Mad FinnTuners Co. - Finished 081213 - The Final Countdown, 4, 3, 2, 1, OUT!

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All I can do is wish you good luck. That nasty little bugger is one of the trickiest creations I've ever laid my hands on with its knife edge handling and absolutely non-existant warning when you've crossed the line from which there's no return.
 
A little reminder for visitors of this thread:

If you feel like giving feedback about our creations we have a good deal for you. Write a small review (really a review, not "the car is OK") about it, give us a car that you would like to be tuned to certain level and we'll PM the setup to you. Keep it sensible though, we're not guinea pigs for you to make fun about. No race cars (at least for the time being) as we've specialized in road models. Drifters possible but not recommended. Point the request PM to the builder the car you reviewed. If you want the car in a short notice you may have to send it to us to be tuned but that's something that can be discussed in the said PMs. While testing always assume the cars have chassis and engine overhauls carried out, used or new as they may not be marked but will be done whenever applicable. If ballast and engine power limiter aren't mentioned they aren't used.

Thus, if you try out our tunes and like it/dislike it, let us know so we can improve our tunes. As a reward, you get a custom tune just for you. Win-Win scenario, I'd say. ;)
 
Just to let you guys know... We may start pointing people after setups from us to you guys as effectively both of us are down until August.
 
Just to let you guys know... We may start pointing people after setups from us to you guys as effectively both of us are down until August.

Good decision. Before I came to you guys for tunes I used these guys. Before I managed to do everyone of their first tunes, then they started doing tunes for cars I simply couldn't get then found you guys and just used you all the time from there (the one tune I still have left from MFT's early days with this game is their GT Spec II tune since I gave all the others away to my friends, and I have at least one or two tunes from LDP). It'll be good to get into the Finnish spirit again :D
 
Lol, I can still hear it. I might do a review on the RS200 soon, but maybe just have Thursdays exam done first...
 
Lol, I can still hear it. I might do a review on the RS200 soon, but maybe just have Thursdays exam done first...

You can review cars and tune them?! Didn't expect that! Race ya to it :D first to write one and post it win :D (yesiamthatlame) You up for it?
 
Not my best review (by a long, long way), but it's the best I could do with limited time and the fact that the PS3 is not available for use at the time of posting…anyways, I hope this will suffice for now…
As we know, high powered FFs don’t really work. Just ask anyone who has a fully tuned Dodge SRT-4. They just weren’t built to handle all the power, they were primarily built to carry groceries and to get you from A to B in the cheapest and most practical way possible. Not this one though. This Volvo C30 isn’t your average dull-as-dishwater hatchback. This one is as mad as the people who tuned it. Under the typically sensible and understated (aside from the wing) body, it has 361 fire breathing horses hauling the 1186kg to a top speed on the exciting side of 180mph, 184mph to be exact. Enough to worry some very high-priced exotica. But while that’s all well and good, putting so much power in a FF does have side affects. Understeer, mostly. And though it isn’t as…catastrophic as some others I’ve driven, this does have that element in spades. Get ambitious, and it’ll have the tires and your ego for breakfast. Brake late, corner hard, go early on the power = understeer and possible injury. But what FF doesn’t do that? What makes this one stand out, is how it makes up for it.
The engine can pull you out of hairpins in 4th, where most engines would lag or fall off the power band. The gearing is tight/close enough to give ample acceleration, just enough to keep up with the Rufs and GTRs of the world in the corners. It can pick up quick enough to leave 500hp RWD cars behind exiting corners, but if the straight is any longer than a two or three hundred meters, you’ll run out of pull and you can expect the guys behind to soar by any second. The brakes can are gentle enough to slow you down for minor speed adjustments but not aggressive enough to stop you in an ‘emergency’. They are also a tad bit…dead, if you like. You brake, the car carries on and you don’t feel like it’ll ever stop. Lap time wise, it did a 2:06.839 on grand valley, which I know compared your lap times, is appalling. But two things. 1) this was under racing situations to see how the car would react with a driver that is under varied levels of pressure, and 2)GVS is not my ‘favoured‘ track. That goes to the Top Gear Test Track and Fuji Speedway F. I just drove here for the sake of seeing how easy this car was to adapt to on an unknown track.
Final thoughts? Well, I’m afraid that this isn’t one of my best reviews, as the car in question was tested at 400hp for RKM and had left me with one lasting impression. ‘I may be outrunning rich arses in their Ferraris, but soon, I will be dead as I’ll have understeered off the track’. That had been my impression of this car every time I saw it. With the power turned down to just 361hp, it just feels a little too underwhelming. That’s not to say it isn’t quick, but just slightly too…bland compared to the steroid-filled monster it once was. Think of this as a lite version of the RKM car, nearly as fast as RKM’s, but restrained enough to know when the tires have had enough.
 
