GRM - Gran Turismo 5 Racing League - Series 3

Well, if there are connection issues this week, we may let someone else host the next event to see if that makes any difference.

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During practice this week I found out that I could run the full race without a pit stop in the Z06 if I was very conservative with the tires. I felt that I could finish toward the front IF I didn't get damage and didn't burn the tires off. I thought I might finish in 4th. Because of others misfortune I managed a 3rd. so the strategy worked this week.

I found that I would have to stop once in HH and I had to go in on lap 11 because my tires were getting dangerously shot. I got 2 short cut penalties and even though I got in some of you guys way and got bumped in the rear, I sustained no damage. I was careful to select the correct tires and because Apex dropped out it appeared that I had enough lead over 3rd. to drive conservatively. The second set of tires were in better shape than the first set after 11 laps. So I got lucky and managed a second place. It's going to be interesting to watch the replay because I know that a lot of you got tangled up on lap one. I couldn't tell what happened.

My biggest screwup was trying to post a fast qual. lap in Z06. This put me too far up front and I ended up pulling to the right @ T1 to let everyone by. I appologize if I got in your way. I knew I couldn't burn the tires off @ the start or I'd never make it without a pit stop. I assumed that many of you would post a faster lap. The poll time was about 4 sec. faster than mine.

I did start near or @ the back in HH but the T1, et. al., pileups put me in the lead. I didn't race ac and apex too hard when they passed me. I knew they were both faster, especially on the brakes. I knew that several of you might get after me later in the race but apparently everyone had a rather frustrating race.

So on to Lemans WC TC. If it rains and If the sun goes down I for one will be in trouble. It's very hard for me to see when it rains and I did some "special events" in the dark and I can't see E36 M3. I still haven't made an appt. to get this cataract out but plan to do it soon. I know the condidtions won't be much better for everyone else though, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

YUP........berkeley! berkeley! berkeley! berkeley!.......

turdbeast

Turdbeast actually got to run this week!

No ABS is my downfall, locked the brakes in both races and ruined any chance at a decent finish. After the initial screw ups it was offs and penalties as I struggle with getting back into a groove.

My biggest issue with Z06, I was getting some decent racing with RealMiniDriver and stopped paying enough attention to lines and brake points.

I think the car is my biggest issue with HH. It's the heaviest of the group(I think) at 1100 kgs and I know it was the most powerful tonight, because I was running the full 445 hp instead of my planned 415. It's also crazy laggy with the high rpm turbo.

Now, excuses aside :D , y'all are in trouble on Le Sarthe. Lots of high speed sections means Turdbeast can stretch his big fat legs and get some serious speed. I was touching 180 before the first chicane.

In reply to Grizz:

I don't know what the Volvo will do but 180 is amazing. I'd say that Apex's Mitsu. will be very fast too. I noticed last night that you're becoming faster and a little more consistent Grizz. I think everyone is having problems on the brakes . . . well . . . ac and Apex, not so much. As I'm sure everyone recognize, the down hill braking zones @ T1 and after the corkscrew represent quite a challenge. It's sooo hard to be consistent there. Laguna is most definately a slow in, fast out track.

Grizz wrote: Turdbeast actually got to run this week! No ABS is my downfall, locked the brakes in both races and ruined any chance at a decent finish. After the initial screw ups it was offs and penalties as I struggle with getting back into a groove. My biggest issue with Z06, I was getting some decent racing with RealMiniDriver and stopped paying enough attention to lines and brake points. I think the car is my biggest issue with HH. It's the heaviest of the group(I think) at 1100 kgs and I know it was the most powerful tonight, because I was running the full 445 hp instead of my planned 415. It's also crazy laggy with the high rpm turbo. Now, excuses aside :D , y'all are in trouble on Le Sarthe. Lots of high speed sections means Turdbeast can stretch his big fat legs and get some serious speed. I was touching 180 before the first chicane.

You're making me want to run the Eclipse... On my fast lap of 4:30 last night in it (still with a spin and taking the corners slow, there's another 15-20 seconds in there), i hit 196mph in that first straight.

I suffered through Laguna. I was surprised that I managed to mostly keep the vette on the track and out of trouble. I think in the practicing I did I never made it more than 3 laps without a wreck or spin - I wasn't error free, but did way better than my practice would indicate. In HH, I damaged myself on lap 6 when I collided with Griz. I pulled off the line after passing him with contact to let him back in front of me and got hit with a shortcut penalty. I pitted for repairs and hatched a plan to make it the rest of the race on those tires. Strategy was working out as I crawled back from last and was working on 3rd at one point before my off and double penalty corkscrew encounter. I went off into the sand because I braked too late and got a short cut penalty of 9.0 seconds. I didn't hit the wall or get any damage. I re-entered the track and was hit with another 9.0 second short cut penalty. That pushed me over the edge and I parked it it the pits for a few laps, went to the bathroom, ate a snack, chatted with the wife, and then came back and finished the race. I so want to like that track, but I never do.

