Aston DB5

[chuckrateez]

   I'm just loving this car.     I kept it in D class and took it out for a spin and was surprised by how well it performed.  It takes a while to get going, but really holds its own against the AI on all sorts of tracks.  And I love its engine note ... deep and full compared to most of what it was racing against in D class.

   After running it through some tournaments to get some of the money back (it's not cheap ... $400K?), I took it to the test track to do some hotlaps.  (I'm running offline ... and since in all their "wisdom", they decided we don't need local leaderboards ... but I digress.) 

   Since we were running the new Kaido courses, I took it out on those first.  I didn't expect it to fare too well, but was able to get 5:33.416 on the uphill and 5:06.305 downhill.  Those place at 205th and 248th on the board.  Not bad for someone who was lucky to crack the top 1000 in Forza 2.

    On Maple Valley, MV Reverse and MV Short, I was borderline top 1000.  I know I can get more out if it on the two longer courses, but just need some more wheel time.  (Aside: MV Reverse seems to be my home track.  I am consistently top 1000, with a couple top 500 on the track.  I think it's because I ran it so much in one of the MInc. challenges in Forza2.) 

   The biggest surprises were on Road America and the Ring.  My time on RA was 2:33.571 (698th) and the Ring was 9:12.251 (865th).  I've never come close to top 1000 on those tracks.

   I know part of this is due to my general improvement as a driver, but there's something about this car that I just love.  It's extremely stable (almost *too* stable, but I don't feel like messing up a good thing), and had just enough power to hold its own on the long straights.  I may build it up to C class, but I'd be curious to see what some of the rest of you think about the car in D class.

  Oh yeah, if I were a painter, I'd do all kinds of things to it related to James Bond/007.      

   Anyhow, below is the build and tune.  Feel free to play around with it and give feedback.  (The tune is basically a F'dog tune with a couple of tweaks.  Thanks, F'dog for all you do.)


      Chuck

Build:
Platform:
Race brakes
Race springs
Race anti roll bars front & rear

Drivetrain:
Sport trans
Race differential

Tires:
Sport tires front: 225/65R15  rear: 225/65R15

Aero:
Stock


Tune:

Tire Pressure:
Front:30.0  Rear: 29.0

Gearing:
Final Drive: 4.35

Alignment:
Front Camber: -1.0 Rear Camber: -1.0
Front Toe: 0.0 Rear Toe: -0.1
Caster: 5.0

Sway Bars:
Front: 20.4 Rear: 17.6

Springs:
Front: 757.5  Rear: 655.7

Ride Height:
Front: 5.2 Rear: 5.2 (lowest)

Rebound:
Front: 7.3 Rear: 6.3

Bump:
Front: 5.2 Rear: 4.5

Aero:
N/A
 
Brakes:
% Front: 48%
Pressure: 90%

Differential:
Rear:
Accel: 50% Decel: 40%

[Blooze]

I really enjoyed this post.  Good job.  I don't know if I will pony up with the geetus for the car real soon ($450k btw) in that I am on a Daytona Cobra savings project, but I will keep this in mind should I come across one of those "Bond" cars.

Watching those old Bond movies with all the crap that they had hanging off of those cars is just as funny as watching an old Startrek...  Aliens in Go-Go Boots and 50 Cal machine guns under the headlights...

$

I looked for that challenge but couldn't find it.  It was something about Goats backwards...  running the old GTO and MV Reverse.  They seem to have changed their model on RWD cars for this version - that combination would be a little easier now.  It sure was a bugger back then...

[Fit4aking]

I was torn between the DB5 and the 300SL.  Both were "expensive" compared to what I was used to shelling out so even though I had several million in the bank I was reluctant to spend it on either.  I was saving up for a 250 GTO, lofty goal.  I broke down and bought the 300SL as it seemed to fit in with what I was missing in C-class at the time.  I couldn't have been more happy with the result of the Mercedes, still am.  It handles well, has good top speed and acceleration, sounds oh so sweet, and it has a menacing stance.

Reading this I am starting to regret not taking the Aston.  It was one of my absolute favorites on Test Drive Unlimited, and it would be nice to come back to it at some point.  Seeing as I spent all but a pocket full of CR's on a Ferrari I shouldn't be so quick to want another high dollar car but your really tempting me with all of the accolades this car seems capable of.

I'll keep it on my wish list but for now I need to be buidling my account, not making lavish purchases.

[chuckrateez]

Blooze,

   Glad you enjoyed the post.  I usually just lurk, but when I post I can't seem to shut up.   

   I was wondering if a good painter could do some machine guns in front or a smokescreen on the back.   

   The challenge I was thinking of was in hatchbacks.  I remember because that's when I first spent a lot of time in a Trueno.  Grew to love that little bugger.

Fit,

   I know where you're coming from with the expense of some of the cars.  My first big goal was the Ferrari Testa Rossa, and when I finally got the cash to buy it, I found that I can't drive it for sh*t.     I can't seem to tame it off the line, and it is so squirrely in the corners that I feel like I'm just hanging on in desperation.  (I built it up in both B and A classes, and it frustrated me so much I just left it sitting in the garage since then.)

   It does run real nice on the straights, though.    

   I was tempted by the SL as well, as that's one of my all time dream cars.  It was pretty good in FM2, as I recall.

   But for now, I guess I'll just keep playing with the Aston.  Next step is to build it up into C and see what it's capable of.     

   Anyhow, if any of youse guys get your hands on the DB5 I'll be curious to see what you think.


