July Car of the Month - Cuda Craze!!

[Bowtie-muscle]

@sinof1337 Cuda 440 Six Pack 550pp review:

Laguna - lap time 1:32.285
Well, if I thought the AAR was tricky on the throttle, this one was not as easy. Rear end could get very loose but when driving a muscle car with loads of power, it's kind of what you expect and are looking for.
And like most muscle cars, patience with throttle application is rewarded. Hard for me to recover if I made a mistake, but was fast when I didn't. Might have been distracted on the first race here, so I ran a second, won both though, just easier on the second race. Fun tune that reminds me of driving a Charger, watch your inputs in steering, be gentle with the throttle and the times drop. Good job.

Willow - lap time 1:22.633
Ok, so it's not as fast as your AAR, and looks better with the rear wing in my opinion. Funny how you can still see the shadow for it even though it has been removed.

Better and more fun here, still loose for me but much more enjoyable. Think softer rear springs might help just a bit, but again, just my opinion. Also found the final gear too short for this track which can be common if tuned elsewhere, I lowered to 3.000 and ran a 1:21.373. With the power dropping off around 600rpm, could squeeze just a bit more out of it by shifting early. I liked this tune as much as the AAR, but please reinstall the wing

Two really fun tunes here from you this month, thanks for posting and I hope to see you again next month. You might like the choice.

 

[Bowtie-muscle]

@Burned_Rubber 550pp AAR Cuda 340 Six Barrell review:

Well, I believe you've driven at least one of my tunes, but this will be a first for me driving one of yours.

Laguna - lap time 1:31.513
Driver error here, so first allow me to apologize, was having fun and pushed just a bit too hard on laps 2 and 3. Final corner once, and at the corkscrew on the other. But the lap time was sick fast anyway, can only imagine what I could do on a ten lap run in Arcade mode. Softer springs than the others, but it felt like a muscle car and I could feel the grip it added. Most notably in the rear, keeping it in line and not really jumping out on me as much as expected. Great cornering, plenty of power, and the trans was just spot on for this course. I could have kept driving this tune I was enjoying it so much. Easy to get the power down and stable enough to keep the rear in check while put in a fast lap. Well done.👍

Willow - lap time 1:20.309
This thing just keeps getting faster and never disappoints. It just ate up the desert and flowed with ease. Throttle and steering inputs needed to be watched but not too much, it could roll over the rear in some of the longer sweepers if you got too aggressive but was easy to learn where the line was drawn. After the quick laps at Laguna, I was expecting a fast lap here, it delivered and then gave even more.

Just an awesome fun ride here. True muscle car feel. So glad you through your tune in to the fray this month. Hope to see you join us again.

 

[Bowtie-muscle]

@fordracer 500pp AAR Cuda 340 Six Barrel review:

This will be the first of two reviews for you, should be fun to compare the times between them even with a 50pp split. That should give you an insight to what was coming. So of course, Laguna will be up first.

Laguna - lap time 1.34.117
Not sure why the lap time was slower than the others, I know it's only 500pp but still. I LOVED the sound of the Semi-racing exhaust! And the handling you put under this thing, it wanted me to push harder, and I did, and it took it. But the lap time does not show how much fun this tune is, or how great it stuck to the track. Might have been the brakes were too good, as I needed to adjust to how well they slowed the car down, often I was just about stopping way too early. Might have been costing me time but who cares. It was FUN driving this thing, power was ridiculously easy to get down and fir the track perfectly.

Willow - lap time 1:21.593
First the negatives, the brakes again gave me issues but I was able to adjust quickly here. Final corner and the left hander just before the uphill section was slowing down quicker than expected. The gearing, as with sinof1337's tunes, could have been stretched a bit for this track, but not if you looked at the stop watch. This beast was tamed, stable and stuck like glue, just an awesome tune. Amazing how quickly throttle could be applied on exit, and it would not jump, just grab some asphalt and go.

FANTASTIC tune at 500pp, period!

 

[Bowtie-muscle]

@fordracer Cuda 440 Six Pack 550pp tune review:

So, for some reason I thought both of your tunes were at 500pp, but not a big deal. Was really looking forward to this one after your AAR Cuda, but could it out perform it's sibling?

Laguna - lap time 1.32.081
Faster than it's sibling here, but this is the wild child. Not quite as stable as the Six Barrel. Patience was needed more to get the power down but it had more. Handled really well and the trans was again brilliant for this track. If you are looking for something a little more alive, this is it, but for stability I would choose the AAR. Both are fun, this one was faster though.

Willow - lap time 1:21.625
That time is correct, it was just a blink slower than your AAR Cuda . Getting on the gas was the biggest difference, this one needed patience and then it would pull down the straight. The shorter straights are where the AAR must have gained an advantage. The handling on this tune however, was like it was on rails here and much more enjoyable than at Laguna.Maybe just a bit more gear for higher top speed would help as I was pretty much maxed at the start finish line. Either way, the time was fast and the drive fun and enjoyable.

Now the pressure is going to be on you to deliver next month.
With the two tune you gave this month, I look forward to driving more.
Great job on a pair of MOPAR Beasts!

 

[sinof1337]

Two really fun tunes here from you this month, thanks for posting and I hope to see you again next month. You might like the choice.

Thanks for the reviews. I imagine that as long as it has four wheels and an engine I'll like it.

 

[Burned_Rubber]

Thanks for reviewing my tune, @Bowtie-muscle . I'm thrilled that you liked it and were able to get such fast, enjoyable laps. I jad a good time tuning for this event and look forward to the next one.
By the way, I'm sorry I haven't posted reviews yet for @sinof1337 and @fordracer. I've tested sins tune and built fordracers but haven't had the time permitted to post a proper review yet.

