- 231
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
Hello again! 
After searching around the forums I've come to the conclusion that perhaps we are lacking some form of definitive BoP test for the Gr. classes, aside from the stickied tyre wear and fuel consumption thread. I've decided to make my own, since I have loads of free time thanks to passing my test week, to compare car performances and share tips and information with each other, perhaps learning something new along the way. All tests will be conducted with Brake Balance on 0, and BoP on.
We will be going through the Gr.4 car class first and foremost, in alphabetical order. Today, our star guest is somewhat of a fallen star in recent days; the Alfa Romeo 4C!
As you can see by the image, I've put up a testing plan for all the Gr.4, and hopefully all the other Gr. class, cars.
We will have three hotlaps at Dragon Trail - Seaside, Lago Maggiore - GP and Interlagos, which I've chosen because they are my personal best tracks, and I feel I can get the most out of the cars here. Plus, they are tracks that come up quite frequently in daily races and lobbies, so they are relevant tracks where a lot of people play on.
Then, a simple 0-160 km/h (or 0-100 mp/h if you're from an imperial-system-using country) acceleration test will take place at Maggiore. From a standstill, TCS on 1 until the car doesn't need it, and RH tyres.
And finally, we will return to Seaside for a fuel consumption and tyre wear test (both at x10). I've picked the track because it combines high speed corners, hard braking zones and loads of kerb usage, making it quite the tyre shredder. Most of the lap is done at full throttle too, therefore giving us the maximum fuel consumption possible.
Here is the video of the respective tests. I will be sharing my insight on the car below it:
Now, onto some of my notes about the car.
*Max. Power with BoP applied: 322 BHP (109%)
*Max. Torque with BoP applied: 39.6 kgfm (109%)
*Weight with BoP applied: 1,234kg (121%)
To start with the power delivery before heading onto the handling; you have to rev the crap out of it to get the maximum horsepower, but the turbo engine develops the maximum torque way before the redline. Revving at around 60 to 75% did not harm performance very noticeably, and can be quite a useful fuel saving tactic.
The 4C is a pretty deceptive car. It may look easy to drive because of it being a Gr.4 car, but don't let looks fool you. It wants to kill you in certain sections.
The main advantage of the 4C is also it's "Achilles' Heel", in it's eagerness in rotation. You will not find a corner where the 4C will show understeer on corner entry, and it's a pleasure to drive around Seaside's and Maggiore's fast esses. By downshifting you can improve this even further; it eats hairpins for breakfast. However, I've mentioned that this is also a disadvantage, and it is; corners like turn 1 at Interlagos can show that you must really have a grip over the Alfa Romeo or it will break away from you quite easily on entry. Trail braking in the car is a must; it's an exercise on your precision in weight distribution and weight shift as you enter a corner, and it's quite fun to drive, but always teethering on the edge.
Bringing us to the next point; kerb usage. The 4C really suffers over kerbs, and over corners like Interlagos' turn 1 and the Laguna Seca Corkscrew. Since it's a mid engined car, front weight is kept to a minimum, and it sits quite low to the ground. I've lifted the front more times than I can count at the Corkscrew (and it's terrifying).
It is not entirely unpredictable over kerbs, though. With some practice you can overcome it, such as with Seaside's famous Chicane of Death. I could quite easily, with some practice, fly through it at full throttle, but you need to keep it just right. If you make the 4C jump over a kerb, like entering a corner too tight and clipping the kerb, you will send the whole car flying like it's a paper towel and most times, there is no saving it; it will deviate you off course pretty badly.
I've also noticed that some kerbs make it want to snap and start to oversteer; turns 2 and 4 at Seaside, and turn 9 at Interlagos show this perfectly as you're better off avoiding the kerb in the first place. If you do start to feel the back coming out, lift the gas a bit and the car will correct itself, but that wastes time, of course. The final corner at Interlagos is also a killer for this car; I've found myself oversteering many times as I clipped the inside kerb or accelerated too eagerly out of it.
To every bad, there is a good, though, especially in the acceleration department. Obviously there are many more cars to test and the 4C may possibly be beaten, but it's quite brisk off the line, as shown in the 0-160 test. Off corners you can put the power down early thanks to the car's grip too, which is a bonus. I am afraid it may not be very fast in a straight line compared to other cars, especially the FFs, but we will see.
