GT4 vs. Real Life - Game cars and real cars tested on Laguna Seca

[Ming]

GT4 vs. Real Life - Edmunds.com and Ford/SVT Sponsored Test
How realistic is GT4? We head to Laguna Seca to find out.
by Justin Kaehler
cars.ign.com
http://cars.ign.com

Everyone and their mom likes to talk about how "realistic" Gran Turismo is. Every time we hear the words Gran Turismo mentioned in any conversation, the words "realistic handling" and "photorealistic graphics" usually follow. We'll admit that we're guilty of hyping up the realism of the game, too. After all, Gran Turismo sure as hell seems a lot more realistic than any other racing game, so it really is the ultimate driving simulator, right?

We wanted to find out just how realistic Gran Turismo really is. We thought it would be a cool idea to take some cars, abuse them in the game, abuse the car in real life and then write about it. However, we weren't sure if we could pull such a feat off, as well... all we're really good at is watching JDM Option DVDs and ogling race queens. Luckily, our friends at Edmunds.com and Ford/SVT had similar thoughts of doing a GT4 vs. real-world comparison. And much to our surprise, both companies thought it would be cool to get IGN in on the action. Yeah, we couldn't believe it, either.

To ensure a fair comparison between the game and real-life, a track that exists both in GT and in the real world had to be used. As we all live in California, it was decided that this little shindig should be held Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Laguna Seca is a real track, and it's in GT -- it's perfect. Besides, no one wanted to pony up the cash to fly everyone to Germany to do this test on the Nurburgring. Dammit. Oh well, hopefully we can do a follow up test in Deutschland when GT5 hits. At any rate, Laguna Seca is one of our favorite tracks in Gran Turismo, so we were looking forward to racing it in real life.

In addition to holding this event at a world-class race track, we were going to get to drive some of our all-time favorite cars. Some of the cars we'd be driving include the Dodge Neon SRT-4, Mazda RX-8 and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 RS. If you read our reviews on those rides, you'd remember that we loved driving these cars on the street, and now we get to run them at full-throttle -- and not get in trouble with the law! It's times like these when we really realize how much we love our jobs.

Of course, with SVT and Ford on hand to help organize things, the Blue Oval brought out some of its finest machinery, too. Naturally Ford brought out its Mustang GT coupe. The last time we got to drive a Mustang, the conditions were wet and slippery so we couldn't really see what the car would do. Needless to say, we were eager to unleash all 300 ponies on the track.



As if those four cars couldn't satisfy our need for speed, Ford actually brought out its GT. Yes, that GT; as in the Ford supercar based on the old GT40. More importantly, we were going to get to drive it -- as fast as we want.

Anyhow, the experiment was set up to see who the better driver is in real life, and who the better driver is in Gran Turismo. Would it be the hard-core gamer (represented by IGN)? Would it be the real Auto Journalist (represented by Edmunds head-honcho Karl Brauer)? Or would it be the actual race driver (Champ Car Series driver AJ Allmendinger)?

As this was the first time any of us had set foot at Laguna Seca, Ford had us run a hot lap on the track with Ford Racing Product Manager Andy Slankard. Andy was behind the wheel of the RX-8, and he was just casually chatting away while he proceeded to show us the track.

This run in the RX8 before the "experiment" began proved that Laguna Seca is a scary track. It is a lot more narrow/claustrophobic feeling than it is in the game. The blind crests (one on the straight and one before the Corkscrew) add a severe fear factor, too. The real track has a lot of elevation changes which can't be felt in the game (duh). It's a lot different to feel the car get light (while in the passenger seat) in a real corner. It's impossible to feel the car's weight change in the game -- for obvious reasons. We were told to keep our foot planted right after the Corkscrew, for if we let off the gas, the car would want to spin. With all of these elevation changes, we thought for sure that we would spin or crash one of these cars in one of these corners for real.

Article Source: http://cars.ign.com/articles/652/652233p1.html

Part II - Dodge SRT-4: http://cars.ign.com/articles/652/652257p1.html

RX-8 Teaser: http://cars.ign.com/teasers/652/652458.html

[Mvortec24]

Isn't this a couple of months old?

[Ming]

Originally Posted by Mvortec24

Isn't this a couple of months old?

I think you are referring to the Motor Trend (?) one they did a while back.

[GotAWD]

i have an Xbox and before forza motorsports came out i was jealous of Sony people had a cool racing sim to play. since ive been playing forza online people keep telling me the same thing. as good as GT4 looks, the physics of Forza is just way better.

popular scince did the same tests between reality and the game only at road atlanta instead.