 

[fordracer]

@fordracer 500pp AAR Cuda 340 Six Barrel review:

This will be the first of two reviews for you, should be fun to compare the times between them even with a 50pp split. That should give you an insight to what was coming. So of course, Laguna will be up first.

Laguna - lap time 1.34.117
Not sure why the lap time was slower than the others, I know it's only 500pp but still. I LOVED the sound of the Semi-racing exhaust! And the handling you put under this thing, it wanted me to push harder, and I did, and it took it. But the lap time does not show how much fun this tune is, or how great it stuck to the track. Might have been the brakes were too good, as I needed to adjust to how well they slowed the car down, often I was just about stopping way too early. Might have been costing me time but who cares. It was FUN driving this thing, power was ridiculously easy to get down and fir the track perfectly.

Willow - lap time 1:21.593
First the negatives, the brakes again gave me issues but I was able to adjust quickly here. Final corner and the left hander just before the uphill section was slowing down quicker than expected. The gearing, as with sinof1337's tunes, could have been stretched a bit for this track, but not if you looked at the stop watch. This beast was tamed, stable and stuck like glue, just an awesome tune. Amazing how quickly throttle could be applied on exit, and it would not jump, just grab some asphalt and go.

FANTASTIC tune at 500pp, period!

I thank you for reviewing my tunes, and glad that you liked them. The AAR was a lot of fun to tune and test. I did have a tune that made it a quite a bit faster, but all the "joy" had left the tune. I let it set for a couple days, and thought about what I wanted form this tune along with some of the advice I had seen you give to other tuners. It was more than competitive in a wide array of career races and was fun to drive! It was rewarded with the stable colors.
The 440 I was never quite happy with. I wanted something a little different, and that's what I got. It is a wild child, no doubt.
I am up to the challenge next month, are you up the task of finding such cool group of cars?? I am sure you are. 👍

 

[Burned_Rubber]

Alright review time for @sinof1337. First up,

AAR Cuda 340 Six Barrel '70

First, I gotta say I really enjoyed watching the vids you made on this tune. It's refreshing to me to see how a good tuner/driver makes mistakes then turns the factory faults into a good tune. This car has a very good balance of power and rotation. As Bowtie already mentioned, the turn in on this ride is great and the wheelspin was kept in line relatively easily. It flowed through Laguna effortlessly and always wanted me to push it a little more. The brakes were perfect for me as default, allowing a slight rotation while braking in to a corner and not pulling the car straight to the kitty litter. I think the most baffling part of this tune is the transmission. It is perfect. It allowed me to use all of the available power without dropping off at the end like the others. That worked well for me being a MT shifter. A very good all around tune that seems rather universal. Great job on this one.
I'll edit and re-tag you when I get the other tune posted. I just got called in to work...

Edit:
Alright then @sinof1337 I finally have a review ready for you, thanks for holding

Cuda 440 Six Barrel
This thing is a monster on wheels. Call me crazy, but I really liked the "hold-on-to-your-a**-and-treat-me-right-or-I'll-put-you-in-the-dirt" feeling. Once I learned the way to treat the tranny shift, this monster felt more like a docile little beast...that would still try to kill me if I got out of line. It felt like the power outmatched the handling at times, but I think most of that is due to late braking and errors on my part. The turn in and exit speed are wonderful as long as you can exhibit good throttle control. All in all, it can be very fast in the right hands and was a truly exhilarating ride! Thanks for another great tune

 

[Bowtie-muscle]

So another month comes to a close today, and I tried to review all the tunes posted but fell short. So my apologies to @shaunm80 and @Ridox2JZGTE , working long hours and other priorities got in the way.

Thank you both for adding your tunes, as well everyone else who took part this month. Special thanks to @DaBomm4 for the suggestion.

Next month's car choice has been made, and although I normally tried to get it posted the last day of the previous month, it may not get posted until tomorrow as I just will not likely have time. Hope to see everyone come back for another month, as it should be an interesting choice.

 

[shaunm80]

So another month comes to a close today, and I tried to review all the tunes posted but fell short. So my apologies to @shaunm80 and @Ridox2JZGTE , working long hours and other priorities got in the way.

Thank you both for adding your tunes, as well everyone else who took part this month. Special thanks to @DaBomm4 for the suggestion.

Next month's car choice has been made, and although I normally tried to get it posted the last day of the previous month, it may not get posted until tomorrow as I just will not likely have time. Hope to see everyone come back for another month, as it should be an interesting choice.

Thats okay. I know you would have loved my tune anyway so its no biggie

 

[fordracer]

I have a coule more reveiws to post and 1 more tuner to test, I hope to get to it this afternoon. Just too much gojng on lately.

 

[Woodski_427]

What happened to July?

Not a lot of playing time - I only managed two tunes in the 550pp pre-80s US Trial Mountain TT. This was some time ago, and it seems along with scant playing time are scant notes.

Both runs were in the AAR 340 at 550pp.

First was @DaBomm4: 1:38.403

Good drive, but maybe a bit firm for Trial Mountain. A bit of understeer, and quite long braking zones especially after the straight. I found the outside rear would spin up on exit. You need to be delicate to get the best out of it.

@Burned_Rubber: 1:38.282

This was a much softer setup which made it easier to get the power down and slightly better braking. Felt like a more comfortable and forgiving drive than dabomm's, but of course when the car breaks away it is harder and longer to correct.

 

[Thorin Cain]

Hey there My @Bowtie-muscle Sorry for the delay, but this belongs here too

340 Six Barrel review in Merlin's Mystic Machines