I used to do AI races for years, but I’m started racing in multiplayer about six mounths ago.
I’m about a second faster than the “Unbeatable” AI, therefor I tought I’m a fast driver. In many multiplayer races I was quite competitive, but when I started to do Forza GT races, I was a bit shocked. In a race at Sebring, my fastest lap was a 2:07,4, the fastest guy did a 2:01,4. I started to think about what could cause this huge gap.
I’m quite sure its not only because “I’m just slow”. I’m sure a talented driver in the same conditions with the same car could do a lap a few seconds faster then me, but not 6 seconds faster.
So how much time can a good setup save? (I alwayes used the “basic” setup for every car.)
And a car better suited for the track? (I used the 2011 #45 Flying Lizard 911 GT3 RSR.)
There are a lot of variables but lap times still come down to 95% skill and practice.
Go to the leaderboard, look at the top times/drivers/cars/tunes and download a couple of tunes. Run them 5 to 10 laps a day for a week or two and go back and compare your times to the guys at the top as well as what you used to get.
The homologated cars range from somewhat good to outright garbage, depending on the car you can drop multiple seconds with a good build and tune. The homologation tunes attempt to deliver a middle ground tune, a mix of speed and handling, but Sebring is a high speed track, and the fastest drivers will give up on handling to add top speed. I have driven hot lap challenges on Sebring, with people using cars borderline undrivable, but they ended up 4-5 seconds ahead of everyone else. If you want to know how good you really are, drive spec races, where everyone is driving the exact same car, or as Poohhead suggested do some hotlaping. If you want to be among the fastest guys you should learn how to tune, or find tuners that have tunes fitting to your driving style.
First make sure you use a competitive car for the track in question. Check the LB which cars have the top spots. In your example you should try the car the guy used who were 6 seconds faster.
If you have selected a competitive car the following factors determine your overall speed as a rule of thumb:
Skill: several seconds
Skilled drivers can easily be several seconds faster than intermediate or even advanced drivers, the gap obviously depends on your own driving skill
Build: up to a second
Make sure you use a build that suits the track in question, competitive builds can wildly differ depending on track characteristics (grip track vs. speed track vs. accel track etc). Again check LB for shared tunes of top spot cars to get an idea which builds work best on a specific track
Tune: some tenths
For a specific car&build a very good tune can gain you some tenths over a mediocre tune. Don’t expect wonders, consider the tune the icing on the cake. Without skill and the right build even a perfect tune is useless.
Unbeatable in E class is not the same as unbeatable in X class especially if you are doing homologated races. The AI also seems faster is career than in free play.
The AI is much faster in the highest classes and I’ve seen them run top 100 lap times in this and previous forza. In the lowest classes unbeatable can be 5 to 10 seconds off pace of what would typically be a competitive lap.
A competitive lap varies between classes and tracks but with enough practice online you’ll get a rough benchmark of what is winning speed. Keep in mind that it is not often you’ll see the elite drivers online but if you’re running consistent top 150s on a busy leaderboard during a race you’ll win more often than not.
Basically if you’re within 3-5 seconds of the #1 time you’ll do great online. The lobbies can be very very slow or vice versa. Knowing your benchmark can help.in choosing what car to race. If the lobby is slow, race fun cars or weird stuff. If the lobby is fast, bring out your top cars.
Tuning can net you a second or more depending on track. A stock race car tune has downforce so at tracks where top end is needed (all daytona layouts for example), you can literally be 1 or more seconds faster by running the lowest downforce settings.
Note: it is possible to build a car in a way that it drives so good that tuning may not impact lap times much.
The order of importance are as follows: car choice, car build, car tune. There are some car/build options that can work for over 50% of the tracks. The tune will need to be altered based on unique aspects of some tracks.
For race cars, it’s car choice, tune, and build since there aren’t many build options.
Edit: as skill increases you can get away with running slower cars or cars with weird builds. That’s when forza becomes really fun.