Automation/Beam NG Rallycross challenge (submission closed)

The only track i’ve seen that is close is the Perimeter mixed circuit, but it’s missing the joker-lap. But the industrial site gravel and mixed tracks are pretty close to good rallycross/folkrace circuits.

I’m making a map that has a rallyx part but it’s still at least a month from being finished

Where can we submit our entries?

You can send it to me via the messaging functionality on this forum

Okay. I am brand new to this community so I’m trying to figure out how to share my cars. I built the car overnight and I have the exported file.

If you haven’t posted much you won’t be able to PM (private message). I believe this is enabled after 5 approved posts. If you just post a bit on the forums then you can send a message to gridghost

It’s interesting how the Automation-BeamNG transfer affects power and weight. I did two test cars. The power/weight ratio in the transformation went as follows:

1.) 339hp/tonne in Automation to 305hp/tonne in Beam (~90%)
2.) 547hp/tonne in Automation to 458hp/tonne in Beam (~84%)

In the second case a lot of the loss is due to the weight jumping from 1.1tonne to 1.27 tonnes. Which seems like a lot.

There was another test I ran a while ago where changing a car from aluminium to steel panels made it accelerate 0-100 a second faster in BeamNG. Same, low-power engine so it wasn’t burning rubber, either.

These are of course minor gripes, because the fact we got the conversion module is, frankly, amazing.

Probably submitting version 1 tomorrow. The second one turned out a bit cheesy and looks distinctly Crawlington. The suspension was not completely terrible in my tests, but the living room desktop really isn’t cut out to run BeamNG so ymmv.

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there’s been a number of differing ideas as to why the car weights vary. One of them was that detachable fixtures added in Automation add a very small amount of weight, but that would not go anywhere near explaining the rather large increases. Others suggested that it was due to the weight of occupants, though again, why it scales up with other things is beyond me. Fuel in Beam is actually weightless!

Also damn 547hp/tonne I decided to back off on the max output for more even torque and so I think I’m only running around the 510 mark…

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I’ve met with similar obstacles when exporting, but what i’ve done is that i’ve upped both the spring tension and the dampers to be a tad stiffer than they should be in the Automation vehicle to get the grip and handling i want out of the car. And as Strop says, it’s still in the air about what is causing the weightgain, as occupants and fuel should be rather static.

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Both my test cars are essentially running race suspension values, with increased clearance. Handled the bumps well enough. I need to do some rethinking of my computer/controller arrangement to get deeper into it.

I was off your pace (based on the videos in the OP) by a few seconds, but I’m not that great of a driver, was using a keyboard and West Coast was a slideshow.

@strop The torque does taper off at the end on mine, but I wanted to try out a mad scientist option and this fit the bill.

Yeah no with a power to weight ratio like yours unless you really sacrificed the tyres or are running 2WD I’d expect you to be slaying the times by a massive margin, at least the gravel and street course.

I’m actually very confident in my ability to drive in Beam… I’d be quite happy to give yours a shot to give you a bit of a ballpark estimate of what you should expect but also how the suspension works/doesn’t work.

I’d also be happy to calibrate your car’s downforce, which is a very finnicky thing, and may or may not be relevant in the street course…

Thank you for the offer, but figuring out what works and what doesn’t is most of the fun so I’d rather get into it myself :slight_smile: I’m sure you know what I mean. I just need to get the other computer serviced.

The test car is AWD with some good quality rubber, plus cheesy multiwings and so on. It ought to grip. But I have submitted the relatively low-power Howler as my challenger, because it’s a little more believable.

Ok, so theres some time left before the clock ticks over and we’re into the 21st…

So far i have submissions from:
@strop
@HowlerAutomotive
@Vena.Sera423
@Traviq_125
@Trxppy

I’ll familiarize myself with the vehiles for some time and then I’ll be writing up some notes about them, and lastly i’ll run them around the same tracks i posted in the OP and at the same time i’ll do some videos and post up on the tube. As i said in the beginning, this will take some time as work has to be done before play (sadly) but we all have to eat, right?

