- 273
- New York City
- challah_rajni
A review and a race report:
After many hours of testing and many more credits spent, I finally found the chariot with which to mount my assault on the 24 endurance on Sarthe 1. Behold the wedge, the washing machine (and dryer ) the vacuum car, the mighty Chapperal 2J! 👍 I cant help it, Im fond of the wackiness of it all.
Trials of agony: 2Js review
I tried this race stock initially and I will hold that the race is winnable in this manner and if there are enough Group Cs and LMPs then youre in for a 155-200 A-spec point race. However though this car has truly massive, mind-boggling top end, especially for something thats down on your average Group C racer by two gears and 300 hp (1 2 3 220mph!) I find it still doesnt accelerate well enough. It will manhandle just about anything in a corner from 0-100 mph with its near infinite turn-in and feels silky smooth and super responsive while doing so. Though, tis a strange irony that haunts the little soapbox racer: this fluid turning feel comes with a high price. On any surface not as smooth as a billiard ball this machine gets frighteningly jittery. For reference image an old 911 er I mean RUF BTR to the ninth degree but lighter with a tighter suspension and very capable of 235 mph.
To put bluntly, she doesnt like to trail brake at all.
Take this car out to Sarthe 1 or any other playground of the Group Cs and this car will show you a whole new world of braking points (much earlier braking points double braking points) and road irregularities. Youll learn a lot or die trying.
In the stock configuration on racing mediums I can pull a lap of 3:21:xxx with the help of a draft and all in a 7 lap pit strategy. The tire life is actually very good in this car, but I guess it needs something to tip the scales in its favor.
But that is where the fun ends. With as much downforce as this car does make with its vacuum effect, it bottoms out terribly, bounces more, is unstable at high speed especially while drafting and going over bumps at the same time. Also, she doesnt feel comfortable with cornering above 160 mph.
All these attributes though they give the car a unique and intriguing character do lead to quite a few problems when competing against Group Cs. In the first 2-4 checkpoints on Sarthe, with skill and grace (and very careful braking...) youll decimate the competition. However, if cars like the Sauber C9 are close theyll gain on you all down the Muslanne straight. Theyll also beat you badly braking into the second chicane and then give it all away on the exit.
It all comes crashing down at the Indianapolis corner (T4) While a Group C/LMP can dive-bomb this corner, touch the rumble at over 220 grind the brakes and make the turn at 50-70 mph without breaking a sweat, its a much more delicate matter in the 2J. You have to brake way before, at the large sign, go down to around 170 check the cars stability (touch the rumble and the 2J will put you through the rinse cycle) then brake again, This is all fine and good, but in doing this many times youll find that if you are anywhere within 500 feet of a Group C/LMP and on the wrong part of the track (read: anywhere within 500 feet of a Group C, you cant do anything, you will die its that bad) youll find yourself torpedoed, spun and enjoying the race from the kitty litter. Should you decided to rejoin the race youll have to crawl back onto the track at an astounding 12 mph. Great fun for something with no low-end grunt whatsoever.
If you survive that section and think the GT4 Gods are looking out for you, by the time you hit T5 and onward, youll realize theyre just keeping you alive a little more to have some fun with you.
This is the worst possible place to be a 2J because of the bumps on the straight. Yes its probably the most fun straightaway in the game, but by the time you get to the braking point youll be a ball of nerves. The turn at the end of the straight is pure evil, again you have to brake much earlier than a Group C. You can take it at 170, but I cant guarantee your safety.
You must have total dominion over the car here and make sure you are done braking a while before entry because you see, there is a little bump at the place where a Group C would probably slow down. You try that in this ride or even try to sneak a little extra speed in and the your ride will magically gravitate to the left, become much too twitchy, and then one half of the rear wheel will touch the kitty litter which subsequently leads to INSTANT DEATH. 
And be mindful, the Group C rule is in full effect here too.
Out of T5 youll find the flowing high speed section, the first turn is a killer because again there is a nasty bump right where you think you can get away with late braking. The infinite turn-in of this beast will come into play, the back end will come out at 140 and 90% of the time thatll be the end of you. Again, the Group C rule is in full effect.
