Getting Started With Gran Turismo 4

Get t i ng St ar t ed wi t h Gr an Tur i smo 4
This is a work in progress, content may change at any time. This "Walkthrough" may not be posted on any other sites without my
expressed permission.
When you start the game, you only have Cr. 10,000, which really isn't that much. Even if
there are new cars you can buy for this money, it's not likely they'll be much good, and
you'll be stuck doing the same easy races over and over just to get some extra money to
get some sort of upgrade that will make it easier to win more races. Well, fear not. Here's
a guide for one way to get started in Gran Turismo without being stuck in the Sunday
Cup.
You have two options: You can take the B and A license tests, and go with one of the
free cars that you get from that, or you can buy a used car.
Scoring all bronze on the B Licenses will get you a Volkswagen Lupo1.4 '02. This isn't a
bad car at all, but if you want to go for something else, you can sell it for about Cr. 3,300.
Scoring all bronze on the A Licenses will get you a Pontiac Sunfire GXP Concept '02. This is
a decent FF car, and you could use this to start (and we'll look at that later on). It has
183HP, which is a lot more than the Lupo, and more than what we'll get when we go
shopping for a used car.
Time to go shopping for a used car, and see what we can find. Since there are so many
more Japanese used cars to be found, it might be an idea to check and see what races you
can do in the Japanese Hall. Some of those races are fairly easy, and once you've gotten a
few wins in the Beginner hall, you might want to look at the Japanese Compact Car Cup or
perhaps theJapanese 80's Festival or 90's Challenge. So, let's plan ahead a little, so that we
can invest our hard earned money into one car that'll help us win a few races. Also look
at the individual manufacturers, as there are Make-specific races available for most of
them. Honda has a Civic race, Mazda has a Roadster cup for its Miatas, and Mitsubishi
has the Evolution Meeting for their Lancer Evolution cars. All of these are races that you
should be able to win fairly quickly. And, for what it's worth, if you won the Lupo,
there's a Lupo cup you can compete in as well as the Euro Hot Hatch League. So, there
are options for that car as well.
We need a car that handles well, and can quickly be upgraded to win to bring in some
money for more upgrades. The Historic Showroom has an old Honda Civic 1500, '83 model
for a little over Cr. 4,000. It's a front wheel drive car, so it should handle fairly well, it can
compete in the Civic race as well as the FF race in the Beginner Hall, and it leaves us with
some money for upgrades. Since its short on horse power, we're going to need it...
There's also a Mazda MX-5 Miata, 1989 model available. It has more HP to start with
than the Civic, but it costs almost Cr. 6,000, which leaves less for upgrades. But, it has
the added benefit of also being eligible for the Spider & Roadster cup in the Beginners
Hall. That's one more race we can win without having to purchase or upgrade another
car.
Also check out the Used Car Showroom I, you might find something there as well. The Used
Car Showroom II has newer cars, but they also cost more money. With some luck, you can
find a cheap Honda Civic there, and it has quite a bit more horses than some of the cars
available in the Historic Showroom. I found a nice Honda Civic SiR-II (EG), 1992 model,
dark green for Cr. 5,670. That'll leave me over Cr. 4000 for upgrades. NOTE: When
looking at the car on the list, it says it has 167HP, but when you look at the "paperwork"
when purchasing the car, it says 149HP, so keep that in mind when buying your car. I'll
go with this one...
Now, first thing we want to do is check the oil. Head over to the GT Auto center, and hit
"Oil Change";. Change the oil, t's only Cr. 50, so it's not going to be a major setback, and
you'll regain that "lost" horsepower. Next, head over to the Honda dealership and get
into the Tune Shop. Spend Cr. 1,000 on the Racing chip. It's a cheap upgrade, and it'll
add some HP to your car. We'll spend another Cr. 1,500 on an upgraded Exhaust and Air
filter. That'll add a few more HP to your car. And finally, we'll spend Cr. 1,000 on a
weight reduction. That should leave us with very little money, but a nice car to get started
in.
Head over to the Beginner Hall, and compete in the Sunday Cup. With over 170HP, you
should be able to win these races. Don't do what I just did; before you start racing, head
into Settings (the red toolbox), and tune your car! There's not a whole lot you can do at
the moment, but locate the "Driving Aids" section, and turn down all the values to 1.
The ASM and TCS systems will work against you in turns, and you may lose too much
speed if you have these at too high a value. If you don't like how your car handles with
these values, you'll need to do a little testing. With the defaults of 10 and 7, you may have
a hard time on the Special Circuit 5. So, that cost me my perfect winning record, oh
well...
The first race is at the Autumn Ring Mini track, and shouldn't be difficult at all. With my
Civic, I won with a decent margin, and got a total of 7 A-Spec points for that race. These
races only yield Cr. 600, so there's not much you can do with the winnings to begin with.
I now have a total of Cr. 1,300 after that win, so I could get a wing for my car, if I
wanted to, or perhaps a lighter flywheel. At this point, it's not going to do much for me
getting either, so we'll save our money for now, so move on and finish up the remaining
races in the Sunday Cup.
Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of an Autobianchi A112 Abarth '79.
There's not a whole lot you can do with this car, but you can use it for the Lightweight
K-Car cup. With the same upgrades that we got for the Civic, it should be able to be
competitive in those races. As well as getting a new car, you should have 3,000 Cr. More
(5 races, 600 Cr. each), plus what you may have gotten for re-runs.
The best upgrade at this point would be getting some new tires. But, we can't afford that
yet. The S3 tires cost Cr. 5,600, so that's a little too expensive at this point. The second
best upgrade would probably be a wing. For Cr. 1,200 you can adjust the downforce on
your car, which is definitely a plus. Head over to the GT Auto center again, and pick a
wing. All the models perform the same function equally well, it's just a color and design
thing, so pick a nice looking wing and buy it. Note that you cannot mount wings on all
cars, but you can on the Civic.
Now, back to the Beginner Hall and the FF Challenge. This is going to be a little tougher.
Our car may not be good enough to win these races on the first try, but you'll get some
money for second place as well, so it beats doing Sunday Cup over and over. Before you
start racing, adjust the downforce on your car. A good starting point is 25% downforce
on the front, and 75% downforce on the back. Set it to 7 on the front and 21 on the
back, and see how that works for you. The first race turned out to be a 47 point race for
me. The races in Sunday Cupwas only 8 or 9 points, so the difficulty here is a bit higher.
It looked a little scary to begin with, but it became clear that the wing did its job so I
could keep a higher speed through the turns, and that would give me the win in the end.
The 1,500 credits from winning the Mid-Field race more than pays for the wing, and it
now seems we may want to get some more power. If you don't have Cr. 4,500 by now,
re-do the Mid-Field Raceway for another Cr. 1,500, then head over to the Tuning Shop or
the car dealer and get a Stage 1 Turbo upgrade. Then head back to the FF Challenge, and
do the Grand Valley East race. With the Turbo upgrade, you should now have about
215HP, which should be enough to win this race. If you don't win on the first try, then
try again. Hopefully, you'll win some money, and as soon as you do, get either the sports
or the semi-racing flywheel. I spent the 500Cr. for the semi-racing flywheel, and that
should help with the acceleration of the car.
I did some acceleration tests on the Las Vegas Drag strip. I did 5 runs without the
flywheel and 5 without. I then took the four best times from each and calculated the
average. Without the flywheel, the average time was 16.334 seconds. With the flywheel,
the time was 16.143 seconds. Not a big difference you say? Well, it's all about having the
edge, and the ability to accelerate faster out of a turn than your opponents may mean the
difference between winning and coming in 4th.
Stay away from the Hong Kong track for now. This Honda doesn't have the power to
outrun the opponents, and its high center of gravity doesn't make it easy around those
corners on the city streets. Good tracks to do initially in the FF Challenge would be
the Mid-Way Race track and the Grand Valley East. After winning those two races, it
may be time to consider some other options. The Civic Race should now be within your
grasp, at least you should be able to win one or two of these races. Head over to the
Honda Dealer, and pick the One-Make Races, and the pick the Civic Race. The price for
winning here is Cr. 5,000, and even if you come in second, you'll still get more than from
winning the FF Challenge. We did the Mid-Field race in the FF Challenge, so re-do it
here. It's a fairly simple track, and our 200+HP Civic should be able to compete here.