You can review cars and tune them?! Didn't expect that! Race ya to it :D first to write one and post it win :D (yesiamthatlame) You up for it?

Yeah, you're lame. And no, I have exams to concentrate on first =P In the weekend though, I could possibly hammer out out a review. That isn't a *OMGHUGEWALLOFTEXT* like yours :P
 
Yeah, you're lame. And no, I have exams to concentrate on first =P In the weekend though, I could possibly hammer out out a review. That isn't a *OMGHUGEWALLOFTEXT* like yours :P

*OMGHUGEWALLOFTEXT*? My reviews for your cars are much longer (and takes something like 2 or 3 hours to put together)…still, looking forward to it, especially with the way your review of the Alfa 147 came out. And good luck with the exams, now GET BACK TO REVISING!!!
 
Audi RR8 '09

550+ bhp, 560+ Nm, 1313 kg, PP 567
Painted in Crystal White from Nissan


Clickable for full size

Parts to fit:
Oil Change
New Wheels, Prodrive GC-010G, finished in the original white colour
Chassis Weight Reduction Stage 3
Window Weight Reduction
Carbon Bonnet
Racing Air Filter
Sports Exhaust Manifold
Catalytic Converter: Sports
Fully Customizable Transmission
Twin Plate Clutch
Semi Racing Flywheel
Carbon Propeller Shaft
Torque Distributing Centre Differential
Fully Customizable LSD
Fully Customizable Suspension Kit
Sports Soft Tyres

Overall cost: Around a quarter of a million Cr.

Transmission

Note: First, reset the gearbox to the default settings, then set the Max speed, and only then set the gear ratios.

Gear Ratios
1st: 3.259
2nd: 2.217
3rd: 1.725
4th: 1.415
5th: 1.200
6th: 0.982
Final Gear: 3.450

Max speed: 340 km/h

Fully Customizable LSD
Initial Torque: 5 / 10
Acceleration Sensitivity: 15 / 30
Braking Sensitivity: 10 / 10

Torque Distributing Centre Differential
Front / Rear Torque Distribution: 25 / 75

Suspension
Ride Height Adjustment (mm): 0 / 0
Spring Rate (kgf/mm): 8.0 / 9.0
Dampers (Extension): 8 / 7
Dampers (Compression): 3 / 5
Anti-Roll Bars: 3 / 3
Camber Angle (-): 1.5 / 1.5
Toe Angle: -0.10 / -0.05

Brake Balance Controller
Brake Balance: 5 / 5

Driving Options
ASM: Off
TCS: 0
ABS: 1


After meeting success with the R8 in its V8 engined guise Audi took a further step and equipped the basic chassis with a V10, creating something of a gentleman's Gallardo. In a way it got better than the original, in a way it became worse.

To begin with it's not as nice to drive as the V8 version thanks to higher weight and slightly harsher power delivery. So I figured that the best way to utilize its potential isn't to try make it as civilized as its brother but to turn the shortcomings into advantages. The ever present understeer was erased to the best of my ability and its place was taken by easily initiable oversteer to gain higher corner exit speeds by enabling opening the throttle earlier. As a result this car isn't for those who like a nicely stable setup but for those who like to dance on the razor edge. It's still overweight when compared to the V8 but makes up for it by increased power and less restrained cornering. Our resident test driver managed a 6'55 on the sacred Nordschleife with it while dodging traffic - no doubt about this being a proper supercar.
 
Audi RS8'07

509 bhp, 500 Nm, 1264 kg, PP 565
Painted in Phantomschwarz Perleffekt/Lavagrau Perleffekt from Audi


Clickable for full size

Parts to fit:
Oil Change
New Wheels, PDI525, finished in Black
Chassis Weight Reduction Stage 3
Window Weight Reduction
Carbon Bonnet (Body Colour)
Engine Tuning Stage 1
Sports ECU
Sports Intake Manifold
Racing Air Filter
Standard Exhaust
Sports Exhaust Manifold
Catalytic Converter: Sports
Fully Customizable Transmission
Twin Plate Clutch
Semi Racing Flywheel
Carbon Propeller Shaft
Fully Customizable LSD
Fully Customizable Suspension Kit
Sports Soft Tyres

Overall cost: north of 200k

Transmission

Note: First, reset the gearbox to the default settings, then set the Max speed, and only then set the gear ratios.

