Been fiddling around with Forza 4 on my Xbox 360. I found in the data that I've been ignoring a few cars and I recently regained the trick of driving a RWD car, such as the BMW M3, but also some fantastic ones like the Nissan Sylvia and the Alfa Romeo 8C (Competizione), which is really fun but the ignition is so hot the exhaust pops in an annoying way. Better than the Mercedes SLR Coupe, but still, an annoying sound. Of them, the BMW has the best suspension, since its balanced well enough to hunker down under hard throttle rather than spin out of control like the Mercedes. Seriously, I can see why Top Gear found the Mercedes to be nearly undriveable and their owners survey found it "most disappointing". The Brera was a better engine noise with that super charger, but not nearly as fast, and the big hatchback rear end resembles a Porsche 944, a car I don't like either.
The odd thing is that slow and cheap cars are fantastic when driven like a cat on fire. The Yaris S with sticky tires, alloy wheels, and anti sway bars you can floor and drift despite being front wheel drive, and its insanely fun on really twisty roads where you're revving the engine around like a maniac. Love it. James May, of Top Gear, had a wonderful review of the Fiat Panda because its skinny tires and tiny engine means it starts to go out of control on a roundabout at normal speed so its hilarious fun to drive since its often almost crashing.
I've found that MOST of the cars in the Forza game require anti-sway bars to be stable in high speed cornering, and that's one of the most important things you do for performance. Another is sticky tires, better shocks and brakes, and a nice high flow air filter, which is a huge boost to horsepower. I also go for better oil cooler and radiator, because running hard will overheat your engine. In the real world, this leads to blown head gasket, cracked head, and expensive repairs, possibly requiring an engine rebuild thanks to a broken valve or cracked piston.
The downside of the game is that in the real world, a Peugeot, a Renault, and an Alfa won't run for long. In the game they're great fun and loud and powerful, but in the real world, the Honda and Toyota will leave them behind in pools of their own oil after their engines explode. Also, to be fair, the torque steer in quite a few front wheel drive cars is significant. The way to avoid this is called a half-shaft, which puts the U-joints at the same angle so the power is delivered equally. Acura does this, and so does my Honda Accord, but I don't think many other car companies do. Ford should but uses electronic trickery (applying the brakes to counteract the power) instead. A pity since I think a proper half-shaft would greatly improve the Fiesta STI.
Naturally, there's no torque steer in the game, but there should be. Its a real thing, and it will really make you crash in the real world as you apex a turn on a twisty mountain road. For the most part, Forza 4 is decent training, but the absence of physical feedback, like gee forces and seat vibration, means you're relying on wheel vibration and tire squeal noises to remain in control, and certain types of turns you'd be able to detect near failure in the real world, you can't feel in the simulator. Ass-heavy cars, for example, are wrecks waiting to happen. Ironic since in the real world, a mid engine should be better, not worse. In the simulator, any increase in power makes them really hard to control. RWD front engine cars are easier, and that's just not true in the real world.
Also: surprise rain this morning. The enormous apocalyptic fire south of here looks like an approaching hurricane, and its 100 miles away. Its just that huge. The smoke has been really terrible, arriving in the night to choking levels that wake you up and make you itch (poison oak smoke also causes the allergy itch) and force you to close windows. I miss my daily walks, but the smoke has been so thick in the mornings its been impossible. But maybe today, after the rain clears off, I can walk a little. One can hope.
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