After winning this single race, I got about Cr. 6,000, which I could use on an upgrade.
The question now becomes, which upgrade to get.
So, here's our problem: We need more power, better tires, a better suspension system
and better brakes. Not necessarily in that order, but that's still a lot of expensive
upgrades.
Power upgrades for the Civic would be either a Level 1 NA upgrade or a Level 1 Turbo.
Both cost about Cr. 4,500, and the turbo will give you the highest power boost, but that
power may only be available at higher RPMs. The NA upgrade may not give you as big
increase in HP, but that power is available regardless of your RPMs. And, we already got
the Level 1 turbo upgrade, and the next one is Cr. 12,500, which is out of our range at
the moment.
As you may have noticed when driving, even with the wing, your car will slip and slide
quite a bit. Better tires will help with this, but the S3 tires, which are softer than the S2
tires the car comes with, cost Cr. 5,600, and that's a lot of money, at least at this point in
the game. But, you'll need those tires once you start doing races outside of the Beginners
hall, so keep that in mind.
There are 4 different suspension systems. If you go to the manufactures tuning shop,
you'll only get 3, but the 4th is available from the Tuning Village. This option appears to
only be available to Japanese cars. At this point in the game, your only affordable option
is the Sports Suspension. With this, you can adjust the ride height of the car, as well as
the shocks and camber angle. A slight adjustment on the camber angle may help you turn
and also even out the wear on the tires. Adjusting the front and rear shocks will also
change how your car handles in turns and when going over curbs. Lowering the ride
height moves the center of gravity down, and reduces the effect of weight shifting during
turning, which in turn means higher speeds through turns. Just don't set it too low, or the
car may hit the ground going over bumps/curbs, or the tires may hit the wheel well.
The sports brakes are also an expensive upgrade at about Cr. 4,500. These brakes greatly
improve your braking power, meaning your car will stop a lot faster than with the
standard brakes. With this upgrade, you should be able to outbrake all your opponents at
the cost of some extra tire wear.
Drivetrain upgrades help with acceleration, mostly. An improved clutch will reduce
power loss during gear changes, but at the beginning stages of the game, the gain here
may be miniscule, so you may want to save your money for something else. A lightweight
flywheel will improve your acceleration. Since this reduces the weight of the drivetrain,
less torque will be used on the drivetrain itself, making it available for wheels instead.
BUT, there's a cost. A lightweight flywheel has less momentum, so you may lose speed
when going uphill, especially with low-powered vehicles.
I already got the Turbo and the flywheel, I'll get the suspension now. The Sports
suspension costs Cr. 3,000, so that's within our price range. Once that is equipped, head
back to the Civic Race to compete in some of the other races. Before starting any race,
remember to go into settings to make changes to your suspension. First order of business
is to lower the ride height. I'm going to lower it to 130mm (down from 138mm), and add
2.5 to both the front and the back Camber Angle. Then it's off to race on the Twin Ring
Motegi - East Short Course. With these settings, this is a 7 point race, which shouldn't be
too much of a challenge. Just be careful, as there are several tight corners on this track,
and if you go too fast, you'll end up in the dirt. Once that race is won, move on to
the Autumn Ring Mini. There are a lot of curves here, so watch your speed in those
corners. This should be another 7 point race, but that doesn't necessarily mean easy. If
you don't win the first time around, try again. Now, finish up the two remaining tracks of
the Civic race, and you'll have a nice lump of money and a free Honda Mugen Motul Civic Si
Race Car '87. Now, you can choose to continue with your regular Civic or use the race car
you just won. The advantage of the race car is that it comes with all the good parts, so
don't have to spend any money on that. You will, however, need to buy some sports tires
as it comes with racing tires which are not allowed in many of the beginner races. The
race car has more barely more HP than your old Civic, and if you need more, you'll have
to get the level 2 upgrades, which will cost you about Cr. 15,000. For now, I'm going to
continue with the old Civic, but now with a set of new S3 tires. And back to the FF
Challenge we go...
Now that we have better grip and better suspension, we can finish up the three remaining
races in the FF Challenge. Save the Hong Kong race for last, as that might be the most
difficult one to win. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you'll be glued to the track,
because it's not so. Your grip will be improved, so you will have better braking, better
acceleration and better control during turning, but you still need to watch your entry
speed. If you are worried about your winning ratio, then perhaps you'd want to save
before the Hong Kong race. It's not an easy race to win the first time around... The
biggest threat in the Hong Kong race appears to be the Mitsubishi Eclipse GT '95. It has a
high top speed, but the Civic will outbrake and outcorner it, so that's how to beat it. And,
once you get in front of it, it sort of loses its' interest altogether and the race is pretty
much over at that point.
Congratulations, you should now have completed the FF Challenge, and that'll earn you
aMazda Mazda6 Concept '01.
Time for some fun. Complete the A license test, then get in the Honda Civic race car you
won in the Civic Race and head for the Special Events Hall. Enter the Capri Rally (easy),
and win both of the races. You can win these races without buying any upgrades for
the Civic Race car, just remember to tune your car a little. Change the traction control
settings to 5, 5, 3, and set the Shock Bound to 4 and 4. That should improve the handling
of the car. There's a couple of things to keep in mind here:
1) Don't rear-end the other car and don't slam into walls. There's a 5 second penalty,
which means you have to drive for 5 seconds in 1st gear!
2) There are two jumps on the course. You don't want to go much over 65MPH over
those jumps, as you will have no control over your landing. If you land too close to a
wall, you'll end up slamming into it, and there's your 5 second penalty.
Each win will give you Cr. 5,000, and the best part of all, you'll win a Toyota RSC Rally
Raid Car '02. You can sell this car for over Cr. 250,000, and since you can win this car
over and over, your money problems are forever gone!
The Toyota RSC Rally Raid Car is a fairly powerful 4WD car. You can keep it around
and use it to win the 4WD Challenge and the Turbo Sports race in the Pro Hall without
having to get any upgrades for it. At least for the 4WD Challenge, this is no challenge at
all with this car. It simply blows all the competition away. But, it's a quick (and free!) way
of winning another car.
Back on track with the Civic, the next step is the Japanese 90's Challenge. In order to
have a shot here, we're going to get the Level 2 Turbo upgrade. That's going to cost a
whooping Cr. 12,500, but since we just won Cr. 10,000 in the Capri Rally, that's
affordable. With that upgrade, and a port polish, we're now sporting 260HP. Winning all
the races here will give you a Nismo 400R '96. Looks like a nice car, I haven't driven it yet.
It's a 4WD, so we can try that in the 4WD race later.
For now, we've pretty much maxed out what we can do with our original Civic, without
going to the Professional Hall. So, we need to look at what to go for next. There's still a
few races left in the Beginner Hall, as well as a few in the Japanese hall, so let's take a look at
our options. We need something for the Japanese 80's Festival and the Japanese Compact
Cup. That means a relative small and older car. Back in the Beginner Hall, we need
something that can compete in the Spider & Roadster race as well as an FR or MR car. If
we can find a car that'll fit all these, then that's less cars we have to buy. And, since the
Mazda MX-5 Miata fits all those, plus it can do the Miata one-make cup, it sounds like we
should look for a used 1980-something Miata.
