Saw the Magny Cours thread, no mention of Le Mans being
available at last! [pretty much a straight GPL conversion]
About as fun to drive as it was/is in GPL, with a lotsa drafting
action on the long Mulsanne straight.
You have a lot of setup options here: the default fast setup
is quick down Mulsanne, but is horribly loose elsewhere, so
that is basically your dilemma (I decided in favor of stability
for a slight loss of speed).
I can get through Dunlop without lifting if I time it just right
and kick her into a pretty serious powerslide.
One key corner is the last one before the front straight, a
quick series of esses-maximize your exit speed and its off
to the races.
Some problems tho, most seriously an Armco bug where
even the slightest brush will pork your engine, often blowing
it completely. And the AI has its problems (pits are too
narrow for one thing, and frankly they always have trouble
with narrow courses like this one-trying to pass where you
shouldn't, riding in the dirt, etc.).
All in all a worthy effort that just needs a >wee< bit more
polishing.
John DiFool
Le Mans was obviously meant as an endurance venue, not a sprint-racing
track. I mean in real life. The 3.7-mile Mulsanne straight taxes the
engine, and the following hairpin taxes the brakes. Even the sandy berms
were put there to catch the incautious; real enduro drivers don't powerslide
around every corner...or, indeed, *any* corners. Not only to avoid getting
high-sided on a sand bank but also to avoid abusing the tires. Some of this
carries over to the sim, altho sadly not brake temps/wear.
Since N2003 allows pit stops, probably the best use of the track would be
races of a dozen laps or more (I can squeeze no more than 10-1/2 laps out of
22 gallons), preferably a couple dozen, to encourage saving rubber. That
would be consistent with its historic use and provide something more
interesting than the usual 20-minute mad dash online.
As to setups, Jacques Villeneuve taught us years ago, when CART was alive
and well, that grip is more important than raw speed when it comes to lap
times (i.e., in Q), but if you want to win races, gear for Vmax. That way,
you can stay ahead of the pack on the straights, and drive to make your car
as wide as possible elsewhere to keep the pack at bay...until the next
straight.
And yes, a great addition to the N2003 portfolio of roadies.
"John DiFool" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted text (29 lines)
> Saw the Magny Cours thread, no mention of Le Mans being > available at last! [pretty much a straight GPL conversion] > About as fun to drive as it was/is in GPL, with a lotsa drafting > action on the long Mulsanne straight. > > You have a lot of setup options here: the default fast setup > is quick down Mulsanne, but is horribly loose elsewhere, so > that is basically your dilemma (I decided in favor of stability > for a slight loss of speed). > > I can get through Dunlop without lifting if I time it just right > and kick her into a pretty serious powerslide. > > One key corner is the last one before the front straight, a > quick series of esses-maximize your exit speed and its off > to the races. > > Some problems tho, most seriously an Armco bug where > even the slightest brush will pork your engine, often blowing > it completely. And the AI has its problems (pits are too > narrow for one thing, and frankly they always have trouble > with narrow courses like this one-trying to pass where you > shouldn't, riding in the dirt, etc.). > > All in all a worthy effort that just needs a >wee< bit more > polishing. > > John DiFool >I softened the springs in the <fast> setup and increased the steering
ratio a couple of clicks. That cured most of the looseness, and I'm
turning 3.11 laps. I could probably go a bit faster if I actually
worked on the setup more. There are people turning 3.05's (and
probably even faster).
Twelve laps (30% race length) is a full fuel run and if you're
careful with the tires (and careful not to hit anything), you should
be able to run a 30% race without stopping (if you believe the F3
display).
Also, you can't abuse the motor AT ALL because the sim isn't very
forgiving. I know I'll loose some speed down the Mulsanne, but I
trhink I'm gonna gear it a little taller in 6th to keep the revs down
a bit more, and to maybe conserve a bit of fuel.
I made a mistake in a race last night (downshifted too soon) and lost
a cylinder as I was crossing the s/f line after completing lap 1.
That reuslted in a top speed of about 196 down the Mulsanne, and it
gave up completely after finishing lap 7.
