Top Gear Comparo Thread.

[SVX]

Top Gear Comparison #3: All Wheel Drive Car
Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII RS'01
HP: 288HP
Mileage: 25476.9km
Price:$16,366

 

[Jet Badger]

Now that you all have your 4WD cars, it's time to move on.

You get 1 point for every 100Cr you have left from your 20,000Cr.

BH-21 as always was very quick to join the team and entered the comparison with a Lancer Evo IV GSR.
GrumpEone also feels the rally spirit with his Impreza WRX STi Ver.II, that he got for the lowest price.
Car-Less joined in a not so cheap Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 Turbo, but the extra power may help him in the upcoming challenges.
SVX also wasn't saving money very much and bought a Lancer Evo VII RS.

GrumpEone paid 9,617Cr and now has 10,383Cr left, that's 103 points.
BH-21 paid 10,492Cr and now has 9,508Cr left, that's 95 points.
Car-Less paid 15,130Cr and now has 4,870Cr left, that's 48 points.
SVX paid 16,366Cr and now has 3,634Cr left, that's 36 points.

At this point you can change your oil, but no other upgrades for now.
You will now drive to a secret test track in the mountains - Trial Mountain.
Our tamed racing driver has set the time at 1'40,750 in the new Subaru Impreza.
Your challenge is to beat his time. You will win or lose one point for every tenth of a second that you were faster or slower than him.
24 hours to complete this part of the challenge. Good luck and don't try to fix things with a hammer

 

[GrumpEone]

Trial Mountain.
Our tamed racing driver has set the time at 1'40,750 in the new Subaru Impreza.
Your challenge is to beat his time. You will win or lose two points for every tenth of a second that you were faster or slower than him.

Which Impreza are we pitted against? The 750,000 Rally Car? (Mine did 1'38.xxx B-spec)
Any you trying to put everyone into negative numbers?

Anyway, I'll try it again in the afternoon, to see how close to zero I can keep my points at.

 

[Car-less]

The Impreza rally cars can achieve 1:32.7 to 1:34.7 depending on year, and the Impreza touring car comes in at 1:27.8 without oil change.

I'm guessing Bob (Stig) was driving the Spec C '04, good for a 1:42.1 without oil change, so could be good for 1.35 seconds faster after a service. You can knock 3 or 4 seconds off each of those times if driving in A-Spec.

As for my car, I posted a 1:41.037 last year or before without oil change. If I can gain the same 1.35 seconds after a service as Bob managed then I'll be good for around 20 points. I don't think anyone is going negative except maybe my Captain Slow in his slowcoach car.

Edit: The fun round scores have now been edited into the final results in post 113.

 

[Jet Badger]

Well, the idea was to compare your old, but good cars against a modern car, and yes, that was a '04 spec C
Okay, I've changed it to one point per tenth of a second. First idea was to give you more points if you would be 1 or something seconds faster, but as I see it will be hard to be faster.

 

[BH-21]

Went to Jiffy Lube before heading out to the super secret track location. Debit -50 CR.

Track: Trial Mountain
Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV GSR '96
Time: 1'45.938
Course Style: Normal
Tires: S2
Upgrade Level: Stock
Horse Power: 277 HP
Driver: BH-21

 

[GrumpEone]

The Impreza rally cars can achieve 1:32.7 to 1:34.7 depending on year, and the Impreza touring car comes in at 1:27.8 without oil change.

...Spec C '04, good for a 1:42.1 without oil change...

As for my car, I posted a 1:41.037 last year or before without oil change.
If I can gain the same 1.35 seconds after a service as Bob managed then I'll be good for around 20 points. I don't think anyone is going negative except maybe my Captain Slow in his slowcoach car.

You posted a 1'41.xxx, without any upgrades, in a '96 3000GT? That's one heck of a time! 👍 My one lap B-spec times (3000GT) were 1'46.825 (steady), 1'45.511 (fast), and (push) couldn't do better through 5 laps. (my quick 2 laps went for 1'45.314, not my best track @ stock, but I did do better in my Impreza on only one lap)

Well, the idea was to compare your old, but good cars against a modern car, and yes, that was a '04 spec C
Okay, I've changed it to one point per tenth of a second. First idea was to give you more points if you would be 1 or something seconds faster, but as I see it will be hard to be faster.

