RAZR's lapboard and car review thread (Ford GT by JTQ and Vantage GT3 by Real Replica reviewed 2/27)

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This is a review of the Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) by LazyDonkey

Welp LazyDonkey now has the two fastest cars on the Bathurst board. This car was fast but there were a couple of problems I found with it

1) Mid corner understeer. This makes high speed twisty sections to be a bit of a pain. It oversteers slightly on entry when at the limit so you think it's going to stick when it rotates and then it doesn't when it's too late to recover.

2) Instability under braking. This was specifically a problem going downhill and through the chase when a precise line is key. It doesn't brake in a straight line very well with a preference to kick out the rear so it throws the line off a bit going through the esses and through the dipper. Right after you take the right hander to get into the chase which tends to destabilize already, braking the car is tricky because it only makes the rear want to snap around more.

Otherwise, the car is mostly neutral and pretty well composed. It just doesn't cope well with a couple specific situations and that hurts the experience a bit.
 
Was looking at your leaderboard and noticed a couple things.
1st it's hard to compare times when cars are not only widely different PP but on different grade tires as well. A car close to 600PP will have a huge straightline speed advantage over one under 500PP regardless of tires, that said, the extra grip of a higher grade tire will make it quicker and easier to control through corners, but probably not enough to offset all the extra speed except on tighter tracks.
2nd I noticed that not all your tested cars match the PP numbers for the actual tune. Not sure if this is because of not performing an oil change or just because different parts were used. While testing of cars is greatly appreciated by tuners, I think most would prefer that care was taken to match their tune and it's numbers exactly.

Thanks again for your reviews looking forward to seeing more. The above is just my thoughts on how it might be improved.👍👍
 
XDesperado67
Was looking at your leaderboard and noticed a couple things.
1st it's hard to compare times when cars are not only widely different PP but on different grade tires as well. A car close to 600PP will have a huge straightline speed advantage over one under 500PP regardless of tires, that said, the extra grip of a higher grade tire will make it quicker and easier to control through corners, but probably not enough to offset all the extra speed except on tighter tracks.
2nd I noticed that not all your tested cars match the PP numbers for the actual tune. Not sure if this is because of not performing an oil change or just because different parts were used. While testing of cars is greatly appreciated by tuners, I think most would prefer that care was taken to match their tune and it's numbers exactly.

Thanks again for your reviews looking forward to seeing more. The above is just my thoughts on how it might be improved.👍👍
Click to expand...
As far as the first, That one is tricky. If I were to separate by PP and Tires that would not only be a lot more work on my end but it would also make the board not very useful because of the ridiculous array of PP and tire preferences that tuners use. Some people like Ridox since he does mostly replicas will have high PP cars on lower tier tires while some will do 550PP = SH and others like LazyDonkey use racing tires on 550PP cars that I change down to SS which is the lower range listed to keep it more in line with the other cars. There's such an array that if I were to break it down that specifically there would barely be any cars to compare against, so I try to keep categorizing as minimal as possible so that attention is drawn to the times, with the PP and tires settings available for easy viewing.

As far as the second, I make sure to perform oil changes and use the same parts. The variances in PP are likely triggered by lots of tuners using their cars in non arcade races when tuning so that they have higher mileage while others do not do that which is part of the reason that I state the PP that I tested the car at.
 
Mileage should not have an effect on a posted tunes PP.

I can't speak for other tuners, but I know for myself the PP I list for a car can be achieved by a fresh bought car if the tune is followed. Only variation would be caused by oil change and if a tune calling for an oil change is driven past the roughly 200 miles that fresh oil provides a "bonus" to HP/Torque.
Only noticed this because you show my Hyundai Genesis being tested at 494PP while my posted tune has only 500PP and 550PP versions.

Not asking for a re-test just noting that your tested car was definitely not in spec somehow with my tune.:odd:
 
XDesperado67
Mileage should not have an effect on a posted tunes PP.

