SimRacing.org.uk

Race 07 Season 4

First of all, thanks to all who have shown support for the Caterham Challenge series in
the current season of Race 07. From the comments and the feedback I've received, it seems
to be going down well with good close racing and a nice balance between challenge and fun.

I've already been looking at the possibilities for next season and have been testing some
of the available mods. Rather than dictate the choice, I thought it would be better to
provide a few options and allow us all to have a say.

I've chosen what I consider to be 4 excellent, but very different mods:

Porsche 996 GT3 & 996 GT3RS Mod
http://www.artsonika.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=27&func=startdown&id=239

FVR DTM 2007 & 2008 Complete
http://www.nogripracing.com/details.php?filenr=19336

RMi Radicals
http://www.nogripracing.com/details.php?filenr=19184

True2Life-Racing Clio Cup
http://www.humyo.com/FHWPvLQ/True2Life_Racing_Clio_Cup_2008_v1_01-WBB_Edition.7z?a=iusfYECqaKw

Give them a whirl if you have time and let us all know what you think. Make your choice(s)
in the poll (you can choose as many as you like). The mod with the most votes will be the
one we use for Season 4 and I can then set about putting together an appropriate series.

Cheers

goldtop.

That Humyo link doesn't look right?

Hmmm..... yes I thought that too   :-[  

Edit: Clio link now fixed....cheers Tony.

Does it need to be a mod?
The Cat we're driving now is great & is the only car I've tried so far in the sim. Are the other cars all rubbish?

You need to try them really Legzy.

Personally, I wouldn't say that all the other original cars are rubbish. However, the DTM mod for instance drives a lot better than the WTCC cars which are a bit dull and lifeless imho. Similarly the RMi Rads are a big improvement on the Simbin versions, while the Porsche 996 mod is a little gem and probably my favourite sim experience so far. Again the Clios feel a bit better than the Minis (which aren't proper Minis anyway cos they weren't made in Brum or Oxford  ;))

Watching with interest.

Looking forward to giving these mod's a try. My preference is going to be the one which promises close racing like the Cats.  ;D

Had a quick go with all of these - my initial thoughts are:-

GT highlighted the RMI Radicals a while ago, and I think that they are an improvement over the standard models.

The DTM cars are very good (IMO) - much better than the touring cars that come with the game.

The Clios, whilst not my style, are better to drive and race than the in-game MINIS

I'm not very keen on either of the Porsches and in my opinion this    http://www.nogripracing.com/details.php?filenr=25624    Porsche Supercup v2.5 is much better to race.

Of those on offer, my initial vote is for the DTM's

TC

Thanks for your feedback TinMan.

That Porsche Supercup mod is very good, but I thought it might be a little polarising. Also it could be a bit too close to GTR2. You never know though, it could turn up as one of the Season 5/6 options where we might mirror the F1 calendar  ;) ;) ;)

Incidently, the default ride height on the DTM mod is pants with the tyres sticking up through the wheel arches  ::) Raise the ride height and they handle better and produce better lap times and they don't look silly.

Just finished a brief testing session using the Donny National track.

I actually liked them all but the Porsche which felt too slow and had poor brakes? Mind you I'm sure I'd get used to them if we used them.
I liked the Mini's too but I'd agree that the Clio's felt more "alive".
Unfortunately the DTM Alfa that I chose to drive gave me a CTD.

Personally I'm enjoying these single car series so I'll vote for those over a mixed car series.

However there are so many choices I can see Race 07 becoming a popular series whatever we drive.

How about those brutish american muscle beasts?

Please no.
I would guess that GT is trying to build up support for the series, Yank Tanks are what I would call a marmite car (i.e. people love them or hate them, in case you don't have marmite in the US? :-\).
If people hate a car, they wont show up while if it's a bit more neutral there's every chance they will. Just IMO of course.

I've obviously not tried either the Clio (FWD) or Porka (rear-engined) mods, but they might also fit into extreme driving groups. Again, just IMO. :)

You hit the mark there Legzy.

TC

I hope to go through this selection process for each season, offering up a few mods for consideration...power to the people and all that  ;).

Any more than 3 or 4 choices is probably too much choice, so inevitably mods will be left out. Depending on results of these polls, the runner(s) up from this selection could be up for re-election next time along with new candidates. I've tried the Saleen Mustang and Camaro mods Mike and they are both good (Mustang probably slightly the better imho), so could well be up next time.

Personally I believe the closest racing will be with the Porsches and the Clios, but the DTM and Rads are just so good to drive. There are a couple of problems with the Rad mod; the sound of the SR4 is pants (but can be fixed) and there are only a few skins to choose from.

No more downloads till next month - with all the GTLDK, UKGTL and now Race 07, I've been informed I've exceeded my download limit this month.  ??? ::)

As I've said before I'll try anything.  How about a BMW E30 Series?  :devil:

I don't know if this is worthy of consideration but I'll throw it out there anyway.......

Could we use just one track per month (initial learning time is reduced) and run a different car each week, then move on to another track.

I like it Tony but I'm a bit concerned I think I'd start to struggle doing the same track 4/5 times. :-\

Maybe a 3 cars 3 tracks = 9 races season would give a good intro to some mods & enjoy the benefits of your suggestion. The downside being it's potentially a lot of downloading:(

Of course, one of the cars could be the excellent Cat again ;D

Thanks for the suggestions Tony, Legzy. Given this some thought and I'm not really sure what we'd gain from this. My fear would be that it could produce a bit of a disjointed season. Surely the initial time to set up a new car takes as long if not longer than learning a new track in a familiar car (true for me anyway). This way we'd have 3 or 4 new cars to learn in a very short time and imo couldn't hope to get the most out of them. I hope that makes sense?

