Budget Rider™ Archives Vol Xlll

[vitg]

Budget Rider™ Archives Vol Xlll


Call this one the Happy Holidays BR.

Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the town, every creature and his mother was stirring, trying to get those last-minute gifts down.

I'd just like to note that I HATE holiday shoppers.

Here's your challenge. Wade through the malls and holiday traffic and pick up those last-minute Christmas gifts for your wife, 2 kids and the family dog. Of course you can't go to the mall--if you went there, you'd never get out. So off you go to all the little cute stores around your hometown. You'll run 3 laps (since none of these stores, of course, are anywhere NEAR each other). Run all 3
laps in Track Meet mode to add a little traffic to slog through. Each time, to pick up a gift you must pull over to the side of the road (whichever side would be appropriate in your country--for the US and most of Europe, that's the RIGHT shoulder. For the UK and Australia, that's the LEFT shoulder). Get as far off the road as you can, come to a complete stop and wait for 10 seconds. Then
continue on your merry way to the next stop. You can't stop more than twice on each lap, and must stop at least once on each lap, but I'll leave it up to you
to decide in what order you want to stop, but here's where you've gotta go: (shouldn't be hard to figure out where these are)
Wife: Adenaur Jewelers, to get a diamond pendant for the old ball 'n' chain (who's been harassing you for months to get her a diamond)Son: Karussell Toys (said ball and chain insists your spoiled brat of a son deserves an XBox360. He doesn't--but it's the only way to get your wife off your back)
Daughter: Dottinger Recods (your teenage wannabe-goth drama queen daughter wants front-row seats to the upcoming Green Day concert)Dog: MUTZ R Us (after all the other gifts are paid for, your trusty dog deserves to have something nice, so you're getting him a new doggie bed and some rawhide bones to chew on.)

First though, a little Christmas gift to yourself. Your wife agreed--it's time for a new car. You'll give her the current Family Truckster and go find yourself a new ride. You've budgeted $60,000 for the car and any modifications you want to make--but since the car will be a daily driver, the things you can do are a bit limited. You can't run anything stiffer than a Sport suspension or the wife
will complain. You'll need to keep the interior intact, so no weight reduction is allowed. You'll also need to occasionally haul the wife and kids around to one thing or another, so it has to have four doors.

Oh yeah, and you need to get all this stuff bought, paid for, and wrapped before Mrs. Battle-Axe and the brats get home. You've got half an hour. of course the consequences won't be nearly as dire if you get home late--you'll just have to leave everything in the car for a while, and endure the mother of all tongue-lashings from the wife, then spend the night on the couch.

[vitg]

From: Soulidarity | Posted: 1/14/2006 7:29:33 PM | Message Detail

Happy Holidays BR

As always, here it was Christmas Eve, and I was in a rush to get all my gift
shopping done at the last possible second. Sometimes I wondered if I would ever
learn. This time I had really done it. Sally had taken our dog Rusty to the vet,
and was planning to pick up the kids from Uncle Rob's on the way home. I was
sitting on the couch when she called to let me know that she'd be home in a half
hour.

I was instantly out the door, barely remembering to lock the house up on my way.
Luckily, my new Infiniti G35 was pretty fast. I'd modified it slightly after I
drove it off the lot last week by getting a Stage 2 NA Tune-up done, and adding
a racing chip, racing flywheel, and a twin clutch. I'd also changed the oil and
washed her for good measure. Of course the BBS 010 Wheels were much nicer than
the stock wheels. All together, the car and mods had run me just under 50k.
Quite the deal.

Frantically racing through town I spotted Adenaur Jewelers. Diamonds are a
girl's best friend, they say, so I couldn't go wrong picking up some sparklies
for the wife. I rushed inside, ran directly to the clerk, pointing to a diamond
pemdant in the case.

"I'll take that! Make it fast, please!"

I hated being a jerk, but this was no time for courtesy. As he pulled it out, I
had already pulled enough Benjamins out of my wallet to cover the cost and then
some. Slapping the bills down on the counter, I grabbed the velvet covered box
from him, shouting "Keep the change!" over my shoulder, and ignoring the shocked
look on his face.

I was back on the road and racing towards my next stop. Karussel Toys was quite
a distance, but I made it in less than 3 minutes. Stopping off, I rushed inside,
and discovered that someone had just asked for the last Xbox 360, but I was
having none of that. If Eric didn't get his Xbox, I'd never hear the end of it.
I threw a handful of 100 dollar bills at the cashier, grabbed the video game
system out of his hands before he could give it to the waiting customer, and
raced out the door, speeding away before he could try to get it back from me.

As I passed a gas station, I noticed that I had already burned 8 1/2 minutes,
and I still needed to grab 2 more gifts and get home. I dropped the hammer, and
headed towards Mutz R Us to pick up a doggie bed and some rawhide bones for
Rusty. I phoned ahead letting them know what I needed so they could have it
ready for me, and when I got there, Old Man Robinson came out the front door
with my merchandise in his arms. I popped the trunk and helped him load it in,
slipped him 100 bucks, and was on my way.

