TORA FM4 Stuff

Coming soon, and already announced:

MSA TORA Porsche Supercup

Cars: Black Swan #54 and Alex Job Racing #23 with mostly grip spec upgrades.

Every other Sunday afternoon US time, alternating with FM5 GTs

and

TCR Touring Masters

Cars: Group A Touring Cars of the 1980s/90s. Alfa 155, BMW 635csi, Ford Sierra, MB 190 Evo, Nissan R32 Skyline, Volvo 850R. Upgraded to 530PI

Fridays for a four week run starting Oct 17 at 5PM EST/2PM PST.

I know you guys have a hard time making Fridays, how about a V8 Supercar 6 Hour Enduro on a Saturday? November 29th Ax4x is hosting the TCR V8SC 6H of Laguna Seca on at TORA.

4x90 minute stints, with 30 minute breaks between each stint. 2-4 man teams. 

Would love to see an EZT entry or two for this one

4h of LeMons on the last weekend of 2014. 

This WILL be a "funduro"...

I know VM has considerably cut its FM4 program, as has TORA to be honest... but I am and have been on TORA Staff as the FM4 Coordinator since early 2014, and am presently THE only FM4 Staff on the site. I am fully committed to running events and series on what I call "the better system" until nobody is left to race with or XBL pulls the plug on the 360/FM4 servers.

I just want you all to know that EZT has a friend on TORA Staff, and any misgivings you may have had in the past with the officiating there is in the past, as all other TORA Staff has moved on.

Good to hear Mikey!! I've only run the one series at TORA, but I had a great time. Venom did the bulk of the hosting, so all went well. Nice to know you have our backs though.

Would love to see another series in the US time-slot. Everything right now is based around Euro times. Even the weekend things are afternoons. Just doesn't work for me.

Check out the Anytime Racing thread above. Axe has put together a fun little race night that we are trying to get off the ground. Maybe a joint EZT/TORA effort? Right now it's more of a one off thing just for fun, but if we can get some interest it could turn into more. Even one lobby of 10-12 drivers would be a good time.

We at TORA are working on TORA-US which should bring more American prime time racing, albeit on FM5 for now, with PCars in the future if the game is worth racing on. The XPR guys that hosted NATCC have all abandoned FM4 for FM5, leaving us FM4 Americans a huge void for now.

For FM4, my available time is Friday afternoons, with occasional weekend (days) as well. I can get more help from Europe than I can currently get from America as far as hosting series... but TORA-US is looking at ways to get more US and AU friendly timed races/series.

Working with a TORA member to run a season of the Touring Masters mentioned in this thread's opening post on a weeknight at 9PM Eastern/6PM Pacific. The carlist is getting a couple tweaks, as the Volvo and Alfa were not competitive. But I can say that if you read through the initial run's opening season, this series was really good fun.

http://forums.theonlineracingassociation.com/t14146-tcr-touring-masters-general-discussion

Update: This has gotten the full go ahead. I have found a host for Wednesday evenings at 9PM Eastern/6PM Pacific, and been given the "By all means DO IT!" from the entire TORA Staff.

The cars are tested, first with months of testing within Ax4x then with a full run as a Friday series, and can say that the track choice offsets any strengths and weaknesses between the different cars.

One more note: since I am now on TORA Staff, there may be an issue with me posting anything at VM, but a big part of this is to entice VM FM4 Americans to jump over to TORA, it would be very much appreciated if y'all could find a way to let some VMers in on this. I know going in that if we can get a good turnout, this could be a consistent timeslot for all of us throughout 2015.

Thanks!

Sure was a lot of contact!

Much of that video was done in testing, so there may have been excessive buffoonery.

Been working on a follow-up to Touring Masters... I usually try to get one done as the other starts, and it seems that NASA's American Iron class lends itself quite nicely to FM4. The only trick is the balance between easy to drive enough for good competition and challenging enough to keep interest.

But as the title implies, the carlist is very American.

Sounds interesting Mikey!! If you need any help testing the cars let me know.

I hope you guys had a good time tonight in Touring Masters... so far the word I have heard most used is "Intense", which is usually a good thing when it comes to racing, but also know that tends to make some racers lose their cool.

Flyin Mikey J wrote:

I hope you guys had a good time tonight in Touring Masters... so far the word I have heard most used is "Intense", which is usually a good thing when it comes to racing, but also know that tends to make some racers lose their cool.

Great racing last nite!  Love the handling with the sport tires - will keep ya honest. Intense, sure - but it's racing. 

That is exactly what I was hoping to hear.

EZT MAKO 6669 wrote:

Sounds interesting Mikey!!  If you need any help testing the cars let me know.