I can't speak for other tuners, but I know for myself the PP I list for a car can be achieved by a fresh bought car if the tune is followed. Only variation would be caused by oil change and if a tune calling for an oil change is driven past the roughly 200 miles that fresh oil provides a "bonus" to HP/Torque.
Only noticed this because you show my Hyundai Genesis being tested at 494PP while my posted tune has only 500PP and 550PP versions.

Not asking for a re-test just noting that your tested car was definitely not in spec somehow with my tune.:odd:
Click to expand...
Gave it an oil change just to check. Guess I missed it but the specs still don't match up - it landed at 501. Everything else was correct in the version that I tested.
 
Might need a touch of power limiter. I'll double check the tune myself when I get on the game again.👍👍

Regardless of the PP the handling should be fairly close though the extra Torque may have a slight impact on the LSD settings. Your posted time and comments regarding handling were close enough to my own times and observations that I think it's a fair representation of the tune.
Thinking of re-visiting the tune at some point in the near future to see if I can coax a bit better handling out of it.:drool:
 
XDesperado67
Might need a touch of power limiter. I'll double check the tune myself when I get on the game again.👍👍

Regardless of the PP the handling should be fairly close though the extra Torque may have a slight impact on the LSD settings. Your posted time and comments regarding handling were close enough to my own times and observations that I think it's a fair representation of the tune.
Thinking of re-visiting the tune at some point in the near future to see if I can coax a bit better handling out of it.:drool:
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Glad that the version tested wasn't an incorrect representation. Thanks for pointing it out - I'll be a bit more careful with oil changes and stuff in the future.
 
Just checked the Hyundai Genesis and as per the listed tune, with oil change you'll need to set power limiter to 99.9% to achieve 500PP.
Not sure exactly why this is since the car will list the exact same HP and Torque at 100% but somehow the PP formula decides that 0.1% power limiting moves it from 501PP to 500PP.:odd:
 
XDesperado67
Just checked the Hyundai Genesis and as per the listed tune, with oil change you'll need to set power limiter to 99.9% to achieve 500PP.
Not sure exactly why this is since the car will list the exact same HP and Torque at 100% but somehow the PP formula decides that 0.1% power limiting moves it from 501PP to 500PP.:odd:
Click to expand...
I have the power limiter set that way and am still at 501. Weird
 
RAZRr1275
This is a review of the Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) by LazyDonkey

Welp LazyDonkey now has the two fastest cars on the Bathurst board. This car was fast but there were a couple of problems I found with it

1) Mid corner understeer. This makes high speed twisty sections to be a bit of a pain. It oversteers slightly on entry when at the limit so you think it's going to stick when it rotates and then it doesn't when it's too late to recover.

2) Instability under braking. This was specifically a problem going downhill and through the chase when a precise line is key. It doesn't brake in a straight line very well with a preference to kick out the rear so it throws the line off a bit going through the esses and through the dipper. Right after you take the right hander to get into the chase which tends to destabilize already, braking the car is tricky because it only makes the rear want to snap around more.

Otherwise, the car is mostly neutral and pretty well composed. It just doesn't cope well with a couple specific situations and that hurts the experience a bit.
Click to expand...

I never really tested this tune on SS, and I see how crappy it is, so I removed SS from the title. Just letting you know that it's a dream to drive on RS.

I think that you might like this for Bathurst : https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...azda-rx7-lotus-sport-350.296418/#post-9220247

( could you review it )
 
Would you mind testing my AE86 (and the RX7)? I need some feedback, and I've revised the tune a bit from when I got some the first time.

EDIT: 900th Post!
 
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I'll get to the requested reviews but at the moment I have 4 in my queue plus a list of a couple that I'd like to do so feel free to keep requesting but I'll do them in the order requested. It may take a week or so to get through all of them as I'm back in my dorm so I'm sharing a tv and will have classes to take care of soon.
 