All I had left was Jennifer. She had her heart set on front row tickets to see
that band Green Afternoon. At least I think that's their name. As I passed
another gas station, I noticed that I still had about 13 minutes to get this
last gift and make it home.

I raced across town with a vengeance, barely able to keep my new car on the
road. All the little punk rockers stopped to stare as I came screeching to a
halt in the Dottinger Records parking lot. I pushed my way inside, and ignored
the line of pop princesses and hip hop thugs.

"Two front row seats to Green Afternoon." There was some laughter behind me.

"You mean Green Day?" the clerk asked in his most condescending tone.

"Ya, whatever. Just get me the tickets, ok?"

A few clicks of the mouse later, and the tickets began printing up. I passed him
enough 100 dollar bills to cover it, snatched the tickets from his hand, and
rushed out the door. I tore out of the parking lot and made the mad dash home.



---
gt4ringdiaries.blogspot.com/


From: Soulidarity | Posted: 1/14/2006 7:29:47 PM | Message Detail

I got into the driveway with a few minutes to spare, carried everything inside,
hid it, and plopped myself down on the couch just in time to see the family
walking in the front door.

"So what did you do all day, honey?" Sally asked me

"Not much, just a little yardwork really."
____

I actually misread the budget on this and only used 50k instead of the allowed
60k, and still managed to finish all three laps in 25'15.

[vitg]

From: Flibutz | Posted: 1/17/2006 12:51:40 AM | Message Detail

Ring Race Challenge pt.II -the mini version

(original challenge by sackedagain)

In the three 'Ring races listed below, get as many A-Spec points as you can.
Since you pick the car to use in each race, you set the bar as high or low as
you want.

These are the rules:

a. Only one try at each race. No practicing. If you don't like the line-up or
the A-Spec points, quit before the bell rings. Then find a new car or line-up.
Once the bell sounds, your choice of car is official. Finish the race.

b. Do not race your potential car in other races in the series to check its
performance. Your choice will be based on the line-up against you and the A-Spec

points available.


Report back with results. I'm hoping we hear some good race stories and learn
something along the way. Friendly competition, as always.

Here are the three series with Ring races that I've picked for this challenge:

1. European Events - Schwarzwald Liga B
2. Manufacturers Events - Mercedes - Legend of the Silver Arrow
3. Extreme Events - Real Circuit Tours

Your're up against: (Info taken from jdwilli1's faq)

Schwarzwald Liga B:

| VS (MIXED/SM): Mercedes SL 65 AMG '04[604], Mercedes SL 55 AMG '02[492],
| Mercedes SL600 (R230) '04[492], Mercedes E 55 AMG '02[469],
| Audi RS 6 Avant '02[446], Audi RS 4 '01[444], BMW M3 CSL '03[443],
| Mercedes CLK 55 AMG '00[433], Audi S4 '03[442], BMW M3[441],
| VW Golf V GTi '02[394], Mercedes SL600 (R129) '98[388]

Legend of the Silver Arrow:

| VS (MIXED/SM): Mercedes SLR McLaren[616], Mercedes E 55 AMG '02[469],
| Mercedes CL 600 '00[362], Mercedes CLK 55 AMG '00[346],
| Mercedes SLK 230 Kompressor[346], Mercedes 190E 2.5 '91[346],
| Mercedes A 160 Avantgarde[216],

Real Circuit Tours

| VS (STOCK/RS): Nissan R92CP[939], Sauber Mercedes C9[927], Jaguar XJR-9[914],
| Nissan 89C[908], Minolta 88C-V[906], Gillet Vertigo[888], Peugeot 905[799]
| Playstation Pesacrolo C60[794], Mazda 787B[791], Nissan 390 GT1[789],
| Toyota 7[788], BMW V12 LMR[787],Mercedes CLK-GTR[785],Bentley Speed 8[785]
| Audi R8[783], Toyota GT-One[765], Chaparral 2J[684], Pagani Zonda LM[651],
| Nissan GT-R Concept LM[616] Ford GT LM Spec II[606], Ford GT LM[606],
| BMW McLaren F1 GTR[603], Camaro LM[592], Mazda RX-7 LM[501],
| Chaparral 2D[420],

Good luck.

[vitg]

1st Ring of the Cirque de Nurb Trio: Liga B

RUF 3400S N3 tires, otherwise stock

I raced against an Audi S4, RS6 Avant, Mercedes Benz E 55 and SL55 AMG. There
was one other car, but I honestly don't remember what it was, perhaps another
Audi? Regardless, I knew right away my competition was the Red SL55. Thankfully,
it started fifth.

I butchered Schwedenkreuz and wasn't able to pass anyone until after
Metzgesfeld, and after out braking ze Germans at Kallenhard, Wehrseifen,
Breidscheid and Bergwerk, I drafted my way into the lead going uphill through
Kesselchen.