Gear Ratios
1st: 3.318
2nd: 2.339
3rd: 1.745
4th: 1.391
5th: 1.152
6th: 0.965
Final Gear: 3.462

Max speed: 350 km/h

Fully Customizable LSD
Initial Torque: 30 / 30
Acceleration Sensitivity: 55 / 55
Braking Sensitivity: 10 / 10

Suspension
Ride Height Adjustment (mm): 0 / 0
Spring Rate (kgf/mm): 12.5 / 11.0
Dampers (Extension): 10 / 10
Dampers (Compression): 2 / 6
Anti-Roll Bars: 7 / 7
Camber Angle (-): 2.3 / 2.0
Toe Angle: -0.15 / -0.30

Brake Balance Controller
Brake Balance: 3 / 10

Driving Options
ASM: Off
TCS: 0
ABS: 1


Unlike its wild V10 brethren, this V8-powered RS8-model offers smooth and efficient ride, and does very little to surprise you. One thing that might surprise you, though, is the fact that it's not much slower than it's V10 brother. This gentlemanly sportscar turned in a 7-minute lap on the famous Nordschleife, which is pretty respectable pace considering the relatively low level of power modifications.
 
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Great to see you guys are still going. Wow, that's a beautiful colour you've got on your R8, Greycap!
 
Of course we're still going! Sadly, Greycap won't see your praise until next weekend, as the Finnish military invited him for a week long training.
 
Audi R8 review:

Test Track: Top Gear Test Track

Before- (Everything stock, Sports hard tyres)

In one of my previous reviews, somewhere, I said that the Audi R8 is one of those cars that make you think you’re going at light speed on a track, until you look at the lap times. And that is still definitely the case. All the noise, the precise handling, the 4WD grip, and the 414hp makes you think ‘Wow, this is great, surely I must be breaking records with this! I mean with all that speed and noise and grip, it would be impossible for me not to break at least one record.’ But with a lap of 1:17.848, it’s not that fast at all! Allow me to put into perspective of how not-fast that time is. A Camaro SS ’00 with ~350hp and weighing just slightly less than is, did a lap 1:18.204, barely half a second down on the R8. And that did not cost me damn near 200k to buy! In fact, it cost me 25k to buy, and I don’t know about you but I’d feel a bit of a dork if my look-at-me supercar was nearly smoked by some *** driving a cut price muscle car with suspension taken from a sofa. Really, the R8 seems to fit the phrase ‘All show, no go’ rather well. But if you look past the rather disappointing performance, there are some good sides. The precise handling I mentioned earlier, this car weighs nearly 1.6 tons, and yet it can corner with the grace of a Lotus Elise. It also does its best to play with you, and considering its huge weight, it really is very good at it. Pin sharp precision and lightning quick responses means you’ll hit the apex of each corner every time. And if by a fluke you miss the apex, it doesn’t take much more than some speed adjustments to get the tail out and to point its snout back into the corner. This car will very rarely, if ever, understeer. Just a shame it can’t go as fast as it should though.

After- (All parts listed added, sport soft tyres)

Wow…a 1:12.516 on my first lap…quicker than a 531hp Ruf RGT (tuned by somebody called Rotary Junkie apparently)…safe to say, this is the car the R8 always should have been. It may not be a mental overkill with max power, but its handling is every bit as mad as the raging bull Audi owns. It grips just as hard, if not even harder, as before, but with the neutral cornering replaced with some oversteer. Good. Better still, the serious German side of it has been joined by some Italian lunacy. Or rather, Finnish lunacy. Brake hard while steering when you enter a corner, and the back will break free and you’d enter the corner 90 degrees sideways. But you’d never get worried about crashing, even if you’re just barely an inch away from the tyre wall. You really can throw it about without the slightest hint of worry. It doesn’t matter how brutal you can drive, it’ll cope. Nor does it matter (much) how much skill you have. It’ll always forgive you, all you need to do is decide how much fun you want to have with it. Your choice will range from grip with small angles of oversteer to very, very sideways while going very, very fast. But there are some downsides to this. It understeers slightly on slow corners, but that can be solved with a well timed kick of power. And I think that’s all I have to say about the R(S)8, may not be a lot, but that’s all the things I’ve noticed as of now. As for the 7:00:000 lap at the Nurburgring, I’ll give that a crack sometime later.

Lap times:
1:17.848 (before)
1:12.516 (after)
 
Good to hear that you liked it. Keep up the good work! 👍 As usual, PM a request once you've decided what car you want to be tuned for you.
 
Oh don't worry, I will keep it up, with very big review of a lot of cars, might be better than the ones I do at RKM…I just hope I find the cars and motivation to do it…
 
Alright. Audi RR8. Tuned by Greycap of MFT. Let's go.

Test Track: Top Gear Test Track
Config: Parts installed, stock settings
Time: 1:12.540

Grip of a freshly caught fish. That's about how I would describe it. Pulled away faster than I had expected, and through the first corner more grip than I had expected. But when it came to the first real corner... Let's just say, it took two attempts before I kept the rear in check around that, even with the 4WD. But then again, it does have 551 HP. Chicago was also a slide-fest, but it took Hammerhead pretty well, only sliding the exit because I told it to. The rest of the lap was your average german supercar lap. Fast and slippy.

