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Advanced Level
Gran Turismo Gravel Master
Track: Liege
Horsepower: Unlimited
Description
EIGHT stints to accomplish now, rather than three or five. PD says these stages are 8km (4.9
miles) or more, but some of them are much shorter than this. They are sometimes shorter
than the intermediate level stages for sure. Drivers don't have
as much of a choice as to what they enter, we must now enter one of the game's 29 official rally cars.
Again, each time a trial is begun, the way the tracks are shaped is entirely random.
In other words, SS1 is never the same, SS2 is never the same, and so on. Honestly though, much of the Advanced series
is actually easier than the Intermediates, and this is because there is no longer a horsepower limit.
Want to breeze through early stages with seconds to spare? Select a turbo, and stack it on top
of a Stage 3 engine build. Go ahead and drive those corners in a more leisurely manner, rather than breaknecking
with all the concentration used for the Intermediates. Honestly, it doesn't feel like cheating (to me) since we're
still not allowed to practice, and what's the point of practice if each stage is never the same?
But it's not just power. During the Intermediates it seemed straights were my
friend, corners my enemy. I could remove time as my fully-lightened, fully-powered cars flew down "one-thousand long" straight sections; it was during those super-tight
turns where the Evos, STis, and Audis killed. During the Advanced stages this is definitely opposite. The more turns
(and the more SHARP turns) the better. I just blasted through one of the trap times EIGHT seconds faster than the competition,
and with cautious driving. Smashed into a barrier (garnering a goddam penalty) yet still won the stage by just
over 7 seconds. And this was in the rain!
But beware. The final two trials, all the sudden the competition does get tougher. I was 11 seconds ahead after Stage
6. By the end of the series now I was down 21, and came in last place.
Obviously, those who are trying to be more competitive can choose a Stage 1
or 2 turbo without the extra engine stage, or no power enhancements at all. But since I'm not as good at blind rallies
as I am during fixed courses, I'll be cheating with as much power as I please.
The brake meter (Suggested Gear) device can still be helpful. It has a habit of signaling too early
sometimes, but is definitely accurate towards the end of long straights. So when coming toward the end of an "800" to "1000
long" straight, heed its red, flashing warning, or pay the price.
As during the other, earlier GT
Rallies: Do some practice laps around Toscana's Gravel version. This is the best way to at least get to know and tune each
car being entered.
One more
thing: sometimes it can rain during the Advanced stages. Hard to tell whether this affects grip and traction much, but rain
definitely limits visibility, especially while using the in-car view.
Opponents
I have noticed there is a bit of a pecking order; some opponents
creaming others. I've tried to arrange them from fastest to slowest below, observing how much they defeat each other at
the end of each stage.
'08 Citroen C4 WRC '08 Suzuki SX4 WRC '07 Ford Focus RS WRC '99 Peugeot 206 WRC '08 Subaru Impreza WRC '03 Mitsubishi CZ-3 Tarmac '99 Mitsubishi
Lancer Evo. VI '98 Ford Escort
RS '99 Subaru Impreza '98
Toyota Corolla Rally Car '98 Toyota Celica GT-FOUR
Parts
Dirt Tires
Brake Balancer
Transmission rated for 160 mph or slightly more.
Though each car is going to have different requirements,
I've included some settings below for the '98 Ford Escort. Perhaps this will make a good place to begin with tuning.
Tuning '98 Ford Escort RS
Transmission: 1st:
2.853 2nd: 1.925 3rd: 1.475 4th: 1.150 5th: 0.925 6th: 0.725
Final Gear:
3.950 Top Speed: 162
Limited Slips FRONT: 20/30/10 REAR: 10/40/20
Center
Differential: 50/50
Ride
Height: -5 / -1 Spring Rate: 5.0 / 4.5 E. Dampers: 6 / 3 C. Dampers: 5 / 4 Anti-Roll Bars: 2 / 3 Camber: 3.0 / 2.5 Toe: +0.10 / +0.50
Brakes: 3 / 6
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