The WTC 600 in Tokyo done without exploits is genuinely one of the hardest races in single player in gt7 - share your setups, tips, and cars

[Old_Richard]

It certainly adds quite a bit of time to the lap having to brake in to T1 and dropping to the low-mid 60mph range vs flying through there at 185 and having the car slow to ~90mph. Is it 8 seconds/lap? Probably depends on the car and it's setup. The engine swapped S13 certainly benefits greatly from wall riding because that car's brakes suck and you cant run proper tires on it without exceeding 600pp.

I'm just messing with you on the "cheating" thing. Drive however you want.

I just tried with the XJ220 I was getting 2:12's without the wallride, which isn't bad.... but that's a very fast car
I actually am beginning to like that corner though!

 

[Tommy_D]

Ugg, this is a tough challenge. I've tried several cars at 529-530pp and they all can only net me a fastest lap in the high 2:17's. It gets me ahead of the back of the pack, but no further progress on the leaders.

Got 8th with the DB3S '53 and 5th with the DP-100. Still trying to get the Stratos to go a bit faster and the RA272 drives well, but just doesn't have enough in it to do any better than the DB3S. A better driver may be able to get these cars to go a touch faster but I may have topped out my driving ability at 539pp.

Edit: Oh, and in case you were wondering. A Tesla Model S can't even make it 3/4 of a lap before it runs out of battery power. LOL.

 

[Meythia]

Ugg, this is a tough challenge. I've tried several cars at 529-530pp and they all can only net me a fastest lap in the high 2:17's. It gets me ahead of the back of the pack, but no further progress on the leaders.

I guess somewhere around 535pp seems to be the point where some cars will do it, with a very slith +/-2pp maybe.
I tried Stratos out of convenience and Alfa 4c because it was my personal fastest choice before, but at 530.x PP both of them are too slow in acceleration to keep up and make use of their corner performance.
I also tried Focus RS, but this car doesnt turn anymore
I didnt try comfort tyres as I want to stay true to the sports idea I posted.

And then my patience was running out, being used to play on PS5 and then changing to PS4 I suddenly felt like travelling backwards.

 

[Old_Richard]

Ugg, this is a tough challenge. I've tried several cars at 529-530pp and they all can only net me a fastest lap in the high 2:17's. It gets me ahead of the back of the pack, but no further progress on the leaders.

Got 8th with the DB3S '53 and 5th with the DP-100. Still trying to get the Stratos to go a bit faster and the RA272 drives well, but just doesn't have enough in it to do any better than the DB3S. A better driver may be able to get these cars to go a touch faster but I may have topped out my driving ability at 539pp.

Edit: Oh, and in case you were wondering. A Tesla Model S can't even make it 3/4 of a lap before it runs out of battery power. LOL.

Hey Tommy.... have you tried the Alfa 8C or Alfa etam? Both handle very well round that track with stock settings. I'm not quick enough to do them justice, but you might.

 

[Tommy_D]

I guess somewhere around 535pp seems to be the point where some cars will do it, with a very slith +/-2pp maybe.
I tried Stratos out of convenience and Alfa 4c because it was my personal fastest choice before, but at 530.x PP both of them are too slow in acceleration to keep up and make use of their corner performance.
I also tried Focus RS, but this car doesnt turn anymore
I didnt try comfort tyres as I want to stay true to the sports idea I posted.

And then my patience was running out, being used to play on PS5 and then changing to PS4 I suddenly felt like travelling backwards.

I've been experimenting with comfort softs vs sport hards. Unfortunately the extra power you can add doesn't outweigh the far less grip you have with the CS tires. I also noticed that the CS tires wear out faster than SH tires. This may be dependent on the weight of the car, though. I noticed with the DP-100 that the CS tires were pretty much gone around lap 10 and really started sacrificing time around lap 7 or 8. The SH tires last longer with this car, but it is a 3400lb vehicle. The 1800lb cars may not have such a problem, but even then they lack too much grip and grip is what you need when you only have 230hp to work with.