TheLazyDonkey
I never really tested this tune on SS, and I see how crappy it is, so I removed SS from the title. Just letting you know that it's a dream to drive on RS.

I think that you might like this for Bathurst : https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...azda-rx7-lotus-sport-350.296418/#post-9220247

( could you review it )
Click to expand...
I meant to reply to this - I actually don't find it crappy. I actually don't enjoy tunes to be perfect 100% neutral beasts. I like the cars to have some faults as it really tests the drivers ability to adapt. It's just that my style fits certain faults (a bit of oversteer) more than others (understeer or some combo of oversteer and understeer)
 
This is a review of the Lotus Espirit 350 '00 by LazyDonkey

It's a good car. It has a bit of a tendency to want to break into a drift mid corner. Otherwise entry and exit is smooth. The wheels spin a bit going over bumps so you have to be careful with that. The chase is interesting because the brakes aren't good enough for it to want to stop in time if you want to get on the brakes after the bend. The other thing is that it has a tendency to kick out the rear under braking which was a tad problematic through Forrest's elbow. It feels a bit weird to drive as due to the really grippy SS tires you can feel it oversteer or understeer but the grip makes it almost self correct. I gave it a go on sports hards and it was way more active which for me made it a bit more fun.
 
Just a note - if you're going to request reviews can you double check to make sure that the tunes are entered correctly on the sheet? Assuming their tunes work Desperado and JTQ are now on the top of the list. And looks like Desperado's is getting reviewed today. The rest are going to have to come later.
 
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This is a review of the Valkyrie by Clueless tunes

This was a fun drive. Pretty well composed car. Just a bit of understeer mid corner that really isn't a big issue. The other problem with the car is that it doesn't want to turn under braking and tends to kick the rear out which made it a bit unstable through the downill section at times but I was able to work that out via altering my timing. Driving this car is really about momentum because you don't have to brake very much on Bathurst except for the chase, the first and last corners, griffin's bend and the downhill section for the most part so driving it is mostly about not letting the understeer cause you to lose speed.
 
This is a review of the Haruka by Jacnob

This is a car that's a fantastic car for fun but not the fastest. The problem is that it wants to spin the rear tires no matter the circumstance. When it does this it's very polite and you just get a nice smooth drift that's easy to correct, but, of course, when that happens you lose time. The car has a tendency to understeer a bit on exit but using the loud pedal as an instant oversteer button can help correct this a bit. It gets a bit unstable through the Cutting because the fast moving changes of direction make it want to oversteer a bit so you'll have to correct that a bit. It's a car that demands precise inputs and good throttle control in order to drive it fast and, well, if you don't care about speed all you have to do is give it a bit of a jerk and a stab of the throttle and you can easily drift it around.
 
Thanks for the review @RAZRr1275.👍👍

Guessing that the increased grip off-line is the reason the TTS is reluctant to turn in under braking. Removing the rear wing might help both with turn in and mid corner, was mainly there for a little added stability when braking in the high speed sections of the Nordschleife on-line. At 450PP it's not really needed even there, but the 500PP version of the tune adds enough extra acceleration and speed that it makes a real difference, especially when running on sport hards.:drool:
 
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This is a review of the Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00 by JTQ Tunes

I think we have very similar driving styles because the cars that I've driven from this garage always tend to be great drives for me and this is no exception. It likes to oversteer a bit over bumps and on throttle but a quick jab at the wheel is perfect to set it straight and it can do it without losing speed which is pretty impressive. Since it has an inclination to oversteer, the car feels very free and you have the ability to simply point it where you want to go and it will go there in a very swift, composed fashion. It requires a lot of attention from the driver because if you miss the brief window to correct you'll end up in a wall but you definitely have the chance. There really isn't much to say other than that this car pretty much the ideal race car for me.
 