Also, 65% tape may be a bit much in races longer than 12 laps.
In article <rGBHb.4699$[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...
Quoted text (57 lines)
> Le Mans was obviously meant as an endurance venue, not a sprint-racing > track. I mean in real life. The 3.7-mile Mulsanne straight taxes the > engine, and the following hairpin taxes the brakes. Even the sandy berms > were put there to catch the incautious; real enduro drivers don't powerslide > around every corner...or, indeed, *any* corners. Not only to avoid getting > high-sided on a sand bank but also to avoid abusing the tires. Some of this > carries over to the sim, altho sadly not brake temps/wear. > > Since N2003 allows pit stops, probably the best use of the track would be > races of a dozen laps or more (I can squeeze no more than 10-1/2 laps out of > 22 gallons), preferably a couple dozen, to encourage saving rubber. That > would be consistent with its historic use and provide something more > interesting than the usual 20-minute mad dash online. > > As to setups, Jacques Villeneuve taught us years ago, when CART was alive > and well, that grip is more important than raw speed when it comes to lap > times (i.e., in Q), but if you want to win races, gear for Vmax. That way, > you can stay ahead of the pack on the straights, and drive to make your car > as wide as possible elsewhere to keep the pack at bay...until the next > straight. > > And yes, a great addition to the N2003 portfolio of roadies. > > "John DiFool" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > Saw the Magny Cours thread, no mention of Le Mans being > > available at last! [pretty much a straight GPL conversion] > > About as fun to drive as it was/is in GPL, with a lotsa drafting > > action on the long Mulsanne straight. > > > > You have a lot of setup options here: the default fast setup > > is quick down Mulsanne, but is horribly loose elsewhere, so > > that is basically your dilemma (I decided in favor of stability > > for a slight loss of speed). > > > > I can get through Dunlop without lifting if I time it just right > > and kick her into a pretty serious powerslide. > > > > One key corner is the last one before the front straight, a > > quick series of esses-maximize your exit speed and its off > > to the races. > > > > Some problems tho, most seriously an Armco bug where > > even the slightest brush will pork your engine, often blowing > > it completely. And the AI has its problems (pits are too > > narrow for one thing, and frankly they always have trouble > > with narrow courses like this one-trying to pass where you > > shouldn't, riding in the dirt, etc.). > > > > All in all a worthy effort that just needs a >wee< bit more > > polishing. > > > > John DiFool > > > > >I tried a bunch of final drive ratios with a Cup car and discovered the
highest Vmax w/o a tow (ca. 212 mph) was achieved with a slightly long
(numerically low) ratio, i.e., the yellow light just begins to flash before
the kink. For a race setup, you might want to go even longer, so that you
a) don't blow the engine if you catch a draft (I've seen 218 mph w. a tow),
and b) theoretically get slightly better fuel economy (which would work like
gangbusters in the RW; I think fuel flow in the game is more like fixed).
To further enhance Vmax, there are also useful tricks like less camber and
higher TPs to reduce drag (modeled in the game), zero toe (ditto), a lot of
tape and absurdly low spoiler angles, then adjust spring, shock, weight, and
wedge values for max mechanical grip. Running less ground clearance would
minimize weight transfer (a Good Thing) and reduce drag (ditto) altho the
latter isn't modeled, AFAIK.
I use 55% tape in a race.
"John Simmons" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
berms
> > were put there to catch the incautious; real enduro drivers don'tpowerslide
> > around every corner...or, indeed, *any* corners. Not only to avoidgetting
> > high-sided on a sand bank but also to avoid abusing the tires. Some ofthis
> > carries over to the sim, altho sadly not brake temps/wear.
> >
> > Since N2003 allows pit stops, probably the best use of the track wouldbe
> > races of a dozen laps or more (I can squeeze no more than 10-1/2 lapsout of
> > 22 gallons), preferably a couple dozen, to encourage saving rubber.That
> > would be consistent with its historic use and provide something more
> > interesting than the usual 20-minute mad dash online.