But after surviving this corner the next three are very nice. The two left handers are quite fun. With the right track position the first can be taken almost full accel leaving you with an exit speed around 160 mph. The second left needs a little braking down to about 130. The right hander coming next is tricky but not nearly as bad if youd made it this far. 115-130 going through this corner is good. The next left hand turn can be taken at over 120 but track position is critical: apex early. The rest of it is all pretty tame now, but sadly for all the time you gain going up to T5, youre likely to have lost at least 2 seconds to the Group C lot in this section even after youve pulled your best Schumacher imitation.
Now despite all that Ive just told you, I was foolhardy enough to race the stock 2J here anyway. My field consisted of:
Sauber C9
Nissan R92CP
Nissan R89C
787B
Toyota GT One
Me
Easy 200 A-spec point race, right?
Left for dead in the beginning, for 6 laps I was a human pinball. I spent 3 laps getting molested by the last place GT One (shame that shes the dog in the pack though) at all the major braking points only to claw my way out to being 7 seconds down on the first place R92CP. I get molested again for another 3 laps by the fifth place 787B spin and go down 10 seconds. I suck it up, break away from the 787B and hunt down the third place R89C. I find him by start of the Muslanne straight and get him by the second Chicane. He out-brakes me entering and slows down way too much in the middle. I rear end him and give him a nice little 2 second boost.
No matter, I draft him, let him go at the Indianapolis corner and then pass him on the exit. I get greedy on the following straight. He drafts me and I brake early into the turn at T5. For my insolence I am rear ended and sent into the kitty litter. I crawl out at an stupendous 11 mph 22 seconds down on the leader. The 787B nonchalantly cruises by me. I proceed to bite through my DS2
Easy 200 A-spec point race, right?
WRONG.
Annoyed and dismayed I restart the race with the same lineup but this time I break down and slap on the stage 3 turbo worth 889-894 hp. Frankly I didnt have the patience to survive 24 hours of getting pushed around with the looming threat of chassis wear. Yeah I know excuses, excuses.
For my lack of patience and skill I now embark on a 24 hour race worth 91 A-spec points. So, for the money, for the prize car, and for the pleasure and torture of driving this amazing little vacuum car Im still running this race, Ive been at it for 6 hours now and would like to share my progress with you all but for now I need rest.
More to come in this thread tomorrow. Stay tuned
After many hours of testing and many more credits spent, I finally found the chariot with which to mount my assault on the 24 endurance on Sarthe 1. Behold the wedge, the washing machine (and dryer ) the vacuum car, the mighty Chapperal 2J! 👍 I cant help it, Im fond of the wackiness of it all.
Trials of agony: 2Js review
I tried this race stock initially and I will hold that the race is winnable in this manner and if there are enough Group Cs and LMPs then youre in for a 155-200 A-spec point race. However though this car has truly massive, mind-boggling top end, especially for something thats down on your average Group C racer by two gears and 300 hp (1 2 3 220mph!) I find it still doesnt accelerate well enough. It will manhandle just about anything in a corner from 0-100 mph with its near infinite turn-in and feels silky smooth and super responsive while doing so. Though, tis a strange irony that haunts the little soapbox racer: this fluid turning feel comes with a high price. On any surface not as smooth as a billiard ball this machine gets frighteningly jittery. For reference image an old 911 er I mean RUF BTR to the ninth degree but lighter with a tighter suspension and very capable of 235 mph.
To put bluntly, she doesnt like to trail brake at all.
Take this car out to Sarthe 1 or any other playground of the Group Cs and this car will show you a whole new world of braking points (much earlier braking points double braking points) and road irregularities. Youll learn a lot or die trying.
In the stock configuration on racing mediums I can pull a lap of 3:21:xxx with the help of a draft and all in a 7 lap pit strategy. The tire life is actually very good in this car, but I guess it needs something to tip the scales in its favor.
But that is where the fun ends. With as much downforce as this car does make with its vacuum effect, it bottoms out terribly, bounces more, is unstable at high speed especially while drafting and going over bumps at the same time. Also, she doesnt feel comfortable with cornering above 160 mph.
All these attributes though they give the car a unique and intriguing character do lead to quite a few problems when competing against Group Cs. In the first 2-4 checkpoints on Sarthe, with skill and grace (and very careful braking...) youll decimate the competition. However, if cars like the Sauber C9 are close theyll gain on you all down the Muslanne straight. Theyll also beat you badly braking into the second chicane and then give it all away on the exit.
