Grand Canyon

[JohnnyFiama]

I’m currently working my way through the off-road special conditions having pretty much ignored them up to this point. On Normal I can win them all without too many problems except for the Grand Canyon which is driving me mad. It’s just too twisty! What is the best car to tackle this with? I’ve tried the Toyota RSC Rally Raid Car, Subaru Impreza Rally prototype and a few other 4WD cars but no success. In my garage I have things like the Pug 205 rally car, RS200 and Renault 5 Turbo..... what is best in a car for this stage? Power? Weight? Size? Help!!!

 

[Catlin]

Escudo Pikes peak? rips every car

 

[alhajoth]

Power isn't really much help on this course, bouncing off the walls isn't going to help your time much. I'd go for something smaller and more nimble.
I used the Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A '02 for the normal races, and the Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX STi Spec C '04 for the hard races, but I took the time first to really get to know the course.

The best advice is to learn the course well enough to avoid getting those 5-second penalties.

Still, 4WD is probably the way to go, and don't go crazy with the power.

 

[PARAGON GT]

Power will get you into more trouble on this track than it will help you.

I used a unsed fairly stock R34 GT-R. (Dirt tires and a close trans if I remember right.)
I may have added a little more power, but i don't think it was anything past a stage 2 turbo.

 

[Lucas]

Remember than once you are ahead, things get easier for you. It's not easy to drive with a cloud of dirt in front of you, especially if you aren't familiarized with the track! Try to get ahead as soon as possible!

 

[ramchargerQC]

win the peugeot 205 Turbo16 evo 2 rally car, put the better turbine, you will have 594 hp, you can win grand cayon normal and the hard really easy with this car.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

win the peugeot 205 Turbo16 evo 2 rally car, put the better turbine, you will have 594 hp, you can win grand cayon normal and the hard really easy with this car.

Escudo Pikes peak? rips every car

cough cheaters hack scuse me.


It sounds like you just need to practice the track, Johhnny. If you've done all the other off-road Normal tracks, certainly you can finish Grand Valley. Perhaps you're in a rush?

I really like the early Evos....I thru III. Close gearing, semi-racing suspension....and racing brakes. I found I didn't need either a VCD or a limited-slip of any kind with these cars. Actual suspension tuning can vary, too...you don't need to be super-precise with Evos.

If you aren't so experienced with the game, perhaps try using a WRC car, but you shouldn't need anywhere near 500 hp as the cheaters suggest. I was running about 380 with the Evos. I also did Grand Canyon (both directions) with an SUV: the Mitsubishi Airtrek. I used about 450 bhp with this one.

As others have suggested, it helps to get ahead early, and STAY ahead. Knowledge of the track should keep you from relying on stoopid power.

 

[KAMKA-Z]

Grand Canyon is tough. You just need more practice. It's the most disjointed, unflowing piece of road in the game. It's tough to get just the right entry speed and not overcook the corners. I've used the 04 WRX STi for the easy and medium. It may take me a WRC car to beat hard.

 

[Open Addict]

Best way I found to tackle the special conditions is to use the piece of advice I picked up around here some-where (I think from Famine).

Special Conditions hall. Do Easy, Normal then Hard in one direction. Once completed do Easy, Normal then Hard in the reverse direction.

 

[JohnnyFiama]

Thanks for the replies, I guess at the end of the day nothing can beat practice and knowing the course. I managed to win it in the normal direction so now just have to learn the track in reverse!

 

[Diego440]

The thing about Grand Canyon is that you have to learn to be slow to be quick. As others have said, it's a tad disjointed, and frankly, despairingly slippery in the slower parts. On these slower parts it very much resembles the continuous curves in Chamonix, where you just have to glide from one curve to the next in either 1st or 2nd gears.

The other issue with the track is that the AI does it so prefectly and doesn't seem to screw up once, and they also don't get penalties. It's very easy to get a bit restless in the parts when the AI is clsoe to you, since they tend to use you as a brake.

 

[Lucas]

Another thing you must remember, is that handling is more valuable here than power, as others have suggested. There's only one straight in this course where you need power, and even so, it's not worth it at all. A car with as low as 250hp can keep up with a Rally-bred Impreza here, and I know that because I have used my 220hp Elise to keep up with it. But as I say, it's not easy to be behind the entire race. You can't afford to lose concentration. Other than the advices you were given, there's nothing more left to say, other than practice and remember the course. Doing the dirt licences would help you too, especially if you can gold them, since most of them are in the Grand Canyon course. I suggest the Super Licence time trial 👍 Good luck!

EDIT: About size, you better use a small car. It's not easy to pass here, so the smaller, the better.

 

[JohnnyFiama]

I finally won at the Grand Canyon. The posts above were correct, ultimately it doesn't matter what you drive (witihin reason), circuit knowledge is the key.