Hey Tommy.... have you tried the Alfa 8C or Alfa etam? Both handle very well round that track with stock settings. I'm not quick enough to do them justice, but you might.

Never tried them. I'll take a look and see what sort of PP level they can be tuned down to though.

 

[specops]

I've been having a surprising amount of fun trying to go low PP too. Like, actually driving a lot of cars that I haven't even tried before. To not let myself off the hook too easily, I started from the bottom up. First step was 500pp and that just wasn't happening, tried six very different cars with different tunes and it was just a hard no. 515pp started to give some competitiveness, as in you could race with the Alfa and co. But far away from podium, even.

Tried 520-525pp and kinda got in close enough so I could see Kokubun coming out from the pits. But since he was still in front, there was absolutely nothing I could do. He's just GONE. So up to 530pp and now I'm getting to the point where I can get in front of Kokubun when he pits. So heavy blocking engaged. The best run I had today I was holding him behind until hairpin on lap 10. It was the most impressive 'normal' AI move I've ever seen in GT7. I swear, there was nothing I could do to defend that crazy late dive from the outside Kokubun made. I don't think even I could have pushed that Amemiya more to the limit of braking late and just get the rotation before hitting the wet and dirt in the outskirt of the turn. And within that remaining two laps, he pulled away 12 seconds! Yeah, not sure if doable. Another problem that I've come across is when both Kokubun and Gallo are trying to find their way around me on the main straight. Eventually, one of them figures it out. And combined, the challenge of having both the top speed for the straight and stopping power for the hairpin at 530pp... Maybe there is an unicorn car hidden somewhere that could do it, but my bet is around 535pp as well. Also, I suppose there might be more variance with different strategies, but I just can't come up with an equation where a 1 stop strategy could match a no stop with this low of a PP level. You can't really use the softer compounds and the lowish power levels make fuel consumption less of an issue too. Though no stop does rule out many candidates, using fuel maps is not going to work at all with the power so low to begin with.

As for the cars, low PP seems like the great equalizer. There's like a 10 second overall race time gap where cars seem to land with 530pp. Impreza 22B might be my favorite so far, or the MR2 '97. The biggest surprise was Genesis G70 3.3T. Weight reduction makes it super responsive and fun. Just can't get the weight/power ratio to where it would be as fast the Impreza. Still have a few ideas cooking, so more fun to be had with this. This really is a dive into what old GT's were all about for me, trying to squeeze performance out of all sorts of road cars!

 

[Tommy_D]

The Mazda Atenza Sedan survives the Below 600pp Challenge. No-stop Strategy. Sports Hards.

I was running a bunch of cars at ~529pp, but were all frustrating. Both too slow on the straights and not fast enough to take full advantage of the high speed corners. I even tried the Celica Rally Car on Comfort Softs and Comfort Mediums in hopes of getting a better top speed, but tire wear and corner speeds were so terrible for my driving that it wasn't viable. I wanted to eat my controller and burn an effigy of the A.I. drivers.

On one of my many 2nd place finishes, I got a Clean Race Bonus

@Tommy_D I agree on the no-stop cars being the winning strategy here. Since a lot of cars are heavily restricted, it transforms many more into no-stop machines. The remaining deciding factors are lightness / acceleration and how little aero drag that car produces. I suspect tuning for higher torque and close gearing will be more PP efficient at this level.

This was one of the more frustrating things I've done in GT7. I want to get back on board the Struggle Sambabus now.

RESULTS:

PP Level
534.93pp

Race Time
27:38.158

Best Lap:
2:16.152

View attachment 1253347

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Wow, this car handles really well. Like, way better than any other 530pp car I've tried. It reminds me of the Miata challenge. Low power with great handling. I haven't been able to win with it just yet, but it's got promise for me to get below 539pp.

