I'm planning to spend some time this week testing out the different cars under race conditions. I have a feeling that tire life is going to play a big role here, especially in the 24-lap GT1 distance. I wouldn't be surprised if the cars with the best total race time are different from the ones with the best single-lap time. I'll keep you posted on the results.So any thoughts as to car choice for the final round at Fuji? Ordinarily I’d use the Lexus but it’s useless in the wet and it’ll likely rain.
Mandatory stop means rain is very unlikely.So any thoughts as to car choice for the final round at Fuji? Ordinarily I’d use the Lexus but it’s useless in the wet and it’ll likely rain.
Mandatory stops can co-exist with rain fine - the 45-minute Spa daily had both, as an example.Mandatory stop means rain is very unlikely.
They could...Mandatory stops can co-exist with rain fine - the 45-minute Spa daily had both, as an example.
It's the mandatory compound rule (when they say you must run say RH+RM) that they can't run with dynamic weather.
Got a urge to try one of the Toyota GT3's, but to my surprise it wasn't an option, why is that? (Maybe only PD knows... )
I'm still feeling a bit of a masochist by thinking of using the BRZ GT300 for the race. Even though I would only practice a day before or 15 minutes before the race starts...A quick update on car testing for Round 7. I've tested three cars so far in full-length 24-lap custom races. The cars were Nissan, Honda, and Mazda.
So far, it looks like all the cars will be able to easily make it to the half-way point in the race for a mandatory pit stop. All the cars had tires that were worn past the 50% mark by lap 12, so I expect most drivers will change tires. They all seemed to show some slight performance degradation toward the end of each stint -- though it is tough to gauge how much due to how inconsistently I drive that track.
The Mazda was the fastest of the three, but it was also the last car I tested, so it isn't clear if that is because the car is better or I'm just getting better at driving the track.
I'll post some numbers once I've done all the cars, which might take a little longer than I originally planned now that the new Nations Cup season has been announced.
Manufacturer | Model | Opt time | Best time | Avg time | Avg Dev | Total time |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lexus | RC F GT3 '17 | 1:38.535 | 1:39.453 | 1:42.381 | 0:01.689 | 40:57.154 |
Mazda | RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT | 1:38.532 | 1:40.614 | 1:42.743 | 0:01.674 | 41:05.829 |
Honda | NSX Gr.3 | 1:39.089 | 1:41.246 | 1:43.416 | 0:01.992 | 41:21.990 |
Nissan | GT-R NISMO GT3 '18 | 1:39.240 | 1:41.638 | 1:43.439 | 0:01.745 | 41:22.545 |
Subaru | BRZ GT300 '21 | 1:39.625 | 1:41.427 | 1:44.011 | 0:01.782 | 41:36.274 |
Manufacturer | Model | Front left | Front right | Rear left | Rear right |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lexus | RC F GT3 '17 | 25% | 40% | 50% | 60% |
Mazda | RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT | 40% | 55% | 45% | 60% |
Honda | NSX Gr.3 | 40% | 60% | 30% | 45% |
Nissan | GT-R NISMO GT3 '18 | 30% | 50% | 45% | 60% |
Subaru | BRZ GT300 '21 | 40% | 55% | 50% | 60% |
Manufacturer | Model | Front left | Front right | Rear left | Rear right |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lexus | RC F GT3 '17 | 30% | 45% | 50% | 60% |
Mazda | RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT | 40% | 55% | 50% | 60% |
Honda | NSX Gr.3 | 45% | 65% | 40% | 55% |
Nissan | GT-R NISMO GT3 '18 | 35% | 55% | 50% | 60% |
Subaru | BRZ GT300 '21 | 45% | 55% | 50% | 60% |
Great stuff there. I haven't tried yet, but i think I will select not the fastest car, but the one that helps me staying more consistent and more out of trouble in the last sectorFinished up my car selection tests today. Here are how things went for me, driving each car in a custom race against one AI rival, with fuel and tire multipliers, using a 12RM-12RM strategy (sorted by best total time):
Manufacturer Model Opt time Best time Avg time Avg Dev Total time Lexus RC F GT3 '17 1:38.535 1:39.453 1:42.381 0:01.689 40:57.154 Mazda RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT 1:38.532 1:40.614 1:42.743 0:01.674 41:05.829 Honda NSX Gr.3 1:39.089 1:41.246 1:43.416 0:01.992 41:21.990 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 '18 1:39.240 1:41.638 1:43.439 0:01.745 41:22.545 Subaru BRZ GT300 '21 1:39.625 1:41.427 1:44.011 0:01.782 41:36.274
Tire tread levels at pit:
Manufacturer Model Front left Front right Rear left Rear right Lexus RC F GT3 '17 25% 40% 50% 60% Mazda RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT 40% 55% 45% 60% Honda NSX Gr.3 40% 60% 30% 45% Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 '18 30% 50% 45% 60% Subaru BRZ GT300 '21 40% 55% 50% 60%
Tire tread levels at finish:
Manufacturer Model Front left Front right Rear left Rear right Lexus RC F GT3 '17 30% 45% 50% 60% Mazda RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT 40% 55% 50% 60% Honda NSX Gr.3 45% 65% 40% 55% Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 '18 35% 55% 50% 60% Subaru BRZ GT300 '21 45% 55% 50% 60%
Raw data in this spreadsheet.
The Lexus and Mazda look like the top two contenders for me. The Lexus was faster, but had more tire wear and saw a bigger performance impact toward the end of each stint. The Mazda, with the lower tire wear, will likely have a bigger window to pit, which would mean more undercut/overcut possibilities in the race. Both felt decent to drive on the track.
Not sure which I'll go with yet.
One thing I am sure of: I'm terribly inconsistent on the final sector of this track. My times -- like my lines through the corners -- are all over the place. Frankly, I have no clue what I'm doing there. Sometimes I'll go through final sector feeling like I nailed it, only to see that I was 0.8s off my best lap. Other times I'll think I've bungled it and find out I was right on pace or better. Totally clueless.
LOL! You are more than welcome! I'm glad you found it helpful. Hope you see you back here and the GTWS thread again in the future.The master tester here being ofcourse @Moose78 - thank you sir!
Me too, thanks for all your work and sharing the data!I'm leaning towards running the Mazda
Suits me, 3 out of 4 races counts in current Nations Cup, that meant I could skip the RA272 race and do the other 3.No race for me. I was planning to run it in the afternoon, but at the end i didn't fo it. The fact that only 2 (or 3) race score points didn't encourage me to ho for it.
I would prefer that most events would score points, instead of the opposite