FIA Manufacturers questions for the community

[dirtyhaire]

I'm a B driver in DR and I've used BMW every season I've participated and this past season I'm pretty satisfied with the results (Local Ranking-NC 2nd / BMW Ranking 50th / North America 824th) I landed a few podiums and top 5s here and there but no P1 victories in B yet. (side note: I also purchased a G29 wheel about 10 races into the season and had a bit of a learning curve switching from years of steering with a dual shock.)

I like BMW and it's a pretty steady ride but I'm thinking about changing it up for this upcoming season in an effort to become more competitive so I thought I'd ask a few questions of the GT planet community. I know a lot depends on what circuits are for the upcoming season but generally speaking. I probably won't do Porsche due to the fact that it is the most used but a few that are intriguing to me include: in no particular order -Citroen, Peugot, Toyota, Nissan, Ford.

1. What manufacturer do plan on choosing for the upcoming season and for what reason?

2. What manufacturer would you stay away from and why?

3. What circuit do you feel would is the ideal testing track for both gr.3 and gr4.

Thanks for your answers and any feedback.

 

[Groundfish]

Chevrolet.
In gr3 the car is pretty good everywhere.
Good on fuel, easy to drive, consistency, fast on straights, easy to drive, stable. Fast as heck with tcs 3.
Gr4 car is much improved now too.
Both cars drive the same.
There’s no manu I would stay away from, it depends on whether you wanna do mostly gr4 or 3. Like if I’m gonna enter gr3 I’d avoid Ferrari.
Catalunya is a great test track.
Overall I stick with Chevy because I just get the best results in that gr3.
The car never does anything weird. I can count on it. I want to race against my competitors not pray I can keep the car itself on track.

 

[kungtotte_]

I'm going with the Corvette C7 because I like the way it drives, looks, and sounds.

I don't care if it's the fastest or what tracks we'll be doing, I'm here to have fun and I think I'll have the most fun in the 'vette.

It's hard to have just one testing track that showcases everything but Suzuka has been my go-to in the past. It's got a decent mix of medium and high speed corners as well as a few slow ones, long straights for testing top speeds, a long trailbraking zone for T1 and a massive straight-line braking zone for the Casio triangle.

So you get to try out many different aspects of the cars on one track, which is what you want.

Edit

I stay away from anything that has FF in Gr4 because I hate understeer with a passion. 4WD I'm also wary about

 

[Jwptexas]

I'll be going with Ford due to brand loyalty and I'd stay away from Ford if Gr4 races are your thing.

Suzuka or Laguna Seca are couple of the tracks I use for testing... Big Willow as well.

 

[Timm Sheehan]

1. What manufacturer do plan on choosing for the upcoming season and for what reason?

I raced Citroen this past season and loved them. I plan on continuing my association with this manufacturer. To me both GR3 and GR4 are smooth driving cars with very little quirks. Handling is good (a little rough until you learn MR cars), good on fuel, better than average base power, and so-so on tire wear.

2. What manufacturer would you stay away from and why?

None really.

3. What circuit do you feel would is the ideal testing track for both gr.3 and gr4.

I love Suzuka for testing. It has a good selection corners as well as a few straight-a ways for speed testing.

 

[dirtyhaire]

Chevrolet.
In gr3 the car is pretty good everywhere.
Good on fuel, easy to drive, consistency, fast on straights, easy to drive, stable. Fast as heck with tcs 3.
Gr4 car is much improved now too.
Both cars drive the same.
There’s no manu I would stay away from, it depends on whether you wanna do mostly gr4 or 3. Like if I’m gonna enter gr3 I’d avoid Ferrari.
Catalunya is a great test track.
Overall I stick with Chevy because I just get the best results in that gr3.
The car never does anything weird. I can count on it. I want to race against my competitors not pray I can keep the car itself on track.

Thanks for your reply. I'm going to add to my test list. I like to compete in both gr.3 and gr.4 so ideally both cars are solid enough to get a result. Which why I have felt good with BMW in the past. Suzuka has been my go to as far as testing as well for all of the above reasons.

I'm going with the Corvette C7 because I like the way it drives, looks, and sounds.

I don't care if it's the fastest or what tracks we'll be doing, I'm here to have fun and I think I'll have the most fun in the 'vette.

It's hard to have just one testing track that showcases everything but Suzuka has been my go-to in the past. It's got a decent mix of medium and high speed corners as well as a few slow ones, long straights for testing top speeds, a long trailbraking zone for T1 and a massive straight-line braking zone for the Casio triangle.

So you get to try out many different aspects of the cars on one track, which is what you want.

Edit

I stay away from anything that has FF in Gr4 because I hate understeer with a passion. 4WD I'm also wary about

Thanks. Gonna give the vette a run.

1. What manufacturer do plan on choosing for the upcoming season and for what reason?

I raced Citroen this past season and loved them. I plan on continuing my association with this manufacturer. To me both GR3 and GR4 are smooth driving cars with very little quirks. Handling is good (a little rough until you learn MR cars), good on fuel, better than average base power, and so-so on tire wear.

2. What manufacturer would you stay away from and why?

None really.

3. What circuit do you feel would is the ideal testing track for both gr.3 and gr4.

I love Suzuka for testing. It has a good selection corners as well as a few straight-a ways for speed testing.

Thanks and glad to get a perspective from someone who drove with Citroen last season. There weren't many in NA which is one of the reasons why I'd like to give Citroen a go.

 

[Pigems]

1. What manufacturer do plan on choosing for the upcoming season and for what reason?

I’m not 100% sure yet, I’ve got a few front runners picked out, but I’m waiting to see the track list, and if there will be any BoP changes before I decide.

