Released Gasoline Alley v100 Now Available!

Discussion in 'News & Notifications' started by Christopher Elliott, May 16, 2016.

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  1. Christopher Elliott

    Christopher Elliott Registered

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    To borrow a phrase from the community, “A not so quiet release of loud cars!” ;)

    We proudly present a legendary classic from 1960 Indianapolis, the oval series Gasoline Alley, this from another group of talented 3PA partners: Gilles Benoit and Bill Guillaume.

    [​IMG]

    In their own words a very descript and detailed background:

    This project is dedicated to the late Indy driver Len Sutton and to racing historian Gordon Eliot White who both helped us.

    • Do this 800 times during a 500 mile race and you will have gotten everything out of your race car that is possible. I don't care what your name is. The one exception may be Herk or Parnelli. While I could never got away with letting the back end out, I believe those two could.-Have fun you guys.»-Len Sutton
    • A roadster’s Meyer-Drake transmission was a glorified Model A Ford. Prone to overheating, it might cause all sorts of grief by locking in gear during pit stops. And chiefs and crews listened in horror whenever their driver slipped, abused and fried the fragile clutch. But even when a pit stop went well, getting a lumbering, hyperventilating roadster and it’s tall gear ratio underway again was a backbreaker, requiring the pushing of several straining mechanics. »-Joe Scalzo

    Goals :

    • To do a tribute to the courageaous drivers and their cars
    • To reproduce the way the teams were managing the Indy 500 at that time
    • To offer a level playing field that would reward driver strategy/intelligence/technique not infinite setup tweaking and aerodynamics
    • To stress the simracer with tire wear, damage effects, brake deficiencies, two-speed transmission....
    I think Gilles may be up north today on a road trip.

    Car description :

    • Speed : top 186 mph Texas (1963), end of Indy straights : 170 mph, Indy turns : +-140 mph
    • Weight without driver and fuel : +-1600 lbs, 60% to the left (ref1 p.114)
    • Methanol, 60 us gal. « spiked » whith nitromethane
    • Engine : 256 cu. In., 4 cyl. Offy, +-500 lbs, 2 speed, estimated +-400hp, running at 6000 rpm (ref1 p.84), fuel consumption 1 us gal/3.0 mile, exterior oil tank +-15 quarts
    • Rigid front/rear axles with torsion bars
    • Wheelbase : modeled at 96 in.
    • Tires : Bias ply Firestones, front 7.60x16 (nominal), rear 8x18 (nominal), 50 psi, threads were showing after 51-52 laps at Indy, wear pattern on all four tires = inside of corner, described as noisy (ref1 p.113)
    • Pit stops : All four tires, 40 to 60 us gal. in 20 sec., every 51-52 laps
    • Car review on WATSON ROADSTER
    • Indy racing is part of the US culture, and in the early 1960s A.J. Watson dominated the manufacturing of the cars, at a time when Formula One machines were just starting to influence design. Watson's history goes back to 1950 when, as a mechanic, he built his own car for the Indy 500 which Dick Rathmann drove. In 1954 Watson got his break with the John Zink Jnr team, and a year later his modified version of the Frank Kurtis-built roadster won the Indy 500. This 1960 example is typical of his racers, with a basic chassis with front/rear solid axles but torsion bar suspension that could be tweaked by the driver while going along. The Offenhauser Sprint and Champ car engine was offset to the left to make the car turn naturally in that direction, and gearbox only needed two speeds due to the massive torque available low down, plus the car's light weight.
    • Ref1 : Indianapolis Roadsters 1952-1964 by Joe Scalzo ISBN 0-7603-0634-6
    • Ref2 : Kurtis-Kraft, Masterworks of speed and style by Gordon Eliot White ISBN 0-7603-0910-8

    Steam Workshop Page: here
    Profile page: here
    Download link: 142mbs
    Template: Coming Soon
     
  2. gneffio

    gneffio Registered

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    thanks! downloading right now from the workshop... :)
     
  3. klaasvh

    klaasvh Registered

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    Congratulations Gilles & Bill, and thank you for your hard work!
     
