A new Stunts car: SPEEDGATE XSD

[Mark L. Rivers]

I?m glad to inform all Stunts drivers about the creation of a new Stunts car: SPEEDGATE XSD


TECHNICAL FEATURES

Top Speed: 245 mph
Powergear: No
0-60 mph: 3,9 sec
Transmission: 5 gears (Auto or Manual)
Max Speed for gear: I = 95 mph - II = 132 mph - III = 182 mph - IV = 219 mph - V = 245 mph


TEST DRIVE

Overview. As technical features show, Speedgate XSD is, for acceleration and maximum speed, a very fast car, decidedly more than Porsche 962 and only a bit less than Porsche March Indy. Not having Powergear, the new car permits to drive, in the complete sense of the term, at very high speed (until 245 mph availing the jumps), making you able to drive some known tracts (small and large curves, fast chicane, up/down corkscrew) with an unconventional speed, higher than normal, but not too much so to appear unreal.

Handling. Speedgate XSD is very manageable, above all at low speed, thanks to a good grip. Increasing the speed, the car replies quite good at steering inputs but at high speed (over 200 mph) it?s obviously not very easy to feel when the grip limit is reached so to correct in time (above all in NORH races) eventual guide errors.

Brakes. Powered, very suitable to manage high speed.

Engine. The trend of the torque is more similar to a real car than other Stunts cars, so drivers will have to test it accurately to know the best moment to shift to a higher gear instead to wait the red zone of their speedometer?

Bugs. No bugs known at the moment. Please tell me if you find anyone.

Fun, emotions and the taste to discover the limits of this new unexplored creature complete the guide impressions. Above all NORH drivers will find it very exciting to drive.


AVAILABILITY

Speedgate XSD is already available at SDR Download page (http://digilander.libero.it/stunts.SDR/index_SDR.htm). You can enjoy free testing it before you will have to make a real hard test: an official race. When will it be? Next SDR race, obviously?
Futile to say, SPEEDGATE XSD is from now patrimony of Stunts community and everyone (sure contest managers) can use it like every other car.

[Duplode]

Just tested it! Using the Melange as an arbitrary (...) reference, the Speedgate is obviously faster and has near-perfect handling, but the Melange somehow feels lighter and more responsive. Mind vs. heart situation, I reckon... but anyway, great car: the highlight is that the driving experience feels surpisingly realistic (would someone think of using this word to Stunts? ).

PS.: Mark, you understimated a lot the acceleration of your car. Just put it into a drag race vs. my ZR1 GTC .

[Chulk]

After first quick test, I got the same feeling Duplode got. Let's see how a race with this car results.

[Duplode]

PS2.: I found the ideal term to describe the driving experience with Speedgate: ground effect. One can almost feel the downforce sucking the car to the ground  .

[Krys TOFF]

I did some tests too and I aggree : nice car. Much easier to drive than Duplode's new car, but both are interesting.

[Duplode]

Three questions to Mark about his creation and its Wiki article:

1. It is a fact that the official data about Speedgate understimates its acceleration (0-60) by a factor of about 50%.. I've added the acceleration I measured to the infobox, but haven't overwritten your text yet - is it fine to do it, or you intend to surprise people when they get to test the car?

2. What kind of stunt is needed to get Speedgate to 245mph? I've raced a pretty fast track with lots of jumps and only reached, with quite a bit of effort, 227mph...

3. If you could choose a default colour for Speedgate other than P962's blue from the available ones, which would you pick?

[Mark L. Rivers]

Three questions to Mark about his creation and its Wiki article:

1. It is a fact that the official data about Speedgate understimates its acceleration (0-60) by a factor of about 50%.. I've added the acceleration I measured to the infobox, but haven't overwritten your text yet - is it fine to do it, or you intend to surprise people when they get to test the car?

2. What kind of stunt is needed to get Speedgate to 245mph? I've raced a pretty fast track with lots of jumps and only reached, with quite a bit of effort, 227mph...

3. If you could choose a default colour for Speedgate other than P962's blue from the available ones, which would you pick?

1. Of course overwrite my comments! Speedgate XSD acceleration will surprise anyway every driver will try it... 

2. Check the replay (after loading the track) made just now and see with your eyes... 

3. What a question...! Black, sure! 

[Duplode]

Thanks for the input Mark!

1. and 3.: Done...

2.: Pretty nice! One funny thing to be noticed is that, at very high speeds (above ~210mph), Speedgate sometimes loses a bit of speed when landing from a bump, in a Countach-ish way (obviously and thankfully, the effect is much milder, though...). That caused me trouble during the speed runs.

[Mark L. Rivers]

Well, after the introduction of Stressed, Speedgate XSD is finding its natural shape... 

[Duplode]

Very imposing... Just two comments on the dashboard:

• 1. I feel the visual impact of the windshield stripe would be larger if it had written in it simply "GATE - XSD" instead of the full name.
• 2. Do you plan to tune the rev-meter to match the unique torque characteristics of Speedgate, that is, the high torque zone with power peak at about 7500-8000rpm followed by a long low-torque tail extendng ro the redline? Perhaps you might define a "greenline" in adddition to the usual redline (in case you desire to give drivers tips on the torque curve shape, that is).

[zaqrack]

nice job! The shape reminds me a bit on the Ferrari F40, which is not bad of course

[Chulk]

nice job! The shape reminds me a bit on the Ferrari F40, which is not bad of course

I had the same feeling. One of my favourite Ferrari, but in yellow, of course!

[Mark L. Rivers]

Very imposing...

Thanks! 

1. I feel the visual impact of the windshield stripe would be larger if it had written in it simply "GATE - XSD" instead of the full name.

You're right... I'll evaluate about a reduction... even if the highest part of the windshield continues to be quite tight respect the lowest one...

2. Do you plan to tune the rev-meter to match the unique torque characteristics of Speedgate, that is, the high torque zone with power peak at about 7500-8000rpm followed by a long low-torque tail extendng ro the redline? Perhaps you might define a "greenline" in adddition to the usual redline (in case you desire to give drivers tips on the torque curve shape, that is).

I wanted to make a white background with a black needle, but nobody already knows the way to change the colour of the needle... About a "greenline" as tip, well... Speedgate XSD is still quite undiscovered from a large part of drivers and its "unique torque" could be a nice characteristic that drivers will have to detect researching the best performance... 

nice job! The shape reminds me a bit on the Ferrari F40, which is not bad of course

Thanks! 

[Krys TOFF]

nice job! The shape reminds me a bit on the Ferrari F40, which is not bad of course

I had the same feeling. One of my favourite Ferrari, but in yellow, of course!

A good ferrari should always be yellow, not red.
I think Ferrari uses only 3 colors : red (80% of the cars), yellow (10%) and black (10%).

[CTG]

Have you ever noticed that Stressed is unable to open Speedgate's RES file? (no problem, I read out the data from "Edit / Hex view"  )