I wasn't trying to get you to change the rules/points, I was just informing you that most will end up in the negatives @ 2 pts/tenth. It is all relative, since we all play by the same rules/points, and without knowledge of the next rounds, who knows how the points will stack-up.


...Back to the action...


GrumpEone drove up to the local Auto Parts Store, purchased a new Oil Filter & some Oil, (not as cheap as it used to be) and spent 50 Cr. Drove home and got dirty, changed filter and Oil for a 26 HP increase. Got a piece of rust in his eye, and spent 20 minutes trying to get it out, guess those safety glasses were too hard to put on. Next time, I'll just go have someone else change my oil.

Off to Trial Mountain, blurry eyed and all, and posted a very good 1'44.824 on the 5th lap. Then spent 10 more laps trying to improve that time, no luck, not even close. But, still ended up 0'04.074 (40 full tenths) off of the 'Tamed' pace time.

Track: Trial Mountain
Car: Subaru IMPREZA Sedan WRX Sti Version II (GC) '95
Time 1: 1'44.824
Course Style: Normal
Tires: S2
Upgrade Level: Stock
Horse Power: 271 HP (w/ Oil Change)
Driver: GrumpEone

Credits : 10,383
Credits Spent : 50
Credits Balance: 10,333

Three shots from the best run @ Trial Mountain:
..



And One for Fun
(actually 2, but two wouldn't fit the rhyme, so they are merged into one image)
​

B-spec 2 Lap results: 1'47.268 (Steady), Neither Fast nor Push improved the time.
(My chosen car is leading in my 3 picks, they stand at 63 pts., 3 pts., and -74 pts.)

 

[BH-21]

LOL, I think I'm enjoying reading the little stories about peoples cars more then driving. GrumpEone the rust in the eye is priceless, I chuckled heartily at that one.

 

[Car-less]

You posted a 1'41.xxx, without any upgrades, in a '96 3000GT?

Ages ago. I'd tell you what I posted in your cars too but it might upset you.
Anyway, to my days work...

I took my newly aquired car to GT Auto for the standard $50 oil change, upping the already impressive 287hp to 318hp - an incredible 0.62hp per dollar boost!

Next I went straight to the track and after a half dozen laps stopped to look at my timing sheet. It made for some depressing reading. A fastest lap of 1:43.054, a full 2 seconds slower than I'd been expecting.



...but I knew what the problem was. Every time I hit the gas, every time I turned a corner I could feel them. The E-nannies were sapping the power. So into the garage I went to turn the darned things off.

I returned to the track for some fun and on the very next lap slid my way to a 1:41.681.



On the next two laps I got some air off the kerbs...



...before finally settling on a laptime of 1:41.494 after another 6 lap session. Still not quite as fast as I managed in the past, but after 6 months or so of not getting behind the wheel it's not too bad.

*Any laptimes I refer to from the past are taken from my spreadsheet and were set in Arcade mode: Time trial with default tyres and no driving aids. As such they may not be directly comparable to GT mode times as tyre wear / fuel weight / oil condition are unknown in Time Trial mode.

 

[SVX]

Sorry, my time will be late. I thought the time Jet Badger posted was at 5:44pm, not 5:15pm (my time). Sorry for the delay. Here's my time:



C #1:

Upgrades (so far):
Part/Cost/Pocket money/Ending balance/Improvement
Oil change/FREE!/3,634cr/3,634cr/288HP to 319HP

Time: 1'42.653
All aids were off.

 

[Jet Badger]

After the first round the results are like this:

GrumpEone was 4,1s slower with his time of 1'44,824. 103 - 41 = 62 points
BH-21 was 5,2s slower with his time of 1'45,938. 95 - 52 = 43 points
Car-Less was only 0,7s slower with his time of 1'41,494. 48 - 7 = 41 point
and SVX was 1,9s slower with his time of 1'42,653. 36 - 19 = 17 points


Now we'll see what you know about car tuning and their parts. Each of you can now use your saved money to upgrade your cars. But you can't add any more power to it (only non-power mods, racing stripes do not add more power).