  4. Empty Box

    Empty Box Registered

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    Gotta say, the AI is like... incredibly fast. Or I suck. Probably both. I'm running in the 85-90% range on them, when usually I'm more towards 105-110%. Need to do a bit of work with the setup though, time to be found.

    Also, these things can be a blast on some of the smaller tracks, Joesville is a hoot in these things.
     
  5. Gilles Benoit

    Gilles Benoit Registered

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    Bonjour,

    Yes the AI is fast ! Strength should be at less then 90%, 0% aggression and 0% limiter. They should turn times around 1:00 at Indy.

    Cheers !
    Gilles
     
  6. RG6871

    RG6871 Registered

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    Fantastic work! Some base setups would be awesome. these cars are a handful to say the least. they both push and loose at lots of throttle pedal driving needed!
     
  7. Marc Collins

    Marc Collins Registered

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    Any reason why, as an official release, you wouldn't properly calibrate the AI like all the other cars so they are more or less close to real-life speeds at 100%? Having to remember to adjust one car differently from all the others is both annoying and seemingly unnecessary.
     
  8. argo0

    argo0 Registered

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    But there's the newish AI strength per car/track now. Not a problem anymore surely. Bloody godsend that setting.
     
  9. Bill Guillaume

    Bill Guillaume Registered

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    Marc,

    Pole was a 101.590 by Sachs. Hurtubise threw basically a one minutes later in the month. The AI percentage reduction gets them to a true pole time....and then if you think you can run with Mr. Hurtubise...crank it up and go for it>;o}
     
  10. Flatspotter

    Flatspotter Registered

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    Thank you for this mod, it's loads of fun!

    When I use AI strength per car/track it won't let me set aggression below 25%.
     
  11. Emery

    Emery Registered

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    Yea, full steam ahead! (er, or something like that)

    Glad it's now an official 3PA.
     
  12. Gilles Benoit

    Gilles Benoit Registered

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    Bonjour,

    Yes there was a reason. We simulated many Indy 500 and at 100% they crashed together too much and you would finish 500 miles with only a few cars. Reducing the AI strength made them safer and the number of finishers was similar to the era.

    Two things might have change since those AI tests were made. First we have new tires physics and we have an updated Indy track. From the laptimes I see (under 1 minute at 85% they seems a little too fast).

    Cheers !
    Gilles
     
  13. Gijs van Elderen

    Gijs van Elderen Registered

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    Great fun. :)

    Cars don't look "connected" to the road surface. Cars are missing the undertray shadows for the body and wheels. It's a easy thing to implement. The undertray shadows of the ISI F3 cars will do the job...

     
  14. Gijs van Elderen

    Gijs van Elderen Registered

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    Double post.. :confused:
     
  15. Gijs van Elderen

    Gijs van Elderen Registered

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    Just a quick thing with the undershadow of the wheels. :)


    [​IMG]
     
  16. Hedlund_90

    Hedlund_90 Registered

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    Cool stuff! Good model and awesome sound. Only downside is that I'm really slow on the ovals, and honestly finds it quite boring. This car makes it a bit more interesting but damn I want this car as F1 version. 2 gears, not enough on the road courses ;)
     
  17. jjcook

    jjcook Registered

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    with 9 or 10 people on an oval, the car really comes alive - real people not the ai that you cant keep up with - its not boring trying to stay in the draft with some buddies :)
     
    CrossPly likes this.
  18. Louis

    Louis Registered

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    This mod make my screen flick (don´t remember the track but will test again)
     
  19. Louis

    Louis Registered

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    Tested. Flicks everywhere (mostly left screen. Center screens goes dark most part of time but flicks too)

    Btw: i hate this car but it has the best ffb to me)
     
  20. Christopher Elliott

    Christopher Elliott Registered

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    This was a 3PA project and we intend to leave it as is, the original “third party” is free to update it to current standards (or not).

    Thanks,

    (Thread closed)
     
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