I thought I had a lot to fear from the Primus Turismo (which was built on a legacy body set), but it was too poorly tuned to get anywhere close to the lap times I had set.
Regarding the front offset issue: a wider front track induces understeer (which is handy if your car oversteers too much), while a wider rear track will increase oversteer (which counteracts any tendencies to understeer), but more importantly, increasing the track width in general reduces body roll, which improves cornering performance. Lowering the ride height will also decrease roll angle, but it can have detrimental effects if overdone.
And as I found out, the LVC LS40 could have gone even faster had it not spun out on one of the hairpins - and may well have gotten closer to the next fastest car on the leaderboard at the very least.
Videos are linked in the spreadsheet as always. Here’s a description of how each car from this round drove:
@GassTiresandOil - Crazy Uncle Jim and his dog have just put a bunch of supercars to shame. 800 hp to all wheels means it has very quick acceleration, but it is prone to understeer some times. Surprisingly, the brakes don’t even suck.
@Sealboi - Sorry, but the dual wasn’t even close. It drives fine if it’s on a completely flat road with no bumps, because otherwise it bottoms out and scrapes with every change in elevation. Wait no, scratch that first part, since this thing likes to oversteer.
@lotto77 - It’s nice to throw around the corners, but the gears are looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong. If wheelspin happens, this will cause the wheels to spin alot faster than most cars, and when I have to accelerate from a standstill again, the gearing+the turbo lag makes acceleration dreadful.
@lotto77 - Depression. Being extremely underpowered for this challenge and having skinny tires makes it as boring as you would expect.
@Ludvig - Even though this is an older car, high power, low weight and AWD makes this car an absolute weapon in any area. I was even able to easily keep this cocaine brick under control somehow.
@Maverick74 - This car was honestly quite fun to drive; it almost felt like it was on track to get a much better time. Unfourtanetly that isn’t the case as in reality, it’s relatively undepowered and heavy, and handles as expected from a 70s muscle car.
* @Danicoptero - IS TAHT AN JOEJOE REFVERENZSE???1!!/1//??1/?1 The gearing goes from really short to long, with 4th going from 130 to 218 mph, (Yes, 218 miles per hour in a steam roller.) But at least the torque makes up for it. But it’s high weight can really be felt in the corners, plus the brakes are really prone to fading.
@Lemmy_K_Brinkwood - I never thought I would get to drive a UFO in Beam, but here I am, and what a beautiful sight. It’s damn fast, but it could have been juuuuust a bit faster if the gearing was longer; it really seemed like it had more acceleration in it. However, these puny earth roads are incapable of handling it’s alien technology (9.2 liter V12) very well, so it prone to off-throttle oversteer.
@Texaslav - Absolute fucking insanity. It’s a handful in the corners due to the 1000 hp going to the rear wheels, and it even worse offroad since it has slicks. But once it gets on the highways, the acceleration is just mental, with it being the first car to break the 240 mph barrier.
@04mmar - Doesn’t really shine anywhere. And to make things even worse, it’s top speed is limited by the short gearing when it was still capable of more. All of this equates to a lap time which is only faster than le minivan.
* this has a solid front axle, so I had to strengthen it in the jbeam to prevent it from collapsing after jumping 2 feet off the ground for some reason.
This round had the first cars without an ABS system. Was this a sign of things to come? Because it really looks like it. The next batch has 4 cars with close to or more than 1000 horsepower, and these aren't even supposed to be the most dangerous cars. Fucking save me.
I need to have another look at it to make sure it is indeed under 500hp, but I’m trying to work out if my car is the one of the faster sub 500hp cars? I think I ended up around 480?
Edit: Yikes, even less than I remembered. Mine is sitting at 431hp from the crank.
I had figured that the Corydora wouldn’t be the fastest thing around. But it was one of the few Automation cars I’ve imported to Beam and I found it to be an utter blast to drive. So worked it to fit the rules and sent it.
Videos are linked in the spreadsheet as always. Here’s a description of how each car from this round drove:
Ctesiphon (not on forums) - Some of the most explosive acceleration I’ve seen so far. And on top of that, it can actually turn! What an impressive accomplishment from an 80s deathtrap.
