I decided to try one more run in a stock car for now, with lower PP, against a slower field this time. Long story short, it didn't go well.
I chose the undesired Supra, the '97 SZ-R. Stock parts. SM tires. 230hp, 1450kg. Tried the first field with an extra 125kg ballast in the back because for some reason I really wanted to at least try 410PP. Too slow, front tires going off badly after 14 laps. Aborted.
Ran online for a little while then went back, took the ballast off, so 417PP. Ran against Field #5.
G35 Coupe '06
Legacy 2.0GT Spec B '03
Impreza Sedan WRX STI '94
Fairlady Z Version ST '02
Fairlady Z '08
Lancer Evo GSR '92
350z Gran Turismo 4 Ltd '05
Fairlady Z 300ZX Ver. S TT 2seater '98
Skyline GT-R V-Spec '95
Silvia Spec R Aero '02
Soarer 430SCV '01
Skip to the end of the post for the more valuable info if you don't want to read the unpleasant details. I really need to learn how to keep things shorter but I'm just no good at it.
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I started with the brakes a notch lower this time at 6/5 to try to help tire wear.
The G35 held the field up for the first 5 or 6 laps. The WRX was first to get by on lap 4. I was patient and raced pretty fairly with them, had a good fight with the Fairlady Z '08 for a few laps, messed up and dropped back, caught back up to him, then dropped back again. I could have easily skipped straight to the front if I had wanted to take advantage of their idiocy but I didn't. I wound up running even slower times than I did at 410PP because of the traffic jam.
After a mistake in the turn 2 hairpin on lap 6 I dropped back to 8th and then as the others finally started to get by the G35 I found my gap to first had gone from 5 to 18 seconds in a couple of laps. After getting bashed around pretty bad by the AI from the start of the race(I was innocent in all of it I swear
), I passed the G35 for 5th on lap 8. Then I finally get a chance to see my times, which aren't as good as I hope. I'm losing ground, but not much on my good laps. Too bad the WRX I was chasing didn't turn out to be the real threat.
15 laps in, my front SMs are down to half wear, rears only down 10% or so and still blue. The front end is way too heavy(55-45) and it's killing me. I had a hard time finding the right lines to minimize the understeer, and only managed one lap barely under 2:20. I forgot until now to lower the brake pressure as the tires wore, which hasn't helped. The gap has grown to 29 seconds.
Lap 20 I pit after a couple of lousy 2:23s. The car can do 2:21-2 but my driving and the worn fronts are making it very difficult. I almost think I should be using the e-brake. The deficit balooned to 45 seconds before I stopped. Front tires down about 75%, rears down about 25%(and still blue). The crew says I need 7 liters of fuel so I leave it for later. After pitting and rejoining 8th, I left the brakes at 5/4 to try to get another decent lap. Gap was 1:17 after pitting. The Fairlady Z '08 has taken the lead by now.
After being further frustrated by understeer I turned the rear brakes up, so 5/5. I I set a really nice 2:18.036 early in the stint but sadly can't even get back into the 28s at all the whole rest of the time, steady 2:19s for the most part. The Fairlady Z '08 pits on lap 22, catches and overtakes the WRX to get back in front on lap 29. The Z Ver. ST '02 pits after lap 29 and I pass him.
I retake 7th and 6th on-track by lap 30, then the WRX and 350Z Gran Turismo 4 '05 at the start of lap 31, but expect them not to stop again. I've long since abandoned hope of winning, but it's too late to restart so I soldier on to get some data. I've had some problems with oversteer at Turn 2 but more problems with just not slowing down enough to turn in. The 5/5 balance seems to be helping more than hurting the rest of the lap, though the times don't show much.
I move up to 2nd after lap 31. The Fairlady Z Ver. ST '02 catches me and eventually passes me on lap 33, just before we lap the G35. The Z blows me away by the end of the lap. My times drop back into the 20s and I'm losing lots of time to the Z '08, over 50 seconds by lap 35, which is when the WRX catches me, passes me, spins in turn 1, smashes into me in turn 2 before I get by. The 350Z and Legacy join him behind me shortly. It takes them until lap 38 to pass me despite me not blocking.
I pit my second time on lap 40 with a 1:19 gap, after a slightly better series of times despite a 2:24 when the WRX pushed me wide in the last corner which is how those cars got by.
I only dropped the front brake pressure as the tires wore down in that stint, and left them that way (4/5) for the rest of the race. Very very rare that I want a rear brake bias. I often go down more than that late in a stint, but I don't know how much difference it would have made this time. It seems like once the fronts wear to about 20%, I can no longer turn and then they drop below half in no time. They are still about 75% used, but the rears are still only 25-30% worn. However it's not really on the brakes that I'm having the most problems, the car just won't turn, for example in turns 4 & 5 over the crest between the hairpins, where you don't brake at all. I'll never complain about understeer in my Z-28 again.