I knew if I had the lead by the techical section, the race was mine, I've no
blocking scruples for Dottinger Hohe, and the AI just can't keep up through the
section itself. It wasn't long after Galkenkopf that the Red SL55 appeared in my
mirror, but I stayed way right to keep him out of my draft, and crossed the
finish line at 8'13.281. The Benz? 8'13.621.

Closer than I realized, but nevertheless, the A Spec points were mine, all 164
of them. More information on later races as it becomes available. Peace.


---
For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will
be the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:27


From: Soulidarity | Posted: 1/21/2006 5:53:14 PM | Message Detail

3 Ring Circus

Legend of the Silver Arrow

I used the SL500 (R129), and the race was for 146 pts. I took second by Adenaur
Forst, and never fell back. I slowly caught up to the E 55 AMG in front. Out of
Adenaur I was over 5 seconds back. By the beginning of Dottinger Hohe, I was
just over 1 second behind. At this point the AMG out powered me, and I wasn't
close enough to draft him. I lost by about 3.5 seconds.

Points earned: 0

Liga B

I used the SL 500 again. This time the race was for 189 pts. Once again, I took
second at Adenaur Forst. I passed the RS6 Avant to take the lead at Wehrseifen.
Out of Bergwerk the SL 55 AMG took second from the RS6, but I held off his
attempts to pass me through Wipperman and Eschbach. At the start of Dottinger
Hohe, my lead had grown to almost 3 seconds. But the AMG was too powerful and
even without my draft, he blew by me about 3/4 of the way down the stretch. I
couldn't get close enough to even attempt dirty tactics.

Points earned: 0

Real Circuits

I took the 350Z Concept LM for 56 pts. By Adenaur Forst I had made three major
mistakes and was over 10 seconds behind. I didn't feel that I was going to get
this car under control, and retired.

Points earned: 0


From: ciscrack | Posted: 1/22/2006 6:13:19 PM | Message Detail

3 Ring Circus
Schwarzwald Liga B- BMW M3/ 175pts.
This race wasn't much of a contest with the lovely M3. Can't remember right now
when I took the lead since I did this a few days ago, but I finished with a time
of 8'00.824
175pts.

Legend of Silver Arrow- Sl 600/ ?pts.
I forgot to record the attempted points on this one, but it didn't matter after
the SLR crossed the starting line.
0pts.

Real Circuits- Team Oreca Viper/ 200pts.
I kept searching for the lineup that all crashes out of my way on the second
half of the second lap, but I couldn't find it. I ended up getting destroyed By
the Toyota 7.
0pts.


From: viperinthegrass | Posted: 1/24/2006 2:24:01 AM | Message Detail

Los Trios 'RingBarkus - Budget Rider™
To quote the immortal words of Jwrebholz, "Let's Get This Train Wreck Started
Shall We...."

Race One - "Legend Of the Silver Arrow"

I don't know about a Silver Arrow but I reckon I needed a Silver Bullet to get
rid of that ******* SLR McLaren
Tried heaps of lineups, but it was omnipresent, so decided to give it a go
anyway in my shiny, new, AlabasterWeiss SL 500 R230 '02
But at only 321 hp and weighing a hefty 1850kg I was doomed from the start. My
only upgrade was Sports Soft Tyres.
Actually, all things considered, I did okay. Passed a CL 600 straight away at
Hatzenbach
Narrowly avoided being taken out by an AvantGarde A160 who lost it at the L,R,L
just after Hatzenbach.
Outbraked and slipped up the inside of a E55 AMG approaching Kallenhard.
Gradually caught up with and passed a 190E 2.5 Evo ll '91 climbing the hill
through Kesselchenwith the bugger leaning on me all the way trying to push me
off. Bloody cheek.
During all of this frantic action the SLR had disappeared and I came in a steady
second place...... 22 seconds behind......Scheise.
Best lap 8 ' 09 . 567

Points on offer - 175
Points Won - 0

The SL500 being heavy was very stable and solid on the road but built up LOTS of
inertia so you have to plan things well in advance as it doesn't change
direction very quickly. No real vices, a good Car. It would be interesting to
try it with a few more Ponies.
Stop Press - Re-tried Legend, using absolutely stock SL600 '04 which is still
heavy ( 2025kg ) but has lots more oomph ( 525hp )and beat the SLR! ( not by
much mind you ) for a paltry 19 points.
Also had a go using the '54 300 SL which is a Brilliant Car ( a future WR
perhaps ?) and managed a creditable fourth.

