FITT FT-86 Concept Challenge Reviews
All tunes were tested under FITT conditions with the same conditions (i.e. me being awake and alert enough to drive this track!)
Captain slow is back again with his X button bashing and AT transmission driving. I hope that you can read the positives in my reviews if the time that I achieve is slower than what you (the tuner) managed. My testing regime was the same as the last event. Two getting to know you laps and then eight laps of hammer time.
Thank you as always and enjoy!
@shaunm80,
Best Lap Time: 1.52.898
DC: 9.7
Impressions of the tune:
Like the other tunes, my own tune has some under steer going on but the rear of the car definitely gives this car confidence to push it through the slalom section which made a huge different in the time I could get out of the tune. I will leave the critical analysis of my tune to other testers but this tune is fun, fast and consistent in my hands. That’s all a tune needs to be really.
@Otaliema
Best Lap Time: 1.53.159
DC – 9.7
Impressions of the tune.
It’s a grifter! For those of you who are thinking, what is a grifter? Well, a grip/drift tune combo where you can push the car to slide but have the grip and speed in a straight line. It works well around this track. The fastest lap appeared on the final lap of the test and it is testament to the tune that it was very competitive in terms of time, as well as the handling characteristics it possessed. The brakes were spot on, rear end rotation was loose and grippy at the same time, the front had perfect rotation for the style of the tune and the transmission worked a treat. Most of all, I had a hoot driving this thing at the limit! Well done, Great tune.
@coryclifford
Best Lap Time: 1.53.606
DC: 9.0
Impressions of the tune:
A stable tune with a lot of grip. Transmission is very good and combined with the LSD settings, wheel spin is limited and controlled well. Handling is good but like my tune, this car under steers through some corners and the rear is planted which limits what I can do with regards to controlled drifting of the rear to offset the slight under steer present. If you get the right line in the corner, it isn’t an issue but go off line and some clever throttle blipping is required to realign the car for the next straight. All in all, this is a very good tune, and one that I was able to drive easily. Bravo good sir!
@hall90
Best Lap Time: 1.53.265
DC: 9.2
Impressions of the tune:
This tune reminded me of my own. A little under steer but with the addition of slight over steer thrown in which enhanced the control I had through the long corners. A quick tune and well balanced. I could have improved my time by 0.5 of a second had it not been for driver error so a mid-high 1.52 was on the boards at one point. Two points to mention though, the transmission was a little too long (although it had no negative effects on the car itself) and the front end rotation could have been a little better/quicker for the slower corners but these are minor things as the tune handled the fast, long corners like a natural grifter tune. Very well done. I really liked this tune.
@xande1959
Best Lap Time: 1.53.299
DC – 9.3
Impressions of the tune. Positives first. Transmission was good, brakes were good, front-end rotation was good. Handling was either spot on or felt sluggish depending on corner entry and it wasn’t consistent enough for me in this regard. The rear was prone to oversteer which cost time and the under steer on some of the corners was too much, again costing time. Acceleration was an art with this tune and I am not sure I have part alien in me to really extract all this tune has to offer. This being said, When I was on a hot lap and it all fitted together, this was a fun tune to drive. Just needed more consistency with the rear grip. Good tune and one that will get a much better lap time with some of the other testers.
@Pete05
Best Lap Time: 1.52.916
DC – 9.1
Impressions of the tune.
Okie doke. Good points first. The front end rotation was good, sometimes very good depending on how much the rear tyres smoked. The transmission was also very good, Ideally, it could have been a tiny bit shorter in the final gear but this was by-the-by in terms of how it affected the tune. Grip was okay if you stayed on the racing line and carried the correct amount of speed through the corner entry. If you went too fast, it would spin up the rears and cost you time, keep it smooth and precise and this tune would produce an awesome lap time. Over steer was the one issue I had with this tune, I know this tune has standard diff settings and this is where the wheel spin can be controlled, but bearing this in mind, the standard settings were only an issue when I went off the racing line and really pushed this tune. If I was sensible and trying to drive naturally, the tune felt light, easy to drive and very controllable. The brakes were standard, which aided this tune by not locking up the tyres. However, the braking distances were slightly longer for it. The main negative point for this tune was lap time inconsistency but it didn’t change the fact that I enjoyed this tune a lot when I was in the groove and it was all going well. All in all, a good tune that worked very well if you drove it smoothly, and wasn’t trying for a do or die lap. Great job considering LSD was standard! You are fast becoming an accomplished tuner.
@sinof1337
Best Lap Time: 1.52.636
DC: 9.8
Impressions of the tune: A fine tune. Balance was really good, putting the power down was easy and well controlled, Wheel spin was present but easily managed and it was a hoot to drive. Under steer.. yes, it was also present but the way the car handling minimised this beautifully. A very impressive tune. The only thing that stopped this tune being perfect was the transmission was slightly too short. Other than that, a great job here. Well done.