I've no problem with holding another cats series if there's enough support for one. They are tremendous fun to race and have proved to be popular. It's just that there are so many very good mods out there (I've discovered a few more since posting this poll) and it would be a shame to miss out on these.

How about, when we have a winning mod, I'll put another straight yes/no poll up to decide whether we run another cats series alongside it (every other week).     

 :thumbup1:

Why not a GT Club season? Five different cars with an accessible driving for aliens and not aliens.

To stick with one make car or two, I rather drive de Clios or the Australian V8's Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores. Ford Escort V8 mod, or even the Posche Super Cup Mobil, I have done 2 races of both at RaceDepartment and it was quite nice.

But frankly I am more for a STCC season, I'm in a touring car races mood right now.

Not everyone has Evo or STCC Paulo, which is why I've concentrated on basic R07 classes and mods. I do agree that the cars are nice to drive though.

If you're in a touring car mood, then the DTM or the Clios are both excellent. I've raced the Aussie V8s  at RD and they are nowhere near as good as the GTR2 version of the mod imo and they have high framerates to the point of stuttering.

The Porsche Supercup mod could well be a contender next time, as discussed earlier in this thread.

I wanna drive the Clios at Thruxton, Oulton Park, Silverstone etc etc like when they were a support race for the BTCC

When??? They still are!

Didn't realise they still supported BTCC. I'm not such an avid follower these days and thought it was just Porsches and some other single make series (can't remember the name).

So the Clios came out on top  8)

The Radicals and DTM will join another couple of mods for the next poll, providing of course interest/support for this sim continues.

With the help of Tony and Dave, I'll be putting together a series for the Clios in the next few days to follow on from our current Caterhams season.

Because they've been so well received this season, I'll also be running another Caterhams series alongside the Clios on alternate weeks. This time we'll be stepping up to the slightly more rapid CSR 260.

Thanks to all that have shown interest and have taken the trouble to vote/comment. As for those who've not yet taken the plunge, jump right in the water's lovely  :)

Will anyone who has a setting for the Clios that will make them turn corners, please post it. No matter what I do I just cannot get them to turn at anything above about 30mph - they just plough straight on.

Cheers

TC

I've not really developed my race setting yet for the Clios TC, too busy looking for holes in tracks etc. atm, but there's not that much to set up on these really.  The defaults seem ok for me and I'm not having trouble turning in, although I do find that braking early and gently to keep momentum and balance into corners helps.

How are your steering settings?....I have my wheel set to 900 and maxed out steering degrees ingame for these cars which gives me loads of control and feel. How are your ffb settings? Sorry I can't be of more help.

Err, should we be concerned that the Clio's that won only got 7 votes? :-\

You have a good point there Legzy. Hopefully people will try these and be as impressed as I was. My aim is to offer something different and with quality and I believe these fit the bill nicely. They are very different to most of the cars we drive here, but the mod has good depth to it which makes it a challenge imo.

Just try throwing one of these into Paddock Hill Bend in 4th.....by the time you eventually get it to stick, you'll be hooked  :)

Same as yours - the damn thing just wont turn - must be the driving style.

TC

Being that your last race had 7 real drivers, why not?

I haven't had time to try these mods and so haven't voted. Are the Clios FWD? If so, yuck.

Have you tried the "used slicks" all round or just F/R they make a difference to the handling characteristics depending on type of track. Other than that keep it as smooth as poss and don't lose traction on entry.
Yes they are fwd. I know you're always up for a challenge  ;) so give 'em a go.


We had at least 3 or 4 regulars away for Rockingham for one reason or another. Hopefully they'll be back for Oulton this week. Why don't you give it a go Mark, I'm sure you'd enjoy it.

I'm in the same camp as Ginsters, expecting to have the same experience as Tinman (fwd won't turn for me).

But I'm willing to try it, so downloaded last night (only 15mb). Will give it a try & report back. :)

I tried the Clio around Brand Hatch Indy this afternoon and I loved it. Managed sub 0.55 laps. Only little tweak was increasing the Front Toe in a bit.

Just gave the Clio about 5 laps round Oulton.
On defaults it's a little understerry (but then that's the same as the Cat), changed to 'used slicks' at the back & a few clicks less preload... started showing a fair bit of promise. :)

What is Preload? and that other setting Brake duct?

This keeps cropping up, so I looked into it. As I understand it, preload determines how quickly the diff coast/power settings take effect.

High preload settings = faster transition between coast and power = a tighter feel when cornering

Low preload settings = slower transition between coast and power = a looser feel when cornering

Not usually the first thing to change, but on a lower powered fwd car like the Clio the effect is more apparent.

Brake duct setting is simply the size of the air intake for cooling the brakes. Higher value = more cooling but the payoff being slightly more wind resistance = slightly slower speed.

So: if you have Evo, you have this as well? :)

Your'll need to download the car mod TT.

Links in the first post

.......and here's the pre-season test race details (mod link included)

https://www.simracing.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=8578.0

Your description is perfect, but the bit about slow/fast transition might confuse  :-\(it does me :laugh:).

In case it helps, the higher the preload number, the less likely your car is to spin on you if you've got high revs going round a corner & you lift your accelerator pedel. So a lower preload number (like I changed it to) made it more oversteery during corner entry/mid-corner.

It's kind of like a multiplier of your coast setting.

That's how I find it anyway :laugh:

p.s. this is all applicable in GTR2 & PnG too 8)

Running the touring cars sounds interesting so have bit the bullet and brought GTRevo on ebay. Was the only one i could find mind!

Well done, Spanner. I bought it from Steam. I don't think you'll be disapointed. :)