 

[luv2drive]

Wow, this car handles really well. Like, way better than any other 530pp car I've tried. It reminds me of the Miata challenge. Low power with great handling. I haven't been able to win with it just yet, but it's got promise for me to get below 539pp.

I haven't had time to really get into this yet, but I want to! I tried briefly with the RA272 last week but I couldn't even win that at 540pp, although it was fairly close. Definitely will give the Atenza, MR2, and Impreza a try

 

[BWM]

Maybe the last attempt in the RX500
528.98pp
SM, Manual transmission, all others parts are stock

You may notice from the winning time, yes it's done by heavy blocking.



Tried SH with little power upgrades but lap times are slower, and not enough grip for the dogfight with the RX7.

 

[JaK-nz]

haha. Every time I start getting close to BWM's record, he sends me back to step one by posting a new and improved low PP value.
You are doing amazing work with that RX500!

 

[Tommy_D]

Had to take a break from the low PP challenge because I ran out of credits. Needed to do a few grinds on Tokyo so I can keep buying up cars. I have a goal of buying everything but the stupid expensive Legend Cars by the end of the month.

The Stratos is still awesome. The WRX Gr.B road car is also awesome but in a different way and I just tried the McLaren 650s completely stock but added a power restrictor to drop it to 599pp. Slaughtered the competition. 26:49.152. Fastest lap of 2:09.954. Not bad for a first try. Nice handling, great top speed and incredible acceleration out if the hairpin. Kokubun couldn't keep up out if that turn.

 

[Old_Richard]

Had to take a break from the low PP challenge because I ran out of credits. Needed to do a few grinds on Tokyo so I can keep buying up cars. I have a goal of buying everything but the stupid expensive Legend Cars by the end of the month.

The Stratos is still awesome. The WRX Gr.B road car is also awesome but in a different way and I just tried the McLaren 650s completely stock but added a power restrictor to drop it to 599pp. Slaughtered the competition. 26:49.152. Fastest lap of 2:09.954. Not bad for a first try. Nice handling, great top speed and incredible acceleration out if the hairpin. Kokubun couldn't keep up out if that turn.

I've thought about trying to do this and then I though "Do I really want eight Lancer Evo's?"
The answer's no.
Accumulate 20,000,000 slowly and treat yourself to a legend instead.

 

[Tommy_D]

I've thought about trying to do this and then I though "Do I really want eight Lancer Evo's?"
The answer's no.
Accumulate 20,000,000 slowly and treat yourself to a legend instead.

I dont have any doubles of cars. Just one of each. So far I have 406 cars. Unfortunately alot of the remaining cars are VGT cars, so they are 1M credits each. I have a bit of grinding to do if I want to achieve my goal.

 

[Old_Richard]

I dont have any doubles of cars. Just one of each. So far I have 406 cars. Unfortunately alot of the remaining cars are VGT cars, so they are 1M credits each. I have a bit of grinding to do if I want to achieve my goal.

I meant that a lot of the cars aren't worth the purchase because they're so similar i.e. Lancer '96, Lancer '98, Lancer '99

You only need the Lancer '99 Tommy Makkinen version.

Same with BMW's. The M4 is a waste of time if you've got an M3

At the same time I DO have double of 5 cars i.e. an XJ220 with only the suspension upgraded @ 600pp, and a full blown one with everything on it that has 700 and 800pp tunes on it.

 

[Tommy_D]

Ran the Porsche GT3RS stock (added a power restrictor to knock down PP) and won first try, CRB. Not nearly as fast as the McLaren but not a bad drive. The ass likes to come around on you a bit while you slide through turns 8 and 9 but nothing like the 959. Its far more controllable and repeatable. I think I ran a 27:26ish with a 2:10 or 2:11 fastest lap. I was on pace for a 2:09 lap but I needed to pit so that lap time got flushed.

Anyway, in more exciting news, my daily ticket spit out a Porsche engine swap. The question is, do I put it in the Beetle or the Sambabus? I don't drive either of these cars as is, but my rust bucket Herbie livery for the Beetle is asking for a race engine to be installed. Which car is more fun to drive with the engine swap done?

