GTP Sportcars Series - SNAIL Official Team

[Jakedog23]

Yeah. I didn't make out to bad. I got a full setup. Running with a T300 RS/TH8A Shifter/T3PA Pedals. It was worth the price.

Haha, good play man.
I am leaning to the G29 just based on my experience with the 27.

 

[Fallen_log]

Haha, good play man.
I am leaning to the G29 just based on my experience with the 27.

Cool. Good luck.

For those who don't know, I managed the SNAIL team last year as a kind of misfit crew. We came out with a 3rd in LM P2 and the GT500 Championship. So, good luck to you guys, I know you have the talent.

 

[Jakedog23]

Well i must go I have a 50 min GT1 race to get done

 

[FlipJ]

It looks like I will be seeing a lot of you guys on the track. I am the TM for the Endurance Experience TCN-1 team. Good luck guys.

Thank you, Fallen.
Sorry to hear you won't be on PS3, but I guess we will all join you on PS4 sooner or later.
Cheers

 

[RobbiefromBC]

I think a team meeting is in order. Lots to talk about, and lots to test/tune/familiarize ourselves with protocol. Thankfully, my other team DART, is running GT3-AM so there will be no conflicting schedules. (Except for the Nurburgring 6 hr) The only thing I see that could potentially get in the way is real life racing and work. (Assuming they're on weekends) I'm excited to help and be a part of getting snail into endurance racing, regardless of how small my contributions may be.

 

[FlipJ]

Once I get everyone's contact info, we will get on it.
There is a lot to discuss and decide.
TCN team managers are already getting info from the series and BoP is being finalised.
I would like the team to run the cars with the current BoP numbers to get a sense of how close they are.
Parameters are, as of today:
TCN-2
477 - 300 - 0980 - Honda Integra Type R DC5 TC
489 - 335 - 1120 - VW Scirocco GT24

We can also start getting a feel for how the cars race.

 

[Jakedog23]

Once I get everyone's contact info, we will get on it.
There is a lot to discuss and decide.
TCN team managers are already getting info from the series and BoP is being finalised.
I would like the team to run the cars with the current BoP numbers to get a sense of how close they are.
Parameters are, as of today:
TCN-2
477 - 300 - 0980 - Honda Integra Type R DC5 TC
489 - 335 - 1120 - VW Scirocco GT24

We can also start getting a feel for how the cars race.

Due to school and rules I will not be able to touch games on the PS3 until Fridays.

 

[FlipJ]

Due to school and rules I will not be able to touch games on the PS3 until Fridays.

Can I dislike that one?
But rules are rules, so we'll work around them, don't worry about it.

 

[Jakedog23]

Can I dislike that one?
But rules are rules, so we'll work around them, don't worry about it.

Yeah don't we all want a dislike on that man. Sorry again for the inconvenience.
But the bright side is that that rule is only in place when school is that week. So I will be on all of Christmas Break

 

[FlipJ]

Yeah don't we all want a dislike on that man. Sorry again for the inconvenience.
But the bright side is that that rule is only in place when school is that week. So I will be on all of Christmas Break

It's no inconvenience, it's just real life. We all have that.

Also, when the contact info is sent (one driver has done that, thank you), please indicate your preferences regarding softwares and all, so we can set this up with minimal hassle to all involved. If everyone is skype, that's what we'll use, etc.

 

[Sedia3]

Ok, fellas, this is it, we are in.
You are now the proud representatives and standard bearers of SNAIL before the best GTPlanet has to offer.
Let's show them what SNAIL is all about and what we are made of.

As predicted, we start from the bottom, TCN-2, hopefully with the Scirocco.
If we get the Integra, we drive the crap out of it too.
But, even if it's the bottom in terms of categories, the tracks we are going to are anything but. Bathurst, Nürburgring (x2), Silverstone. That's a fearsome group of tracks, especially since we are going to the Green Hell for a 24 hour race.
We will go, we will see and we will conquer.

