GRAN TURISMO 3 : A-SPEC (jp Version)
Subject : Hints to win gold cups in Super license tests
Written by : Michael Chan
E-mail : michaelchan21@hotmail.com
Version : 1.00
Date : May 28, 2001
All Rights Reserved
Update Version : 1.01
-Punctuation Marks fixed
-Rally & Endurance Events added
Update Version : 1.02
-Completion of GT Mode hints
-Brief info on Arcade Mode
-Alteration of e-mail address
Update Version : 1.03
-One last GT Mode hint added
-Correction of grammatical mistakes
Update Version : 1.04
-My best times in Time Attack added
Update Version : 1.05
-Time Attack record update
Preface
It took me a whole week to finish all the gold cup license tests.
It's not easy at all. In fact it's much more difficult than its two
predecessors - GT1 & GT2. In doing these tests, a total concentration
of the mind, a very fast reaction of the brain and a very quick movement
of the fingers are needed. Besides, you have to be very calm too.
These exams are not just meant to test how good or how fast you can
drive, they are meant to test how many mistakes you would make under
pressure. The less mistakes you make the more chances you may win.
There's no garantee that you'll surely get all the S license gold cups
by using the hints I am going to give you, I'm positive you can do it
since I'm much much older than most of you.
After you get all the gold cups, you'll be rewarded six cars (one for
each class of course). You may use some of these cars to participate
qualified races so as to earn more Cr. and obtain more "useful" cars
for various types of races in future.
What I'm going to write is no special driving technique of any sort or
to show you any trick. All the hints and suggestions apply to the basic
skills of driving you are already familiar with, i.e. brake before
entering a corner, coast and then accelerate when getting out of it.
Keep left when making a right turn. Get close to the apex as much as
possible when getting out of it . Try to make the line you run as
straight as possible. That's all and nothing more.
To me S-2 and S-6 are the most difficult ones among the eight tests,
I'll discuss these two in more detail whereas the other six I'll just
show you the important points.
Contents
I. Gold cup Super license tests hints
II. GT Mode hints
III. Impression towards the game
IV. Copyright
I. To win all the gold cups from license tests b to R is not too difficult.
You can do it in two days. To win all the gold cups in license tests S is
a real challenge. I spent three days to get the gold for S-2 and another
two for S-6.
I'm sure nearly all of you use auto-shift mode all the time. Don't you
find it too hard to hanle cars like the GT40, the Skyline GT-R JGTC, the
Dodge Viper GTS-R and espically the Toyota GT-One in corners? The reason
is simple. They all got very high torque power. Auto-shift, as the term
explains itself, down shifts automatically when a car slows down to
certain speeds. If full throttle is applied at these moments,the adhesion
of the tyres of the driving wheels on the road can not cope with the
big torque producing from the engine and thus resulting a wheel-spinning.
This can't be helped if you choose auto-shift mode. You are no computer.
You are human. The speed, the reaction, the action, the vision and the
precision can't all be maintained all the way through the whole field.
The only way to off set this problem is to use stick-shift. By using
stick-shift doesn't mean you can go more faster nor engine braking
can shorten the braking distance a lot. It's a computer-game of
driving not a real driving. Yet, it definitely will do you some help,
in corners especially, I can assure you. Please remember thousands of a
second is vital in these tests.
Before each test, watch the Demo very carefully for a FEW times. Pay
attention and try your best to remember the racing line and the braking
points. I know there's no way we can do exactly as the Demo does since
we are restricted in three areas. We don't have a progressive action
device in the controller in respect to throttle application and steering
movement; meaning either we are in full throttle or in full lock.
Besides, speed and distance are too difficult to judge from a TV
screen with human eyes.
Anyway, the following are the suggestions to you and hope that they
might do you some help. To me S-2 and S-6 are the most difficult ones
I'll therefore discuss them in more detail whereas I'll show you the
important points for the rest of the six.
S-1
Track : Apricot Hill Raceway
Corners : 13 (including those you don't have to slow down)
Test car : Opel Speedster
HP : 146 ps
Mass : 850 kgs
Gearbox : Auto or Manual
Do the compulsory procedure (watch the Demo)then begin the test. After
you get the bronze cup, save your replay. Load the Demo and watch the
"battle". Then you'll know when, where and why you are slower. Save
your own replay means you can quit the test any time you want and
still you'll have a target to go for next time you resume the test.
Keep saving your own replay every time you win yourself. Use this
method for the rest of the tests.
Make use of the inclination of the ground in order to get more grip.
All the tyre-tracks left in the circuit offer better road holding,
indicate the correct racing line as well as reveal some of the
braking points most of the time. Make good use of them.
The comparatively small power T car is not difficult to handle. Make
more tries. When you get use to its handling, just like you did in
your past tests, you'll get the gold definitely.
For this track, two corners should particularly bear in mind.
Before entering corner #7, a right hander hair-pin, stay very left.
Hit the brakes as soon as you reach the red/white curb (on your left).
Steer right, off throttle then full throttle to exit the corner, try
treading part of the apex (the red/white curb on your right) with
your right wheels. This is the shortest route and the fastest way to
complete corner #7. And this is where I pass the Demo.
Lastly, don't hit the cones in corners #11 & #12 which form a small S.
Remember when and where to lift the throttle. Stay calm!
S-2
Track : Seattle Circuit II
Corners : 20
Test car : Ford GT40
HP : 500 ps
Mass : 998 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
This test took me three days to get the gold. My time is 1'29.854.
I know its not the best time. I'm just too tired and may be too old
to break it. Young men, you can do it. You'll do better than I, I'm
sure. Please tell me after you made it.
To me S-2 is the most difficult test among all the GT license test
series. It's a late evening and facing West drive, therefore vision
is rather difficult.
There are three places you should be extremely cautious and alert
about. Corners #1, #6 and #10.
Do the compulsory procedure again and again until you feel you are
ready for it, then go.
Like all other license tests, it's a rolling start in 3rd gear.
Shift to 4th while you are under the first count-down-sign-board.
Lift off gas, turn a bit left, accelerate till the left front wheel
treads on the blue/white curb on your right. Brake, down shift to
3nd gear and steer right all in one time. This is how you finish the
1st and 2nd corners. It sounds simple. I tried it over 300 times. I
failed over 250, I believe.
My suggestion is regardless of the speed as long as you get throught
the first two corners continue the test until you cross the finish
line, if possible. The reason is to give yourself more time to
practise and experience the rest of the track.
Okay. Off the brakes, full throttle, stay right, 3rd gear when 2nd is
done. When you're almost up to the small escape area on your right,
brake, down shift to 2nd and turn left. Keep braking while steering
left, watching the apex (the blue/white curb on your left) at the same
time. Accelerate before passing it, then 3rd gear. This is corner #3.
Stay right, full throttle, 3rd gear, then make a sharp left turn. Off
throttle immediately after the left front wheel just treads over the
blue/white curb on your left (not before or you'll go left), turn right,
watch the apex on your right. Accelerate when you're almost through
it. Don't accelerate too early or you'll hit the left side barrier
after you're out. These are corners #4 & #5.
Stay left, full throttle on this SHORT straight then you'll undergo
another two 90 degrees corners, #6 & 7. It's very hard, I tell you.
As expected, brake a bit earlier, 2nd gear, make a sharp right turn
while still braking. Accelerate, tread on part of the blue/white curb
on you right. Then off throttle, turn left, full throttle, up shift
to 3rd gear while 2nd gear hasn't reached its maximum revs. You don't
need to accelerate too fast here. This is important. By doing so you
don't have to slow yourself down, like the Demo, all the way through
corner 8.
When going up hill, up shift to 4th gear after 3rd is done. Stay right.
Don't turn left so soon as the Demo. Cut this wide bend as straight as
possible. This is where you can pass or catch up with the Demo.
Stay left, 4th gear. Watch the ground. You'll see there are two CDSB
shadows along the road. Hit the brakes and down to 3rd when reaching
the first one. Keep braking and down to 2nd when reaching the second
one, then turn right. Feel the speed, off throttle, steer towards the
right (blue/white) curb as much as possible. Just before hitting it,
accelerate out this corner #10. Sounds simple? It's really hard too.
Yet all the difficult parts of this track are done. Practice makes
perfect. Remember!
The follwing corners #11, 12, 13 ,14, 15 won't be a problem to all
of you I am certain. But you might be very nervous at this stage if
you are now ahead of your own ghost and who is incidentally holding
a lap record of 1'30.203 like I did. So stay calm. Keep your head
clear or you'll blow everything.
Just as usual, stay right, brake, down shift to 2nd and make a left
turn when reaching the escape area on your right. Watch the apex
(blue/white curb) on your left. Off throttle, then full throttle
out through this corner #16.
Keep left. Keep driving straight when going down hill. 2nd gear, 3rd
gear and then 4th before you encounter the first hump. Keep pushing.
Keep the car going straight. It's really exciting.
Full throttle through corner #17. Try not to hit the blue/white curb
on your right too hard otherwise you can't do the braking efficiently
before plunging into corner #18. Stay left, full throttle.
When reaching the last lamp post on your left, do the same thing again.
Hit the brakes, down shift to 3rd and then 2nd and make a right turn.
Just before you pass the apex, full throttle out through the corner. As
this part of the road is quite wide, you can accelerate a bit earlier.
Up to 3rd gear, stay right. Keep going till reaching the second last
pillar on your right, brake, 2nd gear and make a left and victorious
turn. Off throttle, coasting till you see the second blue/white curb
on your left. Full throttle out the corner until you cross the finish
line. Remember to change gears!
Turn #19 is critical. It's a combination of two 90 degrees corners yet
you can treat them as one. However, if you use auto-shift mode, you'll
probably be down to first gear. Then you'll loose time like the Demo.
S-3
Track : Trail mountain Circuit
Corners : 15
Test Car : Mazda Eunos Roadster
HP : 119 ps
Mass : 940 kgs
Gearbox : Auto or Manual
It's a slow drive test like S-1. Both transmittion modes will do the
job. I started using manual mode from S-2 to S-8 and in all the races
I've done so far.
Like I said. Watch the Demo a few times before doing the test.
Turn into the first corner a little bit earlier than the Demo. Tread
on the apexes (red/white curbs) from corner 1 to 3.
You don't have to turn the wheel a lot to go through these corners.
And you'll find yourself more than a car's length ahead of the Demo
after getting out of corner #3.
Follow the racing line of the Demo from corner #4 to #13.
Get into corner #14 earlier then the Demo and finish the test.
The Demo went a bit too wide in #14 I guess.
When getting out of corner #5, the Demo passed me. He was more than
two cars length in front of me while getting out of corner #9.
It looked like that there wouldn't be any chance for me to get pass
him again. Fortunately he slided when exiting corner #13 and lost
momentum. I just got pass him before corner #14.
This once again proves that stick-shift does have some advantage over
auto-shift when getting in and out of corners.
I admit I lost a bit of concentration in doing this S-3 test. Probably
I have had just won the gold cup in S-2 and I was thinking that there
wouldn't be any problem for me in the remaining tests, without knowing
that S-6 would be such a headache as S-2. I was too excited.
Remember two things. Turn the steering wheel hinders acceleration.
Slide the car in corners looses momentum and speed.
S-4
Track : Midfield Raceway
Corners : 10
Test Car : Nissan Skyline GR JGTC
HP : 505 ps
Mass : 1100 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
S-4 is not difficult. In fact it's the easiest one among the four
high power racers in this Super license tests.
I'm not sure sometimes if the Demo is deliberately doing something
just for show or purposely slowing down the lap time in order to
make the test less difficult.
Anyway, don't forget to watch the Demo.
As usual, 3rd gear rolling start at the beginning.
Back to 3rd before getting into turn #1.
Up shift to 5th before turn #2 even if you feel that you haven't rev
the 4th to its maximum. Always listen to the tone of the engine.
After turn #3, stay left. As soon as you're under the second CDSB hit
the brakes, down shift to 3rd gear. Accelerate and turn right. Lean
to the right (red/white) curb by making use of the inclination of the
ground. As soon as you pass it, off throttle for a second then
full throttle again, 4th gear. Steer to the middle, full throttle.
Steer left, brake and back to 3rd again. Accelerate, then decelerate
for a moment, full throttle to exit turn #5.
Remember, in all kinds of bends, if deceleration is needed try to do
it once, just once otherwise you would loose time and speed.
Full throttle in 5th to get through turn 6 and 7. Steering movements
must be very quick in this S.
Keep right as much as possible. While you're just under the last
hairpin sign board, brake, shift down to 3rd and off the throttle.
Steer left. Pump the gas swiftly from time to time until you pass
the apex. Full throttle, steer right for a second at the same time.
Sense the direction of the car. Do the corrections if needed.
You've just finished the most difficult part of this test.
Full throttle, fast steering movements will do for the last two turns.
S-5
Track : S S Route 5 Wet
Corners : 14
Test Car : Toyota Corolla GT-Apex
HP : 129 ps
Mass : 925 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
This test is easy if you choose stick-shift mode. I won the gold
in the 4th try.
Watch Demo. Remember the racing line. Follow it through out the
test.
Stay in 4th gear through the first three corners. Decelerate once
in the 2nd one.
Stay in the middle of the road when getting out of turn 3. Brake,
down to 3rd gear when you are alongside with the last blue turning
sign board on your right. Make that left turn (corner #4) in full
power. I'm sure you'll be in deep trouble if you don't equip your
T car with a manual gearbox on this wet road (see how clumsy the
Demo is when getting out of turn 4 in 2nd gear).
