LeMONS to LeMANS Season 3 [Wednesday]
- Thread starter chuyler1
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chuyler1
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- chuyler1
Had some fun testing last night with Joe, Cujo, Miata, and Diabolic. We ran a few mock races at GVE-R and Laguna. The MR cars are definitely fast but there are plenty of other cars that can keep up with them.
There are FF cars that are the quickest in a straight line but tire wear will obviously be an issue. The question is whether a slower MR or FR car can make passes stick. I think its possible at Laguna and Autumn Ring due to the short straights and slow turns. Fuji will be tough because you've got to build quite a gap for a FF car not to draft pass you to the next turn. Nurburgring is going to be about staying out of the pits more than anything else. Daytona and le Sarthe the slower cars are screwed.
This season I think will be more about strategy than anything else. I'm going to race hard every race because that's what I enjoy doing...but I suspect I won't place near the top unless I throw away at least one race to get credits.
There are FF cars that are the quickest in a straight line but tire wear will obviously be an issue. The question is whether a slower MR or FR car can make passes stick. I think its possible at Laguna and Autumn Ring due to the short straights and slow turns. Fuji will be tough because you've got to build quite a gap for a FF car not to draft pass you to the next turn. Nurburgring is going to be about staying out of the pits more than anything else. Daytona and le Sarthe the slower cars are screwed.
This season I think will be more about strategy than anything else. I'm going to race hard every race because that's what I enjoy doing...but I suspect I won't place near the top unless I throw away at least one race to get credits.
chuyler1
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I need to do some car shopping but I might be on late tonight. I don't know how you guys have been finding that 4WD Celica under 385. I've got 3 now that are over. I've started testing a few cars that I know are over just to see if they are worth refreshing the UCD to find one with higher miles. Someone had an '85 RX-7 last night and mine was over by 10pp. I added engine detuning just so I could run some laps but it was 1/2 second off the pace. Not bad...but I have better options.
chuyler1
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I finally found that '70 Skyline. It is much better than the others but it has horrible gearing. The grip is solid, making comfort softs feel like sport hards. I installed a racing exhaust to get it to 385pp but it could only produce a 1:22.3 @ gve-r, not coming close to the top 10 list in my practice mode. It just cant get up to speed on the inclines which will make it slow through almost all of Laguna Seca. It does have the turbo option though, which is better than the other Nissans.
One car i was surprised by today was the Peugeot 106. Added a mid rpm turbo and it is good for a 1:21.6. It is light so it doesnt push as bad as other FFs and it is pretty quick in a straight line.
One car i was surprised by today was the Peugeot 106. Added a mid rpm turbo and it is good for a 1:21.6. It is light so it doesnt push as bad as other FFs and it is pretty quick in a straight line.
- 2,600
- Saint Louis
- diabolicwyvern
Huyler, the Celica I ran only had the chassis refresh, but not the engine. I'm betting it goes to 389-390. Still, there are other Celicas that I've found to be quicker.
- 2,254
- Burlington, NC, USA
- a_garris/Vol_Jbolaz
This is cross posted from the Tuesday thread. I'm really posting it to invite people to practice this Tuesday. I figured the other stuff wasn't bad either:
A couple of quick thoughts:
Keep your eyes on the first post. The rules will be changing a bit. Things are completely settled just yet.
Your car must be 385 PP after an engine refresh. You must do an engine refresh. New cars must be 380 PP.
You may add parts that affect PP before the first race. Only those parts. Last season, the limit was 375. I think my car started at 372. You may not be able to get to 385 exactly.
You may not use engine limiting or ballast for the first race.
I will be hosting a practice session this Tuesday. We will run little five lap races at GVE-R, Madrid, and Laguna Seca. This will just be a chance for people to play with the cars they are considering. I have two FFs and an FR that understeers that I'm looking at. I may look at some others if they come up in my UCD.
If there is a car that you are looking for, let us know. We may have it. I don't mind keeping an eye out for it. I like to have two copies of the car in my garage. One to race, and one to test with it. I recommend it. For that reason, I may need help finding a second copy of this FR I am considering. I'm going to keep it secret for now.
If you haven't raced with us before, I urge you to come out on Tuesday, and strongly urge you to make the preseason race. Also, please look into the 450 Club. If you aren't a tuner (I am not), then check out the Tuning forum. I can recommend the Cone Killer's 450PP Mazda RX8 Online Racer. It is very quick and stable. I like it a lot.
Also, keep in mind, this is a eight race series. Please, don't commit unless you feel you can make it. If you miss three races, you will be dropped.
A couple of quick thoughts:
Keep your eyes on the first post. The rules will be changing a bit. Things are completely settled just yet.
Your car must be 385 PP after an engine refresh. You must do an engine refresh. New cars must be 380 PP.
You may add parts that affect PP before the first race. Only those parts. Last season, the limit was 375. I think my car started at 372. You may not be able to get to 385 exactly.
You may not use engine limiting or ballast for the first race.
I will be hosting a practice session this Tuesday. We will run little five lap races at GVE-R, Madrid, and Laguna Seca. This will just be a chance for people to play with the cars they are considering. I have two FFs and an FR that understeers that I'm looking at. I may look at some others if they come up in my UCD.
If there is a car that you are looking for, let us know. We may have it. I don't mind keeping an eye out for it. I like to have two copies of the car in my garage. One to race, and one to test with it. I recommend it. For that reason, I may need help finding a second copy of this FR I am considering. I'm going to keep it secret for now.
