Hey guys,
So this is going to be quite a short post, as I only have a few things to say. This post is going to be based on Build 586 and will forcus on the new F3 Slick - R3 tyre, which I used on the Palmer Jaguar JPLM.
This morning I did a few laps on the Hot Lap Event at Dubai International and posted quite a quick time, but to be honest, the track is very unrealistic at the moment due to the lenient cutting rules, which need to be sorted out over time, so I would not really look into the fast laps at this circuit, I was purely doing setup runs.
When I did my first run at Dubai, I did not change setup and felt quite a bit of understeer compared to when I last did some laps in the Hot Lap Event at Dubai at the start of the week. It was not until I went to my setup screen and found that I was using the R3 slick, I changed back to R2 for a few laps and instantly felt an increase in grip level.
Palmer Jaguar JPLM - F3 Slick R3
I know Time Trial and Hot Lap Events do not give realistic feedback results, so I moved to Derby Park National using Free Practice Mode, as this has been the track I have been using to test all of the tyre compounds this week.
So, I planned to do a run of 6 to 10 laps with 10L fuel and at the end, I found myself saying.....'These Tyres are Mega!' I am really impressed with this tyre and I think AJ has done a great job in creating this tyre based on mine and everyone else's feedback from this week. In this run, I aimed to analyse the behaviour of the tyre during the cold tyre faze, how long they took to come up to temperature and whether the increase in tyre temperature gave a realistic feeling of grip level increase.
OutLap
The outlap was the most realistic outlap I have had this week, with a lot of understeer throughout the lap, but now with the lack of rear stability through the corner and lack of traction when you get on the power. I felt that the outside of the tyre on rear had a lot less stability and grip when used, which made the rear feel a lot more unstable and more realistic in this faze.
Lap 2 felt very similar to the outlap with the same around of understeer, but increased stability and traction on the rear as they started to warm up. Although this lap felt similar, the front tyres started to improve slightly at the end of sector 2 and carried on improving as the laps went on.
By lap 3, the rear tyres were near enough at temperature, but not at optimum, which took another lap or so. As i was going through the run in the early stages, I felt that it was the understeer of the front tyres that were letting the overall balance down, but as I got to lap 6, the front tyres were pretty much at optimum and started working fantastically, with increased grip under braking, improved initial entry bite and improved grip mid-corner. The rear tyres felt great, with improved traction from the cold tyre faze, but not too much, which was nice. The overall balance of the tyres when at optimum temperature was great, with the mid-corner rotation and grip-up feeling, together with all of the other characteristics of the R1 and R2 tyres was great.
Due to the rear tyres feeling like they have less stability on the outside of the tyre, it increased realism through high and low speed corners with the rear wanting to move and 'float' but not to the extent where it is uncontrollable and snappy. Out of slow speed corners, the traction was a lot less then previous, which means you have to think before you plant your foot on the throttle, making you use your head more and be smoother with throttle application. This to me was a fantastic step forward, because this made me feel that I would need a little more downforce on the rear if I was to set the car up more consistently, which is a lot more realistic than before.
Overall/Changes
Changes
The changes/ improvements that I would make to this tyre are very minimal.
The first change would be the time it takes for the front tyres to come up to temperature, as it was not until lap 6 that the tyres became good, whereas because the wheather in Free Practice mode looks hot and nice, it should only take around 4 laps for the fronts to come in. The rears came in by lap 4, which was good, but then you have to spend another 3 laps with increased understeer, waiting for the tyres to come in.
@AJ: Will we get to a stage where the length of the cold tyre faze and how long the tyres take to come in, depend on the track temperature? In other words, will track temperature be added to the game and will it play a factor in tyre temperatures?
The reason I ask this is, the time it takes tyres to warm up, purely depends on the track conditions. In the winter and really cold conditions, the cold tyre faze is terrible, with constant snap and zero grip, and takes 10 laps at some tracks for the tyres to come in/get to temperature. I would say for Pcars, 4 laps at each circuit in warm conditions should be the time for the tyres to grip up and get to temperature, with an added 3 to 4 laps for cold conditions. In todays case with the way the weather is set in Free Practice Mode, using the R3 at Derby National, 4 laps should be the maximum.
The second change/ improvement I would make, would be to decrease the grip available in the middle of the tyre in the cold tyre faze, the middle of the tyre has less grip than before meaning you can spin the rear wheels from a standstill, but only slightly. It is still too safe in the middle of the tyre, as the lack of stability and traction only happens when the outside of the tyre is used. I would go one more step in decreasing the grip in the middle of the tyre so that it spins and loses traction easier, but to come up to temperature at the same rate as the outside of the tyre. (The middle should come up a little quicker, but this is only because I am being picky! )
If I was being super picky, I would also say that the front tyre needs a tiny bit more initial bite and grip mid-corner, but this is not too much of a big deal.
Overall
I think this tyre is the most realistic tyre we have had so far in Pcars and has improved greatly. If the above changes were made only slightly, then this tyre is good to go!
Mega! Well done guys
Nic