Let me just start by saying since my GT2 days, I've considered the Integra to be cream of the crop when compared to other front-drives. This means, [b]it's just about as good as a front-drive gets[/b]. However, the front-drive layout places serious limits, when competing against other drivetrain layouts in this contest. If TCV5 involved only front-drive cars, I could score it more favorably. It might even be at the top of the game. But there's plenty of issues.

 

 

[b][size=4][u]Speed[/u][/size]: 134.0 mph Top Speed[/b]

I've always loved the Integra's ability to [i]bite its way out of corners[/i], like a pit-bull dog with lockjaw. Once you've got the front-end locked into a good racing groove, it simply WILL NOT lose traction, assuming you're in the right gear. In its own way, the Integra will then start to actually [b]throttle-steer[/b]...grabbing down so that the steering angle sometimes actually becomes TIGHTER as we leave the corner. Front-drive throttle-steer. :dopey: 

....But in the TCV5/lightweight, amongst a field of rear-drives, there are issues.

First issue: [b]2nd gear is almost useless[/b], even on straight portions. Give more than 3/4ths throttle, and all you get is wheelspin. Matter of fact, I found it easier to just leave this car in 3rd gear for Twin Ring's worst bends. I'm sure if the lower gears were played with a bit, we might be able to include 2nd gear into the party for marginally better lap times, but it's probably not fully necessary. Leave it in 3rd, and you can get still the full Integra "pit-bull" effect....no wheelspin/lots of traction, even while full steering is being applied out-of-corners.

Other than this, the gearing is perfect. 6th is slightly taller than the rest, an obvious effort to make for a decent cruising gear down straights 1 and 3. So mostly, the score is being hurt by the fact that this is a front-drive against rear and all-wheel drives.

[color="Red"][b][size=4](8)[/size][/b][/color]

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[size=4][b][u]Handling[/u][/b][/size]:

Notice my lap time above at the top of this article. [b][color="Red"]1:32.208[/color][/b]. Jonn managed [b][b][color="Red"]1:31.957[/color][/b].

No matter how I tried, I simply couldn't knock off that extra [color="Red"]+.251[/color] of a second. :indiff: This really comes down to Jonn's settings (and comfort level with his own car) versus my settings. Once I tuned the car to my own specs, I suddenly could manage [b][color="Blue"]1:31.588[/color][/b] with room for further improvement. ;) I'm not knocking Jonn79, I'm simply trying to illustrate that one's car is one's castle. I couldn't beat Jonn's time until I made this castle my own. ;)

"Portly" is how Jonn describes the Integra. It's actually not that bad. Sure it understeers under power at times, but it's actually got minimal understeer for a front-drive.

One thing I noticed is that there's alot of (what I'd consider) odd settings here in the suspension. This car is extremely STIFF. [b]Stiff springs. Maxed shock absorbers. Maxed stabilizers[/b]. To top this off, the car has had its [b]rigidity increased with a rollcage[/b]. Twin Ring Motegi is a mirror-smooth course, so none of this matters UNTIL you find yourself needing to drive over one of those blue & white aprons...otherwise known as "rumble strips". I noticed the Integra started bouncing as I did so. This threw off my cornering strategy. This also limited the ability to apply gas WHILE driving over these aprons. Driving over an apron, fuel needs to be dialed back IMMEDIATELY, otherwise wheelspin takes over immediately.

.... More issues: [b]there's loads of camber and unnecessary toe up front[/b]. Three degrees of camber limit the car's ability to put power-to-pavement, since those front wheels aren't getting as good of traction as possible. I noticed I would often need to wait a fraction of a second longer than I wanted before applying gas out-of-corners, since that inner front tire wasn't getting maximum grip. In theory, that -2 degree of toe shouldn't hurt a car's cornering, and in my opinion it doesn't. The 'hurt' comes as you're rolling down a straight, needing to brake, and needing to accelerate in a straight line. Toe limits all of this. A tire that's rolling straight has less resistance than one which is slightly turned-in, you see.

Well, I got rid of the toe and lowered camber to 0.8. I also raised the rear end by 10 extra mm. Mimimized the limited-slip decel setting. There's no need for it in a front-drive because their main advantage is their ability to turn-in very late while (or after) braking is done. Why limit this with a decel setting of "20"? 

All of this retuning was done to make the car lock into corners more smoothly, and leave them with better efficiency, and again, this retuning is NOT being reflected for the official TCV5 results...it was just me being curious.

OH, brakes. I almost forgot brakes. :) The Integra has GREAT brakes. No points docked for braking ability in Jonn's version, though. It's got excellent brakes, it's just too bad the rest of the car can't keep up with others. 

[color="Red"][b][size=4]
(12)[/size][/b][/color]
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[size=4][b][u]Versatility[/u][/b][/size]:

Again, this car is as versatile as a front-drive gets. It turns-in while braking. It also has that "pit-bull" effect when leaving slower corners. [b]Understeer[/b] is the worst enemy, however, especially for the esses portion of Twin Ring (turns 3, 4, and 5). Keep that power dialed back here, or you'll wind up in the grass! And if a fumble strip enters the equation, you can pretty much forget about being tricky since this one is so stiff. :indiff:
 
There is some experimentation possible (especially in both hairpins) since the brakes and traction are so great, but in all other areas, the racing line must be kept solid. No playing around, lest those lap times suffer. I also felt that the stiff suspension, 3 degrees of camber, and some toe kept the Integra from being even more versatile than it already is.

[color="Red"][b][size=4](7)[/size][/b][/color]
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[size=4][b][u]Lap versus Battle Monster: [/u][/b][/size]

This car is actually [u][b]faster[/b][/u] than the BATTLE MONSTER down straights, but (again) its front-drive layout means it'll never beat it. I did manage to out-brake the MONSTER into Twin Ring's first couple turns, tho. So two points are alotted here.

[color="Red"][size=4][b](4)[/b][/size][/color]
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[b][u][size=4]Improvement over stock[/size][/u][/b]: 

There is definately some improvement here. :tup: 

The [b]Killer Chinchilla Integra[/b] suffers from less understeer overall than a stock version. There is also less unnecessary body movement (and therefore, less weight transferrence issues), which makes the car easier to pilot at higher speeds and into corners. Braking and gearing are also changed, but arguably don't make that much of a diff.

It's still not as good as it can be, however. Like I said (and not to brag) I was able to knock off nearly an extra half-a-second by getting rid of unnecessary suspension tuning, and making brakes even stronger. 

[color="Red"][b][size=4](5)

TOTAL SCORE: 36[/size][/b][/color]