This is true with all of the "tricky" circuits, off road, street and the Nurburgring. Once you've learnt the circuits then it's easy to be quick....

 

[Jonn 79]

I just cheat.

Got a 400++bhp Celica ST205 use that on every track. What i do is never use a lower gear. I keep the car in 3rd for the majority of the twists and turns, but use shorter gearing so the boost lag is not so evident while keeping the big power from affecting my turn. Just as i exit the corner boost has already crept up and it provides enough torque and pull to stay ahead.

Cheap trick.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

I finally won at the Grand Canyon. The posts above were correct, ultimately it doesn't matter what you drive (witihin reason), circuit knowledge is the key.

This is true with all of the "tricky" circuits, off road, street and the Nurburgring. Once you've learnt the circuits then it's easy to be quick....

...this has been my motto for years: Knowlege of the course is way more important than pure horsepower.

 

[ozirules]

Took me forever & finally cracked it with the Ford Focus rally car & after winning ,hopped into my Dodge Ram to get the 200pts & yes practice practice practice .
Ozi

 

[mk2escort]

Being learning Grand Canyon today. Really like it now,its the closest to a proper gravel rally stage in the game. The Escort WRC & '99 Impreza WRC are great on it. I thought the Accent was neat and tidy but it was 5 seconds slower than the others!

As for road cars,the Evo IIIs seem to really suit it.

 

[GBWH1991]

If I remember correctly, I used the Ford Focus rally car. I find it to be quite 'stable' and easy to control on the dirt.

 

[C-ZETA]

While Grand Canyon is a very hard track, don't worry - it's certainly not the hardest. The hardest is probably Chamonix, and that'll probably have you tearing you hair out. Once you learn the track, use the RSC Rally Raid, it's definitely the best car to use on the dirt. But if you wanna be REALLY cheap, go ahead and obtain the Escudo...no one's stopping you. Also, you could try the RS200 Rally, the Impreza Rally Prototype (though that may well make it pretty challenging), the Mitsubishi Evo Super Rally, or if you want to really challenge yourself - try a Mitsubishi Evo IV Rally. I pretty much got my head handed to me when I did that, though (I tried it stock).

 

[Parnelli Bone]

While Grand Canyon is a very hard track, don't worry - it's certainly not the hardest. The hardest is probably Chamonix, and that'll probably have you tearing you hair out.

Actually, i found Ice Arena to be the one that got me really pissed. Chamonix is tricky, but it allows one more areas to get a good-clean pass, with less chance of garnering those stupid 5-second penalties.

Ice Arena is so damn cramped....with odd areas of the ice wall sticking out onto the track. Grrr i hate it.

Once you learn the track, use the RSC Rally Raid, it's definitely the best car to use on the dirt. But if you wanna be REALLY cheap, go ahead and obtain the Escudo...no one's stopping you.

problem is, you lose any cred. Sure you'll win, but not necessarily because you're talented. 💡

Also, you could try the RS200 Rally, the Impreza Rally Prototype (though that may well make it pretty challenging), the Mitsubishi Evo Super Rally, or if you want to really challenge yourself - try a Mitsubishi Evo IV Rally. I pretty much got my head handed to me when I did that, though (I tried it stock).

👍 Not to brag, but I would use these guys for the Hard level. At Easy or Normal level, I've been using such cars as the Mazda RX-7, Dodge Charger, '69 Camaro, along with a long list of near-stock Evos & STis, Audis, etc.

 

[KAMKA-Z]

I've been revisiting this event to try and knock off the "Hard" Special Conditions events. Grand Canyon stinks more than I remember. While my driving is improving, (evidenced by the times shown in the diary everytime I lose) tuning for better car control is escaping me. I like to watch the AI from the driver's view on the replays for driving tips. I'm stunned that the AI slides so little! I wonder if it's actually possible to tune a car to drive like that. Sometimes it's like it's on rails. If real rally drivers drove like the AI driver, spectators would go home thinking rallying was boring.

Give me Chamonix or the Ice Arena over Grand Canyon any day.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

I've been revisiting this event to try and knock off the "Hard" Special Conditions events. Grand Canyon stinks more than I remember. While my driving is improving, (evidenced by the times shown in the diary everytime I lose) tuning for better car control is escaping me. I like to watch the AI from the driver's view on the replays for driving tips. I'm stunned that the AI slides so little! I wonder if it's actually possible to tune a car to drive like that. Sometimes it's like it's on rails. If real rally drivers drove like the AI driver, spectators would go home thinking rallying was boring.

Remember, the Ai is usually driving the very best cars for the job. And their laps around Grand Canyon represent the very BEST a driver can do, with very few moments of true error.

