Dark Elite's Ratings
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TUNER: 240^drift
960bhp ///582ft/lb
Turn-in = 6. Sometimes feels reluctant to stop going straight.
Mid-Corner Response = 5. Running wider and wider with the throttle open.
Corner exit = 4. Often very wide by the time full powers down, sometimes even off the track.
Stability = 4. Always feels on the edge of spinning, and occasionally carries out the threat.
Grip = 6. With good throttle control the grip can be maintained in most cases, but it dislikes bumps.
High-speed controllability = 6. So long as all four wheels are on the track and gripping its not too dangerous at speed.
Handling while braking = 5. The powerful brakes are perhaps a little overdone, and dont help stability levels.
Acceleration = 7. Not bad. High in the redline zone in 5th at around 215-217mph.
Total = 47/80
Final Comments
Somehow it has lost the precious small amount of agility the stock car had likely due to the high rear downforce bias, which does help rear-wheel traction on most cases. The gearing is simple and basic but luckily enough it works well here. The brakes shouldnt be this strong, the ABS doesnt like it and nor does my instinct for self-preservation. The annoying tendancy to push wide mid-corner could be learnt around, but why put up with it when you dont have to?
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TUNER: Su1ciDal
960bhp ///582ft/lb
Turn-in = 7. About as good as the stock car, bearable but understeery if pushed.
Mid-Corner Response = 6. Also understeery but keep the power down and, somehow, it stays in line.
Corner exit = 6. Itll likely be wide, but not by too much.
Stability = 7. The traction control adds to the safer feeling of this setup.
Grip = 9. Pretty much unassailable due to the traction control.
High-speed controllability = 7. Feels a little more secure than some, but still not trustworthy if youre not dead straight.
Handling while braking = 6. The brakes are a safe setting, and it shows in their inefficiency.
Acceleration = 7. Nudging 212mph, but the traction control steals power in the low ranges.
Total = 55/80
Final Comments
A very fast setup. This mental car does sometimes need restraining, although TCS6 is perhaps a little over the top. It doesnt feel as bad as expected when driving, but one cant help thinking itd be faster with a bit less computer interference. The understeer isnt too bad, and the traction control allows the driver to floor the throttle in a corner and get out alive not in all situations, but more than predicted. These gears couldnt be used without traction control, but they work fine here. Being fast due to driving aids, though, is not the most rewarding method.
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TUNER: Sprite
1008bhp ///611ft/lb
Turn-in = 8. No problems turning in due to maximum downforce.
Mid-Corner Response = 9. Excellent, once the throttle is back on one can simply make it turn more or less by use of the loud pedal.
Corner exit = 9. Likely to leave in a huge powerslide, but under control. Is there any better way?
Stability = 7. Often sideways, but very rarely snaps. Can be pushed further than most, without driving aids.
Grip = 6. Not terrible, but has a tendancy to break the rear wheels out at slight disturbances.
High-speed controllability = 8. Bouncing off the rev limiter makes one feel a little stupid, but safe.
Handling while braking = 8. Powerful but not chattery brakes work very well.
Acceleration = 7. Despite the extremely odd gearing, acceleration is sharp.
Total = 62/80
Final Comments
This setup seems to be all wrong. In a car that never really shines in the turns, having a uselessly short 6th gear that hits the limiter (hard) at 190mph is very stupid. Or at least in theory. On the track, however, this car does shine in the corners. Its fantastic fun to see just how much power can be used: the answer is, a lot, all the time. This setup is phenomenally fast for having no driving aids, which proves another point. It is flawed, with the gearing but also the tendancy to spin up wheels at random it has a fondness for spinning the left rear wheel (only the left one) for no reason whatsoever but for that, I love it. The sheer quirkiness mixed with the fun of driving this insane car puts a smile on your face, and the laps are fast too.
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TUNER: TS
960bhp ///582ft/lb
Turn-in = 8. No problems turning in, front downforce bias is helpful.
Mid-Corner Response = 9. Simply turn the wheel and open the throttle. Brilliant.
Corner exit = 9. It will be going sideways. Look where youre going out of the side window
Stability = 6. Even with the traction control trying to save you, this car is incredibly unstable if you go near the grass. Otherwise not too bad.
Grip = 8. For once the traction control cant quite hold the grip, but its not problematic.
High-speed controllability = 6. Fear the hill crest at the start of the front straight, go over that wrong and you will find how unpredictable this car can be.
Handling while braking = 8. Basic brake setup doesnt make them any less effective.
Acceleration = 7. The traction control perhaps nicks some power, but otherwise its good.
Total = 61/80
Final Comments
First impression is that the gearing really should have had some attention redlining with stock gears is unjustifiable. But to the handling
I have rarely driven a traction-controlled car that oversteers this much. Id like to say how easy it is to drive sideways, and it isnt too hard, but there is the omnipresent knowledge that if you get anywhere near the grass it will immediately take your head off. The traction control attempts to stop it trying to kill you, but if you stray off the track theres no controlling it. All the same, if you enjoy living on the edge (I do) this is a really fun car to drive. This is the first car in the history of the competition to have a front downforce bias, which is why its such great fun. A very good setup.
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TUNER: gregc
1008bhp ///611ft/lb
Turn-in = 8. No problems here, full downforce does its job.
Mid-Corner Response = 9. Not as easy as might be expected, but still very adjustable.
