Gran Turismo World Series

[Zorz]

Please excuse my blunt questions but they might help put this tire topic into perspective.

What brake balance did you use?
Are you on a wheel or controller?
What driver rating do you have?
Do you consider yourself capable and skilled enough to deliberately save tires by adjusting your driving style and if yes did you do that or is that just your natural style?

I ask because I worry that I as an okay ish B driver on a pad won't be able to get 15 laps out of the tires.

I guess I will go and simulate at least one 15 lap stint and see how I fare.

Not a problem at all.

1) Brake balance set to +5. I figure with this track being so punishing on the front tyres, anything to protect them even a little could add up.
2) Wheel
3) A+ (although only just above the cutoff)
4) I wouldn't say I'm amazing at tyre saving, but I made a conscious effort to drive as smoothly as possible after seeing Moose's results earlier. I was braking slightly earlier and lighter in places and trying to maximise coasting where I could.

Edit - I have the replay saved. If you'd like to look at it to see my driving style directly, let me know and I'll upload it.

 

[Moose78]

I've just finished a full distance test in the Audi (afternoon, S08 and equal conditions). I hate to say it @Moose78, but I think you're overworking your front left. Your tyre wear is far in excess of what I had.

Well, isn't that fantastic. Not only will I be on the slow end of the field, I'll also have to pit more often. Great. Just great. Everything is shaping up for another fantastic result on Wednesday.

Congrats on the win on Saturday, btw! Well deserved!

 

[Belos]

Hello 🙂
yes, I trained for 32 laps and no rain..

I've done a 12-lap test in each of the five cars using the fuel and tire multipliers in a custom race (afternoon - S08 - equal conditions mode on).

Interestingly, only the Ferrari and Lamborghini were able to make it to end without the front left tire burning out completely -- the Renault only made it 9 -- and there was no way they were going to last another 3. It looks like a 1-stopper is out reach for me.

I was fastest in the Ferrari, with the Lamborghini not far behind. Details in the spoiler below.

Spoiler: Tables and charts

Disclaimer: My test results reflect the idiosyncrasies of my driving style. Unless you drive like a moose, you will likely get different results. I encourage everybody to run their own tests.

Manufacturer	Model	Laps	Opt time	Best time	Avg time	Total time
Audi	R8 LMS Evo '19	10	1:45.643	1:47.934	1:49.883	18:18.834
Ferrari	458 Italia GT3 '13	12	1:46.166	1:48.313	1:49.187	21:50.249
Honda	NSX Gr.3	11	1:46.942	1:48.433	1:49.970	20:09.665
Lamborghini	Huracán GT3 '15	12	1:46.127	1:46.895	1:49.645	21:55.739
Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	9	1:45.979	1:47.055	1:49.542	16:25.882

View attachment 1447267

Tire tread levels at the end of the final lap:

Manufacturer	Model	Laps	Front left	Front right	Rear left	Rear right
Audi	R8 LMS Evo '19	10	5%	55%	55%	60%
Ferrari	458 Italia GT3 '13	12	15%	55%	45%	50%
Honda	NSX Gr.3	11	10%	45%	50%	55%
Lamborghini	Huracán GT3 '15	12	5%	45%	45%	50%
Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	9	1%	55%	65%	70%

For an apples-to-apples comparison, here are the 10-lap numbers for the cars that made it that far (i.e. excluding the Renault):

Manufacturer	Model	Laps	Opt time	Best time	Avg time	Total time
Audi	R8 LMS Evo '19	10	1:45.643	1:47.934	1:49.883	18:18.834
Ferrari	458 Italia GT3 '13	10	1:46.166	1:48.313	1:48.969	18:09.694
Honda	NSX Gr.3	10	1:46.942	1:48.433	1:49.721	18:17.208
Lamborghini	Huracán GT3 '15	10	1:46.127	1:48.490	1:49.298	18:12.978

One observation that might be worth noting here is that despite enabling the Equal Conditions Mode in the race settings, the conditions did seem to vary from race-to-race. For example, the Lamborghini test was dark under a cloud for the entire time, while the Renault test was bright and sunny. I don't know if that impacted tire wear. I suppose I could figure that out by running multiple tests in each car. All of these results were from a single run in each.

