Vintage Tuner Cup Judging
Phase Two; Classic Club Racers
Yet again, we have a very strong division, and the scores will reflect that!
Infineon returns as my control track, but each car was tested at various different locations, and also ran unpublished control laps at GVS.
Results are arranged in ascending order.
Snyp's Jensen Interceptor Mk.III
1'32.383
70/100
Chosing such a notoriously difficult car, especially at full power, was a brave choice by the tuner, but unfortunately it hasn't paid off as well as it could have.
Default, the Interceptor feels wafty, loose and imprecise, and is prone to bouts of power oversteer transitioning to severe on-throttle understeer.
Tuned, some, but not all of the on-throttle understeer is dialed back, and the car stays somewhat flatter through bends, but this comes at a very dear price. The body roll reduction is due in large part to EXTREMELY stiff springs, which have the effect of making all aspects of the car's natural behavior more pronounced. Power oversteer is now much more severe and much less manageable, and is now much more prone to snap-back. The gearing makes 1st gear absolutely necessary in what would normally be second-gear curves in any other car -the subsequent extra shifts in the middle of power-over can be extremely destablizing. The brake balance could have used extra attention as well, especially seeing as it was left to default settings - in such a large heavy car, more braking force is called for. In closing, with such thundering madness provided by the big Chrysler V8, one would expect this to be among the fastest cars on the track, but due to its unweildy nature, it fell victim to several cars with little more than half its power.
Tulok's Nissan Skyline HT 2000 GT
1'39.673
82/100
With
default settings, this classic Skyline is already nearly perfect. The balance is almost ideal, with a tendency in the chassis to understeer mostly masked by the sticky race rubber. This car would score higher if the
tuned version did much to change that. The balance feels more or less the same, with only one real difference - a tradeoff between a slight oversteer tendency under throttle and increased understeer under braking and at turn-in. The compromise mostly breaks even in terms of driving feel, but laptimes did improve a hair. Opting to fit the wing, and going for the FC LSD instead of the 2-way unit would have allowed the tuner much more precision in crafting a unique driving feel, with such an excellent platform from which to work. The only other issue is that this car doesn't really seem to belong with its competitors - its power levels seem to make it better suited for a sports-tire division than a race division. All that said, it's still extremely easy to drive.
Rotary Junkie's Renault 5 Turbo
1'33.263
90/100
Here again, we have a case of a good car by default. In this case though, the tune improved it more than the cars it's defeated. The
default tune is solid in most areas, but is marked by a typical MR tendency to lift-oversteer, a typical lightweight tendency to disagree with curbing, and is a bit twitchy. The
tune addressed and mostly fixed all of these problems and created a stable, predictable, surprisingly quick car. It did however introduce a hint of reluctant understeer under braking and when turning in, manifested mainly in low-speed switchbacks. It's an extremely capable car though, as its score reflects. It could easily win most any other theorized division, but it's kept off the podium by three very impressive tunes that attained more signicant improvements over stock and default.
ND 4 Holden Spd's Chevrolet Corvette L46 350
1'30.699
92/100
The
default tune here had REAL problems - Severe on-throttle understeer, snappy bucking-bronco-style power oversteer, and a strangling gearset for a car of such power.
The tune did a great deal to handle this smorgasbord of flaws. Understeer, though still present, is reduced as much as seems to be possible. Power oversteer is
much more manageable, and the gearing now allows the snarling 350 room to work its magic, making this the fastest car in the division. That it can accomplish that feat while retaining a confidence-inspiring sense of driveability earns it a very high score. The tuner might want to look into the possibility of a slightly more aggressive differential or longer gearing down low - wheelspin, while rarely a problem, can become a consideration at the top of 1st and 2nd gear in prolonged corners. This is easily solved by appropriate throttle modulation, though, and the ability to throw the rear end around in a controlable manner is useful for fighting the car's inherently heavy front end.
wrcsti's BMW 2002 Turbo
1'32.257
94/100
This is very close to the perfect package. The
default settings are a bit iffy - they're sharp and responsive, but too much so at times. The car is twitchy, and there's a disconcerting yaw-oversteer on corner exit that feels like it should transition to power-over, but usually doesn't. This leaves a fair bit of room for improvement in the
tune, and the builder has capitalized on it and built a very solid car. I was initially skeptical of the tune, considering it used no added downforce, relied on completely stock brakes, and sat on VERY stiff rear dampers. Despite appearances though, the transition between all states from braking through corner exit is smooth and intuitively connected. The stiff rear damping doesn't seem to hinder curbing contact. The car's most impressive attribute though is the
very high speed it can maintain through long sustained corners, especially in a platform known for its tendency to understeer on throttle in long curves. Despite a WPR inferior to its two closest competitors, the Interceptor and the 5 Turbo, perfect balance and high cornering speeds enabled the 2002 to outrun both across Infineon. The only suggestion would be perhaps to try to reign in the last little bit of twitchiness with some downforce, though one can't argue with the cornering speeds this car already attains without it.
Greycap's Lancia Stratos
1'31.376
96/100
Like the Interceptor, the Stratos is a VERY brave choice for any tuner in a competitive situation, but this time the risk's reward is there in spades. It need not be said that, stock OR
default, the Stratos is a tailhappy homicidal psycho-killer. High-speed braking may as well entail the driver's death warrant. Instead of fighting that tendency and attempting to turn the Stratos into something it isn't and can never be - balanced - the
tuned version embraces the chassis' shortcomings and turns them into advantages. It's still quick and exceedingly nimble at slow speeds, as the Stratos has always been, but now, lift-oversteer is no longer a death sentence, it's a steering tool. It comes on predictably and without undue severity, and allows the driver extremely precise control over cornering attitude. Braking from high speeds, due to a well-crafted downforce balance and capable differential profile, can now be done with relative confidence, and with enough bravery, can be added to the list of flaws-turned-tools. This is nowhere near the fastest car in the division on paper - by either outright power OR WPR standards - but clocks in just a HAIR slower than the Corvette, to rank as the
second-fastest thanks to its supreme agility. Overall, this is a massive improvement to an exceedingly difficult platform that results in a car that is so fun to drive it should be administered intraveinously.
Congratulations
Greycap, and to all the other entrants! As should be obvious, most of these cars were standouts.
Since we had a debaucherous evening of tofu and sake to celebrate Leo's AE86, it seems only appropriate to head out for pasta bolognese and some fine-vintage cabernet to celebrate the Stratos. Hop in, and don't worry,
Greycap isn't driving. We want all our passengers to keep their dinner down
lol WUT? I finally got highest finishing place in some judge's eyes? 
There was too much power, S2 NA would've suited it more or a bit of ballast to just tame the animal a bit. But overall it was just like, press X and hang on because I was having one wild ride in it because I was in 2nd gear and once 4000 hit it was wheelspin city, on a completely straight road too in testing.
