Group B will only do well (and perhaps jackrabbit a bit) if they start on 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. Sometimes 4th or 5th, but only if the cars at the very front aren't so dominant. I like including as many of these folks as possible, for maximum challenge. Group B is much more diverse than Group A. Some members of B only do well if they start near (or on) Pole, while others can creep up from behind us, to eventually challenge us. But Group B often hasn't got the extra speed advantages that A cars do.  

 

All of these cars (Groups A, B, and a few Cs) are defined more fully below.

  
AEM S2000: Careful: sometimes the Tuning Car Grand Prix will present this car simply as an "S2000" on the grid, leading the racer to believe it's an ordinary dealer's car. It is anything but. Decorated with some flashy decals, wing & spoiler kit, and a handsome red wine body, the AEM seems to be a middle-range S2000, without the Top Power of the GT1s, but it is still a threat. The AEM doesn't appear too often, and if it starts down on the grid it'll need to fight its way to the front. But it can also make it to the front, sometimes with ease, so watch out.

 

'04 Amuse Carbon R: This is an R34-era Skyline. It looks dark and menacing, yet is a mid-range competitor. It's not entirely a threat, unless you find a grid where it starts near Pole. Then you'll need to cautiously catch it, as it can sometimes get a sizable lead over others.  

Amuse NISMO 380RS Super Leggera....: A good middle-range Z car to battle against, though sometimes I've also seen it lag. Scrumptious handling, decent power, this one (and all the other Nissan Z cars) carries a bit more weight than the S2000s. This makes it challenging to race against, without becoming a 1-sided event.   

Amuse/Opera Performance Gran Turismo 350Z RS: One of the weaker Nissan Zs. This one lags behind the others for some reason. Probably because it's underpowered.  I really like its body-kit, though!   

'04 Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo: This one puts the 'jack' in 'jackrabbit'. If it shows, it'll usually make its dominance known. Even if it's started (sometimes) way at the back of pack, it'll still wind up on the front lines by Lap 4 or 5.  

There is also a non-turbo version of this car. The non-turbo is a bit slower than the GT1 Turbo, but this is mostly only seen during longer straight portions, where the Turbo suddenly will leap far ahead of the non-turbo.

 

'60 Art Morrison Corvette: The sole classic. Just 'cause it's old doesn't mean it's not a threat, though. I've seen this ancient 'vette  put up a decent fight early in many races, but usually by Laps 3, 4, and 5, it's settled into its comfortable mid to late-pack position, and tends to stay there. The AMC is not quite the puddler I'd assumed it would be, though.       

High-End Performance G37: A really wild-looking Infiniti (or perhaps it's yet another Nissan Z-car, I can't really tell). Good job with the style on this one, guys! The G37 is not such a great race car, though; it tends to lag towards the rear. Could be due to too much weight.

 

'08 HKS CT230R: This car is one of the faster Group Bs, so if it's included, make sure it's nowhere near Pole, or even 3rd place, or you'll need more power. The CT230R has a few lacks though, which keeps it from being classified as Group A. It is decked out with racing livery, and happens to be one of my favorites to include on the grid. Lightning fast down those straights, it sometimes slows a little too much in the turns, but it also makes these turns solidly, and with a lack of sloppiness. At Daytona, its 5-speed tranny keeps it from pushing all the way, unfortunately, at 167 mph it's already redlining, with no extra gear to shift up to. But the driver also won't just redline it to death. He releases the throttle appropriately.

...Think of the S2000 GT1 as the sort of enemy you wind up loving to hate, but the HKS Evo as the sort of enemy whom you eventually can't help but admire.  

HPA Motorsports Stage II R32: This is a Volkswagen Golf, not a Skyline. The HPA is one of the originals from the GT4 TCGP, though it rarely made a showing in the grids. It's not a dominator in GT5, but it can make a strong appearance here and there due to its flawless AWD traction & decent handling. Its main problem is it weighs too much in comparison to the others.  