Test Track: Top Gear Test Track
Config: Parts installed, MFT settings
Time: 1:12.168

Much better. The slide is still there, but it's less, and more controllable. In fact, it's almost downright fun. The gearbox tuning is top-notch too. When you press down that accelerator, you can almost feel yourself being pushed back into your seat (Kudos to PD too). I will say, this tune for the R8 probably isn't the fastest. In fact, I'm fairly sure of that. But finding a tune more fun than this... That'll take some effort. I do not have any other times on my TGTT leaderboard to compare too, but from memory, the time this thing pulled is about as fast, if not faster, than my own personal 458 Italia tune.

--------------------

Lol, my futile attempt at a review. I'm just not as good at getting all my thoughts down onto paper... Keyboard as Onboy is =P
 
Oi! You copying my style?!?! -.- This is unacceptable! How dare you! I'm joking, I'm joking, nice one 👍 Now, about the RS200, where's the promised review for that? :D
 
Oi! You copying my style?!?! -.- This is unacceptable! How dare you! I'm joking, I'm joking, nice one 👍 Now, about the RS200, where's the promised review for that? :D

Time, my friend. I lack it in these days of exams. And seeing as you currently have mine.... :P
 
Oh…right…forgot about that…whoops! :D
Edit:
I do not have any other times on my TGTT leaderboard to compare too, but from memory, the time this thing pulled is about as fast, if not faster, than my own personal 458 Italia tune.
If you were talking about my review for it, it's faster than the 458 by 3 seconds. But the 458 had sport hard tyres on.
 
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This is going to be a slightly disjointed and hard to follow review, so I apologise in advance if you lose track of it. Just look at the bigger paragraphs, that's the reviews.
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Rallying, it’s come a long way. From being a little-known time trial event, through the mental ages of Group B, it’s become a multi-million dollar motor sport. But I’m not interested in that. What I’m interested in is what happens when you give a couple of Finnish blokes a batch of the most iconic cars built just for this, and see what happens when they tweak and tune it to within an inch of their lives. And we’ll be starting with one of the more little-known and earlier rally monsters. The Alpine A110.

The Alpine A110 is, basically and as far as I can tell, a french VW Beetle with more punch. And that’s not very good, because the only thing that was remotely good about that, was it was reliable. And to those of you who say, ‘What about Herbie?!’, Herbie doesn’t count, he isn’t real. There are many similarities between the Beetle and the A110. Both have big, bug-eyed headlights, both have their engines jammed up their arse, and both are rather old. That’s where the similarities stop. The Alpine has 142hp whereas the ‘hitlermobile’ had 40 odd hp. It also has a 50/50 weight distribution to counteract the weighty engine in the boot. And most unlike the Beetle, it’s a huge laugh to drive! It’s balanced in the corners, with a gentle drift on entry which carries you throughout the bend. Don’t be concerned about the RR layout, it can handle the power without making you piss yourself every time you go over a bump. It doesn’t mind you twitching the steering, it’s not like a Ruf Yellowbird which will send you spearing the other way when you apply some opposite lock. Of course, with less than twice the power of the Yellowbird, you would expect it to handle half as dangerously. And it does. But it’s still very quick for its size and power, doing a 1:31.479 on the TGTT.

All well and good, but what happens if you up power pass 250hp and dump 100 odd kg of interior and fat out of it? You’d expect it to become a mini Ruf, right? Wing or not, 50/50 balance or not, and regardless of setup, a light, (relatively) high powered RR will always be a pig to drive right? Wrong. Very wrong. This can dance through corners with the grace of an ocean wave in a flowing drift. And even though it weighs no more than a feather, it doesn’t bounce about over rough surfaces. Sure, it’s twitchier, and it may require more concentration to drive it, but it’s something you’ll learn to cope with. And when you do, you’ll realise the that this is actually very easy to drive. Not easy to drive for a RR, easy to drive, full stop. And in case you’re interested, the time it did on the TGTT was a 1:17.564. Not joking, that’s nearly 14 seconds faster. 13.915, to be precise. Only irritation is, mine will not go over 270hp. Aside from that, I can safely say, I’m in love with it. But I have to stop driving it I’m afraid. Times have moved on, and it has brought with it one of the most iconic 70’s rally cars ever made.

