The Rolex Sports Car Series /Help Plan Season 2!/

[Storm_SP17]

Wierd... I'm faster in the Ferrari and the Viper (if you count my 45.7, which I was on the grass by about an inch through the chicane and got penalised), about the same (if a bit slower) in the Camaro and Audi, and much slower in the Mazda. I reckon that Vette could get 44's/43's if I were to base it on last year's testing. At 480bhp /1280kg I got 1:44.2.... I'll buy and set up a Vette after I've played some FIFA 12.

 

[cnd01]

Wierd... I'm faster in the Ferrari and the Viper (if you count my 45.7, which I was on the grass by about an inch through the chicane and got penalised), about the same (if a bit slower) in the Camaro and Audi, and much slower in the Mazda. I reckon that Vette could get 44's/43's if I were to base it on last year's testing. At 480bhp /1280kg I got 1:44.2.... I'll buy and set up a Vette after I've played some FIFA 12.

I ran 475 bhp 1280 kg with the vette. 500 bhp 1360 kg with the viper. 500 bhp 1270 kg with the 458. 415 bhp 1085 kg with the mazda. 450 bhp 1275 kg with the camaro. 450 bhp 1281 kg with the audi.

 

[Storm_SP17]

You can't have 1275 with the Camaro....

I used the 5.2 V10 Audi. So my time was with 450 bhp and 1313 kg.

 

[cnd01]

You can't have 1275 with the Camaro....

Actually that is over weight by 1 kg.

 

[Storm_SP17]

But... The Camaro CAN'T BE less than 1318 on GT5.... so....?

 

[cnd01]

But... The Camaro CAN'T BE less than 1318 on GT5.... so....?

Really I bottomed it out. I didn't look at the weights before I started. Must have been the audi at 1275 and the Ferrari at 1281. Anyway I guess it was a senior moment on my part.

 

[Storm_SP17]

Mazda RX-8 Type S - 415bhp @ 1085kg - 1:48.863
Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR - 500bhp @ 1361kg - 1:46.973 (1:45.721 unofficial)
Audi 4.2 Quattro - 450bhp @ 1281kg - 1:47.389
Audi 5.2 Quattro - 450bhp @ 1313kg - 1:48.213
Chevrolet Camaro SS - 450bhp @ 1318kg - 1:48.480
Ferrari 458 Italia - 500bhp @ 1270kg - 1:44.856

Right, so I've updated the list of cars I have. I shall be adding more cars to this later, including both Corvette C6's.

 

[freshseth83]

Obviously some balance is needed, unless these times change from track to track to favor other vehicles. Also what about the Lotus Evora? It still has yet to be spec'd. I say give the Audi V10 and Camaro 460hp with minimum weight. Ferrari needs 20less hp IMO, so 480. Keep the Vipers a lower weight, 1300kg IMO and 470-490hp (tire wear is the problem so less weight should help, and not to have it so fast less power would equalize it out since it loses weight). Just my conclusions.

 

[Storm_SP17]

I've had these in mind since the get-go, but I think the other guys are taking more of a "one step at a time" apporach. There's tyre wear to consider too, and if one car seriously outmatches the others on tyres when the pace aspect is balanced out, things are going to be a cakewalk for whomever chooses that car.

 

[freshseth83]

I took this into account, which is what I said in my post. Look back and you see that I said this for the tire wear of the Viper, which seems to be a problem for most. With less weight, tire wear shouldn't be as much of a problem.

 

[Storm_SP17]

I've noticed that power can have an effect too, as I found in the BMW this year. At 550 bhp I could still run competitive lap times, and have an extra lap on the tyres. I didn't run it in the end for Madrid, and think I paid for that mistake.

 

[polarbear345]

Hey all! Sorry I didn't test today, it was 2x xp on battlefield! I got all the class upgrades for all classes and finished all the close quarters assignments... Along with 2 more back to karkand assignments (1 left!) and I'm not level 43!

But back to the info... I'm leaving wendsday for about 2 weeks ;( so I'm going to do my specing tomorrow. Season 2 thread up on Tuesday at the latest... I don't know if I should have you guys run the pre season races without me or if I should shove them back a week or two.

And Nitro was on playstation today! I shot him a message asking if he was back... He said yea! So hopefully VLN is back too?? I know a lot of us drove in that too! So if he shows himself again... Welcome him!

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

My signature can't fit any more racing series! (Challenge accepted)


Also, the Rolex testing for the Mazda... I don't know how we can get the rest of the cars as slow as the Mazda, or the Mazda as fast. And, this is absolutely killing me. I saw an RX-8 at the Shopping Center today, and I just WANTED IT so badly.

 

[cnd01]

Obviously some balance is needed, unless these times change from track to track to favor other vehicles. Also what about the Lotus Evora? It still has yet to be spec'd. I say give the Audi V10 and Camaro 460hp with minimum weight. Ferrari needs 20less hp IMO, so 480. Keep the Vipers a lower weight, 1300kg IMO and 470-490hp (tire wear is the problem so less weight should help, and not to have it so fast less power would equalize it out since it loses weight). Just my conclusions.

I think the current viper specs are just fine. I agree with you on the 20 less hp for the 458. On my test the 458 was 4 mph faster than any other car at the start/finish. If you slow the viper down, then you need to slow the corvette down. The mazda needs horsepower as well as the camaro. The Audi 5.2 is about 3/10ths of a second faster at the same specs as the 4.2. On my post, I used the 4.2.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

But, throwing power at a bad-handling car, or a car with no front downforce, is generally a bad idea. The Mazda can't keep up, because it has almost no downforce. If you put 500 hp in the Mazda, then the tires would be dead in about 6 laps, in comparison to everyone else's 8/9 laps. Then, the speed differential is solved, but the tire/fuel strategy isn't.