I typically like lemans even less and I haven't spent much time there at all. We'll see if I can figure that one out by next week. I can hit 175 or so before the first chicane with the DC5, but braking from that speed all the way down to 2nd gear is tough without ABS. I need to change my map scale so I can see the chicane on the map before I reach the braking point - that should help judge it. I did like practicing there in the dark.

I'm still struggling with threshold braking in the Z06. I seem to be constantly locking the rear tires under hard braking (last night going into T1 and T11). This would throw me into a slide, and while I could control it fairly well, it destroyed my tires. I tried to make it to the end of the race, but at lap 19 my tires were gone... like all the way. I would spin just idling through corners. I ran like a 2:21 lap, and decided that even though there was only 2 laps left, I had to pit. With fresh tires, I tried to regain a spot or two, but had lost too much time.

I didn't spend any time prepping for HH, other than just quickly adjusting my gear ratio. Even still, I figured it would be a better race for me, since I would be more consistent on the brakes. Reverse gridding and the normal T1 bumps had me second leaving T1. At the next corner RealMiniDriver ran wide and I was able to pull along side and pull off the pass going towards T5. T6, I forgot about cold tires and didn't brake conservatively enough and ran a bit wide. Nothing too bad, but that let Graefin catch and overtake me. I'm sure I would have taken the spot right back from him, I was all over him through the corkscrew. Problem was I was too close. I was much faster exiting, but being FWD didn't have the maneuverability to adjust my line. My choice was punt graefin and likely ruin his race, or try and brake in a very awkward spot... I choose the latter... and spun. I rejoined after almost everyone had passed me, and from that point I just ran a strategy race. I knew my tires would not last, so I watched my tires and planned from the end of the race. I made my pit stop at the end of lap 9. I figured most would pit at lap 11, and this would give me 1-2 laps more on fresh tires. It worked... ish. I managed a P3 finish with a couple good fights with Cam, Grizz and TJ along the way.

Any tips on sorting my Z06? I think I am going to try upping the front bias a bit to see if I can balance the pressures. Then I'll just need to learn to be gentler with my left foot.

Can I point out that someone really needs to get after aircooled? He had already built up a 9 point lead in Hot Hatch.

Well, next week is your chance, I won't be attending. Oh and Grizz, I think I am pushing 1150kg, so I think I might be the heaviest. My secret seems to be that I have the car setup for my tastes so that I can drive it reasonable fast with very little tire wear. Over driving these cars makes your tires go away very fast.

Z06: Got reverse gridded (dohh!). Took a few places up to the first turn. Followed Apex and Brad for a lap. Brad did one of his patented "slide brake turns" into turn one and went wide, I went past him on the outer edge of the turn then came back in. Well, with no real visibility I did not realize Brad had quickly recovered and came back on the inside. He bumped me giving me rear damage which made me much more conservative in my driving so I had to let Apex run away (someday we will actually have a dual...). I had almost the exact same encounter with Brad on the last turn later in the race (no damage this time), so I am very familiar with his braking issues.

I eventually came in for tires (and a fix) but made the mistake of never doing a pit stop.... big mistake. I had no idea there was a hairpin there!! I must have hit that pit wall at 60 mph!! The damage wasn't the issue. The computer proceeded to do a full on Austin Powers 12 point turn then did some weird glitch flash of the tire selector. Once I got into the pit spot the car just sat there!! I finally realized the tire selector was on the screen but invisible!! So I hit x (hoping it was the right tires) and got out of there.... 40 second pit stop!!! During my rest in the pit stop 2nd and 3rd got past me. I was just able to run them down before the end of the race.

HH was fun to watch from the back. You guys had a hell of a pack going there... every turn one or two would wander off into the grass, very entertaining. I just waited you all out... except for Grae, he seemed to stuck to the pavement, so I had to revert to "intimidate and wait". He actually did quite well. I did bump him once (ironic, since I was the one telling him how to avoid doing that) at that last turn, but no damage and I made sure not to try and pass him there.

I eventually got past Grea when he cut the INSIDE of the corkscrew (!?). Very strange. Towards the end of the race I ran up on some lap traffic and had some fun dueling with them (no chance of damage). I actually got WAY to into this though and ended up falling behind the two I was dueling with then proceeded to WAY over drive trying to get both of them on the last lap. I ran REALLY wide on the last turn and had totally forgotten about Grea. The last I looked he was something like 25-30 seconds back... when I finished he was 12 seconds back. I almost gave that one away big time!

Hrm, the rest of the tracks seem like fast tracks....

Maybe i will have to run The Pig.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: You're making me want to run the Eclipse... On my fast lap of 4:30 last night in it (still with a spin and taking the corners slow, there's another 15-20 seconds in there), i hit 196mph in that first straight.

Dooo eeeet. I was running my Pig as well(you should paint yours pink, I actually have a color that looks very piggish) and it's surprisingly controllable with that much power and no abs on sports softs. Really, the only time it ruined its tires was when I was going full bore for speed. Other than that it's surprisingly docile and handles about the same as the Turdbeast. Oh how I wish for the powerband of the eclipse to be in the Citroen though.