You'll be in 3rd all the way until you're out from turn 7.
Up shift to 4th gear. Keep left. Turn right. Hit the brakes
slightly then sweep through turn 8 and 9 in 4th, unlike the demo
using 3rd gear.
Brake and down shift to 2nd to turn into corner #10, which is a
hairpin. Press and off the throttle momentarily to avoid spinning.
Use 3rd and 4th gear for the latter part of test.
Remember the hairpin is the only place where you use 2nd gear in
this test otherwise 3rd and 4th gear are to be employed.
S-6
Track : Laguna Seca Raceway
Corners : 10
Test Car : Dodge Viper GTS-R
HP : 596 ps
Mass : 1150 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
As I mentioned before, this test cost me two days to finish.
My time is 1'16.731, only 4 thousandth of a second faster than the
Demo. When watching the replay, it's impossible to identify which
car crosses the finish line first. Wonderful?
Laguna is just as difficult as Seattle II and may be more. In
Seattle II, you have at least a few seconds to relax when going
up hill till turn 10, whereas you can't find nowhere you can ease
yourself for a second in Laguna.
Watch the demo as you usually do. Commence when you feel ready.
No use to be hurry.
Rolling start, 3rd gear, 4th gear, lean more to the right. Cross
the white line a bit. This may put yourself into a better angle
to enter corner #1.
Watch the sand area on your right and the red/white curb on your
left. Notice that you will be undergoing two 90 degrees corners.
We'll treat them as one like we did before in Seattle.
Brake while you are just alongside with the sand area on your right.
3rd gear (not 2nd), turn left, watch the first red/white curb on
your left, release brake, coast and watch the second one. Accelerate
before reaching it. Remember? Decelerate once is the fastest way
to go through corners, if possible.
4th gear, turn a bit left. Keep left. Brake, 3rd gear and make a
very fast right turn before reaching the last CDSB on your left.
4th gear. After passing under the Dunlop Bridge, off throttle,
steer right. Full throttle, hit part of the apex with your right
wheels. Keep pushing, 4th gear (no 5th), stay right, watch the
CDSBs until you pass the last one, brake immediately, down shift to
3rd and make a left. Accelerate, watch the apex and tread on the
inner part of it. You might see that the car has just slided a bit.
This is unavoidable. This corner #4 seems to be an easy one. If
you don't do everything properly you'll find yourself loose a lot
of ground. 4th gear, stay right, full throttle, turn the steering
wheel right twice briefly and quickly after you get pass under the
bridge. Keep steering right all the way through corner #5 when
you see the apex. Keep full power up the road. Keep left. Up shift
to 5th gear when 4th is done. Steer a bit to the right.
Hit the brakes hard before reaching the top of the hump. If you
are late, you might probably have to do the test all over again.
Keep on braking and down to 3rd for a second or two. Make a sharp
left turn under braking. Tread on part of the red/white curb on your
left with the left front wheel. Steer right and press the throttle
hard immediately when you are able to see the road clearly ahead of
you. At this moment you may find that the steering gets heavy and the
Demo hits this small S much better. Nevermind.
Keep right, full power, 3rd gear still. Turn left a bit earlier then
the Demo. Up shift to 4th gear, watch the inclination of the ground.
Off the throttle for a second then full power, treading part of the
apex on your left then out you're through corner #8.
Keep left immediately. Do a right turn in 3rd.
Keep right. Up shift to 4th then brake, down shift to 3rd before the
second last CDSB. Press the throttle quickly and momentarily to go
through the last corner. Keep the car in a straight line until you
cross the finish line.
S-7
Track : S S Route 11
Corners : 17
Test Car : TVR Griffith 500
HP : 345 ps
Mass : 1060 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
This test is rather simple. It allows you to make a few mistakes if
you choose to shift gears manually.
Do the standard procedure as planned. Again, try to follow the line
and the braking points of the Demo.
Three points you should remember in this test.
Use 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears only for the whole track. No 1st gear like
the Demo.
Use 3rd gear in corner #11 which is a long left hander under the fly-
over. Unbelievable?
When getting out of the last corner, up shift to 3rd a bit earlier.
No use to rev the 2nd gear to its maximum before changing gears.
If you've done well in your previous tests, this one won't be a
problem at all.
S-8
Track : Cote D'Azur (Monaco)
Corners : 16
Test Car : Toyota GT-One
HP : 660 ps
Mass : 900 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
Frankly, I really don't know how to handle the GT-one with auto-shift.
Look at the power to weight ratio then you'll know the reason why.
Contrarily, using manual-shift mode may cut the level of difficulty of
this final test down almost to zero. My time is 1'29.783. Surely you
can do this even better.
It's rather simple, 3rd gear for all the corners except the hairpin
and the chicane, which is at the end of the straight after getting out
of the tunnel. That's all.
II. By the time I'm updating this article my game status looks like this -
Percentage of completion : 100%
Cr. acquired : 1,132,140,000
Total no. of wins : 342 / Total no. of races : 342 = 100%
S R : Gold 48
No. of vehicles owned : 91
Total milage travelled : 9175 km
Total price of vehicles owned : 4,730,456,000
XXXX no. acquired : 101
XXXX no. acquired : 471
Days : 233
Cr. : 1,038,801,250
The tips I'm going to give you based on you have won all the gold cups
and an owner of six cars. To the best of my memory, they should all be
rear wheel drive cars except the Subaru Impreza Prototype which is a 4-
wheel drive one, but some of the hints also apply to those who hold
licenses of all classes.
There are 3 types of leagues in GT Mode; Beginner, Amateur and
Profession and a total number of 65 different Races under these Leagues.
All Races are either Single or Series. A Single Race consists of 3
individual races and a Series Race consists of 4,5,7 or 10 races. After
winning either one of them you will receive a bonus car. Also, there
are 10 Rally Events and each Event consists of three individual races.
The last part of GT Mode is the Endurance Race which consists of 10
individual races. Bonus cars will also be given under both Events.
My suggestion is to take the qualified bonus cars you won in your tests
to paricipate all the appropriate races without doing any modification
until you can't win anymore.
Sell those cars that are not suitable in participating races under all
the Leagues so that you can save more Cr..
Anyhow, there are the cars you need to buy and modify plus some of the
bonus cars you are going to win in different races, then you can
complete all the races in GT Mode.
They are :-
-Toyota Vitz RS 1.5
-Toyota Altezza RS 200
-M. Benz SLK 230 Kompressor
-Audi TT 1.8T Quattro
-Lotus Elise 190 (The bonus Elise 190 is unqualified)
-TVR Griffith 500
-VW New Beetle RSi
-Honda NSX tpye-R (Don't sell the NSX zero. You have to use it in
the Polyphony Digital Cup Race)
-Chevrolet Camaro SS
Note : You have to be lucky to get a Formula (car) in either the Poly-
phony Digital Cup Championship Race or in one of the Endurance Races
otherwise there's no way you can win the last race of the Profession
League - the Formula GT Championship Race.
In respect to car modification, buy the most expensive part in each item
for the car which will have to take part in a race under the Profession
League and the other League in some cases. Buy the first two sets (T2 &
T3) of hard compound racing tyres for all the Works (cars). You know
how to use them I'm sure. Do the weight reduction to the maximum. Don't
be mean. Pay and enjoy to the full. So you realize now money can't buy
everything but without money you can't buy nothing. Anyway...
After a series of championship race, take the car to change oil in GT
Auto before taking it to race again. The "race-used" oil cuts the engine
power to a certain extent.
Tyre choice is equally important in the new game. In most of the major
events, tyre change is a must to the opponents but not to yourself.
Therefore, it is best to equip harder compound tyres so that you don't
have to pit for the whole race to save time. As long as you're within
12-15 seconds behind the leader, you'll sooner or later pass him and win
the race. Or in some cases you do the leading, slow yourself down to
reserve the tyres when you find you are around 10 seconds ahead.
Unlike real racing, the back-markers will never signal you through.
Beware of them.
Turbulence or slip-stream induced by the car ahead is obvious as in GT1.
It is benefical for you on straight roads but not in corners. To avoid
this untimely speed increase situation through corners, you've to either
brake earlier or change a slower line. That's why you find that you
can pull a bit further from the car behind you after you do the corners.
I haven't written down what type of car you can get from which race.
You can take reference from other FAQ I'm sure. Anyway, three bonus
cars you'll receive from the Series Championship Races ; a Mit. FTO LM
Race Car, a Honda NSX JGTC, and a Nissan Skyline JGTC. The NSX is
the best handled car among the three. Use it for most of the major
championship races.
Also you'll receive a Mazda 787B bonus car by winning the Single Race
called "Like The Wind". Take this looks-like-a-Group 7 car to race
the GT All Stars Championship Race. You'll find the 787B with only
5 forward gears a lot faster than the NSX JGTC and it's much easier
to win this race.
Use the bonus NSX Zero to paricipate the Polyphony Digital Cup Champ.
Races. Equip the car with the cheapest set of R tyres (T2). Start the
race right away. There's no need to qualify. It's an easy win.
As for the Endurance Races, if you want to save time, choose the Honda
NSX JGTC or the Mazda 787B to take part in all the Endurance Races except
the Trail Mountain Endurance 2 Hour and the Madza Roadster Endurance.
Rules have been set that except tyre changes, only standard cars are
eligible in these races.
It's best to use the Honda NSX Zero to take part in the former one and
the Mazda Roadster RS for the latter. You can equip them with the T2
tyres.
In respect to Rally Events, the Impreza Prototype Rally Car you won in
the R license test is the best choice. Or if you don't have one choose
one of the bonus rally cars you got would be okay. For quicker and easier
win, equip them with the 1st stage turbo-charger (388ps) which will just
be enough.
There's no definite rule which race or which league you should take part
first. It all depends on how much Cr. you have and the types of cars
you possess.
At last I got the Formula F090/S which has a V10 non turbo engine,3493cc,
producing 686ps/13000rpm and weighs only 540 kgs. Its a bonus car from
the first Endurance Race - the 300km Grand Vally Speedway Endurance.
After winning the Formula GT Championship Race, you'll receive another
two Formula cars, the F686/M. One for winning the race itself and one for
completing the whole GT Leagues I guess, since I don't read Japanese.
The F686/M is the fastest camparing all other Formulas. With the same
vehicle weight as the F090/S, it has a V6 turbo engine, 1494cc, produces
939ps/12000rpm. Also it's one of your opponents in the GT Formula Race.
That's why you'll find this Race the toughest.
With only 8 Endurance races left to complete the GT Mode, I decided
rather to finish the Arcade Mode first.
The fastest way to complete the 104 individual races, including levels
Easy, Normal and Hard, in the Single Race - Arcade Mode, choose Class
S. Use the Honda NSX (either Makes will do) and the Impreza Prototpye
Rally Car to finish them.
Your different level results can be reflected in the Goodies in terms of
Green, Blue and Red "balls" and/or from Area A to F, which in turn leads
to the final "Goal" revealing the Ending Movies A and B. Enjoy it. It's
quite......
Time Attack is fun and challenging. It's same as the license test. There
are 10 Trails. Try them. If you can beat the Demo by 1.8 secs or over
then you'll know you are a mature driver in video games.
The following are my best times in Time Attack. I might update them in
due course. Two of them are faster than Japanese best record.
1. Midfield 1'20.605
2. Trail Mountain 1'44.248
3. Tokyo R246 1'56.821
4. Deep Forest 1'22.910
5. Laguna Seca 1'19.174
6. Apricot Hill 1'14.504
7. Grand Valley 1'45.220
8. Swiss Alps 1'20.764
9. Tahiti Maze 1'56.545
10. Complex String 4'45.466
III. GT 3 is the best car racing game I've ever played. Truly, I really
don't know how to describe it in a better way. All I can say is that
not only the texture looks so real and beautiful, the feels of driving,
the movements and the behavior of the cars jump a big step forward ahead
of its predecessors.
New elements have been added to the game itself. Just like real racing
cars, a certain amount of power increases after the running-in period
and drops after undergone several races. By then oil change has to be
made if power needs to be maintained for further races.
Red-hot brake discs can be seen when braking, especially in dusky events.
When racing itself is concerned, it is more strictly governed by the
real facts - the racing lines and the braking points. I dare say that
if you don't improve your driving skill and technical know-how, you
might find it so difficult to win in some races. Furthermore, the
opponents are much stronger than ever. Unlike GT1 and GT2, power doesn't
mean everything. Too many horses may make you loose a race in some cases.
Finally, the idea of randomly rewarding you a bonus car out of four after
winning some of the championship races is something that I don't feel
really like it. Therefore, if you missed the chances of getting the
Formula in the above mentiond races, you are in no position to win the
last race of the Professional League - the Formula GT Championship Race.
But you'll get it somehow only that you've to play more and win more.
[I finished the whole game 5 days ago. Two things I would like to point
out for you. All the Formulas are bonus cars from the Endurance Races.
You might probably won't get them in races under the Professional League.
Single Race and Time Attack in the Arcade Mode are also included in the
Percentage of Completion in the Gran Turismo Mode. Therefore, you have
to participate both of these meetings to make a completion of the game.]
IV. This article is under the protection of the Copyright Laws, U.S. 2001.
It is not allowed for person or persons or parties of any form to republish
it wholly or partially or to use it as means of profit-making without the
prior consent of the writer, Michael Chan.