If you haven't raced with us before, I urge you to come out on Tuesday, and strongly urge you to make the preseason race. Also, please look into the 450 Club. If you aren't a tuner (I am not), then check out the Tuning forum. I can recommend the Cone Killer's 450PP Mazda RX8 Online Racer. It is very quick and stable. I like it a lot.
Also, keep in mind, this is a eight race series. Please, don't commit unless you feel you can make it. If you miss three races, you will be dropped.
- 465
- sl3ightaru
The Celica 2000GT-Four lands at 393PP. I think it'd too heavy to be competitive anyway if it had less power to be 385PP. I have a feeling it would eat tires pretty bad also.
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- 2,600
- Saint Louis
- diabolicwyvern
I've been testing cars in and out of my lounge for the past three hours 
No matter what car I hop into, the times are all between 1:21.7 and 1:23.5 (which was a 380PP new car) With drafting, I think we are going to be a bit more smushed together this season
No matter what car I hop into, the times are all between 1:21.7 and 1:23.5 (which was a 380PP new car) With drafting, I think we are going to be a bit more smushed together this season
ShobThaBob
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- rosooftw
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- a_garris/Vol_Jbolaz
I've been testing cars in and out of my lounge for the past three hours
No matter what car I hop into, the times are all between 1:21.7 and 1:23.5 (which was a 380PP new car) With drafting, I think we are going to be a bit more smushed together this season
Is that GVE-R?
chuyler1
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- chuyler1
The lap times I posted for cars in the 2nd post were running GVE-R in practice mode with grip reduction set to "real". You have to set it to real, otherwise you can post faster laps by running wide out of turn 2. With grip set to real, if you run wide your tire picks up dirt and it slows your corner speeds entering the tunnel.
In all of our mock races, the cars are very close together. At laguna, cars that have less acceleration should be able to hang in the draft as long as they have decent corner speeds. The MR2 Spyder is the only car that I have found that will pull away from the pack (similar to the MG last season). However this season the MR2 Spydier will definitely need a transmission by mid-season so it will be at a 7,500 handicap toward the end.
Wednesday night I think I will host a practice lobby. Bring your 385 cars and we'll run some short 3-5 lap race at Madrid, Laguna, and Fuji.
In all of our mock races, the cars are very close together. At laguna, cars that have less acceleration should be able to hang in the draft as long as they have decent corner speeds. The MR2 Spyder is the only car that I have found that will pull away from the pack (similar to the MG last season). However this season the MR2 Spydier will definitely need a transmission by mid-season so it will be at a 7,500 handicap toward the end.
Wednesday night I think I will host a practice lobby. Bring your 385 cars and we'll run some short 3-5 lap race at Madrid, Laguna, and Fuji.
- 2,254
- Burlington, NC, USA
- a_garris/Vol_Jbolaz
In practice mode, GVE-R, real grip, I was only doing 1:25s in the three cars I was testing. I know I'm rubbish, but that is just sad.
I was happy that I was doing as fast in the FR as I was in the two FFs. I imagine I'm still driving the FF line with the FR and braking too soon for corners. I just need to get comfortable with how fast it can take the corners.
I did notice it push a little bit on exit. It didn't push as bad as the Talon, and honestly, I think I can deal with understeer better than oversteer. I suspect as the season goes on, it will lose weight and gain power and the tail might start kicking out a little bit.
I was happy that I was doing as fast in the FR as I was in the two FFs. I imagine I'm still driving the FF line with the FR and braking too soon for corners. I just need to get comfortable with how fast it can take the corners.
I did notice it push a little bit on exit. It didn't push as bad as the Talon, and honestly, I think I can deal with understeer better than oversteer. I suspect as the season goes on, it will lose weight and gain power and the tail might start kicking out a little bit.
chuyler1
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- chuyler1
Re: Quality of lap...
That's certainly true. My laps above were the best of 5 to 10. If I had to average laps, I'd say they would be a 1/2 second slower. GVE-R in these cars boils down to 3 brake zones. Get all 3 right and you'll get a good time. Drop 1-2 mph exiting one of the brake zones and you'll lose 2-3 10ths by the time you reach the next brake zone...but that can easily be made up during a race with drafting.
I think the most important part of the car is tire wear. It will dictate how long you can run those best laps. Given the choice between an FF and a FR that run the same practice mode lap times, I'll pick the FR because on a long run it won't fall off pace as quickly. However, when it comes to making that late race pass...the power you get on the straights from a FF is nice to have.
My MR2 from last season was pretty good on tires except at Trial Mountain. Luckily I wasn't battling for position late in my runs so no one saw how loose the car got. My 280z was great at the beginning of the series but as the tires got stickier, the front grip dropped and i ended up wearing the fronts very fast.
That's certainly true. My laps above were the best of 5 to 10. If I had to average laps, I'd say they would be a 1/2 second slower. GVE-R in these cars boils down to 3 brake zones. Get all 3 right and you'll get a good time. Drop 1-2 mph exiting one of the brake zones and you'll lose 2-3 10ths by the time you reach the next brake zone...but that can easily be made up during a race with drafting.
I think the most important part of the car is tire wear. It will dictate how long you can run those best laps. Given the choice between an FF and a FR that run the same practice mode lap times, I'll pick the FR because on a long run it won't fall off pace as quickly. However, when it comes to making that late race pass...the power you get on the straights from a FF is nice to have.
My MR2 from last season was pretty good on tires except at Trial Mountain. Luckily I wasn't battling for position late in my runs so no one saw how loose the car got. My 280z was great at the beginning of the series but as the tires got stickier, the front grip dropped and i ended up wearing the fronts very fast.
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