Ok TC1 Spec talk here,
@flip55 I've given up on trying to fix the Focus, its easily 1 second behind the pace (I tested at Grand Valley East), and has no hope of trying to keep up with the rest of the group. In other news though It seems the rest of the field including the Integra run within about .4 seconds of each other for the most part.
so heres what I've got: I ran each car with series specs, fresh out of the box for 10 clean laps not including the outlap.
The Frs ran fast lap of 1:06.226 and an average lap of 1:06.665
The Rx8 ran a fast lap of 1:06.183 and an average lap of 1:06.587
The Integra ran 1:06.289 and an average lap of 1:06.876
The Civic ran 1:06.119 with an average lap of 1:06.762
the Bmw ran 1:06.090 with an average lap of 1:06.559
The Scirocco ran a fast lap of 1:05.958: with an 1:06.582
and the Focus ran fast lap of 1:06.643 with an average of 1:08.119
Its interesting to note that the FF excluding the integra ran near the front of the fast laps but the FR cars ran generally better in the average laps.
Also I checked top speeds at the line for each cars fast lap.
the Frs had 128 mph at the line
The Rx8 had 131 mph at the line
the Integra had 137 mph at the line
the Civic ran 134 mph at the line
the Bmw ran 132 mph at the line
the Scirocco ran 136 mph at the line
and the Focus ran 142 mph at the line
Similarly interesting was the fact that FF cars had the speed at the line by a considerable amount, averaging 137.25 at the line between the 4 FF cars while the FR cars only average a 130.33, meaning that the FR cars are out handling the FF cars, but this is to be expected.
On a final note, my 10 lap tests didn't really account for tire wear but the FF cars were more worn by then end then the FR cars, this is also to be expected though.
I will finish by ranking the cars based on 1. The data I got from the stock variations of the cars and 2. my personal feel when I drove them. (disclaimer, this is mostly opinion and these cars are Very Very close to each other in terms of performance, I can see anyone of these car winning the series
1. The Scirocco R: I put this at the top of my list not because it put the fastest time down, but because of the potential for the car to consistently perform at the top levels without wavering or feeling like it would subside in a short time. Yes it did put the fastest time down for my test track (Grand Valley East) but I feel it only put that time down due to my confidence while driving the car around. Very planted and grippy in the corners. The only flaw with the Scirocco was the tire wear, easily the worst out of the group with 9's in the front at about lap 7 out of 10, where most other cars didn't even wear past 9 until lap 10.
2. Civic R: Similar to the Scirocco, very planted and easy to drive confidently, I can see this car being extremely competitive with the rest of the group, Tire wear is less then the Sciroccos but still a cause for concern with more lengthy drives. The main issue is Torque Steer with this car, you are going to need a light touch getting on the throttle in the corners with the Civic to be really fast with it.
3. Bmw 135i: Very Comfortable to drive, can easily push the car, Good grip, lots of tuning potential. The Weight is a double edged sword though, in my opinion, the weight makes the car feel good and stable, but it will slow the car down overall. A good Consistant car overall!
4. Rx8: The Rx8 Although low on my list is a standout handling car, most of the speed this car has is in the corners. but it comes with a bit of an over-steering feel as you would expect from a Mazda. Under Braking this car a bit unstable but it makes up for it by being a very well rounded car.
5. Frs/Brz/GT86: Good car, handles well, but low on speed compared to the other cars. very very stable car. Theres no real issues with this car, very well rounded.
6. Integra R: Ok, this car is probably the most difficult to drive out of the group, while also having a similar problem to the Focus where it understeers very heavily. This car can no doubt be as fast as the rest of the cars, but I had difficulty taming it under due to the Torque Steer, and corner entry is also generally hairy due to stability issues under breaking and understeer in mid to high speed corners. It can be fast however, and I imagine that with the later issues tuned for (as i ran the cars stock) this car could be a very competitive car.
7. Focus ST: Don't drive it, it is impossible to tune out the amount of understeer this car has, low speed corners are nightmares and you just slide off of high speed corners. Acceleration is difficult but top speed is the highest of the group. but it ran the worst Fast lap, and the worst Average lap out of all the cars.
Ok that about sums up my testing from this afternoon, Shoutout to
@miata13B for showing up for a little while before heading off. I may run a similar test at several different tracks included in the schedule to test for variances. Hopefully we can find out more from the group testing next week!
did not even think to fill up on fuel to help the car until late. wish I would have know there was a chance of rain. also are rain tires allowed? there were some real rain misters.
