fourth wall: GT7 Wcatch up: Gallardo, EF Civic, KS13

Time for some (relatively) quick catch up reviews!

Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 '08

It's not just Jay that has fond memories of the Lamborghini Gallardo; I do too. In the GT6 days some ten years ago, I had taken a fancy to the Gallardo for its ideal rear midship AWD layout, and its understated styling relative to its bigger brother, the Murciélago, appealed to me more. When bathed in the FD RX-7's dark and mystifying Montego Blue Mica paint, it really did seem the perfect modern supercar for me. I even tuned one and raced it at the Nordschleife against a friend's 458, which went... well.

Unfortunately, those good memories only served as whiplash when I sampled the same car again in Gran Turismo 7, this time completely stock, which meant taking by its horns all of its 1,410kg (3,108lbs) and 552HP (412kW) with only Sports Hard gloves. To say that all Lamborghinis in the game with a model year after the 1980 understeer like crazy is like saying Enzo Ferrari was a bit of a dick, and the Gallardo continues that now decades–old tradition by driving as though every track marshal on the outside of each turn on the track is waving a red flag at it. One would hope that having such a debilitating amount of understeer baked into the car would at the very least mean that the car is idiot proof, but the Gallardo would sooner grow horns out its anus than to actually do as its driver wishes; stab at either pedal too hard when the Gallardo is too off neutral, and the raging bull stops using its head and instead rams into innocents fatass–first. And yet, despite my disastrous experience trying to drive it that way, that seems to be precisely how the Gallardo wants to be treated, judging from what I observe in replays from my peers with better chemistry with the Gallardo than I; it demands to be yanked hard into a corner with sudden wheel and pedal inputs rather than gently caressed with trail braking, and I just can't bring myself to do that to a car. Try to trail brake it, and the steering wheel just goes numb while the tyres screech away fruitlessly, almost as if the raging bull aquaplaned on its own piss on an otherwise dry road. It genuinely feels to me as though whoever was in charge of setting up the suspension on the Gallardo took a look at the RM–AWD layout and thought, "eh whatever, the car will sort itself out", and simply didn't bother. There are simply no words that come to mind to describe the Gallardo other than clumsy... and fast.

Begrudgingly, I will have to concede the fact that, even with its BS handling, there is simply no room at all to debate just how bloody quick the Gallardo is in relation to its peers. It proved untouchable in the Single–Player Challenge of the week, which was a time trial around Sardegna B pitting stock Gallardos against similarly stock 458s and MP4s. Of the four participants, every single one of them set their fastest laps in the Gallardo, and in the lobby races with a PP cap set to 10PP higher over the stock Gallardo's, the only car that could show up the Gallardo was... the Murciélago. Assuming neither Lambo got into too big of a crash, that is.

Not that I'm going to try it myself, but according to experienced tuner and YouTuber Fossil Fueled, the Gallardo retains much of its same murderous tendency and blistering speed when maxed out with tuning parts. To borrow a few pertinent quotes from his video, "(The Gallardo) doesn't need an engine swap to be a hateful swine", and "it's still a very tricky car to get right, and it's still very capable of murdering you". Despite this, his Gallardo sits a lofty third in his "Taming A Monster" series leaderboard at the time of writing, behind only the utterly sinful Cayman GT4 swap and a freaking GT-R LM Nismo LMP1 prototype racecar. There's just no denying that the Gallardo is fast, stock or tuned, and the only thing that might be quicker than it is how quickly I came to hate it. It boggles my mind that something this clumsy and moody can be this stupidly fast.

Honda Civic Si Extra (EF) '87

I wrote in my Peugeot 205 GTI review that I value lightness and simplicity in a sports car, especially so when said sports car is Front–Wheel–Drive. The 1987 Honda Civic Si Extra (EF) then, despite saying "yes" to extras in its name, looks to one–up the utterly brilliant 205 in the simplicity department by having absolutely zero sporting intentions whatsoever, serving as extremely rare context in this game for family cars in the 80s so that we may better appreciate the special, sporty cars. This EF Civic isn't a hotted up GTI with VTEC or anything. It's just... a cheap city appliance with looks so flat and boxy that it sometimes looks as though an AI upscaled PS2 model ported over to GT7.

1988 JTC N.16 by Tenki-33
#jtc #motul #mugen

And yet, so many an aspirational racer has driven the EF Civic in anger, punks and professionals alike. Is that to say then, that the EF Civic has the makings of a potent pocket rocket slumbering somewhere within that unassuming silhouette? Despite not ostensibly trying to appeal to hot blooded racers, the EF Civic's compact body and lightness are by themselves what make the EF such a potent package, giving it such a direct, straightforward drive that simply goes where the driver points it with ample communication despite its light steering feel, all while offering minimal drama or protest. The 1.6L NA engine of course, just begs to be revved out, and even back in the eighties, the D series engine has already been singing its now–classic hit tunes. It's just the sort of car that makes someone who loves the act of driving smile just from taking one corner... as long as they aren't in too much of a hurry, that is.