GRAN TURISMO 3 : A-SPEC (jp Version)
Subject : Hints to win gold cups in Super license tests
Written by : Michael Chan
E-mail : michaelchan21@hotmail.com
Version : 1.00
Date : May 28, 2001 - July 6, 2001
All Rights Reserved
Update Version : 1.01
-Punctuation Marks fixed
-Rally & Endurance Events added
Update Version : 1.02
-Completion of GT Mode hints
-Brief info on Arcade Mode
-Alteration of e-mail address
Update Version : 1.03
-One last GT Mode hint added
-Correction of grammatical mistakes
Update Version : 1.04
-My best times in Time Attack added
Update Version : 1.05
-Time Attack record update
Preface
It took me a whole week to finish all the gold cup license tests.
It's not easy at all. In fact it's much more difficult than its two
predecessors - GT1 & GT2. In doing these tests, a total concentration
of the mind, a very fast reaction of the brain and a very quick movement
of the fingers are needed. Besides, you have to be very calm too.
These exams are not just meant to test how good or how fast you can
drive, they are meant to test how many mistakes you would make under
pressure. The less mistakes you make the more chances you may
win. There's no garantee that you'll surely get
all the S license gold cups
by using the hints I am going to give you, I'm positive you can do it
since I'm much much older than most of you.
After you get all the gold cups, you'll be rewarded six cars (one for
each class of course). You may use some of these cars to participate
qualified races so as to earn more Cr. and obtain more "useful" cars
for various types of races in future.
What I'm going to write is no special driving technique of any sort or
to show you any trick. All the hints and suggestions apply to the
basic skills of driving you are already familiar with,
i.e. brake before
entering a corner, coast and then accelerate when getting out of it.
Keep left when making a right turn. Get close to the apex as much as
possible when getting out of it . Try to make the line you run as
straight as possible. That's all and nothing more.
To me S-2 and S-6 are the most difficult ones among the eight tests,
I'll discuss these two in more detail whereas the other six I'll just
show you the important points.
Contents
I. Gold cup Super license tests hints
II. GT Mode hints
III. Impression towards the game
IV. Copyright
I. To win all the gold cups from license tests b to R is not too difficult.
You can do it in two days. To win all the gold cups in license tests S is
a real challenge. I spent three days to get the gold for S-2 and another
two for S-6.
I'm sure nearly all of you use auto-shift mode all the time. Don't you
find it too hard to hanle cars like the GT40, the Skyline GT-R JGTC, the
Dodge Viper GTS-R and espically the Toyota GT-One in corners? The reason
is simple. They all got very high torque power. Auto-shift, as the term
explains itself, down shifts automatically when a car slows down to
certain speeds. If full throttle is applied at these moments,the adhesion
of the tyres of the driving wheels on the road can not cope with the
big torque producing from the engine and thus resulting a wheel-spinning.
This can't be helped if you choose auto-shift mode. You are no
computer. You are human. The speed, the reaction,
the action, the vision and the
precision can't all be maintained all the way through the whole field.
The only way to off set this problem is to use stick-shift. By using
stick-shift doesn't mean you can go more faster nor engine
braking can shorten the braking distance a
lot. It's a computer-game of
driving not a real driving. Yet, it definitely will do you some help,
in corners especially, I can assure you. Please remember thousands of
a second is vital in these tests.
Before each test, watch the Demo very carefully for a FEW times. Pay
attention and try your best to remember the racing line and the braking
points. I know there's no way we can do exactly as the Demo does
since we are restricted in three areas. We don't
have a progressive action
device in the controller in respect to throttle application and
steering movement; meaning either we are in full
throttle or in full lock. Besides, speed
and distance are too difficult to judge from a TV
screen with human eyes.
Anyway, the following are the suggestions to you and hope that they
might do you some help. To me S-2 and S-6 are the most difficult ones
I'll therefore discuss them in more detail whereas I'll show you
the
important points for the rest of the six.
S-1
Track : Apricot Hill Raceway
Corners : 13 (including those you don't have to slow down)
Test car : Opel Speedster
HP : 146 ps
Mass : 850 kgs
Gearbox : Auto or Manual
Do the compulsory procedure (watch the Demo)then begin the test. After
you get the bronze cup, save your replay. Load the Demo and watch the
"battle". Then you'll know when, where and why you are slower. Save
your own replay means you can quit the test any time you want and
still you'll have a target to go for next time you resume the test.
Keep saving your own replay every time you win yourself. Use this
method for the rest of the
tests. Make
use of the inclination of the ground in order to get more grip.
All the tyre-tracks left in the circuit offer better road holding,
indicate the correct racing line as well as reveal some of the
braking points most of the time. Make good use of them.
The comparatively small power T car is not difficult to handle. Make
more tries. When you get use to its handling, just like you did in
your past tests, you'll get the gold definitely.
For this track, two corners should particularly bear in mind.
Before entering corner #7, a right hander hair-pin, stay very left.
Hit the brakes as soon as you reach the red/white curb (on your left).
Steer right, off throttle then full throttle to exit the corner, try
treading part of the apex (the red/white curb on your right) with
your right wheels. This is the shortest route and the fastest way to
complete corner #7. And this is where I pass the Demo.
Lastly, don't hit the cones in corners #11 & #12 which form a small
S. Remember when and where to lift the throttle.
Stay calm!
S-2
Track : Seattle Circuit II
Corners : 20
Test car : Ford GT40
HP : 500 ps
Mass : 998 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
This test took me three days to get the gold. My time is 1'29.854.
I know its not the best time. I'm just too tired and may be too old
to break it. Young men, you can do it. You'll do better than I, I'm
sure. Please tell me after you made it.
To me S-2 is the most difficult test among all the GT license test
series. It's a late evening and facing West drive, therefore vision
is rather difficult.
There are three places you should be extremely cautious and alert
about. Corners #1, #6 and #10.
Do the compulsory procedure again and again until you feel you are
ready for it, then go.
Like all other license tests, it's a rolling start in 3rd gear.
Shift to 4th while you are under the first count-down-sign-board.
Lift off gas, turn a bit left, accelerate till the left front wheel
treads on the blue/white curb on your right. Brake, down shift to
3nd gear and steer right all in one time. This is how you finish the
1st and 2nd corners. It sounds simple. I tried it over 300 times. I
failed over 250, I believe.
My suggestion is regardless of the speed as long as you get throught
the first two corners continue the test until you cross the finish
line, if possible. The reason is to give yourself more time
to practise and experience the rest of the
track.
Okay. Off the brakes, full throttle, stay right, 3rd gear when 2nd is
done. When you're almost up to the small escape area on your right,
brake, down shift to 2nd and turn left. Keep braking while steering
left, watching the apex (the blue/white curb on your left) at the same
time. Accelerate before passing it, then 3rd gear. This is corner #3.
Stay right, full throttle, 3rd gear, then make a sharp left turn. Off
throttle immediately after the left front wheel just treads over the
blue/white curb on your left (not before or you'll go left), turn right,
watch the apex on your right. Accelerate when you're almost through
it. Don't accelerate too early or you'll hit the left side barrier
after you're out. These are corners #4 & #5.
Stay left, full throttle on this SHORT straight then you'll undergo
another two 90 degrees corners, #6 & 7. It's very hard, I tell you.
As expected, brake a bit earlier, 2nd gear, make a sharp right turn
while still braking. Accelerate, tread on part of the blue/white curb
on you right. Then off throttle, turn left, full throttle, up shift
to 3rd gear while 2nd gear hasn't reached its maximum revs. You don't
need to accelerate too fast here. This is important. By doing so you
don't have to slow yourself down, like the Demo, all the way through
corner 8.
When going up hill, up shift to 4th gear after 3rd is done. Stay right.
Don't turn left so soon as the Demo. Cut this wide bend as straight
as possible. This is where you can pass or catch up
with the Demo.
Stay left, 4th gear. Watch the ground. You'll see there are two CDSB
shadows along the road. Hit the brakes and down to 3rd when reaching
the first one. Keep braking and down to 2nd when reaching the second
one, then turn right. Feel the speed, off throttle, steer towards the
right (blue/white) curb as much as possible. Just before hitting it,
accelerate out this corner #10. Sounds simple? It's really hard too.
Yet all the difficult parts of this track are done. Practice makes
perfect. Remember!
The follwing corners #11, 12, 13 ,14, 15 won't be a problem to all
of you I am certain. But you might be very nervous at this stage if
you are now ahead of your own ghost and who is incidentally holding
a lap record of 1'30.203 like I did. So stay calm. Keep your head
clear or you'll blow everything.
Just as usual, stay right, brake, down shift to 2nd and make a left
turn when reaching the escape area on your right. Watch the apex
(blue/white curb) on your left. Off throttle, then full throttle
out through this corner #16.
Keep left. Keep driving straight when going down hill. 2nd gear, 3rd
gear and then 4th before you encounter the first hump. Keep pushing.
Keep the car going straight. It's really exciting.
Full throttle through corner #17. Try not to hit the blue/white curb
on your right too hard otherwise you can't do the braking efficiently
before plunging into corner #18. Stay left, full throttle.
When reaching the last lamp post on your left, do the same thing again.
Hit the brakes, down shift to 3rd and then 2nd and make a right turn.
Just before you pass the apex, full throttle out through the corner. As
this part of the road is quite wide, you can accelerate a bit earlier.
Up to 3rd gear, stay right. Keep going till reaching the second last
pillar on your right, brake, 2nd gear and make a left and victorious
turn. Off throttle, coasting till you see the second blue/white
curb on your left. Full throttle out the corner
until you cross the finish
line. Remember to change gears!
Turn #19 is critical. It's a combination of two 90 degrees corners yet
you can treat them as one. However, if you use auto-shift mode, you'll
probably be down to first gear. Then you'll loose time like the Demo.
S-3
Track : Trail mountain Circuit
Corners : 15
Test Car : Mazda Eunos Roadster
HP : 119 ps
Mass : 940 kgs
Gearbox : Auto or Manual
It's a slow drive test like S-1. Both transmittion modes will do the
job. I started using manual mode from S-2 to S-8 and in all the races
I've done so far.
Like I said. Watch the Demo a few times before doing the test.
Turn into the first corner a little bit earlier than the Demo. Tread
on the apexes (red/white curbs) from corner 1 to 3.
You don't have to turn the wheel a lot to go through these corners.
And you'll find yourself more than a car's length ahead of the Demo
after getting out of corner #3.
Follow the racing line of the Demo from corner #4 to #13.
Get into corner #14 earlier then the Demo and finish the test.
The Demo went a bit too wide in #14 I guess.
When getting out of corner #5, the Demo passed me. He was more than
two cars length in front of me while getting out of corner #9.
It looked like that there wouldn't be any chance for me to get
pass him again. Fortunately he slided when
exiting corner #13 and lost
momentum. I just got pass him before corner #14.
This once again proves that stick-shift does have some advantage over
auto-shift when getting in and out of corners.
I admit I lost a bit of concentration in doing this S-3 test. Probably
I have had just won the gold cup in S-2 and I was thinking that there
wouldn't be any problem for me in the remaining tests, without
knowing that S-6 would be such a headache as S-2.
I was too excited.
Remember two things. Turn the steering wheel hinders acceleration.
Slide the car in corners looses momentum and speed.
S-4
Track : Midfield Raceway
Corners : 10
Test Car : Nissan Skyline GR JGTC
HP : 505 ps
Mass : 1100 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
S-4 is not difficult. In fact it's the easiest one among the four
high power racers in this Super license tests.
I'm not sure sometimes if the Demo is deliberately doing something
just for show or purposely slowing down the lap time in order to
make the test less difficult.
Anyway, don't forget to watch the Demo.
As usual, 3rd gear rolling start at the beginning.
Back to 3rd before getting into turn #1.
Up shift to 5th before turn #2 even if you feel that you haven't rev
the 4th to its maximum. Always listen to the tone of the engine.
After turn #3, stay left. As soon as you're under the second CDSB hit
the brakes, down shift to 3rd gear. Accelerate and turn right. Lean
to the right (red/white) curb by making use of the inclination of the
ground. As soon as you pass it, off throttle for a second then
full throttle again, 4th gear. Steer to the middle, full throttle.
Steer left, brake and back to 3rd again. Accelerate, then decelerate
for a moment, full throttle to exit turn #5.
Remember, in all kinds of bends, if deceleration is needed try to do
it once, just once otherwise you would loose time and speed.
Full throttle in 5th to get through turn 6 and 7. Steering movements
must be very quick in this S.
Keep right as much as possible. While you're just under the last
hairpin sign board, brake, shift down to 3rd and off the throttle.
Steer left. Pump the gas swiftly from time to time until you pass
the apex. Full throttle, steer right for a second at the same time.
Sense the direction of the car. Do the corrections if needed.
You've just finished the most difficult part of this test.
Full throttle, fast steering movements will do for the last two turns.
S-5
Track : S S Route 5 Wet
Corners : 14
Test Car : Toyota Corolla GT-Apex
HP : 129 ps
Mass : 925 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
This test is easy if you choose stick-shift mode. I won the gold
in the 4th try.
Watch Demo. Remember the racing line. Follow it through out the
test.
Stay in 4th gear through the first three corners. Decelerate once
in the 2nd one.
Stay in the middle of the road when getting out of turn 3. Brake,
down to 3rd gear when you are alongside with the last blue turning
sign board on your right. Make that left turn (corner #4) in
full power. I'm sure you'll be in deep
trouble if you don't equip your T car with
a manual gearbox on this wet road (see how clumsy
the Demo is when getting out of turn 4 in 2nd
gear).