There's a community set up for the team, so whoever doesn't have me as a friend on PSN, please add me so I can send invites out. That will probably be the easiest way to set up training sessions and whatever else we need.
Also, we are going to have to set up communication lines with everyone, so I would ask that you all send me your contact info via direct message. Mother and Father's home numbers are not necessary but welcome. Everything else is a must. We are going to try out Skype or any other solution for immediate communication and I would like to set something up with instant messaging as well, unless anyone has an issue with it. But I would like to be able to reach people without going through a bunch of hoops, if at all possible, as once we get to racing, it's going to be indispensable that we can find each other fast.
If I sometimes use those methods to send links to videos of old Lancias and/or Nürburgring laps, well, you will all have to excuse me beforehand. I'll try to keep those to a minimum.

If anyone has an impediment regarding any of those dates, please let me know as soon as you can (or as soon as the impediment is born). Knowing in advance will go a long way towards making sure we have no last minute desperation situations.

Rules and Regulations:
GTP Endurance is filled with rules, obviously.
I am preparing a cheat sheet so that everyone doesn't have to read the whole thing, but we are going to have at least one online meeting where we discuss these and ask all questions that you guys might have.
I'm going to try to bring in one experienced Endurance driver to help out as well.
If anyone wants to read it, it's obviously a plus.

Tuning:
Jake, marching orders are set for you, my friend, work your magic.

Once Jake has sent out his tunes, everyone will have to take it the tracks in our calendar and see how they feel about it, reporting back to him. For those that haven't used his tunes before, he's very very good and his tunes are generally universally approved, but each driver has his own style and subtle changes can be made to the cars to fit these, but let's use his knowledge to the max.

Testing:
We are going to train a lot of driver changes. This is a critical part of actual endurance racing and it's just as important in this series, especially because there CANNOT be any overlap of two drivers of the same team in the room, but we also don't want to screw around and lose time so that we don't risk overlap.
Just because we are a rookie team, doesn't mean we are going in with training wheels on. We are hitting the ground running hard.

We will also have training sessions where we can discuss techniques and tips around each track, so that everyone has a chance to learn and to share whatever secrets they uncover.
No question is stupid in these and no information is irrelevant.
From top to bottom, everyone here is a quality driver and will be expected to be ready to drive all tracks.

Finally
I'm very excited about this. Although I was caught up in some BS today (aka work) and couldn't catch the announcements live, I was on pins and needles about it and am glad about the result.
So let's make the most of this and have some fun while competing and chasing some wins.
And if anyone can't drive the Nürburgring with eyes closed yet, get ready, because it looks like we are going to live in that place this year.
I'll do my best to make sure you guys can all do your best on track.
Let's do this.

Schedule of Events (not yet confirmed):
March 19 (Qualifying)
March 20 (Race)
Bathurst 6 Hours (Mount Panorama)
*Run with TCN-1

May 13-14 (Qualifying)
May 21(Race)
24 Hours Nürburgring (Nürburgring combined circuit [sic])
*Run with GT3 Pro and TCN-1

June 10 (Qualifying)
June 12 (Race)
Silverstone 10 Hours (Grand Prix Circuit)
* Run with TCN-1

September 10 (Qualifying)
September 11 (Race)
6 Hour Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen (Nürburgring Type V)
*Run with GT3 AM


@RobbiefromBC @CoachMK21 @Jakedog23 @Sedia3 @goofytyler @o8_jedi @Xradkins

I believe i am free those days for qualifier/race but only time will tell.

 

[Jakedog23]

Well guess I should post a little in here being as i am the tuner of the group
I would like to ask those you don't tune very much what is your preferred driving style(s) are.

 

[RobbiefromBC]

With a fwd, I prefer a little pitch and catch, loose on entry kind of setup. Get the car pointed down to get on the throttle earlier

 

[Sedia3]

Tight fast cornering speed without getting too loose in the back, then a powerful acceleration that the gears wont run out too quick.

 

[FlipJ]

Loose back on entry to get back on the power early, responsive front to point it and go. If I can trial brake a bit after starting turn in (I know the back is probably coming out a bit, but not uncontrollably), even better.