Heading to the Historic Showroom, I can find only one Miata. It's an 89 model with almost
41,000 miles on it, and it'll cost me almost Cr. 6,000. But, I need it, so I'll get it. First
thing we need is new oil, so head to the GT Auto center and get an oil change to get your
HP back. While we're here, let's add a wing. Since this is the last car I need to buy for a
little while, I can spend most of my remaining Cr. 25,000 on this car. Stage 1 weight
reduction will cost Cr. 1,000, the Racing Chip is another 1,000, a stage 2 Turbo will cost
Cr. 12,500, and that'll bring the HP up to 194. The Semi-racing exhaust upgrade is
another 2,800 and a sports flywheel will cost Cr. 400. That still leaves Cr. 8,500 in the
bank. Try the car out on theJapanese 80's Festival. It's a 40 point race (at least that's what
it told me), and you might just win it. If you didn't get the suspension, you would notice
that this car is bouncing all over the place. With the Cr. 3,000 from this win, we can get
both the suspension and the S3 tires and still have enough left for lunch...Head back to
the 80's Festival, remember to lower your ride height and equip those softer tires before
racing. I lowered the ride height to 119mm (from 128), and set the camber angle to 2 in
the front and 1.5 in the back. Also set the downforce to 7 and 21, and the driving aids to
all 5's. I ran into some trouble winning the last race in that series, so I also purchased the
Close transmission. That, along with tuning down the HP on the car to 198HP by using
the Sports Exhaust rather than the Semi-Racing exhaust put me in a different
classification, and the added acceleration from the close transmission appears to have
given me the edge I needed to win it. I spent a lot more money than I hoped for, but
such is Gran Turismo.
Once you've won the Japanese 80's Festival, you'll get the Mitsubishi HSR-II Concept '89
car.
Next, head to the Mazda dealer and enter the One-Make race. With this car, you should
be able to win the NR-A Roadster cup. This is a championship race, so you'll get points
based on how you place in the race. With 5 races, you can get a maximum of 50 points,
and you don't actually have to win every race to win the championship. When doing
championship races, you also get the option of a "practice" session. That allows you to
race around the track in search of the best lap time. With the best lap time, you get pole
position, so there's no starting at the back any more. It also means you can familiarize
yourself with the track and fine-tune your car.
In addition to the individual winnings from each race (Cr. 3,000), you get Cr. 15,000 for
winning the championship, plus a Mazda MX-Crossport '05.
Next, let's do the Japanese Compact Cup. I've removed some of the power upgrades for
this race, as well as purchased the Stage 2 weight reduction, the carbon driveshaft and the
semi-racing flywheel. In it's current configuration, I got 127HP, and that is plenty to win
all the races in this championship. You'll get Cr. 2,000 per race, Cr. 15,000 for winning
the championship as well as a 1972 Honda Life Step Van.
Spider & Roadster race. I was starting to think that I had picked the wrong car for this
race. With a Stage 2 Turbo and other power upgrades, I thought I would have enough
power to outrun the other Roadsters. But I was wrong. The trick to the Roadster race is
realizing that power isn't everything, and that less HP may put you in a group with cars
that you can actually beat. So, I removed the Turbo, and ended up with 129HP. That put
my in the 127HP group, and hopefully I could beat these cars. Looking over the list of
opponents, I noticed that the Lotus Elise wasn't on it anymore, so that hopefully meant
that I would have a shot. Once I got started, it said this was a 141 A-Spec point race.
Now, that sounds like a lot, but it turned out that it was doable. With the S3 tires, the
wing and the new transmission, the race was easier than I thought. I overtook the lead
car at the curve exiting from the long tunnel at the end of the long uphill straight on the
first lap. After that, it was only a matter of keeping the line through the curves and cruise
around for another lap.
I am still concerned that perhaps the Miata is not going to be able to win this race. I've
spent time and money on different upgrades and tuning, and I can't seem to get
something that'll do the trick. This really annoys me, as I know I've beaten this race with
the Miata before, but that was a brand new '04 Miata.
Next race of the Miata is the FR Challenge. Do an oil change, and put all the power back
on. With the Stage 2 Turbo, Racing chip and Semi-Racing Exhaust, the Miata is packing
201HP, which should be enough to win all the FR Races. They'll come out to between 85
and 95 A-Spec points per race, and once you've won them all, you're awarded with
a Nissan Skyline 2000GT-B '67. And that's it for the Miata for now.
Use the Mitsubishi HSR-II Concept '89 car to compete in the 4WD Race in the Beginners hall.
It won't give you many A-Spec points, but you'll win without having to buy any upgrades
for the car. Prize money isn't that good, but you'll get a free car at the end; theToyota
Motor Triathlon Race Car '04. At this point, it's more of a looker than anything you'd want
to drive.
As I pointed out earlier, you can also use the Nismo 400R or the Toyota RSC Raid Rally
car for this race and win with a comfortable margin.
Back to the Spider & Roadster race again, you'll need the Full Customize transmission
for the Miata to win this race. This will allow you to set the individual gear ratios to
something that will give you the acceleration and speed you need to win this race.
There are still the MR Challenge and the Sports Truck race. I suggest waiting with the
Truck Race. You need to buy a truck for this race only, you don't win a lot of money
from it, and you win another truck at the end.
For the MR Challenge, start looking for a Renault Clio V6 among the used cars. The one
I found cost me about Cr. 25,000, but it was worth it. With this car, you can compete in
the French Championship, the Euro Hot Hatch championship and the MR Challenge.
Just get the basic upgrades (oil change, wing, racing chip and suspension), and it should
be good to go. You can also enter the Clio Cup with this car, but the competition there is
hard, so you need to get some more upgrades before going there. But this car should be
able to be competitive in some of the races in the Pro hall as well, including the Race of
NA Sports and the Tuning Cup.
Small Tuning Guide
Since I've suggested a couple of tuning changes be made to the cars, I'll try to explain
what some of them are and what they do.
Downforce.
By adding a wing to a stock car (race cars comes with wings already), you can adjust the
front and rear downforce. Adding downforce will push the car down towards the
ground, which helps with traction. More traction translates into more braking power, less
spinning wheels when accelerating, better turning and a higher speed during turning. On
the flip side, more downforce causes more drag which literally sucks the power out of
your car. This means
a lower top speed. The 25/75 settings that I've used gives you a little downforce in front
to keep those front tires on the ground, and more on the back to ensure that the car
doesn't spin out. For a FF car, you can reduce the downforce in the back, but you may
want to test it before entering a race. Also, these are suggestions, and not rules written in
store. Experiment a little and find the settings that are best for you and your driving style.
Ride height.
By lowering the car, you are reducing the airflow under the car. This reduces drag and
also helps keep the car down on the ground, which in turns helps on traction. The
downside is if you move your car down too far. You then risk having the bottom of the
car hit the ground when going over bumps or curbs. You also risk having the wheels hit
the wheel wells if/when you hit a bump. Setting it at 10% is a decent guideline. You can
try setting it lower and see how that goes, but what works on one track may not work on
another. Also, if you tend to go over the curbs or rumblestrips, you risk bottoming out.
Camber angle.
The Camber angle lets you tilt the wheel slightly, so instead of the tire standing up
perfectly vertical, it's angled a little in (or out) along its vertical axis. This is done to
increase the surface that is touching the ground during turning and also makes tire wear
more consistent over the whole surface of the tire.
TCS and ASM
These are tools designed to reduce slipping of tires during acceleration (TCS) and turning
(ASM). Basically, when the computer detects slipping tires, it will attempt to correct this
by reducing throttle (TCS) or reducing the RPMs (ASM) so that the tires can regain grip.
This can help you avoid spinouts, and also prevents excessive tire wear. But, it also slows
you down! You are better off learning how to brake before entering a turn, how to brake
during a turn and how to accelerate. The controls are analog, so you don't have to give
100% throttle all the time.
Gr an Tur i smo 4 Endur ance r aces
E ndurance races can be so much fun, but only if you are racing with a car that is
suited for the race at hand. Entering every endurance race with the Audi R8 might ensure
a win, but if you're racing against regular production cars, where's the fun in that? So, I
have put together this guide that will tell you all you need to know about each endurance
race before you enter it, so you are better prepared with regards to your choice of car.
Gr and Val l ey 3 00KM
This is a 60 lap race at the Grand Valley Speedway. The cars are all Touring cars or JGTC
cars, so pick car accordingly. Plan for 3 pit stops, just about every 15 laps, or you can do
4 stops, with a couple of short but fast stints to get a gap, and then cruise through the
rest. This can be risky, especially if you calculate your stops poorly, and end up having to
make a fifth stop.