Interestingly, the crew only offers me 4 liters of fuel this time, which I take. 1:53 down after the stop.
Some time around half to three-quarter distance I rather stopped caring about how polite and contact-free I was being to the AI cars, unusual for me.
After pitting I get an 18.8 with a little tow and soon a 2:17.647 fastest lap with a big slipstream on the front straight. Then I immediately drop back into the 2:19s. It takes longer to catch 7th, and 6th pits from right in front of me on lap 54. Fairlady Z '08 pitted after lap 43, and kept the lead. He caught me and lapped me at the start of my lap 58. I had thought that second caught me a lap later, it was a car I hadn't seen before, but it was actually the GT-R coming from the rear of the field. I let him go thinking he was second and so I didn't get to see if I could hold him off and maybe take advantage of passing the cruising Fairlady early on our lap 60.
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Too many words for such a lousy race, so here's the summary and results.
Me:
417PP, SM tires, Supra SZ-R '97 fully stock. No aids.
FL: 2:17.647 (tow)
Most good laps only in the 2:19s.
Car is ok for the first couple laps but soon starts to understeer very badly and chews the front tires up in no time with a 55-45 weight balance. I eventually countered this with a 4/5 brake pressure which made it feel better, but not necessarily any faster. 20 laps is pushing it despite the tires not approaching zero. "Best handling in it's class" indeed... is it classed as a light truck?
Car only needed 4 liters of fuel to reach the end.
The gears are actually not bad, 1st is useless as you'd expect but you just about redline in 5th on the straight. I never hit the limiter or really needed 6th without a tow. I do wish 2nd was 5-8mph longer, you almost but not quite need it in turn 2 and between the tunnels, at least while your tires are good.
Stopped on laps 20 and 40. Car would have much preferred 17, 34, and 51.
Race Results:
My time: 2:22:24.374 (+2:37.721)
That makes the leader's time: 2:19:46.653 if my math is correct. I would have very nearly lapped him with the Z28 and its 30 more PP.
Full Order:
1 Fairlady Z '08 -- Stopped on 22 and 43. --------------- FL 2:14.338
2 Fairlady Z Ver. ST '02 ---------------------- +1:43.1 -- FL 2:16.475
3 WRX STI '94 ------------------------------ +2:16.957 -- FL 2:17.918
4 Legacy B4 2.0GT spec B '03 --------------- +2:17.750 -- FL 2:17.478
5 350Z Gran Turismo 4 Ltd. '05 -------------- +2:19.237 -- FL 2:17.597
6 Skyline GT-R V-Spec '95 ------------ +2:27.280 (1 lap) -- FL 2:16.981
7 *Supra SZ-R '97 ------------------ +2:37.721 (1 lap) -- FL 2:17.647
8 Silvia Spec R Aero '02 --------------------- 1 lap -- FL 2:17.286
9 Fairlady Z 300ZX Version S TT 2seater '98 -- 1 lap -- FL 2:17.966
10 Soarer 430 SCV '01 ----------------------- 1 lap -- FL 2:18.541
11 Lancer Evo GSR '92 ----------------------- 2 laps -- FL 2:21.908
12 G35 Coupe '06 ---------------------------- 2 laps -- FL 2:21.625
A couple of those cars were probably really down another lap since the winner was cruising in cooldown mode for a full lap.
I never stood a chance, kind of knew that by lap 15 but it was already getting late and I had a time limit. The Valley is always fun, and wrestling with the car was it's own form of frustrating fun too. Particularly in the difficult turn 2 hairpin which I still consider one of my favorite corners in all of racing, on one of the best racetracks never built. I'm sure I could have done much better and would do if I tried again with all I know, but a win is probably impossible for me, maybe 3rd.
I'll try this again with Sports Softs and an aggressive surge to the front. If that doesn't work I'll try tuning the car's non-power/weight parts to see what I can do. A wing is likely as useful as it would be on a Neon. I will win with this underpowered pig before I give up. Then perhaps I'll move on to something more enjoyable and highly tuned. Sadly I don't have any sitting around that wouldn't require massive limiting.
This does seem like a decent field for low-pp runs, as a lot can happen with the slowest car starting first, though there is probably a slower "fast guy" in another field.
Only kidding, at least this isn't going to ban the use of concepts. 👍
BTW, I don't usually drive like that but in the excitement I went straight back to the main menu and forgot to check the replay. 
These shots were taken immediately afterwards in free practice mode once I realised what I'd done and I was just hooning it about.