The 4C is very much a handling car, and it did feel very strong around Maggiore, the Seaside esses and Interlagos' second sector. You can really attack the corners after you're accustomed to the car and it is quite awesome. I think the over-rotation issue could be fixed by bringing the brake balance to the front a few notches, however I have not tried it myself.
Tyres and fuel proved to be pretty good too. I did not find any noticeable difference with the tyre wear by the end of my laps and the Alfa is quite economical on the fuel side of things, as it crossed the line with 34% remaining in the full speed test and a remarkable 48% remaining in the conservative test (shifting at around 60 / 75% of the tachometer). That's pretty good for 3 laps around a mostly full speed circuit with 10x fuel consumption! Like I've said before, we will have to test other cars, but for now, that's where we stand.
To top things off, here is a leaderboard that I will be updating with every subsequent car we drive in this thread, with all the lap times of the hotlaps and the fuel consumption percentages:
/ Dragon Trail Seaside - Hotlap:
-1: Alfa Romeo 4C: 1:46.149
/ Lago Maggiore GP - Hotlap:
-1: Alfa Romeo 4C: 2:04.797
/ Autódromo de Interlagos - Hotlap:
-1: Alfa Romeo 4C: 1:38.529
/ 0-160 km/h (0-100 mp/h) Test:
-1: Alfa Romeo 4C: 9.650 seconds.
/ Fuel Consumption Test (Full Speed / Conservative):
-1: Alfa Romeo 4C: 34% / 48%
I hope you enjoyed watching the video and reading my insight. The next car, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, should be coming soon. Until then, farewell!
*This test is correct as of Version 1.61 of Gran Turismo Sport.
-------------------------------------------------------------
*UPDATE (07-08-2020):
Added the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Gr.4's BoP Test, with updated leaderboards for hotlaps, acceleration test and fuel / tyres test.
Link:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/posts/13196381/
-------------------------------------------------------------
*RESERVED FOR FUTURE UPDATES*
-------------------------------------------------------------
After searching around the forums I've come to the conclusion that perhaps we are lacking some form of definitive BoP test for the Gr. classes, aside from the stickied tyre wear and fuel consumption thread. I've decided to make my own, since I have loads of free time thanks to passing my test week, to compare car performances and share tips and information with each other, perhaps learning something new along the way. All tests will be conducted with Brake Balance on 0, and BoP on.
We will be going through the Gr.4 car class first and foremost, in alphabetical order. Today, our star guest is somewhat of a fallen star in recent days; the Alfa Romeo 4C!
As you can see by the image, I've put up a testing plan for all the Gr.4, and hopefully all the other Gr. class, cars.
We will have three hotlaps at Dragon Trail - Seaside, Lago Maggiore - GP and Interlagos, which I've chosen because they are my personal best tracks, and I feel I can get the most out of the cars here. Plus, they are tracks that come up quite frequently in daily races and lobbies, so they are relevant tracks where a lot of people play on.
Then, a simple 0-160 km/h (or 0-100 mp/h if you're from an imperial-system-using country) acceleration test will take place at Maggiore. From a standstill, TCS on 1 until the car doesn't need it, and RH tyres.
And finally, we will return to Seaside for a fuel consumption and tyre wear test (both at x10). I've picked the track because it combines high speed corners, hard braking zones and loads of kerb usage, making it quite the tyre shredder. Most of the lap is done at full throttle too, therefore giving us the maximum fuel consumption possible.
Here is the video of the respective tests. I will be sharing my insight on the car below it:
Now, onto some of my notes about the car.
*Max. Power with BoP applied: 322 BHP (109%)
*Max. Torque with BoP applied: 39.6 kgfm (109%)
*Weight with BoP applied: 1,234kg (121%)
To start with the power delivery before heading onto the handling; you have to rev the crap out of it to get the maximum horsepower, but the turbo engine develops the maximum torque way before the redline. Revving at around 60 to 75% did not harm performance very noticeably, and can be quite a useful fuel saving tactic.