GrumpEone may use his 10,383Cr.
BH-21 has 9,508Cr to upgrade his car.
Car-Less has just 4,870Cr for this round.
And SVX paid 16,366Cr for his car, so only 3,634Cr left for him to use.

(your oil change doesn't count)

After you finished upgrading your cars, you'll have to come back to Trial Mountain and give it a one more try. You'll earn 2 points for every tenth of a second, that you'll shave off your previous lap. 30 hours to complete this round.

Good luck

 

[BH-21]

Ah painting racing stripes on it was my key to victory, all hope dashed now!

💡
* I will get a pick axe and put some speed holes in the hood, yeah that will secure victory.*



Track: Trial Mountain
Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV GSR '96
Time: 1'43.958
Course Style: Normal
Tires: S2
Upgrade Level: Light
Horse Power: 277 HP
Driver: BH-21

Expenses
Item                  cost
Sports Suspension:   3,200 CR
Sports Clutch:       1,700 CR
Sports Flywheel:       450 CR
Carbon Driveshaft:   3,000 CR
                     -----
                     8,350 CR

Complimentary Items
Tires N1          Free'ish
Tires N2          Free'ish
Tires N3          Free'ish

P.S. Would anyone besides GrumpEone want their times put on the Lap Time Benchmark list? GrumpEone I think if its ok with you just going to put our times directly there.

 

[Car-less]

Car-Less was only 0,9s slower with his time of 1'41,681. 48 - 9 = 41 point

Do you want to check your maths here, or substitute my fastest lap?
My first lap in the second session was 1'41.681, scoring -9 points, to give a total of 39.
My final lap of the second session was 1'41.494, scoring -7 points, to give a total of 41.

Now we'll see what you know about car tuning and their parts. Each of you can now use your saved money to upgrade your cars. But you can't add any more power to it (only non-power mods, racing stripes do not add more power).

After you finished upgrading your cars, you'll have to come back to Trial Mountain and give it a one more try. You'll earn 2 points for every tenth of a second, that you'll shave off your previous lap. 30 hours to complete this round.

Non power mods only - excellent! My car has plenty of power, a lack of grip is it's main problem. With that in mind I decided to get rid of that pointless aesthetic wing and replace it with something a bit more functional, a 3D Type DW from the GT Auto Wing Shop for 1,200 cr.

Off to the track to test it out. After a few laps and just as many tweaks to the downforce settings I managed a 1:39.917, but was I done? Not with 3,670cr remaining. Besides, much as the wing had helped, the rear end of the car was still a bit wild. I thought it could do with a bit of camber, so back to the shop for more parts.

A sports suspension kit cost me another 3,200 cr, leaving 470 cr. No point holding onto that when I could also get a sports flywheel for 450 cr and still have enough left for lunch.

Another few laps, and quite a few tweaks to the suspension and I was happy. The car was handling quite nicely, something that showed in the laptimes - down as low as 1:39.156!

Track: Trial Mountain
Car: Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 Turbo '96
Time: 1:39.156
Course Style: Normal
Tires: S2
Upgrade Level: sports?
Horse Power: 318 HP
Driver: Car-Less

P.S. Would anyone besides GrumpEone want their times put on the Lap Time Benchmark list? GrumpEone I think if its ok with you just going to put our times directly there.

No problem. You can use whatever numbers I post in this thread, though they might not always be in your prefered format.

 

[SVX]

Well that's embarrassing. A person with a older car than me, and is cheaper is faster than mine! Your such a fast driver, Car-less.

I don't mind having my times on the benchmark, I'm just quite slow.

 

[Car-less]

To be honest, I think a lot of it is to do with knowing the track very well. I have driven over 2000 laps of Trial Mountain (and Tsukuba and Seoul Central) whilst creating my spreadsheet, and that's ignoring all the other laps in completing the game to the specs in my sig, and at three different UKGTP Lan parties.

Can you Gold License Test A13 - Trial Mountain Circuit, Blind Corners; Nissan Skyline GT-R VSpec II (R32) `94? I'm not happy with any lap of Trial mountain that is not Gold standard for that test.