 

[FlipJ]

To all:
Anyone has taken the cars out? We need to sign off on the BoP but I would like more opinions than just my own.

 

[CoachMK21]

I took the VW out for 8 laps at Bathurst last night and I found it pretty easy to drive. I'm not certain on settings, but I de-tuned it to 265 HP and ran with ABS 0. I ran several low 2:20's with this set up, but obviously can always go faster. Shift point seemed to be best a little before redline and it never hits the limiter on the big downhill. With ABS at 0, you need to be real careful with brake pressure or the back end kicks out very easily. This was very evident cresting the top of the mountain where it's a little bumpy and right, left quick turns upset the handling. Heading up the mountain, it's just foot to the floor after turn 3 through the top. Overall, it was a fun car.

I was going to do a similar test on the Honda, but got called away with a kid issue.


I'm new to this tuning thing as well as the necessary settings for the endurance racing. So if what I stated as settings aren't right, let me know.


EDIT:
I guess you can disregard most of my post, since I didn't have the right settings. I must have looked at a wrong document.

 

[FlipJ]

They will run as:

477 PP - 300 HP - 0980 kgs - Honda Integra Type R DC5 TC
489 PP - 335 HP - 1120 kgs - VW Scirocco GT24

You don't necessarily need to tune them to test the BoP, just see if they turn the same kind of lap times.
We will be assigned a car, we won't choose it, so we just need to make sure they are similar so that we are not in trouble if we get a car that is a bit down on the other.
I imagine that, once Jake has his way with the car, it will turn faster lap times, but that can't really be helped after the fact.

I ran them both without any changes to suspension, gearbox, etc., just to get a feel for the rides.

 

[JamCar0ne]

I ran half a dozen laps in each car at Nurburg GP/F and these are my findings:

I ran both cars at SNAIL spec, Sport Medium tires and aids off.

First, ran the Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 Base Model '08. The after oil-change specs* are 484pp / 336hp & 1120kg. I saw no quick way to get 489pp with 335hp, so I ran it at as it was. I consistently ran low 2:17's but missed the apex to turn one on every lap. I like how this car down shifts, seems to provide smooth engine braking without the machine gun effect of the rev-limiter.

Next, ran the Honda INTEGRA TYPE R (DC5) Touring Car '04 at 477pp / 300hp (after oil) and 980kg. Note, I added 30kg of weight to make the 980kg but did not shift the weight fore or aft. First thing I noticed with this car was it was a bit harder to turn-in, but once it did, it pulled out of the corner decent. Also, the car has better grip when cornering below 55mph. The engine seemed to rev from 8k to 9k quickly, don't know what that means, but it's something I noted and may as well mention it. Times were low 2:16's

Since the Honda was a second quicker, I compared a few settings. The weight distribution for the VW is 50/50 whereas the Honda is 59/41, but adjustable from 60/40 to 58/42 if the weight can be moved. The power to weight ratio for the Honda was a little better (sorry, don't recall the numbers but it was a couple hundreds or so). Camber and LSD settings where different as well. May as well note the TOE on the VW cannot be changed, but is adjustable on the Honda.

For my next session, I will try putting a baseline suspension tune on both cars to see how they compare.

*Note: the VW specs, are they correctly specified to be 489pp/335hp? Do I have the wrong car?

 

[FlipJ]

I ran half a dozen laps in each car at Nurburg GP/F and these are my findings:

I ran both cars at SNAIL spec, Sport Medium tires and aids off.

First, ran the Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 Base Model '08. The after oil-change specs* are 484pp / 336hp & 1120kg. I saw no quick way to get 489pp with 335hp, so I ran it at as it was. I consistently ran low 2:17's but missed the apex to turn one on every lap. I like how this car down shifts, seems to provide smooth engine braking without the machine gun effect of the rev-limiter.