If you wish to help flush out any cars that are "too" quick or slow, here's the basics...

1985-2006 American RWD four seaters.

Weight: 2900-3000 Lbs

Power: 350-400 HP

585PI

Race Tires

Aero: May go Forza Aero mandatory, or may go Forza Aero "optional"

Prelim Car List:

Buick:
1986 Regal GNX

Chevrolet:
1990 Camaro IROC Z
2002 Camaro SS

Chrysler:
Crossfire

Dodge: 
1996 Stealth (converted to RWD)

Ford:
1992 Mustang
1996 Mustang 
2005 Mustang GT

Infinity:
2003 Q35

Lexus:
1996 SC300
2003 IS300

Pontiac:
1988 Trans Am GTA
2002 Trans Am

On the fence, (if the weight limit goes up to 3100 lbs, but even then barely squeaks in)
Cadillac 2004 CTS-V
Pontiac 2006 GTO (also requires the year to go up by one)

One last note: may remove Lexus and Infinity due to their "questionable" US status. I like the added variety they bring on one hand, but not sold on them being anything but Nissan and Toyota on the other hand.

I'll try and test some out. I would keep the Lexus and Infinity in. Toyota is in Nascar now because they manufacture here.

EZT MAKO 6669 wrote:

I'll try and test some out. I would keep the Lexus and Infinity in. Toyota is in Nascar now because they manufacture here.

Too bad Turn 10 (Forza 5) is not now in NASCAR
Will Forza 6 come back to Ovals?


The Pontiac 06 was the car we used for NASCAR in Forza 1 & 2.

^ Yeah. That is why I am on the fence with this, as Chevrolet is the number one car manufacturer... in China. 

Funny how that goes both ways. But for the sake of variety, as long as neither Lexus or Infinity dominates they will remain on the list.

BTW, in light of the delays in Touring Masters, to speed things up, the next series will try a new format...

One 35-40 minute race, with a full course yellow one lap shy of midrace, followed by a mandatory pit stop, then green one lap past midrace.

Sounds good Mikey. A slightly earlier start time would be good for me as well.

Someone has brought that up, 8:30 Q, 9PM Race.

I saw that. Would definitely be better for me. With the delays last night I had to drop out and didn't get to race at all.

Thats exactly what I am trying to avoid happening with the new moves.

EZT TomCat7 wrote:

EZT MAKO 6669 wrote:

I'll try and test some out. I would keep the Lexus and Infinity in. Toyota is in Nascar now because they manufacture here.

Too bad Turn 10 (Forza 5) is not now in NASCAR
Will Forza 6 come back to Ovals?


The Pontiac 06 was the car we used for NASCAR in Forza 1 & 2.

 I'm guessing they might, but i doubt they will make online league racing any easier. At this point it's obvious that they don't care about this sort of thing.

Flyin Mikey J wrote:

Been working on a follow-up to Touring Masters... I usually try to get one done as the other starts, and it seems that NASA's American Iron class lends itself quite nicely to FM4. The only trick is the balance between easy to drive enough for good competition and challenging enough to keep interest.

But as the title implies, the carlist is very American.

Sorry Mikey, I haven't been able to get to this yet, with work, the blizzard, and a severe sinus infection. Will try to start testing in the next couple of days. If you have any builds set up send them over and I will try them out.

I wish I would have seen that post before I was on FM4 for the day, but may well go on a bit before work tomorrow.

The build rules and car list are set, so no further balancing is in order, better than Touring Masters in balancing and grip. Jst awaiting that series to wrap up before going public with American Iron.

I sent a slew of my best tunes for American Iron over to Mako and Coot. Hope it helps y'all decide on a car. If it helps you guys make A Lobby, even better.

Thanks, Mikey! We're leanin' toward the Mustang, but will check them out - should be a good series!

I saw TomCat asking about TCC. If you're interested, I have tunes and builds for tons of those cars, some of which are actually pretty sporty even w/me driving them. Let me know and I will send a few to ya.

American Iron: Mustangs and Camaros seem to be the favorites, but really try out the Lexus and Infinity tunes I sent... they are very nice to drive and surprisingly quick.

Flyin Mikey J wrote:

I saw TomCat asking about TCC. If you're interested, I have tunes and builds for tons of those cars, some of which are actually pretty sporty even w/me driving them. Let me know and I will send a few to ya.

American Iron: Mustangs and Camaros seem to be the favorites, but really try out the Lexus and Infinity tunes I sent... they are very nice to drive and surprisingly quick.

I found out about the TCR TCC from "xKingCobra28" (Venom} yesterday and built some of the cars.
The Series will be on Fridays at 5 PM Eastern.