> >
> > As to setups, Jacques Villeneuve taught us years ago, when CART wasalive
> > and well, that grip is more important than raw speed when it comes tolap
> > times (i.e., in Q), but if you want to win races, gear for Vmax. Thatway,
> > you can stay ahead of the pack on the straights, and drive to make yourcar
Quoted text (29 lines)
> I softened the springs in the <fast> setup and increased the steering > ratio a couple of clicks. That cured most of the looseness, and I'm > turning 3.11 laps. I could probably go a bit faster if I actually > worked on the setup more. There are people turning 3.05's (and > probably even faster). > > Twelve laps (30% race length) is a full fuel run and if you're > careful with the tires (and careful not to hit anything), you should > be able to run a 30% race without stopping (if you believe the F3 > display). > > Also, you can't abuse the motor AT ALL because the sim isn't very > forgiving. I know I'll loose some speed down the Mulsanne, but I > trhink I'm gonna gear it a little taller in 6th to keep the revs down > a bit more, and to maybe conserve a bit of fuel. > > I made a mistake in a race last night (downshifted too soon) and lost > a cylinder as I was crossing the s/f line after completing lap 1. > That reuslted in a top speed of about 196 down the Mulsanne, and it > gave up completely after finishing lap 7. > > Also, 65% tape may be a bit much in races longer than 12 laps. > > > In article <rGBHb.4699$[email hidden]>, > [email hidden] says... > > Le Mans was obviously meant as an endurance venue, not a sprint-racing > > track. I mean in real life. The 3.7-mile Mulsanne straight taxes the > > engine, and the following hairpin taxes the brakes. Even the sandyQuoted text (39 lines)
> > as wide as possible elsewhere to keep the pack at bay...until the next > > straight. > > > > And yes, a great addition to the N2003 portfolio of roadies. > > > > "John DiFool" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > > news:[email hidden]... > > > Saw the Magny Cours thread, no mention of Le Mans being > > > available at last! [pretty much a straight GPL conversion] > > > About as fun to drive as it was/is in GPL, with a lotsa drafting > > > action on the long Mulsanne straight. > > > > > > You have a lot of setup options here: the default fast setup > > > is quick down Mulsanne, but is horribly loose elsewhere, so > > > that is basically your dilemma (I decided in favor of stability > > > for a slight loss of speed). > > > > > > I can get through Dunlop without lifting if I time it just right > > > and kick her into a pretty serious powerslide. > > > > > > One key corner is the last one before the front straight, a > > > quick series of esses-maximize your exit speed and its off > > > to the races. > > > > > > Some problems tho, most seriously an Armco bug where > > > even the slightest brush will pork your engine, often blowing > > > it completely. And the AI has its problems (pits are too > > > narrow for one thing, and frankly they always have trouble > > > with narrow courses like this one-trying to pass where you > > > shouldn't, riding in the dirt, etc.). > > > > > > All in all a worthy effort that just needs a >wee< bit more > > > polishing. > > > > > > John DiFool > > > > > > > > >I redid the gears making 1st much shorter and went up a single click for 6th
then adjusted all the gears in between. Added some air pressure all around
and added a bit of spring to the LR now I'm drafting above 220 and reaching
215 alone. A couple places though she's a bit loose. Worst is coming over
that right handed up hill just before the last esses between the houses. I
lift a bit and all is good though and I'm getting easy 3.12's and should get
well below that with some laps under my belt. Great track!
Mitch
"Steve Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:rqFHb.5422$[email hidden]...
> I tried a bunch of final drive ratios with a Cup car and discovered the
> highest Vmax w/o a tow (ca. 212 mph) was achieved with a slightly long
> (numerically low) ratio, i.e., the yellow light just begins to flashbefore
> the kink. For a race setup, you might want to go even longer, so that you
> a) don't blow the engine if you catch a draft (I've seen 218 mph w. atow),
> and b) theoretically get slightly better fuel economy (which would worklike
> gangbusters in the RW; I think fuel flow in the game is more like fixed).
>
> To further enhance Vmax, there are also useful tricks like less camber and
> higher TPs to reduce drag (modeled in the game), zero toe (ditto), a lotof
> tape and absurdly low spoiler angles, then adjust spring, shock, weight,and
of
your