 

[SVX]

That's a LOT of laps. No, I haven't. I haven't tried yet to gold licenses on this save.

Here's my improvement:
Time: 1'40.814

Upgrades:
Part/Cost/Pocket money/Ending balance/Improvement
Oil change/FREE!/3,634cr/3,634cr/288HP to 319HP
Wing/1,200/3,634/2,434/See lap time :sly:
Large Single Clutch/1,700/2,434/734/Look above

I can post settings for the wing if you want.

Track: Trial Mountain
Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII RS '04
Time: 1'40.814
Course Style: Normal
Tires: S2
Upgrade Level: Light
Horse Power: 319 HP
Driver: SVX

 

[GrumpEone]

Round 2

GrumpEone completely unsatisfied with his car, decided to reduce the extra weight, first he got rid of the backseat and installed some wheels on it, for comfortable mobility in the garage. Took the spare tire and sold it on eBay for 50 Credits to cover the Oil Change expense. Then started tearing out more unneeded parts, you know things like sensors, seat-belts, insulation, the headliner (heck it was leaking anyway). A few hours later, and 165 lbs. (75 kg) lighter, he took the Impreza out for a spin, and wouldn't you know it, one of those parts he removed was actually important, as the car becomes unstable he nearly slid into a family of six, and decides to get the car towed to be looked at by a professional. His total bill to get the car working again, including towing fee 1,200 CR. So it turns out that do-it-yourself weight reduction still cost 1,200 CR, but at least the Oil change was paid for, let's just hope he doesn't get a flat tire.

GrumpEone decides from now on to let the Tune Shop do the work, at least they are insured. Two things he decided needs improvement on is grip and acceleration. Since tires are too expensive, the next best way to improve grip would be Downforce, so he gets a nice big wing installed for 1,200 CR. Now on to the Acceleration part, since the challenge does not allow a increase in horsepower, GrumpEone opts for a Triple-Plate Clutch for 4,700 CR, and a Racing Flywheel for 1,050 CR. Bringing his total upgrade budget up to 8,150 CR, leaving him 2,233 CR left to play with.

Upgrades:
Triple-Plate Clutch: 4,700 CR
Racing Flywheel....: 1,050 CR
Weight Reduction 1.: 1,200 CR
Wing...............: 1,200 CR
_____________________________
.........Total.....: 8,150 CR
Remaining Balance..: 2,233 CR


GrumpEone head back to Trial Mountain to see how well his car runs now with better shifting, more downforce, and less weight. After two laps he sets a 1'41 time, then decides he is not going to leave until he breaks 1'40, 21 laps later, he finally squeezes out a time that breaks his goal, although barely. Although he still can't touch the 3000GT's time after 8 more laps, 31 Laps total, and with worn tires and spirit, he decides to call it a night. His best time on the day 1'39.998, that beats his previous mark by 0'04.826 (48 full tenths) for 96 points.


Track: Trial Mountain
Car: Subaru IMPREZA Sedan WRX Sti Version II (GC) '95
Time 1: 1'39.998
Course Style: Normal
Tires: S2
Upgrade Level: Light?
Horse Power: 271 HP (w/ Oil Change)
Driver: GrumpEone

Out of my 3 cars, My choice still leads in points. My highest improvement car increased it's time by 0'07.594 for 150 points, while the other car still made an adequate improvement of 0'04.427 for 88 points. My point totals to date 1st-159 pts, 2nd-91 pts, and last-76 pts. (I'm going with cutting-off not rounding for my figures)

P.S. Would anyone besides GrumpEone want their times put on the Lap Time Benchmark list? GrumpEone I think if its ok with you just going to put our times directly there.

Feel free to put any time I post here, or anywhere else on the benchmark list. All my times are public record.

 

[SVX]

And I thought I did alright...

 

[Jet Badger]

Sorry Car-Less, had in mind one time, but wrote down the wrong one

 

[Car-less]

GrumpEone completely unsatisfied with his car, decided to reduce the extra weight, ...