Usually -- but not always -- the races follow the weather in Free Practice. I don't know if there's any rain in Free Practice though. I've only driven 5 laps there in my longest run. Has anybody driven out a full 30 laps in Free Practice to test this?

 

[Wilsonson]

Not a problem at all.

1) Brake balance set to +5. I figure with this track being so punishing on the front tyres, anything to protect them even a little could add up.
2) Wheel
3) A+ (although only just above the cutoff)
4) I wouldn't say I'm amazing at tyre saving, but I made a conscious effort to drive as smoothly as possible after seeing Moose's results earlier. I was braking slightly earlier and lighter in places and trying to maximise coasting where I could.

Edit - I have the replay saved. If you'd like to look at it to see my driving style directly, let me know and I'll upload it.

Thanks for your answers. Lighter breaking and deliberately more coasting is something I definitely have to practice. Once I need to deviate from the optimal time trialing line and break points (hello there real opponents) I struggle.

No need for an upload for me. I will try and do a stint or 2 tomorrow and see how it goes.

 

[goudaj]

Looks like I will have to 2 stop. Tested the Audi and the meta Lamborghini, front left on the Audi went full red near the end of lap 11 and the Lamborghini part way through lap 15. That was with BB set to 5 rear for both cars.

I was instantly faster in the Lambo so I will be going with that, like everyone else most likely. We can pretend it's a Super Trofeo Asia race.

 

[bliprunner]

Had a lobby test race yesterday, was quite interesting as the two strategies converged in the final laps...

...well, nearly converged. It was definitely on but I managed to crash chasing down the leader on the 2 stopper.

This was my first go so I was hoping to one stop but even after 9 laps I was struggling and the leader was over 2 secs in front. But in the final stint I was doing fastest laps and his lead was disappearing, unfortunately there was one car in-between and I managed to crash finding a way past.

If there's a lot of people one stopping then the two stopper will be extra tough because of traffic, so I need to quickly learn how to preserve those tyres!

 

[Fezzik]

Not sure about doing this one. I tried a practice and started getting finger cramp around lap 25. Going to be a tough one for pad users even without the excess tyre wear. Plus Wednesday is now Andor day so time is limited.

 

[Wilsonson]

Had a lobby test race yesterday, was quite interesting as the two strategies converged in the final laps...

...well, nearly converged. It was definitely on but I managed to crash chasing down the leader on the 2 stopper.

This was my first go so I was hoping to one stop but even after 9 laps I was struggling and the leader was over 2 secs in front. But in the final stint I was doing fastest laps and his lead was disappearing, unfortunately there was one car in-between and I managed to crash finding a way past.

If there's a lot of people one stopping then the two stopper will be extra tough because of traffic, so I need to quickly learn how to preserve those tyres!

Ok this settles it for me. Two stopper it will be. Risk of crashing will be way too high even at the rare chance that I might be able to nurse the tires through 15 laps.

For context, blip is very, very fast and I suppose therefore on a skill level where he knows how to preserve tires if necessary. (From the current time trial)

Decided to try and make the top 10 …

View attachment 1446381

 

[bliprunner]

Ok this settles it for me. Two stopper it will be. Risk of crashing will be way too high even at the rare chance that I might be able to nurse the tires through 15 laps.

For context, blip is very, very fast and I suppose therefore on a skill level where he knows how to preserve tires if necessary. (From the current time trial)

Well based on yesterday's race I seem to be terrible at tyre saving! I'm alright at TT's with no tyre wear, no other cars and no pressure!

The opening laps I was right behind the leader and pushing them hard, in retrospect I should have sat and conserved. I didn't have the right mindset.

 

[stpatty]

I've just started some practice. 4 laps in the Renault and my front left is at 50%. I'm not going to have a fun time.