The toughest competitors in this race are the Mazda RX-7 LM Race car, the Nissan
Motul Pitworks Z (JGTC), the Mazda RX-8 Concept LM Race car and the Toyota
Woodone Tom's Supra (JGTC). These cars all put in fastest laps under 1:55.0, so you
need to be able to match that. This does in no way mean that the rest of the competition
are pushovers. The Honda Loctite Mugen NSX clocked in only 0.1 second outside of
1.55, and the 2000 Ford Falcon XR8 was only 0.1 seconds behind the Loctite.
Here are a list of likely competitors, the fastest laps, and expected laps between pitting.
# Car Best Laptime Pits every
1 Mazda RX-7 LM Race car 01:53.453 15
2 Nissan Motul Pitwork Z (JGTC) 01:53.772 15
3 Mazda RX-8 Concept LM Race Car 01:54.134 12
4 Toyota Woodone Tom's Supra (JGTC) 01:54.813 14
5 Honda Loctite Mugen NSX (JGTC) 01:55.099 13
6 2000 Ford Falcon XR8 01:55.237 11
7 Abt Audi TT-R Touring Car 01:55.526 14
8 Opel Astra Touring Car 01:55.593 15
9 Toyota au Cerumo Supra (JGTC) 01:55.714
10 Mercedes CLK Touring Car 01:55.717 15
11 Nissan Pennzoil Zexel GT-R (JGTC) 01:55.766
12 Nissan Xanavi Hiroto GT-R (JGTC) 01.55.769
13 Toyota Castrol Tom's Supra (JGTC) 01:55.824 13
14 Honda Takata Dome NSX (JGTC) 01:55.848 13
15 BMW M3 GTR Race Car 01:55.866
These are the fastest laps I've observed with these cars. There are other cars as well, but
those appears to be the fastest 15 cars.
Tire recommendation: Hard racing tires. Keep some super-hard and mediums on hand in
case you need some extra speed or you need to run a few extra laps before pitting. The
hard racing tires should keep you out for 15 laps or so, unless you are driving really hard.
Other suggestions: Don't take on more fuel than you need for the number of laps you
need to go. Also consider using different tires on the front and back if your tire wear is
uneven.
Laguna Sec a 20 0 Mi l e s
This is an American muscle car, 90 lap endurance race at Laguna Seca raceway. You'll
probably be pitting in every 15-20 laps, depending on your driving style and choice of
tires, so that'll put you at 5 or 6 stops.
The toughest competition in this race will come from the Ford GT '05, the Saleen S7 '02,
the Shelby Series 1 Supercharged '03 and the Proto Motors Spirra V8. These cars will do
their fastest laps under 1:32; and I've seen the Ford go under 1:30 as well.
It's difficult to pass at Laguna Seca, so cars often gets stuck behind slower cars, so lap
times vary tremendously.
1 Ford GT '05 01:28.881 16
2 Proto Motors Spirra V8 '04 01:30.328 16
3 Saleen S7 '02 01:30.758 22
4 Shelby Series 1 '03 01:31.081 17
5 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 01:32.248
6 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 01:33.508 21
7 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sports '96 01:33.562
8 Dodge Viper SRT10 '03 01:33.570
9 Callaway C12 01:33.599
10 Dodge Viper GTS '99 01:33.776 18
One would think that the Saleen S7 would prevail with its very long stints, but the Ford
GT is the probably the biggest threat here. It's only marginally faster than the Saleen, but
it drives incredibly fast also on cold and worn tires, and may catch up to the Saleen in the
6 laps between when it pits and the Saleen pits.
Tire recommendation: Hard racing tires should give you 15 laps or so, and good laptimes
as well. Super hards will give you longer stints, but your laptimes will drop, and that
might move you out of contention.
Car recommendation: If you want to win easily, pick any of the top 3 cars on the list
above. If you want more of a challenge, pick one of the bottom 3, the Pontiac GTO or
the Ford Mustang SVT Cobra...
Roads t er 4 h Endur a nce
This is a Mazda Miata race. You have to pick a Miata to be able to enter. There's really no
serious research necessary for this one. All the Miatas will do laps around 1:15 - 1:16,
with the occasional dip into 1:14, so there's your target time.
Tire Recommendation: Hard sports tires. No racing tires allowed in this race, and the
hard tires should give you enough speed and endurance you'll need to win this race.
Car Recommendation: Pick the Miata with the color you like best. At least it will look
good on replay...
If you are afraid that you won't be able to win with a stock Miata, put a racing chip in it.
That'll give you a few extra horses, which will bring your car over the top.
Toky o R2 46 3 00 KM
Again, a JGTC/Touring Car race. Pick car accordingly.
I'm not going to put out a list of cars for this race. It's the same list as for the Grand
Valley 300 KM race at the top of the page. Lap times here are around 1:40 - 1:43,
depending on the car. The fastest car list appears to be very similar, with the Nissan
Motul Pitwork Z and the Mazda RX-7 and RX-8 putting in the fastest laps. Most cars
here go for two stops, with stops between laps 24 and 29, again depending on car. For
instance, the Pitwork Z pits on lap 28 and 56, the Toyota au Cerumo Supra pits on lap 27
and 54.
1 Nissan Motul Pitwork Z 01:39:837 28
2 Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car 01:39:885 28
3 Mazda RX-8 Concept LM Race Car 01:40:172 22
4 2000 Ford Falcon XR8 01:41.080 22
6 Toyota au Cerumo Supra 01:41.138 27
7 Honda Loctite Mugen NSX 01:41.281 26
8 Toyota Castrol Tom's Supra 01:41.811
9 Honda Takata Dome NSX 01:41.848 27
10 Audi A4 Touring Car 01:42.235
11 Honda Mobil 1 NSX 01:42.247
Tire recommendation: Super-hard racing tires. These are the only tires with enough
endurance to ensure you get only two pit stops. Betting on three stops is very risky, and
should only be done if you know your car will make up the time lost on the extra pit
stop.
This whole guide is also available as a text file.
T his is part two of the Endurance race guide, and it covers the next 4 endurance races,
starting with the Super Speedway 150 Miles.
Due to the enormous amount of research going into this (hundreds of laps raced, dozens
of cars to test out), this is very much a work in progress.
Super Spe e dway 1 5 0 Mi l es
This is truly a high speed race. The incredibly short and smooth track along with the
fastest cars in the game are sure to get the adrenalin pumping. Bring out your best race
cars, because this is a race where 10ths of seconds matters.
The toughest opponents here are going to the be two Nissan race cars (R89C and
R92CP), the Sauber Mercedes C 9 and the Minolta Toyota 88C-V. That doesn't mean
that the other cars will be pushovers, but those 4 cars show up very frequently, and they
always drive fast!
Here's a little table showing some of the faster cars and their fastest laptimes.
1 Sauber Mercedes C 9 Race Car 00:29.2 43
2 Nissan R89C Race Car 00:29.2 41/42
3 Nissan R92CP Race Car 00:29.2 40
4 Minolta Toyota 88C-V Race Car 00:29.3 38
5 Bentley Speed 8 Race Car 00:29.7 44
6 Peugeot 905 Race Car 00:29.7
7 Mazda 787B Race Car 00:29.8 48
8 Jaguar XJR-9 Race Car 00:29.8 33
9 Audi R8 Race Car 00:29.9 50
10 Toyota 7 Race Car 00:30.3 49
11 Toyota GT-One Race Car 00:30.3
12 Pescarolo Courage C60 Race Car 00:30.4
13 BMW V12 LMR Race Car 00:30.6 49
Tire Recommendations: Hard racing tires might seem like a gamble, but it does look like
everyone pits twice. So, as long as you can make your tires last 34 laps, you can you get
away with using hard tires. Since these have more grip, you can maintain a higher speed
during those corners, and that might give you the edge you need... You can also short-fill
on fuel, which means you'll shave a couple of seconds off your pitting time.
Nur bur gr i ng 2 4Hr Endur anc e
Welcome to my nightmare. I hope you're gonna like it.
This is quite possibly the most difficult race to win (A-Spec), and only a very few have
what it takes to race for 24 hours. Not only does it take 24 hours to race, but you cannot
save your progress. You can pause it, and leave it on, but not save...
This is another Touring Car/JGTC car race, and the cars that appear here are the same as
those appearing in other similar races, like the Grand Valley Endurance race.
