Gt2 cars have surprised me

It has taken me a long time to start driving the GT2 cars. I had assumed that, because they were even more "race car like" (for want of a better term) than the GT3 cars, I wouldn't like them as much. However, I ended up joining a mixed GT2/GT3 car server @ Mugello in the Ferrari 458GT2 because that was the only available car at the time. Not only did I enjoy the drive.....I won the race! Admittedly, I moved up from P22 to P6 (I started at the back) because half the field decided to organise a rerun of D-Day, but that's not important What is important is that I got a taste for the GT2 cars that has not diminished one bit over the Easter weekend.

Leaving the tales of woe that I have endured over the past couple of days on a certain GT2 server @ Spa to one side, I can honestly say that the BMW M3 GT2 and Ferrari 458 GT2 are a lot more enjoyable to drive than most of the GT3 cars. In fact, only the McLaren MP GT3 comes close to recreating the wonderful sensation of these GT2 cars. They slide around effortlessly, and feel far less "fixed" to the road surface than the GT3 cars.....

.....which rather puzzles me. I thought that the GT2 cars were supposed to have superior downforce to the GT3 cars? If that's the case, shouldn't they feel even more "planted" on the track? I don't use TC on any of the cars in Assetto Corsa, so I don't know if that has something to do with it. However, if activating TC would make them slide less, then there is no chance of me using it. They feel far too good with it switched off!

Does anyone else feel the same?

 

I agree!
It's strange you should mention the McLaren, though, as I've always found that it was the grippiest of the GT3 cars (except at high speeds ). The Nismo of course is slightly more skittish...
I'm used to the BMW M3 GT2 because I run it in a league, and when I tried the Z4 GT3, I was quite surprised at the lack of turn in. That might be where the downforce is going?
Also, a quick google search says that the BMW weighs 200kg more than the MP4 12C (comparing the road cars). That might be something to do with it.

 

I like how all the cars have a different feel to them even if in the same class and doing pretty similar times.

On the larger tracks gt2 and gt3 are much closer if on the same tyre compounds but gt2 has more downforce and drag so cornering speeds are quite bit higher. The gt3 with less drag and downforce will be a fair bit quicker down the straights which at places like Spa and Nords evens things out a bit.

Gt2 having more downforce doesnt mean it wont slide it will just do it at a higher speed. If you were to corner at the same speed you can in a gt3 then it would be very planted. However in the gt2 you will be going faster and in any car as you get to grip limits it will start to slide.

After all you can slide the exos or 98t quite a bit through corners and these have way more downforce. The slides just happen at much higher speeds.

Basically pushing any car closer to its limits it will slide a bit more. If its very planted your probably just not pushing hard enough.

For me at the high speed tracks the gt2 cars dont get much faster in a straight line with lower aero so best to keep a bit on and so high speed corners will be much more planted then any gt3 car the way I set them up. In the end with race cars its a lot to do with setup and what works best for each car.

Gt3 cars tend to lack front downforce so to keep them balanced you cant run too much at the rear or they get quite pushy. The GT2 cars have way more front aero so in most cases you want to maximize this for turn in and balance it out at the rear you need a bit more wing there too. This causes the slower straight line speeds but also gives the much better turn in and cornering grip at mid to high speed corners.

The 2 classes are quite different and the softer gt2 tyres are much better then those in the gt3. Still I quite like to mix up these classes and run them all together especially in races long enough that gr2 softs arent a good option it makes gt2 and gt3 a bit closer when both on medium tyres.

 

We ran a BMW and 458 GT2 series and it was a blast. I enjoyed both cars and the racing was very good. Need more..........

 

The c7r gte is pretty much the same class as gt2. The p4/5 is kind of in the middle of gt/ gt3 and so can be raced in amongst gt2 cars.

 

Imo on most high corner speed tracks the McLaren is in another league, like Silverstone, today I did a semi-quick 2,01.8xx with the McLaren and the other 3 GT3 cars I couldn't even get under 2,03.5xx
At Monza on the other hand I couldn't even get under 1:50(with the McLaren), as rest of the GT2/GT3 cars managed an easy 1,49,5
@Sam Markovic - road car weight has nothing to do with the GT cars, the road version of Bentley Continental is over 2 tons, yet the GT3 version is almost like any other GT car.