Lap times (Alpine A110RS)
1:31.479 (before, car completely stock, comfort soft tyres)
1:17.564 (after)

One of the most iconic 70’s rally car ever made. The Lancia Stratos. Styled by Bertone. Powered by Ferrari. Built to rally. It was purpose-built, and purposeful. And driving it just reinforces this fact all the more. The steering is sharp, the responses quick and coupled with a short chassis and (relatively) big power, and you’d get a knife-edged pocket rocket which, although hard to drive, is hugely rewarding. It will not tolerate idiocy, nor brutality. Brake gently as the car’s tiny length makes it extremely sensitive to direction and speed change. Don’t worry about the sideways-ness, it’s constant. Your only real options are how sideways you want it to be. You can have mildly sideways to dangerously sideways, or if you’re feeling brave (or just plain stupid), you can have near 90 degree slides. And a very big crash afterwards. Lap times? A 1:30.689, not bad for a car designed in the ‘70s.

Now, what happens, if we really piss it off, put it on a crash diet, and then feed it steroids for a few days? Well, you’d get this. A 345hp, 872kg, be-winged monster with the heart of a dragon. Extreme Oversteer Warning? Is that necessary? After a drive, I can safely say, no. But it does need a warning for the mental fishtailing you’d get coming out of corners. And by mental, I mean swaying from one side of the track to the other like it’s drunk. But just be more careful, and this really isn’t a problem. This is a tiny car with nearly 350hp, after all. You don’t drive a car like this like a hooligan, you drive it very seriously. But all the time, you can sense it wanting to just play, even if it does end up killing you. If you’re thinking that this car when sideways is going to be like playing russian roulette, you’re dead right. But it does deliver the thrills of playing with death. There’s a sense of danger to driving it. No matter how much fun (and it is HUGE fun) it is, you always get the feeling it’s slowly twitching free from you’re control and is plotting a way of killing you in the quickest way possible. But it never will kill you, just taunt you. Endlessly. With each slide hitting a point where you’ll think ‘I’ve had it now, I’m going to die! ARGGGHH!’, but then when you finally open your eyes and exit the corner, you’d think ‘I’m ALIVE!!! I haven’t died!!!’. And this car would make you feel like you did it, you pulled it away from killing you, you saved it from crashing. And trust me, that’ll feel good. Which is what this car seems to be about. It’s about having fun, but with the grim reaper always looking over your shoulders with his scythe, ready to see you off should you cock up. It’s dangerous fun. Playing with fire. But don’t think this car’s made just for fun. It’s not. With a lap time of 1:16. 487. Which is fast in its own right, but mixed in with the constant thrill of a spin or crash, and both the lap time and the car will suddenly become much more rewarding. It may be a pain to drive if you’re the aggressive sort, but just alter your style and you’d love this. I know I do.

Lap times (Lancia Stratos)
1:30.689 (before, car completely stock, comfort soft tyres)
1:16.487 (after)


Now, while that’s all well and good, these two old classic rally cars being breathed on and made much better, let’s not forget what really put rallying on the map. Group B. The time when rally cars were just a silhouette of their road going counterparts and could have the acceleration to rival F1 cars in their era. Some examples of these amazing machines was the Peugeot 205 Turbo T16 and the Ford RS200. Or rather, the rally versions were the ‘amazing machines’. The road cars had barely half the power of those rally racers. They also had rather crude parts fitted, as they were built just for homologation purposes. Which made the road cars horrid to drive. Just drive one of those two that I mentioned above. Actually, let me do you a favour and drive them for you.

Starting with the Peugeot. Or rather, I was going to start with the Peugeot. In a moment of madness, I accidentally put all the ‘unremovable’ parts on, rendering a ‘before and after’ comparison impossible. So thanks to my idiocy, this review may be slightly shorter than those above. Still, at least that’ll mean it could be finished quicker (day 2 at the time of typing this section, started on monday midnight).

Anyways, the car. And what a car. With a lively back end with the 4WD acting as a safety net to stop you spinning, this kind of barely tamed hooligan-style handling is the sort that reminds you of what gave hot hatches their fun-but-practical reputation. It’s the kind of handling that reminds me of my HKS CT230R. And in case you don’t know, that’s my favourite car as of now. Possibly in the whole of GT5. So it’s made quite a good first impression already. And with 400hp, it has enough power to keep that slide going endlessly. This car is what a 4WD sports car should be. Fun enough to keep you driving, safe enough to stop your ego from getting bruised. And it’s fast. With a lap of 1:16.341, it maybe just slightly faster than the Stratos earlier, but that had a very good power/weight ratio which leveled the playing field. This is a car which, I feel, represents what the new Evo X should have been like. Grips enough to keep you pointing the right way, powerful enough to make it fun and fast enough to make up for lost time. It stops well too, despite the brake balance being slightly odd, it does slow down quick enough to stop you from crashing. But it also encourages the arse to play. And what’s wrong with that? It’s so much fun, that you don’t want to stop driving. I drove this thing until my DS3 ran out of batteries. And I just plugged it in to charge, and continued driving, with me sitting blindingly close towards the TV. So, if I do go blind in the near future, I’m coming after you, Leonidae!