I meant that a lot of the cars aren't worth the purchase because they're so similar i.e. Lancer '96, Lancer '98, Lancer '99

You only need the Lancer '99 Tommy Makkinen version.

Same with BMW's. The M4 is a waste of time if you've got an M3

At the same time I DO have double of 5 cars i.e. an XJ220 with only the suspension upgraded @ 600pp, and a full blown one with everything on it that has 700 and 800pp tunes on it.

Okay, got you now. Yeah, I really dont need 16 different GT-R's. THats way too over kill. Same with 3 different EK Civics just from different years. Kind of dumb, but I'm this far now, so I want to see it to the end.

 

[Pedinhuh]

Anyone managed to complete this with a swapped Mini Cooper '65? I had to detune mine down to about 270hp and put on sports softs to curb down the excessive front wheelspin on corners, but the power simply isnt there on straight and the front tires are getting spent too quickly.

TCS on 1 saves them a bit but greatly sacrifices cornering speeds.

I'm not sure what to do with it.

 

[Meythia]

Anyone managed to complete this with a swapped Mini Cooper '65? I had to detune mine down to about 270hp and put on sports softs to curb down the excessive front wheelspin on corners, but the power simply isnt there on straight and the front tires are getting spent too quickly.

TCS on 1 saves them a bit but greatly sacrifices cornering speeds.

I'm not sure what to do with it.

Some car-abominations just arent meant to work in all conditions 😅

 

[rheinaoi]

Wow, this car handles really well. Like, way better than any other 530pp car I've tried. It reminds me of the Miata challenge. Low power with great handling. I haven't been able to win with it just yet, but it's got promise for me to get below 539pp.

The Atenza Sedan surprised me too. It has the vibe of "why are you allowing me to get away with this much grip at this PP level?" My 600pp build is essentially this, but with Racing Hards. There's nothing happening at high RPM, but the Atenza has enough low end torque to spin a small planet. A sleeper momentum car.

Changes to the LSD affect the handling behavior of this car more than any of the others I've driven. This low PP build handles like an FR because I needed to reduce front tire wear for a no-stop build. For 600pp, I run 50/50. In that config, the Atenza pulls itself around corners with the ferocity of a well-sorted FF.

 

[rheinaoi]

Anyone managed to complete this with a swapped Mini Cooper '65? I had to detune mine down to about 270hp and put on sports softs to curb down the excessive front wheelspin on corners, but the power simply isnt there on straight and the front tires are getting spent too quickly.

TCS on 1 saves them a bit but greatly sacrifices cornering speeds.

I'm not sure what to do with it.

I ran a build on racing tires that ate the Tokyo 600pp crew for breakfast. This was before update 1.31. I'll give it another test tonight to see if it's still viable.

Hilariously, the swapped Mini had better manners than the swapped Abarth.

 

[JaK-nz]

Anyway, in more exciting news, my daily ticket spit out a Porsche engine swap. The question is, do I put it in the Beetle or the Sambabus? I don't drive either of these cars as is, but my rust bucket Herbie livery for the Beetle is asking for a race engine to be installed. Which car is more fun to drive with the engine swap done?

The beetle is more usable as an actual race car but the samba bus makes for some fun challenges. Personally I am a fan of the beetle.

 

[rheinaoi]

Anyone managed to complete this with a swapped Mini Cooper '65? I had to detune mine down to about 270hp and put on sports softs to curb down the excessive front wheelspin on corners, but the power simply isnt there on straight and the front tires are getting spent too quickly.

TCS on 1 saves them a bit but greatly sacrifices cornering speeds.

I'm not sure what to do with it.

Results for tonight. The Swapped Mini can still win Tokyo on racing tires, but it's MUCH slower and harder to drive than before. Also, the swapped Mini seems to have become more brick-like in the aerodynamics department. I couldn't get it to go any faster than 190mph down the main straight. It might have less mechanical grip too. Overall the car feels massively nerfed in the recent updates.