You'll be in 3rd all the way until you're out from turn 7.
Up shift to 4th gear. Keep left. Turn right. Hit the
brakes slightly then sweep through turn 8
and 9 in 4th, unlike the demo using 3rd gear.
Brake and down shift to 2nd to turn into corner #10, which is a
hairpin. Press and off the throttle momentarily to avoid spinning.
Use 3rd and 4th gear for the latter part of test.
Remember the hairpin is the only place where you use 2nd gear in
this test otherwise 3rd and 4th gear are to be employed.
S-6
Track : Laguna Seca Raceway
Corners : 10
Test Car : Dodge Viper GTS-R
HP : 596 ps
Mass : 1150 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
As I mentioned before, this test cost me two days to finish.
My time is 1'16.731, only 4 thousandth of a second faster than the
Demo. When watching the replay, it's impossible to identify which
car crosses the finish line first. Wonderful?
Laguna is just as difficult as Seattle II and may be more. In
Seattle II, you have at least a few seconds to relax when going
up hill till turn 10, whereas you can't find nowhere you can ease
yourself for a second in Laguna.
Watch the demo as you usually do. Commence when you feel ready.
No use to be hurry.
Rolling start, 3rd gear, 4th gear, lean more to the right. Cross
the white line a bit. This may put yourself into a better angle
to enter corner #1.
Watch the sand area on your right and the red/white curb on your
left. Notice that you will be undergoing two 90 degrees corners.
We'll treat them as one like we did before in Seattle.
Brake while you are just alongside with the sand area on your right.
3rd gear (not 2nd), turn left, watch the first red/white curb
on your left, release brake, coast and watch
the second one. Accelerate before reaching it.
Remember? Decelerate once is the fastest way
to go through corners, if possible.
4th gear, turn a bit left. Keep left. Brake, 3rd gear and make a
very fast right turn before reaching the last CDSB on your left.
4th gear. After passing under the Dunlop Bridge, off throttle,
steer right. Full throttle, hit part of the apex with your right
wheels. Keep pushing, 4th gear (no 5th), stay right, watch
the CDSBs until you pass the last one, brake
immediately, down shift to 3rd and make a
left. Accelerate, watch the apex and tread on
the inner part of it. You might see that the
car has just slided a bit.
This is unavoidable. This corner #4 seems to be an easy one. If
you don't do everything properly you'll find yourself loose a lot
of ground. 4th gear, stay right, full throttle, turn the steering
wheel right twice briefly and quickly after you get pass under the
bridge. Keep steering right all the way through corner #5 when
you see the apex. Keep full power up the road. Keep left. Up shift
to 5th gear when 4th is done. Steer a bit to the right.
Hit the brakes hard before reaching the top of the hump. If you
are late, you might probably have to do the test all over
again. Keep on braking and down to 3rd for a
second or two. Make a sharp left turn under
braking. Tread on part of the red/white curb on
your left with the left front wheel. Steer right
and press the throttle hard immediately when
you are able to see the road clearly ahead of
you. At this moment you may find that the steering gets heavy and the
Demo hits this small S much better. Nevermind.
Keep right, full power, 3rd gear still. Turn left a bit earlier then
the Demo. Up shift to 4th gear, watch the inclination of the ground.
Off the throttle for a second then full power, treading part of the
apex on your left then out you're through corner #8.
Keep left immediately. Do a right turn in 3rd.
Keep right. Up shift to 4th then brake, down shift to 3rd before the
second last CDSB. Press the throttle quickly and momentarily to go
through the last corner. Keep the car in a straight line until you
cross the finish line.
S-7
Track : S S Route 11
Corners : 17
Test Car : TVR Griffith 500
HP : 345 ps
Mass : 1060 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
This test is rather simple. It allows you to make a few mistakes if
you choose to shift gears manually.
Do the standard procedure as planned. Again, try to follow the line
and the braking points of the Demo.
Three points you should remember in this test.
Use 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears only for the whole track. No 1st gear like
the Demo.
Use 3rd gear in corner #11 which is a long left hander under the fly-
over. Unbelievable?
When getting out of the last corner, up shift to 3rd a bit
earlier. No use to rev the 2nd gear to its
maximum before changing gears.
If you've done well in your previous tests, this one won't be a
problem at all.
S-8
Track : Cote D'Azur (Monaco)
Corners : 16
Test Car : Toyota GT-One
HP : 660 ps
Mass : 900 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
Frankly, I really don't know how to handle the GT-one with auto-shift.
Look at the power to weight ratio then you'll know the reason why.
Contrarily, using manual-shift mode may cut the level of difficulty of
this final test down almost to zero. My time is 1'29.783. Surely you
can do this even better.
It's rather simple, 3rd gear for all the corners except the hairpin
and the chicane, which is at the end of the straight after getting out
of the tunnel. That's all.
II. By the time I'm updating this article my game status looks like this -
Percentage of completion : 100%
Cr. acquired : 1,132,140,000
Total no. of wins : 342 / Total no. of races : 342 = 100%
S R : Gold 48
No. of vehicles owned : 91
Total milage travelled : 9175 km
Total price of vehicles owned : 4,730,456,000
XXXX no. acquired : 101
XXXX no. acquired : 471
Days : 233
Cr. : 1,038,801,250
The tips I'm going to give you based on you have won all the gold cups
and an owner of six cars. To the best of my memory, they should all be
rear wheel drive cars except the Subaru Impreza Prototype which is a 4-
wheel drive one, but some of the hints also apply to those who hold
licenses of all classes.
There are 3 types of leagues in GT Mode; Beginner, Amateur and
Profession and a total number of 65 different Races under these Leagues.
All Races are either Single or Series. A Single Race consists of 3
individual races and a Series Race consists of 4,5,7 or 10 races. After
winning either one of them you will receive a bonus car. Also, there
are 10 Rally Events and each Event consists of three individual races.
The last part of GT Mode is the Endurance Race which consists of 10
individual races. Bonus cars will also be given under both Events.
My suggestion is to take the qualified bonus cars you won in your tests
to paricipate all the appropriate races without doing any
modification until you can't win anymore.
Sell those cars that are not suitable in participating races under all
the Leagues so that you can save more Cr..
Anyhow, there are the cars you need to buy and modify plus some of
the bonus cars you are going to win in different
races, then you can
complete all the races in GT Mode.
They are :-
-Toyota Vitz RS 1.5
-Toyota Altezza RS 200
-M. Benz SLK 230 Kompressor
-Audi TT 1.8T Quattro
-Lotus Elise 190 (The bonus Elise 190 is unqualified)
-TVR Griffith 500
-VW New Beetle RSi
-Honda NSX tpye-R (Don't sell the NSX zero. You have to use it in
the Polyphony Digital Cup Race)
Chevrolet Camaro SS
Note : You have to be lucky to get a Formula (car) in either the Poly-
phony Digital Cup Championship Race or in one of the Endurance Races
otherwise there's no way you can win the last race of the Profession
League - the Formula GT Championship Race.
In respect to car modification, buy the most expensive part in each item
for the car which will have to take part in a race under the
Profession League and the other League in some cases.
Buy the first two sets (T2 & T3) of hard compound
racing tyres for all the Works (cars). You know
how to use them I'm sure. Do the weight reduction to the maximum.
Don't be mean. Pay and enjoy to the full. So you
realize now money can't buy
everything but without money you can't buy nothing. Anyway...
After a series of championship race, take the car to change oil in
GT Auto before taking it to race again. The "race-used"
oil cuts the engine power to a certain extent.
Tyre choice is equally important in the new game. In most of the major
events, tyre change is a must to the opponents but not to yourself.
Therefore, it is best to equip harder compound tyres so that you don't
have to pit for the whole race to save time. As long as you're within
12-15 seconds behind the leader, you'll sooner or later pass him and win
the race. Or in some cases you do the leading, slow yourself down to
reserve the tyres when you find you are around 10 seconds ahead.
Unlike real racing, the back-markers will never signal you through.
Beware of them.
Turbulence or slip-stream induced by the car ahead is obvious as in GT1.
It is benefical for you on straight roads but not in corners. To avoid
this untimely speed increase situation through corners, you've to either
brake earlier or change a slower line. That's why you find that
you can pull a bit further from the car behind
you after you do the corners.
I haven't written down what type of car you can get from which race.
You can take reference from other FAQ I'm sure. Anyway, three bonus
cars you'll receive from the Series Championship Races ; a Mit. FTO LM
Race Car, a Honda NSX JGTC, and a Nissan Skyline JGTC. The NSX is
the best handled car among the three. Use it for most of the major
championship races.
Also you'll receive a Mazda 787B bonus car by winning the Single
Race called "Like The Wind". Take this looks-
like-a-Group 7 car to race
the GT All Stars Championship Race. You'll find the 787B with only
5 forward gears a lot faster than the NSX JGTC and it's much easier
to win this race.
Use the bonus NSX Zero to paricipate the Polyphony Digital Cup Champ.
Races. Equip the car with the cheapest set of R tyres (T2). Start the
race right away. There's no need to qualify. It's an easy win.
As for the Endurance Races, if you want to save time, choose the Honda
NSX JGTC or the Mazda 787B to take part in all the Endurance Races except
the Trail Mountain Endurance 2 Hour and the Madza Roadster Endurance.
Rules have been set that except tyre changes, only standard cars
are eligible in these races.
It's best to use the Honda NSX Zero to take part in the former one and
the Mazda Roadster RS for the latter. You can equip them with the T2
tyres.
In respect to Rally Events, the Impreza Prototype Rally Car you won in
the R license test is the best choice. Or if you don't have one choose
one of the bonus rally cars you got would be okay. For quicker and easier
win, equip them with the 1st stage turbo-charger (388ps) which will just
be enough.
There's no definite rule which race or which league you should take part
first. It all depends on how much Cr. you have and the types of cars
you possess.
At last I got the Formula F090/S which has a V10 non turbo engine,3493cc,
producing 686ps/13000rpm and weighs only 540 kgs. Its a bonus car from
the first Endurance Race - the 300km Grand Vally Speedway Endurance.
After winning the Formula GT Championship Race, you'll receive another
two Formula cars, the F686/M. One for winning the race itself and one for
completing the whole GT Leagues I guess, since I don't read Japanese.
The F686/M is the fastest camparing all other Formulas. With the same
vehicle weight as the F090/S, it has a V6 turbo engine, 1494cc, produces
939ps/12000rpm. Also it's one of your opponents in the GT Formula Race.
That's why you'll find this Race the toughest.
With only 8 Endurance races left to complete the GT Mode, I decided
rather to finish the Arcade Mode first.
The fastest way to complete the 104 individual races, including levels
Easy, Normal and Hard, in the Single Race - Arcade Mode, choose Class
S. Use the Honda NSX (either Makes will do) and the Impreza Prototpye
Rally Car to finish them.
Your different level results can be reflected in the Goodies in terms of
Green, Blue and Red "balls" and/or from Area A to F, which in turn leads
to the final "Goal" revealing the Ending Movies A and B. Enjoy it. It's
quite......
Time Attack is fun and challenging. It's same as the license test. There
are 10 Trails. Try them. If you can beat the Demo by 1.8 secs or over
then you'll know you are a mature driver in video games.
The following are my best times in Time Attack. I might update them in
due course. Two of them are faster than Japanese record.
1. Midfield 1'20.605
2. Trail Mountain 1'44.248
3. Tokyo R246 1'56.821
4. Deep Forest 1'22.910
5. Laguna Seca 1'19.174
6. Apricot Hill 1'14.504
7. Grand Valley 1'45.220
8. Swiss Alps 1'20.764
9. Tahiti Maze 1'56.545
10. Complex String 4'45.466
III. GT 3 is the best car racing game I've ever played. Truly, I really
don't know how to describe it in a better way. All I can say is that
not only the texture looks so real and beautiful, the feels of driving,
the movements and the behavior of the cars jump a big step forward ahead
of its predecessors.
New elements have been added to the game itself. Just like real racing
cars, a certain amount of power increases after the running-in period
and drops after undergone several races. By then oil change has to be
made if power needs to be maintained for further races.
Red-hot brake discs can be seen when braking, especially in dusky events.
When racing itself is concerned, it is more strictly governed by
the real facts - the racing lines and the braking
points. I dare say that
if you don't improve your driving skill and technical know-how, you
might find it so difficult to win in some races. Furthermore, the
opponents are much stronger than ever. Unlike GT1 and GT2, power
doesn't mean everything. Too many horses may make
you loose a race in some cases.
Finally, the idea of randomly rewarding you a bonus car out of four after
winning some of the championship races is something that I don't feel
really like it. Therefore, if you missed the chances of getting
the Formula in the above mentiond races, you are in
no position to win the last race of the
Professional League - the Formula GT Championship
Race. But you'll get it somehow only that you've to
play more and win more.
[I finished the whole game 5 days ago. Two things I would like to point
out for you. All the Formulas are bonus cars from the Endurance Races.
You might probably won't get them in races under the Professional League.
Single Race and Time Attack in the Arcade Mode are also included in the
Percentage of Completion in the Gran Turismo Mode. Therefore, you have
to participate both of these meetings to make a completion of the game.]
IV. This article is under the protection of the Copyright Laws, U.S. 2001.
It is not allowed for person or persons or parties of any form to republish
it wholly or partially or to use it as means of profit-making without the
prior consent of the writer, Michael Chan.