Lap times (Peugeot 205 Turbo T16)
1:16.341 (after)

Especially when you’ve created a new dilemma for me. A110, Stratos or 205 Turbo? This is tricky. And it’s been made trickier still, by the inclusion of this. The RS200. One of the cars responsible for killing Group B. Built to be the GT40 of rallying, it was designed specifically to fit within the rules and then dominate. Sadly, after a few crashes which killed several spectators, Group B was canceled and the RS200 faded from history. Still, enough of the history lessons and teary-eyed nostalgia. The car still needs to be driven. Again, this won’t be stock, as it’s borrowed. I couldn’t get one in time, so I borrowed one from my good friend GFxJG.

The RS200 in question has had the suspension, diff, gearbox, and brake balance set to the MFT tune already, and I’m not going to be so stupid to reset it, drive it, put tune on, and then drive again. So, here we go. And what a surprise. It’s not as good as the Peugeot. For a start, with a lap of 1:16.862, it’s 0.5 of a second slower. Ok, it does weigh several hundred kg more, but I thought it would be faster, and it isn’t. It’s also unbelievably stiff, you can see the car smashing into the little bumps on the road. But the stiffness means it doesn’t roll like a yacht and it can change directions almost instantly on flat tarmac. I say almost, because 1) if it did do that, it’ll catch you out every time and 2) the 4WD system is really holding it back. It can’t keep the power going to the right wheels to keep the car drifting, but it can’t shift the power around to keep it griping either. It’s stuck bang in the middle between oversteery fun and mind-bending grip, and this middle-ground isn’t a nice compromise. It’s a compromise of fun and headaches. It’s fun until the car either drops off the power band when you do the transition from drifting out of corner and drifting in to the next one, or suddenly just gripping and shooting you off into the grass for applying opposite lock. It’s hard to strike the balance with this, and balance is what this seems to need the most. I had high hopes for this, I thought it would be a 4WD GT40 with more weight and less power, but it’s not. It’s stuck in a no-man’s land of grip and drift. Either that, or I’m not good enough. Chances are, it’s the latter.

Lap times (Ford RS200)
1:16.862 (after)

Mitsubishi’s Lancer Evolution vs Subaru’s Impreza. Possibly the greatest thing the rally world has given us. These two cars have been going at each other since the ‘90s. And it has led to countless fans defacing one another’s pride in an attempt to prove each car’s worth. And as such, I will forgo the before and after. All I want to know, is which of these to 4WD rally-bred, supercar killing machines is fastest.

Now, I know that these cars (well one of them, anyway) are quite tricky to drive. But that’s part of the fun. And it’ll tell me how easy it is for someone to just get in and drive it, or rather how bad a driver I am. With the Subaru, I have to say this. Leonidae, you’ve created something truly terrifying. I’ve driven a TVR Cerbera Speed 12 with 1000hp on sports hards with wheelspin in 4th, I’ve powerslided an X1, and none of those come even remotely close to driving this when you’re doing a maximum attack lap. This is a car that is on the same level of twitchy and edgy-ness as that Stratos. Only this car has even more power. It’s so scary, yet so thrilling. The 4WD ‘safety net’ is banished from thought when you take your first corner as the thing instantly breaks free from you the moment you brake. Trust me, all of your prejudices about this car, be it good or bad, will be changed. Instead of the traditional 4WD grip and understeer, there is dangerous oversteer. Dangerous but fast. You’ve taken every understeery stereotype this car has and replaced it with fear. Blind panic. It’s so damn scary to drive, but so damn fast. And by fast, I do mean monstrously fast. It does a lap time which is on par with a fully tuned TVR Tuscan RM on sports softs. A 1:10.396 I think this is as close to a modern day Impreza 22B as a car can get. And for that, for eliminating all the Impreza’s understeery reputation and making me crap my pants, for turning it into a modern day version of the greatest Impreza ever made, I give you my utmost respect, Leonidae. It been ages since I was properly terrified driving a car. And yet, the surge of adrenalin you get, like being shot at and having the bullet miss you by a hair, is more than enough motivation to get you back out for another dose. Another drive. You would never tire, ever, of the way it can make your teeth chatter and your hands sweat. You need to concentrate, 110%, or you’d die.