It takes incredible control, but it's possible. Brake & steer in very early...ignore the impulse to drift & slide into every corner (it won't matter, you'll wind up sliding a bit no matter how careful you are).

I've been doing lots of Special Condition racing lately with AWD, rear-drive, and even some front-drive cars (tho no FF at Grand CAnyon!) It takes super-discipline to get Grand Canyon right. Swiss Alps, CAthedral (both I and II) are way more fun.

One thing I think nobody has brought up in this thread: TRY AND STAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRACK. Notice at Grand Canyon the middle of the track has been tamped down? You'll get the best traction if you stay in this area. On both sides of the track, the dirt is looser. There are some key areas where I've found myself driving into these side areas to slow me down (so I don't have to use as much brakes) but generally, we should be avoiding the sides of Grand Canyon 90% of the time. The big exception (oddly) is the entire area where you're driving beside the cliff. Instead of a soft area, there's a flimsy barricade!

Give me Chamonix or the Ice Arena over Grand Canyon any day.

Hmmm...I'll take Chamonix, but I'd rather race Grand Canyon than Ice Arena!

 

[KAMKA-Z]

I've been doing lots of Special Condition racing lately with AWD, rear-drive, and even some front-drive cars (tho no FF at Grand CAnyon!) It takes super-discipline to get Grand Canyon right. Swiss Alps, CAthedral (both I and II) are way more fun.

I attempted a FF Golf at Grand Canyon but it was pointless for HARD. The Golf is an excellent 2wd rally car in real life.

One thing i think nobody has brought up in this thread: TRY AND STAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRACK. Notice at Grand Canyon the middle of the track has been tamped down? You'll get the best traction if you stay in this area. On both sides of the track, the dirt is looser. There are some key areas where i've found myself driving into these side areas to slow me down (so i don't have to use as much brakes) but generally, we should be avoiding the sides of Grand Canyon 90% of the time. The big exception (oddly) is the entire area where you're driving beside the cliff. Instead of a soft area, there's a flimsy barricade!

Yes, definitely everything off the beaten path is marbles. Just the opposite of real rallies where the path most taken is rutted and loose.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

I attempted a FF Golf at Grand Canyon but it was pointless for HARD. The Golf is an excellent 2wd rally car in real life.

I haven't been able to win Grand Canyon in a front-drive at Easy or Normal levels. Not against an AWD car, anyways. It's certainly possible to win against one of the 2-wheel drives that show up.

Yes, definitely everything off the beaten path is marbles. Just the opposite of real rallies where the path most taken is rutted and loose.

I've always taken the opinion that GT doesn't really feature rallies, they're more like rallycross.

 

[OpelAstra]

I finally won Grand Canyon Easy yesterday--and it wasn't easy. I'm about 33% through GT4, so my skills are somewhat developed, but still, this track gave me a friggin' workout!.

Using the practice mode, I tried all the likely 4WD cars in my garage including the Toyota Rally Raid, Two Lancia Rally cars (don't remember where I won those), the Subaru Rally car as well as my original Impreza (my first ever car)

But you know what I ended up tuning and winning with? I used the 2004 Land Rover Range Stormer Concept that I won at Special Conditions Cathedral Rocks (Trail I).

I tuned the bejeebers out of it. I ended up with some combination of stock exhaust, middle stage engine tuning, faster clutch and midweight flywheel, plus some tweaks to the suspension and a little lightening up of the overall weight.

Playing with the tuning, I was able to balance its properties of higher rolling mass for stability, low rev torque for grunt work, and softer suspension for calmness and grip.

It's a rig that beats all the rally-specific cars I've tried and it does it real calm and cool.

It was probably the hardest I've worked to win a race, in many ways; tuning, learning the course, learning how to drive on dirt, etc.

It was very rewarding to have finally won. Now on to harder versions!

(Yes, I know this is a 3 year old thread...)

 

[AndersonG22]

If you hit the wall sideways you dont get a penilty and can ride the walls for an easy win.You only get peniltys if you hit something with the front of the car.

 

[tricd04]

I don't think so... I remember hitting a couple turns on Grand Canyon with the back end of my car and getting a 5 second penalty. I may be mistaken, though.

 

[BobK]

AndersonG22 is correct. No penalty if the back end hits, as long as the front end doesn't also hit.

 

[Pupik]

Hmmm...i'll take Chamonix, but i'd rather race Grand Canyon than Ice Arena!

Heh, my sentiments exactly! If I lose at Chamonix, I've probably had some fun. Even winning at Grand Canyon/Ice Arena isn't fun, for some reason.

Maybe there's something about tooling around in a 400-500hp beast on a track with too many 20mph turns that bugs me.

 

[Petrolhead1]

On Easy and Normal mode, I used a fully tuned Evo 6 GSR T.M. with no problem at all
👍