There is one almost unbeatable competitor you might encounter in the race: the
Chaparral 2D Race car. If you see that on the list of car, you might as well want to back
out and try again. It's incredibly fast, and it last 6 laps between pitting, and its tires are not
even worn out enough to make it wipe out anywhere.
So, let's take a look at the competition.
1 Chaparral 2D Race Car '69 7:00.072 6
2 Abt Audi TT-R Touring Car '02 7:16.980 6
3 BMW M3 GTR Race Car 7:19.747 6
4 Nissan Falken GT-R Race Car '04 7:20.023 5
5 Audi A4 Touring Car 7:21.752 6
6 Alfa Romeo 155 2.5 V6 TI '93 7:22.947 5
7 Opel Calibra Touring Car '94 7:28.029 5
8 AMG Mercedes 190 E Evo II 7:33.439 6
I've left out the JGTC cars here, because none of them appear to pose any real threat to
the cars on the above list. Also, the Opel Astra did not show up in any of the races that I
started, so I was unable to clock a time for it. I would suspect that it would come in
between 3rd and 6th on this list.
Tire recommendation: Super-hard tires will likely give you 5 laps, hard tires will give you
4 laps, but with much better lap times. Bring both, and see how you do with either. 4
very good laps may be better than 5 mediocre laps, even if some of the competition are
doing 6 laps between stops.
Other recommendations: Your car will suffer from rigidity degradation. Consider getting
the rigidity upgrade before you start the race, or you may find yourself with a car that gets
very difficult to handle after about 8 hours of racing.
Nur bur gr i ng 4 hour e ndur a nce
This is one of the easier endurance races. The cars are all regular production cars, so the
speeds aren't too high, and navigating the Ring isn't too complicated. The duration of the
race is also not too long, and it can be completed in one sitting.
This list contains the most frequently seen cars that has a fastest lap under 8:30. These
are your biggest and most likely competitors.
1 Lotus Elise 111R '04 7:40.107 5
2 ASL Garaiya '02 7:47.753 6*
3 Opel Speedster Turbo '00 7:49.981 4*
4 Honda NSX Type R '02 7:56.532 5
5 Honda NSX Type S '01 8:00.713 5
6 Clio Renault Sport V6 Phase 2 '03 8:05.150 4*
7 Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX STi sp.c '04 8:08.545 5
8 Jaguar XKR-Performance '02 8:11.994 5
9 Mazda RX-8 Type S '03 8:14.183 5
10 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII GSR '04 8:14.197 4
11 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport '96 8:16.115 6
12 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra '00 8:17.972 5
13 BMW M3 '04 8:20.150 5
14 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 8:20.279 5
15 Audi RS 4 '01 8:20.729 5
16 Jaguar S-Type R '02 8:20.853 5
17 Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 8:21.571 5
18 Mercedes CLK 55 AMG 8:27.203 5
The Opel Speedster should pit every 4 laps, but its tires are so bad at the end, that it will
crash when going down the hill towards the pit-in. Because of this, it will consistently
miss the pit-in, and have to do a fifth lap on really bad tires, losing about 4 minutes on
that lap. Because of this, the Opel is not really as big a threat as it may look, as it will only
be able to pick up 30-40 seconds on the next few laps.
The Clio Renault has some significant problems on the last lap before pitting, causing a
significant time loss. So, even if it does take off leaving you in the dust, you should be
able to make up a minute or two every 4 laps...
The Lotus also has some control problems, especially on lap 1 and 5. Most cars lose 30-
40 seconds on the pit-in lap, while the Lotus is likely to lose between 50 and 70 seconds.
However, due to its high speed, it's a difficult car to beat.
The ASL Garaiya does run into some trouble on the last lap before pitting, but not
enough to take it out of the race like the Opel and the Renault. In all the tests that I've
done, this car has only come up once, so it may not be a frequent show for you either,
but if it does show up, it will be as big a threat as the Lotus.
Tire recommendation: Hard sports tires. The medium sports tires doesn't have the
durability to be of much use here. Try the hard tires and aim for 5 laps between stops.
Other tips: Pick a car you enjoy to drive, and keep its engine stock. Any engine upgrades
will sink your A-Spec points, and make the race too easy. If the Lotus (any Lotus,
actually) shows up, consider re-starting the race. It's not unbeatable, but the Honda NSX
should be competitive enough for most.
Suz uka 1 0 0 0 KM
Yet another JGTC/Touring car race, and this is definitively a track that favors the
Japanese GT car. The car list and ranking is almost identical to the Grand Valley list.
Some of the cars didn't show during my tests, but it's safe to assume that the top 5 cars
from the Grand Valley list will also be very competitive in this race.
1 Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car '01 02:03.617 15
2 Nissan Motul Pitwork Z 02:03.974 14
3 Mazda RX-8 Concept LM Race Car 02:04.159 11
4 Toyota Woodone Tom's Supra 02:04.408 13
5 2000 Ford Falcon XR8 02:05.516 11
6 Toyota au Cerumo Supra 02:05.642 14
7 Mercedes CLK Touring Car 02:05.753 14
8 Nissan Xanavi Hiroto GT-R 02:05.845 14
10 Honda Takata Dome NSX 02:06.200 15
11 Nissan Penzoil Zexel GT-R 02:06.213 14
12 Abt Audi TT-R Touring Car 02:06.674 14
13 Audi A4 Touring Car 02:06.850 14
14 BMW M3 GTR Race Car 02:06.931 12
Tire Recommendation: Suzuka is a track where grip is essential, so you may want to
forgo the super hard (R1) tires on this one, and go with the hard (R2) tires instead. It
appears like the competition are on hard tires as well, at least that seems to match up
with B-Spec Bob and his speed and pitting. Attempting the race on super hard tires may
give you longer stints, but the cost of 2-3 seconds per lap in lost time is going to be hard
to make up...
Other tips: As always, only fill up as much fuel as you need for your next pit stop. Go out
hard on the first lap to try to pass at least two of the slower cars into the first corner. Be
careful with the two right hand corners before T1; if you can't make either of those
corners, you'll end up in the sand pit, and lose a lot of time.
T his is part three of the Endurance race guide, and it covers the next 4 endurance
races, starting with the Motegi 8 hour Endurance.
Mot egi 8 hour Endur a nc e
The Motegi Endurace race is a race of tuner cars. The list below is, as far as I can tell, the
only competition you will see in this race. The various incarnations of the Honda S2000
are probably going to be the toughest competition. The Amuse S2000 R1 goes 32 laps
between pitting, and that might be difficult to top.
Here's a little table showing some of the faster cars and their fastest laptimes.
1 Opera Performance S2000 02:12.683 29
2 Amuse S2000 R1 02:13.657 32
3 Opera Performance 350Z 02:14.545 21
4 Spoon S2000 02:16.291 22
5 Nismo Fairlady Z S-Tune Concept 02:16.811 23
6 Mugen S2000 02:17.623 22
7 Tom's X540 Chaser 02:19.656 19
8 Nismo GT-R LM Road Going Version 02:20.371 26
9 Trial Celica SS-II 02:21.133 14
10 Spoon Civic Type R 02:22.110 12
11 Spoon Integra Type R 02:25.965 11
Tire Recommendations: Hard sports tires will keep you out on the track for a long time,
but grip may be an issue. For a challenge, try N2 tires. My B-Spec driver (you didn't think
I was A-Spec'ing all these races to collect this info, did you?) did 40 laps in the Opera
Performance S2000. He wasn't winning, but once I turned the speed up, he was keeping
up with the best of them.
Ts ukuba 9 hour Endur a nc e
Finally a regular car race. This is a short track with some surprises. It appears that some
cars are having some trouble passing, while others are hard to pass. Because of this, the
order may change quickly after some cars starts to pit, and the car to look out for may
not be the one you first thought.