Time 1: 1'39.998

Another great read, and an excellent time - two and a quarter seconds faster than my Arcade Stock time, and 9.5 seconds faster than Bobs Arcade Stock time!

Did you put as much effort into your reserve cars? I have yet to modify mine.

 

[GrumpEone]

Another great read, and an excellent time - two and a quarter seconds faster than my Arcade Stock time, and 9.5 seconds faster than Bobs Arcade Stock time!

Did you put as much effort into your reserve cars? I have yet to modify mine.

Wow, I'm impressed that I topped your stock time, considering you probably have like 1,000 or so more laps experience, and also you are a better driver (I think).

No, I have yet to touch the other 2 cars, and don't plan on doing anymore than 7 laps on either. One is already (probably) a lost cause, not nearly enough power.

 

[Jet Badger]

There are the second round results:

Far ahead in the lead is GrumpEone, who was whole 4,9 seconds faster than in the first round, that earns him 98 points and the total of 160 points.
In the second place now is Car-Less. He reduced his time by 2,3 seconds, gets 46 points for that and 87 points in total.
Not very far away is BH-21, and he was 2 full seconds faster in this round. He gets 40 points and now has 83 points in total.
Unfortunately SVX didn't had enough money to make a huge jump ahead, and with his time being 1,8 seconds faster he earns only 36 points and in total has 53 points.

Now that you've raced against a racing driver and yourselves, it's time to race against each other. You'll now have to drive a lot of miles to Switzerland, where you'll get your free Dirt tires and introduce your cars to Swiss Alps, where everything is more about your skill than the cars you're driving.

The slowest one will earn 0 points, 25 points for the third place, 50 for second and 75 for the first one. Good luck and be ready in 24 hours.

 

[SVX]

Oh, geez, last. How embarrassing.


Lets see if I can garner back some points...

 

[BH-21]

After getting a letter in the mail inviting me to the Swiss Alps for some driving I packed my bags and headed off to the airport. Included in the letter was an airline ticket for both my car and me upon a private cargo aircraft, 18 hours later we touched down in Switzerland not far from the Alps racetrack. After checking in and getting all the domestic affairs in order it was off to the track and the dirt tires awaiting me and my run.


Track: Swiss Alps
Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV GSR '96
Time: 1'42.692
Course Style: Normal
Tires: DT
Upgrade Level: Light
Horse Power: 277 HP
Driver: BH-21

 

[GrumpEone]

Round 3

GrumpEone notified via e-mail about the Swiss Alps Invitational Rally, and as the current point leader, he would be picked-up in a limousine, followed by a car transport to pickup his car, in addition since the transportation is set to depart in the late evening the following day, he will be setup in a nice hotel suite with all amenities included. Upon arrival at the suite, there was a note informing him that his transportation, would be on a container ship, as a handicap for being the point leader, "Enjoy the hotel suite, because the next day will not be so luxurious. Your transportation to the invitational will be aboard the container ship, along with your car, departing at 8:30pm. See you in Switzerland." So GrumpEone does the best thing he could do, clean-out the mini-bar.

During a long 30 hour ordeal of a trip to Switzerland, GrumpEone spends his time cleaning up and waxing his Imprezza, and putting on the brand new set Dirt tires left for him in the container, along with a floor jack, and a four-way tire iron. Luckily for GrumpEone, the container ship was barely loaded, so he decided to start wearing-in his tires by doing some burnouts, and then a few laps on the deck of the ship, while being screamed at by the captain.

Finally he arrives in Switzerland, shakes off his hangover, and is ready to begin his timed runs. As he arrives at the track, he is greeted by BH-21 who has beat him to the track by a few hours, and had already set his times. During a long conversation, BH-21 starts boasting about his times, and how the track is holding up, and proceeds to give GrumpEone a few pointers to where some of the holes are and such.

GrumpEone, glad he has already worn-in his tires, to the captain's dismay, and thrilled about the pointers from BH-21, takes off like a rocket. Every one of his first five laps were variations of 1'43's, then the next eight were filled with mostly 1'42's, finally he is notified that he has five laps left before his trial is over. During those last five laps, he hit 1'41.9xx, 1'41.6xx, and in his last lap finishes strong with his best time of the day set at 1'41.207. Also he is notified that his return trip would be aboard a private plane, along with the other invitees from the states.