The Evo, however, seems to have a different way of killing you. With understeer. Or just, weighted, slow and cumbersome steering. It’s hard say what’s causing it, but it’s really crippling this car’s ability. It’s running 2 seconds slower, at best two seconds slower. A 1:12.209, which isn’t bad considering the car’s not even fully run in, but I was expecting more. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great. It enough grip to fool you into thinking you’re using racing tyres, enough noise to make you think you’re driving a rally car, but not enough pace to back it up. For example, looking at the data log/telemetry thing, it seems that although the Impreza was by far the most tricky, with more erratic jumps and dips in terms of speed, the Evo was constantly lagging behind. Especially on corner exit and longer straights, the slight power and weight difference means the Evo is left in the dust. That said, I later did run a lap of 1:10.842. But it’s still a car which prefers safe and steady rather than brute aggression. The biggest gripe I have with this is that it isn’t as…darty as I’d like it. It’s not as nervous, as sharp as the Impreza. It’s good, no doubt, but it’s just lacking something.

Lap time (Impreza vs Evo)
1:10.396 (Impreza)
1:10.842 (Evo)

So, that’s proven. Although the Evo is a car which should be more…consistent, the Impreza is faster. And since that’s the whole point of these cars, it’s the winner. The ultimate rally-bred machine. The Subaru Impreza ‘Hyabusa’ (nice name, by the way).
 
Oh wow, what a huge pile of reviews!:eek: I don't know where to start.. Oh wait, I know.. *grabs his trustworthy Fiskars-axe and chops off the parts that handle with Greycap's cars* There we go. :D now, off to respond to these..

This is going to be a slightly disjointed and hard to follow review, so I apologise in advance if you lose track of it. Just look at the bigger paragraphs, that's the reviews.
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Rallying, it’s come a long way. From being a little-known time trial event, through the mental ages of Group B, it’s become a multi-million dollar motor sport. But I’m not interested in that. What I’m interested in is what happens when you give a couple of Finnish blokes a batch of the most iconic cars built just for this, and see what happens when they tweak and tune it to within an inch of their lives. And we’ll be starting with one of the more little-known and earlier rally monsters. The Alpine A110.

The Alpine A110 is, basically and as far as I can tell, a french VW Beetle with more punch. And that’s not very good, because the only thing that was remotely good about that, was it was reliable. And to those of you who say, ‘What about Herbie?!’, Herbie doesn’t count, he isn’t real. There are many similarities between the Beetle and the A110. Both have big, bug-eyed headlights, both have their engines jammed up their arse, and both are rather old. That’s where the similarities stop. The Alpine has 142hp whereas the ‘hitlermobile’ had 40 odd hp. It also has a 50/50 weight distribution to counteract the weighty engine in the boot. And most unlike the Beetle, it’s a huge laugh to drive! It’s balanced in the corners, with a gentle drift on entry which carries you throughout the bend. Don’t be concerned about the RR layout, it can handle the power without making you piss yourself every time you go over a bump. It doesn’t mind you twitching the steering, it’s not like a Ruf Yellowbird which will send you spearing the other way when you apply some opposite lock. Of course, with less than twice the power of the Yellowbird, you would expect it to handle half as dangerously. And it does. But it’s still very quick for its size and power, doing a 1:31.479 on the TGTT.

All well and good, but what happens if you up power pass 250hp and dump 100 odd kg of interior and fat out of it? You’d expect it to become a mini Ruf, right? Wing or not, 50/50 balance or not, and regardless of setup, a light, (relatively) high powered RR will always be a pig to drive right? Wrong. Very wrong. This can dance through corners with the grace of an ocean wave in a flowing drift. And even though it weighs no more than a feather, it doesn’t bounce about over rough surfaces. Sure, it’s twitchier, and it may require more concentration to drive it, but it’s something you’ll learn to cope with. And when you do, you’ll realise the that this is actually very easy to drive. Not easy to drive for a RR, easy to drive, full stop. And in case you’re interested, the time it did on the TGTT was a 1:17.564. Not joking, that’s nearly 14 seconds faster. 13.915, to be precise. Only irritation is, mine will not go over 270hp. Aside from that, I can safely say, I’m in love with it. But I have to stop driving it I’m afraid. Times have moved on, and it has brought with it one of the most iconic 70’s rally cars ever made.

Lap times (Alpine A110RS)
1:31.479 (before, car completely stock, comfort soft tyres)
1:17.564 (after)

This car has been one of my favourites since GT4, where I tuned it to a point, where it was running with 500bhp+ AWD cars when equipped on racing softs. And on GT5, if you equip it with racing mediums, you get a car that is annoyingly hanging with you in the straights, and passing you from the outside in the corners. Shame that it doesn't have turbochargers available anymore, now that would had made it truly fun.

Starting with the Peugeot. Or rather, I was going to start with the Peugeot. In a moment of madness, I accidentally put all the ‘unremovable’ parts on, rendering a ‘before and after’ comparison impossible. So thanks to my idiocy, this review may be slightly shorter than those above. Still, at least that’ll mean it could be finished quicker (day 2 at the time of typing this section, started on monday midnight).