1 Lotus Elise 111R '04 01:02.003 33
2 Honda NSX Type R '02 01:03.682 33
3 Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A '02 01:04.183 36
4 Clio Renault Sport V6 Phase 2 '03 01:04.281 22
5 Nissan 350Z '03 01:04.422 31
6 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 01:05.455 24
7 Toyota Supra RZ '97 01:05.741 28
8 Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX STi '02 01:05.799 21
9 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII '03 01:05.823 22
10 Subaru Legacy B4 2.0GT '03 01:05.913 20
11 Mazda RX-8 Type S 01:05.994 30
12 Audi A3 3.2 Quattro '03 01:06.194 23
13 Alfa Romeo GT 3.2 V6 24V '04 01:06.669 16
14 BMW 330i '05 01:06.746 26
15 Alfa Romeo 147 GTA '02 01:08.900 15
As far as I can tell, that is the complete line up for this race. I'd suggest trying to avoid
racing the Elise and the NSX. Their consistent fast laps makes it almost impossible to
keep up with them. Bring hard and medium sports tires. Start with the hard tires, and
change to medium if you need a little extra speed.
Ci r cui t de l a Sar t he I 2 4 hour Endur a nce
The second of three 24 hour Endurance races, and this on the infamous Le Mans circuit.
The cars are all (with a few exceptions) LMP1 race cars, which are the fastest cars in
Gran Turismo 4. I don't know why they sometimes would include the Corvette C5R and
Panoz Esperante GTR-1, as they are not LMP1 cars, they compete in the LM-GT1 class.
Along with the Nissan R390, these poses no threat at all, and are just obstacles that have
to be passed every 10-12 laps.
The (almost) complete list of cars along with fastest observed laptimes follows:
1 Sauber Mercedes C 9 Race Car '89 3:26.140 7
2 Nissan R92CP Race Car '92 3:26.984 7
3 Nissan R89C Race Car '89 3:28.172 7
4 Mazda 787B Race Car '91 3:28.808 8
5 BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99 3:30.747 8
6 Audi R8 Race Car '01 3:30.942 8
7 Playstation Pescarolo C60 Race Car '04 3:31.867 8
8 Toyota GT-One Race Car '99 3:32.285 9
9 Bentley Speed 8 Race Car '03 3:33.430 9
10 Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car '98 3:38.647 8
11 Panoz Esperante GTR 1 Race Car 3:47.831 8
12 Chevrolet Corvette C5R '00 3:58.300 9
Recommendations: Any car in the top 7 will do, with a little tuning. The Pescarolo, with
the proper tuning can give the Sauber a run for its money, and it's not just because it runs
a lap longer before pitting. All of these cars in the hands of a decent a-spec or b-spec
driver can do laps under 3:26. Bring along both Super-Hard and Hard tires, as you may
need to make some changes unless you have done some preliminary testing. The
Pescarolo will do 8 full laps on Hard tires, so there shouldn't be necessary to use the
Super Hard tires. It has to stop every 8 laps to refuel anyways...
No Minolta Toyota? That's right. In all the test runs I did, the Minolta never showed.
The above are all the cars that showed up in 15 line ups. However, the Minolta will show
in the ...
Ci r cui t de l a Sar t he I I 2 4 hr Endur anc e
More or less the same track as above, but there are no chicanes on the back straight,
which makes the track about 15 seconds faster. The track is very bumpy, especially
towards the end of the long straight, so make sure there's room in your suspension to
absorb it.
And, everyone's favorite race car, the Minolta Toyota, is here.
Here's the list of cars and observed best laptimes.
2 Minolta Toyota 88C-V Race Car '89 3:12.342 8
5 Mazda 787B Race Car '91 3:15.139 9
6 Jaguar XJR-9 Race Car '88 3:15.244 8
7 Peugeot 905 Race Car '92 3:16.067 9
8 Ford GT40 Race Car '69 3:53.291
That's all the cars that I've observed. Any of these cars can win the race (with the
possible exception of the Ford...). You can also use the cars from the other Sarthe race,
and they'll have a good shot at winning too.
The lack of a chicane on the back straight reduces fuel consumption and tire wear, so
most cars will last one extra lap. Bring Super Hard and Hard racing tires and maybe even
some mediums. Do a rigidity refresher before starting, if necessary, and consider
installing the as well. This is an extreme race, and your car will go "soft" if you don't have
the extra cage.
This whole guide is also available as a
T his is part four of the Endurance race guide, and it covers the next 4 endurance
races, starting with the Fuji 1000KM Endurance race.
Fuj i 1 00 0 KM
Don't like the Fuji racetrack? Well, here are 288 laps of it, again with the LMP1 cars. This
race appears to have the same choice of cars as the Sarthe I race. This track is fast, and
even small errors will quickly end up being valuable seconds that will be hard to catch
up.
The list of cars along with fastest observed laptimes follows:
4 Mazda 787B Race Car '91 01:18.411 19
6 Audi R8 Race Car '01 01:19.104 20
7 BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99 01:19.435 21
10 Playstation Courage C60 Race Car '03 01:19.965 22
12 Nissan R390 GT 1 Race Car 01:22.520 18
There are other cars as well, but none of the clocks laps under 1:20, so they're rather
irrelevant in the big picture.
Tire recommendation: Bring your Hard and Medium racing tires. I suspect the cars
pitting every 15 laps are running on Mediums, and the ones pitting later are running on
Hard tires. My car during testing (Pescarolo) did 22 laps (same as the other Pescarolos)
on hard tires, so I think it's a fairly safe assumption.
I nf i neon Wor l d Spor t s
More fast cars on another fast track. More LMP cars on a track that really plays havoc on
your tires. The Sauber and the Nissan R92CP are again the two fastest cars on the track,
and it's really hard to keep up with anyone on this track...
The mandatory list
4 Mazda 787B Race Car '91 01:23.171 16
6 Audi R8 Race Car '01 01:24.100 18
8 BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99 01:24.373 17
9 Playstation Courage C60 Race Car '03 01:24.526 17
12 Nissan R390 GT 1 Race Car 01:27.102 14
13 Panoz Esperante GTR-1 01:30.273 14
14 Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00 01:30.769 15
15 Chevrolet Corvette C5R 01:32.243 15
Tire recommendations: Consider hard tires on the rear and medium up front, or step it
up one hardness level. The problem is that putting the super-hard tires on the rear take
away a lot of grip, and you'll end up with too many trips in the grass.
El Ca pi t a n 2 0 0 Mi l e s Endur a nce
This is a sports car race with a very nice prize car: The Minolta Toyota Race Car. The
track is very unforgiving with lots of twists and turns and nice changes in elevation.
Probably the most scenic of all the tracks, but who has time to look at the scenery?
With the sports tire restriction, tire wear is the biggest concern. There will be quite a few
pit stops, so you can probably save some time by sort-filling on fuel and only fill up as
much as you need. In addition, carrying less fuel means less weight, which is good news.
And now for the car list
1 Lotus Motor Sport Elise '99 01:54.229 12
2 Proto Motors Spirra 4.6 V8 '04 01:56.059 11
3 Pagani Zonda C12 '00 01:56.123 19
4 Shelby Series 1 Super Charged '03 01:56.742 14
5 Lotus Espirit Sport 350 '00 01:57.054 14
6 TVR T350C '03 01:58.043 11
7 TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97 01:58.043 11
8 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 01:58.684 16
10 Dodge Viper GTS '99 01:59.204 14
11 Dodge Viper SRT10 '03 01:59.484 17
12 Mercedes SL 65 AMG '04 02:00.069 11
13 Callaway C12 '03 02:00.348 16
14 Aston Martin V8 Vantage '99 02:01.546 11
Tire Recommendations: Bring hard and medium sports tires. You may need a fast stint
every now and then, and having the option to pit more often but shave 1 1/2 second of
you lap time might come in handy.
I would suggest avoiding the Zonda and the Elise. Even if the Zonda isn't that fast, it will
only pit three times (lap 19, 38, 57), while most other cars will pit at least 4 times. This
gives the Zonda at least a 20 second advantage on everyone else, in addition to its high
speed.
Ne w Yor k 2 0 0 Mi l e s Endur a nce
Only 200 more miles to go, and it's all over. And these are not just any 200 miles, these
miles are in the Big Apple, Manhattan, New York City. And, no pedestrians allowed.