 

[Zorz]

I'm now torn between the Audi and the Ferrari. I thought I'd give the other cars another shot now I've got the track down, and suddenly found a whole lot of time with the Ferrari.

Take that into a full race doing the 1-stop to compare and I went a whole 10 seconds faster with the Ferrari. It also appears to be much better off the grid start.

Should be a done deal going by those, but my tyre wear in the Ferrari is worse. I think I could definitely do a safe 1-stop in the Audi, even with a little bit of fighting and sliding around under dirty air. I'm not so confident I have enough leeway to compensate for that in the Ferrari...

 

[stpatty]

I've done some practice (5 laps) with each car in race conditions. For me, with brake balance +5 in all of them, the Lamborghini is the fastest and the only one with a chance of making its tyres last for a two stop. I have very little MR Gr.3 experience in this game, never mind a 30 lap tyre saving race at a horrible track. Good luck I guess.

 

[A1an]

I have just finished a test in the Ferrari, Lamborghini and Audi and that was the order I preferred them in, I threw together a quick livery 🙂

I am just going to two stop so I can go on maximum attack, and at my low rank I doubt many would be able to make one stop work.

 

[Moose78]

I've kinda figured out how to save the tires for a 1-stopper. I've been driving the Ferrari and have done a couple custom races with a 1-stop strategy: one against a full field just to see if it was possible, and another against a single car to get a clean measurement of how long a full race would take with the pit stop.

I have to say that it felt like my approach to tire saving was really slowing me down, but going back and comparing my lap times to the ones I did without tire saving, it might not be as bad as I initially thought. My fastest lap was only a couple tenths off my non-saving best. All I'm doing, though, is being lighter with my steering inputs, adjusting my entries and exits to avoid turning sharply.

I still have to try a full-out 2-stopper to see how the total times compare.

I'm really not expecting to be at the sharp end of the field at the race tomorrow, so I might just give the 1-stop strategy a try anyways, making it more of an adventure than driving around the bottom of the order for an hour. We'll see.

 

[Wilsonson]

After watching the latest How to master from Mik Hizal I decided to do a 30 lap test race as well. All in the Lambo.

My personal FL in the race was miles off my free practice PB of 1:45.5. Is fuel that much of a factor? The driving experience and handling of the car was also somewhat different when comparing the race and free practice. At least free practice feels better which bodes well for the race.

I activated the light boost for the race. Maybe that was the problem. I honestly don't understand how the boost system even works. Does it only apply to the AI cars (definitely way more power when trailing) or to myself as well?

My findings:
Tires: no chance at a 1 stopper for me. The diminishing weight of the fuel throughout the race seems to really make a difference. A 9-10-11 strategy seems to make sense.
Race length: I am pretty certain that it will take slightly more than an hour again. No back to back for GT2 and 3.

Tires after 10, 20 and 30 laps:

My race results vs Mik Hizal's from his video:

4 seconds difference in fastest lap by AI. Maybe he had boost strong and because he was still driving away from them the boost for the AI cars kicked so hard that they did this lap. I don't understand.

 

[Wilsonson]

… All I'm doing, though, is being lighter with my steering inputs, adjusting my entries and exits to avoid turning sharply. …

I'm on a pad and don't have most advanced fine motor skills. Therefore I heard my tires squeeling non stop going through corners full lock. I know that should push the stick only maybe 80% to the side but I just can't do it consistently at all and always fall back to the full lock approach.

I am pretty certain that what you describe here makes indeed all this difference.

 

[Moose78]

I'm on a pad and don't have most advanced fine motor skills. Therefore I heard my tires squeeling non stop going through corners full lock. I know that should push the stick only maybe 80% to the side but I just can't do it consistently at all and always fall back to the full lock approach.

I hear you. I feel like I've figured out finer control of steering and throttle, but I'm in the same boat with braking.

It's possible to adjust the sensitivity of the steering with the analog sticks (somewhere under the game settings, IIRC). If you are looking to reduce tire wear, it might help to reduce the sensitivity a notch or two. I usually run with it at 6 myself, fwiw.