@Ludvig - Worse in every way than the Swanson. That’s it. Especially with how oversteer-prone this is. And when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, a speed (fun) limiter just has to kick in at 186 mph. The winner of the dick measuring contest between these 2 is pretty clear.
@passengerpigeon - This does not make good use of it’s 550 horsepower AT ALL. It wheelspins almost constantly due to such skinny 70s tires, and consequentially handles like ass. The only time where it actually makes up some decent time is on the highways at 200 mph, but it is absolutely horrifying at that speed.
@Vento - Christmas is cancelled; it looks like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is too slow to guide Santa. This thing is dreadfully underpowered for this challenge, but I guess it’s good that it can actually use that power unlike the last car. What is absolutely awful though is the suspension tune. It is at constant risk of oversteer because of the massive camber of the rear wheels. That’s usually done to cheese away oversteer on rear engine cars, but nope the engine is in the front, contrary to what I thought.
Extrodius (not on forums) - I am amazed that I didn’t hate driving this! My expectations for this rear engine 2 ton 1000 hp ute were extremely low, but those were shattered as it gripped and hauled ass way better than I expected. Too bad that it got blueballed out of the podium by just milliseconds.
@moroza - Highly unstable coffin of a car that likes to spin out and wobble a lot. Plus, it doesn’t have ABS and the brakes lock up quite easily, no matter how hard I try. Luckily it’s quite fun once it is under control, even if it’s not the fastest.
@moroza - This edgy cartoon villain-ass car truly performs like it’s aesthetic says so. A thousand horsepower to all wheels gives it rapid acceleration and easily allows it to reach over 240 mph. Handling wise, it again has no ABS but now the brakes lock up less easily. It doesn’t corner bad at all, but that massive V8 definitely adds some weight.
@Edsel - Finally, a front wheel drive car that doesn’t suck ass! Actual grippy tires allow it to actually use it’s power well and give it extreme go-kart like grip. A majorly impressive accomplishment for this little guy to punch well above his weight.
@AMuteCrypt - It’s a miracle that this monstrosity even finished the race with how inefficient it is. Because if I didn’t try to hypermill it whenever possible, it legit might have ran out of fuel. When struggling at the hairpin mountain section, I could never go above 4k rpm, because that’s when the turbo spools and unleashes it’s dumb 1600 hp (until the redline at 5k), then not unleash it until the highways, where it somehow is the first to break the 400 kmh barrier.
Extrodius - THE EXACT FUCKING OPPOSITE OF ZEN. This might be the second worst driving car so far because this is so damn front heavy, it drives like the exact opposite of a car: off-throttle oversteer and on-throttle understeer. Not to mention if I apply the brakes too hard, it might start uncontrollably fishtailing and lead to a painful death.
Now thanks to this new beam update, I have to actually be careful with manual gearboxes, or the synchros might be completely fucked by the end of the run. That immediately starts with the first car of the next batch. Also, it might-
OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME OH GOD ITS ALMOST TIME
@passengerpigeon I don’t think they meant the tires were skinny by 70’s standards, just in general.
Anyway, I’m honored my car left a good impression! Here’s hoping I can hold top 20 through the end chaos, even though that’s wishful thinking (Mara Xenia’s looking like its gonna be better version of my car oh no-)
i think it would be slightly higher than what you have at 220-230, but i still don’t think that would matter because of how stupidly overpowered but tiny it is
I extensively tested the Slayer, but neglected to note that I have ABS turned on in Beam for all cars, because I play with a keyboard and modulation is impossible. Whoopsie.
As for the coffin that is the Firebreather… Beam exporting is opaque to me. The version I made for CTC has amazing handling, according to @Djadania as well as my own impression, but even after a dozen iterations of tweaks, I couldn’t replicate its magic for PAIN. I believe I sent you the CTC version as well; I’d be interested to hear your feedback on it.
I sent it mostly because you asked for it. It’d’ve otherwise been some version of the Skaði you reported as handling like a dream, the Tyr I was working on for JOC and CTC, or the Sharriallat from CSR155.