Ideally, I'd like to get the Mazda to work, obviously, but, maybe there are different options to test, before we settle on the Mazda. No matter how much I want to see the Mazda...

 

[polarbear345]

But, throwing power at a bad-handling car, or a car with no front downforce, is generally a bad idea. The Mazda can't keep up, because it has almost no downforce. If you put 500 hp in the Mazda, then the tires would be dead in about 6 laps, in comparison to everyone else's 8/9 laps. Then, the speed differential is solved, but the tire/fuel strategy isn't.

Ideally, I'd like to get the Mazda to work, obviously, but, maybe there are different options to test, before we settle on the Mazda. No matter how much I want to see the Mazda...

Alright. Id rather us not waste time trying to make cars work that we won't use. I'll write another list for everyone:

DP:

Sauber c9
Nissan r92 (or whatever)
Toyota Minolta

GT:

Camero
458
R8 5.2
Viper acr
Rx8 (may be better to use the evora...but....)

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Alright. Let's make that Mazda faster! Woohoo!

 

[polarbear345]

Alright. Let's make that Mazda faster! Woohoo!

Actually, the other cars need to be slowed down from this season by about 2 seconds. What we didn't account for last season was tuning. The cars need to be 1-2 seconds slower than in real life when we spec them, so when you tune them, we bring the pace to real life figures. So in all reality the rx8 may work better than we're giving if credit for.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Maybe. Remember to check the tire life of the RX-8 and reference it against the tire life of the other cars, though, please.

 

[freshseth83]

I don't get it. You want to slow the cars down for what reason? They may be faster overall in terms of lap times than the real life cars, but were using tires that last 8 laps maybe 10. IRL their tires last a good deal longer. Basically were making up for that lost time of pitting for tires by having slightly faster cars. And just because you do a lap that may be a second or two seconds faster doesn't mean that time will be duplicated through the race. The tires we use (softs mostly) last 3 laps maybe with a time that's faster than the real life cars. Then the degradation comes in and you lose more than a second half way through the stint.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Thanks for not making things confusing Seth.

 

[freshseth83]

How is being faster over one lap, but slower over a stint (even two) confusing? There's no need to 'slow the cars down'. The limited tire life does it for us. Not to mention we start with a tank full of fuel and we hardly run long enough to refuel (which is opposite of the real life series).

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Well, GT5 got fuel and tires wrong. We can't be held responsible for that. However, I think the main idea is to make the cars slower, so that they better match the real life cars in terms of qualifying pace, AND so that the Mazda better fits in. It doesn't even matter to you, since you're going into DP.

 

[freshseth83]

I might stick with GT. But if I do I'm going for wins in something besides the Audi. I'm thinking Camaro, maybe Mazda.

 

[ITCC_Andrew]

Look! The secret is revealed; Seth's talented with AWD cars!

Or, maybe Seth's just good with AWD cars? Hahaha, nah, the Audi was a bit quick last season. Considering its tire life, it really should be a bit slower, or, at least, comparatively.

 

[freshseth83]

The Viper Ferrari and the Vette were faster IMO. People who drove them weren't as consistent enough. The Viper had tire wear issues, but it was close enough. Kevin came in with the Vette and showed he was just as fast as the Audi. And I won Monza (and took Pole) with it. I think the Camaro is looked over and people are missing what it's capable of.

 

[Storm_SP17]

The Vette was always going to be fast, and IMO it was the most easy to handle for me, aside from the Audi. The Viper would've steamrolled Monza (sorry to burst your bubble Seth), the only thing I shouldn't have done is gotten cocky and ran Meds in quali and stint one. My most consistent track and we get a mass DC? Just unfortunate. Clinched third in ALMS at Monza with probably the worst first stint ever? I did that too.

Anyway...

Even if the Viper gets a cut in power, that car will still be competitive so long as the weight is dropped. 1320 kg is what i'd be tempted to run it at, with 460 bhp. That will sort out tyre wear issues also.

 

[cnd01]

The Vette was always going to be fast, and IMO it was the most easy to handle for me, aside from the Audi. The Viper would've steamrolled Monza (sorry to burst your bubble Seth), the only thing I shouldn't have done is gotten cocky and ran Meds in quali and stint one. My most consistent track and we get a mass DC? Just unfortunate. Clinched third in ALMS at Monza with probably the worst first stint ever? I did that too.

Anyway...

Even if the Viper gets a cut in power, that car will still be competitive so long as the weight is dropped. 1320 kg is what i'd be tempted to run it at, with 460 bhp. That will sort out tyre wear issues also.

As long as every car is competitive, It really doesn't make that much of a difference what the specs are. I think the Mazda needs a little more power. The corvette is too fast if you slow the Viper and 458 down. So a slight tune down on the corvette say 460 bhp. The viper would be competitive probably losing 20-30 bhp and dropping 40-60 kg. The 458 should lose 30 bhp and gain weight. The median time was the 5.2, so I think leave it as is. The camaro needs more power because it can't get down to the weight for the irl specs. The mazda is in the same boat.

 

[polarbear345]

As long as every car is competitive, It really doesn't make that much of a difference what the specs are. I think the Mazda needs a little more power. The corvette is too fast if you slow the Viper and 458 down. So a slight tune down on the corvette say 460 bhp. The viper would be competitive probably losing 20-30 bhp and dropping 40-60 kg. The 458 should lose 30 bhp and gain weight. The median time was the 5.2, so I think leave it as is. The camaro needs more power because it can't get down to the weight for the irl specs. The mazda is in the same boat.

No corvette.

 

[cnd01]

No corvette.

Good. That makes life easier. When will the Season 2 thread be up?