Forza Nation - October 2012

FORZA NATION MAGAZINE FORZANATIONMAGAZINE.COM

ISSUE 2 // OCTOBER 2012

AVAILABLE THE FIRST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH

AUGUST PLAYSEAT CAR PACK

ALL 10 CARS REVIEWED INSIDE

INTERVIEW WITH: THIS ISSUE: DRIFT STYLE: ART OF THE MACHINE FORZA LIFER STORY: BUILDING A RACE CAR TRACK GUIDE: ROAD ATLANTA TRACK GUIDES, CAR REVIEWS, HINTS & TIPS AND A WHOLE LOT MORE!

BEGINNERS GUIDE TO SETTING UP A WHEEL

FAMILY FORTUNES & V8 SHOWDOWN HEAD TO HEADS + MORE!

2 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

( THIS ISSUE IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF

ANTHONY “ IRT FUZZYBEAR ” MITCHELL FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS, ALWAYS IN OUR MINDS KING OF THE MOUNTAIN

(

MAY YOU REST IN PEACE

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CONTENTS REVIEWS AUGUST PLAYSEAT CAR PACK REVIEWS 80’S SUPERSTAR: FERRARI F40 FORM OR FUNCTION: BMW M5 F10 SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED: FIAT 500 ABARTH 20TH CENTURY ICON: 1963 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE HEAD TO HEADS FAMILY FORTUNES: FERRARI FF / ASTON MARTIN RAPIDE / MASERATI QUATTROPORTE / PORSCHE PANAMERA V10 SHOWDOWN: DODGE VIPER ACR VS LEXUS LFA V8 STROKES FOR DIFFERENT BLOKES: 2012 JAGUAR XKR-S VS C63 AMG BLACK SERIES COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT 16 YEARS OF FERRARI FN POWERLAP BOARD ARTICLES THE ZEN OF FORZA DRIFT STYLE SOAPBOX DERBY BEGINNERS GUIDE: SETTING UP A WHEEL FORZA LIFERS FROM DREAM TO TEAM: BUILDING A RACE CAR PAINT + TUNE OF THE MONTH TRACK GUIDE ROAD ATLANTA – GRAND PRIX ROAD COURSE QUESTION TIME TORA - THE ONLINE RACING ASSOCIATION

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A BIG THANKS TO EVERYONE THIS ISSUE THAT READ ISSUE ONE. WE HOPE YOU ENJOY ISSUE TWO JUST AS MUCH, IF NOT MORE - DEVLINGFS

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A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR DevlinGFS TRIALS & TRIBULATIONS So here we are, issue two. As Mario Andretti once said “Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” This I feel sums up the Forza Nation ethos. He also said “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”

This probably sums up issue two.

We have had a few technical difficulties and some FN staff members have to take a step back due to that which we all have in common, life. Nethertheless we are gearing up operations to bring you more great content and expand not just your Forza experience, but also expand the Forza Nation operation.

Creating a magazine such as this is a huge undertaking, expecially considering we all have studies / jobs and familys, but that strive for excellence that drives us, defines us, is an unrelenting pull we simply cannot ignore. I can’t announce too much this issue sadly, but suffice to say we will be moving forward at a brisk pace over the next few months. We will be announcing our plans as they fall into place over the next couple of issues and be giving people the oppertunity to get involved in more ways than before.

Onto other things now, we have tried to include more content this issue, which I hope you all enjoy. We had an excellent response to issue one, the amazing feedback we have had (along with a bazillion cups of coffee) have kept us going. Keep them coming in and don’t forget to check us out on Twitter @ForzaNation and Facebook /ForzaNation. We are looking to start a mailing list soon, so you can get every issue as it launches and all the news, directly to your inbox.

Forza Horizon is just around the bend, are everyone on the team is super excited for the launch. The smell of burning rubber that already hangs faintly in the air cries to us... ROADTRIP! But again more of that in the coming issues. We just hope you guys enjoy this issue as much as we have enjoyed creating it. All August Playseat cars reviewed, more car comparisons and track guides. How to set up a wheel, an interview with the guys over at TORA - The Online Racing Association that have inspired us through their proffesionalism, a big thanks from them. Plus a whole lot more.

Stay tuned for incoming updates, ways to get involved, news and features. For now though, sit back, relax and enjoy - Forza Nation Issue Two in

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AUGUST PLAYSEAT CAR PACK WORDS BY BAZT3RD, STANDAMAN 94, AND SJD KEMURI IMAGES BY SEPS1974

So another new car pack came out, and FN is on the case to test out the cars that has been released, from racing stars like Sauber Mercedes C9 and 205 Turbo 16, to rivalry cars like the Camaro ZL1 and Mustang Boss 302, and Genesis 3.8 Track and FR-S, to oldies like the Continental and TR3B, and more!

Here is the list of cars of August Playseat car pack:

2013 CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1 2013 FORD MUSTANG BOSS 302 2013 HYUNDAI GENESIS 3.8 TRACK 2013 SCION FR-S 1989 SAUBER MERCEDES C9 1962 TRIUMPH TR3B 1984 PEUGEOT 205 TURBO 16 2013 GS350 F SPORT 1962 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL 2003 ASTON MARTIN DB7 ZAGATO

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2013 CAMARO ZL1 Bumblebee comes back more pumped up! The Camaro ZL1 is the long awaited Camaro of the time, and now it’s on Forza 4! This Camaro comes packed with GM’s 6.2 LSA Supercharged V8 and a six speed transmission, and is rear wheel drive. It’s zero to 60 is 3.8 sec, and a top speed of 196 mph.

So, this car has no problems on the track for a car tuned on the Nürburgring. Its acceleration and speed is effective on both the straights and corners. It’s handling capabilities is so pronounced that this will barely slip up barreling around corners at above average speeds for corners. Brakes work well to keep with its speeds.

Stats: PI: A 572 Price: 45,000 Cr Speed: 8.3 Handling: 5.6 Acceleration: 8.1 Launch: 7.5 Braking: 5.6

2013 HYUNDAI GENESIS 3.8 TRACK The Asian answer to the American musclecars is revamped to take them on all over again. This time it has upgraded its 3.8L Lambda V6 to be more efficient than the last, and carries a 6-speed manual transmission, and is rear wheel drive.

It’s zero to 60 is 5.3 sec, and will top out at 179 mph.

So, the Genesis has been put on a track diet to excel where musclecars usually don’t. It has good cornering capabilities, but speed and acceleration aren’t particularly good attributes. Where the power is put down in the corners, it will make it a good track bred car, but will lose out to a musclecar on a straightaway.

Stats: PI: B454 Price: 32,000 Cr Speed: 6.9 Handling: 4.9 Acceleration: 7.0 Launch: 6.6 Braking: 4.8

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2013 SCION FR-S Toyota sports cars live again, but seeing how Turn 10 decided to model a Scion, it doesn’t affect the car in any way. It uses a Toyota/Subaru D-4S 2.0L Flat 4 and a 6-speed manual transmission, and is rear wheel drive. Zero to 60 is done in 6.2 sec, and has a top speed of 160 mph.

The Scion seems to have an average top speed like other modern Japanese sports cars, but it capabilities are more than any other Japanese sports car. The FR-S is rear wheel drive of all things, being one of the few current Asian cars that is RWD. That translated to much merriment in the corners, sliding around each bend with grace and poise, but as a driver’s car for racing, I did find that it does have a oversteer issue.

Stats: PI: C394 Price: 24,000 Cr Speed: 5.6 Handling: 5.1 Acceleration: 6.1 Launch: 6.6 Braking: 4.9

2013 GS350 F SPORT Back in 1998, the GS was Lexus’ sports car, using a Supra I6 engine and racing it in motorsports, and now they are trying to reinvent that image back by using the Lexus’ F division. This time it has Toyota’s 3.5 2GR-FSE V6, and a 6-speed semi-automatic transmission, and is all-wheel drive. Its zero to 60 time is 5.8, and a 175 mph top speed.

For being a sporty car, it doesn’t have that much performance. It’s a heavy car that lumbers around corners. It does have a top decent speed, and with its AWD system, it will move off the line fairly quickly, but expect to lose your ground after that, particually through the corners. It’s just a boring car dressed up as a sports car, plain and simple.

Stats: PI: B436 Price: 58,000 Cr Speed: 7.0 Handling: 4.3 Acceleration: 6.2 Launch: 6.8 Braking: 4.2

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2013 FORD MUSTANG BOSS 302 Thirty-three years later, and the Boss 302 rises again. Although you won’t see it in Trans-Am anytime soon, that doesn’t mean it won’t pack a punch. With a 5 litre 444 HP V8, the Boss hurtles up to 60 in 4.8 seconds, and will stick it out all the way to 182 MPH. The Boss is slightly lighter than its counterpart, the GT500, and has about 100 less horsepower. But the Boss sure isn’t shy of a quick laptime. The Boss is quick and responsive, with the mandatory Mustang oversteer; but even this oversteer has oversteer, as the car makes no mistake in getting you sideways in every turn.

Stats: PI: A519 Price: 42,000 Cr. Speed: 7.6, Handling: 4.9, Acceleratuion: 7.8, Launch: 6.9, Braking: 4.9

2003 ASTON MARTIN DB7 ZAGATO The third Aston Zagato in history, this DB7-based, double-bubble, limited edition Aston was designed by none other than Italian designer Zagato. Only 100 were built, along with another 100 convertible versions (named DB AR1). The Zagato has a 6 litre V12 that punches a good 435 HP. Reaching 60 MPH in 4.9 seconds, the Zagato can hit 194 MPH. But that’s where the performance figures end. Handling is sluggish, and generally feels more like an executive saloon than an Aston Martin sportscar. Unfortunately, that seems to be the story with most products of the Zagato design house; they all look faster than they are. But the new 2011 Zagato seems to change that... Could it be the start of something different?

Stats: PI: A509 Price: 250,000 Cr. Speed: 8.1, Handling: 5.0, Acceleration: 7.6, Launch: 7.1, Breaking: 4.9

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PEUGEOT 205 T16 Group B rally fans, lets rejoice! The homologation, road-going version of the famous Group B Peugeot 205 monster is in Forza! The car was created to satisfy rally regulations whereby 200 homologated road cars had to be built and sold.

It has 4WD and a transverse mid mounted 1.8 4-cylinder engine; features shared with the rally car, but with half the power at 197bhp.

In a car that’s weighs so little, just 1145kg, it seems that implanting the rally cars four wheel drive system makes the car initially react slow and lackluster, then it gets into shape mid-corner to rocket you away. Acceleration is nutty (0-60 in 6.8 seconds) and the engine growls with the effervescence of a Cocker Spaniel puppy. Should you care about the soft feeling handling? Look at the vents and the buff body-kit, and then answer that question for yourselves. Fantastic.

Stats: PI: C 361 Price: 125,000 cr Speed: 3.9, Handling: 4.8, Acceleration: 5.7, Launch: 5.6, Braking: 4.8

1989 MERCEDES-BENZ #63 SAUBER-MERCEDES C9 The C9 was built by Sauber in 1987, replacing the C8 which failed miserably. Success looked dim in the C9, until 1989 when the #63 won the 24hrs of LeMans. This could have been its new engine that year, the 5 litre Mercedes M119 turbocharged V8, which kicks a massive 800 HP. Of course, if you know anything about the C9, you know that the win isn’t just what it’s famous for.

In the qualifying sessions for the ’89 LeMans 24hrs, the C9 reached an incredible 248 MPH down Mulsanne straight. It’s this car that caused the introduction of the two chicanes. 0 to 60 is done in a mere 2.7 seconds, with the massive rear spoiler generating 1000lbs of downforce, giving the C9 huge amounts of grip. The car will hold to the track no matter what the situation, even at lower speeds, and the handling is surprisingly stable. The C9 will give even the most hightech P1 racers a run for their sponsor-backed money.

Stats: PI: R1 986 Price: 2,200,000 Cr. Speed: 10, Handling: 9.8, Acceleration: 9.9, Launch: 8.6, Breaking: 9.5

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1962 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL If the look of this enormous, great hulking piece of assorted metals doesn’t shout the 60’s at you, then please check your eyes. Slab sided, with odd fins here, a mesh grille there and suicide doors, which are as cool as Huggy Bear. It oozes an almost sinister feeling, like it’s the automotive embodiment of Al Capone. And now, you can prowl the tracks of Forza, implanting fear and discomfort into everyone you come across.