      Chuck

[Spiny Anteater]

I see you're running sport tyres (DOTs). A month or so back I was struggling with a Trueno on DOTs and decided to see if the pressures from FM1 worked - they did. So I'd recommend trying to get the warm tyre pressures up to around 40psi - I was really surprised at how much better the Trueno was with cold tyre pressures of 37ish psi compared to the original 27/28ish.

That only works for DOTs/sport tyres though.

[TheJohnNewton]

Weird finding on the tire pressure Spiny.  I've been running an F class Civic on sport tires for a challenge on the Exedus board.  I'll try pumping them up to 37 or so and re-run.

[chuckrateez]

I see you're running sport tyres (DOTs). A month or so back I was struggling with a Trueno on DOTs and decided to see if the pressures from FM1 worked - they did. So I'd recommend trying to get the warm tyre pressures up to around 40psi - I was really surprised at how much better the Trueno was with cold tyre pressures of 37ish psi compared to the original 27/28ish.

That only works for DOTs/sport tyres though.

Spiny,

   Thanks for the suggestion.  I just tried running some laps on MV Reverse with my original tire settings (30/29) and yours (I ran 37/36).  Your settings felt more responsive/tighter, but I also found that the margin for error seemed a lot less.  (When I lost grip, I lost it *immediately* with almost no warning.)

  Maybe it's just my driving style, or some combination of things (I use the controller, FWIW), but while I was able to see potential improvement during the course of the lap (i.e., I was in the green at various stages), I kept giving it back overall (or losing it altogether at the bottom of the long left-hand sweeper after the initial climb).

  I'll keep playing around with it on various tracks, as I see potential, but whenever I reverted to my 30/29 settings, I was able to consistently run faster laps.  It could just be a case of personal preference, I guess.


      Chuck (and this is what makes this game so much fun)

[TheJohnNewton]

Spiny - Well I liked your high pressure sport tires but then I found if I swapped out weight reduction for slicks my times dropped even more.  BTW, this is in Catalunya School.

[Spiny Anteater]

Spiny,

   Thanks for the suggestion.  I just tried running some laps on MV Reverse with my original tire settings (30/29) and yours (I ran 37/36).  Your settings felt more responsive/tighter, but I also found that the margin for error seemed a lot less.  (When I lost grip, I lost it *immediately* with almost no warning.)

  Maybe it's just my driving style, or some combination of things (I use the controller, FWIW), but while I was able to see potential improvement during the course of the lap (i.e., I was in the green at various stages), I kept giving it back overall (or losing it altogether at the bottom of the long left-hand sweeper after the initial climb).

  I'll keep playing around with it on various tracks, as I see potential, but whenever I reverted to my 30/29 settings, I was able to consistently run faster laps.  It could just be a case of personal preference, I guess.


      Chuck (and this is what makes this game so much fun)

Very odd, I found exactly the opposite. The car was very squirrelly with the lower pressures (which was what prompted me to try out the new settings in the first place) but felt much more grippy and gave much more warning than the lower pressures. It may be driving style, but it could also be something to do with the car as well. Nice to hear some feedback from you and TJN on this though - proves I'm not going mad after all.

TJN - I'd agree that usually slicks will help more than the weight reduction, especially on a "twisty" track like Cat School, and that is more usually my course of action. The Trueno came about as I wanted something that would go well in one of the longer C-Class tracks in career (forgotton which one now ) and couldn't get full WR and slicks on without creating a very slow car. So, I compromised on the tyres and ended up with the DOT's.

[chuckrateez]

Very odd, I found exactly the opposite. The car was very squirrelly with the lower pressures (which was what prompted me to try out the new settings in the first place) but felt much more grippy and gave much more warning than the lower pressures. It may be driving style, but it could also be something to do with the car as well. Nice to hear some feedback from you and TJN on this though - proves I'm not going mad after all.
 

   Interesting.  There must be something else going on there.  I re-ran MV Reverse with those settings, and I kept thinking I was on the verge of real improvement with your higher pressures, but never got a full lap that was better.  Went back to the "standard" settings, and managed to knock a full second plus off my times.

   I'm now at 1:44.130, which would put me at 575 (one of my best ever rankings besides Kaido).


      Chuck

[Spiny Anteater]

Just to add to the confusion a bit.

Tried out a Beetle last night on DOT's - way better with the higher pressures. Then tried out a Shelby GT500 KR and if anything it felt better at the lower pressures. I can only presume that it's not a straight relationship there - best I can come up with is that there must be something to do with the depth of the sidewall in there too. Or at least that's my way of thinking as the two cars which have gone better on the lower pressures are those which I would expect (I know the Shelby is) to be on higher profile tyres.

[barumba]

Just to add to the confusion a bit.

Tried out a Beetle last night on DOT's - way better with the higher pressures. Then tried out a Shelby GT500 KR and if anything it felt better at the lower pressures. I can only presume that it's not a straight relationship there - best I can come up with is that there must be something to do with the depth of the sidewall in there too. Or at least that's my way of thinking as the two cars which have gone better on the lower pressures are those which I would expect (I know the Shelby is) to be on higher profile tyres.

You might be on to someting there, Spiny. This iteration of FM does seem to let tire aspect ratio have more of an effect on the handling. Slave Munky put together a really neat Calc, incorporating some of the trany and suspension calcs created by others (FD and Blooze). Slave Munky also included some Tire Dynamics that might be of interest.
Here is a link to the calc. I took the liberty of making some very minor changes to the look (coloured some cells) from the original...

http://www.mediafire.com/?hjjreaji0on