GRM Project Cars 2 - Series 8: Not bitter at all...

I ran in an open room last night with some guys running the Megane in stock form, the tires would overheat by lap 3 if it was hot, 4 or 5 if the temp was medium. 

I ran 11 laps. Found a pace that keeps tire temps ok, but left front was down to about 50%.

A 75 minute race is going to be 38-40 laps I’d guess. So I either need to learn to take care of my tires better or plan on multiple pit stops. 

So, last night I learned that the Opel is fairly similar to the Megane and that a 15 minute race tire wear is not an issue.  I hope to make the time to run a longer race with these cars to see how it will really go. Not sure if I will do a full 75 minute practice race, but I figure I can at least go half of that to get an idea of tire management and pit strategy.

I'll be on tonight if anyone wants to join. Maybe do a 45 minute race.

I was wondering about one stop or two and here is what I came up with. This is just theoretical.

Assumed average lap time is 1:55.

Allowed an extra 9 seconds for the first lap due to the standing start.

Assumed pitting adds 60 seconds (tires only, no damage repair).

Assumed that laps past the 10th in a stint take 5 additional seconds (2:00).

So, for a one stopper, pitting on lap 20 the race goes 38 laps and the elapsed time is 4529 seconds.

For a two stopper, pitting on laps 13 and 26 the race goes 38 laps and the elapsed time 4529 seconds.

One stopper takes the lead on lap 13 when 2 stopper pits the first time. 2 stopper gets the lead back on lap 20 when one stopper pits.

One stopper get the lead back on lap 26 when 2 stopper makes his 2nd pit.

Two stopper catches the one stopper on lap 36. At which point they both run 2:00 laps till the end and finish in a tie.

I didn't set out to make the two strategies tie and used numbers I came up with from some of the testing I've done so far. Found it surprising and a bit hilarious that doing this did nothing to help me plan a pit strategy. The one thing I don't know is whether the +5 sec a lap for laps past 10 in a stint is an accurate reflection of what the tire degradation actually does. In reality that would not be a constant 5 sec/lap but would slowly get worse as the laps went by. Damage repair adds a lot of time in the pits, so avoid that.

The cars can carry enough fuel, that no need to refuel during the mandatory pit stop.

I'll be on, but we should kill the AI and just let other people join.  It'll be a mixed bag of course, but AI tends to be a huge turnoff for most people and getting participation in a TC room usually isn't that difficult. 

Things learned tonight: I'm faster in the Megane than the BMW, though as expected tire wear is worse.  That said, I ran my fastest lap on tires that had been on the car for 38 minutes and were showing at maybe 10% on the wear bar.  That was largely due to fuel load being substantially lighter, but it worked out that my average lap on worn tires was only a 1-2 second drop from peak unless a significant error was made.  However, as tires wear unevenly it gets easier to lock up under braking and makes those errors more likely.  For instance, touch a curb under braking with worn tires and you're going for a ride.  

• I learned that the numbers in my long post above were pretty much spot on.

1.    Excluding the pit stop and the first lap, I averaged 1:54 a lap (assumed 1:55).
2.     I assumed +10 sec for the first lap over the average lap. Actual time was 10.1 sec.
3.     I assumed a pit stop just for tires added 1 min. It actually added 57 seconds.
4.     What I got wrong is that I assumed lap times would drop off after 10 laps on a stint, but I did 16 laps on the tires and got a 1:52 on lap 15. Really didn't    see a drop off in times, but fresher tires make things easier to drive.

• Pit strategy is important. I pitted from the lead and came out in P2 about 20 seconds behind the leader. I gained about 3 seconds a lap or so and finished 4 seconds behind him. If I would've pitted earlier I may have been able to catch him as he did a slow and steady strategy without pitting. I think for the 75 minute race pitting once for tires in the middle of the race will be the best bet.

• In an endurance race, it does not pay to spend 16 laps in a battle. It just wears your tires out faster.

Oh, and moving the brake bias rearward makes T11 (on the map) much easier for the FWD cars. I was running 59/41 for the race, but 48/52 that I tried after the race seems like a much better setting.

TJ  I got your invite but we were just starting a movie with the family.   I looked when it was over but I think you were already off.

I invited some folks from the Logitech races to join us. Hopefully they’ll join.

Brad, can you update the dates on the first post?Algarve is 11/6 not 5/22 for example. Also, it looks like Oulton Park will fall on the day before Thanksgiving. Not sure if anyone is traveling that day or may have family visiting. We may want to take that week as an off week depending on everyone's schedule . I am good with it as is FWIW.

Not sure if I'll be able to make the Algarve race. May end up being in MI that day. Trying to shift things around so I will be home instead.

In reply to T.J. :

Yep. I'll try and get to that tonight. 

In reply to BradLTL :

Looks good. Taking off Thanksgiving week makes sense. Also agree with looking at a weekend date for the finale if possible. 

So I just bought Project Cars II for PS4. I ran a few races with you guys back when you did GT6. If you’ll accept another backmarker I’d love to join again after I get some practice in.  

In reply to Ed Higginbotham :

Sweet!, We will be glad to have you join. What is your PSN name? Mine is M10PSI.

In reply to T.J. :

Awesome. Thanks. PSN name is fullsized 

Ed Higginbotham said:

So I just bought Project Cars II for PS4. I ran a few races with you guys back when you did GT6. If you’ll accept another backmarker I’d love to join again after I get some practice in.  

For some of us, the series is the practice 

In reply to BradLTL :

Well my in-the-groove virtual driving is probably not as fast as your practice. I’ll just try to stay out of your way to start  

In reply to Ed Higginbotham :

Ed, I sent you a PSN friend request.

Whichever of the four cars you pick, one of us can send you a setup for you to try out, although it seems to me that the FWD cars are relatively insensitive to setup changes at least in terms of overall feel.

In reply to Ed Higginbotham :

Just don't hesitate to join because you think you need practice.

Another idea I am playing with is a fast lap point. Similar to F1, but with an important difference... You have to be outside the top 3 positions to earn it. 

So, maybe you get in a big wreck early and are out of the podium spots. Throw on a set of softs and try and run a hot lap at the end to get an extra point... just make sure you don't lose a position. 

Thoughts?

In reply to BradLTL :

I like it, but the TC cars don’t have hard/soft options. Just slicks. 

Is the point for the fastest lap outside the podium finishers or for the fastest lap overall and the point is only awarded if that driver is outside the podium?

Ed Higginbotham said:

So I just bought Project Cars II for PS4. I ran a few races with you guys back when you did GT6. If you’ll accept another backmarker I’d love to join again after I get some practice in.  

Look forward to seeing you. I think I still have you on my friends list. I have an ok tune for the BMW. Sauce has run the car a bunch so he also has tunes for it.

In reply to dean1484 :

I'm still working on the BMW. Last night I couldn't get it to work for beans and was 1.5s off what I was running the other night. Late in qualifying I did learn a couple of things about the car that I want to try out though, so it may be salvageable. 

In reply to dean1484 :

Yes I believe we’re still friends. Game got delivered last night. I’ll probably jump on tonight to try things out