No One Found Menu 33 WTC600 Difficult to Win 1st?

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I have already beaten the main menus and have started grinding, but I always want to go back to revisit menu 33 WTC600 to get my missing first place. Certainly it is not hard to obtain 2nd place at all, even with hard AI. I can score 2nd, 3rd and 4th so that my total score is 10+8+7=25. The first place AI car, which uses RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7, scores 1st, 1st and 3rd, totaling 32 points. Therefore, even obtaining 2nd, 2nd and 2nd won't suffice to win, and I at least need one win, which should be the first map. However, after a few attempts with Taycan and Huracan Gr.4, I find this even extremely bothering, especially at the point that it shows me that I don't know about the cars, tunes and how PP system works.

Surprisingly, despite the fact that many posts have complained about this event, 100% of the replies were quite vague and always start with "I seem to remember using whatever random car I got before and it was an easy win", "Just use EV, massive lead", "Just use a Gr.4/3 car, dominating", ... It is interesting to see that experienced players have zero trouble winning this series and basically no one understands why new players struggle. This leads to a surprising situation that:

  • Thousands, if not millions, 600pp tunes have been made for Tokyo expressway, to aid noob players to consistently win against AI.
  • None, literally none, 600pp tune was shared to aid noob players to beat that RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7 on hard difficulty.

It is true that I can win with Taycan or Huracan IF my lap time is 2 seconds shorter than my current one, which is not a lot, considering track experience has way larger gaps for gold/silver/bronze. Talented players can literally pick up a stock 550pp car and put on IM tires and win. However, it is hard to imagine the difficulty setting that PD decided to design for these events, that a bronze-track-experience level player like me, can easily win 1st at WTC700 and WTC800, fails to catch up that Amemiya. I certainly believe that, as long as the car used is powerful enough, skill issues can be covered and a win is guaranteed. This is just so much harder for the 600pp event, as it seems 600pp tuning sacrifices SO MUCH horsepower for high PP cars.

Now let me explain why this 600pp tuning is hard.

First, the traditional way of using trashy tires on a beefy car trick does not work. I know for Tokyo 600 people use 800pp cars equipped with the worst tires in the game to lower the pp, but this will fail miserably in the menu 33 event. It is because the first map has moderate rain, and IM tires are mandatory. Tried 787B with comfort hard front and IM rear, IMPOSSIBLE to turn. The grip is so low that every sharp turn I need to slow down to like 40km/h to be able to barely turn in. Completely useless. For the second map, Suzuka, I tried with high HP tune of Taycan with SH tires. This track is basically 80% cornering, and that HP advantage is all gone when such trashy tires are used. Impossible to maintain a high speed turn and takes too long to decelerate.

The above limit basically rules out the inherent high PP cars. It requires somewhat decent tires then the HP must be lowered to an incredible level such that the value of the car is basically all gone. Then, we probably need to look at cars with low stock PPs. However, it is again hard to find a car to beat Amemiya. Amemiya RX-7 has such an incredible performance on paper. 1240kg with a massive 372HP, extremely good HP/mass ratio, with only 560+ stock PP. For road cars around that level, for example Supra '20, basically similar PP but heavier and lower HP. I don't even understand how Amemiya is able to score such low PP with such high performance. Its performance is well witnessed in the actual game. It just takes the lead further and further each lap. To add even more challenge, the AI seems to change mid race. Initially it is 40 seconds ahead of me. After 3 laps I made it to 10 seconds, but for the remaining two laps the lead AI decides to speed up and maintain such a gap, or it even beats me to extend the lead to 11 or 12 seconds. This for sure could happen because my downtuned cars literally has a lower HP/mass ratio than Amemiya.

I sincerely invite good players with knowledge on wide variety of cars and tunes to this car tune challenge. Without using engine swaps (because most new players do not have level 50) and must use IM/SS/RH tires, which car has the best on paper performance at 600pp (higher HP/mass ratio than Amemiya) and can guarantee a bronze level player the win at this event?
 
Don't forget that the difficulty of races partly changed over time. I don't recall that being particularly difficult. But i tried it some month ago and found the Ameniya to be a nice challenge (most single player races aren't, even on hard).

So most players here did that championship years ago.

I also don't find that there's a special trick about tuning and PP. You just do what's right for a challenge/track. At 600pp that's typically SS tires for me (on a technical track) or a bit harder compounds on fast tracks.
 
I made two attempts today out of curiosity, on hard race mode of course. Failed at the first one with the Porsche 911 GT3 RS '22 detuned to 600 PP - two second places and a third for a total third place in the championship. The second attempt however's been successful. Used a basically stock Gallardo, the only changes I made was giving it new wheels and some aero parts from GT Auto.
DS4 here, assists as always none but ABS standard.

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Honestly, I don't think it's harder now than it's been two years ago when I did this menu initially. Good luck and some persistence ! ;)
 
I made two attempts today out of curiosity, on hard race mode of course. Failed at the first one with the Porsche 911 GT3 RS '22 detuned to 600 PP - two second places and a third for a total third place in the championship. The second attempt however's been successful. Used a basically stock Gallardo, the only changes I made was giving it new wheels and some aero parts from GT Auto.
DS4 here, assists as always none but ABS standard.

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Honestly, I don't think it's harder now than it's been two years ago when I did this menu initially. Good luck and some persistence ! ;)
Thanks for the effort! However, honestly this recommendation is apparently very similar to what I have seen in other posts: "Just try stock XXX and good luck!". You never knew this setup might not be optimal at all and basically your skill has overcome the shortcoming of a random setup. For instance, I think there is a very high chance that a stock Amemiya (the fastest AI car in the race) with proper tires (within 600pp of course) can easily beat the Gallardo time if both cars are driven by you. Especially for SH tires, I had a nightmare with SH tires on Taycan/Suzuka, and I can't even imagine how to use SH tires in rain.