Corner exit = 9. Dead straight and on the line, unless the driver has made a mistake.
Stability = 8. Surprisingly stable, the brake bias makes a big difference here as well.
Grip = 7. Easily controllable in the lower gears. Just be careful in 2nd, and simply dont use 1st.
High-speed controllability = 8. Not worrying at all, which is unusual for this car. Even on grass.
Handling while braking = 7. Although the frontal brake bias helps stability, it does make the car a little unwilling to turn under heavy braking.
Acceleration = 8. Accelerates hard and fast, but another car that hits the rev limiter in 6th.
Total = 64/80
Final Comments
This car is different to a few others on test in that it is clearly designed to drive straight and fast, and set the best laptimes possible. The understeer has been dialled out but not replaced with oversteer, and maximum downforce is just one of the settings that proves this.
Out on the track, this car is incredibly fast. It hits 210mph, bouncing off the rev limiter in 6th twice per run along the front straight, and high-speed cornering, particularly in the final S-Bend, is amazing. I didnt manage to find this cars limits throughout a lap of Midfield it will just go faster and faster. This is a car that can be pushed very hard indeed, and although I dont usually disclose my test laps, this performance should be shown in its phenomenal no-aids laptime of 100.947.
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TUNER: Sonzilla
1008bhp ///611ft/lb
Turn-in = 8. No problems here, full downforce does its job.
Mid-Corner Response = 8. Generally a little prone to understeer, but not at all bad.
Corner exit = 8. Again a little understeery, but not to the point of being a problem.
Stability = 8. Quite hard to upset this car, although grass is dangerous as always. There is a limit which shouldnt be crossed.
Grip = 9. Pretty much unassailable due to the traction control.
High-speed controllability = 8. No visions of high-speed death throughout the test this car had no problems on the front straight.
Handling while braking = 7. Its difficult to throw this car into a corner and brake as late as might be desired.
Acceleration = 7. The traction control does take a lot of low-range power, but this is compensated by the 222mph top speed.
Total = 63/80
Final Comments
This is a very fast car, in both senses of the word. It recorded the second highest top speed of the cars on test, with simple but effective gears. It also holds the fastest lap of all the cars on test. However, it doesnt feel quite so connected to the driver as a car without traction control would it was only very slightly faster than Gregcs car, and the amount of control lost to the computer is not, in my opinion, worth the small gain. However, this car is easier to drive and can set consistent, safe fast laps. This setup has no discernable problems, but fails to really shine in a particular area.
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TUNER: ICEman
1008bhp ///611ft/lb
Turn-in = 8. No problems here, full downforce does its job.
Mid-Corner Response = 8. Sometimes pushes wide when driven slowly, but push hard and it stays on-line.
Corner exit = 8. Not always ideal but often fast and controllable.
Stability = 6. Not to be driven beyond its limits, this car will occasionally bite a careless driver.
Grip = 7. As good as can be expected.
High-speed controllability = 8. Pretty easy to keep it in a straight line, the stability in corners is the worst part.
Handling while braking = 7. The stock brake setup could have been improved on a little, but it isnt too bad.
Acceleration = 8. This car is well-geared, not hitting the rev limiter in top gear and reaching the highest speed on test.
Total = 60/80
Final Comments
This car recorded the highest top speed on the front straight of all the cars on test, taking the first corner safely from 224mph. However, it is not so impressive in the corners. By no means is it a bad car in the twisty bits, but it sometimes understeers a little too much. This can be recitified by opening the throttle to swing the rear round, but although this is good fun it isnt the way to set fast lap times. Nevertheless, this car was only half a second off the pace of the fastest unaided setup. With practice, this could make a reliable long-distance race car.
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TUNER: Duck
960bhp ///582ft/lb
Turn-in = 6. Sometimes pushes out a little, more noticeably than other cars.
Mid-Corner Response = 7. Could be worse, but runs wide when pushed.
Corner exit = 7. A little slower than it might have been.
Stability = 7. The traction control cant stop its snap-back tendancy.
Grip = 9. Pretty much unassailable due to the traction contol.
High-speed controllability = 7. High-speed braking doesnt feel too secure, and keep off the grass at all costs.
Handling while braking = 6. This simple brake power increase doesnt help much, and induces understeer.
Acceleration = 7. The traction control stops this car pulling in 2nd, but the gearing is OK.
Total = 56/80
Final Comments
This setup is a little disappointing. It feels happy enough on the straights, but in corners it is often slow to respond and to adjust mid-corner. The traction control feels unnecessary, somehow, and the whole car feels too stiff and unwilling to comply with input. The powerful brakes without bias make it understeery on the brakes, but also very dangerous to clip grass with. There are no spectacularly bad areas in this setup, but it doesnt feel connected to the driver and as such isnt nearly as fast as some of the cars here.
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The Verdict
Highest Points Score = Gregc
Gregc's car is the fastest unaided car here, and as I say in my review it didn't reach its considerable limits in the ten-lap test. Despite being designed for setting fast laps, it is still involving and fun to drive, and that is not easy to do. So, it achieves the unspoken goal of being interesting, as well as the unecessary goal of being very, very fast. So, this car is my winner this week.
Special mention must go to Sprite's car, which, despite being deeply flawed, managed to put a smile on my face. For a long time!
Moral of the Story: It's OK to have problems. But only if the positive outweighs the negative.
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- 5 Tuners separted by 5 points.