The 4C is a pretty deceptive car. It may look easy to drive because of it being a Gr.4 car, but don't let looks fool you. It wants to kill you in certain sections.
The main advantage of the 4C is also it's "Achilles' Heel", in it's eagerness in rotation. You will not find a corner where the 4C will show understeer on corner entry, and it's a pleasure to drive around Seaside's and Maggiore's fast esses. By downshifting you can improve this even further; it eats hairpins for breakfast. However, I've mentioned that this is also a disadvantage, and it is; corners like turn 1 at Interlagos can show that you must really have a grip over the Alfa Romeo or it will break away from you quite easily on entry. Trail braking in the car is a must; it's an exercise on your precision in weight distribution and weight shift as you enter a corner, and it's quite fun to drive, but always teethering on the edge.
Bringing us to the next point; kerb usage. The 4C really suffers over kerbs, and over corners like Interlagos' turn 1 and the Laguna Seca Corkscrew. Since it's a mid engined car, front weight is kept to a minimum, and it sits quite low to the ground. I've lifted the front more times than I can count at the Corkscrew (and it's terrifying).
It is not entirely unpredictable over kerbs, though. With some practice you can overcome it, such as with Seaside's famous Chicane of Death. I could quite easily, with some practice, fly through it at full throttle, but you need to keep it just right. If you make the 4C jump over a kerb, like entering a corner too tight and clipping the kerb, you will send the whole car flying like it's a paper towel and most times, there is no saving it; it will deviate you off course pretty badly.
I've also noticed that some kerbs make it want to snap and start to oversteer; turns 2 and 4 at Seaside, and turn 9 at Interlagos show this perfectly as you're better off avoiding the kerb in the first place. If you do start to feel the back coming out, lift the gas a bit and the car will correct itself, but that wastes time, of course. The final corner at Interlagos is also a killer for this car; I've found myself oversteering many times as I clipped the inside kerb or accelerated too eagerly out of it.
To every bad, there is a good, though, especially in the acceleration department. Obviously there are many more cars to test and the 4C may possibly be beaten, but it's quite brisk off the line, as shown in the 0-160 test. Off corners you can put the power down early thanks to the car's grip too, which is a bonus. I am afraid it may not be very fast in a straight line compared to other cars, especially the FFs, but we will see.
The 4C is very much a handling car, and it did feel very strong around Maggiore, the Seaside esses and Interlagos' second sector. You can really attack the corners after you're accustomed to the car and it is quite awesome. I think the over-rotation issue could be fixed by bringing the brake balance to the front a few notches, however I have not tried it myself.
Tyres and fuel proved to be pretty good too. I did not find any noticeable difference with the tyre wear by the end of my laps and the Alfa is quite economical on the fuel side of things, as it crossed the line with 34% remaining in the full speed test and a remarkable 48% remaining in the conservative test (shifting at around 60 / 75% of the tachometer). That's pretty good for 3 laps around a mostly full speed circuit with 10x fuel consumption! Like I've said before, we will have to test other cars, but for now, that's where we stand.
To top things off, here is a leaderboard that I will be updating with every subsequent car we drive in this thread, with all the lap times of the hotlaps and the fuel consumption percentages:
/ Dragon Trail Seaside - Hotlap:
-1: Alfa Romeo 4C: 1:46.149
/ Lago Maggiore GP - Hotlap:
-1: Alfa Romeo 4C: 2:04.797
/ Autódromo de Interlagos - Hotlap:
-1: Alfa Romeo 4C: 1:38.529
/ 0-160 km/h (0-100 mp/h) Test:
-1: Alfa Romeo 4C: 9.650 seconds.
/ Fuel Consumption Test (Full Speed / Conservative):
-1: Alfa Romeo 4C: 34% / 48%
I hope you enjoyed watching the video and reading my insight. The next car, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, should be coming soon. Until then, farewell!
*This test is correct as of Version 1.61 of Gran Turismo Sport.
-------------------------------------------------------------
*UPDATE (07-08-2020):
Added the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Gr.4's BoP Test, with updated leaderboards for hotlaps, acceleration test and fuel / tyres test.
Link:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/posts/13196381/
-------------------------------------------------------------
*RESERVED FOR FUTURE UPDATES*
-------------------------------------------------------------
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