It is sad that most knowledgeable players do not recognize this as a car identification and tuning challenge. These kinds of posts asking for optimal setups are usually understood as asking for successful experiences that how you got 1st. "Yeah I remember I drove XXX and got 1st pretty easily so go ahead and try that car." I am not desperately eager to obtain 1st in this event, for which certainly I would just fix a somewhat reasonable setup and try hard and retry every time I don't get a first/second on a track to ensure at least tie with Kokubun. It's nearly 2025. In 2022 when people ask for how to grind money some might have said "Oh yes that track I remember 10 mins I got 100k", but now everybody knows what is the most optimal track/car combination.

Thanks again. If possible, can you do the 600pp Amemiya test to see if you have a better/worse lap time as compare to this 600pp Gallardo?
 
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I agree with your findings.

I'll add that
  • Both the players and AI got faster with the physics updates, BUT
  • The PP system has nerfed a lot of cars
  • Players have fewer easy tricks to game the PP system
  • Maximum Aero at the rear with minimum aero at the front is much less effective at lowering PP
  • Grippier tires, Sport Softs especially, create a big PP penalty
  • Meanwhile, the AI cars, who, IMO, were already cheating the PP system, never got these nerfs

I ran and won this championship several times on hard difficulty after reading your post. First place in all races. There was no margin for error in the first two races. The best I could do was maybe an 8 second lead. Even with the 3rd race where I enjoy the track and the AI is the slowest, I won by barely 14 seconds. I was running with heavily PP optimized builds as well.

For race one at Red Bull Ring, I switched all my builds to Racing Intermediate and added more power. Driving in the wet annoys me.

Audi R8 4.2 '07
2890lbs (1310kg), 354hp, Racing Hard Tires 4WD
Not the fastest at all, but I like its driving feel.

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Toyota Alphard Executive Lounge '18 (No Swap)
3728lbs (1690kg), 585hp, Sports Soft Tires, 4WD, Low RPM Turbo
Very heavy, but hides the weight well. Top speed is not great, but it out accelerates everyone. Corners much better than it has any right to

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Mazda Atenza Sedan XD L Package '15 (No Swap)
2784lbs (1263kg), 387hp. Racing Medium Tires, 4WD, Low RPM Turbo
One of the Low PP heroes. HP is unimpressive and it's better to shift when the bar is a little over half full / lit, BUT the low end torque and acceleration are great.

*Medium RPM turbo for the first race.

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For a championship win, I'd say focus on the third race at Dragon Trail if you can. The AI are at their slowest here.

If you are determined to get a win at race one, you're correct in using Racing Intermediate tires with a little extra power. The AI will still get super powers near the end of the race and run 1:38s to high 1:36s though.


My strategy for 600pp builds outside the Tokyo Grind

  • Always emphasize grip and power
  • Always add Fully Customizable LSD = free PP + you get more control over car handling
  • Always Increase Body Rigidity = free PP + more stable aero behavior
  • Fully Adjustable Racing Suspension is worth the PP cost 99% of the time
  • Racing Brake PADs are the only brake upgrade worth doing at this level - learn to deal with longer braking distances
  • Always do Stage 3 weight reduction - when you must add weight back, you can decide the best place to put it
  • Add 150-180kg of ballast to keep power up - the sweet spot is between 2600-3000lbs (1180 - 1360kg) for most cars where the car still feel OK
  • Don't bother with Sports Hard Tires for anything but the Tokyo grind; they are hot garbage on all other tracks
  • Generally use Sports Softs or Racing Hards
  • Sports and Racing Brake kits are NOT worth the PP cost at this level
  • Low RPM Turbos for most tracks, Medium RPM Turbos for long tracks - High RPM is too laggy despite the power and PP rating
  • I prefer the Low RPM Turbo for acceleration - you may need to shift before redline - check the power graph in the tuning menu to see where power drops off
  • Racing Transmission for short / medium tracks - the acceleration is worth the PP cost
  • Manual Transmission for longer tracks that need more top speed
  • Rear Aero (splitter / under tray) usually NOT worth the PP cost at this level, but it's car dependent
  • Stage 4/5 weight reductions usually are NOT worth the PP cost at this level
  • For rear biased cars, add ballast toward the front 49/51 or even 50/50 weight distribution is OK
  • For FR cars, add ballast around the rear to help with traction problems - aim for 51/49 weight distribution, or 49/51 if you want more agility
  • More weight over the driven wheels can make acceleration a bit quicker

Considerations
My tunes are generally aggressive momentum builds. They care only about lap times; they may be not great for fuel consumption and tire wear. And they suffer in traffic.
 
...

Thanks again. If possible, can you do the 600pp Amemiya test to see if you have a better/worse lap time as compare to this 600pp Gallardo?
I did. My FD3S had an old 630 PP Praiano setup which is still working quite ok despite physics changes. I adapted this to 600 PP and went racing. I didn't go like a madman, trying to keep things clean, and realized : I wasn't essentially quicker than with the Gallardo.
Two very different cars, different driving but similar race progress and similar runtimes. However ... only second place overall.

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What you should keep in mind is the rubber banding, some call it adaptive AI. I'm not an expert here - my rough guess is the AI has got a specific window to adapt their pace within, depending on the car you bring, the pace you go and other parameters. As long as you and your car aren't capable to exceed this window, there's no safe win. IMO !

A car that is definitely outrunning the AI is @rheinaoi 's Alphard. Tried that too, it's a blast, had lots of fun destroying the competition in a van. :D Three easy wins.
 
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