BEST RUN RESULTS
27:07.332

FASTEST LAP
2:07.419

My best run was done using only Racing Medium Tires. And I had to pit... a lot. 3 stops, I believe. TCS=0 because I don't like the way TCS feels in GT.

Before update 1.31 I was running this car in the 2:04 ~ 2:06 range. I need to rework the set-up... again.

The set-up in progress:

Please refrain from doing standing starts in this car if you can help it...

 

[rheinaoi]

Some car-abominations just arent meant to work in all conditions 😅

To some that's a warning. But to others... that's an invitation

If you want to stare into the abyss, try the cursed swapped Abarth.

Several months ago, I and another member were battling to get that car to be fast. By the end, they were running below the 2 minute/lap barrier. We were both on the edge of 25 minute runs.

The swapped Abarth became one of my favorite Tokyo cars, even before I figured out how to stop it flipping over in the corners

 

[B80]

I meant that a lot of the cars aren't worth the purchase because they're so similar i.e. Lancer '96, Lancer '98, Lancer '99

You only need the Lancer '99 Tommy Makkinen version.

Same with BMW's. The M4 is a waste of time if you've got an M3

At the same time I DO have double of 5 cars i.e. an XJ220 with only the suspension upgraded @ 600pp, and a full blown one with everything on it that has 700 and 800pp tunes on it.

Agree with similarities but I don't agree with m3 and m4 comparison... for the versions in gt7.

Totally different engines, the m3's are NA and the m4 turbo charged, for starters.

If it had the same gen m3 amd m4 (f80 and f82), I'd agree. As they are identical performance wise... ones a saloon and the others coupe.

 

[CotillionRope]

Would you consider an AWD + Comfort Medium tyres to be an exploit?
It certainly feels like a cheap win.

I’m glad to find this thread, I’m gonna take a lot of inspiration from all your builds and car’s recommendations!

 

[specops]

Okay, so this was a little disappointing to me, but regarding the low PP challenge, I just couldn't find a very good sub-530pp car. I tried many times with the Alfa 4C and it is doable, but requires a perfect opportunity and very succesful defending (read: squirming like a madman). The point of the whole challenge for me was to find new stuff that works, but last night I decided to check out the Atenza to know where I stand with my own efforts. And yea, the Mazda is very clearly superior to anything I've tried (must be close to 40 cars with about 30 getting the fine tuning experience). I ballparked the tune in three minutes, then had five two-lap test runs with tinkering the settings and slept on it. This morning, the first attempt netted me this without any blocking involved:

Ran mid 2:15s after lap three, optimum sitting at 2:14,6. To put this into context, that is roughly where most of my 600pp no stop tunes end up with. So Atenza just somehow absolutely dominates PP-to-PP at his level. In fact, I'd say it can make the challenge at 525ish PP when really optimized. Here's the tune I used for my run, didn't require any fancy stuff:

Of course I had to see how the Atenza would scale to 600pp, but first try with more bolt-ons and racing hards wasn't anything special. Like, it's super grippy and stable, but just doesn't have the high end to be super fast. Something like 2:10s maybe there, but not going to break any records. Just a very precise tool for this low PP challenge. And doesn't seem to be a glitch build either, so checks all the marks. So, pretty sure we have the winner car for this.

 

[Pedinhuh]

Results for tonight. The Swapped Mini can still win Tokyo on racing tires, but it's MUCH slower and harder to drive than before. Also, the swapped Mini seems to have become more brick-like in the aerodynamics department. I couldn't get it to go any faster than 190mph down the main straight. It might have less mechanical grip too. Overall the car feels massively nerfed in the recent updates.

BEST RUN RESULTS
27:07.332

FASTEST LAP
2:07.419

My best run was done using only Racing Medium Tires. And I had to pit... a lot. 3 stops, I believe. TCS=0 because I don't like the way TCS feels in GT.