GRAN TURISMO 3 : A-SPEC (jp Version)
Subject : Hints to win gold cups in Super license tests
Written by : Michael Chan
E-mail : michaelchan21@hotmail.com
Version : 1.00
Date : May 28, 2001 - July 6, 2001
All Rights Reserved
Update Version : 1.01
-Punctuation Marks fixed
-Rally & Endurance Events added
Update Version : 1.02
-Completion of GT Mode hints
-Brief info on Arcade Mode
-Alteration of e-mail address
Update Version : 1.03
-One last GT Mode hint added
-Correction of grammatical mistakes
Update Version : 1.04
-My best times in Time Attack added
Update Version : 1.05
-Time Attack record update
Preface
It took me a whole week to finish all the gold cup license tests.
It's not easy at all. In fact it's much more difficult than its two
predecessors - GT1 & GT2. In doing these tests, a total concentration
of the mind, a very fast reaction of the brain and a very quick movement
of the fingers are needed. Besides, you have to be very calm too.
These exams are not just meant to test how good or how fast you can
drive, they are meant to test how many mistakes you would make under
pressure. The less mistakes you make the more chances you may
win. There's no garantee that you'll surely get
all the S license gold cups
by using the hints I am going to give you, I'm positive you can do it
since I'm much much older than most of you.
After you get all the gold cups, you'll be rewarded six cars (one for
each class of course). You may use some of these cars to participate
qualified races so as to earn more Cr. and obtain more "useful" cars
for various types of races in future.
What I'm going to write is no special driving technique of any sort or
to show you any trick. All the hints and suggestions apply to the
basic skills of driving you are already familiar with,
i.e. brake before
entering a corner, coast and then accelerate when getting out of it.
Keep left when making a right turn. Get close to the apex as much as
possible when getting out of it . Try to make the line you run as
straight as possible. That's all and nothing more.
To me S-2 and S-6 are the most difficult ones among the eight tests,
I'll discuss these two in more detail whereas the other six I'll just
show you the important points.
Contents
I. Gold cup Super license tests hints
II. GT Mode hints
III. Impression towards the game
IV. Copyright
I. To win all the gold cups from license tests b to R is not too difficult.
You can do it in two days. To win all the gold cups in license tests S is
a real challenge. I spent three days to get the gold for S-2 and another
two for S-6.
I'm sure nearly all of you use auto-shift mode all the time. Don't you
find it too hard to hanle cars like the GT40, the Skyline GT-R JGTC, the
Dodge Viper GTS-R and espically the Toyota GT-One in corners? The reason
is simple. They all got very high torque power. Auto-shift, as the term
explains itself, down shifts automatically when a car slows down to
certain speeds. If full throttle is applied at these moments,the adhesion
of the tyres of the driving wheels on the road can not cope with the
big torque producing from the engine and thus resulting a wheel-spinning.
This can't be helped if you choose auto-shift mode. You are no
computer. You are human. The speed, the reaction,
the action, the vision and the
precision can't all be maintained all the way through the whole field.
The only way to off set this problem is to use stick-shift. By using
stick-shift doesn't mean you can go more faster nor engine
braking can shorten the braking distance a
lot. It's a computer-game of
driving not a real driving. Yet, it definitely will do you some help,
in corners especially, I can assure you. Please remember thousands of
a second is vital in these tests.
Before each test, watch the Demo very carefully for a FEW times. Pay
attention and try your best to remember the racing line and the braking
points. I know there's no way we can do exactly as the Demo does
since we are restricted in three areas. We don't
have a progressive action
device in the controller in respect to throttle application and
steering movement; meaning either we are in full
throttle or in full lock. Besides, speed
and distance are too difficult to judge from a TV
screen with human eyes.
Anyway, the following are the suggestions to you and hope that they
might do you some help. To me S-2 and S-6 are the most difficult ones
I'll therefore discuss them in more detail whereas I'll show you
the
important points for the rest of the six.
S-1
Track : Apricot Hill Raceway
Corners : 13 (including those you don't have to slow down)
Test car : Opel Speedster
HP : 146 ps
Mass : 850 kgs
Gearbox : Auto or Manual
Do the compulsory procedure (watch the Demo)then begin the test. After
you get the bronze cup, save your replay. Load the Demo and watch the
"battle". Then you'll know when, where and why you are slower. Save
your own replay means you can quit the test any time you want and
still you'll have a target to go for next time you resume the test.
Keep saving your own replay every time you win yourself. Use this
method for the rest of the
tests. Make
use of the inclination of the ground in order to get more grip.
All the tyre-tracks left in the circuit offer better road holding,
indicate the correct racing line as well as reveal some of the
braking points most of the time. Make good use of them.
The comparatively small power T car is not difficult to handle. Make
more tries. When you get use to its handling, just like you did in
your past tests, you'll get the gold definitely.
For this track, two corners should particularly bear in mind.
Before entering corner #7, a right hander hair-pin, stay very left.
Hit the brakes as soon as you reach the red/white curb (on your left).
Steer right, off throttle then full throttle to exit the corner, try
treading part of the apex (the red/white curb on your right) with
your right wheels. This is the shortest route and the fastest way to
complete corner #7. And this is where I pass the Demo.
Lastly, don't hit the cones in corners #11 & #12 which form a small
S. Remember when and where to lift the throttle.
Stay calm!
S-2
Track : Seattle Circuit II
Corners : 20
Test car : Ford GT40
HP : 500 ps
Mass : 998 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
This test took me three days to get the gold. My time is 1'29.854.
I know its not the best time. I'm just too tired and may be too old
to break it. Young men, you can do it. You'll do better than I, I'm
sure. Please tell me after you made it.
To me S-2 is the most difficult test among all the GT license test
series. It's a late evening and facing West drive, therefore vision
is rather difficult.
There are three places you should be extremely cautious and alert
about. Corners #1, #6 and #10.
Do the compulsory procedure again and again until you feel you are
ready for it, then go.
Like all other license tests, it's a rolling start in 3rd gear.
Shift to 4th while you are under the first count-down-sign-board.
Lift off gas, turn a bit left, accelerate till the left front wheel
treads on the blue/white curb on your right. Brake, down shift to
3nd gear and steer right all in one time. This is how you finish the
1st and 2nd corners. It sounds simple. I tried it over 300 times. I
failed over 250, I believe.
My suggestion is regardless of the speed as long as you get throught
the first two corners continue the test until you cross the finish
line, if possible. The reason is to give yourself more time
to practise and experience the rest of the
track.
Okay. Off the brakes, full throttle, stay right, 3rd gear when 2nd is
done. When you're almost up to the small escape area on your right,
brake, down shift to 2nd and turn left. Keep braking while steering
left, watching the apex (the blue/white curb on your left) at the same
time. Accelerate before passing it, then 3rd gear. This is corner #3.
Stay right, full throttle, 3rd gear, then make a sharp left turn. Off
throttle immediately after the left front wheel just treads over the
blue/white curb on your left (not before or you'll go left), turn right,
watch the apex on your right. Accelerate when you're almost through
it. Don't accelerate too early or you'll hit the left side barrier
after you're out. These are corners #4 & #5.
Stay left, full throttle on this SHORT straight then you'll undergo
another two 90 degrees corners, #6 & 7. It's very hard, I tell you.
As expected, brake a bit earlier, 2nd gear, make a sharp right turn
while still braking. Accelerate, tread on part of the blue/white curb
on you right. Then off throttle, turn left, full throttle, up shift
to 3rd gear while 2nd gear hasn't reached its maximum revs. You don't
need to accelerate too fast here. This is important. By doing so you
don't have to slow yourself down, like the Demo, all the way through
corner 8.
When going up hill, up shift to 4th gear after 3rd is done. Stay right.
Don't turn left so soon as the Demo. Cut this wide bend as straight
as possible. This is where you can pass or catch up
with the Demo.
Stay left, 4th gear. Watch the ground. You'll see there are two CDSB
shadows along the road. Hit the brakes and down to 3rd when reaching
the first one. Keep braking and down to 2nd when reaching the second
one, then turn right. Feel the speed, off throttle, steer towards the
right (blue/white) curb as much as possible. Just before hitting it,
accelerate out this corner #10. Sounds simple? It's really hard too.
Yet all the difficult parts of this track are done. Practice makes
perfect. Remember!
The follwing corners #11, 12, 13 ,14, 15 won't be a problem to all
of you I am certain. But you might be very nervous at this stage if
you are now ahead of your own ghost and who is incidentally holding
a lap record of 1'30.203 like I did. So stay calm. Keep your head
clear or you'll blow everything.
Just as usual, stay right, brake, down shift to 2nd and make a left
turn when reaching the escape area on your right. Watch the apex
(blue/white curb) on your left. Off throttle, then full throttle
out through this corner #16.
Keep left. Keep driving straight when going down hill. 2nd gear, 3rd
gear and then 4th before you encounter the first hump. Keep pushing.
Keep the car going straight. It's really exciting.
Full throttle through corner #17. Try not to hit the blue/white curb
on your right too hard otherwise you can't do the braking efficiently
before plunging into corner #18. Stay left, full throttle.
When reaching the last lamp post on your left, do the same thing again.
Hit the brakes, down shift to 3rd and then 2nd and make a right turn.
Just before you pass the apex, full throttle out through the corner. As
this part of the road is quite wide, you can accelerate a bit earlier.
Up to 3rd gear, stay right. Keep going till reaching the second last
pillar on your right, brake, 2nd gear and make a left and victorious
turn. Off throttle, coasting till you see the second blue/white
curb on your left. Full throttle out the corner
until you cross the finish
line. Remember to change gears!
Turn #19 is critical. It's a combination of two 90 degrees corners yet
you can treat them as one. However, if you use auto-shift mode, you'll
probably be down to first gear. Then you'll loose time like the Demo.
S-3
Track : Trail mountain Circuit
Corners : 15
Test Car : Mazda Eunos Roadster
HP : 119 ps
Mass : 940 kgs
Gearbox : Auto or Manual
It's a slow drive test like S-1. Both transmittion modes will do the
job. I started using manual mode from S-2 to S-8 and in all the races
I've done so far.
Like I said. Watch the Demo a few times before doing the test.
Turn into the first corner a little bit earlier than the Demo. Tread
on the apexes (red/white curbs) from corner 1 to 3.
You don't have to turn the wheel a lot to go through these corners.
And you'll find yourself more than a car's length ahead of the Demo
after getting out of corner #3.
Follow the racing line of the Demo from corner #4 to #13.
Get into corner #14 earlier then the Demo and finish the test.
The Demo went a bit too wide in #14 I guess.
When getting out of corner #5, the Demo passed me. He was more than
two cars length in front of me while getting out of corner #9.
It looked like that there wouldn't be any chance for me to get
pass him again. Fortunately he slided when
exiting corner #13 and lost
momentum. I just got pass him before corner #14.
This once again proves that stick-shift does have some advantage over
auto-shift when getting in and out of corners.
I admit I lost a bit of concentration in doing this S-3 test. Probably
I have had just won the gold cup in S-2 and I was thinking that there
wouldn't be any problem for me in the remaining tests, without
knowing that S-6 would be such a headache as S-2.
I was too excited.
Remember two things. Turn the steering wheel hinders acceleration.
Slide the car in corners looses momentum and speed.
S-4
Track : Midfield Raceway
Corners : 10
Test Car : Nissan Skyline GR JGTC
HP : 505 ps
Mass : 1100 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
S-4 is not difficult. In fact it's the easiest one among the four
high power racers in this Super license tests.
I'm not sure sometimes if the Demo is deliberately doing something
just for show or purposely slowing down the lap time in order to
make the test less difficult.
Anyway, don't forget to watch the Demo.
As usual, 3rd gear rolling start at the beginning.
Back to 3rd before getting into turn #1.
Up shift to 5th before turn #2 even if you feel that you haven't rev
the 4th to its maximum. Always listen to the tone of the engine.
After turn #3, stay left. As soon as you're under the second CDSB hit
the brakes, down shift to 3rd gear. Accelerate and turn right. Lean
to the right (red/white) curb by making use of the inclination of the
ground. As soon as you pass it, off throttle for a second then
full throttle again, 4th gear. Steer to the middle, full throttle.
Steer left, brake and back to 3rd again. Accelerate, then decelerate
for a moment, full throttle to exit turn #5.
Remember, in all kinds of bends, if deceleration is needed try to do
it once, just once otherwise you would loose time and speed.
Full throttle in 5th to get through turn 6 and 7. Steering movements
must be very quick in this S.
Keep right as much as possible. While you're just under the last
hairpin sign board, brake, shift down to 3rd and off the throttle.
Steer left. Pump the gas swiftly from time to time until you pass
the apex. Full throttle, steer right for a second at the same time.
Sense the direction of the car. Do the corrections if needed.
You've just finished the most difficult part of this test.
Full throttle, fast steering movements will do for the last two turns.
S-5
Track : S S Route 5 Wet
Corners : 14
Test Car : Toyota Corolla GT-Apex
HP : 129 ps
Mass : 925 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
This test is easy if you choose stick-shift mode. I won the gold
in the 4th try.
Watch Demo. Remember the racing line. Follow it through out the
test.
Stay in 4th gear through the first three corners. Decelerate once
in the 2nd one.
Stay in the middle of the road when getting out of turn 3. Brake,
down to 3rd gear when you are alongside with the last blue turning
sign board on your right. Make that left turn (corner #4) in
full power. I'm sure you'll be in deep
trouble if you don't equip your T car with
a manual gearbox on this wet road (see how clumsy
the Demo is when getting out of turn 4 in 2nd
gear).