'07 HPA Motorsports F565 Twin Turbo TT: Again, this car (like the HKS CT230R) is one of the faster Group Bs. Don't put it anywhere near pole, unless you want a huge game of catch-up. The HPA F565 is a 2nd generation Audi TT, tuned for victory. It pulls down some good moves, and can make it to the front, but if there are any stronger jackrabbits present it'll usually give way to these. If you can get this car and the Lancer Evo with the confusing name (the HKS CT230R) on the same grid, TAKE IT!  These two balance each other perfectly, with the odd Z-car or weaker S2000 also making a good match up.

RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7: I found myself disappointed by this one, but only because I expected greater things. The Amemiya sometimes seems as if it's going to be on the top seat, but it never quite makes it there, even if it starts on Pole.. Great handling, but (perhaps) it's underpowered.   

'06 Mine's BNR34 Skyline GT-R N1: There is also a Vspec version, and both N1 and Vspec can show up in the same grid. In GT4 this one (along with all the other Mine's vehicles) mostly stunk, but it does okay at a couple tracks here in GT5, especially if the grid is packed with Skylines and other mid-weight tuners. I've seen it pull from the rear to the front of the pack at Route 246, but at tracks with more twists & turns, it normally never performs such a feat. Don't count this Mine's out completely, though >  if it starts near Pole, it can sometimes climb to the lead at any of the tracks. It doesn't corner as well as most others in Group A or B, but seems to have just enough speed to keep them from overtaking down those straights.      

'00 Mine's Lancer Evolution VI: Lol. Again, this Mine's vehicle didn't ever make podium in GT4, and it's still a third-rate competitor now. Class D, for Dummy. Is Mine's upset by this? Or do they not really care? What do you think?  

'01 Nissan Gran Turismo Skyline: Ha! .. the famous Skyline we followed during all those GT4 license tests is now racing amongst us. You'd think this car would be choice (being a rolling GT advertizement) but it's a bit of a loser. I've never seen the Nissan GT Skyline do much else than act as a placeholder towards the back of the pack.  

'04 Nissan Option Stream Z: Here's the 600+ horsepower Z car, yet it's sometimes getting blown away by those with a hundred less horses?  I originally put this one on the jackrabbit list up above, but (seriously) it rarely shines. If it's really got 637 hp, what the hell is it doing with it? 

    Well, taking a ride during a replay, we can observe what's going on. This one seems poorly-tuned underneath; maybe it's got its toe or camber set wrong, or something. The Option Z doesn't understeer, but this seems only because the driver is constantly taming this car's throttle to keep it from doing so. In comparison, I took a ride-along with the weaker Option Z, only to find it zooming through the same corners at Route 246, and often at fuller-throttle.   

'96 NISMO 400R: This was a car we could win in GT4, but I don't think it ever made an appearance as A.I. The Nismo packs some power, but unfortunately doesn't ever make it as a top dawg, not that I've noticed anyways. Problem is it's got a super-tall transmission. Even at tracks with long straight areas, the 400R remains crunched into 4th gear at best.  

'03 Nismo Fairlady Z Z-tune: like a few other Zs, the Z-tune does well, and puts on quite a show during those replays. It'll blow the doors off a RUF, and handle better than one, too.  

'00 Nismo Skyline GT-R S-tune: Meh.   
Not that it's a sucky car, but the S-tune is one of those that the A.I. can't seem to get its shit together. It never rises to any sort of greatness. It can pose a mild threat sometimes at Daytona and Route 246, assuming it starts on or near Pole. But otherwise, no worries about the Skyline.   

Nismo Skyline GT-R R-tune: As above.  

'04 Opera Performance 350Z: On the grid, this will be simply called an '04 350Z. It is another middle-of-the road sort of Z-car. The Opera Z can either make a strong showing, or sometimes it'll lag a bit, winding up in 4th or 5th place. Rarely will it just plain suck, though.

'86 RUF BTR: Everything usually gets heavier in the automotive world as years go by, so I am assuming the earliest RUF is also the lightest? It certainly is just a little bit faster than the others.  