Next, ran the Honda INTEGRA TYPE R (DC5) Touring Car '04 at 477pp / 300hp (after oil) and 980kg. Note, I added 30kg of weight to make the 980kg but did not shift the weight fore or aft. First thing I noticed with this car was it was a bit harder to turn-in, but once it did, it pulled out of the corner decent. Also, the car has better grip when cornering below 55mph. The engine seemed to rev from 8k to 9k quickly, don't know what that means, but it's something I noted and may as well mention it. Times were low 2:16's

Since the Honda was a second quicker, I compared a few settings. The weight distribution for the VW is 50/50 whereas the Honda is 59/41, but adjustable from 60/40 to 58/42 if the weight can be moved. The power to weight ratio for the Honda was a little better (sorry, don't recall the numbers but it was a couple hundreds or so). Camber and LSD settings where different as well. May as well note the TOE on the VW cannot be changed, but is adjustable on the Honda.

For my next session, I will try putting a baseline suspension tune on both cars to see how they compare.

*Note: the VW specs, are they correctly specified to be 489pp/335hp? Do I have the wrong car?

That's what the BoP says, I'll check mine when I get home, though.

Will also finish my testing running at Bathurst, so far only did the Nürburgring.

 

[CoachMK21]

Am I right that we have to use ABS set to 0?

 

[FlipJ]

Am I right that we have to use ABS set to 0?

Tech regs are not yet finalised, but last year, TCN-1 ran without them, so it's likely to carry over.
I've been driving them without, since getting them back on is probably easier to adjust than the other way around.

 

[RobbiefromBC]

Right now, I'm leaning more towards the Teggy than the VW. I've driven both previously at stock settings, and the VW can handle the slow twisty bits without ruining the tires, but is slower than the Honda on the fast jerky bits. (I think... Been so long since I've driven the things) Also, don't forget we can adjust brake bias. Find out what setting the brakes need to be at to get maximum braking performance without ABS in a simple straight line test. Get up to a reasonable speed and slam on the brakes. If the tires still lock up, dial it back a bit and try again. The way the brakes work in this game with a stock pedal set it pretty pitiful to the real thing without tweaking some settings.

 

[Jakedog23]

Honestly the reason for the VW is that it just feels more stable.
But I can tune either has I already have both.

 

[FlipJ]

Honestly the reason for the VW is that it just feels more stable.
But I can tune either has I already have both.

We should run them both and be ready for whatever is given to us.

Who's available for some running this weekend? I know it gets in the way of preparing for Sunday Night, but can't be helped, Sundays are bound to suffer for a wee while.

 

[Jakedog23]

We should run them both and be ready for whatever is given to us.

Who's available for some running this weekend? I know it gets in the way of preparing for Sunday Night, but can't be helped, Sundays are bound to suffer for a wee while.

Haha well seeing as I don't run Sundays I will be ok.
But I am watching STAR WARS tonight at 10:30 then I will be busy Saturday 8-11. After that though I will be good.

 

[FlipJ]

Haha well seeing as I don't run Sundays I will be ok.
But I am watching STAR WARS tonight at 10:30 then I will be busy Saturday 8-11. After that though I will be good.

Man, you're going to trade preliminary testing for BoP certification before the season for the most anticipated and awaited movie of the last decade? Sheesh....

In all seriousness, have fun, and we'll figure out a time this weekend. I'm probably not running on Sunday, as I practiced one minute this week, so if all goes wrong, we can get in track Sunday night.

 

[Sedia3]

Im yet to test the cars but with past experiences the VW are very stable cars, not too sure about the Honda though. And a question. Whats "BoP"?

 

[FlipJ]

Balance of Performance. Fancy way of explaining the practice of putting more weight in some cars when competing in categories with different brands on order to keep everyone together.
It's hard as hell and usually leads to resentment, bitterness and name calling.

 

[Sedia3]

Balance of Performance. Fancy way of explaining the practice of putting more weight in some cars when competing in categories with different brands on order to keep everyone together.
It's hard as hell and usually leads to resentment, bitterness and name calling.

ahhhh gotcha. So when do we find out our car?