---

From: viperinthegrass | Posted: 1/24/2006 2:25:09 AM | Message Detail

Race Two - Schwartzwald Liga "B"

To make sure I got some points on the board I did the only honourable thing,
used my Ruf RGT !!
An easy Race.
Audi RS6 Avant '02 & SL600 R129 '98 passed at Hatzenbach
CLK55 AMG '00 passed up the hill at Flugplatz, got a bit carried away at
Arembergand was repassed, but sorted him out at Adenaur Forst.
Outbraked and passed an SL 65 AMG '04 at Ex - Muhle
A Terrific exit from Bergwerk allowed me to catch up to and pass a BMW M3 CSL
'03 climbing through Kesselchen. Game Over.
Best Lap - 7 ' 42 . 935

Points on Offer - 53
Points Won - 53

---

From: viperinthegrass | Posted: 1/24/2006 2:27:34 AM | Message Detail

Race Three - Real Circuit tours
Who is a Lucky Boy then ?
I shall explain.
I decided to use the BMW M3 GTR Racecar for this Race as I felt I had a good
setup when using it for the recent RR™.
I added the only upgrade available ( Stage 4 Turbo ) for a increase to a
competitive 691 hp.
I thought long and hard about tyres and ended up going with Racing Hard.
So I started the Race with 200pts. on offer. Uh, Oh !
Drove cautiously at the beginning until my tyres warmed up.
Passed a Nissan GTR Concept LM under brakes at Kallenhard
Not much else happened for a while, sort of hovered around 3 - 4 seconds behind
the pack with a Mazda 787B out front and disappearing into the distance.
Approaching the end of the first lap, after driving like an absolute maniac to
be still 3 - 4 seconds behind, WHEN THE THREE CARS IN FRONT OF ME PITTED !! ( A
Toyota GT One, Sauber C9 and a Nissan R89C )
Lucky, Lucky Boy.
They never troubled me again.
Just the Mazda now, 16 seconds ahead. It did not look good for yours truly.
Still, I kept trying, and noticed after Bergwerk the gap was down to 4 seconds.
"Ah, having trouble with our tyres are we" I thought to myself. As I entered
Steilstrecke the Mazda was parked up against the fence. "You bewdy" I thought.
And that was that. I cruised home 12 seconds ahead of the Sauber for 200 ( count
'em ) points. Best lap 6 ' 26 . 227
Luck was on my side, but I am happy to take the points any way they come, thank
you very much !

Total Points on offer for The Three Ring Circus - 428
Total Points Won - 253

[vitg]

From: Flibutz
Three Ring Circus

Legend of Silver Arrow: SL500 (R129) '98, used, on S3s.

The SLR finished in 7'42, beating me by over 30 seconds. Ouch.

0/18x pts.

More later.


From: Flibutz | Posted: 2/7/2006 4:52:14 AM | Message Detail


Three Ring Circus: Race 2/3

Real Circuit Tours

As I knew the AI's would have tyre wear problems, I felt I'd be ok with using an
unmodded Pagani Zonda LM race car '01 for this. I chose to run on R2s to ensure
my own rubber would last through the race. Setup was very basic: Just lowered
spring rates and a slightly raised ride height.

Lineup in the starting order:

Nissan R89C '89
AMG Mercedes CLK-GTR '98
Mazda RX-7 LM '01
Playstation Pescarolo C60 '04
Nissan R92CP '92
Pagani Zonda LM '01 (me)

200pts on offer.

The Pescarolo got past the RX-7 fairly early, but the R92CP didn't. I caught up
with them before Flugplatz (Quiddelbacher-Hohe?). Unfortunately, as I was making
the pass, the R92CP decided to pass the RX-7 too and I bumped his rear, aiding
in the pass. I lost enough speed to keep me behind the RX-7 until after
Flugplatz, I didn't dare to try a pass in mid-corner. The R92CP was rather slow
through Schwedenkreuz, and I managed a pass through the inside at Aremburg. My
joy was short-lived, as the R92CP took revenge on me and pushed his way past my
Zonda in the last corner of Adenaur-Forst. I got a bit over-excited and went a
little wide at Metzgesfeld, but luckily the car stayed in control and I didn't
spin. Until Brunnchen, the gap was growing in size.

Between Kesselchen and Klostertal splits the AI cars showed their lack of balls,
surrendering 2 seconds to me. Yay! For a moment there, I was close to the R92CP
again, with the CLK-GTR holding him back. The Pescarolo had gotten past the Merc
a while ago and the R92CP did so right after Karussell. I was slower than others
through most of the technical section, but by the end of Pflanzgarten II
straight, I had caught up with the CLK, which I drafted and passed on D-H. For
some reason, the AIs never seem to realize the full top speed of the fastest
cars and I was within 5 seconds of the Pescarolo (which had grabbed the lead on
D-H) by T11.

Then everyone except the Peskie pitted. As it wasn't very far ahead and would
soon run on worn tyres, I started getting pretty optimistic about the race. I
ran as fast as I dared, but was 6.7 behind at the Kesselchen split. On the
technical section, the Pescarolo's tyres gave up. He spun at Wipperman area, and
I caught up. Not wanting to risk my race by trying to pass when I didn't have a
good opportunity, I hung on his tail until Pflanzgarten I, where he spun out
again and I grabbed the lead after braking very hard to avoid joining the Peskie
in the grass. I went wide at Kleiner Karussell but it didn't matter anymore; I
won the race by 7.7 secs.