@Bowtie-muscle
Best Lap Time: 1.53.185
DC: 9.7
Impressions of the tune:
At the time of testing, this was one of the most neutral feeling tunes I had driven. The rear rotation was spot on, front end grip was very good but for me, needed a tiny bit of looseness through the fast-flowing section at the back of the R246 track. Transmission worked really well and LSD settings were great at controlling the wheel spin out of the slow corners. A great tune and one that I really enjoyed testing. Well done.
@DaBomm4
Best Lap Time: 1.54.121
DC: 9.0
Impressions of the tune:
I mentioned when this tune was posted that it looked aggressive. I was wrong. It is more like passive aggressive. The grip level of this tune is really good but the amount of power going through the rear with that LSD setting can make this tune prone to sudden over steer. I learnt half way through the test that if I employ proper throttle control, instead of mashing the x button fully, the line it took through the corner was perfect but getting back on the power could be a step into the unknown if I wasn’t paying attention to what the car was telling me. The time should have been closer to a 1.53.2xx but the last corner caused the car to fish tail a little so I had to come off the throttle costing me the time I had gained through the rest of the lap. I like the balance of the car and it certainly put a smile on my face. Like many tunes before this, I could certainly adapt to this tune over time and it would improve me as a driver in the process. A great tune, just a little above my driving skill to fully extract all this tune has to offer. I expect a lot quicker times to come from some of the alien testers among us. Great job though, I really enjoyed this tune. The DC hopefully reflects that.
@nijalninja
Best Lap Time: 1.54.336
DC – 8.8
Impressions of the tune. A tough tune for me to get my head around. For the first part of the lap, this car was keeping up perfectly with the fastest tunes I have tested, In the second half of the track, this tune dropped off and I could not find any line or driving style that would extract the speed that this car demonstrated initially. Brakes were okay but could have been a little better for me, front end rotation worked well and the rear was planted (maybe a little too much?). I could have used a little more looseness in the rear for me to really drive this tune. I think the biggest thing this car lacked was the correct gearing. I only just shifted into 6th gear and it was already time for braking. Not sure if that was intentional or designed but I think that cost me some time overall. Not a bad tune and it was stable but perhaps too stable for this track. The positive thing I can say about your tune is that for the first half of the track, it was very precise and fun to drive so well done for that.
@fbccars924
Best Lap Time: 1.52.122
DC – 9.5
Impressions of the tune. A solid, balanced tune which enabled me to put the power down with confidence. Brakes were consistent and the transmission worked well. A tad more front-end rotation would have been better for some sections of the track and the rear was a little too planted at times causing some over-steer issues. A solid tune which achieved a really great time and one that was setting consistent lap times. A great job, well done.
@Burned_Rubber
Best Lap Time: 1.52.025
DC – 9.9
Impressions of the tune. I will start with all the positives. Transmission was perfect, traction through the fast corners was perfect, brakes were spot on, balance of the car was virtually perfect. The slight issues. A smidge more front rotation for the slow corners would have made this perfect as well as the reduced wheel spin in the slow corners. Saying that, the way this car handled was consistently fast throughout the whole test made these slight flaws insignificant. Great job. This is a tune that I was comfortable with straight away so awesome job!
@TheInfamousJEW6
Best Lap Time: 1.52.513
DC: 9.5
Impressions of the tune:
Like some of the other tunes, this tune had hints of under steer but the rear rotation of this car was perfect. I had to do some throttle control to keep everything in line but it was a very enjoyable drive. The transmission was perfect and the brakes were consistent and confidence inspiring. I kept lapping around the 1.53 – 1.52s each time apart from when I had a massive spin due to a driver error. One thing that I would have liked personally was more front rotation/grip for the slow corners. Really great tune this one. Well done.
@Ale67
Best Lap Time: 1.52.893
DC: 9.2
Impressions of the tune:
A grippy and confidence inspiring tune. Wheel spin was limited by a well-designed LSD and transmission combination. The brakes were perfect for this track and the cornering was nearly spot on. There was the slight under steer issue once again but this was definitely balanced out well by the grip of the car. The mechanical grip this car had caused some issues with the front-end rotation however. The positive aspect of this was the speed it could carry through the fast flowing sections with minimal effort. The main issue I had with this car was inconsistency in lap times. It seemed to reach a performance peak where the balance and neutrality just dropped off an invisible cliff. A great tune and a great time but a little inconsistent at times. I can guarantee that at least one of the other testers will love this tune as it has a lot of positive aspects to it.
@steve nfs
Best Lap Time: 1.52.937
DC – 9.6
Impressions of the tune. A well balanced tune, good traction and grip levels. Transmission worked really well and was efficiently tuned. The under steer was minimised quite a lot but suffered a little bit through the fast flowing sections. Brakes were consistent, as were the lap times throughout the test. The wheel spin was minimised but could cause issues when accelerating out of the slow corners and when a corner entry was too hot. These are little things really as I really enjoyed this tune and it felt more at home when you just cruised along smoothly. Really fast times for relatively easy driving. A great job. Well done.
I can't wait to see how this whole thing turns out! There are so many different ways this car has been tuned, yet the times stay so similar! This entire FITT experience has been enlightening. I'm looking forward to the next one already! 
And here I thought we were getting along.
