My First Top 1%

What car were you using on Spa? The Mini? That’s pretty brave, taking that thing flat out, haha. That motor would be gasping for breath down the straights, for sure.
I used to be a performance driving instructor in the US and one thing I kept telling the young lads was that slower cars are way more challenging than fast cars. If you lose speed coming out of a turn in a slow car, you’re gonna have to work a lot harder to pick up the pace, whereas a faster accelerating car would just kick right back. Maintaining a fast pace where every mile-per-hour counts is key in slower cars, like the Mini. If you’ve managed to reach 1% in that, consider yourself pretty talented. Two years ago, I took an old VW Rabbit around the Nordschliefe, and for the first time, I actually felt like a crap driver, because some of the other guys I was hot lapping with were getting much faster times, and they were using the same car. I compete with one of them in the VLN series and I trashed his times, and again, we were both running same cars (Porsche GT3’s). You really have to know your car, and track, to maintain a fast pace in a slow car, and that takes a very unique skill. Great job and keep up the good work!

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What car were you using on Spa? The Mini? That’s pretty brave, taking that thing flat out, haha. That motor would be gasping for breath down the straights, for sure.
I used to be a performance driving instructor in the US and one thing I kept telling the young lads was that slower cars are way more challenging than fast cars. If you lose speed coming out of a turn in a slow car, you’re gonna have to work a lot harder to pick up the pace, whereas a faster accelerating car would just kick right back. Maintaining a fast pace where every mile-per-hour counts is key in slower cars, like the Mini. If you’ve managed to reach 1% in that, consider yourself pretty talented. Two years ago, I took an old VW Rabbit around the Nordschliefe, and for the first time, I actually felt like a **** driver, because some of the other guys I was hot lapping with were getting much faster times, and they were using the same car. I compete with one of them in the VLN series and I trashed his times, and again, we were both running same cars (Porsche GT3’s). You really have to know your car, and track, to maintain a fast pace in a slow car, and that takes a very unique skill. Great job and keep up the good work!

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Actually, the last go around I did at Spa was in the Plymouth Cuda. Took off a half of a second and put me back in the land of 3%. For Spa on D Class, I’ll generally rotate the Cuda, Nova SS 396 and Dodge Challenger. The Mini is awesome but it does have its limits. :slight_smile: I generally won’t use it on Road America or Spa. Road Atlanta I’ll usually mix in all of the cars and while I’ve done Bathurst in the Mini, I think I’d be better off with a little more engine power, provided I can stay off of the darned walls on the slalom. Been using the Celica for Alps and just that.

Thing with the Mini is I don’t have to mess with the gears that much. Pretty much all 5 and 6 and only 4 for the hairpins. Had a lap this morning at Catalunya that was going to be epic (for me) and then I blew the last turn. Such is racing.

What car were you using on Spa? The Mini? That’s pretty brave, taking that thing flat out, haha. That motor would be gasping for breath down the straights, for sure.
I used to be a performance driving instructor in the US and one thing I kept telling the young lads was that slower cars are way more challenging than fast cars. If you lose speed coming out of a turn in a slow car, you’re gonna have to work a lot harder to pick up the pace, whereas a faster accelerating car would just kick right back. Maintaining a fast pace where every mile-per-hour counts is key in slower cars, like the Mini. If you’ve managed to reach 1% in that, consider yourself pretty talented. Two years ago, I took an old VW Rabbit around the Nordschliefe, and for the first time, I actually felt like a **** driver, because some of the other guys I was hot lapping with were getting much faster times, and they were using the same car. I compete with one of them in the VLN series and I trashed his times, and again, we were both running same cars (Porsche GT3’s). You really have to know your car, and track, to maintain a fast pace in a slow car, and that takes a very unique skill. Great job and keep up the good work!

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Actually, the last go around I did at Spa was in the Plymouth Cuda. Took off a half of a second and put me back in the land of 3%. For Spa on D Class, I’ll generally rotate the Cuda, Nova SS 396 and Dodge Challenger. The Mini is awesome but it does have its limits. :slight_smile: I generally won’t use it on Road America or Spa. Road Atlanta I’ll usually mix in all of the cars and while I’ve done Bathurst in the Mini, I think I’d be better off with a little more engine power, provided I can stay off of the darned walls on the slalom. Been using the Celica for Alps and just that.

Thing with the Mini is I don’t have to mess with the gears that much. Pretty much all 5 and 6 and only 4 for the hairpins. Had a lap this morning at Catalunya that was going to be epic (for me) and then I blew the last turn. Such is racing.

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Congrats on your milestone.

Don’t be afraid to play around with the build/tune on that Mini. The grip tunes for it are incredible on certain tracks, but it can also be tuned in such a way that will allow excellent top speed and acceleration too. I use a Mini on Spa and its faster than any car I own in D class around that track. Same with Road America. Even at only 5.0 handling, that car still handles and brakes really well. You’d be surprised just how far those limits can be pushed with that car. Its the most dominant car overall in D class for a reason.

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Congrats on your milestone.

Don’t be afraid to play around with the build/tune on that Mini. The grip tunes for it are incredible on certain tracks, but it can also be tuned in such a way that will allow excellent top speed and acceleration too. I use a Mini on Spa and its faster than any car I own in D class around that track. Same with Road America. Even at only 5.0 handling, that car still handles and brakes really well. You’d be surprised just how far those limits can be pushed with that car. Its the most dominant car overall in D class for a reason.

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I’m not at tuning yet, Lou. I do want to tune, much in the same way I want to achieve world peace and feed the hungry. Biggest challenge for me is time. It is rare for me to get an extended session on Forza for more than a couple of hours. What can I say? I have a wife that loves cooking shows and a kid who doesn’t want to have daddy issues the rest of his life. :slight_smile:

When I do get time, I generally don’t do long hotlapping sessions. A typical one is for me is about 15 laps, with a break around the halfway point.

The Mini – is there anything it can’t do?

AX

You don’t need a slash in the first quote box.

You also only need one Mini tune/build. Same car, every track

And rememeber, sometimes you’ve got more talent than you’d expect. On FM4 I was running consistently in the top 1000 or so? I got a tune while I was an MDXR driver (which aren’t that good mind you, but still better than mine), ran consistently at about 120 on the Infineon layouts, and around 170 on unfamiliar layouts. That gave me an amazing feeling to see my 1,000’s of hours (I’m not exaggerating) of playing paying off somehow.

However, the best way to find your ability IMO, run Rivals events that require completely stock cars. That way everyone on the LB has the exact same weapon that you do, but you can see how much better you use it.

Congrats!