 

458 GT2 is one of my fav cars in the game. That and Nissan GT3 was the first cars that i drove and i feelt love straight away.

 

Is it just me or are cars such as 1M actually harder to drive than GT2 GT3 cars? I started to play AC with 1M (because I thought I should start with something with lower power but rwd) and I almost hate this frustrating game. After I tried some GT3 cars and the 458 GT2, they just feel so fun to drive and a lot more forgiving to me.

 

Road cars will always be harder to drive on the limit when compared to race cars, they're not perfectly tailored for tracks, their main concerns are road performance, reliability and safety.And yes, I agree, GT2's is the most interesting class to race atm, I don't know why people pick GT3 over GT2, the new C7R is sooo lovely, it's very similar (handling characteristics) to the 458 GT2, if you like the 458, you'll probably like the C7R too .

 

Yes I agree. GT2 are pretty enjoyable cars under all conditions, they are very fun to race (even in long races) and to bring to the limit.
Also there is so much to learn from them that I can drive them for weeks and still want more.

 

That isn't what I mean. If I push the GT3 cars close to the limit, they tend to lose it "big time", whereas the GT2 cars seem to have a bit more flexibility close to the edge. That's the only way that I can describe it.

 

Maybe it also depends on which cars you are up against, the grip conditions and on the setup. A GT2 might look more forgiving if you're racing against a GT3 than for example when racing against a GT2 with the same level of performance. Plus no damage and 100% grip will allow for much more forgiveness because your tyres will never get a scratch.

 

I think road cars or gt cars being harder to drive depends on your driving style. I find the older race cars and the road cars much easier to lap at pace than the gt cars. I know setup (which im terrible at)plays a bigger part in the gt cars which im sure has a lot to do with it but I find with gt 3 and 2 im chucking the cars into corners faster than I think is humanly possible only to be 4 or 5 seconds off rsr pace. I find them uncomfortable to drive because of how aggressive you need to be. I think it mostly boils down to what you enjoy and therefore what your prepared to spend time practicing in.

 

That's true. Also some wheel might give a better feeling for one car class compared to another. Even in real life drivers that are good in one class can have some issues in another.

 

That's what would usually be called 'more forgiving'. And for some reason, cars in AC with good downforce tend to be quite forgiving over the limits. It's usually not like that in real life.

 

If you turn on tyre damage and lower the grip aero-efficient cars become less forgiving because less grip requires more care and because a certain number of mistakes can destroy the tyres (it's "scientifically" proved by the number of people that quit after taking a couple of turns on our server ).

That said you're right because that's the popular server settings for GT2 servers and I think it's a positive thing because it helps people to learn the tracks in a more comfortable environment.

 

How well you perform with a GT car all depends on the setup.
Get the correct setup for your driving style and you can drive it nice and steady at the limit. If the setup is just a bit off and you'll be sliding all over the place or you're doing a lot of work while driving at the limit.
One thing in AC that I'm wondering though is whether the horsepower data is correct.
I've got the feeling that some GT cars aren't as fast in acceleration and top speed as they should be. Even when driving with low-downforce setup.

 

I totally agree, a good setup is very useful and the same setup is not good for everyone.

I am not sure about horse power (unfortunately I didn't get to drive a real 458gt2 yet) but I trust that the Kunos guys down in Vallelunga compared the data with the real thing. They probably have very accurate data for some of these cars. It's also good to keep in mind that staring through a monitor gives a different perception of speed (it is already different between one and three monitors).

 

Sorry to quote my own post, but I was thinking about it and I think I might understand why this is happening.

The faster you go, the stronger the downforce is on a car. If a car is built for downforce, then it will obviously have a fairly good amount of it at high speeds. And theoretically, the more downforce, the better the grip.

Problem is, this downforce only works when the car is orientated properly to get the airflow over the car as intended. If the car gets out of whack, that downforce just plain disappears and can lead to instant grip loss and an out of control car. But I don't think AC(or any game) simulates aero to such a level. The car is probably just given a downforce value and it reacts according to speed, and this value carries on even if the car gets sideways, whereas in real life, that downforce would be gone.

Just a theory but it would make sense.

 

There are so many things that simply can't be simulated in a game for a 'big' audience right now (maybe in the future).
Think about crosswinds, humidity, air pressure, ...