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First impressions:

@strop: Oscura

This is immensly fast and incredibly planted, though somewhat loose and has a high rate of bodyroll. Did i mention it was FAST? as in 2.7 seconds to 100kph in BeamNG… Monster

@howler: Howler Prodigy

This too is fast and thight. Understeer and very stiff suspension is killing the handlin on gravel tho, but measuring the throttle and e-brake makes it turn in alright. Somewhat bouncy on uneven surfaces.

@venasera: Kiwi RC

Here we have a really decent daily driver, 160 something HP, Viscous diff and manual gearbox and has nice enought handling and nowhere near the monsters that gone before. And therefore slower on both tarmac and gravel. Not really a RX car.

@traviq_125: Issa Monte

This car is 2nd lowest on power, but nicely geared, nicely planted and really tight. Balanced in a corner and a very nice drive.

@trxppy: Halcyon Sierra

The Halcyon Sierra uses manual locking diffs, manual gearbox, a strangely tuned racing engine and is heavy. As an example, even though it is the most powerful car, i has the third slowest 0-100 time of them all. When on power, it handles like a RX-car, otherwise it’s painfully slow.

@LordLetto:RX05

High gearing and a strangely tuned racing engine kills its momentum. While being one of the most powerful cars it has the slowest 0-100 time of all the cars, and even when trying to keep the car on power the open diff doesn’t play nice. Not good as a daily, not good as a RX-car.

@Aether: Aether

Light, nice and tight, but rather low. A low-revving B4 engine with a decent amount of HP. Good acceleration but doesn’t feel planted but rather floating.

In closing; Geared differentials and wide powerbands rule the day, as does wide, low-profile tires. A good suspensionsetup helps a long way to get the grip and handling needed.

This concludes the first impressions. More indepth notes are being collected, stay tuned

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Just turn the wheel and steer with the gas :joy: More gas = more nose in!

I’ll save posting the demonstration videos until you’re done

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Thanks for the feedback!
Yes, I have to agree that it’s rather “floaty”. Though, I couldn’t find a better option to make medium compounds work on both gravel and tarmac than to keep on sliding on tarmac just like gravel, the handbrake+throttle-control style.
A revised version is already in the works with more tightly tuned turbo and igniton and a bit raised rev limiter for some extra 35-40 HP, what is seriously needed to beat your times as I see (based on my recent tests). And some tighter swaybars and wider and lower profile tyres to compensate for the extra power. But I will try to make it less “floaty” and more “planted” too. If I can… :slight_smile:

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@Strop: Oscura

While being the fastest car around, due to high power and low weight, it actually grips, a lot! This is due to wide and low-profile tires (285/30) and a really good suspension setup, the sway bars are a tad loose for my taste. Despite not being to my taste, it gets the work done and then some. The only gripe I have apart from the high roll-rate, is that when driving the car in BeamNG, it makes the FFB go haywire due to high grip and it wanders over the road on flat surfaces making me having to grip the wheel tightly not to loose it.

@HowlerAutomotive : Prodigy

On the other hand, The Prodigy is really stable, and i mean really stable. High sway bars, stiff springs, high damping, the works. It has wide tires too, tho highter profile (285/45). This makes it really good on hard, smooth surfaces, but it understeers a lot on gravel and dirt. This, coupled with high rear downforce in beam, makes it even harder to steer around the corners on any track. The hard suspension makes it bounce around on rough tracks like the gravel-course on Automation test-track.

@Traviq_125: Issa Monte

This car fits me perfectly, it has a nice and stable feel to it, and yet turns in and follows wherever i point it. Tho being the 2nd least powerful car of them all, it still manages to get the second best time on all the gravel and mixed tracks due to exellent handling alone. Soft suspension and high dampening coupled with measured use of the sway bars and decently wide tires on low profiles (200/40) makes it corner with the best. The way this car feels on the graveltracks is just great.

@Aether: Aether

As i said earlier, this car is floaty to drive, it doesn’t have any distiction and as such doesn’t give any feedback. My guess is that this is due to the really tall profile tires (175/80) and a pretty standard suspensionsetup. It doesn’t really do anything stupid, but at the same time, doesn’t excel at anything either. The only other thing i can think to comment on, is the ride height, which is pretty high and could play a roll in the floaty feel.

