What is the point of the STI Isle of Man?

[GTEnthusiast9]

This car seems really pointless to me so please point out if I am missing something. Firstly it is not faster than the road STI (same model) when fully tuned in terms of acceleration top speed and lap times. The gr4 has better fuel comsumption. And the drs doesn't appear to do anything. Is there actually any time you would choose this car over Subaru's other cars? Seems like we'd be better off with a blob and squint eye instead.

 

[AmyUD06]

What is the point of all of the custom tuner and muscle cars in the game? Show respect to unique creations or cars that have attained specific victories through representation.

 

[Michael88]

I bought it because I like it and I have fun racing it in either custom races or time trials.

Its a cool car, thats already reason enough to put it in the game.

 

[Nebuc72]

Sometimes, you can pick a car for fun instead of for competition.

 

[Timm Sheehan]

This car seems really pointless to me so please point out if I am missing something. Firstly it is not faster than the road STI (same model) when fully tuned in terms of acceleration top speed and lap times. The gr4 has better fuel comsumption. And the drs doesn't appear to do anything. Is there actually any time you would choose this car over Subaru's other cars? Seems like we'd be better off with a blob and squint eye instead.

For me in GTS this car worked the best for drifting (although I stunk at drifting), have not tried it in GT7.

 

[GTEnthusiast9]

I think this car would be more fun and unique gameplay wise if its performance sat somewhere between the gr4 and gr3 STI. It has slightly more power and is even a bit lighter yet the road car eats it for breakfast? This is supposed to be a race car right.

 

[zdravkelja]

The car was purposely built to set the fastest lap at the Isle of Man course, and that's pretty much it. Reportedly, PD was scanning the course almost ten years ago and they probably modeled the car to go with it, but they are either to slow to put it in the game or gave up on it (or couldn't get the licensing deal).

 

[djolliea]

This car seems really pointless to me so please point out if I am missing something. Firstly it is not faster than the road STI (same model) when fully tuned in terms of acceleration top speed and lap times. The gr4 has better fuel comsumption. And the drs doesn't appear to do anything. Is there actually any time you would choose this car over Subaru's other cars? Seems like we'd be better off with a blob and squint eye instead.

DRS does work though. I like it a lot. It's faster around Nordschleife than some of the gr.3 cars and super fun to drive.

 

[TUSMBOX]

DRS does work though. I like it a lot. It's faster around Nordschleife than some of the gr.3 cars and super fun to drive.

I cannot agree with this. In the laps that I've run, the STi has not beaten a single Gr.3 so far. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

However, people drive the cars they wanna drive. There's a car out there for everyone.

 

[05XR8]

May as well include the Escudo in the title.

 

[pedrocor]

What you say about the Isle of Man TT could be said about half the cars in the game...
But people like to race a variety of cars, if not, just pick the METAs and you would have a game with 20 ou 30 cars, no more needed.

It's a car build and set for a very specific kind of track, not amazing all around car. That said, with the tunes in general at GT7 not making any sense (like higher ground clearance is generally better than lower), the road car having a more usable power range and so make a bit harder to this car be faster.

 

[NekoPufferPPP]

Unique cars like this are what make Gran Turismo Gran Turismo.

 

[hyperspeed980]

This thread makes me think.

A good 50% of the car list, I've never seen being used once in lobbies, Sport or even shared replays. I wonder what other GT7 cars people have just straight-up forgotten about.

For me, it's the Maserati A6GCS that got added a while back. You could tell me it got removed from the game and I'd probably believe you, because I have never seen anyone even acknowledge its existence.

 

[the Interceptor]

I ran the Isle of Man Subie it in the 30 minute 700 PP Le Mans race a few times. Yes, fuel is tight, but the DRS helps on the long straights of Le Mans. It's good fun for me, I like the car.

It's not a race car per se, it wasn't built to fit in with Gr. 4 or Gr. 3 cars. It is a special one-off vehicle, purpose-built in reality for a new Isle of Man TT record, which it achieved.

EDIT: You made me curious now. Next gaming session I'll race the tuned road car STI and the Isle of Man one back to back and compare laptimes etc.

 

[Bobby-Vegas]

Get a room of these together and they are fun. Unique vehicle in its own right.

 

[djolliea]

I cannot agree with this. In the laps that I've run, the STi has not beaten a single Gr.3 so far. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

However, people drive the cars they wanna drive. There's a car out there for everyone.

Yeah. Did some hotlapping at Nordschleife with stock WRX STI Isle of Man. Best lap 6:30.161. Looking at my previous lap times it's roughly the same as most gr3 times. Some are slower, some faster. DRS really helps on straights. Sub 6:30 is totally doable. I think that's great for a car under 700PP.

Ran a couple of laps with max tuned road version too. Best lap 6:30.942.

 

[the Interceptor]

You made me curious now. Next gaming session I'll race the tuned road car STI and the Isle of Man one back to back and compare laptimes etc.

Following up on this. I did a few laps on Tsukuba yesterday evening. Stock Sti Isle of Man (only suspension- and diff-tuning to suit the track) vs. a fully tuned Sti road car (also only suspension- and diff-tuning). Same tires of course, racing hards. I found both cars to be equally fast here, with a slight tendency of the road car Sti to be faster. Both cars are not really good on this track out of the box, so working out a proper setup will help. Nonetheless, I claim that their times will be near identical.

