Automation Touring Car Championship 2 [FINAL RESULTS]

[np1993]

Don't beat yourself up. It takes a while to figure out how all the variables fit together. Automation is a pretty complex game and the vast majority of entrants in this tournament are not first timers, and many of us have been playing for months if not years

Also if you like some of us are always happy to look at models and provide pointers.

I could make the power no problem....Finding the balance was the major issue. I designed about 3 different cars but only that one fit within the specs.. I guess it will just take some more practise, i.e. trial and error, but tips are always welcomed

I have been playing for 3 months and more often the not I end up in the bottom middle-ish of the pack. Its all about the fun and the process man!

[mer_at]

Yay. Like the outcome so far.

[doncornaldie]

Don't beat yourself up. It takes a while to figure out how all the variables fit together. Automation is a pretty complex game and the vast majority of entrants in this tournament are not first timers, and many of us have been playing for months if not years

Also if you like some of us are always happy to look at models and provide pointers.

I could make the power no problem....Finding the balance was the major issue. I designed about 3 different cars but only that one fit within the specs.. I guess it will just take some more practise, i.e. trial and error, but tips are always welcomed

I have been playing for 3 months and more often the not I end up in the bottom middle-ish of the pack. Its all about the fun and the process man!

That's true but being competitive is more fun, and sparks creativity and progression

[VicVictory]

If you want to see "progression"... HighOctaneLove used to be the guy who was always dead last. He's gotten a lot better, even if his designs started out being completely non-competitive.

Also bear in mind that this particular championship is INSANELY competitive. Like, to the point where my personal goal this time around is to get a point. One point. SOMEWHERE in the championship.

[doncornaldie]

If you want to see "progression"... HighOctaneLove used to be the guy who was always dead last. He's gotten a lot better, even if his designs started out being completely non-competitive.

Also bear in mind that this particular championship is INSANELY competitive. Like, to the point where my personal goal this time around is to get a point. One point. SOMEWHERE in the championship.

And that's why I won't stop trying

[Leonardo9613]

I could make the power no problem....Finding the balance was the major issue. I designed about 3 different cars but only that one fit within the specs.. I guess it will just take some more practise, i.e. trial and error, but tips are always welcomed

Having seen your car I can tell that you made some bad choices, that made your car heavier and less powerful than average. On this challenge steel platform with polymer body was the way to go, as polymer is both lighter and cheaper than fibre glass. Also, the big budget allowed for use of mechanical injection, which makes the engine more powerful and responsive.
Those are two things I remember from the top of my head that weren't optimal on your car.

By the way, race two results are coming later today.

EDIT: Scrap that, I'll post them tomorrow at some time, I hope

[TrackpadUser]

Alright, here are some comments doncornaldie so you can make your car better. Others can apply them as well.

Disclaimer: Those are things that I found work best, your mileage may vary and I might be wrong in some places. Nothing beats experimenting.

First, Quality sliders.

You have a few +15/-15 sliders. In general, negative quality doesn't bring much. The price difference isn't that great for the performance difference so I try to stay away from it. As for positive quality, costs rise exponentially but the advantages rise linearly, so it's often a good idea not to go as high as +14/15.

As for the car in general.

1- Platform.

For platform material, in this case steel or CRES are the best choices, with polymer being the best for body panel. Only use other panel types if you have issues reaching the min weight.
For the body, take you time to choose a light enough body. The problem with the muscle car body is that it is very big and heavy.
Also, don't forget to add wing+lip for downforce.

2- Engine.

For the internals, I usually go for forged I-beam and forged pistons by default, since they let me rev fairly high and keep the engine reliable.
Your head and block material should always be matched, or else you will get a reliability penality. While a Iron does give slightly more HP, IMHO it's not worth it due to the weight penality, especially since that weight is located in the front.
The optimum values for ignition timing are usually between 70 and 85. You can get a bit more HP by rising compression instead.

3- Trim.

It seems like you tuned your transmission and suspension, which is great. Just stay away from negative slider values.
For the brakes, make sure they are large enough that you don't too much brake fade. For this, check in the details for your tameness rating. I usually bring it to +10 and then adjust until I find what seems best.
For the tires, make sure to the run the best tires that are permitted, and if there is a maximum quality, you should be running that tire quality.
For the interior, make sure not to use insulation, although it does make a decent ballast if you are slightly under weight.
And run all the assists that are legal.

[doncornaldie]

Points noted and are being considered. It will take a little time to fully understand the cost to balance ratio mechanics of the quality sliders since i'm fairly new to the game. I did first make a lightweight car but the cost was just too expensive after i was completed, so i scrapped it.

I'll try out some of these configurations and see what I can come with. Thanks a bunch guys, I really appreciate the tips

[Leonardo9613]

Here we have, as asked, a chart with all the cars engines and layouts.
Also, the power, weight and power to weight graphs.









Race two results will be out tomorrow.

[TrackpadUser]

Points noted and are being considered. It will take a little time to fully understand the cost to balance ratio mechanics of the quality sliders since i'm fairly new to the game. I did first make a lightweight car but the cost was just too expensive after i was completed, so i scrapped it.

I'll try out some of these configurations and see what I can come with. Thanks a bunch guys, I really appreciate the tips

The first step to a light car is a light body. The hatchbacks and the two smaller boxy cars are usually good choices.

For reference, in the first ATCC, in the top 5 you had 3 boxy '60s cars, 1 CRX body and one 5dr hatch.

[doncornaldie]

So i went back to the drawing board just now with the help of strop, trackpaduser and the rest... Shaved about 10 seconds off my laptime and saved around 7,000 dollars which i could then spend on the engine. I might do some more tweaking with the extra money i have now. thanks again guys .....check out the new version...did the track in 2: 23 compared to the last car which did 2:32.

[strop]

Those graphs really show just how good the level of competition is. Several users here probably had to use better than minimal interior to make the weight (insulation in a race car? How decadent!) For the first time, almost pretty much ever, I don't have the highest power to weight ratio, let alone anywhere near the top of the pack!!! Furthermore my car body is one of the larger, heavier ones, so that it did this well on a medium fast track is interesting (I was expecting a bit worse), then again, minimum weight restrictions really evened out the playing field. Once again well done Leo on making a compelling set of rules and premise, the turnout is evidence of its success.

I love the unpredictability of such tight, high level competition as counterintuitive approaches can become dark horses. I'm completely supportive of the moves to publicly share general principles and tricks that make the competition even tighter, too.

[TrackpadUser]

@strop

At one point during the design process my car had 4 seats. I even tried to use a radio as ballast, but it wasn't as good as using insulation.

Right now it has 39 insulation and +3 interior quality.

Also, I am surprised that no car has significantly more HP than mine, since I know it is easily doable.

But it's pretty easy to see that power isn't everything, there are only 3 entries over 500hp in the top 10, and only one over 510.

@doncornaldie

Dude that's awesome. Also IMHO it now looks much nicer. Is it still NA?

[bullko]

So... I'm horribly under powered!
I just went back and re-tuned the gearing and shaved several tenths off my time. I really should have maxed out my budget in quality sliders as well, given that I had over $6000 left.

Ah well, 26th isn't too bad for my first time in ATCC!

[VicVictory]

Making a car light isn't my problem. Making it powerful is.

Of course, I think we'll see later on that the Kaminari is one of the cheapest cars in the competition. I just gave up with a ton of money left because I couldn't figure out what to spend it on that would give any significant gains. Like, I was at the point where I had to burn $3k just to get 3 HP.