 

[Zorz]

My personal FL in the race was miles off my free practice PB of 1:45.5. Is fuel that much of a factor? The driving experience and handling of the car was also somewhat different when comparing the race and free practice. At least free practice feels better which bodes well for the race.

I've found the fuel seems to make a ~1 second difference when the tyres are at their best.

Race length: I am pretty certain that it will take slightly more than an hour again. No back to back for GT2 and 3.

Definitely more than an hour. It's probably going to be closer to 70 minutes in total once you take into account the warm-up, the pauses on the menus, 6 minutes of qualifying plus the extension time, Nations Cup cutscene etc.

4 seconds difference in fastest lap by AI. Maybe he had boost strong and because he was still driving away from them the boost for the AI cars kicked so hard that they did this lap. I don't understand.

The AI will rubberband and gain an absurd increase to straight line speed if you get a big enough gap on it, even if boost is turned off in the race settings.

I've seen AI cars go from being horrendously slow to suddenly setting fastest laps that would beat world finalists whilst also using worse tyres practicing for GTWS races over the years in custom races. Mikail must be able to push that to extremes as a former world champion.

 

[Yard_Sale]

Being that my Manu season went to hell with IRL stuff, I decided to start tire testing for this last week - as it looks like at this exact moment, I’ll be able to participate.

A 1-stop was never on my radar, as my 458 on a tire shredding track with ANY kind of multiplier isn’t a winning combination. But rather, I did tire testing to see how many laps I could get out of a set of tires just in case we get rain, and I find myself in a position where I need to extend a RS stint beyond 9-11 laps.

Figured out that I can run solid pace till about lap 12. I can fairly easily get them to lap 15 with decent pace if I take care of them. And I can get them to lap 18 on life support (with ASM enabled). Regardless, my maximum stint I’ll pursue is 15 laps. If they for some awesome reason give us 15 laps of wet in the beginning or end…I’ll one stop it. If they give us 10-13 laps of wet in the race, I’ll still 2 stop it.

That is of course, unless I can do an ultra undercut towards the end of a wet stint, where I have to stick to the narrow drying line like glue in order to pit a lap or 2 early

 

[afc5150]

I have 1 shot at entering this race and that's GT2 slot 5 at 4pm and that's only if I can skip out of work a few minutes early. The later slots are just too late for me during the week.

 

[TheWeapon874]

Looking forward to this one! I just did my first practice laps, and I can get 17 laps out of the tyres on the Lambo, but the pace does drop off by about 3 sec a lap at the end. I think a 1 stop is probably optimal, but an absolute rocket may be able to make a 2 stopper work

 

[goudaj]

Just did Slot 4 Oceania GT2, 133 point race. Started P2 in the Lambo which was a nice surprise as I'm sub par at Gr.3.

I committed to a 2 stop (end of lap 10 and 20) and it worked well, finishing on the podium in P2. The winner, who was much faster than everyone and finished 20 secs ahead, also 2 stopped (end of lap 9 and 19). A few people attempted a 1 stop but it didn't work for them, it'll be interesting to see how a 1 stop goes in more higher level lobbies. We also had clear air throughout the race so that probably helped too.

 

[Wilsonson]

Started watching this guy because Oceania GT2 are the very first slots to get a look at the day's race. Nice bloke from down under.

Main finding: Ferrari is way better off the line and routinely catching Lambos into turn 1. This also means that there is quite the potential for lap 1 T1 carnage because there could be many instances where Ferraris have a legitimate shot at a pass.

Also there is definitely no rain. Sunny all race.

In the first race he did a 17-13 1-stopper on the Ferrari. Laps 16 and 17 were a out 2 seconds off his pace but the fresher tires allowed him to take P2 in the penultimate lap. Most others at the front did the 15-15 or 14-16.

In the second race he did 14-16 with pace dropping much earlier this time, after about 13 laps in the second stint.

Among the higher finishers only one did a 10-10-10. One driver for some reason did a 15-6-9. Probably had a laps of judgement confusing their own strategy I reckon.