My best time on Atlanta is in the Mazda Familia at 1:34.020
I can only come close in the 1:34's with a few cars.

King Cobra is listed using the 2010 Chevy Cobalt, but I'm slower with it, even after trying Solar Flars3's SF Tune.

TCR TCC Car List and Build Rules
 by Flyin Mikey J on Sun Feb 08, 2015 1:53 pm


Build Rules:

Class = A
PI = 530
Power = 250-300bhp
Weight = 2,500-2,900lbs
Year = 2001 onwards
Type = Any
Drive Type = FWD
Engine Placement = Front
Aspiration = Turbocharged
Mandatory Parts = Race Brakes, Race Suspension, Race Rear Wing, Full Rollcage, Race Tyres
Prohibited Parts = Adjustable Front Wing

Car List:

2011 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Quadrifolio Verde
2010 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Turbocharged
2009 Citroen C4 VTS
2005 Dodge SRT4 ACR
2006 Ford Focus ST
2002 Honda Integra Type-R
2012 Honda Civic Si Coupe
2004 Honda Civic Type-R
2011 Honda CR-Z EX
2010 Kia Forte Koup SX
2011 Lexus CT200h
2009 Mazda Mazdaspeed 3
2001 Mazda Mazdaspeed Familia
2009 Nissan Versa SL
2011 Peugeot 308 GTI
2002 Saab 9-3 Aero
2006 Saturn ION Red Line
2005 Scion tC
2002 Suzuki Liana GLX
2011 Suzuki SX4 Sportback
2011 Toyota Prius
2006 Vauxhall Astra VXR
2010 Volkswagen Golf GTi
2009 Volvo C30 R-Design

I'm running that Mazda... if you need tunes, I may be able to help.

Flyin Mikey J wrote:

I'm running that Mazda... if you need tunes, I may be able to help.

Yes Mickey, I would like to try your Mazda tune.
My tune is mostly the Forza 4 Tuning calculator.

Wish it wasn't on Friday afternoon.  Sounds like fun!

It would be 5PM Eastern.

Flyin Mikey J wrote:

I sent a slew of my best tunes for American Iron over to Mako and Coot. Hope it helps y'all decide on a car. If it helps you guys make A Lobby, even better.

Thanks Mikey!! Spent the weekend digging out yet again, so I didn't get to them yet. Will try them out this morning. Snowing again.....already got another two inches, cause, you know, we're getting a bit low on snow!!

EZT TomCat7 wrote:

It would be 5PM Eastern.

The fact it's on Friday is my problem, not the time.  I am still at work at 5:00 PM anyway.

Yeah, 5:00 pm is too early for me any day.

Since we cannot use ABS Brakes, I may drop out.
After practicing for 2 hours with ABS off, my best lap time is 1:35.3 compared to 1:34.020 with ABS.

I'll have to see if I can get on to work with you Tom. ABS shouldn't affect your lap times so much.

EZT TomCat7 wrote:

Since we cannot use ABS Brakes, I may drop out.
After practicing for 2 hours with ABS off, my best lap time is 1:35.3 compared to 1:34.020 with ABS.

Tom, remember what AXE was saying about using ABS. You are probably better off breaking a bit sooner and not using ABS.

Tom, get yourself a 'Mr Clean Magic Eraser' - trim it to fit behind your brake pedal.  I used this when I had my MS 360 wheel, and it helped a lot with consistent brake pressure. ABS will slow you down, as you tend not to time your brake points properly - slow in, fast out, and like Jackie Stewart was so fond of saying when your exiting a turn, "don't put your foot down on the gas pedal until you are sure you don't have to take it off".

Thanks for the encouragement boys.
I do have a piece of foam under the brake pedal and turned the pressure down to 65%.

I'm about 1/2 sec. slower now and hope to get about the same times.
We'll see today on RD. Atlanta

The fast guys are running 2-3 seconds faster.

Tom, sorry I didn't get the chance to shoot you a tune, double work shifts all week, then I saw you're using a wheel, so I am unsure mine would work for you as I only use a wheel on ovals.

That's OK Mickey. Even though the Mazda is a little faster, I switched to the Honda Integra for better consistency.

My best lap in the race was a 1:34.5

American Iron...

Nice paint Coot

Oh man, that is SWEET!! Great job again bud.   Now I really can't wait for this series to start.

Nice paint!

Been a schedule adjustment... American Iron will happen after the running of TORA US VAG Cup. which leads me to...

TORA US VAG Cup now open for business.

Weds at 8:30PM EST
Two Races per Round
Starting March 11

Hope you guys can do this!