And how might one go about this? With 300bhp being produced from a 7 liter V8. However, the sheer mass of this thing, at 2236kg, almost nullifies the engine’s power. Fortunately it has enough torque to get it moving to begin with, at 465 Ib ft. Now, 1960’s American aesthetics usually come with 1960’s American handling, and this car doesn’t disappoint.

Squidgy is how I would describe it. The appeal of this car, however, is made obvious again by simply looking at it, and then you forget it’s woeful performance. It’s just not what the car is about.

Stats: PI: E 214 Price: 55,000 cr Speed: 4.5, Handling: 3.6, Acceleration: 5.4, Launch: 4.6, Braking: 3.7

TRIUMPH TR3B Another plucky little Brit has been added to the forever-updating car list of Forza 4! Along with the Austin Healey and MG, the Triumph TR3B has been added. This car is a bit of an odd one, because it’s technically a hybrid. It has the body of a Triumph TR3A, yet has the straight 4, pushrod engine and synchromesh transmission of the just arrived Triumph TR4.

Quite a special send-off then.

Whilst the engine doesn’t produce a lot of power, just 105bhp, the car’s mass is but 969kg. That means that whilst it may not be too fast in a straight line, it feels lithe and agile in the corners. But not too agile, I mean this is still a car from the 60’s. The engine happily thrums away (thank the straight 4 configuration for the great noise) at any speed as the gearbox is setup with short ratios to manipulate the little power. It may be slow, but it is great fun, which is surely worth more.

Stats: PI: F 121 Price: 24,000 cr Speed: 3.0, Handling: 3.8, Acceleration: 3.9, Launch: 4.2, Braking: 3.7

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80’S SUPERSTAR: FERRARI F40

BY B WALD BIG MEK Ahh, the Ferrari F40. What a machine. If you walk up and shout the name “FERRARI!” in my face, two things will happen. First, I will shout a random word back in your face. Second, one of three Ferrari models will come to my mind. This car is one of them. The other two are the 250 California and the 512 TR, but I digress.

Upon its inception, the F40 had several roles to fill: It was both the successor to the 288 GTO, and a wheeled celebration of Ferrari’s 40th anniversary (hence the name, F40. 40 years of Ferrari, get it?). Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, it was to re-establish Ferrari as the maker of the world’s finest sportscars and racers. It was also the very last car that Enzo Ferrari would personally see built, something the aging automaker had himself predicted.

The F40 was powered by a turbocharged V8 engine. This surprised many who had expected the car to have a V12. Those in the know, however, weren’t surprised at all. This was a larger, turbo’d version of the excellent engine from the 288 GTO, and this powerplant made the F40 the 1st

production car ever to exceed the 200-mph barrier, if only just- it went 202.

possible to reach, or even exceed, that higher speed.

The car went on sale in 1987, with a run of just 400 cars, to keep in the theme of the whole 40thanniversary thing. However, so many customers were knocking down the dealerships’ doors that this was later increased to 1000 vehicles. The MSRP was $400,000, but certain unconfirmed rumors and stories had some people paying over oneand-a-half million dollars for their F40s!

Climbing behind the digitized momo wheel, we’re off, and the car is remarkably stable at speed. General handling is almost completely neutral. Pushing too hard results in pronounced understeer, which is actually a good thing: a tendency for a fast, mid-engined car to oversteer at high speed can be incredibly dangerous- ask anyone who’s driven a Koenigsegg (I’m looking at you, Stig #2). The F40 is also one of those wonderful cars that will forgive you for going into corners too fast- light to moderate braking mid-corner is not only possible, but is in fact rather easy. The massive rear tires ensure only the most reckless application of the “loud” pedal will break the rear end loose. Driven at the proper speed, this car handles like the tires are made of glue; I can only think of two or three cars from its era which can handle corners with such aplomb.

To quote Darth Vader: “Impressive. Most impressive.” This car is damn impressive. The F40 is bat-out-of-hell, face-distortingly FAST. Under my guidance, it eagerly devoured the Nurburgring in just 8:42, taking corners as if by telepathy.

Not many cars show poise of this kind in the technically-demanding stage D. 60 mph flashed by in 4.2 seconds, and is possible in 1st gear even.

Be sure to launch with plenty of revs, as 1st gear is quite tall (a common trait in Italian exotics of the time). While I was unable to attain the advertised top speed of 202 mph, the fact that I achieved 176 mph while driving uphill suggests it’s certainly

The F40 also cruises rather nicely, unlike many cars of its ilk. Steering below 50 mph does not become overly twitchy, as long as you stay in a higher gear.

“ PERHAPS THE MOST GLORIOUS SOUND EVER CREATED BY MANKIND ”

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WORDS B WALD BIG MEK IMAGES SEPS1974

Braking is rather abrupt, however, as the brakes are designed for much higher speeds. The poly model brings back memories of all the 1:24 and 1:18 scale models I used to collect of this car, and driving it makes me happy. The styling was years ahead of its time, and the car does not look at all out-of-place parked next to a Gumpert Apollo, Koenigsegg CCX, or Lamborghini Reventon, despite being well over twenty years old.

The engine sound makes one drool- Ferrari V8s sound absolutely nothing like any other manufacturer’s. Instead of producing a rumbling bellow, these engines sound like a swarm of screaming buzzsaws, that all want to go quite fast. The sound of a 3rd-to-4th upshift from redline in an F40 is perhaps the most glorious sound ever created by mankind, and, in my opinion, is one of the reasons the automobile was invented in the first place. You can become a better driver just by listening to it.

Blip the throttle while downshifting! It’s like a fine cheese or juicy ribeye steak, but it’s sound.

“ IMPRESSIVE, MOST IMPRESSIVE. ”

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FORM OR FUNCTION: BMW M5 F10 WORDS & IMAGES BY SJD KEMURI Every country has a stereotype. Whether the supposed image lives up to the actuality of the country’s conventional features matters little. However, the one country that singularly dispels the most stereotypes, undoubtedly, has to be the Germans. We imagine them running around, in an orderly fashion of course, cleaning their laboratory standard sanitary homes whilst listening to the latest brass band album on their ‘Ich’-pods. But when examining the automotive armada the Germans provide the public, the image is expunged. Or rather, when examining the brand new BMW M5 F10.  A large multitude of the cars fascination is much more subjective than black and white, as with most cars these days, so let’s get the specs out of the way first. It has a twin-turbo charged 4.4 litre V8 with some rather well thought out intake and recirculation wizardry which makes the engine one of, if not THE most, responsive turbo units in the world. The product is a hefty 552 bhp and, most controversially for an M5, 502 Ib ft of torque (a bloody lot more than the E60 M5) being transmitted to the correct wheels. It’s weight is a slightly terrifying 1,945kg (90kg up from the previous one). Now bare that weight in mind when I come to discuss it’s capabilities in the twisties, you may be surprised. Now the boring stuff is out of the way early, I can discuss why this car is so intoxicating.  So how do you distinguish the F10 M5 with a regular M-sport 5 series? Apart from tougher body cosmetics such as the hood and all-round bumpers, which are pretty subtle, and the assortment of ‘M’ badges, not too much. One large

distinction, though, is it’s incredible pace.

It accelerates like it’s being shoved from behind by Zeus and his array of beastly servants. It’s effing glorious. The rampaging speed is partly owed to the DCT gearbox’s harmonious machinations, mostly to the Krakens heart that lurks under the bonnet. But it’s not so much the violent spike being jammed into your nervous system, as the old one was, more a surge of infallible, vulgar force. I suspect the bombastic amount of torque has a large part to play in this. Happily, both the power and the torque peak very low down, so acceleration is infamously accessible  Cornering is where its absorbing persona unveils itself. The weight, although physically fundamental to any car’s performance, is almost superficial. It takes either a determined buzz-killer or a drifting lunatic, such as myself, to unhinge the M5’s abilities in the corners but when the tail decides to wag, you find it’s teeth are made from jelly and hugs. Plop the gearbox into third, turn in without throttle, apply opposite lock and flat-foot out of the corner. Simple. The engine seems to be a slightly subjective matter however.

Either it’s a cleverly built engine that trashes rear tires at will deeming it a hopelessly pointless endeavour, or it’s a reverse move for BMW that makes the car more fun by making it statistically more in-tune with the current economic situation. To me, the latter applies obviously..  I would be willing to suggest that this is, by far, the largest leap of faith BMW have ever performed. By re-writing the engine characteristics alone, the car is not just willing, but begging to be drifted around

most corners where the old ‘5’ would grip up mid-drift and hurl you into a shrubbery along with your dignity. The same beautiful balance and pin-point turn in are still religiously demonstrated as high in the ‘M’ priority list though. Perhaps the engineers are to recite a parable from the ‘M guide to happiness’ before betten.  So, after this exploration, what is this car built for? Form or function? Hard to answer really. It’s mechanical theory is quite obviously functional, yet the result is quite the opposite of it’s intentions.

Lunacy, smoke and childish fun or not what come to mind when mentioning the active locking differential and the 28mpg on the combined cycle. But every time I drive the blessed thing, I get the feeling that BMW tried create a car that bends the laws of physics and would make a Japanese driftaholic holler and yelp like a spaniel with a hot poker shoved up it’s bum. It’s a wonderful shift, and one that I pray influences the other ‘M’ cars in the line-up.

17/20 +Driftability, torque, acceleration - Weight. There’s too much of it.

Statistics 0-62mph: 4.067 seconds 0-100mph: 9.485 seconds 60mph-0: 132.5ft Top speed: 155mph (limited), 195mph (as tested) Power: 552 BHP Torque: 502 Ib ft Price: 90,000 cr.

Best Lap around Twin Ring Motegi Full – 2.17.674

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SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED: 2010 ARBARTH 500 ESSEESSE

BY DEVLINGFS I’m under no illusion. I know for many (if any) a Fiat 500 wouldn’t be their first choice when choosing a dream car. Even if it has scorpion badges plastered all over it, and the word Abarth adorning it’s side. For me however, I fell in love with this little car when it first rolled out in 2007, and I’ve wanted one ever since. Here’s why.

In 2007, the 50th anniversary of the 500’s launch, Fiat launched the new Fiat 500 stylistically inspired by the 500 but considerably heavier and larger with front-wheel drive. It was reborn to compete with the recent trend of ‘superminis’ such as the incredibly successful re launch of the Mini Cooper. Like the Mini the Fiat 500 come’s in many flavours, with such names as the Pop, Lounge, Street and Colour Therapy to name but a few. It has spawned numerous special editions such as the Diesel, designed by Diesel and diesel powered, and even a Gucci edition for the ultra cool.

I love the way the Fiat 500 looks, both inside and out. Sit in one and you could be sat in a

cool indie coffee bar. Little touches everywhere, stainless steel, stitched leather and a colour coded dash to match the cars exterior really sell the idea that this little car is cool. You get the sense that the Fiat 500 is a car that a lot of thought has gone into the design, an old fashioned ‘built by hand’ ethos but with a modern twist. Of course though, it’s built by robots in a factory.

The 500 Abarth Essesse (pronounced “SS”) is a conversion kit for the Abarth 500 within 12 months or 20,000 km (12,000 mi) of the car’s first registration. Engine is upgraded to 160 PS (120 kW; 160 hp) at 5750 rpm and 206 N·m (152 lb·ft) (230 N·m (170 lb·ft) in sport mode) at 3000 rpm. It also includes drilled and ventilated 284 mm (11.2 in) x 22 mm (0.87 in) front brake discs with new pads, 240 mm (9.4 in) x 11 mm (0.43 in) drilled rear brake discs, Abarth front and rear springs, 17-inch white or titanium colour alloy rims with 205/40 R17 tyres, tyre pressure monitoring system, and a unique key cover. The conversion costs GB£2,500 in the UK

but of course comes as ‘standard’ in Forza 4.

There are many different Abarth editions of the 500, from an awesome 595 Competizione to a Ferrari Edition. The Ferrari Edition’s are used as a courtesy cars by Ferrari and only 200 were made. That’s how cool this little car is. We won’t mention the Barbie Edition… I kid you not.

I love the Fiat 500, and I can understand only having 1 version in Forza (other than paint and rims they all pretty much look the same) but I would like to see more Abarth in Forza, namely the Fiat 500 Coupe Zagato Concept and the Punto Evo / Punto Evo Supersport.

The Fiat 500 is a great handling car, pretty nibble for it’s class. It is also an excellent car to race in same spec races. Especially if you are new to online racing, a perfect begginer series car. Rather than being ‘the car people use move credit’s in the AH’ I urge you all to soup one up and take it for a spin around Kaido.

You may just like it!

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20TH CENTURY ICON: 1963 VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE

BY B WALD BIG MEK The Original Volkswagen Beetle is perhaps the most instantly-recognizable car on the entire planet. There are probably people living in seclusion, in some remote corner of nowhere, who don’t even know what an automobile IS, who would still recognize it. It is also one of the most mass-produced cars in history, with one version or another being built in one factory or another for over seventy years. It’s like the AK-47 of automobiles.

Originally designed in Germany by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, the Beetle was meant to be a car that the German government could mass produce on the cheap, and practically give away to it’s citizens. After WW2, the Beetle was exported to America, and was one of the only small cars available in a market dominated by tail-finned behemoths and sedans of ocean-going proportions. Unfortunately, sales were weak, it being a German car in postwar America. That would soon change, however.

In the 1960s, the Beetle, along with its cousin, the microbus, became quite popular with the “hippie” movement. Partially due to its unusual styling, partially because their parents didn’t like it much, and partially due to the myth that it was a more environmentally-friendly car, the “peace and love” generation took to the VW with enthusiasm. Beetles painted in tye-dye, Beetles wearing Lennon-glasses, and Beetles with flowers glued all over them became commonplace, making the lowly Beetle into the first true “counter-culture” car. It has since appeared on stage, on the big screen, all over T.V, and in art. In fact, the Beetle AS art is not an unheard of concept. Some people even use them as giant flower-pots!

The Beetle is not a fast car, unless you’ve grown up in the 1730s and have walked everywhere your entire life. With just about 40 BHP, this car is never in a hurry. It will top out at just 98mph,

with the revs bouncing off the limiter, providing you are charging downhill in 4th gear. Driving the Beetle “fast” is actually quite tricky, requiring you to optimize your line to maintain as much momentum as possible. I drove it around the Ring in a blistering 13 minutes and 51 seconds, achieving a stunning 0-to-60 time of 32 seconds and a top speed of 98 mph.

Maintaining this momentum is made easier by the fact the car handles quite well, all things considered. Dr. Porsche knew how to set up a rear-engined car, and it shows here.

As the speeds are usually quite low, dramatic movements of the controls are simply not needed. It’s like everything is happening in slow-motion. Keep a steady, smooth line and you’ll find braking is rarely necessary, and one can keep a very consistent (albeit slow) pace around most tracks. This can actually be a lot of fun: come into a corner where you’d normally lift off the gas, or even brake a bit, and go through in the Beetle with the throttle pinned instead. On my Nurburgring lap, I stepped on the brakes just twice: once before the tricky left-hairpin with the right-hand entry near the end of stage B, and once before the 1st carousel.

Towards the top end of its “speed” (?) range, 65-100 mph, the car develops some Porsche 911-esque handling quirks, such as becoming unstable when decelerating on turn entry. This may sound strange, until you consider the same man designed both cars. He actually designed all kinds of things, even a tank! It was impressive to look at, but wasn’t very good. It was called the elefant. Go ahead and google it, we’ll all be here. Can you believe you had to turn the whole vehicle to aim the gun?

Anyway, back to the ol’ bug: The same corrective measures apply when things start to go wrong, as do in a Porsche: Slow in, fast out.

Since “fast out” isn’t really an option, the goal is

to at least use the throttle to transfer as much weight as possible to the rear of the car, where the stability is.

The Beetle is a gas at cruise meets, too. It will stand out, especially if everyone else is in American cruisers and muscles, and you get to drive it much harder than you would another, more powerful car. In the Beetle, you’ll find yourself matting the throttle and redlining the engine just to attain highway speeds and keep up with the pack, while everyone else has to drive like they’re allergic to petrol.

Oh, and unless you’ve done some serious wrench-work, forget about drifting, unless they add “sheet o’ ice” to the list of driving surfaces.

Getting this car sideways is a sure-fire way to STOP. The car’s P.I. technically doesn’t exist in factory condition: It’s rated at 100, but you have to bolt quite a few upgrades to it before the number starts to climb. The original number is probably more like.. 30? That being said, you can upgrade and tune the CRAP out of this car. From mild to super-spicy, the range of customization on the Beetle is pretty impressive.

The very brave can even drop a turbocharged Golf engine into it. Producing an A-class demonbug is only a few button-strikes away. On the other end of the spectrum, bolt a roof-rack on top for a real “what the hell am I doing in a racing game” look.

I’ve played my share of racing games and driving sims, and the old Beetle shows up in quite a few. I must say, in all honesty (not just paying lip service here), that the Beetle in Forza 4 is the most accurate representation I’ve ever seen in a videogame.. or HEARD. The engine sound is absolutely PERFECT, and in my opinion is one of the most lifelike in the game. If that little chirping sound doesn’t make you grin, I’m sorry to say you are at least partly dead inside.

18 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

HEAD TO HEAD FAMILY FORTUNES WORDS BY STANDAMAN 94

There’s a hidden privilege to owning a sportscar.

It’s not the performance, or the looks, or the price you paid. It’s not even the looks you get when driving down the street. It’s your two seats, and the lack of rear ones. If you drive a regular four or five seater car, perhaps even a seven seater, it’s more than likely (particularly with the latter) that you have family or friends who are going to be joining you on your voyage, and will sit their faces right where you can see them in the rear view mirror.

With a sportscar, however, you’ll either have the clear road behind you, or a musclely engine or spoiler occupying the view. You also get to choose the lucky punter who gets to ride shotgun with you; if you have many friends, I’m sure you can find a way to earn some pocket money out of this.

These are perks for the wealthy. Sure, you can probably get yourself a little MR2 for less than five grand, but a real petrol head isn’t going to stand for that. A Lamborghini, Ferrari, Corvette or perhaps Aston will set you back somewhere near fifty grand used. That’s more than what most people earn in a year, which is why most owners of said cars are in their mid-life crisis, or will soon be entering it.

So, if you want a sportscar, you’re probably old, lonely, and filthy rich. Luckily, there is a solution: The Porsche 911. Tucked between the leather bucket seats and the rear-mounted engine lay two very small seats, meaning both you, your partner, your dog, and your least favourite friend (arranged in any order) can go for a drive on the autobahn and still overtake others. It’s also slightly more affordable than the aforementioned supercars.

As such, many other supercar manufactures adopted this idea, so you’ll see this sort of legsquishing all over the place.

By now, you’re probably reading this and

exclaiming “You blithering idiot. The BMW M5 can seat five people in perfect comfort and is still capable of 200 MPH!” Well, good point, I’d drink to that. But the M5 and its pals, the C63 and RS6, are not the desired supercars we are talking about. These cars are just the unbottled versions of their street variants, the 5-Series, C-Class and S6.

A Ferrari 458 does not have a street variant, and neither does a Lamborghini or Aston.

The question is; what happens when we mix the performance prowess of a supercar with a family-friendly road car? Fifty years ago, supercar giant Maserati thought they had the answer – The Quattroporte, literally Italian for “Four Doors” – an extended version of the Maserati Sebring, which was the 60’s GranTurismo. Since then, the Fourdoor has been reincarnated in five different generations. However, it was not until 2004 that the Quattroporte had some performance figures that would make you look twice.

The Quattroporte was designed by none other than Pininfarina, and is loosely based on the Maserati Coupé. The particular version we’re interested in, however, is the 2011 version of the Quattroporte Sport GT S, first introduced in 2007.

This has a 4.7 litre dry sump V8 that produces a fantastic 433 HP, which is shared with the GranTurismo S. Despite practically being an executive saloon, it only weighs about 200 lbs more than the GranTurismo, meaning that its performance figures are virtually the same, if not better.

It’s a common misconception to assume that the first person to do something does it the best. For example: going to space. Although a hard argument to come by, Aston Martin shows Maserati how it’s done. In 1947, Aston bought out Lagonda (that’s right, the company that made flamethrowers and stuck them to trucks).

Unfortunately, Aston doesn’t make weapons, so

what they did do was try to continue Lagonda’s original legacy and made a luxury four-door in 1974. This was widely regarded as a bad idea, since the Lagonda was sluggish, ugly, and unreliable. When production thankfully stopped in 1990, it took Aston another twenty years to tweak some numbers and produce its successor, the Rapide.

Aston didn’t want to drop the Lagonda nametag, which why the Rapide shares its name with the ’61 Lagonda Rapide, based on the DB4. Luckily for us modern folk, the Rapide shares nothing with the Lagonda. Clearly based on the DB9, the Rapide uses the third generation of Aston’s VH Platform, the shared chassis design of all Astons since the Vanquish. It also uses the same 5.9 litre V12 as found in the DB9, but producing 20 BHP more than its partner at 470 BHP. Sticking two extra seats in does come at a price, though; the Rapide weights 400 lbs more than the DB9, severely lowering its performance figures. Aston sits in a particularly comfy seat here; the DB9 is a perfect car already, so the Rapide doesn’t have much to improve on, and nor should it have any direct rivals.

Which is why Porsche made the Panamera.

Wherever Aston Martin is, you can be assured that Porsche will be there biting at their heels.

The Panamera was named after the Carrera Panamerica, the Mexican Mille Miglia (which is also where the Carrera gets its name from). We’re looking at teh Panamera Turbo, which unlike the Quattroporte and the Rapide, is both twinturbocharged and four-wheel drive. The engine at the front is home to the same engine found in the Cayenne; a 4.8 litre V8 which kicks out 500 HP. This makes the Panamera’s numbers much better than both the Quattroporte and Rapide. A clear winner? I think not.

OCTOBER 2012

The Panamera is ugly, let’s face it. I know that most Porsche’s are an acquired taste, but the Panamera requires such an acquired taste that you’d probably think Nicolas Cage is a good actor. Actually, Nic Cage is a good analogy for this. Put it this way: The Panamera is to car enthusiasts as Cage is to directors; he’s not a great actor, but he does the job at hand well and fills in a gap in the movie industry. Also, if someone likes a Nic Cage movie, you know they aren’t a true movie enthusiast.

And with that, we are left with three more-or-less equal cars; the Quattroporte Sport GT S, Rapide and Panamera Turbo. All three bridge the gap between executive saloons and sports cars, a bridge that marques like Mercedes, Audi and BMW try to cross. All is well, then, as all cars have fulfilled their purpose. This is when a particular supercar manufacturer hears this abnormal peace in the manufacturer world. “Let’s do it better,” they say, “Let’s show them how it’s done.”

This particular supercar manufacturer is Ferrari, and Ferrari know a thing or two about showing others who’s boss. So Ferrari got with their pals Pininfarina, and designed the FF. FF stands for “Ferrari Four”, as the FF has four seats and 4WD – the first Ferrari to do so. In fact, being Ferrari, they developed a new 4WD system named 4RM, a stupidly complex system that is twice as light as the regular 4WD system found in most cars, and also twice as complex. In simple terms, 4RM activates 4WD when needed and actively transmits power to the wheels using a second gearbox.

Ferrari also decided they had to design differently, too. Rather than inserting two rear doors on the car, they elongated the rear to make a “shooting brake” design, and creating what is basically a V12 Punto – A hatchback that closely resembles the Ferrari 250GT Breadvan. Up in front, the FF holds a 6.3 litre V12 engine that pumps a staggering 653 HP. This takes it up to 209 MPH, which Ferrari claims makes this the fastest four-seater car.

It’s now about time that these four four-seater giants let their hair down. I’m taking the cars to Catalunya, since all these cars are from Europe, and none are from Spain. The first car to take to

the track is the Panamera... So I can get it over with.

The Panamera’s 4WD system launches the car almost instantaneously without loss of grip, and accelerates just as fast, too. The engine gives a low rumble without a hint from its twin turbos, taking the car up to 60 in 3.6 seconds.

Then suddenly an intricate wing slowly unfolds from the rear window, taking me absolutely be surprise. Its efforts are flawed, though, because the car understeers like a dead cow, and the brakes feel soft and lack any sort of rearward force at all. So that’s that – Not only does it looks bad, but it drives bad, too.

After taking a long, cold shower, I step into the Quattroporte. I’m genuinely excited about this, because I have a hunch that this’ll be the underdog of the four. Then I start the engine, and I know it. I high-pitched Italian wail escapes the rear exhausts, which whittles down to a low, pleasing hum at idle. Acceleration isn’t as snappy as the Panamera, at about 5.2 seconds, and there isn’t a little hidden wing to get happy about either. But the handling is responsive and the car grips the road. A little bit of oversteer is expected, but there’s no understeer to worry about and the brakes are surprisingly good.

Now it’s time for the Rapide to step up to the plate. Physically, this car is the same as the Quattroporte, with a front-engine, RWD layout and four doors. It looks and sounds just like any other Aston; the recognisable cockpit and dashboard, and a muffled growl from the engine.

The car accelerates to 60 in five seconds, and steers quick into the corners, both responsive and grippy. In fact, there is virtually no understeer at all, and the brakes still actually stop the car, which makes it the same as the Quattroporte, but much quicker in a straight line.

And finally, the FF. Unsurprisingly, this is like the Aston in that it both looks and sounds like a Ferrari; the wining V12, the speedometer, the wheel. But it doesn’t drive like a Ferrari. It launches like the Panamera, its 4WD taking it straight up to 60 in just 3.6 seconds. But when you get to a corner, the car acts more like a RWD, as the FF oversteers when the power is put down. However,

FORZA NATION 19

it has a tendency to understeer when braking, and response is generally poor. There is no active aero, either, although I feel it could benefit from it as the brakes feel somewhat sloppy for a Ferrari.

Like the Panamera, the FF has seven gears, each gear change being surprisingly quick, and like all other three cars, has a paddle changer gearbox.

All four cars are different, that in itself is obvious.

The figures give a good indication of which is better, and that is the FF, with a much higher top speed, 0-60 and generally better handling characteristics. But to drive, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the others. The worst car I can tell you now; the Panamera, with terrible understeer and soggy brakes. So, out of the Rapide and Quattroporte, which is the best? Both cars drive the same, as they are both RWD, and very heavy.

But at the end of the day, the Rapide is faster out of the two, and is generally more enjoyable to drive. It tops out just shy of 200 MPH, which is good enough to compete against most sports cars of today. It also seats four people in perfect comfort with four luxurious seats. So, surely this means it bridges that gap between speed and comfort; that missing link. But that’s a hard question to answer.

Think about this: A 40 year old man now has enough money to buy an average BMW M5. At the end of the day, what is he going to do with it?

Not what it is intended for, that’s what. He’ll drive it to work on congested roads, let it sit there for eight hours, then drive it home again on even more congested roads. So, what is he going to do with a Rapide instead? Sure, he has an Aston Martin, something you don’t exactly see every day, but it’ll be for the same use. The only advantage is that he can now flaunt his money.

If he was going to use his car on the track, I can tell you now that he wouldn’t buy a Rapide. Nor would he buy any of the other three cars. He’d buy a true sportscar, something that is actually made of the track.

What I’m trying to say is that the bridge that crosses the gap serves no real purpose. If you want luxury, choose luxury, and if you want performance, choose performance. So do yourself a favour, and buy a DBS.

20 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

HEAD TO HEAD V10 SHOWDOWN WORDS BY BAZT3RD IMAGES BY SEPS1974

OCTOBER 2012

FORZA NATION 21

Dodge 08’ Viper ACR Stats:

Lexus LFA

PI: S 653

PI: S 613

Price: 100,000 credits

Price: 350,000 credits

Speed: 7.5 Handling: 6.9 Acceleration: 8.4 Launch: 7.4 Braking: 6.9

Speed: 8.3 Handling: 5.8 Acceleration: 8.3 Launch: 7.8 Braking: 5.8

V10s are big and shouty most of the time, and are usually expensive. It’s a rare case for the Viper.

Since the new Viper came out, I wanted to take a closer look at the “now dead” 08’ Viper ACR, as well as the most expensive “Toyota” out there, the Lexus LFA. So, Dodge was founded by a pair of brothers, who where much like the Wright brothers. They started off making engines and chassis for Olds Motors and the then new Ford Motors. They are well known for great cars like the Challenger and Charger, and in 1989, the Viper was on their menu.

The Viper ACR has a behemoth 8.4L V10 mated to TR6060 6-speed manual. Zero to 60 is done in 3.4 sec, and it achieves a top speed of 182 mph. Now this Viper may look like it is pumped up and brutal, but it still has the same power as the regular SRT-10, although its upgrade list is meant for a mean lap around any track you choose. It comes with streetlegal racing tires, two-piece brake rotors, adjustable suspension, and improved aerodynamics. What that did was put it as the fourth fastest car around the Nürburgring, with a time of 7:12:13.

So let’s move on to Lexus. Lexus originated from a

clandestine flagship sedan project back in 1983 and showed up on America soil with the Lexus LS in 1989. Now, for almost 30 year, they have created some of the most well built and dull cars in the industry, but then they made the F division, a class of high performance cars aim to show off their ingenuity, and a couple after their first car the IS F, they went on to create the mother of all Japanese supercars, the LFA. The LFA has the opposite of a Viper V10, a dweeby little 4.8 liter V10 that is smaller than the IS F V8, and a 6-speed automated sequential gearbox with a minimum up-shift time of 200 ms. The LFA was in development for over 9 years, starting in 2000. First, it started out as aluminum framed car to improve power-to-weight ratio. Prototypes were seen regularly at the Nürburgring. It was then said the LFA would have a V10 and a hybrid power plant, but the hybrid never made it.

Sometime during development, they switched to a manufactured carbon fiber-reinforced polymer center monocoque frame with aluminum front and rear subframes. The LFA drew inspiration from Toyota’s past supercar, the 2000GT, and it is one of the most carefully crafted, and one of the most ridiculously expensive cars.

So, enough about the history lesson, let’s get on the track. The ACR has a lot going for it, the power, the speed, and now, the handling, and it does it all surprisingly well for a lot less money than you expect. On the other side, power is not what you get in the LFA, but it does do well with those corners. It one of my favorites to look at, yet driving it fills me with emptiness. It’s too controlled, unlike the Viper. Think of the LFA as the IS F. You look at them both and see a similarity; controlled, but no power to fill you up. On the other hand, the ACR is still the wild child of Dodge. Power is at its epicenter, but the aero restricts its speed and wildness. However, if you wanted to, you can send it sideways with so much control; you can say “I have tamed the beast within!” That last thing, though, is its downfall. If you give it too much power in the corners you’ll end up trying to straighten it out for awhile. That’s where that massive wing comes in to keep those tires on the line to prevent minimal step out. The LFA can keep a steady distance on the Viper, but the performance in the corners is too different that the LFA will lose out.

With all that, I say that the Viper is a king of its kind, and the ACR is a one of a kind Viper.

22 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

HEAD TO HEAD V8 STROKES FOR DIFFERENT BLOKES WORDS BY BAZT3RD IMAGES BY SEPS1974

OCTOBER 2012

FORZA NATION 23

M-B C63 AMG Black Series

Jaguar XKR-S

PI: A 579

PI: A 563

Price: 195,000 credits

Price: 120,000 credits

Speed: 8.1 Handling: 5.7 Acceleration: 8.1 Launch: 7.3 Braking: 5.7

Speed: 8.8 Handling: 5.2 Acceleration: 8.0 Launch: 7.2 Braking: 5.2

Last time, I wrote about two cars from England and Germany, and I wasn’t done. My two personal favorites have been released through DLCs, the new 2012 Jaguar XKR-S (April Alpinestars Car Pack) and the C63 AMG Black Series (Meguiar’s Car Pack), and I need to take them out for a spin.

So let’s start with the Jag. Jaguar started as Swallow Sidecar Company by Sir William Lyons in 1922. After WWII, funding was low and they merged with British Motor Corp. to form British Motor Holding, then in 1984 they went off on the their own. In 1999 it became part of Ford’s new Premier Automotive Group with other European Manufacturers owned by Ford, and in 2008 it was bought again by Tata Motors, along with Land Rover. They currently have three cars produced, and one of them is the XKR-S. The XKR-S comes with Jag’s 5.0L supercharged V8 and a 6-speed automatic transmission with Jaguar Sequential Shift and JaguarDrive selector. Zero to 60 is done in 4.2 sec, and a top speed of 205 mph.

This new iteration of the XKR-S is not just cosmetics, but power too. Producing more then 130 hp more than 4.2L in the past version, it is back for blood.

Running rampant on other V8 Euros, this is a contender for the ages. It’s been announced that it will be run in the ALMS.

Now let’s look at Mercedes-Benz. M-B’s name started appearing in 1926, but it traces back to Benz’s and the world’s first automobile, the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen. It’s owned by Daimler AG, and has its own in-house tuning division, the legendary AMG. Mercedes had a partnership with McLaren to make the insane SLR, and AMG has come up with so many pumped up version of Merc’s lineup, and some are tuned to the extreme, calling them AMG Black Series. So let’s look at AMG’s latest blackout, the C63 AMG Black.

The C63 Black has AMG’s ‘6.3’ 6.2L V8, and a 7-speed semi-automatic transmission that AMG made. This C63 AMG Black Series has the AMG Aerodynamics package, which I think is repulsive, but never mind that. It has an aero kit, an upgraded engine from the regular and whole bunch of bells and whistles that I could go on about, but most of it is for the real world, so let’s get on with review.

Now both are V8, but one can kick you repeatedly in the teeth every time you drive it, the XKR-S. While both have insane engines, but I believe that the Jag, with all that supercharged greatness, has more in common with the American musclecar, which I prefer. I just love superchargers; the noise from a supercharged V8 is sensational, and will put a smile on my face every time. The engine

in the XKR-S is the same one in the XFR, but with more power (about 30 more) along with the same transmission, makes it better for the sports cars of Jaguar. Not to say AMG doesn’t know how to kill you with their AMG ways. The C63 AMG Black’s engine is a furious one loaded with the AMG punch that when paired with their transmission will give you the speed you need. The Jag has more power to keep it going through a slide at high speed with its handling performance. It’s acceleration out of a corner is stupendous, and styling isn’t bad either. One problem that I found during my drive is too much power (as with all cars with high output) gives you a high chance of spinning out during a slide or cornering without assists on. The C63 AMG Black Series though, ranges from easy handling to insane, like its sister, the regular C63 AMG. The aero kit on the car does what it’s intended to do, but like a Viper ACR, it will be a handful. With the aero you can brake about .2 of a second later then the Jag. It does have the option to remove to the wing, but mind you, it’s as I said, it will be a handful. It will give you more speed, but less control.

For final thoughts, the Jag is more of a driver’s car, while the Merc is more of a racer. With that said, if I was driving both at the same time, they’d be driving identically.

24 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT 16 YEARS OF FERRARI Recently the Forza Community came together to celebrate 16 Years Of Ferrari. Check out some of their pictures.

Participants: SuntaDJ - 512TR Blazin LoudNLow - F40 and F40C laZytriP - 458 FirebirdPilot - 430S Coyfish40 - 360CS jrD Sayas - 250GTO XBR NicknGem - F355 XXSUPERCARZ24XX - 250 California SCSRT8 - 599GTO ToxikMunkey420 - Dino Chuckskybeam - F50 RefferingQuery FF Dead Poul - 612 ONE EYD TRTLHED- 575m x90TurboDSMx - 330 P4 UnraisedPenny - Enzo whereisOregon - California and F50 GT

“ THAT’S A LOT OF FERRARI’S ”

OCTOBER 2012

“ HOT CAR’S, HOT DAY ”

FORZA NATION 25

26 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

BUGATTI VEYRON SS 1:11.0 GUMPERT APOLLO ZONDA CINQUE

1:11.7 1:13.0

NOBLE M600

1:13.1

MURICELAGO SV

1:14.2

AVENTADOR 1:14.6 MC12 1:14.6 LP570-4S

1:14.8

CARRERA GT CC8S

1:14.8 1:14.9

ENZO 1:14.9 430S

1:14.9

SOME SAY HE WAS BANNED FROM XBOX LIVE FOR PARTICIPATING IN ILLEGAL UNDERGROUND HORSE RACING TOURNIMENTS IN SKYRIM. SOME SAY HE HAS FINSIHED FORZA 4. TWICE. ALL WE KNOW IS, HE’S THE FORZA NATION STIG. ALL LAP TIMES WERE DONE BY THE SAME DRIVER, FROM A STANDING START ON THE TOP GEAR TEST TRACK.

OCTOBER 2012

FORZA NATION 27

28 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

COMING SOON

OCTOBER 2012

FORZA NATION 29

If I’m to be perfectly honest with you, I’m a little bit bi-polar. Not a serious case, no medication or therapy needed, but I sometimes get rather more upset than a grown man ought to at life’s little hiccups, and when things go all wrong.

I find the best methods to keep my head are meditiation, and indulging in my passions. One of those passions is automobilia, and this is why Forza Motorsport is perhaps my greatest weapon against depression, anxiety, and general grumpiness.

As I said, I like to meditate. The thing is, having grown up in this fast paced, ever-accelerating world, I have a hard time quieting my mind and all that, meaning traditional, cross-leggedeyes-closed meditation isn’t my cup of tea. I also mentioned that indulging in my passions is important, and so.... *We hear the sound of an Xbox 360 powering up, followed by the strange “gronk-gronk” noise of its DVD drive* After a bad day at work, I’ll take a BMW V12 LMR onto the Nurburgring and do a few laps. As the stresses of my day melt away, and I zone into Forzaland, the game becomes so realistic I can swear I can feel the Gs one would be feeling in that car. Often my body twitches unconciously to counter these nonexistent G forces, and I’ve knocked a drink over with an errant elbow on more than one occasion.

As the digital miles tick by, I begin to experience the deepest, most introspective, most insightful thoughts that ever come to my mind. I stop conciously thinking about driving the car, yet, if anything, my lines improve. It’s like my conciousness is just leeching into the controller, putting the car on a sort of autopilot. I call it “German Jedi Mode”. The involuntary movements cease, my breathing and heart rate slow, and I come to a remarkably peaceful place at about 206 mph on the Nordschleiffe’s fwisty back straight. One could say I’m in a meditative trance of sorts. This could go on for up to an hour.

After my drive, the thoughts I’ve had tend to blur like the trackside scenery had done, and many specifics have gone. Some details remain, for instance I may have had an idea for an article, but in general it all blends into a sort of.. Feeling of betterment. I always feel better afterward. I flex my shoulders and my back goes “poppity-poppoppo” from the tension that is no longer there.

I look back at the things that irked me that day, and see with fresh eyes just how insignificant they were.

I have found my meditation. All this from a video game. Who says they’re bad for you?

T h e Z e n o f f o r z a

BY B WALD BIG MEK

30 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

e l y t s t f dri

BY SJD KEMURI & THE DRIFT COMMUNITY

Ever since The Fast and the Furious came out into cinemas, drifting has forever been synonymous with idiots who have a bigger, shinier car than their package. Understandably, I find this very frustrating. Drifting, as I stated in my previous drifting article, has a thriving wonderful community, full of co-operative and helpful individuals. This goes not just for the mechanics of cars, but for the style as well, and now I’m gonna run through why style is so important to drifting, and hopefully let this act as a sort of guide for people wondering how to make their cars look drift-spec.

If you have read my previous drifting article, you’ll have seen how I made a big fuss over personalization and individualism. Well, an identical ethos still remains in how the car looks. In the DL, this could not be more apparent.

I should explain however that, according to drift lore, “whomever imitates an established car, gets the evils”. Most people from the DL will be able to remember the countless copies of SnF Minty’s blue/white combo wingless R34 (see pictures) found in the storefront. This is probably where the most militant side of the DL habituates itself. Being original, and, more importantly, having a personal look, help to be noticed as a style icon, and copying someone is not only decreasing your style, but gaining you less respect as well. It’s not just about being original, individuality and imagination are just as important if not more so.

Now that’s out of the way, I can discuss paintjobs. The margin for paintjobs is actually pretty vast. You can adopt the clean look and have minimal paint/stickers on the car but with just about the perfect colour hew to make the car standout. Or you can go for a fully blown original competition paintjob. Stickers, it must be said, along with painted vents, scratches and rust patches, are among the most popular (and easy) things to do in terms of painting. If you know someone who is willing to share their stickers with you (stuff like “Eat. Sleep. Drift” and “JDM KILLER”, which was my one for muscle cars…), then you’re setto. A lot of stickers can be found on the SF, but remember that it’ll be locked and you won’t be able to change specific colours. Then you slap them on and voila. Obviously it isn’t that simple. If you go poking around the Show Your Drift Car thread in the DL, you’ll often see the same car a few times but in different colours, which is just the process of colour elimination.

Alot of the time, you’ll see people using the cosmetic damage mode to their advantage to get rid of bumpers to get the proper ‘matsuri’ look (see pictures). If you search ‘Ebisu matsuri’ into vimeo, watch a few videos that come and you’ll see damaged cars drifting like a puppy with buttered paws.

But why? Not sure, but I think its something to do with the roots of drifting, which started out in Japan with young guys sliding and sluicing through the mountains. Drifting culture is embedded in the ‘cheap and fun’ motoring ideal, and has been since its genesis. Not that drifting is cheap, but tires are more important than food anyway, so that’s ok. In Forza, body kits that alter the wheel-arches and width of the car aren’t available, so the geniuses of the DL took there painting mojo and applied it to their cars. Most people have to double take with the insane detail these paintjobs receive.

This may seem odd but sometimes the build of the car can be a bit of a style statement. I’d like to quickly mention my ‘K-Bomb’ from FM3, which was an army green ’79 Camaro Z28. It wasn’t very fast, but my god it sounded good and got angle. The reason it did so was because under the hood it had the V8 from an IROC-Z, with a couple twin-turbo chargers slapped on.

Thus, it produced 558 bhp, and 785 Ib ft of torque. Stupid numbers, but it strangely worked. I did it because I could, it was absurd and it was different.

Unfortunately, that same engine build cannot be replicated in FM4, which is a shame. So like having biblical numbers can provide a statement, what engine you have can too. For example, putting an RB34 TT engine into an S13, and then, crucially, making it work with the car. It’s unfortunate to say that there aren’t really any whacky engine choices for cars in FM4. It was disappointing when we heard that the 787B engine couldn’t be put into a Miata, but alas alack.

So I hope I’ve given you a somewhat more defined vision of what drifting style is, so to conclude I’ll end with this. Drifting is NOT about being flashy, or having the most exotic car. It’s also not about what your car looks like before you tune it. It’s about what you can do with a relatively tame looking car that’s original and realistic.

Devlin ‘Yeah I Drift Too’ GFS

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Now here are some exemplar cars from the DL, all representing a particular kind of style (although there can be over-lapping): Pictures with corresponding paragraph on the style, including:

Dgkoe – Hood Art + competition car “Well as GrahamC216 released his N2 fenders i had to have them. Since they were white i couldn’t have my usual purple/black two-tone, so since those fenders already had some sort of race style to it I tried to get some sort of old-school style to the whole vehicle. When i was searching for ideas i thought it would be cool to integrate my national colors (germany)as a stripe and my birth date as a number. Now that i didn’t want to have a race-car but a drifter i added some ‘’street’’ elemnts to it like the sunroof and the hood which is actually a painting called The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai and which i have seen on real-life cars before. I then added some stickers to the sides and it was somehow missing something on the hood. So i got back to those race elements and added them in a basic way.”

Dgkoe

END Impulse – Slammed “The reason I ended up slamming my S15 is mostly because of looks. I love the way S chassis cars look and I thought it would look that much better if I added some stance to it. The kit was painted by one of the painters on Quantum Designs, so credit for it goes to SomeRandom1diot.

On top of that, it really makes the car stand out. There might be a lot of S15’s out there with kits on them, but they don’t all HAVE to look the same. That’s why I tried to make this one different, you know?”

END Impulse

XE Impactz – Clean “When I decided to buy my IS350, my main focus was to create a car which maintained its factory body lines but was accented with subtle modifications. That’s why I decided to buy a set of Work Eurolines to stay within the form of the Jdm VIP style. This style focuses mainly on clean big body Jdm cars with a nice drop and a good set of 3 piece wheels. After my wheels were properly fitted, I got a custom vent cut into my fenders to maintain the VIP focus for my car. Overall I’m very pleased with the car because of its clean and simple appeal and it looks even better sideways” 

XE Impactz

PD Irish – Used and Abused “The “Matsuri” look is basically when you take your car that got destroyed from drifting and carrying on drifting. We’re talking mis-matched bumpers, zipties holding parts on, body parts in the back seat, I’ve even seen a car in Japan once who had his headlights on his roof!! But yeah, Matsuri is just taking out your beat up old banger of a car and running it as hard as possible, and that is always reflected in the appearance at the end of the day!”

SnF Minty – Iconic Drift Look “I instantly loved the way the car handled in RWD format with the RB26, and it was very successful in competitions too. It wasn’t until a few months later that I got in touch with FubarWales, who is the Founder of Core Concepts, a paint shop aimed purely at drifting. Fubar is the front man when it comes to bodywork on Forza (at least, in my opinion). I gave him the simple concept of clean but used. I sent him the car in what I considered to be the best colour for an R34, with the logos already on there and he just took the car to a whole new level. I also managed to get a photo of the car into T10 pics. I got so many messages asking if the paint was going to be sold that I just had to keep it to myself, purely because I had something unique. A few people did try to blatantly copy the design and I lashed out at first because I felt that they where taking that uniqueness away, but I come to learn that if they liked the design so much they where willing to copy it, I should be flattered not annoyed…”

PD Irish

SnF Minty

Fuzzi Domo – Wide Bodykit “Well the real reason I went with arches is because I wanted to be different, i didn’t want to be another guy with a rocket bunny kit I wanted it stand out from everyone. The whole idea of the car came from a drawing I found while browsing through some photos on Google. After I found it I brought the idea up to one of my good friend rouge reaper owner of drifter’s ink to make my idea into one of the most insane and different GT-86 in Forza.”

Fuzzi Domo

32 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

THE FFHC SOAPBOX DERBY GENTLEMEN, DON’T START YOUR ENGINES!

BY B WALD BIG MEK So, everyone knows what “soapbox” racing is, yes? No? Well, soapbox racing is a form of motorless motorsport, in which children drive wooden, home-made cars down a hill, in an effort to reach the bottom first. Picking a good line through the corners is key, as maintaining momentum is the difference between placing 1st and placing not-1st.

Recently, I organized a soapbox derby for my Car Club in FM4, “FFHC”. Soapboxing CAN be done in Forza, and here’s how: First, select an F or E class car (I used the ‘63 Beetle from the April DLC pack). Then, make sure all assists are switched off. Especially important is the selection of “manual w/clutch” as your transmission option. Third, select a section of Fujimi Kaido that is downhill from start to finish. I recommend the “New Downhill” track.

When the race begins, hold the clutch and rev the engine to start the car rolling. You don’t need to rev very high, in fact anything above idle will do- you aren’t propelling the car with these revs, after all. At 5-10 mph you can release the throttle, but keep holding that clutch. From here to the finish, your goal is to be as smooth as possible in the corners, just like a kid in a wooden soap-boxer. Use your brakes sparingly, and avoid squealing the tyres- that warbling sound represents speed being lost to friction.

Once you’ve tried this a few times, ol’ B-Wald here has another challenge for you: Now do it without using your brakes either. There are a few bits on New Downhill where you will be going far too fast to make a given corner due to the steep downhill grade. Without the use of brakes, the only way to slow down is to knife the car left and right until it starts to fishtail, scrubbing away the extra speed with the rear tyres. It’s not unlike “carving” while riding a snowboard.

The timing of this is quite tricky: If you stop fishtailing too early, you’ll pick up too much speed before entering the corner. Too late, and you may find yourself entering the corner at the wrong angle, such as sideways.You could also contact the wall, which could bring your race to an early, and undignified, end.

The FFHC soapbox derby, unfortunately, was a bit of a bust: We elected to use a 5-second roll-off delay, to avoid racers crashing into each other while taking different lines through the corners. However, the delay time was actually ADDED to competitors’ finish times!

Since we couldn’t recall the exact order in which we started, we only had an accurate time for the first finisher. A shockingly bad piece of programming, that. Our wealthiest club member had promised 10 million CR to the winner. Since that could not be determined, he simply gifted expensive cars, like Ferarri 250 GTOs, to everyone involved. What a guy! Despite the event’s ultimate failure, everyone agreed it was a ton of fun, and an entirely new (old?) way to race.

There are a few things to consider when selecting cars for soapbox racing: For instance, a car’s P.I. is virtually meaningless. The only numbers that matter are handling, braking, and weight. Ideally, all competitors should use the same car, with no upgrades or tuning.

The FFHC event was run using Chevy Volts, since they’re already virtually silent. For extra challenge, try sticking everyone in large cars with poor handling, like ‘59 Cadillacs or ‘57 Chevy Bel Airs, and watch the sparks fly. ’ve been playing Forza games since FM2, and driving sims in general since the 1st “Need for Speed” title, back in 1994, and I’ve never done anything like this until about 2 weeks ago. Truth be told, it’s one of the most fun things I’ve done in a racing game in a long, long time. I highly recommend everyone try it!

Check my “B Wald Big Mek” storefront in FM4 to see a replay of me tackling Fujimi Kaido New Downhill in a ‘63 Beetle, with no engine or brakes. Proof it CAN be done! Just remember, you don’t necessarily need engines to have some serious competition.

OCTOBER 2012

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FORZA NATION PDF & ONLINE

AVAILABLE THE FIRST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH STAY UP TO DATE BY FOLLOWING US: ON TWITTER @FORZANATION ON FACEBOOK /FORZANATION AND KEEP TRACK OF OUR THREAD ON FM.NET

34 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

WHEELS THE BASICS TIPS BY DEVLINGFS Whether your a Fantec Fanatic or a Microsoft Weel Nut, you’ve decided to take the plunge and buy yourself a wheel. Some say it’s the ONLY way to enjoy Forza. I’d defiantly agree it enhances the experience, and I’d encourage anyone wanting to take their racing career to the next level to do so. It’s not however, a necessity, and id definetly suggest starting off on the cheap. I’d liken it to getting out of your Formula 3 car and hopping into a Formula 1 car. How different can it be? Well, looks can be deceiving.

Just incase it’s not your cup of tea, or can of motor oil, try things out where you can, at friends for example. Whilst this may not be ideal, any time you can get behind a wheel is going to be beneficial.

Whilst an expensive Fanatec Wheel and gaming rig may be the dream setup; in the dream gaming room we all aspire to, have one day it

can be a very expensive way to blow a whole lot of cash. But I’m going to skip the part where I sell the wheel to you. At the end of the day the only person that can really convince you to take that step, is you. If you have bills to pay, rent to fork out each month, then let that internal debate rage inside you. Maybe we will tackle that particular problem in a later article, but for now let’s assume you have the wheel home, sitting in it’s box.

So you’ve ponied up the cash. The dough. The moolagh. You’ve taken a hit to the pocket so the hard parts over right? Think again. If your experience of a racing wheel only goes as far as a couple of quick goes on an arcade machine, you will quickly realise that going from a pad to a wheel, it can be a very frustrating and jarring experience. Fear not Forza faithful, whilst I don’t profess to be a pro, I too have suffered this experience and have a few tips that might just help you out some.

OCTOBER 2012

1.

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Positioning The first thing you are (not) going to want to do is spend some time setting up your wheel. No doubt you’ll want to rip open the box, toss the manual aside and get straight to racing. This is bad. Resit the urge.

Find somewhere suitable to mount your wheel, whether you have a full rig or just a coffee table, make sure everything is locked down. I have known people to just sit the wheel on their lap, then as soon as the Force Feedback kicks in... the wheel is somewhere half way across the room, and you could potentially have a sprained wrist. Use the clamp (that come’s with 99% of wheels) to make sure everything is secure. Make sure the height and reach of the wheel is set up so you aren’t straining yourself. After an hour or so you don’t want to stop beacuse you ache.

Spending 20 -15 minutes setting everything up will pay dividens down the road.

2.

Settings

3.

Start Off Slowly

Right now your comfy straight to the racing right? Wrong. As great as your wheel is, it’s probably going to handle like a piece of junk out of the box. Your going to want to adjust some settings such as sensitivity and deadzones. I won’t go into it here, just google your wheel make and ideal settings. Although they will no doubt change depending on the game. F1 2011 worked great on default (although much better after adjusting the settings) whereas Forza 4 was impossible to drive. You will need to keep coming back to the settings for the first few weeks to a month or so, as you adjust to the wheel, but once you have dialed it in, it will feel awesome.

Seeing as this is a Forza Magazine, let’s get into the specifics of Forza a little more. So I’d suggest starting off slowly at first. Try running with everything off, but if you struggle don’t feel ashamed of turning a few assists on.

Play with what works and improves your lap times. As you get faster start to turn them back off. Set yourself deadlines and targets, such as ‘I want to achieve a lap time of 1.X.XX on Silverstone GP by Sunday’ but make them realistic. By having deadlines your pushing yourself and also not starting to rely on the assists. Make them achievable though, within a certain percentage of your controller based times. Over time you will see your laptimes fall inline with your controller based times, and eventually surpass them.

4.

(Not So) Pro Tips Eventually you may want to start to modify your wheel. If you have a wheel like mine, the pedals don’t have a lot of resitance which can make braking a nightmare. Whilst adjusting brake pressures in game can help, so can putting a piece of foam or sponge behind the pedals.

Look for other mods online, although if you have spent a lot of money you might want to hold off taking apart your £500 piece of kit straight away, thus voiding the warranty.

Take care of your wheel, keep it clean and store it out of the way when not in use. You don’t want someone or something falling over it and breaking it.

5.

The Old Cliché Yep, you guessed it. Practice, practice, practice. Your lap times won’t fall over night unless your some kind of wheel demon. Keep at it and eventually all the hard work will pay off. I think. I hope. I’m still waiting....

36 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

FORZA LIFER

FROM DREAM TO TEAM WORDS & IMAGES BY DEVLINGFS

In the Beginning

Concept to Design

They say if you cut me oil will pour from my veins like a Texan oil well. Racing is in my blood. From the sound of the first engine firing up in practice, the smell of burnt rubber after qualifying to the roar of the crowd as the lights go out on race day. It’s my passion, my dream, my life.

I contacted a few friends I had made in the industry to begin with, just to chat it over and relight the fire. Before I knew it we had over 50 staff all working on designs and concepts. Now I’m no engineer as you can imagine but I know a thing of beauty with I see one. One of my oldest friends Mark, an aero engineer; one of the best in the industry, design a work of art. This thing was sleek and menacing all at the same time. It looked fast even though it was just a sketch on a computer. We passed it through to development but costs to get it built and running were in the $150 million range. That’s cheap said Mark, my heart sank.

Sadly I had to retire from being a driver 5 years ago at the ripe old age of 32. By no means was I an old timer, a seasoned vet perhaps, but still too old to get into anything else that wasn’t at a hobbiest level. It seemed no one wanted a middle of career driver with a blasted leg, no matter how many races or championships you’ve won. More metal than flesh, my right leg just doesn’t have the finesse or dexterity be as precise on the throttle as I need to be. As I used to be. But my heart still aches for the buzz of the pit lane.

With all the skills I built as a driver over the years, knowing my machine inside out, to the layout of most major circuits, the only thing I have now that is of any use is where to eat in any given capital city.The day I had my crash was the day my world stopped. Then it hit me, if no race team would have me, I would have to start my own.

I had done well for myself over the years, been careful with my money and made some smart investments, 150 million? Well out of my league. We could have sought investment, but that would have meant handing over a lot of control that I wasn’t willing to do. Maybe we we’re approaching things the wrong way. We just wanted to race, not build a car and put it into production. Not yet anyway. We had to think again.

At least we decided to race modify an existing car, but what?

An Aston, Ferrari, Lambo? No. McLaren. I’m a huge fan of McLaren and the MP4-12C is one of my favourite cars. Even if the name did sound like some high tech women’s lingerie.

“ OUR DONOUR CAR, A LITTLE BEAT UP BUT NOTHING TO BAD ”

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“ BODY WORK COMPLETE, PRIMED READY FOR AERO & PAINT ” ‘Organ’ Donor

Work Begins

Of course we looked into but a fully tuned race car, either from the manufacturer or a specialist group, but only came across older models. As I though none of the race teams out there wanted to sell on their blood sweat and tears, or reveal their current setups and secrets. The few that did, we’re asking way too much. Money wasn’t much of issue, but I wasn’t about to be taken for a ride.

Steve and a few of the other guys wen’t to take a look at the car. Not only was it a perfect specimen, save for a few scratches and an engine that had seen better days, but the price was right. They brought it back to our lock up, where Paul Burrows and John Phelps set to work on the body work. Beating out the damaged panels, sanding and finally priming, all that was left was to remove the engine.

I asked Steve Green, our technical supervisor to look for a donor car. I knew this would add to development time and push the cost up, but to be competitive it was our only chance.

We wan’t to win races, not just watch them unfold from the back. Steve visited every corner of the UK, and even took a trip through Europe, stopping off at the Nürburgring. Found plenty of people willing to part with their rides there. Once they had written them off that is. Eventually Steve got a call from a guy down in the south of England. Finally looked like we had found our car.

We had a few issues removing the M838T 3.8 litre twin-turbo V8.

It had overheated at some point in time and parts of it had melted to the engine bay. It took quite a bit of time removing it carefully without damaging the car further.

Whilst the original V8 was already substanial we swapped it out for a custom built 4.5 litre V8, naturally asperated to conform to GT3 standards. The new engine should kick out around 592 BHP, and with weight reduction offer a vastly superior power to weight ratio.

38 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

Dorset

Concept to Design

We managed to secure a high tech facility in Dorset. It took some tracking down, finding somewhere large enough to suit our needs, but not too large. A lot of what we looked at was designed for testing and building aeroplane parts. We wanted our base of operations to be in the South of England, with easy access to Europe. The building itself was perfect, complete with wind tunnel and adject office block we would later use for the racing team admin and head office.

In the wind tunnel the car performed very well. It was extremely nerve -wracking waiting to see how the car would perform. Up until that point all we had to go off was simulated data and information gather from scale model tests.

Once the car was stripped and beaten back into shape, we transferred the car to the new facility and installed the new aero parts. The aero itself was designed by our Design Technician George White. A totally professional guy with over 30 years in the buisness. How we got him onboard I will never know, but I will always be honoured that we did.

Our technical team installed the parts (after a few sizing issues) and again the car was given a coat of primer. We got the car into the wind tunnel and started to gather technical data.

The car performed as expected, but it was on the track where our crucial data would come. Dyno testing, engine tuning, testing on our test track, rinse, repeat. Luckily we had just the driver to help. Craig Bell was our summer test driver, sadly he wasn’t available to the team full time, so we would still have to find a driver and re tune the setup come Autumn.

September 2012 Craig had to go back to his team to compete in the GT3 World Series, but we had the car finally set up and a solid month to paint the bodywork and fine tune a few things.

Most importantly we had found our driver; Ando Alzzoni, a young driver from Italy, full of the passion and fire I had once. I’m as still as passionate and driver as ever, but now I try channel my energies into things I can still do. Like building a race car.

“ AERO INSTALLED, READY FOR PAINT ”

OCTOBER 2012

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“ BASE PAINT ”

“ DESIGN COMPLETE ”

“ SPONSORS VINYLS ”

“ RACE READY ”

40 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

PAINT OF THE MONTH PAINT BY: SCHUEY007 CAR: 2012 VAUXHALL INSIGNIA VXR PRICE: 1000 CREDITS THIS MONTHS PAINT IS BY SCHUEY007 ON THE VAUXHALL INSIGNIA VXR. IT’S WITHOUT A DOUBT ONE OF THE BEST SPIDERMAN PAINTS WE HAVE SEEN AND A STEAL AT ONLY 1000 CREDITS. HIGHLY DETAILED AND EACH SIDE HAS A UNIQUE DESIGN GIVING IT THAT COMIC BOOK FEEL.

VENOM VS SPIDEY? YES PLEASE!

OCTOBER 2012

TUNE OF THE MONTH TUNE BY: SCOUSE BIKER CAR: #9 PEUGEOT SPORT TOTAL 908 PRICE: 10,000 CREDITS THIS MONTHS TUNE IS BY SCOUSE BIKER. FOR THOSE THAT LOVE TO GO FAST THIS IS A TUNE FOR YOU. A RACE TUNE BEST USED WITH NO ASSISTS, BE IT HOT LAPPING OR IN A LOBBY. BEST OF ALL MOST PEOPLE HAVE THIS CAR THROUGH THE LEVELING SYSTEM, SO IF YOUR LOOKING TO GET INTO R1 THIS IS A GOOD TUNE, ALTHOUGH IT WILL PUSH YOUR SKILLS TO THE MAX.

THIS ONE IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!

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42 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

OCTOBER 2012

FORZA NATION 43

TRACK GUIDE: ROAD ATLANTA

WITH STANDAMAN 94

Located in north Georgia, Road Atlanta was formed in 1970 when a Can-Am race was rescheduled to the newly purchased plot of farmland, where the track was built in just six months. This is reflected in the track’s geometry, as it twists and winds up and down the various hills in the land.

Today, Road Atlanta is owned by Panoz, along with Sebring, near to Panoz’s motorsports base in Braselton, where the track is located. The track is well known for its “Esses” between turns three and five, and the high-speed back straight that rolls up and down the hills in the track.

Road Atlanta has many configurations, including the GP Course used by ALMS, a slightly extended course used by the AMA Superbikes, the Club Course and School Course at alternate ends of the track, and a short Formula Drift course located at the top of the hill at turn 12.

So, onto the track. Staying on the left side after coming from Turn 12, you’ll have to keep an eye on the rapidly incoming Turn 1, a surprisingly tight uphill right-hander that is also almost entirely blind.You may have to brake earlier than you think here; the access road on the left is a good indicator. As you turn in, aim for the white patch of tarmac at the apex. When exiting the corner, you don’t necessarily need to use up all the track, because you may find yourself poorly set up for the tricky Turns 2 and 3.

Head towards the right of the track and follow the dotted pit exit line. When the line starts to dart right and disappear, turn left into Turn 2. You may need to tap the brakes a little just before to balance the car. Hit the curb on the left, and then aim for the apex of Turn 3: a raised bump with a cone on top. You shouldn’t have to brake here; if you braked just before Turn 2, you should be at a good speed to just glide over Turn 3. Then, like Turn 1, don’t go all the way to the left. Stay near the middle, and then go to the curb on the left as it bends around. This’ll get you in the perfect position to tackle the Esses, and it’ll also give you a bit more speed than those who don’t take this line.

A tap on the brakes again after the patch of fresh tarmac on the left, then turn in at the tiny curb just after. You should now be right where you can just line up the apexes down the hill.

On the last right-hander of the Esses, brake firmly near the apex, then hang left and follow the curb on the left up the incline round the corner. Swing out and use up as much of the green and white curb on the right as you can (if you car will let you); you should aim for the last white segment of it where it meets the shortcut for the School Course. Then it’s full speed over the hill, staying towards the left.

Turn 6 is a particularly tricky banked corner. Braking is dependent on how fast your car is going, but just remember that it’s likely you’ll need to go slower than you think. Believe it or not, the perfect line through this is laid out in front of you; it’s

that light grey section of Tarmac. Of course, feel free to take a slightly later entry to the corner, because if your car can make it then you’ll find yourself a little extra speed through it.You should be able to more-or-less power all the way round from where the cone on the right is.

Turn 7 is Turn 6’s evil brother. Despite what it may look like, it is actually not a perfect 90 degree bend, and is in fact slightly tighter. Brake at least before the cone on the right, then turn in late (about where the curb on the left ends) and aim for where the apex curb on your right meets the grass. You should then find yourself pointed straight at the cone on the left, and on the home run. You’re now on the fastest part of the track. Stick to the left, and look out for where the shortcut for the Club Course meets you on the right. Turn in to the right and follow the curb of Turn 9 around down the hill.

Ideally, you should brake for Turn 10A just as you start to go down the hill. Of course, that depends on your car, so this is going to take some practice. Try not to turn in too late, otherwise you’ll miss the apex. Then go hand left a little and head to where the curb on the apex of Turn 10B ends, and cut it slightly.

Head up the hill on the left, then just before the crest of the hill get in the centre of the track and head to the right. You’ll find yourself following the pit entrance line, then out to the left where the cone is. Follow the curb, then where it turns into the yellow line, hit the brakes a tad, turn in to Turn 12, ride the curb (so long as you don’t slide), then it’s full power over the line.

Bonus points if you hit the curb on the left over the finish line without touching the grass (while still on full power, of course).

44 FORZA NATION OCTOBER 2012

QUESTION TIME INTERVIEW WITH TORA

TORA is the leading edge in online motorsports, taking a professional role in modern simulation racing. It holds the record for being the world’s first virtual association to be recognised by a real-world organisation – The Motorsports Association of United Kingdom. As such, TORA holds themselves to realistic guidelines, tackling their huge events in a realistic manner. TORA’s flagship series, the MSA TORA GT Championship, currently has around 150 entrants. Of these 150, the one winner will receive a full sim racing rig from GT Omega Racing, the GT Championship’s primary sponsor.

I’ve managed to get a word in with some of the admins at TORA - Matt, CEO and founder; Simon, GT organiser and media creator; Richy, TCC organiser and community manager; Duncan, club secretary; and Adrian, TORA TV commentator.

How did TORA start? Who was the main man, and how have things changed since then?

Matt: The series that started TORA was based in November 2007. It came about basically because the series I was racing in prior to that was not very interesting in doing anything sportscar related. I really wanted to go down the GT racing route, and set up a small series that went along the lines of the British GT Championship as it was at the time. On Forza 2, there wasn’t a huge range of GT3 cars, so we formulated a small car list of production GT cars. The first race was in February 2008, and that was at Silverstone International Circuit. Four guys turned up for that one, which was fantastic, and I didn’t even with that either!

I suppose the biggest thing that’s changed since then is the size of the team who’s running it, primarily.

We’ve gone from pretty much me.

I had another guy, a German who ended up winning the first year. He was involved in sorting out the first year’s regulations. I had Chucky [BG Chucky 82], who was involved in the initial start-up. Of course, we have the team that we have now, we’ve gone from one championship to five. The whole thing is tonnes bigger than it was, and obviously it’s more professional, which is great.

Duncan: Myself and Richy joined season two. Richy joined for season

two of the GTs and I joined the second race of the second season at TORA. The team have expanded quite dramatically, I suppose sharing the workload, per se, but we’ve got a really good team behind the scenes now, and we all get on really well.

We’re trying to push the boundaries of virtual racing on the Xbox to its Nth degree, I believe.

How did you get into the positions you’re in now?

I think it was being taken a little bit at a time so I just took it upon myself to do a temporary website at the time. Ever since then it sort of became the actual website, which I then improved on. Through my efforts through there, Duncan had responsibilities arrive, and stepped down from being the GT organiser at the time and asked if I would take the job, to which I gladly said yes.

Adrian: It goes back to being in the TORA Podcast, back when it Richy: I started off when I came into was Matt, Duncan, me, Shane and racing. I did a couple of races and Louis of course and Chris. I think ended up being a moderator on the it bottled down to the fact that old forums quite quickly. Someone we were looking for people to do was looking for moderators and I just work with intro music and I gladly ended up taking the position, and provided one, then Matt said “Do started working through that. Scott, you want to be part of the Podcast?” ckBrenneke, he was kinda in charge and because I listened to things of us at the time, he was sort of the like Radio Le Mans I went “Alright!”. mod’s squad leader, and after about The whole TORA Radio thing was a year or so of being under his wing, almost like a two hours thing, a bit he stepped back from the position too long, so Matt stopped doing and gave it over to me, so I became it, Duncan stopped doing it, and I head moderator and community became the host for a while. Around manager as it stands just now.

November time last year after we all met up at Silverstone, I think it was Duncan: Ricky and Matt both Louis who suggested to Simon that brought me in as a community lead, I should be part of the commentary and then up to community manager, team for the first test videos, which and then into my GT role, and then were presenting the TORA GT24 up to where I am now.

Championship, which was a build-up Simon: I joined in season 4, which is to season 8. It’s stuck ever since, and 2009, of the GT series. I think mainly of course now I’m doing the live stuff my working my way upwards in as well, which is, well, kind of cool.

TORA just came about when the website was being redesigned, but Duncan: I think we want to go over

OCTOBER 2012

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THE ONLINE RACING ASSOCIATION WITH MATT HUNTER, SIMON BIGGS, RICHARD MILLARD, DUNCAN RAY, AND ADRIAN MICHAEL REES.

that we all get on very well behind the scenes. Obviously there’s discussions that have taken place, but where we are now as a group, we all work really well together, we all bounce off each other’s ideas, so we’ve got quite a good little group working behind the scenes at the moment.

What does being recognised by the MSA mean for TORA? Matt: The MSA, obviously being the governing body of motorsport within the UK, gives us a USP [unique selling point] primarily when going to other people and saying “This is what we do”. It also, in my mind, puts us further closer to the line of real racing, rather than just simply being another sim racing community. It highlights that we are primarily aiming at blurring the line between the simulated and real.

The fact that they’ve recognised us at all is quite a huge deal, it shows that there’s a move towards understanding what sim racing can do, and obviously simulators are becoming a big part of real world motorsport as well.

Richy: For me, personally, the MSA thing shows how serious we take it, and how serious it’s thought of from other people. We’ve brought up that we do an online racing

thing to motorsport companies and videogame companies and when we talk about what we’re doing, they’re like “Oh that’s really cool, you seem to have all the numbers, blah blah blah”, and we say that we’re officially recognised as a real club in the UK, and they get a lot more interested in it. So we’re not just another sim racing group, we’re pretty official and we try to take it quite seriously but making sure we’re providing a fun atmosphere at the same time.

How did you go about getting this recognition?

proper rules packages and processes in place to deal with everything from stewards enquiries and all that kind of thing, we had to prove. The nice thing is we had all this stuff in hand anyway, so we could pretty much just hand it all over to them, slightly embelish it and improve the language of it. In that regards it doesn’t sound like a very complicated process but it took several months to get them to understand the initial concept of what it is we did. Once we’d done that, it was pretty straight forward.

Duncan: Obviously they chatted to us as well by corraspondance and Matt: The process for that one is quite got them to understand who we are, laborious, because you’ve got to prove where we went. Just doing it for a bit of you’ve got certian types of legislation fun, we’re quite professional with what in place. Most of it isn’t totally relevant we do, no matter how much we get to us because a lot of it is actual Googled we don’t get paid for doing health and safety stuff. You know, being this but we take it upon ourselves to at actual circuits and the things that put on a professional manner on as are required for those kind of things, well, which is what all MSA clubs do as so the initial discussions were very well. much down the lines of getting them to understand what it is we actually Matt: I think the key point to remember do, getting them to appreciate that is that this is the very first one in the the type of motorsport that we’re world. We are the first sim racing doing doesn’t involve being at an group to achieve this, and that in actual circuit, obviously it’s virtual, so itself should kind of explain, without a lot of the health and safety side of going to too many words, what has it doesn’t relate. With the legislative been entailed in getting them to side of it and proving that we’ve got appreciate the whole concept of sim

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racing. An aweful lot of work had to go in to get them to understand it, but it’s the same with anyone, as we said earlier, once we’ve explained what it is they say “Oh actually that’s really cool”. We’re in the very early stages of getting them to appreciate us as us a form of proper grass-roots motorsport, which I think something that will only develop as time goes on and people need to look for more low-cost ways of going about their racing.

Matt: That’s another thing, as well.

We’re probably one of the only groups around that promote every aspect of motorsport, not just the racing. We have people who do commentary, the media, looking at the engineering side of things, the car painting, developing the imagery and identies around a race team, and that kind of stuff, and that’s just as important as the racing, I think. A lot of people underestimate just what a big part of it that actually plays.

Adrian: On the back of that we’ve also got several TORA members who are going racing professionally around tracks in Britain and also in Florida. Louis Satterlee was the TORA TV commentator also taking part Florida Karting Championship, and also off the back of his commentary is doing a gig with the Florida Karting Championship as well. We used to have Ashley Sutton as well, the last thing as saw him in was Ford Fiestas, and that was last year.

Duncan: We’ve also got Matt, who’s a qualified marshall. The marshall’s the grass-roots of motorsport, and if it weren’t for marshalls like Matt going out in his weekends, his spare time, to a circuit, there’d be no motorsport in which we enjoy.

This recognition is in the GWR, how did that happen? Do you have a certificate? Could you show us?

was a real record and something we could do. The Ready Up guys were all doing the work for it, they were putting all the records together for the Gaming Edition, so that’s how it all came about. I’m not 100% sure how they found us, but they wanted to get in touch with us, and found out more about what we did, and put us through for the Guiness World Record, which we really owe them a lot for.

Tell us about your current main series’ at TORA, and how they started.

Duncan: We’ve got two flag runners: The GTs, which we are now using Richy: We don’t have a certificate, race cars in season 9. The past eight but it’s in the book, so it is official. It’s seasons we’ve used productionsomething that nobody can beat, based vehicles, so it’s been a big either, because we are the first; it’s not game change this season, going like somebody can go out and beat from productions to racing cars. that record. That came about when We’ve got Touring Cars, which started we got an email through from Ready off I believe in Forza 2. We’re now in Up, who basically run their own season 6 of the Touring Cars. The internet magazine in their own spare ISCC is our sportscar series, that’s time, it’s all a hobby for them as well. been going since Forza 2, where it They got in touch with us looking at was the LeMans series, its original doing an interview of what we did, name. That’s multiclass sportscar which was about this time last year. racing with different categories; at At the time they mentioned to us that the moment we’ve got P1, P2, GTE they wanted to put us through for a and GTC. Then we’ve got the newest Guinnes World Record because it of our series, the Endurance Series.

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Richy: This isn’t a fully-fledged series with points and structure and that. We weren’t really sure how it was going to run for the first year, but now that we know it’s popular and people enjoy doing it, we’ll definitely be looking into making it a proper series.

management, and the guys who are doing it in the US or the UK, where in the UK it’s early morning and the US it’s early night, is getting them to see who can stay awake the longest, especially when you have a team based solely in Europe.

ckBrenneke’s thing. When we started the GT season, we knew that everyone was looking for something slower, where you had more focus on the slower cars and you had to do more tuning to be quick in cars that were very similar paced all the time, and also easier to drive since we knew Simon: The actual series, back in Simon: The GTs I’ve only been in that the GT cars, especially on Forza November or December when we charge of for a year now, so I’ve only 2, were road cars and if you put loads were discussing it, the plan was to got two seasons out of the nine that of power into them they didn’t work all run a full-length endurance race have actually gone through. The only the time; it was a struggle, because every month. So you would see things main thing that I’ve had the decision they weren’t really designed for that like a 24 Hours at Hockenhiem in making process of is changing it to much horsepower. That’s why over the replacement of SPA, a Suzuka 1000km, the race cars. Initially back in season 1, course of the series, with the seven Daytona round Indionapolis or Sunset, if it was possible race cars would have seasons we’ve had, the power ended and just doing a full-length one every been used from the very first season, up coming down so it was easier to month, but at this point I’m kind of but there just wasn’t enough, so the handle. But Touring Cars started off glad we didn’t. In hindsight, if we did transference from production cars to with one lobby as a side-series to the have more endurance events going race cars was a very easy decision, GTs. It’s always been there, and it’s on this year, the four that we have got seeing as now with all the DLC that’s been very popular this year and been might not have seemed that special. been coming out we’ve got a lot of a really big success, with a lot of big I think have one really big race every GT cars that would necessitate an teams and a lot of big names taking quarter really does make it a really entire season. In terms of the actual part in it. CQR came and walked it, good experience, and not just another formats of the events, that’s pretty although having a bit of trouble in the race. much remained very the same if not start, but they did really well with it. exactly the same as always, which Duncan: The thing I like about the is two races, both of equal length, Simon: From my point of view, the endurance is that it’s a team event as running around each race meeting, decisions on the series that we well. You get four drivers to help do the something that would probably most currently run are taken from having stints through the night. It’s trying to get likely be continuing next season as the majority of our members having that test of endurance that you don’t well, maybe with a change... I’ve got a passion for real world motorsport, get sitting with a controller or a wheel some things up my sleeve. not just having a bit of fun on Forza. for a twenty minute race. So putting They actually take the time to watch that into it are longer stints, traffic Richy: The Touring Cars was always motorsport on TV, and having that

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desire to want to do that themselves.

Touring Cars and GT are a very popular form of motorsport, in terms of the people that we have in the community, the series that we run, the real-world versions of them are probably some of the most popular in the real world. We’re basically replicating and giving everyone that chance to feel like they’re doing that sort of thing as well.

more interest from people overseas and over in America that that series would take off.

Duncan: Our community and our members, and the community as a whole, they’re at the heart of what we do. If they weren’t there racing with us, we wouldn’t be bothered to do anything. It’s getting the feedback from them and listening to what they’re saying, and also working Richy: We don’t just cover circuit with them for future series. With their racing with sports cars and touring feedback, we are in a position now cars, but we have the TASCAR where we’ve got a good relationship running as well, which is the good old there.

American stock cars racing. It’s high speed with high chance of crashes What series or event has the biggest but everyone’s getting on really well car roster on TORA? with it and taking it very seriously, and from what I hear is providing some Duncan: The Britcar list is the biggest brilliant racing. Not very often you get car list we have, which is down to big fields of oval racing these days the Clubman class which is quite an on the likes of Forza, but the TASCAR is open formula for racing pretty much certainly providing it. any car with a lower-spec. I think you can run anything from a Micra to a Simon: From my eyes, I believe that DeLorean now. There’s 134 cars to TASCAR came about where TORA choose from currently. really went quite international, and was gaining a lot of members from Richy: Touring Cars is next. The last America. In America, the most season was big, we had a huge list popular form of motorsport is stock of cars, all cars were quite evenly car racing, so it was only kind of balanced. In the past we’ve been natural that as we were getting quite specific with the Touring Cars

with only certain makes allowed and stuff like that, but with the new system we’ve got for creating rules and evenly balanced cars and the regulations for that, we’ve managed to get more cars in than is probably necessary.

Duncan: It’s not just about creating the PI, it’s all about performance balance as well to a certain extent.

Putting power restrictions and weight restrictions for the Touring Cars, that’s the key. On the other side of that, the car list that has been shrinking has been the GTs, as the car list has been getting more precise as the years go on.

We understand that you take racing at TORA seriously, with steward enquiries and the likes. How do you feel this has shaped the image of TORA? Richy: The stewarding has been up and down to say the least. We don’t want to be the bad guys, but no matter what decision is made, someone is going to have to be the bad guy with it. But if we want to create a place that is not just fun, but also has got an atmosphere where you come and feel like you’re racing

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“ WE’RE PROBABLY ONE OF THE ONLY GROUPS AROUND THAT PROMOTE EVERY ASPECT OF MOTORSPORT, NOT JUST THE RACING. ” properly and safely, and feel like you’re actually competing for something, we’ve got to take the rules seriously.

If it comes down to people making stupid moves on track, or if stupid things happen with the rules, then the steward enquiries is a system that is going to have to take place. All the big online communities have a stewarding system. Ours is probably one of the best because we have a community that is doing it for us. We used to do it all in-house, that just raised a lot of questions like “Are they just doing it for themselves?”, “Are they being quite biased with the decisions?”. We’ve kind of went hands-off with it this year, as it’s community members that hopefully our community trust to do the job, and so far they’ve been doing a really good job.

the series seriously can enjoy it.

Tell us about TORA attending the Britcar 24 Hours.

Richy: We can’t go into too many details. Obviously, from what we announced the other week there, we will be at the Britcar, and we’ll be in the garages with Rogue Motorsports.

We’re going to have events and competitions ad things running all weekend long. As I said, our presence will be there, if you can get tickets to the garage we will be there and in the campsite as well. We’re just looking to have a good, fun weekend.

focus. We’re going down there with GT Omega Racing, our partners we’ve managed to pick up, and we’ll have a few things on. We can’t really talk about the details yet, we’re not ready to announce them, there’s a lot of things we can’t talk about from Rogue’s point of view, but more details will be coming in the next few weeks.

How did your relationships with Rogue Motorsports and GT Omega start?

Matt: It’s kind of by luck, really. I remember seeing in Autosport well over a year ago now that there was going to be a Toyota-backed team at Duncan: It’s an open paddock as well, Britcar that was going to be supported you don’t need any special passes

by Forza Motorsport. I’ve been going to to get into the garage area. You can Britcar for a good few years now, so I literally just walk into the garage and racked my brain and couldn’t think of Simon: I think the majority of the ask a couple of the guys who are many teams that use Toyotas there, so reason for the stewards is because, running the car how they’re doing, I thought it must be Rogue. So on the as we mentioned earlier, a majority where they’re from, and you can just off-chance I emailed them and said of the community are big motorsport stay in the garage there for the next “Hi I’m Matt from TORA, just wondering fans. People play Forza for all different twenty minutes and watch the cars go if I’ve got the right team, are you really reasons, so one person’s line through a in for pitstops and change their tyres. sponsored by Forza 4?” and Patrick corner might vary from another person Richy: We’ve got a big space for this, Mortell who runs the team got back who thinks that cutting the corner is as there’s two garages for Rogue to me and said “Yes, that’s correct, we the way that you play Forza.

Motorsports this year. We’re planning do, tell me more about yourself and Because there was that mix-up what’s on having quite an interactive area, what you do.” So after a fashion we got right and what’s wrong, it was kind of we’re looking at getting people chatting about Forza and how both more to reinforce the rules set out by involved, it’s a virtual experience at parties got related with that game that series so that everyone who takes Rogue Motorsports, so that’ll be our and stuff, and it culminated in us all

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meeting up with Rogue Motorsport, spending some time in the garage and seeing the Toyota close up. It’s sort of grown from there, really, to us sharing a garage with them this year.

The nice thing is the sort of working relationship we have with Rogue; they ask us the right questions, and we ask them the right questions. How can we take these two properties and sort of merge them and move them forward, and there are plenty of very exciting ideas that we talk about. I’ve been up to their factory and had a look around to see what they do behind the scenes, we met them last year and we’re meeting them again at least once this year at Britcar, but hopefully before that. This isn’t a one-off thing, this’ll be the start of something hopefully pretty good.

Richy: The GT Omega thing, we were looking into going down to London Gamescon last year as our first sort of attempt to grow a wider audience.

We applied to go, I was going to take my race seat down, and we were just going to have a table set up for ourselves. On the website that was running the event, someone was apparently being put beside us with a GT Omega Racing rig to do a race for charity. I didn’t know anything

about this, so I got in touch with the guy at GT Omega, just asking for more information. He talked about it and said it was just a charity event so they gave him a rig to use, and then he says “Well why don’t I give you a rig as well?”. Obviously it was cross-promotion, as it was free advertisement for him, as we were there talking about his rig, as a lot of people were asking questions about that. It kind of snowballed from there, we got a discount for last season and so GT Omega became the title sponsor for the GT series Season 8.

After the success of that, we were somehow given a full race rig to give away, and that’s the prize for season 9.

with codes once a month. They gave us Porsche DLC codes, which are quite expensive. They really believe in us, and we talk to them all the time.

What can we expect from TORA in the future?

Richy: Expect more of the same.

Simon: But more of it.

Duncan: And bigger. It’s great to have our community, because without them racing with us, we’d have no one there; it’ll just be me, Richy and Simon racing each other.

The community are at the heart of what we do, and I’m really looking forward to the next couple of years.

What recognition has Turn10 given It’s been an adventure, we started TORA? this off in 2008, so four and a half years of my life have been taken Richy: Turn10 have recognised us up by this at TORA, and I’ve enjoyed in a sense. We’re featured quite every step of the way. It’s a passion regularly in the Rear View Mirror, the which we all have, and we’re articles they run every week, which is dedicated in raising awareness in a huge thing for us. But there’s a lot of virtual motorsport and enjoying what people looking for attention, so even we do. to have the opportunity to be given a regular slot there is unbelievable.

But the biggest contributor for us rather than it being Turn10 has been XboxUK. They’ve helped us out a lot,

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Fruit?

Isn’t it nice...

JUNE 11

“ SO THE SUN SETS ON ANOTHER ISSUE UNTIL NEXT TIME BE SAFE ”

Probably the best lemons on the face of the earth!