You'll be in 3rd all the way until you're out from turn 7.
Up shift to 4th gear. Keep left. Turn right. Hit the
brakes slightly then sweep through turn 8
and 9 in 4th, unlike the demo using 3rd gear.
Brake and down shift to 2nd to turn into corner #10, which is a
hairpin. Press and off the throttle momentarily to avoid spinning.
Use 3rd and 4th gear for the latter part of test.
Remember the hairpin is the only place where you use 2nd gear in
this test otherwise 3rd and 4th gear are to be employed.
S-6
Track : Laguna Seca Raceway
Corners : 10
Test Car : Dodge Viper GTS-R
HP : 596 ps
Mass : 1150 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
As I mentioned before, this test cost me two days to finish.
My time is 1'16.731, only 4 thousandth of a second faster than the
Demo. When watching the replay, it's impossible to identify which
car crosses the finish line first. Wonderful?
Laguna is just as difficult as Seattle II and may be more. In
Seattle II, you have at least a few seconds to relax when going
up hill till turn 10, whereas you can't find nowhere you can ease
yourself for a second in Laguna.
Watch the demo as you usually do. Commence when you feel ready.
No use to be hurry.
Rolling start, 3rd gear, 4th gear, lean more to the right. Cross
the white line a bit. This may put yourself into a better angle
to enter corner #1.
Watch the sand area on your right and the red/white curb on your
left. Notice that you will be undergoing two 90 degrees corners.
We'll treat them as one like we did before in Seattle.
Brake while you are just alongside with the sand area on your right.
3rd gear (not 2nd), turn left, watch the first red/white curb
on your left, release brake, coast and watch
the second one. Accelerate before reaching it.
Remember? Decelerate once is the fastest way
to go through corners, if possible.
4th gear, turn a bit left. Keep left. Brake, 3rd gear and make a
very fast right turn before reaching the last CDSB on your left.
4th gear. After passing under the Dunlop Bridge, off throttle,
steer right. Full throttle, hit part of the apex with your right
wheels. Keep pushing, 4th gear (no 5th), stay right, watch
the CDSBs until you pass the last one, brake
immediately, down shift to 3rd and make a
left. Accelerate, watch the apex and tread on
the inner part of it. You might see that the
car has just slided a bit.
This is unavoidable. This corner #4 seems to be an easy one. If
you don't do everything properly you'll find yourself loose a lot
of ground. 4th gear, stay right, full throttle, turn the steering
wheel right twice briefly and quickly after you get pass under the
bridge. Keep steering right all the way through corner #5 when
you see the apex. Keep full power up the road. Keep left. Up shift
to 5th gear when 4th is done. Steer a bit to the right.
Hit the brakes hard before reaching the top of the hump. If you
are late, you might probably have to do the test all over
again. Keep on braking and down to 3rd for a
second or two. Make a sharp left turn under
braking. Tread on part of the red/white curb on
your left with the left front wheel. Steer right
and press the throttle hard immediately when
you are able to see the road clearly ahead of
you. At this moment you may find that the steering gets heavy and the
Demo hits this small S much better. Nevermind.
Keep right, full power, 3rd gear still. Turn left a bit earlier then
the Demo. Up shift to 4th gear, watch the inclination of the ground.
Off the throttle for a second then full power, treading part of the
apex on your left then out you're through corner #8.
Keep left immediately. Do a right turn in 3rd.
Keep right. Up shift to 4th then brake, down shift to 3rd before the
second last CDSB. Press the throttle quickly and momentarily to go
through the last corner. Keep the car in a straight line until you
cross the finish line.
S-7
Track : S S Route 11
Corners : 17
Test Car : TVR Griffith 500
HP : 345 ps
Mass : 1060 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
This test is rather simple. It allows you to make a few mistakes if
you choose to shift gears manually.
Do the standard procedure as planned. Again, try to follow the line
and the braking points of the Demo.
Three points you should remember in this test.
Use 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears only for the whole track. No 1st gear like
the Demo.
Use 3rd gear in corner #11 which is a long left hander under the fly-
over. Unbelievable?
When getting out of the last corner, up shift to 3rd a bit
earlier. No use to rev the 2nd gear to its
maximum before changing gears.
If you've done well in your previous tests, this one won't be a
problem at all.
S-8
Track : Cote D'Azur (Monaco)
Corners : 16
Test Car : Toyota GT-One
HP : 660 ps
Mass : 900 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
Frankly, I really don't know how to handle the GT-one with auto-shift.
Look at the power to weight ratio then you'll know the reason why.
Contrarily, using manual-shift mode may cut the level of difficulty of
this final test down almost to zero. My time is 1'29.783. Surely you
can do this even better.
It's rather simple, 3rd gear for all the corners except the hairpin
and the chicane, which is at the end of the straight after getting out
of the tunnel. That's all.
II. By the time I'm updating this article my game status looks like this -
Percentage of completion : 100%
Cr. acquired : 1,132,140,000
Total no. of wins : 342 / Total no. of races : 342 = 100%
S R : Gold 48
No. of vehicles owned : 91
Total milage travelled : 9175 km
Total price of vehicles owned : 4,730,456,000
XXXX no. acquired : 101
XXXX no. acquired : 471
Days : 233
Cr. : 1,038,801,250
The tips I'm going to give you based on you have won all the gold cups
and an owner of six cars. To the best of my memory, they should all be
rear wheel drive cars except the Subaru Impreza Prototype which is a 4-
wheel drive one, but some of the hints also apply to those who hold
licenses of all classes.
There are 3 types of leagues in GT Mode; Beginner, Amateur and
Profession and a total number of 65 different Races under these Leagues.
All Races are either Single or Series. A Single Race consists of 3
individual races and a Series Race consists of 4,5,7 or 10 races. After
winning either one of them you will receive a bonus car. Also, there
are 10 Rally Events and each Event consists of three individual races.
The last part of GT Mode is the Endurance Race which consists of 10
individual races. Bonus cars will also be given under both Events.
My suggestion is to take the qualified bonus cars you won in your tests
to paricipate all the appropriate races without doing any
modification until you can't win anymore.
Sell those cars that are not suitable in participating races under all
the Leagues so that you can save more Cr..
Anyhow, there are the cars you need to buy and modify plus some of
the bonus cars you are going to win in different
races, then you can
complete all the races in GT Mode.
They are :-
-Toyota Vitz RS 1.5
-Toyota Altezza RS 200
-M. Benz SLK 230 Kompressor
-Audi TT 1.8T Quattro
-Lotus Elise 190 (The bonus Elise 190 is unqualified)
-TVR Griffith 500
-VW New Beetle RSi
-Honda NSX tpye-R (Don't sell the NSX zero. You have to use it in
the Polyphony Digital Cup Race)
Chevrolet Camaro SS
Note : You have to be lucky to get a Formula (car) in either the Poly-
phony Digital Cup Championship Race or in one of the Endurance Races
otherwise there's no way you can win the last race of the Profession
League - the Formula GT Championship Race.
In respect to car modification, buy the most expensive part in each item
for the car which will have to take part in a race under the
Profession League and the other League in some cases.
Buy the first two sets (T2 & T3) of hard compound
racing tyres for all the Works (cars). You know
how to use them I'm sure. Do the weight reduction to the maximum.
Don't be mean. Pay and enjoy to the full. So you
realize now money can't buy
everything but without money you can't buy nothing. Anyway...
After a series of championship race, take the car to change oil in
GT Auto before taking it to race again. The "race-used"
oil cuts the engine power to a certain extent.
Tyre choice is equally important in the new game. In most of the major
events, tyre change is a must to the opponents but not to yourself.
Therefore, it is best to equip harder compound tyres so that you don't
have to pit for the whole race to save time. As long as you're within
12-15 seconds behind the leader, you'll sooner or later pass him and win
the race. Or in some cases you do the leading, slow yourself down to
reserve the tyres when you find you are around 10 seconds ahead.
Unlike real racing, the back-markers will never signal you through.
Beware of them.
Turbulence or slip-stream induced by the car ahead is obvious as in GT1.
It is benefical for you on straight roads but not in corners. To avoid
this untimely speed increase situation through corners, you've to either
brake earlier or change a slower line. That's why you find that
you can pull a bit further from the car behind
you after you do the corners.
I haven't written down what type of car you can get from which race.
You can take reference from other FAQ I'm sure. Anyway, three bonus
cars you'll receive from the Series Championship Races ; a Mit. FTO LM
Race Car, a Honda NSX JGTC, and a Nissan Skyline JGTC. The NSX is
the best handled car among the three. Use it for most of the major
championship races.
Also you'll receive a Mazda 787B bonus car by winning the Single
Race called "Like The Wind". Take this looks-
like-a-Group 7 car to race
the GT All Stars Championship Race. You'll find the 787B with only
5 forward gears a lot faster than the NSX JGTC and it's much easier
to win this race.
Use the bonus NSX Zero to paricipate the Polyphony Digital Cup Champ.
Races. Equip the car with the cheapest set of R tyres (T2). Start the
race right away. There's no need to qualify. It's an easy win.
As for the Endurance Races, if you want to save time, choose the Honda
NSX JGTC or the Mazda 787B to take part in all the Endurance Races except
the Trail Mountain Endurance 2 Hour and the Madza Roadster Endurance.
Rules have been set that except tyre changes, only standard cars
are eligible in these races.
It's best to use the Honda NSX Zero to take part in the former one and
the Mazda Roadster RS for the latter. You can equip them with the T2
tyres.
In respect to Rally Events, the Impreza Prototype Rally Car you won in
the R license test is the best choice. Or if you don't have one choose
one of the bonus rally cars you got would be okay. For quicker and easier
win, equip them with the 1st stage turbo-charger (388ps) which will just
be enough.
There's no definite rule which race or which league you should take part
first. It all depends on how much Cr. you have and the types of cars
you possess.
At last I got the Formula F090/S which has a V10 non turbo engine,3493cc,
producing 686ps/13000rpm and weighs only 540 kgs. Its a bonus car from
the first Endurance Race - the 300km Grand Vally Speedway Endurance.
After winning the Formula GT Championship Race, you'll receive another
two Formula cars, the F686/M. One for winning the race itself and one for
completing the whole GT Leagues I guess, since I don't read Japanese.
The F686/M is the fastest camparing all other Formulas. With the same
vehicle weight as the F090/S, it has a V6 turbo engine, 1494cc, produces
939ps/12000rpm. Also it's one of your opponents in the GT Formula Race.
That's why you'll find this Race the toughest.
With only 8 Endurance races left to complete the GT Mode, I decided
rather to finish the Arcade Mode first.
The fastest way to complete the 104 individual races, including levels
Easy, Normal and Hard, in the Single Race - Arcade Mode, choose Class
S. Use the Honda NSX (either Makes will do) and the Impreza Prototpye
Rally Car to finish them.
Your different level results can be reflected in the Goodies in terms of
Green, Blue and Red "balls" and/or from Area A to F, which in turn leads
to the final "Goal" revealing the Ending Movies A and B. Enjoy it. It's
quite......
Time Attack is fun and challenging. It's same as the license test. There
are 10 Trails. Try them. If you can beat the Demo by 1.8 secs or over
then you'll know you are a mature driver in video games.
The following are my best times in Time Attack. I might update them in
due course. Two of them are faster than Japanese record.
1. Midfield 1'20.605
2. Trail Mountain 1'44.248
3. Tokyo R246 1'56.821
4. Deep Forest 1'22.910
5. Laguna Seca 1'19.174
6. Apricot Hill 1'14.504
7. Grand Valley 1'45.220
8. Swiss Alps 1'20.764
9. Tahiti Maze 1'56.545
10. Complex String 4'45.466
III. GT 3 is the best car racing game I've ever played. Truly, I really
don't know how to describe it in a better way. All I can say is that
not only the texture looks so real and beautiful, the feels of driving,
the movements and the behavior of the cars jump a big step forward ahead
of its predecessors.
New elements have been added to the game itself. Just like real racing
cars, a certain amount of power increases after the running-in period
and drops after undergone several races. By then oil change has to be
made if power needs to be maintained for further races.
Red-hot brake discs can be seen when braking, especially in dusky events.
When racing itself is concerned, it is more strictly governed by
the real facts - the racing lines and the braking
points. I dare say that
if you don't improve your driving skill and technical know-how, you
might find it so difficult to win in some races. Furthermore, the
opponents are much stronger than ever. Unlike GT1 and GT2, power
doesn't mean everything. Too many horses may make
you loose a race in some cases.
Finally, the idea of randomly rewarding you a bonus car out of four after
winning some of the championship races is something that I don't feel
really like it. Therefore, if you missed the chances of getting
the Formula in the above mentiond races, you are in
no position to win the last race of the
Professional League - the Formula GT Championship
Race. But you'll get it somehow only that you've to
play more and win more.
[I finished the whole game 5 days ago. Two things I would like to point
out for you. All the Formulas are bonus cars from the Endurance Races.
You might probably won't get them in races under the Professional League.
Single Race and Time Attack in the Arcade Mode are also included in the
Percentage of Completion in the Gran Turismo Mode. Therefore, you have
to participate both of these meetings to make a completion of the game.]
IV. This article is under the protection of the Copyright Laws, U.S. 2001.
It is not allowed for person or persons or parties of any form to republish
it wholly or partially or to use it as means of profit-making without the
prior consent of the writer, Michael Chan.