Points won: 200/200
Current total: 200/38x

Hoping to find the time for the last race soon.


From: Flibutz | Posted: 2/16/2006 6:55:53 AM | Message Detail

Three Ring Circus pt.3 - Schwarzwald Liga B

As RUF 3400S and BMW M3 had already been used, I chose to try Mercedes-Benz CLK
55 AMG '00 in Electric Green without oil change. It's close to M3 in P:W ratio,
and has a wide powerband so I thought it'd win the race rather easily. I spent a
lot of time looking for a good lineup, but settled on a less-than perfect one.
It was worth 158pts and looked like this:

MB SL 65 AMG
MB E 55 AMG
Audi RS4
VW Golf V GTI
MB CLK 55 AMG
MB CLK 55 AMG (me)

Almost looks like a Silver Arrow lineup, eh?

Early on, I pushed past the other CLK by force at Hatzenbach, but at the same
time the Golf ahead of us was having trouble and I bumped his rear quite hard.
The other Merc got side by side with me but didn't manage a pass. The Golf
screwed up again at Hocheichen exit, and we flew past. I had to close a few
seconds of gap in front of me, and I passed the RS4 between Metzgesfeld and
Kallenhard. The E 55 wasn't far ahead, so I caught up in time to pass him at the
entry to Wehrseifen. Excellent place for overtaking AI's as someone (probably
VitG) mentioned not that long ago. Now there was only the SL 65 left. At T4 I
was ~7 seconds behind. Not good. I thought I could make up some time on the
technical section, the SL 65 being less agile than my lighter CLK. Still, the
odds didn't look very good. Until D-H, the gap stayed at 7-8 seconds. Then the
SL 65 overpowered me, and in the end I lost by 9.2 seconds.

In retrospect, I shouldn't have taken on the SL 65 AMG. Maybe a lineup without
it and the Golf would have been better?

Three Ring Circus total:

200 / ~540 Aspec points.

[vitg]

From: Soulidarity | Posted: 1/15/2006 10:49:07 AM | Message Detail

From: Soulidarity | Posted: 1/4/2006 4:09:53 PM | Message Detail

Here's a late BR that I've had rolling around in my head for a few weeks.

Driving School Rival

You've asked your exorbitantly rich uncle to send you to a racing school in
Germany every year since you got your license. This year, he's decided to
surprise you. On your birthday you find out that he's arranged for you to be
enrolled in the driving school, and has paid for you and your car to be
transported to and from Germany.

Upon arriving, you find that there is only one other person from your country
enrolled, and he's declared himself your rival. Unfortunately for you, he
regularly outperforms you due to his superior car.

After a week of enduring his constant taunts, you decide its time to make him
eat his words. You call up your uncle, explain the situation, and he agrees to
give you some money to modify your car to compete with his.

You modify your car and challenge him to a run around the ring.

___________

So here's the challenge. You'll be using your real life vehicle for this one. If
your vehicle doesn't exist, use the closest equivalent you can find. (For
example, I drive a 2.0 (2.slow) VW Jetta. I'll be using the Bora, since it
shares the same body and the weight is similar, though the drivetrain and
horsepower are quite different.)

You'll pick a higher performance vehicle to run against, and announce both cars
before actually running this BR. I'll be taking on the C5 Z06 Vette.

In order to determine your budget, you'll need to do a little math. You'll need
to take the difference in horsepower between your car and his, so if your car is
200 HP, and his is 300 HP, then you are 100 HP in the hole. You get 125 credits
per 1 HP that you're down on him. So in the above example, your budget would be
12,500.

As your rival is unaware of your modifications, he'll be running his car in
completely stock form (N2 tires). You can use N or S class tires. But your car
must remain "street legal", so no exhaust mods, weight reductions, nitrous, or
racing slicks.

You'll run a lap in his car, then you'll attempt to beat it. Here's the catch.
The 'ring won't be closing for your little competition, so there will be
traffic. This means both runs will need to be done in Family Cup mode. How high
you set the difficulty is up to you, but it must be the same setting for both
runs. Driving Aids and driver ballast are optional, though I think adding in
driver ballast makes it more interesting.

If you keep the default S2 tires, you must count the cost of them into your
budget.

Have fun!


Driving School Rival BR

So here I was in Germany. I had asked my exorbitantly rich Uncle Rich (talk
about a fitting name!) to send me here for this racing school for years. This
year, Uncle Rich had decided surprise me. He had enrolled me in the school, and
payed for the round trip for both me and my Volkswagen Jetta. When I had picked
up the Jetta I had done an expensive drivetrain conversion to match the AWD
Boras released in Europe.