2. What manufacturer would you stay away from and why?

Alfa, they got nerfed to never land last season and they are slower than cold molasses now.

3. What circuit do you feel would is the ideal testing track for both gr.3 and gr4.

Suzuka works well, has a little of everything. Tsukuba has lots of tight/slow corners, good for braking and acceleration testing. Yamagiwa has lots of fast corners, which are good for testing tire wear and high speed cornering.

 

[Kermit_2142]

1. I’m waiting on the event list release. Choosing the right manufacturer is all about what multipliers PD have chosen. Nothing worse than choosing a power car and then to find out PD are using high tyre multipliers. I’m looking for something different this year maybe McLaren, Honda, Mazda, Hyundai, Lamborghini, Ford.

2. Mmm I don’t like the VGT cars so anything VGT for me won’t be used. Other than that happy to drive anything really.

3. For testing I use Suzuka or Nurb GP but I usually jump in on the night and choose blind .

Good luck with your choices

 

[mobilmasher]

I'll will be staying with Ford due to my real life loyalty to the brand, therefore I don't have a "Test Track",. I just practice the upcoming race more to be the best I can be for the race.

 

[jimihemmy]

1. What manufacturer do plan on choosing for the upcoming season and for what reason?

I am choosing Dodge for the next season. It seems the cars are on all the leaderboards and I want to try something different then Mercedes since I have used them in the 7 of 9 seasons I participated in.

2. What manufacturer would you stay away from and why?

I say use whatever floats your boat. They all have pros and cons (Alfa more so after being nerfed) I always used Mercedes because I have worked for a dealer for over 20 years. The other 2 I tried were Ford (I’ve owned nothing but Fords (coincidence) except one Honda Civic) and Chevy (I like Corvettes but was only able to do 2 races that season).

3. What circuit do you feel would is the ideal testing track for both gr.3 and gr4.

I don’t really have an answer for this since I usually test the races once they are announced. But if I did, I would start at Spa and the Ring since I know those tracks well and would allow me to see what I can and can’t do with the cars.

I only race for fun. I like the idea of racing for a manufacturer and seeing how I do. I know I’m not going to a World Final and I’m ok with that.
Whatever you do, just stick with it. If you don’t do so well, use the races as practice and gain the experience. It will make you better.

 

[Jwptexas]

I'll will be staying with Ford due to my real life loyalty to the brand, therefore I don't have a "Test Track",. I just practice the upcoming race more to be the best I can be for the race.

It's good to have a test track or two for BOP updates on your own Manufacturer

 

[Redneckchef]

I will either stick with Jag or go to VW using the Beetle for Gr 3. I dont do practice or go out of my way to really get super fast for these and these 2 makes seem to be the safest bets for me that I can jump into and be pretty much up to my solid speed fairly quickly. There are pros and cons but for my jump in and go idea of doing FIA I find them stable amd reliable. Middle of the road on most counts.

 

[MaxAttack]

1: Honda - the GR.4 is a stable, reliable all rounder that's great on fuel, lacks a little top end but dependable and easy to drive. The gr.3 is a violent death machine that will always keep you on your toes - drive it right and it's ridiculously fast.

Other than this I prefer manufacturers with the same drivetrain between classes. I'd certainly avoid VW (FF gr.4, horrible VGT gr.3) like the plague.

Testing? What's that?

 

[jimihemmy]

Other than this I prefer manufacturers with the same drivetrain between classes. I'd certainly avoid VW (FF gr.4, horrible VGT gr.3) like the plague.

That is also a reason I wanted to try something else this next season. On top of that, I also want it to have a N-class car that matches. That limited my options and made it easier to try Dodge. I have an alt account that I tried Lexus and Jag and I already tried Ford and Chevy on my main which left Alfa (nope!) and Honda and other MR cars I am not comfortable with. Eventually I will get around to using those more....

 

[MaxAttack]

That is also a reason I wanted to try something else this next season. On top of that, I also want it to have a N-class car that matches. That limited my options and made it easier to try Dodge. I have an alt account that I tried Lexus and Jag and I already tried Ford and Chevy on my main which left Alfa (nope!) and Honda and other MR cars I am not comfortable with. Eventually I will get around to using those more....

Dodge seem to be a new challenger, with the most recent BoP shakeups the Viper is starting to make some top 10 appearances. They've been irrelevant for the longest time so it's an interesting proposition to see what they can do.

 

[Raptor013]

I drove the Mitsubishi's this season (my first) No wins, although did snatch a couple of podiums. The Gr.3 Lancer is great under brakes, but loses out on acceleration especially on race start (it almost feels as though the car is 1 gear too high for the rolling start).

The Gr.4 is a fantastic car if you can hustle it through the turns and get into the slip stream of the faster cars down the straights. don't expect to get any results with it unless you're racing on a point and squirt circuit like Tsukuba where speed means nothing and acceleration and braking are king. Every car in the Gr.4 class runs away from the Lancer in a straight line (and it's gotten worse since the BoP hit it took).

I'm leaning towards BMW for the 2021 season. The M6 is a rocket and I've had a lot of fun driving it so far. And the M4 suits my driving style despite being RWD.

As for testing. Any circuit you can get to is good. I'm looking at doing as many Daily Races that use the Gr.3 and Gr.4 class as possible during the Off-Season to test various cars and learn how to get the most out of them.

 

[jimihemmy]

Dodge seem to be a new challenger, with the most recent BoP shakeups the Viper is starting to make some top 10 appearances. They've been irrelevant for the longest time so it's an interesting proposition to see what they can do.

That is exactly why I am going with them. I figure I should try them before they nerfed (hopefully NOT during the season).