"All we know...is YOU're called The Stig!"

[Cartonofmilk]

If you're familiar with the TV show Top Gear (the UK one not that new US bs one..), and i would imagine a lot of people here probably are if they like cars, then you know they take every (or almost) car they review and have their resident racecar driver (referred to as The Stig) drive it around their track and try to do the best time possible (and if youre somehow NOT familiar with the show then you owe yourself a huge favor as a car lover and you need to dl all 17 seasons..well the ones from 2002 and on, otherwise its been around since 1977 but the format changed in 2002). Then they keep a board with all the times. In fact you can find it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Top_Gear_test_track_Power_Lap_Times

 

Well, that's what i've been doing for the past couple of weeks, i take every single car around the track at Trixier Loop (the only challenge that has no car restrictions that is worth anything) and try to do the best possible time, then i keep a ranking on an excel sheet of the times. It's a fun way to force yourself to drive every single car and push them to the limit. By now i've definitely been around the trixier loop (why is it called loop though? it ISNT a loop...) more than a thousand times so you kinda get to learn it very well (the only thing that limits me now is my limited driving skills) so you get pretty consistent. I like the trixier loop track because it features really long stretches, which tests your car top speeds, and some really tight turns (a ninety degrees one too) which defintiely tests the handling, the brakes and the acceleration perfectly. It even has that slight turn (right after the muscle car dealership) which you CAN take flat out in most cars as long as you know the perfect line.

 

Anyway, i was wondering if anybody else had this idea and done that. And if not, you should try it, it's fun (well sometimes frustrating too when you KNOW you really can push the car for a couple of tenths of a second more but can't somehow manage to get that perfect lap). So far i've done times for 74 cars out of 139 (139 because i have the facel vega II and the Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic mods). Once im done with the cars in the game ill start trying the same with mods cars. This power laps list could technically stretch on almost forever...

 

You get to learn things too like that the best car for value (in the game i mean) is the Corvette Z06, a 71 000$ car that is not even a second slower than a 460 000$ Mercedes-Benz SLR Mclaren or a 750 000$ Maserati MC12 (though i think i can do a bit better with that MC12). Nevermind that it's FASTER than a 980 000$ Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR (though the price of this one is because of it's "vintage" status) or a 280 000$ Murcielago coupe. I test the cars with "out of the shop" specs i have to say, no tunings allowed.

[CLR-GTR]

I know for sure many did it, but my racing skills (as far as skill is applicable here) have never been good enough to do this.

 

Oh and the CLK-GTR costs near a million because that was its prize when new, not because it's considered an old car now like the 300SL ;)

[Cartonofmilk]

Well i know the car isnt that old (1997) but i thought maybe its value had still increased slightly versus when it was first made. But yeah i guess it wouldnt really have gained THAT much value in 14 years. I always assume actually that the price listed in the games are slightly lower than the real worth, at least for older cars. It's definitely the case with the Ferrato GTO 250 which is worth at least 15 millions, not 5. 5 is a bargain in real life.

 

I'm not that great a driver myself really but it's easier not to notice when you're your only opponent.:-p I'm not even set on hardest, i would have but when i started playing i left it on the setting it was when i last played it some years ago which is hypersport i believe, whichever one is two steps removed from being the hardest...well not counting hardcore since you can't do challenges in hardcore...(hey has someone out there actually "unlocked" challenges for hardcore? by that i mean modded). anyway yeah well once youve been used to one setting for a couple of hours going back and changing the difficulty level would have meant relearning to drive and changing all my driving habits and i didn't have the patience to go through that. i bet if i posted my whole list (which i might once it's finished) i'd find loads of people who can beat them, probably at hardest too. It's not like i spend at most more than an hour on a car anyway. I could myself beat most of my tiems if i REALLY bothered but i also don't intend to spend the rest of my life doing this. I do laps with a car just long enough so i know i have a pretty solid time, not necessarily a perfect one.

[Ryzza5]

People did this in TDU1 at O'ahu Raceway and Ford Island

[Cartonofmilk]

Yeah see that was my first idea, Ford Island. And then i realised i would have to make the track myself since the challenge they have only allows class A and then i couldnt really shape the track like i wanted cause you can't do a complete loop and then recently i atually tried it anyway and it turns out i dont really like the ford island circuit. There isn't any long stretches that would test top speed and the track is narrow and the turns are too many. I don't know, i thought Trixier Loop wasnt ideal at first but having done it loads of time now, i quite enjoy the track and i think it's good for that kind of test. It's possible i could have made a circuit better suited for this but i didnt feel like scouting the whole map to try to find the perfect spot. With only now 42 cars to go anyway i'm NOT about to start over elsewhere.:-p