The instructor, Otto, was famous for his methods which had produced many world
class drivers. Apparently Otto also owned an extensive collection of high end
cars that he kept at his mansion and ran a tuner garage on the side. He was even
rumored to occasionally sleep at his garage from time to time.

My first few days had been interesting, to say the least. There were a few a few
German kids enrolled that drove Japanese cars. I had talked to Hans who was
driving a Nissan Silvia, and apparently they were in some kind of German
Japanese car enthusiasts club, or some thing like that.

There was only one other American enrolled. Everyone else had brought lower end
vehicles like my Jetta and Hans' Silvia, but Roger had brought his Z06 Corvette.
And being that we were both American, he especially liked to shove his superior
lap times in my face. He had sort of unofficially declared me his rival. Like my
V6 Jetta could ever compare to a Z06 Vette. But that didn't seem to concern him
in the least.

After a week or so of his constant taunting, I decided to give Uncle Rich a
call. I explained the situation to him, and told him I wanted a chance to shut
him up. After a little persuading, he agreed to wire me the money I would need
to modify my car to be able to compete with his Vette.

Knowing the money was on the way, I issued the challenge to Roger. Over the
weekend we'd drive down to the Nurburgring, and each of us would go one lap. The
best time would be the winner. If I won, he would have to quit with the
taunting. If he won, well, I'd just have to suck it up and take it.

Roger could barely hold back his laughter, but he agreed to the competition. "I
hope you're ready to be embarassed," he told me.

When I got the money, I immediately took my car to the shop to get some new
parts installed. S3 Tires, a Racing Chip, Stage 2 NA Tune, Racing Flywheel,
Sports Clutch, and a Wing ran me 23250, leaving me 500 unused that I'd return to
my uncle.

When I arrived at the 'ring that weekend, I could see Roger's smirk as I pulled
up.

"Nice wing, dude!" he said in the most sarcastic tone possible. "Real classy
touch to your car. I think you forgot the stickers though. I've heard that a
VTEC sticker can add like 10 horsepower."

I ignored his comments. "You can take your lap whenever you're ready."

Getting into his car, he started the engine, and took off. I started the timer.

From: Soulidarity | Posted: 1/15/2006 10:49:23 AM | Message Detail
____

Roger was intent on putting up the fastest time possible, and pushed his Vette
to its limits. Unfortunately he had never driven the 'ring, and quickly found
that he lacked the driving skill to push his Vette so hard on such a challenging
road. It didn't help that he found himself behind a pack of cars. As he
approached Schwedenkreuz, he tried to slip past the two taking up the rear,
trailed two tires in the grass, and ended up running off the outside of
Schwedenkreuz.

By Bergwerk, he had passed 4 of the 5 five cars that he was sharing the road
with, but the Evo was still a ways off. As he reached Karussell, he had closed
the gap significantly, but slowly lost ground as he made his way to
Pflantzgarten where he made his second major mistake. Running off into the sand,
he found himself at the rear of the pack once again. He pushed his car hard,
knowing that he was giving his competition a chance to match his time. As he hit
the D-H straight, his Vette showed its true strength, pulling past 3 of the 5
cars. As he neared the end of his lap, he pulled in close to the Evo and WRX,
and finished the lap at 8'31.282.

_____

Now it was my turn. His lap had been slower than I had expected, which game me
just the opportunity I was hoping for. I hit the gas, and Roger started the
timer. Like Roger, I found myself behind a pack of cars. I tore through the
corners as fast as I possibly could. As I made my way around Flugplatz, I found
myself coming up quickly on a Lexus ES, who had made an error in judgement and
had slowed down significantly to compensate for it. As he crossed from the right
side of the track to the left, I had nowhere to go, and rammed him from behind.
This wasn't going to be a cheap repair, but the car was still running, so on I
went. I passed the Lexus and another car after Aremburg, and caught up to a trio
of red cars at Adenaur Forst.

By Metzgesfeld I had slipped past two of them, leaving me only the Evo to pass.
At the bridge before Ex-Muhle, I got past him on the inside, and raced up the
hill towards Bergwerk. As I sped towards Dottinger Hohe, I made only minor
errors, trailing a tire or two off into the grass, only occasionally seeing the
Evo in my rear view.

Coming around Galgenkopf, I sped onto the D-H straight with everything I had.
About halfway, the red NSX that I had passed after Adenaur Forst came speeding
past me, and I took the opportunity to jump into his slipstream for a little
more speed. Even so, it wasn't quite enough. I finished the lap at 8'37.735

But I had come much closer than Roger had thought possible, and seemed to have
gained his respect. From that point on, our rivalry seemed to be a lot less
antagonistic, and a lot more friendly. He even offered to pay for the repairs to
the front end of my car.