The cars in this race are sports cars, very much the same list as for the El Capitan
endurance. However, this track is very different with all of its right-angle corners. This
seems to change things around a bit. The Lotus Motor Sport that did so well on El
Capitan doesn't seem to like these corners at all, but the Corvette and the Dodge Viper
SRT10 seems to do better.
So, here's the list of cars and lap times.
1 Pagani Zonda C12 '00 01:45.630 31
2 Proto Motors Spirra 4.6 V8 '04 01:46.831 19
3 TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97 01:47.254 18
4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 01:47.724 26
6 Dodge Viper SRT10 '03 01.48.522 28
7 TVR T350C '03 01:49.419 19
8 BMW M5 01:49.526 23
9 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '09 01:49.618 19
10 Mercedes SL 65 AMG '04 01:49.665 18
11 Callaway C12 '03 01:49.856 26
12 Lotus Motor Sport Elise '99 01:50.027 23
13 Dodge Viper GTS '99 01:50.101 23
14 Aston Martin V8 Vantage '99 01:52.163 17
Tire recommendation: You have to use Sports tires, so that puts a big damper on the
selection. Bring Hard and Mediums; you might just be able to run the last stint on softer
tires, giving you more speed to either build a bigger lead or to catch up a few seconds on
the car(s) ahead of you.
So, there it is. The "incomplete" complete guide to all the endurance races. It is entirely
possible that you may face a car that is not listed anywhere here. I've tried to make it as
complete as possible, but I can only do the same race so many times before I have to
give up.
Gr an Tur i smo 4 - Beyond t he begi nner st ages
T he first guide only covered the beginner races and some of the other easier races.
Once you get passed those, there are more challenges waiting in the Pro Hall. These
races are a bit more challenging than the ones in the Beginner Hall. The cars are usually
more powerful here, and offer a little better opposition.
Before I get started, there are a couple of things I should point out. At the time I was
making the notes that eventually turned into this guide, I was really enjoying driving the
Mazda RX-7. It may not be a good car for you, but it should still give you some measure
of what you need to have to win the races.
Although I didn't tune the cars much in the previous guides, some tuning will be needed
to win races here. In this case, tuning does not just mean adding more power to the car,
but also adjusting suspension settings and gear ratios.
And, one last thing. For most of the Pro Hall races and every race hereafter, the term
"standard upgrades" refers to the following:
Sports Suspension.
Twin Plate Clutch.
Racing Flywheel.
Carbon Driveshaft.
FC Transmission, if needed.
The FC Transmission is rather expensive, so don't go spending the money on it unless
you either need it or can afford it.
Ra ce of Tur bo Spor t s
At the start of this game, I purchased a '96 Mazda RX-7 Type RS. For this race, my RX-7
was sporting 405 horses, coming from a Stage 2 Turbo, sports intercooler, racing chip
and semi-racing exhaust. In addition to this, I had a clutch upgrade, the carbon driveshaft
and soft sports tires. Yes, it is expensive, but oh so fun. With all this extras, the RX-7 will
net about 50-70 A-Spec points per race, depending on the competition, and it should not
be too hard to win.
One thing about the RX-7, especially if you buy a used one with some miles on it. It
tends to get a little unstable at speeds over 120MPH. This is very unfortunate on the long
"straight" at Tokoy R246, as there are these little kinks in it, and if you're not careful, that
is enough to throw the RX-7 sideways in a heartbeat. The fix is easy, but expensive:
Rigidity Refresher Plan...Or, you could add a wing for some extra downforce. That would
help keep the car on the ground, but would also hurt your top speed.
Other settings: ASM should be set to 0/0, while traction control should be at 2 or 3.
Don't turn it up too high, or you will lose your acceleration, and don't turn it too low, or
you'll struggle with spinning wheels.
Cl ubma n Cup
Now, why didn't I start here? Well, the Turbo race looked much more fun, and I was
making plans for what car to use here, and it just didn't work out, so I took the RX-7
here as well.
This time, without all those power upgrades. Off with the Turbo, the intercooler and the
Exhaust, and that leaves a 276HP RX-7. The trick to win here is knowing who you can
beat and who you cannot. You cannot beat the Lotus (there's actually a couple of
different Lotus models showing up here), the Opel Speedster, and maybe not the Toyota
MR2. If you avoid these cars, you should be able to win with 50-80 A-Spec points in this
car.
Other settings: Leave the ASM at 0/0, and traction control on 2 or 3. That just helps
prevent the wheels from spinning freely if you lose traction, and may save you from a
spinout.
Also try: The Japanese 90's Challenge should be a cakewalk with this car.
Also try: The Mazda Club "RE" One-Make race. Bring your HP back up to around 330
or so, and you should be able to win this race as well.
Wor l d Compac t Cha mpi ons hi p
This is one of the frequently asked questions: What car to use for this race. People seem
that have a hard time finding a car that fits the restrictions in this race. Well, there are
many cars that can do this one, you just have to know what to look for. No, the RX-7
can not compete here, so we'll pick something else; a Peugeot 206.
This car can be found used for a reasonable penny, and this race is just the place to take
it. I brought it up to about 150 horses, did a weight reduction on it, as well as the
standard drivetrain upgrade (clutch, flywheel), and the car moves pretty well.
Other settings: ASM off (0/0), TCS between 0 and 2.
Also try: French Championship. More upgrades are needed for this race, namely a stage 1
NA upgrade, stage 2 weight reduction and the FC Transmission. Don't race against the
Hormel, the Clio Sport Phase 2 or the Renault Turbo 5.
Also try: European Hot Hatch. Add a stage 2 NA upgrade. Try to avoid the Clio Sport
and the Peugeot 106. It's a championship, so qualify for each race to make it easier for
yourself.
Ra ce of NA Spor t s
So, what is "NA Sports" anyways. Well, it's essentially "non-turbo". No turbos or
superchargers here, thank you very much. The BMW M3 is one of my favorite cars, and
this is an excellent race to whip out the ultimate driving machine for some workout. It's a
little bit on the expensive side, but if you've managed to get here, you should have
enough for this car and then some.
I suggest a couple of upgrades before trying this race; a stage one weight reduction will
help on pretty much everything, and if you want to make it a little easier on yourself, get
the stage 1 NA Upgrade as well as a couple of other power upgrades (chip + semi-racing
muffler). That should give you a little less than 400HP, which should get you somewhere
between 30 and 70 points, depending on the competition. The Nissan 350Z is likely to be
the toughest competitor.
Other settings: ASM to 0, TCS to 1 or 2 to keep them wheels from spinning. If you got
the sports suspension, lower the rideheight to about 5 above the bottom.
Also Try: BMW Club "M" should be fairly easy with this car. Take the stage 1 NA
Upgrade off for a more competitive race. Watch out for the M5, it's wicked fast on the
straights. This race will earn you back all the money you spend getting the M3...
Tuni ng Car Gr a nd Pr i x
Tuning Cars are those cars that are bought in the Tuning Shop. Since these are still a little
expensive, I recommend a car you already have: The Mazda BP Falken RX-7 (D1GP)
that you won in the Turbo Sports race. You didn't sell it, did you?
The car is a drifting car, so in order to tame the beast, replace the suspension, and just
lower the ride a bit. It's not going to score you a lot of points, but it'll get the job done.
Add some ballast if you feel adventurous. The hardest competition here is probable the
Opera Performance S2000 and the Ruf BTR. Watch out of the S2000 at Tokyo.
Other settings: Again, turn ASM off (or at least down to 1/1), and leave just a hint of
TCS. Lower the ride height down to +5 front and +7 rear. Make sure downforce is set at
full.
Also try: Tsukuba Wet Special Condition (Normal). Take the ballast off (if you put some
on), and try your skills on the slippery wet Tsukuba. I faced a Saleen S7, and I'm not sure
if that's the only competition, but it's not all that easy...
Wor l d Cl as s i c Champi ons hi p
The problem with this race (as with many of the "classic car" races) is that there's a wide
range of cars entering, so it's almost impossible to pick a car that'll make you any points.
If you've done the Japanese 70's Classic race, then the Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R that you
won there will take care of this race without any problems.