GRAN TURISMO 3 : A-SPEC (jp Version)
Subject : Hints to win gold cups in Super license tests
Written by : Michael Chan
E-mail : michaelchan21@hotmail.com
Version : 1.00
Date : May 28, 2001 - July 6, 2001
All Rights Reserved
Update Version : 1.01
-Punctuation Marks fixed
-Rally & Endurance Events added
Update Version : 1.02
-Completion of GT Mode hints
-Brief info on Arcade Mode
-Alteration of e-mail address
Update Version : 1.03
-One last GT Mode hint added
-Correction of grammatical mistakes
Update Version : 1.04
-My best times in Time Attack added
Update Version : 1.05
-Time Attack record update
Preface
It took me a whole week to finish all the gold cup license tests.
It's not easy at all. In fact it's much more difficult than its two
predecessors - GT1 & GT2. In doing these tests, a total concentration
of the mind, a very fast reaction of the brain and a very quick movement
of the fingers are needed. Besides, you have to be very calm too.
These exams are not just meant to test how good or how fast you can
drive, they are meant to test how many mistakes you would make under
pressure. The less mistakes you make the more chances you may
win. There's no garantee that you'll surely get
all the S license gold cups
by using the hints I am going to give you, I'm positive you can do it
since I'm much much older than most of you.
After you get all the gold cups, you'll be rewarded six cars (one for
each class of course). You may use some of these cars to participate
qualified races so as to earn more Cr. and obtain more "useful" cars
for various types of races in future.
What I'm going to write is no special driving technique of any sort or
to show you any trick. All the hints and suggestions apply to the
basic skills of driving you are already familiar with,
i.e. brake before
entering a corner, coast and then accelerate when getting out of it.
Keep left when making a right turn. Get close to the apex as much as
possible when getting out of it . Try to make the line you run as
straight as possible. That's all and nothing more.
To me S-2 and S-6 are the most difficult ones among the eight tests,
I'll discuss these two in more detail whereas the other six I'll just
show you the important points.
Contents
I. Gold cup Super license tests hints
II. GT Mode hints
III. Impression towards the game
IV. Copyright
I. To win all the gold cups from license tests b to R is not too difficult.
You can do it in two days. To win all the gold cups in license tests S is
a real challenge. I spent three days to get the gold for S-2 and another
two for S-6.
I'm sure nearly all of you use auto-shift mode all the time. Don't you
find it too hard to hanle cars like the GT40, the Skyline GT-R JGTC, the
Dodge Viper GTS-R and espically the Toyota GT-One in corners? The reason
is simple. They all got very high torque power. Auto-shift, as the term
explains itself, down shifts automatically when a car slows down to
certain speeds. If full throttle is applied at these moments,the adhesion
of the tyres of the driving wheels on the road can not cope with the
big torque producing from the engine and thus resulting a wheel-spinning.
This can't be helped if you choose auto-shift mode. You are no
computer. You are human. The speed, the reaction,
the action, the vision and the
precision can't all be maintained all the way through the whole field.
The only way to off set this problem is to use stick-shift. By using
stick-shift doesn't mean you can go more faster nor engine
braking can shorten the braking distance a
lot. It's a computer-game of
driving not a real driving. Yet, it definitely will do you some help,
in corners especially, I can assure you. Please remember thousands of
a second is vital in these tests.
Before each test, watch the Demo very carefully for a FEW times. Pay
attention and try your best to remember the racing line and the braking
points. I know there's no way we can do exactly as the Demo does
since we are restricted in three areas. We don't
have a progressive action
device in the controller in respect to throttle application and
steering movement; meaning either we are in full
throttle or in full lock. Besides, speed
and distance are too difficult to judge from a TV
screen with human eyes.
Anyway, the following are the suggestions to you and hope that they
might do you some help. To me S-2 and S-6 are the most difficult ones
I'll therefore discuss them in more detail whereas I'll show you
the
important points for the rest of the six.
S-1
Track : Apricot Hill Raceway
Corners : 13 (including those you don't have to slow down)
Test car : Opel Speedster
HP : 146 ps
Mass : 850 kgs
Gearbox : Auto or Manual
Do the compulsory procedure (watch the Demo)then begin the test. After
you get the bronze cup, save your replay. Load the Demo and watch the
"battle". Then you'll know when, where and why you are slower. Save
your own replay means you can quit the test any time you want and
still you'll have a target to go for next time you resume the test.
Keep saving your own replay every time you win yourself. Use this
method for the rest of the
tests. Make
use of the inclination of the ground in order to get more grip.
All the tyre-tracks left in the circuit offer better road holding,
indicate the correct racing line as well as reveal some of the
braking points most of the time. Make good use of them.
The comparatively small power T car is not difficult to handle. Make
more tries. When you get use to its handling, just like you did in
your past tests, you'll get the gold definitely.
For this track, two corners should particularly bear in mind.
Before entering corner #7, a right hander hair-pin, stay very left.
Hit the brakes as soon as you reach the red/white curb (on your left).
Steer right, off throttle then full throttle to exit the corner, try
treading part of the apex (the red/white curb on your right) with
your right wheels. This is the shortest route and the fastest way to
complete corner #7. And this is where I pass the Demo.
Lastly, don't hit the cones in corners #11 & #12 which form a small
S. Remember when and where to lift the throttle.
Stay calm!
S-2
Track : Seattle Circuit II
Corners : 20
Test car : Ford GT40
HP : 500 ps
Mass : 998 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
This test took me three days to get the gold. My time is 1'29.854.
I know its not the best time. I'm just too tired and may be too old
to break it. Young men, you can do it. You'll do better than I, I'm
sure. Please tell me after you made it.
To me S-2 is the most difficult test among all the GT license test
series. It's a late evening and facing West drive, therefore vision
is rather difficult.
There are three places you should be extremely cautious and alert
about. Corners #1, #6 and #10.
Do the compulsory procedure again and again until you feel you are
ready for it, then go.
Like all other license tests, it's a rolling start in 3rd gear.
Shift to 4th while you are under the first count-down-sign-board.
Lift off gas, turn a bit left, accelerate till the left front wheel
treads on the blue/white curb on your right. Brake, down shift to
3nd gear and steer right all in one time. This is how you finish the
1st and 2nd corners. It sounds simple. I tried it over 300 times. I
failed over 250, I believe.
My suggestion is regardless of the speed as long as you get throught
the first two corners continue the test until you cross the finish
line, if possible. The reason is to give yourself more time
to practise and experience the rest of the
track.
Okay. Off the brakes, full throttle, stay right, 3rd gear when 2nd is
done. When you're almost up to the small escape area on your right,
brake, down shift to 2nd and turn left. Keep braking while steering
left, watching the apex (the blue/white curb on your left) at the same
time. Accelerate before passing it, then 3rd gear. This is corner #3.
Stay right, full throttle, 3rd gear, then make a sharp left turn. Off
throttle immediately after the left front wheel just treads over the
blue/white curb on your left (not before or you'll go left), turn right,
watch the apex on your right. Accelerate when you're almost through
it. Don't accelerate too early or you'll hit the left side barrier
after you're out. These are corners #4 & #5.
Stay left, full throttle on this SHORT straight then you'll undergo
another two 90 degrees corners, #6 & 7. It's very hard, I tell you.
As expected, brake a bit earlier, 2nd gear, make a sharp right turn
while still braking. Accelerate, tread on part of the blue/white curb
on you right. Then off throttle, turn left, full throttle, up shift
to 3rd gear while 2nd gear hasn't reached its maximum revs. You don't
need to accelerate too fast here. This is important. By doing so you
don't have to slow yourself down, like the Demo, all the way through
corner 8.
When going up hill, up shift to 4th gear after 3rd is done. Stay right.
Don't turn left so soon as the Demo. Cut this wide bend as straight
as possible. This is where you can pass or catch up
with the Demo.
Stay left, 4th gear. Watch the ground. You'll see there are two CDSB
shadows along the road. Hit the brakes and down to 3rd when reaching
the first one. Keep braking and down to 2nd when reaching the second
one, then turn right. Feel the speed, off throttle, steer towards the
right (blue/white) curb as much as possible. Just before hitting it,
accelerate out this corner #10. Sounds simple? It's really hard too.
Yet all the difficult parts of this track are done. Practice makes
perfect. Remember!
The follwing corners #11, 12, 13 ,14, 15 won't be a problem to all
of you I am certain. But you might be very nervous at this stage if
you are now ahead of your own ghost and who is incidentally holding
a lap record of 1'30.203 like I did. So stay calm. Keep your head
clear or you'll blow everything.
Just as usual, stay right, brake, down shift to 2nd and make a left
turn when reaching the escape area on your right. Watch the apex
(blue/white curb) on your left. Off throttle, then full throttle
out through this corner #16.
Keep left. Keep driving straight when going down hill. 2nd gear, 3rd
gear and then 4th before you encounter the first hump. Keep pushing.
Keep the car going straight. It's really exciting.
Full throttle through corner #17. Try not to hit the blue/white curb
on your right too hard otherwise you can't do the braking efficiently
before plunging into corner #18. Stay left, full throttle.
When reaching the last lamp post on your left, do the same thing again.
Hit the brakes, down shift to 3rd and then 2nd and make a right turn.
Just before you pass the apex, full throttle out through the corner. As
this part of the road is quite wide, you can accelerate a bit earlier.
Up to 3rd gear, stay right. Keep going till reaching the second last
pillar on your right, brake, 2nd gear and make a left and victorious
turn. Off throttle, coasting till you see the second blue/white
curb on your left. Full throttle out the corner
until you cross the finish
line. Remember to change gears!
Turn #19 is critical. It's a combination of two 90 degrees corners yet
you can treat them as one. However, if you use auto-shift mode, you'll
probably be down to first gear. Then you'll loose time like the Demo.
S-3
Track : Trail mountain Circuit
Corners : 15
Test Car : Mazda Eunos Roadster
HP : 119 ps
Mass : 940 kgs
Gearbox : Auto or Manual
It's a slow drive test like S-1. Both transmittion modes will do the
job. I started using manual mode from S-2 to S-8 and in all the races
I've done so far.
Like I said. Watch the Demo a few times before doing the test.
Turn into the first corner a little bit earlier than the Demo. Tread
on the apexes (red/white curbs) from corner 1 to 3.
You don't have to turn the wheel a lot to go through these corners.
And you'll find yourself more than a car's length ahead of the Demo
after getting out of corner #3.
Follow the racing line of the Demo from corner #4 to #13.
Get into corner #14 earlier then the Demo and finish the test.
The Demo went a bit too wide in #14 I guess.
When getting out of corner #5, the Demo passed me. He was more than
two cars length in front of me while getting out of corner #9.
It looked like that there wouldn't be any chance for me to get
pass him again. Fortunately he slided when
exiting corner #13 and lost
momentum. I just got pass him before corner #14.
This once again proves that stick-shift does have some advantage over
auto-shift when getting in and out of corners.
I admit I lost a bit of concentration in doing this S-3 test. Probably
I have had just won the gold cup in S-2 and I was thinking that there
wouldn't be any problem for me in the remaining tests, without
knowing that S-6 would be such a headache as S-2.
I was too excited.
Remember two things. Turn the steering wheel hinders acceleration.
Slide the car in corners looses momentum and speed.
S-4
Track : Midfield Raceway
Corners : 10
Test Car : Nissan Skyline GR JGTC
HP : 505 ps
Mass : 1100 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
S-4 is not difficult. In fact it's the easiest one among the four
high power racers in this Super license tests.
I'm not sure sometimes if the Demo is deliberately doing something
just for show or purposely slowing down the lap time in order to
make the test less difficult.
Anyway, don't forget to watch the Demo.
As usual, 3rd gear rolling start at the beginning.
Back to 3rd before getting into turn #1.
Up shift to 5th before turn #2 even if you feel that you haven't rev
the 4th to its maximum. Always listen to the tone of the engine.
After turn #3, stay left. As soon as you're under the second CDSB hit
the brakes, down shift to 3rd gear. Accelerate and turn right. Lean
to the right (red/white) curb by making use of the inclination of the
ground. As soon as you pass it, off throttle for a second then
full throttle again, 4th gear. Steer to the middle, full throttle.
Steer left, brake and back to 3rd again. Accelerate, then decelerate
for a moment, full throttle to exit turn #5.
Remember, in all kinds of bends, if deceleration is needed try to do
it once, just once otherwise you would loose time and speed.
Full throttle in 5th to get through turn 6 and 7. Steering movements
must be very quick in this S.
Keep right as much as possible. While you're just under the last
hairpin sign board, brake, shift down to 3rd and off the throttle.
Steer left. Pump the gas swiftly from time to time until you pass
the apex. Full throttle, steer right for a second at the same time.
Sense the direction of the car. Do the corrections if needed.
You've just finished the most difficult part of this test.
Full throttle, fast steering movements will do for the last two turns.
S-5
Track : S S Route 5 Wet
Corners : 14
Test Car : Toyota Corolla GT-Apex
HP : 129 ps
Mass : 925 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
This test is easy if you choose stick-shift mode. I won the gold
in the 4th try.
Watch Demo. Remember the racing line. Follow it through out the
test.
Stay in 4th gear through the first three corners. Decelerate once
in the 2nd one.
Stay in the middle of the road when getting out of turn 3. Brake,
down to 3rd gear when you are alongside with the last blue turning
sign board on your right. Make that left turn (corner #4) in
full power. I'm sure you'll be in deep
trouble if you don't equip your T car with
a manual gearbox on this wet road (see how clumsy
the Demo is when getting out of turn 4 in 2nd
gear).