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/automot...cbccdrcrd.html

[Dead Dude]

Great. A multipart story.

As mentioned already, Popular Science did this same thing - only at Road Atlanta. Not only was it at Road Atlanta, but they had an American Le Mans series driver and an amatuer driver/game journalist drive the cars. The only caveat I'd say is that Popular Science had a top of the line wheel and pedal rig which most people don't.

[jwrebholz]

These comparisons are invalid for a couple of reasons, the main one being fear.

Personally, when I'm driving in GT4, I drive like I've got nothing to lose. I fly around corners at high speed, brake as late as possible without plowing into the wall, use the ENTIRE track (that includes the lawn...stop laughing dammit), and generally push the car to its absolute limits and beyond.

In real life, I hold back. Why? Because I DON'T WANT TO DIE. If I plow into the wall at AngstKurve on the Nurburgring in GT4, no big deal, I usually just keep right on going, with no harm done. If I did that in real life the car would be totaled, and likely so would I (because in most cases I'm doing over 140 MPH through there). Basically there's no consequences if I screw up in Gran Turismo. The only real problem is that it occasionally gets frustrating when you get a hard to control car (like the Lancia Stratos) and wind up pinballing down the technical section between Adenaur-Forst and Bergwerk.

There's also the matter of inertia. Even with a good force-feedback wheel, you don't get all the tactile sensations you get when you're really driving. You can't feel the G-forces against your chest when you put the hammer down, you can't feel the car leaning in hard turns, you can't feel the tires slowly (or quickly) losing adhesion, you can't feel the brakes locking up. Unless your copy of GT4 is hooked up to a multi-axis simulator, you won't get those important sensations that tell you how the car is reacting.

[casket_demon]

GT4 is way over ratef,what the difference between GT3 and 4???,besides cleaner graphics and more tracks??.....4 more American cars??......The game is way over rated.

[Blue_Firestarter]

Does anyone actually care what IGN has to say about cars? Before I read the article I expected some STUPID comment about some dumb "JDM" car (Who cares the Z06 owns Japan). GT4 is far from real (the cars drive horrible!) and IGN is far from being a credible source of information/reviews on automobiles. Next...

[jwrebholz]

IGN isn't a credible source on anything. Their game reviews seem wholly dependent on how much ad revenue a company generates. They're a bunch of no-talent hacks trying horribly to sound "cool" and "with it".

And for the record, I LIKE Gran Turismo 4. I know it's not perfect. I do think it's enjoyable though, despite its problems. (Can we get some opponents that will actually show aggression instead of passively driving around as if they're the only one on the course?)

[Dead Dude]

Originally Posted by jwrebholz

These comparisons are invalid for a couple of reasons, the main one being fear.

Personally, when I'm driving in GT4, I drive like I've got nothing to lose. I fly around corners at high speed, brake as late as possible without plowing into the wall, use the ENTIRE track (that includes the lawn...stop laughing dammit), and generally push the car to its absolute limits and beyond.

In real life, I hold back. Why? Because I DON'T WANT TO DIE. If I plow into the wall at AngstKurve on the Nurburgring in GT4, no big deal, I usually just keep right on going, with no harm done. If I did that in real life the car would be totaled, and likely so would I (because in most cases I'm doing over 140 MPH through there). Basically there's no consequences if I screw up in Gran Turismo. The only real problem is that it occasionally gets frustrating when you get a hard to control car (like the Lancia Stratos) and wind up pinballing down the technical section between Adenaur-Forst and Bergwerk.

There's also the matter of inertia. Even with a good force-feedback wheel, you don't get all the tactile sensations you get when you're really driving. You can't feel the G-forces against your chest when you put the hammer down, you can't feel the car leaning in hard turns, you can't feel the tires slowly (or quickly) losing adhesion, you can't feel the brakes locking up. Unless your copy of GT4 is hooked up to a multi-axis simulator, you won't get those important sensations that tell you how the car is reacting.

I think this is why Forza is the better game, and why the Popular Science comparision is much more valid - they had real drivers. If the physics is good enough, you really can get a feel for the car and the track - especially if you go back and watch a replay with physics information shown.

Of course, staying on the track is always faster, and Forza has the bonus of hitting things causing actual damage to the vehicle.

[Erunion]

GT4 drives like crap.

Take either Project Gotham for a spin.

[GotAWD]

Originally Posted by Erunion

GT4 drives like crap.

Take either Project Gotham for a spin.

trade in gotham for forza dude. forza is much better.

[GotAWD]

playing forza on xbox live ive heard many people say forza is much better than GT4.