XDesperado67
Thanks for the review @RAZRr1275.👍👍

Guessing that the increased grip off-line is the reason the TTS is reluctant to turn in under braking. Removing the rear wing might help both with turn in and mid corner, was mainly there for a little added stability when braking in the high speed sections of the Nordschleife on-line. At 450PP it's not really needed even there, but the 550PP version of the tune adds enough extra acceleration and speed that it makes a real difference, especially when running on sport hards.:drool:
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Makes sense - I'll give the 550PP version a shot on the ring at some point
 
Thanks for the review @RAZRr1275. 👍

Fun was ultimately what I was going for, despite my earlier statement, and it looks like I succeeded.
 
^ If anyone's doing a 550PP version of the Audi, I'll make sure it's me, so hands off. :lol:

Anyway, mind testing my 550PP RX7 and (if your GT wallet allows) Zonda? Kthxbai. :lol:
 
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This is a review of the Top Fuel Turbo Monster Civic by Ridox Replica Tunes

Well back to the Ring we go...

This car is mental. It loves spinning its front tires due to the ridiculous amount of hp in a civic. It has an absurd amount of turbo lag. And it's unpredictable at times because the front tires start spinning due to bumps in the road, and when that happens you aren't turning.

That all said, I love this car. One thing I like about the work that Ridox does is how he's not afraid to make a car hard to drive as long as its closer to how it would actually handle. With smooth inputs, trail braking and taking care to keep the revs high this is a very fun car to drive. It corners surprisingly well for a FF car with that much power to the fronts but it does, of course come with some understeer on exit which can be a pain to deal with at times. The stiff suspension keeps it absurdly planted (maybe to its detriment considering how upset it gets at bumps at times). I found the gearing to be a wee bit awkward for the ring as it was a lot of shifting to keep the revs high but it is a car designed for shorter tracks so that's not really a knock against the tune.
 
RAZRr1275
This is a review of the Top Fuel Turbo Monster Civic by Ridox Replica Tunes

Well back to the Ring we go...

This car is mental. It loves spinning its front tires due to the ridiculous amount of hp in a civic. It has an absurd amount of turbo lag. And it's unpredictable at times because the front tires start spinning due to bumps in the road, and when that happens you aren't turning.

That all said, I love this car. One thing I like about the work that Ridox does is how he's not afraid to make a car hard to drive as long as its closer to how it would actually handle. With smooth inputs, trail braking and taking care to keep the revs high this is a very fun car to drive. It corners surprisingly well for a FF car with that much power to the fronts but it does, of course come with some understeer on exit which can be a pain to deal with at times. The stiff suspension keeps it absurdly planted (maybe to its detriment considering how upset it gets at bumps at times). I found the gearing to be a wee bit awkward for the ring as it was a lot of shifting to keep the revs high but it is a car designed for shorter tracks so that's not really a knock against the tune.
Click to expand...


Yeah, it has so much power :lol:, thanks for being brave enough to drive the Zero 1000 Civic, the car needs very patient driver when it comes to going full throttle, even the pro drivers at Best Motoring drove rather cautiously when exiting corners at Tsukuba. The real car has even stiffer spring rates - 20+kg/mm at the front alone ( unable to replicate in GT6 ), if that spring rate is used in GT6 ... :eek: the car would be even more bouncy :lol:

I can't imagine what was the guy at Top Fuel thinking when the car was built back in the late 90's. The Civic was a quarter mile monster, able to post 12 seconds on a wet test track ( still raining ) :D. It had severe understeer issue when racing at Tsukuba due to brake getting weaker ( fade ) after a few laps. At the Best Motoring Tsukuba Battle, the car was given S tire against cars with normal tires as it's FF car with gigantic turbo and relatively skinny front tires :lol: Have you driven it at Tsukuba ? That's what the car was built for :) A Spoon EK Civic tried to beat it's lap time some time after that with 1:02s lap time ( albeit slower ) without using turbo ( also driven by Dori Dori ), different tuning approach, I will make that very Spoon Civic as well, so these 2 can battle it out in GT6 :)
 

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