[vitg]

Cool idea for a BR Souli, here are the details of what I will be doing
My Car : 1978 Saab Combi Coupe
Dry Weight - 1279 Kg
Power - 73 kW

To maintain the Swedish Theme I will be using a
Volvo S60 T5 Sport '03
Weight - 1550 Kg
Power - 247 kW
( BTW Muse this is a Euro FF Car you might be interested in)




From: viperinthegrass | Posted: 1/22/2006 3:15:05 PM | Message Detail

Driving School Rival - Budget Rider™

The closest match to my real Car was the Volvo S60 T5 Sport ( in Black ) I
decided to give my "Rival" a Lotus Esprit V8 '98 as I had just bought one second
hand recently and had not raced it yet ..................

So it turns out there is one other Aussie in our group at the World famous
Manfred Rickenbacker Nurburgring Racecraft Driving School. Naturally I tried to
get pally with Sidney ( who happened to be from Sydney ), but he was having none
of it. Like most people from Sydney he had his head up his A** and was rude and
arrogant and seemed to take special delight in giving me a hard time. He was
particularly derisory about my Car, a Volvo S60 T5 Sport, which is actually a
bloody good car.
Sidney thought just because he had a Lotus Esprit V8 he was somehow superior to
the rest of the group.
Well he would have an opportunity to show us how good he thought he was, as
Manfred had arranged for everyone to be entered in some Grade 2 Races at the
'Ring.
Now after oil changes the Lotus had a 98hp advantage over my Volvo and was also
considerably lighter (1325kg vs. 1550kg ) So I asked my Uncle to spring for a
few upgrades to give me at least half a chance to rub Sidneys nose in it. I
added a Stage1 Turbo, Large Oil cooler, a Racing chip and a set of O.Z. 31
wheels shod with N3 tyres which all together came in at 9,800 Cr. and gave me
327 hp , only 30 hp less than the Lotus.

Raceday arrived and Sidney was in the first group away. He was up against -
Mercedes SL 600
Mercedes CLK 55
Ruf 3400S
Audi RS4
Plymouth Cuda 440 Six Pack

From the start Sidney was being cautious on cold N2 tyres and no driving aids,
but the power of the Lotus was apparent as he lined up and passed the Plymouth
on the uphill run to Flugplatz. To give him credit he was managing some hairy
looking oversteer pretty well. The Audi was next in his sights but it shut him
out approaching Schwedenkreuz and Sid had to take to the grass and lost a lot of
ground. He was obviously shaken up by this and bided his time until Metzgesfeld
where he slipped by under brakes. The Ruf left the door open at Wehrseifen and
with good exit speed Sid was also able to line up and pass the CLK 55
approaching Breidsheid. The Sl 600 was too cautious approaching Bergwerk and
once onto the long uphill climb the Lotus pulled away with ease.
Sid got a bit cocky and totally messed up Plantzgarten, losing time in the kitty
litter, but he recovered and on the long DH straight pulled away again to win by
six seconds in 8 ' 27 . 917


From: viperinthegrass | Posted: 1/22/2006 3:17:19 PM | Message Detail

Then it was my turn to Race, I was up against -
Acura CL 3.2 Type S '01
Honda Integra Type R '03
Nissan Fairlady 300ZX '83
BMW Z4 '03
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3 GSR '95

I was worried that the Volvo on steroids, being a heavy FF car would undeersteer
badly but I was very happy to find with aids off and with the N3's it was an
oversteery drift monster. Cool !
Following Sid's lead I was cautious at first but managed to pass both the Lancer
and Z4 before Flugplatz.
There was the usual "Kaffeeklatsch" group hug at Aremberg which I kept well away
from, deciding to bide my time until Adenaur Forst to pass the elderly Nissan.
So far so good. The Honda took a bit of catching but I was able to outbrake him
approaching Wehrseifen and like Sidney I carried good speed out of there which
enabled me to also outbrake the Acura at Breidscheid. The opposition always seem
to keep well to the right here and brake too early allowing plenty of room to
pass up the inside, very strange as they are pretty good at blocking practically
everywhere else.
The rest of my lap was uneventful and I made damn sure I nailed Plantzgarten,
then romping home 14 seconds up in 8 ' 40 . 225

Sidney tried to make a big deal out of it of course but everyone in the group
ignored him and I felt I had achieved a moral Victory.
After all I did win my race

photobucket.com/albums/c53/RingDiary/

[vitg]

lucky21s

Posted 4/22/2006 12:20:49 PM
message detail so, can I do a br, wr or rr

Also try my redicously overpowered and understeering car challenge.

tvr ceraba speed 12 '00
supercharger
brake balance controller set to zero
tcs/asm oversteer set to 0
understeer set to 20
default tyres


viperinthegrass

Posted 4/24/2006 2:36:43 AM
message detail

G'Day All,
I have been pretty busy lately so not much seat time. Scored a day off today though ! So able to catch up with things a bit.
Welcome to the new 'Ringers, always good to have new people on board.