'87 RUF CTR Yellowbird: A Porsche 911 clone, rear engine/rear drive. The Yellowbird (and all other CTRs and BTRs) does great at three out of five tracks, but starts screwing up at Grand Valley and Route 5. Such a shame. At Tokyo, this car (and all the other rear-engine RUFs) starts to sometimes downplay its prowess, even down some straight areas.  

'00 RUF RGT: As above. The RGT is a fancier shape than the earlier 911-based models, since it's not a 911, it's actually based on the Porsche 996. Again, it does well at Suzuka and Daytona (with a little bit of slipping here and there) but gets a "D" or even an "F" on its GT report card at Grand Valley and Route 5. This depends on its driver though. Sometimes the RGT will do better than other times..         

'00 RUF 3400S: This is the 'chick car' Porsche. :) It's a mid-engined auto, handles better than the stronger RR Porsches, but hasn't got the power to make its efforts known.

If a car is not mentioned above (or does not appear in the A or B lists), it's because it's not anything to worry about, and this is what I like to call Group C. There are plenty of laggards in this series, just like any other in GT. Also, keep in mind that nothing is set in stone. Group C usually loses to Group B, which usually loses to Group A, but this is not always the case, especially once we begin reading some of the descriptions of each car.

 

Now for the tracks.

 

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Suzuka Circuit
The earliest S-curves (left, right, left right, etc.), along with Suzuka's hairpin, Casino Triangle, and a few other key areas wind up being the  best passing zones, as everybody slows down just a little too much. Traffic isn't too boisterous, which means it's rare to find any AI punting or other such nuisances. On the other hand, they really take off down the straights, and during longer curves like the Spoon.  

Daytona Road Course
..surprised me. I expected my fully-powered 515 hp Lancer Evo VI to barely be able to keep up here in Florida. Turns out 515 is way too much!  After many trials, this mega-power got dumbed down almost 100 horses. I'm not sure why they drove Suzuka so well, but now all a sudden they seem so timid. Go figure. Even down some straight areas, I've seen some of our opponents mysteriously release their throttles or even apply some brakes, far away from the actual braking zones. 

On the other hand, once our power is reduced we begin to see our opponents begining to take a more agro approach. They're not afraid to get alongside us as we steer into the daring, super-sharp Turn 1, for instance, or into the track's two hairpins. They'll often stay alongside us too, really fighting for track space! ... But one thing they won't do (thank god) is punt us from the rear. I don't believe in God, but I thank him or her or it anyways. No punting. Unless you brake way too early or something, and somebody behind hasn't got enough time to react.     

Grand Valley Speedway
I really didn't know what to expect here, after the massive caffeine withdrawl of Daytona. Should I power up? Or power down?

Turns out, we go up if we are in the Tuner Class. :) But down if we're talkin' Sports Cars. Grand Valley is an odd track because all a sudden, the rear-engine RUFs start driving really badly. They take GV's longer curves way too hot: sliding a bit here, doing a bad drift there. I've even seen them fully washing out into some sand traps!  How long has it been since we've seen this sort of action?  Everybody else tends to drive up-to-par, though; taking decent cornering lines and showing their true colors.    

S.S. Route 5
Here's the first instance of SSR5 in GT5's A-spec, so I took the time to learn this track well beforehand, doing some Arcade and One-Make races, and so should you if you haven't been here yet.

Once again, RUFs really screw up at this track, taking many turns too hot, and often making grandiose rear-engine slides at the big Turn #2 into the tunnel. They obviously never paid much attention to the standard Porsche 'slow in, fast out' lectures during racing school. It's pretty much a guarantee that if these guys are leading in points during a championship series, they'll start to lose their lead during GV and SSR5, even if they start on Pole.

The rest of the A.I. drives mildly sloppy, they just never get loose enough to slide. But notice: they'll often take turns too wide, cut their throttle on-exit, and sometimes still wind up tapping a guardrail. This is why S.S. Route 5 requires less power than Grand Valley. It's easy to snake in and out of their lazy cornering lines, sometimes gaining multiple positions during the same turn.