Then I did a topspeed test on Route X. Set up the downforce identically for both cars (120 front, 200 back). The road car has the widebody mod, so these cars should be near identical in terms of wind resistance. The Sti road car topped out at 306 kph, the Sti Isle of Man, with DRS activated(!), topped out at 286 kph. I don't really understand this as the Isle of Man has a few dozen hp more, but these are the results.

Thus I have to agree - the Sti Isle of Man is in no way faster than a race-tuned Sti road car. Nevertheless, I stand by my point that the Isle of Man is a unique model with a real-life history. It serves its own purpose in the game. If you take a step back and look at it, many cars in this game do not serve a purpose as such. Yet they are there, and people drive them.

 

[Meythia]

Then I did a topspeed test on Route X. Set up the downforce identically for both cars (120 front, 200 back). The road car has the widebody mod, so these cars should be near identical in terms of wind resistance. The Sti road car topped out at 306 kph, the Sti Isle of Man, with DRS activated(!), topped out at 286 kph. I don't really understand this as the Isle of Man has a few dozen hp more, but these are the results.

The cars still have some differences where they cant be set up identical.
The road STI with widebody is actually wider than the IoM but also has less height.
They have different maximum ride height and cant be setup identical, they have a different weight distribution and a different type of engine - the IoM has an individual one.
How much of this is actually part of the speed difference?

 

[the Interceptor]

The dominant factors for top end speed are a car's drag area and horsepower. Weight, weight distribution, engine type and size are more or less negligible.

I'll do some more testing, but my gut says that the Sti Isle of Man tops out too early for having DRS and 578 hp.

EDIT: I looked up the official real-life top speed of the Sti Isle of Man. It's 290 kph, so the 286 kph I reached in the game seems realistic. Nonetheless, I believe that this is on the low side for this amount of hp, even with downforce.

 

[djolliea]

The dominant factors for top end speed are a car's drag area and horsepower. Weight, weight distribution, engine type and size are more or less negligible.

I'll do some more testing, but my gut says that the Sti Isle of Man tops out too early for having DRS and 578 hp.

EDIT: I looked up the official real-life top speed of the Sti Isle of Man. It's 290 kph, so the 286 kph I reached in the game seems realistic. Nonetheless, I believe that this is on the low side for this amount of hp, even with downforce.

Gear ratio also affects top speed. Taller gear ratio for higher top speed and shorter for better acceleration. The road version probably has taller gear ratio than the IoM.

I was faster around Nordschleife in the IoM than fully tuned road version (6:30.161 vs 6:30.942). Not a huge difference but the road version has more PP.

 

[FOG-Smokebeer]

ask this chap 🤷‍♂️

 

[Meythia]

Gear ratio also affects top speed. Taller gear ratio for higher top speed and shorter for better acceleration. The road version probably has taller gear ratio than the IoM.

I was faster around Nordschleife in the IoM than fully tuned road version (6:30.161 vs 6:30.942). Not a huge difference but the road version has more PP.

You can setup the gear ratios to be identical between both cars and the result is IoM (with DRS active) ~285km/h <> STI (road) ~305km/h all while the STI has more weight, less power and a wider body that has to fight air resistance. Same aero setup, same transmission setup. It doesnt really seem to match the expectations.

 

[the Interceptor]

Gear ratio also affects top speed. Taller gear ratio for higher top speed and shorter for better acceleration. The road version probably has taller gear ratio than the IoM.

True. I left this out because I assumed that the gearing is appropriate enough to achieve the car's topspeed. I also made the experience that an optimized gear ratio can add a few kph to the topspeed. However, I've never seen a difference of 20 kph due to gearing. Given that the IoM Sti has more horsepower and (with DRS) less rear downforce, even improper gearing of the IoM should never make such a vast difference in favor of the road car. Note: hitting the rev limiter in top gear will obviously limit the topspeed of a vehicle, but I'm assuming here that the gearing generally is appropriate enough to not run into that limit.

 

[GTEnthusiast9]

I'm looking forward to when an engine swap or ultra high rpm turbo becomes available for this. Like the Amuse S2000 or Amemiya Rx7, it has good handling and brakes just needs more go and it will be useful for 750-800pp events, at least in single player.

Also, can someone please educate me about the drs? I tried holding down the button on the straights in lemans 700 but after a few laps got early arthritis from that crap. Would be better if pressing the button once activated it and pressing again would deactive.

 

[Meythia]

I'm looking forward to when an engine swap or ultra high rpm turbo becomes available for this. Like the Amuse S2000 or Amemiya Rx7, it has good handling and brakes just needs more go and it will be useful for 750-800pp events, at least in single player.

Also, can someone please educate me about the drs? I tried holding down the button on the straights in lemans 700 but after a few laps got early arthritis from that crap. Would be better if pressing the button once activated it and pressing again would deactive.

If there is any button you dont "need" (e-brake/handbrake? maybe R1 because camera can be done with right stick?) you can remap it.

With a few $ in extra investment there are 2 other options
using a wheel with a few spare buttons.
using the PS5 Edge controller.