Before update 1.31 I was running this car in the 2:04 ~ 2:06 range. I need to rework the set-up... again.

View attachment 1255518

The set-up in progress:


View attachment 1255516

Please refrain from doing standing starts in this car if you can help it...

View attachment 1255515

View attachment 1255517

Well, I guess that since there isn't much to be done about the tire wear and excessive wheelspin on corners, going ball to walls with the power is the way to make up for it then? Well at least the car can close gaps on the straight.

Did you started the race on intermediate tires?

 

[Tommy_D]

Would you consider an AWD + Comfort Medium tyres to be an exploit?
It certainly feels like a cheap win.

I’m glad to find this thread, I’m gonna take a lot of inspiration from all your builds and car’s recommendations!

I dont consider it an exploit. As long as you arent wall riding to make up for the lack of grip, all's good in my book about that build.

What I'm finding interesting is that 530pp is becoming a "great equalizer" pp level for this race. 600pp can have cars that can vary in race times by ~1:30. But 530pp lands you with a bunch of cars that all are within about 10 seconds of each other for a total race time.

I've never set up a custom room/race event, but I wonder if anyone here would be interested in having a friendly race against eachother with a 530pp cap. Basically a "bring your best 530pp car" using the same rules we have here for the lowest pp challenge.

 

[Meythia]

I've never set up a custom room/race event, but I wonder if anyone here would be interested in having a friendly race against eachother with a 530pp cap. Basically a "bring your best 530pp car" using the same rules we have here for the lowest pp challenge.

That would be quite interesting I agree.
I also think the equalizing here is a result of a few facts we are dealing with on this specific event.
1. the long straight
2. the track setup has a low amount of braking
3. the duration of the event

Change any of this 3 conditions and I bet we see lots of other cars popping up, either because of fuel consumption, cornering performance or acceleration difference. 😄

 

[rheinaoi]

Well, I guess that since there isn't much to be done about the tire wear and excessive wheelspin on corners, going ball to walls with the power is the way to make up for it then? Well at least the car can close gaps on the straight.

Did you started the race on intermediate tires?

I reduced power to balance straight line speed / tire wear. I felt the car was wasting most of its power burning up its tires. I was having traction problems up to 150mph. This is the opposite of what I was doing before 1.31. I was cautiously adding power to it then, and it had been responding well.

My fastest run was using Racing Mediums the whole way around. I drove it like license S-10 with the Porsche 917 - stay on the dry(ish) line or die. First 3 laps SUCKED, but it got more reasonable after that. I restarted the race many times though...

Update 1.31 introduced crazy tire wear on intermediates. On more normal cars, intermediates were burning up in two laps. I assumed I'd get one lap out of this car on intermediates at best, so I didn't try.

 

[rheinaoi]

Ran mid 2:15s after lap three, optimum sitting at 2:14,6. To put this into context, that is roughly where most of my 600pp no stop tunes end up with. So Atenza just somehow absolutely dominates PP-to-PP at his level. In fact, I'd say it can make the challenge at 525ish PP when really optimized. Here's the tune I used for my run, didn't require any fancy stuff:

Victory for the Mazda Atenza at 525.73pp! No wall riding.

I had to do a bunch of blocking against the mid-pack cars, though. If they were still ahead of me after turn 2, I'd lose too much time passing them in the high speed sections.

I applied @specops 's ballast placement and downforce settings to my tune.

Full replay is shared on my GT7 Gallery. Do a content search under replays. Keyword: lowpp. I'll try to get a youtube video up later.

My car is still more loose that what I normally drive, but I need that for tire wear and rotation. My tune benefits from gradual trail braking and smooth, progressive throttle inputs. Large, sudden hits on the throttle push the car wide. I shift up at ~5500 RPM.

BEST TIME
27:36.266

FASTEST LAP
2:15.806

SETUP

Please don't laugh at my gearbox...

Finding the Video in the GT7 showcase: