Based on: Lexus LFA ‘10This is a car I was and am very excited about out here in the real world. Normally I don't follow much in the way of concept cars or supercars at all but I found myself intrigued by this one for some reason. Every so often during development I would go dig up some dirt on it, maybe scour for some new pictures. When they finally let it loose on the world I was quite happy to see it after so many other similar projects had been dumped in the same time frame. When it came to GT5 however, it was one of those cars I never really bothered to buy. Then I saw the RKM tune and put it on my list.
Obtained: Brand new from Lexus
Drivetrain: FR
Horsepower: 542 BHP (@ 77.6 miles)
Torque:---- 48 kgfm
Weight:---- 1234 kg
PP:-------- 554
PARTS
GT Auto
BBS RE-MG Wheels
Tuning Shop
Chassis Weight Reduction Stage 3
Rigidity Improvement
Window Weight Reduction
Fully Customisable Transmission
Twin Plate Clutch
Semi Racing Flywheel
Carbon Propeller Shaft
Fully Customisable LSD
Fully Customisable Suspension Kit
Sports Soft Tyres
SETUP
Body/Chassis
Ballast
Amount:-- 0
Position: 0
Engine
Power Limiter
Power Level: 100.0%
Transmission
Transmission
(Set Max Speed, then each individual ratio.)
1st:-- 3.672
2nd:-- 2.458
3rd:-- 1.853
4th:-- 1.461
5th:-- 1.211
6th:-- 1.058
Final: 3.150
Max Speed: 230 MPH
Drivetrain
Differential
Initial: 0/15
Accel:-- 0/30
Braking: 0/5
Suspension
Suspension
Ride Height: -20/-20
Spring Rate: 9.0/12.4
Extension:-- 6/6
Compression: 5/5
Anti-Roll:-- 4/4
Camber:----- 1.8/1.7
Toe:-------- –0.16/-0.29
Brakes
Brake Balance Controller
Brake Balance: 6/7
Intended Driving Options
Transmission: Manual (MT)
ABS: 1
Everything else: OFF
Tuner Comments:
The LFA is a pretty exclusive car. There are only 500 in the world. So we got one and gave it the RKM treatment. What? There are still 499 left, don’t give us that evil stare. When we first test drove the LFA, the engine scared the crap out of us. So badly infact that we’ve left it stock. However we did strip it of over 200kg and improved on the already great handling. You’ll need to treat this one like a fine woman. Carefully and elegantly. If you mistreat this LFA, it’ll discard you without a second thought. If you treat it well, it’ll reward you in large amounts. Throttle control and smooth steering is a must to get the best out of this LFA GT.
Bone stock I can sum up this car in a single word: ARGH! My green machine and I did not get along at all to say the least. I could probably have given myself a concussion beating my head against the wall trying to coax the big, bad Lexus around a turn. At speed you're OK...probably. Take it over a bump or put an inch of tire off the track and you'll be tankslapping until you find a wall, or two or three. Getting on the brakes was even more tense than in the parts modded Mach 1. At least in a muscle car you come to expect this kind of terrible control. Not so much for a super expensive, street legal race machine, which is essentially what this car boils down to. I found myself driving it like so many stupidly overpowered machines and waiting until after I was out of the corner completely before trying to accelerate. Perhaps I just lack the skill to tame this beast. the 2'10.162" lap time felt OK but not where I would have expected the car to be.
Parts on it gets better but still tough. Dumping the weight has helped the braking considerably but it still likes to show a little bit of tail coming off the considerable speed into the first hairpin. I still found myself in plenty of walls after hopping the rumbles as I normally do on this course. The car feels about the same just a little less angry at me, the tires, the walls, the air... For no power mods the time of 2'01.238" shows just how much getting the chassis sorted out can improve a car.
The tune definitely gives it a better feel. Braking again improves becoming much more stable, especially into the first hairpin. The suspension seems to have at least a little more give over the rumbles and curbs, at least enough that I wasn't always into the wall afterward. Driving this beast is easier, but just. I ended up with a fast lap of 2'00.331" which is quite a bit slower than I had anticipated coming into the testing on this beauty.
Overall I am disappointed. Not with the tune necessarily but more the car in general. I believe that Roj has done a great job given the limitations of the options for this car, specifically referencing lack of aero, but I feel like this should have handled much better off the lot than it did. My high expectations have left me feeling at a loss on this one. The predominant theme with this car is, as Roj says in his notes, elegance. This car must, must be treated with care and precision. Treat it otherwise and you will be off for a chassis repair after just a couple laps, assuming you can stand to finish that many. This fine lady and I will need to spend some more time working on that before I can really have a solid opinion. My hope is that I can get to a point where I am happy with the car again and can have some fun rather than grind my teeth through the laps.
Lap Times
Grand Valley Speedway: 2'00.331"
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