Personally I will go for the 10-10-10 or 9-10-11 because I don't trust my tire saving as well as safety on shredded tires at all.

Generally high 46s to low 47s seemed to be regular pace in qualifying here in GT2 with 45s the exception. In the race the FL was 46 flat. Being able to go somewhere in the 47s seems to be good for a podium. But of course this depends heavily on the lobby.

 

[Moose78]

After doing a 2-stop test race, it seems I'm about 10 seconds faster doing that than a 1-stop. I'm way off the pace regardless of strategy, though, so it is more a choice about what kind of race I want to have. I figure most drivers will be doing a 2-stop, so if I do the same, I can have a mostly uneventful race where I settle into an ever-widening slot with the faster drivers taking off and the slower ones falling back. A 1-stop seems like it would be pretty relaxing for the first 2/3rds of the race while I drive tire-saving laps in clean air, but more exciting in the last third as the strategies come back together and the faster drivers on fresh tires try to get by.

Given how late in the day the race is, I'm not sure I want to be back-loading all the excitement to the end of the race. On the other hand, I think it would be fun to see where the alternative strategy comes out.

I'm undecided, but I still have lots of time to think about it.

Best of luck to everybody racing today!

 

[Jailhouse_Chr]

I got my desired result in the first race, which was >80 points in DR B. Here's how it went:

I did a test race the day before in the Lambourghini as that seemed the quickest. I tried a 1 stop and at my skill level it was really ugly. I was 3s a lap slower than my best by the end of lap 15, and I span a few times at the end. After that paultry display, I decided to do a 2 stop in the race itself. Total length, including Qualifying is about 70 minutes, so you can only race every other hour in GT2.

After qualifying reasonably (P9 vs. a DR rank of P10) I worked my way up to 4th. A stupid spin on Lap 7 saw me in 6th at the 10th lap pitstop and I finished 5th after the 2nd pitstops were done. Everyone ahead of me did a 1 stop strategy, and I think I lost 6 seconds on the 4th place finisher in the end, but I don't think the strategy would have made a difference to the final result.

I watched the replay, and I wasn't as bad on tyres as some. I saw some people were burning through all their tyres in 7 laps, so care is needed. Someone with more skill than I can undoubtedly do 15 decent laps on one set of softs. I also found the Lambo fastest on BB +2, but +5 is needed for tyre life in the race itself.

 

[BluRacer7]

Figured the 2 stop would be faster since this race we're using Real Slipstream so dirty air will make following closely and overtaking much difficult as well as wearing out your tyres much faster. Clean air is key, Lambo might be the go to car but I can see some pick the Ferrari since that car has mighty acceleration off the start compare to the Lambo.

 

[Jailhouse_Chr]

Figured the 2 stop would be faster since this race we're using Real Slipstream so dirty air will make following closely and overtaking much difficult as well as wearing out your tyres much faster. Clean air is key, Lambo might be the go to car but I can see some pick the Ferrari since that car has mighty acceleration off the start compare to the Lambo.

I think that's one of the differences between GT2 & GT1. After the 3rd lap or so, everything was pretty spread out in GT2, so we had clean air. Watching the top lobbies later on will be interesting.

 

[BluRacer7]

I think that's one of the differences between GT2 & GT1. After the 3rd lap or so, everything was pretty spread out in GT2, so we had clean air. Watching the top lobbies later on will be interesting.

I race in mostly Splits 3/4/5 in GT1 so the field will try their hardest to stay close to the front runners as possible while at the same time risking burning their tyres much quicker.

 

[Rangeraus]

A few people attempted a 1 stop but it didn't work for them, it'll be interesting to see how a 1 stop goes in more higher level lobbies.

For OCE top split, P1, P2 and P5 went for a one-stop, while P3 and P4 two-stopped. I'm not sure which was ultimately better but both were viable.

I thought it was an interesting race where strategies converged at the end. It was a bit of an odd car and track combination to have a 53-minute race though.

 

[Mumster]

I ran a custom race and 1 stop is basically impossible. Not sure how anyone can make the tires last 15 laps.