Engine performance is now dependent on air density/temperature

When manufacturers do a Nordschleife record attempt they're looking for sunny weather at around 10°C, tarmac 20+. That seems to be a good compromise of engine power/ tire temps for this track.

 

I did some test with R34 at monza, and with foggy 10degrees and clear 35degrees I do same times, reach same top speed etc. I can't see any change in performance.

 

I tested the Nismo 370Z @ 1000M dragstrip to see if the air temperature have a big impact on perfomance. I used Automatic transmission and Autoclutch to eliminate most variations between runs (Just floored the gas pedal all the way).

The results were (Speed under the 1000M barrier, did 3 runs for each temperature):

14:00, Optimum Grip, 10º Air Temperature -> 215Km/h
14:00, Optimum Grip, 21º Air Temperature -> 214Km/h
14:00, Optimum Grip, 36º Air Temperature -> 213Km/h

 

Did you do the same Air Temp multiple times?

 

I think you guys are giving this too much thought, how does this really affect you all as individuals at regular racing? It's a negligible difference in low speed accel and a 1-2 kph top speed difference as conveniently proven above that affect all cars on the field. It's a +0.5 simulation value.

More concerned with GT3 balancing. Seems very artificial in that it's not mirroring real life individual car performance, rather a levelling of playing field in a game, which would be a big dent to simulation value. Just hoping I got it wrong and the data has been changed based on documents provided by manufacturers/teams, not what K felt right for leagues.

 

I have just 1 single question. Has the slipstream effect been adjusted????

 

Then stay out of this thread and go start your own on GT3 Balancing. The world doesn't revolve around you. The OP is just as entitled to ask a question as you are.

 

I wood gave thought lap time and speed would not be affected much. Even though cooler denser air may yield more HP doesn't it also mean there is a bigger hole to punch through the air flowing over the car surface that would also create drag? And the opposite in hot weather?

 

You forget about cold air condensation being sucked in the cylinders thus getting in the way of ignition/burning. However, I have no idea how deep the current engine corrects for things so all we're doing here is chit chat.

 

Would ACTI help with data?

 

Yes, 3 runs for each Air Temp.

 

That is some proper testing.

 

Thank you

 

Thanks for that test Alberto!

Bare in mind guys, like others have mentioned, temp affects tires and grip levels as well. You can't expect to just decrease temperatures and get better times because of better engine performance. The lower temps might sacrifice too much grip with some tires.

You can see from Alberto's drag test that coldest temp was fastest; but there was no side loads/slip angle because it was always accelerating in a straight line. Around the track could be a different story. It definitely matters what car--therefore tires--your running. Cars with vintage tires may see less performance benefit with cold temps.

 

Here we go, finitely some data

But of course, would be the best to get direct info from devs

 

Technically, the air temperature would have much more impact on fluids then on the engine itself directly. Higher water and oil temps limiting the engine's capabilities. But also on brakes. How many times we see race cars with brakes literally on fire on hot tracks? Much difficult for them to properly cool down.
Also this would be an AC exclusive feature if implemented, since I believe no other sim works on fluids and brakes with air temp.
Still, a first and very much appreciated step

 

I'm not sure about that; perhaps on certain race cars. On street cars, they are vigorously tested in all sorts of weather conditions and tuned/adjusted so that water and oil temps don't get too high or too low. So with street cars, it certainly wouldn't be a concern. But race cars, perhaps yes.

 

You are forgetting an important variable. Road and street cars get some small modifications based on the market they will be sold in. This goes from the name, to the bodywork and also to the mechanics. Small tweaks to make it suitable to the audience it will be sold to. So, also to the environment they will drive in. Of course they are small tweaks, to accomodate the car to various environments and purposes, but they are no different from the small tweaks teams apply to their race cars based on the track they'll race on. Haven't you ever noticed that F1 cars use bigger radiator and brakes intakes in Monaco and Mexico? otherwise they wouldn't cool down properly just an example
This could be easily overcome with a radiator and duct size setting in the setup menu, at least for race cars. In AC we don't have polar arctic or desert tracks, so road cars wouldn't be that stressed to the point of breaking. But lower or higher temps should slightly affect performance.

MIND YOU I am not implying that it's something that must be implemented, but that it would be cool if it does. I love AC as it is already ❤️

 

Well, yea, I can't argue with you on that. For street cars, the performance would be ever so slight. So slight, that there is probably no value in modeling it. End user would just never be able to tell any difference.

 

All I'm thinking is Kunos are preparing us for proper engine simulation so don't get too wound up in the current state of things.