Other settings: Seriously? I have to repeat this: Lower ASM and TCS
Also Try: Japanese 70's Classic: Most Japanese cars from the 70'ies will work here. The
competition isn't anything spectacular. I used the Mitsubishi Galant GTO '70 for this
race, with a FC Transmission upgrade (it's a must!)
Boxer Spi r i t
This actually is one of my least favorite races. I haven't found a boxer car I like to drive.
Your choices are Subaru and Ruf, with the Impreza WRX STi probably being the better
choice. Make sure you get a boxer version!
This car still needed some upgrades; a stage 1 turbo, intercooler, racing brakes and brake
controller. Keep trying until you get all Subaru's in the lineup. It's still about 80 points per
race, but very winnable once you figure out how to handle this 4WD car. The trick here
is very much cornering; slow in, fast out. Any other way, and you're dead meat.
I would suggest doing some practice laps with the Subaru before you enter into the
Boxer Spirit race. Take the car for a spin at Deep Forrest, and keep going until you've got
it. It doesn't help if you're fast on the straights if you cannot get through those S curves
without losing all your speed.
This is pretty much the end. Wait, you say, there's two more races? Yes, there are two
more races, but I strongly suggest you move onto some other races before trying the next
two races. Finish the Japanes races, the Euro races and the American Races. Also do
away with some of the Special Condition races and Driving missions. Anything you can
do to gain racing experience and money. Lots of money!
T his is not going to be a comprehensive Special Conditions race guide, but I'll touch
on some of the races, and make a couple of recommendations. There are 4 types of races
in the Special Conditions races: Asphalt rally, gravel rally, snow rally and wet rally, and
they come in three difficulties: Easy, Normal and Hard. One really annoying feature here
is the 5 second penalty. It's not just because you get the penalty for some bumps but not
others, but because the AI car doesn't get the penalty even if he clearly slams into you.
So, he can rear-end you and slam you into something, which gives you a penalty, while he
is speeding away... So, be careful.
Capr i Ral l y ( Ea s y)
This is probably the easiest of all the rallies. It has a couple of hairpin turns that you need
to be very careful in. Go too fast, and you won't make it without almost stopping; slow
down too much, and the AI car might ram you into the wall anyways...
Car suggestions: Options are plentiful. The Toyota MR2 1600 G-Limited Super Charger
'86 will give you a bit of a challenge. It's about 100 points against the Lancia Delta. I did
best with TCS off on this car. If you just want to win, take the RX-7 or if you just don't
care, take the M3... For some fun, get the Spoon Fit Racecar...
The prize car here is a real money maker. The Toyota RSC Rally Raid car will net you
about 270K when you sell it.
Geor ge V. Par i s ( Ea s y)
This race is only slightly more difficult than then Capri Rally. Most of the corners here
are hard, ninety degree turns (give or take a few degrees. The competition isn't too
difficult, but err on the side of caution, and bring something that moves...
Umbr i a Ral l y ( Eas y)
Although it is listed on top, it is not the easiest of the rallies. The track is rather difficult,
going through an old Italian town with narrow streets, sharp corner and some blind
corners as well. Know your car before you bring it here. You simply must have
something that handles well to get around in these streets. But, the competition isn't too
hard.
Swi s s Al ps ( Ea s y)
This is probably the easiest of the gravel rallies. Traction here is fairly good, and there's
no complex corners to speak of. If you haven't tried gravel rally before, this is probably
the best place to start, at least until you get a real rally car. 4WD cars are recommended
for the gravel rallies, so if you have a Subaru or Mitsubishi Lancer in your garage, you
should take it to a test drive on this track before entering...
Capr i Ral l y ( Nor mal )
What's this doing here? Well, it's the best way to win a decent rally car! The prize car here
is the Subaru Imprezza Rally Car Prototype '01, and also 20K in prize money. Yes, it's a
tad more difficult than the easy race, and it's three laps, but it can also be fun if you have
a car that you really like... Do this race, and the rest of the gravel rallies will be a
cakewalk. The Subaru rally car might be overkill on the easy ones, but who's counting?
Now that you have a good rally car (hint: check www.gtvault.com for a good setup for it), you
can do the rest of the rallies. Do the rallies in this order (easy to hard): Swiss Alps,
Cathedral Rocks, Tsukuba Wet, Tahiti, Grand Canyon, Ice Arena, Chamonix.
Driving missions can be very frustrating. You don't get to pick a car, and you don't get
to adjust ASM and TCS or anything else. I guess that's the challenge... Anyways, always
do the first driving mission first! There's a bug in the NTSC version, and if you do any
mission before the first, then the first mission will not be marked as completed, and
you'll end up with only 99.8% completion despite the fact that you finished the first
driving mission.
I definitively recommend you try most of the driving missions before going back to
finish the Pro Hall. After you've done the first two, try some of the three-lap draft
battles. The Nissan Skyline battle can be frustrating until you figure out the trick:
leapfrog! Draft and pass the cars, then pull in right in front so that they can draft you.
Once one or two cars pass you, pull in behind then, and draft them to get your speed up
and pass again. Repeat until you eventually catch up to the front running. You should be
able draft him in the last turn on the last lap, giving you enough speed to pass him before
crossing the finish line.
Have you hit 25% yet? If so, you may want to try some of the Endurance Races. A good
place to start would be the El Capitan 200 Miles, or the Roadster 4 hour race. For the El
Capitan, try a BMW M3 GTR with a full drivetrain upgrade (See top of page) and a
couple of power upgrades (sports muffler, chip). This should give you a little over
400HP. Try to get a lineup without the Pagani Zonda C12, Proto Motors Spirra and
Lotus Elise '99. Check myEndurance Guide for some more insights. The El Capitan race will
win you the Minolta Toyota race car.
The Roadster race is a real test of patience. A bunch of Mazda MX-5 Miatas at Tsukuba
gets rather repetitive, but you certainly get practice racing. The prize car is sweet, too.
Time to get back to it? Ok.
Super car Fes t i v al
Ok, this is a race! Really. Until now, it's been all fun and game, but now it's for real. You
need to bring your best game here, or you'll eating pie. I would suggest the BMW M5 for
this race. It packs about 500 HP, but that's not enough. The M5 have great stock
suspension, but you should still consider upgrading to the full racing suspension, and a
full drivetrain replacement (racing flywheel, triple-plate clutch, carbon driveshaft, FC
Transmission), and soft sports tires as well. This is still not going to be a cakewalk. You
have to know the competition, who you can beat and who you can't.
Keep restarting until you find a lineup that you think you can beat and give it a try.
There's no substitute for experience here. You must know how to drive to win this race.
The other cars have plenty power as well, and adding more power is likely to make the
car more difficult to handly. If you are having trouble, try reducing the weight rather than
adding power. And, make the ride height as low as you dare. You really need to be
hugging the ground going around Infineon.
Gr an Tur i s mo Wor l d Champi ons hi p
This is the first race where you'll be needing a real race car. That means a Group C or
LMP1 car. There's no substitute. Yes, the Toyota GT-One is fast, but for most people,
it's not going to cut it here. The LM Race cars won't do it, nor will the Panoz or the
Viper GTS-R.
The best cars for this race are as follows:
Nissan R92CP
Nissan R89C
Mazda 787B
Audi R8
Minolta Toyota
The Toyota is in there for two reasons: It's the easiest car of this caliber to win. The El
Capitan 200 Miles race will get you this car. The second reason is that it is a capable car.
However, it has a tendency to wear out the rear tires very quickly, so be sure to put some
TCS on there to prevent any kind of wheel spin. The others have to be purchased for a
good chunk of money. The Mazda is 3.5 Million credits, while the others are 4.5 Million.
Whichever car you pick, make sure you check out www.gtvault.com for a good setup for your
car. Just "throwing it out there" isn't going to cut it. These cars are all fast, and one little
mistake may lose you the race. You need every advantage you can get, and having a great
setup for the car will help you immensely around the track. 18 laps at high speed around
Hong Kong in a car with 1000HP is scary. Or, you can B-Spec it.

Getting Started With Gran Turismo 4

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Getting Started With Gran Turismo 4

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Get t i ng St ar t ed wi t h Gr an Tur i smo 4

You might also like