As a family car first, the EF's suspension is a fair bit cushier than that of the sporty 205's we sampled not too long ago. While understandable for an old, cheap city car, that softness in the suspension does unfortunately highlight the EF's lack of a limited slip differential more when driven hard out of a turn. That makes the tight turns of smaller, shorter circuits that in theory ought to be a better fit for these low powered city cars a bit of a chore, as 2nd gear will bounce off the limiter incessantly with the inside wheel spinning uselessly, but shifting up to 3rd gear will bog the NA engine that much prefers being kept near its 7,500rpm limit. This issue is only compounded all the more in low grip scenarios, such as in the wet or on loose surfaces, with cars near its PP range pulling away from it out of corners without remorse. Unfortunately, I think we're beginning to see a trend in COTW where FF cars with open diffs get rated unfairly highly by the PP system, often resulting in these open diff FF cars getting matched up against faster machinery that they realistically have no chance of keeping up with, with the rear drive AE86 twins being prime examples.

That all being written, in a one–make race scenario or even solo driving, I still enjoyed the EF Civic thoroughly. I might even have been smitten by the car if not for the unfortunate fact that we've sampled the 205 GTI not too long ago, and as is probably evident by now, I just can't get the GTI out of my head all week, with the Peugeot becoming a benchmark of sorts for 80s hatchbacks. The lighter, tighter GTI just drives that much better in stock form in a racing game. The fact that this unassuming city appliance is even in the same conversation as the hotted up 205 GTI is an amazing feat in itself, and unlike the 205, the EF has an option for an engine swap, giving tuners a reason to choose the Kanjo Cruiser over the Plucky Pug. To me personally, I think both cars are already brilliant as they are, and don't want to mess with them. They're both Sleepers.

Gosh, why do I have this awful tendency to rip on cars that are deeply loved by the regulars who nominated them? Time to combo break that!

Nissan Silvia K's Dia Selection (S13) '90

The Nissan Silvia S13 may have a bit of a reputation for being a "date car"; something that's almost all show and very little go. However, with the addition of a turbo on the top of the line K's grade, the 1990 Nissan Silvia K's Dia Selection (S13) goes from gutless to grandiose, poser to performer. So much so in fact, I'm absolutely smitten silly by it!

ToLOVEru darkness S13 SILVIA 闇 by FY_ShiiNa_417
#anime #jdm #drift
Varietta by Autavia
#blue #autech #convertible

I was tempted to say that the S13 K's drives like a Miata that has the extremely well–balanced torque curve of the twin–turbo RX-7, along with some of the latter's oomph. However, that'd be a bit disingenuous, because the K's behaves incredibly docile even when pushed hard in a racing scenario despite packing more power than the NA Miata—174PS (128kW) @ 6,500rpm and 225.5N·m (166.3lbf · ft) from a mere 4,000rpm. While the NA Miata trips over its own shadow and dies when pushed hard in this game, the KS13 remains calm, composed, communicative, and extremely neutral when pushed. That is to say, in a racing game experienced through the poor man's pancake mode without the wind in my hair, the KS13 is just a strictly better Miata, and I'm writing this as a Mazda fanboy.

If having an extremely well–rounded torque curve and an actually functional suspension setup weren't enough to sell you on the car, the K's also has extremely short and close gearing. It's surprising—and refreshing—to drive a car that makes full use of its gears on the track, with fifth gear topping out at around 225km/h (140mph), which the driver will see often near the end of some of the longer straights in the game. Its peers on the other hand, twindle about in tall overdrive gears putting on a show of trying to force their way through the air with their boxy, bulky commuter car bodies common in this PP range. But of course, the more practical advantage to having low and close gear ratios is the ability to bust out a slide and hold it, which the K's is more than capable of despite its docile demeanour when driven smoothly. That is to say, the driver simply has to be rough with their inputs to the car to get it sideways, and the K's will happily oblige both on corner entries and exits. It is just the PERFECT car to introduce a new driver to both the strengths and weaknesses of an FR platform, and I would love to see more games lean in on that with their career progression!

The only nitpick I have with the K's is that its stock 195/60R15 tyres have a bit too much flex in them, with the car becoming a bit vague when I leaned really hard on it in corners. That said, it's just a nitpick, and I was already in love with the car despite that small flaw. But of course, said small nitpick also has a very simple fix—one that persists through BoP—upsizing the wheel diameter. When I upsized from the stock 15–inch rollers to 16–inch wheels, it was like finding out King Charming had the exact same kinks and fetishes I have, and at that precise moment, I knew I wanted it and needed it in my life for the rest of my life!