omeletes - The M3 GTR was a Racecar Rider™ a while ago and is a sweet little Racecar. Usually the RR™ are run stock, you may of course tune any adjustable bits, including ballast, and I would also recommend turning off ASM / TCS as well. I checked my notes for this Car and I had managed a 6 ' 21 . 593 , stock + oil change, Aids off. I have not tried it yet with any upgrades but reckon it would easily be a Sub 6 minute runner. A very nice Car.

lucky21s

So I took up your Speed 12 challenge - strewth mate are you some sort of Sadist or what ! Interesting challenge though, piloting a screaming behemoth with that setup around. During my first couple of laps my Dog actually left the room as he presumably could not stand the noise of constantly screaming wheelspinning tyres !
Having said that though, once you adapt to the Car it is possible to manage a "Licence Test" clean lap with a reasonable time considering that very little of it's huge power is actually getting to the ground !
First try - 8 ' 18 . 481 , lots of excursions and slides plus a few
spinouts.Third Lap - 8 ' 06 . 963 - Getting the hang of it now, one major excursion at Adenaur Forst but otherwise pretty clean.Fifth Lap - 7 ' 57 . 193 - Got it sussed now ! Lots of coasting to the Apex and do not Gas on until Car is pointing in a straight line, brakes are pretty good if you don't leave it too late to use them ! In the end I very much enjoyed the challenge, thanks lucky21s. I also reckon WanderingMuse would enjoy this challenge.

Also did a couple of laps in the Opel Astra Touring Car BR™ a very nice pick btw, well done.
After the Speed 12 this just seemed so easy to manage. A bit jumpy with the stock suspension setup but not too bad. Also a little bit of lift throttle oversteer at times, which is no bad thing for turning a bit quicker.
Time trimmed from a 6 ' 36 . 719 to a 6 ' 31 . 431 so far, car run stock + oil change , no tuning or upgrades yet, hopefully will be be able to do that later tonight. I probably could have done a bit better my last lap but I came across Oldguy and Muse dicing on their Motorbikes at the Karussel and lost a few tenth's getting past them. Ah! those crazy bikers.

I will also try and bring the Photo album up to date as well as write up my own 50 Cr. BR™ , I'll see how I go for time.



OmicronPersei8

Posted 4/26/2006 7:56:48 PM

Lucky, your TVR challenge was quite fun, once I turned down the sound. The piercing squeal of the poor CS12's rear tires screeching for 8+ minutes was akin to listening to a recording of 100 crack-addicted howler monkeys covering Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven'. Hello, mute!

Managed no better than 8:21.823 after 3 laps. Quite clean, at least.
viper, your WR clues are perplexing. Poetic, but perplexing. Hmmm...feels like an O.W. Holmes, perhaps...no Valiant there, though...Still can't solve the puzzle, so I'll spin the wheel.


viperinthegrass
Posted 4/27/2006 3:46:31 PM

Greetings From Oz,

Have been doing lots of different challenges etc. lately so here are a few random catchup thoughts.(Still have not written up my BR™ yet or stuff for Legends of La Sarthe)

Opel Astra Touring Car BR™

There is not a lot else you can buy for this Car with 50k, it's either R4's or Turbo 3.So naturally I went with the Turbo, power up to 640 odd hp. Boy , does this make it a frantic Car !
Best clean lap so far 6 ' 13 . 629 the extra ponies really makes the stock suspension that much more squirrelly.I have not played around with settings so far ( all laps run stock + oil
change, asm off, tcs 2 ) but if you know what you are doing it would
really help make this car a giant killer. Some extraordinary exit speeds. I had a massive lose during one lap (at Schwedenkreuz) which was really very impressive. Other than that did okay but not really that happy with my times, trying too hard I think.

[vitg]

Viperinthegrass

The 25 Credit "Perfect Lap" Budget Rider™

Pick any Production Car you like - Oil change if you wish.
Fit N2's.
Tune Driving Aids and add/ adjust ballast if you wish.
Try a Lap - Do your best, remember slow in fast out. Each Lap costs 5 Cr.You may use all the available road and kerbing, but, four wheels off or a crash will cost youa 5 Cr. penalty ( i.e. 1 Lap ). You do not have to restart though.

When you are done, fit the stock rubber ( S2's mainly )Use whatever Credits ( Laps ) you have left to beat your N2 version home by at least 36 seconds. The same penalty applies for crashes or excursions. Concentrate on clean, smooth driving rather than flat out speed.

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.




BRs and other tuning challenges

- I don't know if anyone is going to step up with a WR, but if you're interested in "Mr Toad's Wild Ride", put an FC transmission in an
otherwise stock Shelby Cobra, tune the gears to match the power (widen the autoset if nothing else), turn off all the driving aids, and hold on.
Without the FC transmission, the Shelby Cobra is no fun. With it, it's one of the best cars in the game. Enjoy. Also, I'm not saying this should be WR, so if someone has one, by all means, they should speak up. (wanderingmuse22's "Mr Toad's Wild Ride)

[vitg]

Here Endeth :


Budget Rider™ Archives Vol Xlll

Volume XlV Will Be Ready Soon !