I’m impressed with the driving skill, the patience to do all these sessions, the quantity of free time you have, and with the Slayer’s performance. Obscene power that’s actually usable is coming to be a running theme with many of my builds, and I’m honored - a bit surprised, even - by its placing.
This whole event is awesome. But perhaps a shorter track next time?
Aight even though elisbury has dropped, every car has been exported beforehand and there is no need to do it again, so this challenge won’t be affected.
Videos are linked in the spreadsheet as always. Here’s a description of how each car from this round drove:
@Danicoptero - As to be expected from a Cater- uhh Superlite, it is indeed lightweight and has superb handling and acceleration, but it slightly loses out on top speed.
@T0M - PURE INSANITY. There is no area where this suffers at all; it has absurd acceleration, grip, top speed and brakes. It was obvious it would dominate the challenge from the very beginning. But admittedly, it was pretty hard to drive.
@HelloHi - And now, the exact opposite of the previous car. The name of this car is so ironic, since it’s so depressing and forgettable with a 4 speed and open diff, and it barely reaches the minimum top speed requirement. It feels like a Group 1 reject.
@conan - It has insane acceleration from almost. It is really front heavy and has a lot of drag, so it tops out lower than some cars with less than half the power.
@T0M - The same car but made to set the highest speed in this challenge, at a whopping 256 mph. No car will ever go this fast for sure, but it took a lot of sacrifices to get there, including worse brakes, one less gear, and even an open diff. So to no surprise, it’s handling suffers. Perhaps it could have used more power as well?
@AndiD - Yes, almost the entire competition has now been shafted by a front wheel drive car with a 3 cylinder. That must be pretty embarrassing. It has quite a lot of wheelspin off the line, but it is well worth it once it gets under control. The acceleration and grip are absolutely mental, and it hauls ass all the way up to 228 mph, even with just a little over 400 hp.
@pcmoreno - Feels like an old touring car; fun to drive, but quite slidey and I can really feel it’s weight. It also has occasional understeer.
@ScintillaBeam - Surprise! There is another car slower than the minivan this time! This giant metal pipe tries too hard to be a plane; it barely feels connected to the road. It is also absurdly heavy with that colossal meme V16 and bicycle tires, so it’s fucking awful in every corner. The only positive is it’s alright acceleration, but then it’s held back so much from the gearing being so short, most likely because it redlines at just 3500 rpm.
@Djadania - The car you’ve all been waiting for! Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daa, Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daa- alright, it is horrible in every single way, especially acceleration because of the most fucked up gearing possible, with 1st going up to 150 god damn miles per hour. The only redeeming quality is when it gets onto the highway, where it SOMEHOW reaches 191. Slowing down from that is horrifying, as the brakes get immediately cooked. One must imagine the deals being better.
@conan - Even with semi slicks, this handles like garbage; it’s very unresponsive. Also, the brakes are ineffective, even under full force. At least it goes up to 220 mph, but I have to brake really early if I want to live to tell the tale
THIS IS FUCKING IT. WE HAVE OFFICIALLIY REACHED ROCK BOTTOM. EVERY CAR FROM THIS POINT ON IS A ROLLING SHITPOST AND/OR DESIGNED TO CAUSE ME AS MUCH PAIN AS POSSIBLE. IT WILL BE A FUCKING MIRACLE IF ALL OF THESE CARS SOMEHOW FINISH.
how many cars will dnf?
* 
Ctesiphon (not on forums) - Some of the most explosive acceleration I’ve seen so far. And on top of that, it can actually turn! What an impressive accomplishment from an 80s deathtrap.
Extrodius (not on forums) - I am amazed that I didn’t hate driving this! My expectations for this rear engine 2 ton 1000 hp ute were extremely low, but those were shattered as it gripped and hauled ass way better than I expected. Too bad that it got blueballed out of the podium by just milliseconds.
Extrodius - THE EXACT FUCKING OPPOSITE OF ZEN. This might be the second worst driving car so far because this is so damn front heavy, it drives like the exact opposite of a car: off-throttle oversteer and on-throttle understeer. Not to mention if I apply the brakes too hard, it might start uncontrollably fishtailing and lead to a painful death.