Anyways, the car. And what a car. With a lively back end with the 4WD acting as a safety net to stop you spinning, this kind of barely tamed hooligan-style handling is the sort that reminds you of what gave hot hatches their fun-but-practical reputation. It’s the kind of handling that reminds me of my HKS CT230R. And in case you don’t know, that’s my favourite car as of now. Possibly in the whole of GT5. So it’s made quite a good first impression already. And with 400hp, it has enough power to keep that slide going endlessly. This car is what a 4WD sports car should be. Fun enough to keep you driving, safe enough to stop your ego from getting bruised. And it’s fast. With a lap of 1:16.341, it maybe just slightly faster than the Stratos earlier, but that had a very good power/weight ratio which leveled the playing field. This is a car which, I feel, represents what the new Evo X should have been like. Grips enough to keep you pointing the right way, powerful enough to make it fun and fast enough to make up for lost time. It stops well too, despite the brake balance being slightly odd, it does slow down quick enough to stop you from crashing. But it also encourages the arse to play. And what’s wrong with that? It’s so much fun, that you don’t want to stop driving. I drove this thing until my DS3 ran out of batteries. And I just plugged it in to charge, and continued driving, with me sitting blindingly close towards the TV. So, if I do go blind in the near future, I’m coming after you, Leonidae!

Lap times (Peugeot 205 Turbo T16)
1:16.341 (after)

Yeah, this is my favourite from GT4 too, however, back then I couldn't tame the awkward handling. Now I did my best to keep up the fun factor with added speed without making it murderous, which wasn't too easy, considering the short wheelbase.

Mitsubishi’s Lancer Evolution vs Subaru’s Impreza. Possibly the greatest thing the rally world has given us. These two cars have been going at each other since the ‘90s. And it has led to countless fans defacing one another’s pride in an attempt to prove each car’s worth. And as such, I will forgo the before and after. All I want to know, is which of these to 4WD rally-bred, supercar killing machines is fastest.

Now, I know that these cars (well one of them, anyway) are quite tricky to drive. But that’s part of the fun. And it’ll tell me how easy it is for someone to just get in and drive it, or rather how bad a driver I am. With the Subaru, I have to say this. Leonidae, you’ve created something truly terrifying. I’ve driven a TVR Cerbera Speed 12 with 1000hp on sports hards with wheelspin in 4th, I’ve powerslided an X1, and none of those come even remotely close to driving this when you’re doing a maximum attack lap. This is a car that is on the same level of twitchy and edgy-ness as that Stratos. Only this car has even more power. It’s so scary, yet so thrilling. The 4WD ‘safety net’ is banished from thought when you take your first corner as the thing instantly breaks free from you the moment you brake. Trust me, all of your prejudices about this car, be it good or bad, will be changed. Instead of the traditional 4WD grip and understeer, there is dangerous oversteer. Dangerous but fast. You’ve taken every understeery stereotype this car has and replaced it with fear. Blind panic. It’s so damn scary to drive, but so damn fast. And by fast, I do mean monstrously fast. It does a lap time which is on par with a fully tuned TVR Tuscan RM on sports softs. A 1:10.396 I think this is as close to a modern day Impreza 22B as a car can get. And for that, for eliminating all the Impreza’s understeery reputation and making me crap my pants, for turning it into a modern day version of the greatest Impreza ever made, I give you my utmost respect, Leonidae. It been ages since I was properly terrified driving a car. And yet, the surge of adrenalin you get, like being shot at and having the bullet miss you by a hair, is more than enough motivation to get you back out for another dose. Another drive. You would never tire, ever, of the way it can make your teeth chatter and your hands sweat. You need to concentrate, 110%, or you’d die.

1:10.396 (Impreza)

So, that’s proven. Although the Evo is a car which should be more…consistent, the Impreza is faster. And since that’s the whole point of these cars, it’s the winner. The ultimate rally-bred machine. The Subaru Impreza ‘Hyabusa’ (nice name, by the way).

Terrifying? Lethal? to me it was fun, and perfect for Mt. Aso and Eiger Nordwand. It's tossable, turns on a dime and then blasts off into the given direction thanks to hefty mid range grunt. It's not a high speed Wangan monster, but on tighter tracks it is damn near unstoppable, much like the fighter plane/ falcon I named it after. Throttle, brakes, steering, everything can be used to initiate turn and keep it going.. but be careful if you use it online, it WILL eat tyres fast if you don't drive it in a manner that maximizes grip front and rear. And if you thought that this Impreza is fun AWD, just wait for my bunch of overpowered, yet practical AWD monsters that oversteer.. And yes, they're from Ingolstadt. There's one in my shared cars right now, have a go at it if you wish.
 
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