Standard is just based on times alone. Where you are on a leaderboard is where you are ranked (and awarded points if high enough) for that leaderboard in standard. Hardcore is no ABS, manual with clutch, no TCS and no STM. If you use any of them, you are not awarded any points in the hardcore section. So, everyone ahead of you on a leaderboard that uses an assist is removed and you move up accordingly. IIRC, my highest ranking in Hardcore is a #7. That’s a little misleading though because I’m only #14 on that actual leaderboard. Some guys are pretty big on the hardcore stats, I don’t really care either way. Someone like Simmo uses ABS so he has no hardcore points. That doesn’t make him any less good at the game, IMO.
Hardcore will mean a little more when you’re shooting for points in classes and tracks where tcs usage is common. Its the difficulty factor that makes it fun because you have to figure out new ways of taking a corner without losing much time. Find someone to chase. Its a hoot. My buddy has pulled away from me and I’m trying to claw my way back. You should try.
Great read Lou and I’m glad you picked up Forza and are having such great success. Keep up the hard work and I truely hope you meet your goals.
I think the main message here is that Lou got to where he is because he worked at it. Dude worked very hard and his efforts speak for themselves on the leaderboard. There really is no shortcut in this game to being good - you have to put in the work.
Of course, adding Lou to my friends list instantly caused me to lose a ton of cash as I was nowhere near (and still am not, in the vast majority of cases) his times when running rivals events. But, I’ve got plenty of cash and he’s a good dude, so, it’s OK.
Just don’t tell him I beat him on a couple of A-Class tracks. I need something to hold onto. We’ll just keep it a secret.
AX
Actually, its not costing you a thing in terms of your credit payouts. Like I said, I have a bunch of people on my friends list that are a whole lot better than me (EMW Simmo, V12 Sch1wo, oo 3x oo, HLR Toffo, ERS Johnson, Akra1x, RPM Swerve, Clay in LA, etc.). I chase their ghosts all the time knowing that I will not catch them. Well, sometimes I do, but its not often. My intention is usually to learn from them and better my times in the process. What happens is that if you beat your own times and move up on the rivals rankings, while losing to the ghost of someone else, you still get the full bonus payout. I was racing HLR Toffo last night on Bugatti in D class and couldn’t catch him. I was ranked #35 when I started and at the end I moved up to #26. My payout for Rivals ranking was 60% and with the other bonuses, it was a total of 125%. I have almost 200 million credits now and I got most of them this way. You just have to improve your own time, beating the ghost seems to have nothing to do with it. Try it and take notice of your payouts. Its a great way to learn the tracks too. Its amazing how differently all the top players take turns. I steal techniques from all of them. Just don’t chase ghosts that are about 3 seconds or so faster than you as you fall behind too early and can’t really watch what they’re doing. About 1 to 1.5 seconds is the perfect amount of time you want them to be faster than you by. It also gives you somewhat of a chance if you happen to really nail the lap.
Well, heck, I need something to razz you about. 200 million, yikes. I wasn’t all that serious. I have 20 million myself and nothing to do with it. I was actually just doing a rival that I’m only down to you 1/2 second. One lap I know I had it and choked it at the end. On the positive side, think I figured out the main thing I was doing wrong (hint: braking too late for the turns) and hopefully next time I’ll get it.
AX
Great post lou…one day you’ll get that number 1…!!
I need some more friends with fast ghosts, I could if I spent the time doing rivals get top 100s in C class but I usually jump in a poor lobby and get rammed about a bit cos people cant keep up, if anyone wants a new friend hit me up on LIVE 
got a few top 50 times but still need to get better, Lou ive been playing forza properly since forza 3, I never spoke or learnt from anyone else but my self and its taken this many years, think I should of done the same as you and not been so arrogant and tried improving by watching the best at the game
#1 is gonna be tough. I’ve had a few, with the longest lasting almost 24 hours. I’d focus more on getting a lot of times in the top 25. Don’t obsess over the top 10s. It’ll come eventually and you’ll lose it quickly. They never seem to stick for long.
It clicks before long. This is the first game I’m actually able to get in the ballpark of people who have always been in the top 25. I still think the leaderboards are empty because I know I’m not that good.
Trust me, I know a #1 is going to be tough. Might not ever happen. However, what’s the point in setting easy goals for yourself?
As to the leaderboards being empty… Maybe they are, but I can’t do anything about that. All I can do is run against those that are playing the game and compare myself to them.
Since when are top 25s easy? They’re pretty difficult. Don’t want you to get too frustrated from trying too hard. You’re entering very very difficult territory that’ll get harder as the game ages.
Be patient… I’m actually working on a RWD car. Yes, me… 
I like my Mini though. Its like Al Pacino in Godfather 3, just when I thought I was out of it, it pulled me back in again. The latest version is faster than the Kia on a lot of tracks in C class, so its hard to walk away.
I never said 25’s were easy. I know full well that they aren’t. It was a real struggle for me to get my first one. I have 5 or 6 now and a bunch that are very close, so its time to set the sights a bit higher that’s all. I wasn’t snubbing top 25’s.
I want the territory to be difficult, that’s what makes it all so much fun. Its why I enjoy racing against people like yourself. We choose to do these things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Some Irish Dude who was president said that and I think its fitting. I am still learning and know that there is a ton of room for improvement yet. I’ll admit when I’m beaten, but I’m not even close to that point yet. Shoot, I’m just getting started…
i can’t agree with this thinking. In fact i strongly disagree. You should focus on 1 track until you can hold your hands up and say you simply can’t go any faster. You’ll probably get bored before you can say this but the point is still valid. You will get much better by focusing on getting a few great leaderboard times rather than a lot of reasonable leaderboard times. I hit a top 5 time within 6 months of first playing a Forza game because i didn’t just hit a top 100 and move onto the next track feeling satisfied. That’s not the way to get good and not the right mentality.
Sure it is. I’m saying the same thing as you. There’s a point where you know you can hit a certain lap but for whatever reason you’re stuck +/- a tenth. Coming back every day to try to improve with no luck can really mess with your head and leads to frustration.
Im no talking about top 100s. Im specifically referring to top 25s which are impressive times no matter who you are. Get the top 25. Try again the next day to get a top 10. If you fail, move on and come back later. That way you can still continue your growth as a driver and lots of times you’ll have a better time beating your old lap.
This is what I do because I used to obsess. It works pretty well. Like once I set a top 25 in a mini but it later fell to around the 30s/40s. At the time I couldn’t keep up with my teammates and rage quit. Came back a month ago and destroyed my time by over a second, beat every member of my team and put the car in the top 10.
I’ve also put a car 5th on the boards this week. I’ve never done that this late in a forza game and I know I can take 2nd but I’m going to move on and try elsewhere and become more proficient with the car.
Maybe the master the track method works for you and my hats off for being able to do that. I’m merely suggesting another route to end with the same goal.
I don’t know, man. Your advice was to get a lot of times in the top 25, not to obsess over top 10s. IMO, that gives out the wrong message. I don’t think we’re saying the same thing. My advice is DO obsess over top 10s, or #1s. Basically to obsess over being as high up a single leaderboard as you can possibly get rather than racing within yourself. It depends what you want to be; very good or no less than the best. For some people a top 10 is nothing, even #1s taken for granted. Some people aren’t looking to just take #1s they’re looking to take it by a margin. Some people work hard to get a top 50 and are rightly happy with that. Then they go scrape top 50 on every track and end up top 10 overall. These people think their work is done but still regularly get destroyed in lobbies because there’s 5000 people can get top 10 overall if they could just be bothered to no life the leaderboards. If you want to be the best or mix it with the best go and take #1s. That being said, i don’t practice what i preach because i very rarely hot lap but if you want to reach the top that’s the way to do it.
Well, you keep mentioning the one word that tends to be my downfall with this game. Obsess! I’ve learned the hard way to stop doing that. Don’t get me wrong, I do not give up at all. Just taking a break from a certain track for a while really helps. I have no idea what I really want from the game. I’m currently caught up in the rankings though and really enjoy trying to move up as much as I can. For now, its fun for me.
Having said that, I don’t think Chronic, DJChris, Rich 92, and Zermatt need to be looking over their shoulders yet.
Yeah, lou has not been at it for long but once you see the number of hours he put into FM5 then you realize that he is one dedicated online racer. There cannot be improvements without practice and the reason lou is up there is he put in the hours and never ever gave up on improving.
Now if he’ll only get out of the minis and kias so I have some variety of cars to chase in Rivals . . .
Good post lou. I hope the new guys see it and learn. Glad to see ya trying a rear wheel drive car, even though the fwd has been so good to you.
This post is way to long. No one is going to read it.
I’m truly sorry to disappoint you, Ernest Hemmingway I am not… I did the best I could to get my message across. In my youth, I majored in humping 2x4s around jobsites and swinging a hammer rather than English Lit, so I thought I did rather well with it for a blockhead. If people choose not to read it, than so be it…