It all comes crashing down at the Indianapolis corner (T4) While a Group C/LMP can dive-bomb this corner, touch the rumble at over 220 grind the brakes and make the turn at 50-70 mph without breaking a sweat, its a much more delicate matter in the 2J. You have to brake way before, at the large sign, go down to around 170 check the cars stability (touch the rumble and the 2J will put you through the rinse cycle) then brake again, This is all fine and good, but in doing this many times youll find that if you are anywhere within 500 feet of a Group C/LMP and on the wrong part of the track (read: anywhere within 500 feet of a Group C, you cant do anything, you will die its that bad) youll find yourself torpedoed, spun and enjoying the race from the kitty litter. Should you decided to rejoin the race youll have to crawl back onto the track at an astounding 12 mph. Great fun for something with no low-end grunt whatsoever.
If you survive that section and think the GT4 Gods are looking out for you, by the time you hit T5 and onward, youll realize theyre just keeping you alive a little more to have some fun with you.
This is the worst possible place to be a 2J because of the bumps on the straight. Yes its probably the most fun straightaway in the game, but by the time you get to the braking point youll be a ball of nerves. The turn at the end of the straight is pure evil, again you have to brake much earlier than a Group C. You can take it at 170, but I cant guarantee your safety.
You must have total dominion over the car here and make sure you are done braking a while before entry because you see, there is a little bump at the place where a Group C would probably slow down. You try that in this ride or even try to sneak a little extra speed in and the your ride will magically gravitate to the left, become much too twitchy, and then one half of the rear wheel will touch the kitty litter which subsequently leads to INSTANT DEATH. And be mindful, the Group C rule is in full effect here too.
Out of T5 youll find the flowing high speed section, the first turn is a killer because again there is a nasty bump right where you think you can get away with late braking. The infinite turn-in of this beast will come into play, the back end will come out at 140 and 90% of the time thatll be the end of you. Again, the Group C rule is in full effect.
But after surviving this corner the next three are very nice. The two left handers are quite fun. With the right track position the first can be taken almost full accel leaving you with an exit speed around 160 mph. The second left needs a little braking down to about 130. The right hander coming next is tricky but not nearly as bad if youd made it this far. 115-130 going through this corner is good. The next left hand turn can be taken at over 120 but track position is critical: apex early. The rest of it is all pretty tame now, but sadly for all the time you gain going up to T5, youre likely to have lost at least 2 seconds to the Group C lot in this section even after youve pulled your best Schumacher imitation.
Now despite all that Ive just told you, I was foolhardy enough to race the stock 2J here anyway. My field consisted of:
Sauber C9
Nissan R92CP
Nissan R89C
787B
Toyota GT One
Me
Easy 200 A-spec point race, right?
Left for dead in the beginning, for 6 laps I was a human pinball. I spent 3 laps getting molested by the last place GT One (shame that shes the dog in the pack though) at all the major braking points only to claw my way out to being 7 seconds down on the first place R92CP. I get molested again for another 3 laps by the fifth place 787B spin and go down 10 seconds. I suck it up, break away from the 787B and hunt down the third place R89C. I find him by start of the Muslanne straight and get him by the second Chicane. He out-brakes me entering and slows down way too much in the middle. I rear end him and give him a nice little 2 second boost.
No matter, I draft him, let him go at the Indianapolis corner and then pass him on the exit. I get greedy on the following straight. He drafts me and I brake early into the turn at T5. For my insolence I am rear ended and sent into the kitty litter. I crawl out at an stupendous 11 mph 22 seconds down on the leader. The 787B nonchalantly cruises by me. I proceed to bite through my DS2
Easy 200 A-spec point race, right?
WRONG.
Annoyed and dismayed I restart the race with the same lineup but this time I break down and slap on the stage 3 turbo worth 889-894 hp. Frankly I didnt have the patience to survive 24 hours of getting pushed around with the looming threat of chassis wear. Yeah I know excuses, excuses.
For my lack of patience and skill I now embark on a 24 hour race worth 91 A-spec points. So, for the money, for the prize car, and for the pleasure and torture of driving this amazing little vacuum car Im still running this race, Ive been at it for 6 hours now and would like to share my progress with you all but for now I need rest.
More to come in this thread tomorrow. Stay tuned
)
The eerie feeling pervades that I will be in this position again. I feel like Evil Canival on a very bad day. We all end up in the pit in some shape or form by lap 59 like one big happy
no. 