T.J. wrote: I pitted for repairs and hatched a plan to make it the rest of the race on those tires. Strategy was working out as I crawled back from last and was working on 3rd at one point before my off and double penalty corkscrew encounter. I went off into the sand because I braked too late and got a short cut penalty of 9.0 seconds. I didn't hit the wall or get any damage. I re-entered the track and was hit with another 9.0 second short cut penalty.

Yeah, I got some stupid ones as well, if sliding into the grass doesn't cut my time any it isn't a shortcut. It seems like PD just did off penalties at Laguna, because you get them friggin everywhere. Both of my cars seemed to be alright with one pit about halfway through the race, Zo6 I waited 2 laps too many and in HH I hit X too soon and it put me on comforts.

T.J. wrote: I typically like lemans even less and I haven't spent much time there at all. We'll see if I can figure that one out by next week. I can hit 175 or so before the first chicane with the DC5, but braking from that speed all the way down to 2nd gear is tough without ABS. I need to change my map scale so I can see the chicane on the map before I reach the braking point - that should help judge it. I did like practicing there in the dark.

Pump and Pray, that's what I do. Less chance of locking the brakes(sorta) and it slows you down faster than holding the brakes at 1/4 the entire time. What do you have the map set to?

Sorry for the random question from an outsider, but TheDerve is DaveEstey? As in that instructor guy I met at that SCCNH Autox school who keeps posting awesome pictures on their facebook page? Wierd coincidence! I raced with him online before I met him in person where he taught me how to suck less at racing!

Also, why did it take me so long to notice?

Brad, Aircooled, anyone else who knows - could you please take the time to list the steps for posting a picture from the game console to the forum. I know how to take pictures so you can leave that part out. I don't know how to get them to my computer and then to the forum. I'd like to send some to my step son and have a few that I'd like to show to my racing compadres.

Thanks

You have to have a usb memory dealie that you plug into the PS3, they're like 6 bucks for a 2 gig one. You export the photos to the XMB Dashboard and then copy them to the memory thing, then plug it into a computer and copy them to it.

What Grizz said. Go into your listing of pictures. There is a menu option for Exporting to XMB Dashboard (you can do multiples). When you export them they show up in a folder in the PS3 Photos area (outside of the of the game that is). From there you can copy them to a thumdrive / memory stick.

Of note also is that the pics can be somewhat large, so there may be a need to re-size them.

In writing this, I am wondering if you can copy files directly to you computer if it is setup as a server for the PS3. I an aftermarket program for this (much more reliable then the WMP version), I think it is called PS3 Server. I am suspicious you cannot do this, but I will check.

Thanks guys, I'll work on this ASAP

Just ran 6 lap race for each class with weather set to sunny. The only thing to note is that the tires are getting troublesome on laps 5&6. No pit stops possible though if no rain. Of course that's not applicable in HH. Next time I try it I'll turn WC loose. I feel 90% sure it will rain though. I started one run with not a cloud in the sky and got some rain by the end of Mulsanne. Then it wasn't raining when I got to the pits. Looks like the weather can be quite realistic.

If I feel up to it I may run a couple of practice races tonight around 8:00-8:30 with the driving line actvated. Come join me if you can. I need some drafting partners. From what Grizz said my car is going to be top speed challenged, shall we say. Last night T.J. and I ran quite a few laps and we both could draft right by each other from quite far back as long as you can find that sweet spot. I noticed that my car is several mph slower online. It sort of seems like it depends on the mood the game is in.

If i run the Pig, i'l have to pit every two laps.

On the plus side, if practice was any indication, i'm also 15 seconds a lap faster on this track....

I heard it was going to be damp in France next week...

BradLTL wrote: I heard it was going to be damp in France next week...

UGH.

Not running the Pig, then. 550hp is bad enough in the dry.

BradLTL wrote: I heard it was going to be damp in France next week...

Yep, my bones start aching during practice

I set the time progression slider all the way to the right last night in my lounge. That makes time fly - it goes from day to night in a couple laps. I did a few laps and get almost no tire wear. It somehow lets my tires cool off to the dark blue color while going down the Mulsanne straight. It is hard to keep the tires warm, how do they wear out so fast when 90% of the time you are just driving in a straight line?

In reply to T.J.:

If you think about though, there are quite a few corners where the tires are sliding they're just spread out so far we get a break between them. When I did the practice race this morning I didn't try to conserve tires too much to see if I could get away with it. I had to slow quite a bit on L6 to make it safely through the corners.

Brad, I would like to request that we limit the damage to weak again. If you disagree, do a practice race with rain @ night before you make a final ruling. It would be different if we were doing a very long race with multiple drivers in the same car and full fields but with our normal turn out we need to make sure we can keep the field from spreading out too far or we'll all have a solitary race. Boring in other words.

I once drove a 2WD Datsun PU from Chattanooga almost to Jackson, MS. on black ice @ night. I saw 3 semis turned over in the median and many wrecked cars that night. Anyway, that's what it's like @ Lemans after a couple of laps of steady rain.