will come down to how the df and power are manipulated to suit different tracks.
I tried a run in the Porsche, and I struggled to find mid 53's at Watkins Glen. I do have to believe that the time Phlano and Sand have put into practice and tuning has yielded that extra time. I was into the low 52's with a fast lap into the 51.9 before the update. I' struggling to find the mid 52's atm, but certain that with some more seat time, I will find the extra few tenths.
This has always been why I would time trial everyone and make adjustments at the beginning of the season in an attempt to bring any skill gaps closer together. However, this time around, we are all starting at the same pp level. Sooo many factors will play into the disparity across the field at the start...driver skill, car to track strengths, tuning ability, etc. To get a better idea of how balanced the cars really are at the same pp does require the same driver to trial all the cars...and even then there will be some differences...driving style to car, car to track strengths, familiarity to a given car. Interestly, cars that I tested at Road Atlanta that were among the fastest, are mediocre here at Watkins Glen.
When racing with all these variables, there is bound to be some disparity...especially considering just the skills gap. I would ask you guys to build a Porsche or Camaro, build a tune, and see what your fastest achievable is for those cars in comparison to your chosen car. You may be suprised at how close they are at the baseline pp spec.

 

[Fudman420]

I was 38 secs behind at the end. My pace was on average a couple tenths behind ice and iforce. My fast lap was a 53.9. I could have been a bit faster with better consistency and I messed up t1 quite often but I felt like even with consistency I was on pace with ice and iforce but not even in the same ballpark as phlano and sand.

 

[IceWarden]

I am building a Cayman and will try it. Damn thing needs no weight reduction or power mods. Basically ready to go stock. Hits 640pp with only the tires, brakes etc.

 

[socalnatv]

Practice practice practice.

There are 3 or 4 spots on that track where you can not screw it up. Hit those corners correctly lap after lap and you will find lower lap times.

 

[IforceV8]

I did a 10 lap run in a lobby with the Cayman at 180/345 DF and ran 8 of 10 laps in the high 53's with a best of 1:53.5. I was several MPH slower than Phlano and his tune at the entrance to the bus stop. With better gearing and some understeer dialed out I'm sure I could get another .5 off those times. I matched that best lap in the Supra but it's more difficult to hit the perfect lap each time. I cant hit 8 of 10 laps in the high 53's with the Supra.

My car is painted and I have no desire to create another livery.

 

[Phlano099]

Hey @socalnatv and @Phlano099 ....can you guys shed some light. Were you fellas at the 640.00 spec? And what was your average lap times..ballpark?

I had to adjust the down force to get the car to handle well and the of amount DF I am currently using is different from where I started...had to try several different changes to find my current setup...

 

[IceWarden]

I built a Cayman and my first timed lap I was already 52.9. Fud was in the room at the time. Did about 6 laps and did a 52.4. So the “practice” theory of getting another 2secs is debunked

Jumped in my Z car and was back in the mid 53s. Got a lucky 52.99 once but mostly in the high 53s.

Cayman is faster on the straight and changes direction better than the Z. Z lost most of its time from the chicane to just before the final two corners.

I don’t really mind. I know Fud and IForce and myself will probably have some good battles this season and that’s what counts.

 

[IceWarden]

I bet if I put a bunch of power mods on the Cayman and then detuned, I could probably gain a better power band and more time on track. Didn’t have the time or spare cash for that. I’m under a million now so time to conserve.

 

[IceWarden]

I still wonder if setting BoP on in the race room somehow messes with the performance of certain cars during the race.

 

[socalnatv]

Debunked.
Good one !

 

[IceWarden]

Yeah that one was just for you… trying to mansplain a nearly 2 sec time advantage as being due to practice time…to a bunch of people who have been playing this game as long as anyone else

I’m sure Lewis Hamilton will tell you that the first 20 laps (obviously generalizing) gets you the time gains….the other million laps primarily gets you consistency…not lower lap times. Diminishing returns and all that. The other million laps is spent chassis tuning…which some of us can skip due to not having the time for all that trial and error time

Sometimes certain cars are just faster than others. And to suggest that all the HAAS team needs to beat Red Bull right now is just “practice, practice, practice” was mildly irritating to some of us

Granted a magical tune can also explain away some of it…and your overall awesomeness level.

 

[socalnatv]

Comparing GT7 to F1 ??

All my practice laps got me from low 53’s to low 52’s. I never said it would gain anyone 2 seconds.

I’m not much of a tuner either. I started with NOVA’s base tune and made a couple anti sway bar adjustments. Most of the time I spent getting the gearing where I liked it.