Track: Swiss Alps
Car: Subaru IMPREZA Sedan WRX Sti Version II (GC) '95
Time 1: 1'41.207
Course Style: Normal
Tires: DT
Upgrade Level: Light?
Horse Power: 271 HP (w/ Oil Change)
Driver: GrumpEone

.​

Now that all times are in, My chosen car did 2nd best out of my three. My cars would have finished 2nd, 3rd, and last. The point standings for my cars are 1st-184 pts, 2nd-141 pts, 3rd-76 pts.

 

[Car-less]

Ah, Swiss Alps. My local dirt track, and my favorite too.

Yes local, well it is the only one on the same continent as me!

What's that? The Americans have already been over to set their laps?

...and you're only now telling me I have to go there? Well lets hope they have cleaned up the loose surface a bit for me.

Do I have to go now, I'm tired and want to watch the Australian GP in the morning?

Ok, I'll grab a few hours sleep now, and watch the GP en-route on the train.

Yes, yes, yes. I have finished the previous challenge.

Yes, all three cars, and I'll tell you the last one was the most fun. Unexpected results too.

When did you say the train leaves?

Well sod off and let me get some sleep then!

 

[SVX]

Are you allowed to tap the walls? I once maybe hit the wall; I possibly heard something, but when I looked at the replay, it didn't look like I hit something, maybe you could give me a points reduction or something.

Here's my time:

Track: Swiss Alps
Car: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII '04
Time: 1'40.111
Course Style: Normal
Tires: DT
Upgrade Level: Light
Horse Power: 319HP

 

[BH-21]

I guess that is up to Jet Badger. In the last segment I had a time that was four tenths faster then the one I posted, but I hit the curbing in one spot and got all four wheels off the track so I didn't count that one. It wouldn't of counted for my lap time benchmark list anyways.

 

[Jet Badger]

I doubt that hiting a wall improves laptime. No penalties.

 

[Car-less]

I guess that is up to Jet Badger. In the last segment I had a time that was four tenths faster then the one I posted, but I hit the curbing in one spot and got all four wheels off the track so I didn't count that one. It wouldn't of counted for my lap time benchmark list anyways.

What if you get air off the jumps at Seattle? Do those laps count for your benchmark list? I believe the OLR rules state at least two wheels on or vertically above the track to allow for this.

I cannot guarantee I had two wheels in physical contact with the road surface on every submitted lap, but anytime I feel I might have more than 2 wheels in the grass I abondon that lap.

Would you count this lap as clean? I would as there is one wheel on the road, and although there are three in the air, one of these is above the road surface.*


*I did declare this 'incident' when submitting my time, not that it matters as this was not my fastest lap - loss of traction resulted in loss of time here as it usually does.

I doubt that hiting a wall improves laptime. No penalties.

I don't think any contact at all is permitted in OLR, but at Lan events it is felt that rubbing is racing. i.e. light contact that would only scuff your paint is allowed, but any contact that would leave parts hanging from your car are frowned apon. Personally I strive for OLR clean, but don't feel bad if I am only Lan clean.

Edit: My opinion on grass cutting on rally tracks is somewhat different. Anything inside the walls is fair game!

Anyway, after a long trek accross France I disembarked the train near Bern in Switzerland and waited for my car to be unloaded before blasting a few miles along the road to the track where my dirt tyres were waiting. Nobody had suggested I'd need to bring my own tools, so I was forced to winch the car up by hand and undo the wheelnuts one by one with the tyre iron I found in the trunk. Turns out I spent more time swapping the wheels over than I spent on track! Why was this? Well my very first lap was a 1:39.572, and even before I had finished I could see the wedding party in the fields off the last corner spilling out onto the track. I'd be negotiating drunken pedestrians if I attempted a second, but that didn't matter. I had already achieved what I came here for. The fastest lap was mine with minimal effort - well except for having to swap the wheels back again by hand before departing for my return train. I amused myself on the train by editing the only two photos of my time here;