I thank @Vena.Sera423 , @Trxppy and @LordLetto for submitting, but your cars are not in the running after the first tryouts. Here’s why:

KiwiRC: The Kiwi is, as i said earlier, a good Daily. Manual transmission and a Viscous LSD doesn’t hold up well in racing situations and having 3 more seats in the back is not necessary.

Halcyon Sierra: Manual Transmission, Automatic locker differential, Choked engine… While pretty damn powerful, in its current trim, it’s worthless. When you get the power going, you have to change gears, and when you do, you loose all the power… and i mean all. I gave the engine 500 more rpms and it got driveable, but it would probably need a geared diff to make the most out of the car.

RX05: Manual Transmission, Open diff, choked engine, tall gears means no power to play with unless you’re running really high rpms in first for most of the tracks. If given 400 more rpms, another gear and a geared diff it would be better. Changing out the solid axle front and rear suspension would give it better handling characteristics and softening the springs and the dampers would probably make for a good RX-car.

Now on to making some videos of tracktimes…

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I appreciate the thought and feedback. I’m glad you enjoyed the car. It is geared more towards a daily / weekend warrior. It also doesn’t help that it’s also probably the only FWD in the lineup. I’m getting better at tuning and building cars, so the next challenge I hope to be a better competitor. For those who made it to the next round, good luck to you.

I’m sorry for the delay, but having changed jobs recently i’m pretty choked with stuff to do.

Here are the track times, in no particular order and some small notes i did while running them. I took out the Westcoast offroad circuit as it was a little to harsh on some of the remaining cars in their current setup.

Automation Gravel stage:

Oscura: 1:57.040, best lap 0:57.543

Really planted and exeptional turn in, all the power, all the time. This, due to good aero, good suspension and a terrifying amount of boooooost :slight_smile: Love it

Issa Monte RC: 2:02.690, best lap 0:59.958

Small engine, good boost, measured gearbox and awesome handling from this car. You can chuck it around the corners and be confident.

Howler Prodigy: 2:03.729, best lap: 1:01.501

Low and firm suspension, and high rear downforce makes this car understeer, like A LOT on gravel. Could be a good deal faster with better turn in.

Aether 2:13:645, best lap: 1:05:719

The floaty feel and lack of feedback of the car makes it hard to drive in momentum. Not bad, and could do better with a more direct connection to the ground.

Industrial site, Perimeter reversed

Aether: 1:50.491, best lap: 0:53.987

The car fits this track a little better due to better contact on tarmac and overall better suited.

Howler Prodigy: 1:41.975, best lap: 0:49.238

Not suprisingly, this track fits the Prodigy more, as it is more tarmac and as such the turn in is better. The wide tires and the firm suspension soaks up the bumps and makes it fast.

Oscura: 1:36:965 best lap: 0:48.111

This car pratically drives itself around the track, look, turn, pedal to the metal, repeat… almost a little too good turn in as it nearly clips the inside of some corners :smiley:

Issa Monte RC: 1:40.150, best lap: 0:49.447

I repeat my earlier statement, this is a good little car. more than 200 hp down on the Oscura and 100 hp down on the Prodigy, it still holds it’s own due to awesome handling and good engineering.

West coast, Street course 2

Issa Monte RC: 3:25.133, best lap: 1:42.159

Oscura: 3:08.181, best lap: 1:33.939

Howler Prodigy: 3:21.092, best lap: 1:40:094

Aether: 3:46.051, best lap: 1:52.114

The times here reflects the earlier trends and cements them as far as i am concerned. The Prodigy seems more at home here on tarmac, while the monster Oscura is bruteforcing its way through everything. The Issa, dances away like a ballerina, lowest power to weight and most stable in its handling and the Aether, while not a bad car, cannot stand up to the competition due to lack of grip and feel.

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not bad times considering that you would have had limited time to familiarise yourself with the car. FYI my best time on Automation Gravel was 56.3 (standing start) and 55.58 (flying lap) for a total of 1:51.88.

Shame you didn’t take out the Westcoast offroad. The exact reason my car had looser swaybars and a higher ride height was so it wouldn’t die every time it went over a jump or the mogul section LOL.