 

[IceWarden]

Comparing racing to racing. The idea applies across all racing genres. I just happen to watch a lot of F1.

Your post seemed to suggest that if we only practiced more and hit those 4 or 5 corners with more perfection that we could hit high 51s just like you

That’s just how it came across to some of us.

No big deal. I actually like the Z. Doesn’t really do anything wrong. And nobody wants a grid full of Camaros and Caymans anyways

I think some of the extra bonus time can be attributed to how much Track cutting is going on in the chicane. Some drive over them like NASCAR and some try to keep 2 wheels on the black pavement.

This hasn’t really been discussed but what are the official track limits on this track? So we don’t go into race 1 and certain people have practiced a certain line and realize they could be taking more (or should be taking less).

 

[llNovall]

Comparing racing to racing. The idea applies across all racing genres. I just happen to watch a lot of F1.

Your post seemed to suggest that if we only practiced more and hit those 4 or 5 corners with more perfection that we could hit high 51s just like you

That’s just how it came across to some of us.

No big deal. I actually like the Z. Doesn’t really do anything wrong. And nobody wants a grid full of Camaros and Caymans anyways

I think some of the extra bonus time can be attributed to how much Track cutting is going on in the chicane. Some drive over them like NASCAR and some try to keep 2 wheels on the black pavement.

This hasn’t really been discussed but what are the official track limits on this track? So we don’t go into race 1 and certain people have practiced a certain line and realize they could be taking more (or should be taking less).

Details will be posted some time today on track boundaries.

 

[socalnatv]

I am curious about the group of people you have been chosen, or decided for yourself, to comment on behalf of. Is there a “some of us” or “a bunch of people” society out there somewhere ? If there is, please add me to it.

I’m speaking on behalf of myself and my own experiences.

 

[IceWarden]

 

[Kgffy]

Have not done much practice but will get time on Friday, not hearing much about the merc, will there be any bop adjustments before race night @llNovall

 

[llNovall]

Have not done much practice but will get time on Friday, not hearing much about the merc, will there be any bop adjustments before race night @llNovall

No sir. Just be sure to set your weight to the static weight requirement for your car, that all required parts are installed, and aero settings do not exceed the maximums allowed. From there everything else is open for tuning up to 640.00pp. All drivers in all cars will start the season at the 640.00pp regulation. From there, pp handicaps and concessions will be issued after each event and posted in post #2 of the thread. See you on track soon.

 

[Fudman420]

I am curious about the group of people you have been chosen, or decided for yourself, to comment on behalf of. Is there a “some of us” or “a bunch of people” society out there somewhere ? If there is, please add me to it.

I’m speaking on behalf of myself and my own experiences.

I was the "some us." I started lapping in the high 1:55's. With quite a bit of practice I've gotten down to as low as a 53. I've watched the replay of the 51s lap and either my talent or the car/setup is so much different I don't think with any amount of practice I'll be down in the 51s.

 

[Phlano099]

I was the "some us." I started lapping in the high 1:55's. With quite a bit of practice I've gotten down to as low as a 53. I've watched the replay of the 51s lap and either my talent or the car/setup is so much different I don't think with any amount of practice I'll be down in the 51s.

So far, only Harry and Sand have been in the1:51's, which I saw when practice/racing with them...aero and front-end tuning helped with the Cayman, and it will still wash out if I miss my break point...

At first with the Priano tune for the Cayman, I was in the low 1:54's, made adjustments and got into the 1:53's, a little more tweaking got me into the 1:52's, then the update, had to start all over again with adjustments to the aero...was able to get a 1:52.183 in Ice's lobby last night, so within a few hundredths of by best lap.

Again, adjust aero and then Power Restriction to get to 640.00, I was able to get to 400HP with my latest tune, previous was 391.

 

[Phlano099]

"the other million laps primarily gets you consistency…not lower lap times."​

I would have to respectively disagree with that statement, as you gain consistency, you will gain time...you lose a ton of time when missing the break points on this track.

 

[IceWarden]

The sentence after that said the important part…”diminishing returns and all that”. Eventually you stop gaining time and gain consistency. Otherwise your lap times would eventually go to zero

Gaining consistency is not the same as dropping ultimate fast lap times in general. It just means you can do the same times over and over.

Losing time due to inconsistency is not the same as getting faster.

And btw…when you yelled at me to change the room settings to S03 last night…it really hurt my delicate feelings

 

[socalnatv]

I do remember a race with Phlano after the update where he turned a 51.83 and I turned a 51.88.

Sooooo, Harry and I aren’t the only ones to get into the 51’s.