Le Mans 24 Hours: Engine Settings Guide

LE MANS 24 HOURS: ENGINE SETTINGS GUIDE

by

Wolf Feather/Jamie Stafford
FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM


Initial Version Completed: April 26, 2003
Version 1.0 Completed:     April 26, 2003

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CONTENTS
Spacing and Length
Permissions
Introduction
Testing Process
Test Results
Contact

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SPACING AND LENGTH
For optimum readability, this driving guide should be
viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier.
Check for appropriate font setting by making sure the numbers
and letters below line up:

1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

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PERMISSIONS
This guide may ONLY be posted on FeatherGuides, GameFAQs.com,
PSXCodez.com, F1Gamers, Cheatcc.com, Absolute-
PlayStation.com, InsidePS2Games.com, RedCoupe, gamesover.com,
CheatPlanet.com, ComputerUnderground.com, The Cheat Empire,
Infogrames Australia, a2zweblinks.com, Gameguru,
GameReactors.com, RobsGaming.com, cheatingplanet.com,
CheatHeaven, IGN, vgstrategies.com, hellzgate, Games Domain,
ps2fantasy.com, and neoseeker.com.

Permission is granted to download and print one copy of this
game guide for personal use.

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INTRODUCTION
This guide is the result of a personal inquiry.  Despite
having played this game since its release, I suddenly
wondered one day (while at work, admittedly) just how the
engine settings affect vehicle performance in Le Mans 24
Hours.  Of course, with more than seventy vehicles available
in the game once they have all been unlocked, testing ALL
vehicles with all the engine settings is possible, but
extremely time-consuming.

What is presented here is the testing criteria and the
results.  Without being able to test the real-world versions
of the vehicles' engines, the results are reflected here in
terms of lap times.  Perhaps not surprisingly, using the
Endurance engine setting produces the 'slowest' possible lap
times, whereas the Sprint engine setting allows for the
fastest possible lap times.  However, this is likely not
noticeable to most players except when conducting tests such
as this.  

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TESTING PROCESS
Le Mans 24 Hours allows three settings for the engine:
Sprint, Balance, and Endurance.  Sprint is intended for use
in short races, Endurance in the extremely long races, and
Balance as the 'happy medium' setting.

The tests were all conducted at the full Road Atlanta circuit
(the same circuit used for the Petit Le Mans) in Time Trial
Mode, for twenty-five hotlaps in dry conditions.  Each
vehicle tested used the following settings, so that the only
changing variable for each test was the engine setting:

   Handling:       Intermediate
   Downforce:      Low
   Fuel:           100%
   Gearbox:        Auto
   Tires:          Soft
   Gear Ratio:     Top Speed

This set-up was selected because of the numerous lengthy
full-acceleration areas at Road Atlanta (even the initial S-
curves truly need to be handled at full acceleration), the
desire for maximum pavement grip from the tires, and the
desire for all vehicles within the same class to shift gears
as close to identically as possible.

Recognizing that the only real test of engine settings in the
game comes from the overall lap times, the fastest lap time
for each vehicle at each engine setting is listed in the Test
Results section of this guide.  The lack of other vehicles on
the circuit also ensures that the best possible lap times can
be achieved with each vehicle.
                   
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TEST RESULTS
These are the test results, broken down by vehicle class.

GT Class Vehicle                      Setting     Best Time
------------------------------------  ---------   ----------
Roock Racing GT2 (#65)                Endurance   1:16.643
                                      Balance     1:15.202
                                      Sprint      1:14.682*

Open Prototype Class Vehicle          Setting     Best Time
------------------------------------  ---------   ----------
Kremer Racing LMP (#20)               Endurance   1:10.288
                                      Balance     1:09.555
                                      Sprint      1:08.900**

Closed Prototype Class Vehicle        Setting     Best Time
------------------------------------  ---------   ----------
GTC Competition LMGTP (#40)           Endurance   1:08.533**
                                      Balance     1:07.395**
                                      Sprint      1:06.399**

*  Time fast enough to break the default GT Class lap record
   (of 1:15.000) for Road Atlanta.

** Time fast enough to best the Goal Time (of 1:09.000) for
   Road Atlanta in Time Trial Mode, granting access to the
   Joest Racing LMP (#27, Open Prototype Class).

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CONTACT
For rants, raves, etc., contact me at FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM;
also, if you have enjoyed this guide and feel that it has
been helpful to you, I would certainly appreciate a small
donation via PayPal (http://www.paypal.com/) using the above
e-mail address.  

To find the latest version of this and all my other
PSX/PS2/DC/Mac game guides, visit FeatherGuides at
http://feathersites.angelcities.com/

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