You'll be in 3rd all the way until you're out from turn 7.
Up shift to 4th gear. Keep left. Turn right. Hit the
brakes slightly then sweep through turn 8
and 9 in 4th, unlike the demo using 3rd gear.
Brake and down shift to 2nd to turn into corner #10, which is a
hairpin. Press and off the throttle momentarily to avoid spinning.
Use 3rd and 4th gear for the latter part of test.
Remember the hairpin is the only place where you use 2nd gear in
this test otherwise 3rd and 4th gear are to be employed.
S-6
Track : Laguna Seca Raceway
Corners : 10
Test Car : Dodge Viper GTS-R
HP : 596 ps
Mass : 1150 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
As I mentioned before, this test cost me two days to finish.
My time is 1'16.731, only 4 thousandth of a second faster than the
Demo. When watching the replay, it's impossible to identify which
car crosses the finish line first. Wonderful?
Laguna is just as difficult as Seattle II and may be more. In
Seattle II, you have at least a few seconds to relax when going
up hill till turn 10, whereas you can't find nowhere you can ease
yourself for a second in Laguna.
Watch the demo as you usually do. Commence when you feel ready.
No use to be hurry.
Rolling start, 3rd gear, 4th gear, lean more to the right. Cross
the white line a bit. This may put yourself into a better angle
to enter corner #1.
Watch the sand area on your right and the red/white curb on your
left. Notice that you will be undergoing two 90 degrees corners.
We'll treat them as one like we did before in Seattle.
Brake while you are just alongside with the sand area on your right.
3rd gear (not 2nd), turn left, watch the first red/white curb
on your left, release brake, coast and watch
the second one. Accelerate before reaching it.
Remember? Decelerate once is the fastest way
to go through corners, if possible.
4th gear, turn a bit left. Keep left. Brake, 3rd gear and make a
very fast right turn before reaching the last CDSB on your left.
4th gear. After passing under the Dunlop Bridge, off throttle,
steer right. Full throttle, hit part of the apex with your right
wheels. Keep pushing, 4th gear (no 5th), stay right, watch
the CDSBs until you pass the last one, brake
immediately, down shift to 3rd and make a
left. Accelerate, watch the apex and tread on
the inner part of it. You might see that the
car has just slided a bit.
This is unavoidable. This corner #4 seems to be an easy one. If
you don't do everything properly you'll find yourself loose a lot
of ground. 4th gear, stay right, full throttle, turn the steering
wheel right twice briefly and quickly after you get pass under the
bridge. Keep steering right all the way through corner #5 when
you see the apex. Keep full power up the road. Keep left. Up shift
to 5th gear when 4th is done. Steer a bit to the right.
Hit the brakes hard before reaching the top of the hump. If you
are late, you might probably have to do the test all over
again. Keep on braking and down to 3rd for a
second or two. Make a sharp left turn under
braking. Tread on part of the red/white curb on
your left with the left front wheel. Steer right
and press the throttle hard immediately when
you are able to see the road clearly ahead of
you. At this moment you may find that the steering gets heavy and the
Demo hits this small S much better. Nevermind.
Keep right, full power, 3rd gear still. Turn left a bit earlier then
the Demo. Up shift to 4th gear, watch the inclination of the ground.
Off the throttle for a second then full power, treading part of the
apex on your left then out you're through corner #8.
Keep left immediately. Do a right turn in 3rd.
Keep right. Up shift to 4th then brake, down shift to 3rd before the
second last CDSB. Press the throttle quickly and momentarily to go
through the last corner. Keep the car in a straight line until you
cross the finish line.
S-7
Track : S S Route 11
Corners : 17
Test Car : TVR Griffith 500
HP : 345 ps
Mass : 1060 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
This test is rather simple. It allows you to make a few mistakes if
you choose to shift gears manually.
Do the standard procedure as planned. Again, try to follow the line
and the braking points of the Demo.
Three points you should remember in this test.
Use 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears only for the whole track. No 1st gear like
the Demo.
Use 3rd gear in corner #11 which is a long left hander under the fly-
over. Unbelievable?
When getting out of the last corner, up shift to 3rd a bit
earlier. No use to rev the 2nd gear to its
maximum before changing gears.
If you've done well in your previous tests, this one won't be a
problem at all.
S-8
Track : Cote D'Azur (Monaco)
Corners : 16
Test Car : Toyota GT-One
HP : 660 ps
Mass : 900 kgs
Gearbox : Manual
Frankly, I really don't know how to handle the GT-one with auto-shift.
Look at the power to weight ratio then you'll know the reason why.
Contrarily, using manual-shift mode may cut the level of difficulty of
this final test down almost to zero. My time is 1'29.783. Surely you
can do this even better.
It's rather simple, 3rd gear for all the corners except the hairpin
and the chicane, which is at the end of the straight after getting out
of the tunnel. That's all.
II. By the time I'm updating this article my game status looks like this -
Percentage of completion : 100%
Cr. acquired : 1,132,140,000
Total no. of wins : 342 / Total no. of races : 342 = 100%
S R : Gold 48
No. of vehicles owned : 91
Total milage travelled : 9175 km
Total price of vehicles owned : 4,730,456,000
XXXX no. acquired : 101
XXXX no. acquired : 471
Days : 233
Cr. : 1,038,801,250
The tips I'm going to give you based on you have won all the gold cups
and an owner of six cars. To the best of my memory, they should all be
rear wheel drive cars except the Subaru Impreza Prototype which is a 4-
wheel drive one, but some of the hints also apply to those who hold
licenses of all classes.
There are 3 types of leagues in GT Mode; Beginner, Amateur and
Profession and a total number of 65 different Races under these Leagues.
All Races are either Single or Series. A Single Race consists of 3
individual races and a Series Race consists of 4,5,7 or 10 races. After
winning either one of them you will receive a bonus car. Also, there
are 10 Rally Events and each Event consists of three individual races.
The last part of GT Mode is the Endurance Race which consists of 10
individual races. Bonus cars will also be given under both Events.
My suggestion is to take the qualified bonus cars you won in your tests
to paricipate all the appropriate races without doing any
modification until you can't win anymore.
Sell those cars that are not suitable in participating races under all
the Leagues so that you can save more Cr..
Anyhow, there are the cars you need to buy and modify plus some of
the bonus cars you are going to win in different
races, then you can
complete all the races in GT Mode.
They are :-
-Toyota Vitz RS 1.5
-Toyota Altezza RS 200
-M. Benz SLK 230 Kompressor
-Audi TT 1.8T Quattro
-Lotus Elise 190 (The bonus Elise 190 is unqualified)
-TVR Griffith 500
-VW New Beetle RSi
-Honda NSX tpye-R (Don't sell the NSX zero. You have to use it in
the Polyphony Digital Cup Race)
Chevrolet Camaro SS
Note : You have to be lucky to get a Formula (car) in either the Poly-
phony Digital Cup Championship Race or in one of the Endurance Races
otherwise there's no way you can win the last race of the Profession
League - the Formula GT Championship Race.
In respect to car modification, buy the most expensive part in each item
for the car which will have to take part in a race under the
Profession League and the other League in some cases.
Buy the first two sets (T2 & T3) of hard compound
racing tyres for all the Works (cars). You know
how to use them I'm sure. Do the weight reduction to the maximum.
Don't be mean. Pay and enjoy to the full. So you
realize now money can't buy
everything but without money you can't buy nothing. Anyway...
After a series of championship race, take the car to change oil in
GT Auto before taking it to race again. The "race-used"
oil cuts the engine power to a certain extent.
Tyre choice is equally important in the new game. In most of the major
events, tyre change is a must to the opponents but not to yourself.
Therefore, it is best to equip harder compound tyres so that you don't
have to pit for the whole race to save time. As long as you're within
12-15 seconds behind the leader, you'll sooner or later pass him and win
the race. Or in some cases you do the leading, slow yourself down to
reserve the tyres when you find you are around 10 seconds ahead.
Unlike real racing, the back-markers will never signal you through.
Beware of them.
Turbulence or slip-stream induced by the car ahead is obvious as in GT1.
It is benefical for you on straight roads but not in corners. To avoid
this untimely speed increase situation through corners, you've to either
brake earlier or change a slower line. That's why you find that
you can pull a bit further from the car behind
you after you do the corners.
I haven't written down what type of car you can get from which race.
You can take reference from other FAQ I'm sure. Anyway, three bonus
cars you'll receive from the Series Championship Races ; a Mit. FTO LM
Race Car, a Honda NSX JGTC, and a Nissan Skyline JGTC. The NSX is
the best handled car among the three. Use it for most of the major
championship races.
Also you'll receive a Mazda 787B bonus car by winning the Single
Race called "Like The Wind". Take this looks-
like-a-Group 7 car to race
the GT All Stars Championship Race. You'll find the 787B with only
5 forward gears a lot faster than the NSX JGTC and it's much easier
to win this race.
Use the bonus NSX Zero to paricipate the Polyphony Digital Cup Champ.
Races. Equip the car with the cheapest set of R tyres (T2). Start the
race right away. There's no need to qualify. It's an easy win.
As for the Endurance Races, if you want to save time, choose the Honda
NSX JGTC or the Mazda 787B to take part in all the Endurance Races except
the Trail Mountain Endurance 2 Hour and the Madza Roadster Endurance.
Rules have been set that except tyre changes, only standard cars
are eligible in these races.
It's best to use the Honda NSX Zero to take part in the former one and
the Mazda Roadster RS for the latter. You can equip them with the T2
tyres.
In respect to Rally Events, the Impreza Prototype Rally Car you won in
the R license test is the best choice. Or if you don't have one choose
one of the bonus rally cars you got would be okay. For quicker and easier
win, equip them with the 1st stage turbo-charger (388ps) which will just
be enough.
There's no definite rule which race or which league you should take part
first. It all depends on how much Cr. you have and the types of cars
you possess.
At last I got the Formula F090/S which has a V10 non turbo engine,3493cc,
producing 686ps/13000rpm and weighs only 540 kgs. Its a bonus car from
the first Endurance Race - the 300km Grand Vally Speedway Endurance.
After winning the Formula GT Championship Race, you'll receive another
two Formula cars, the F686/M. One for winning the race itself and one for
completing the whole GT Leagues I guess, since I don't read Japanese.
The F686/M is the fastest camparing all other Formulas. With the same
vehicle weight as the F090/S, it has a V6 turbo engine, 1494cc, produces
939ps/12000rpm. Also it's one of your opponents in the GT Formula Race.
That's why you'll find this Race the toughest.
With only 8 Endurance races left to complete the GT Mode, I decided
rather to finish the Arcade Mode first.
The fastest way to complete the 104 individual races, including levels
Easy, Normal and Hard, in the Single Race - Arcade Mode, choose Class
S. Use the Honda NSX (either Makes will do) and the Impreza Prototpye
Rally Car to finish them.
Your different level results can be reflected in the Goodies in terms of
Green, Blue and Red "balls" and/or from Area A to F, which in turn leads
to the final "Goal" revealing the Ending Movies A and B. Enjoy it. It's
quite......
Time Attack is fun and challenging. It's same as the license test. There
are 10 Trails. Try them. If you can beat the Demo by 1.8 secs or over
then you'll know you are a mature driver in video games.
The following are my best times in Time Attack. I might update them in
due course. Two of them are faster than Japanese record.
1. Midfield 1'20.605
2. Trail Mountain 1'44.248
3. Tokyo R246 1'56.821
4. Deep Forest 1'22.910
5. Laguna Seca 1'19.174
6. Apricot Hill 1'14.504
7. Grand Valley 1'45.220
8. Swiss Alps 1'20.764
9. Tahiti Maze 1'56.545
10. Complex String 4'45.466
III. GT 3 is the best car racing game I've ever played. Truly, I really
don't know how to describe it in a better way. All I can say is that
not only the texture looks so real and beautiful, the feels of driving,
the movements and the behavior of the cars jump a big step forward ahead
of its predecessors.
New elements have been added to the game itself. Just like real racing
cars, a certain amount of power increases after the running-in period
and drops after undergone several races. By then oil change has to be
made if power needs to be maintained for further races.
Red-hot brake discs can be seen when braking, especially in dusky events.
When racing itself is concerned, it is more strictly governed by
the real facts - the racing lines and the braking
points. I dare say that
if you don't improve your driving skill and technical know-how, you
might find it so difficult to win in some races. Furthermore, the
opponents are much stronger than ever. Unlike GT1 and GT2, power
doesn't mean everything. Too many horses may make
you loose a race in some cases.
Finally, the idea of randomly rewarding you a bonus car out of four after
winning some of the championship races is something that I don't feel
really like it. Therefore, if you missed the chances of getting
the Formula in the above mentiond races, you are in
no position to win the last race of the
Professional League - the Formula GT Championship
Race. But you'll get it somehow only that you've to
play more and win more.
[I finished the whole game 5 days ago. Two things I would like to point
out for you. All the Formulas are bonus cars from the Endurance Races.
You might probably won't get them in races under the Professional League.
Single Race and Time Attack in the Arcade Mode are also included in the
Percentage of Completion in the Gran Turismo Mode. Therefore, you have
to participate both of these meetings to make a completion of the game.]
IV. This article is under the protection of the Copyright Laws, U.S. 2001.
It is not allowed for person or persons or parties of any form to republish
it wholly or partially or to use it as means of profit-making without the
prior consent of the writer, Michael Chan.
