Speed!

So for no particular reason, I started to wonder about the average speeds on the different tracks. Obviously the results we see are all based on time, but I got curious what they would be converted to speed, in MPH. Since we know the distance of each track, I was able to calculate the average speed (MPH) for each, based on the global top lap times. Below are the results, sorted from fastest to slowest average speed. Note, of course, that the accuracy of these speeds is dependent on the precision of the distance measurement. But, since this is all in fun, Im figuring close enough for Torn.

	Global Best Lap Times
Track	Distance (m)	Time (s)	Avg. Speed
Speedway	0.9	26.42	122.63
Uptown	2.25	71.9	112.66
Withdrawal	3.4	112.26	109.03
Mudpit	1.06	35.5	107.49
Stone Park	2.08	71.76	104.35
Convict	1.64	59.48	99.26
Two Islands	2.71	99.43	98.12
Docks	3.81	160.78	85.31
Parkland	3.43	150.1	82.27
Commerce	1.09	49.5	79.27
Meltdown	1.2	56.69	76.20
Hammerhead	1.16	55.04	75.87
Underdog	1.73	85.14	73.15
Vector	1.16	60.33	69.22
Industrial	1.35	76.99	63.13
Sewage	1.5	93.51	57.75

Now this got me thinking a bit more about comparisons to real life. Obviously these tracks dont have any real-life analogs. Except for Speedway. An oval is an oval, whether digital or not. So I checked the distances of NASCAR tracks and the closest comparison, also an oval, is Dover. Again this wont be a perfect comparison the distances are off by 10%, and who knows what the banking is at Speedway. But for fun, heres the comparison of where we stand against the track record at Dover:

	Global Best
Track	Distance (m)	Time (s)	Avg. Speed	Car
Speedway	0.9	26.42	122.63	Veyron
Dover	1.0	21.89	164.44	NASCAR

Of course, at Dover, theyre running purpose built race cars while were modifying street cars. But still kind of fun to compare. Also note that the Dover record was a qualifying lap. The record for average speed for a full race is 132.72 mph much closer to our 122.53 mph pace. However, since we dont have pit stops (at least not on purpose), I figured the qualifying lap was a better comparison.

Cheers,

You have too much time on your hands lol

That said, except for mudpit, at least the order of tracks seems to make sense.

have you met your match rogue

It's amazing what you can get done on a 3 hour conference call . . . . .



;)

My only beef with the racing is the variance in lap times.  I have had some of those Speedway laps around the 122 mph range, followed by a lap of 33 seconds.  Meaning I slowed to 98 mph or thereabouts.  That is huge and solely attributable to DS.  I wouldn't mind so much, but 20% of lap speed does seem pretty steep.   Guessing that slowly starts winnowing down, just not seeing being able to maintain a 20% faster lap simply because you have run the same course 1000 times instead of just 100 times.

Go in circle.  Go in circle again.  Go in circle again.  Learn very slowly that you are going in the same circle over and over.  VERY slowly.

I agree with you, the variation seems wildly out of proportion.  In fact, it got me curious - so occasionally when I’m on a long conference call at work, I’ll set up 100-lap races and try to record as many lap times as I can.  I then figure out the average lap time, the fastest and the slowest to get a sense for what the ranges are.  I’ve only done a couple but here’s what I found (for races with 50 or more laps recorded):

Uptown:  From 8.8% faster than the average lap time to 7.2% slower, for a total range of 16% between fastest and slowest.

Commerce:  From 10.0% faster than the average lap time to 9.7% slower, for a total range of 19.7% between fastest and slowest.

Speedway:  From 10.0% faster than the average lap time to 15.8% slower, for a total range of 25.8% between fastest and slowest.

Note that the above was all collected with essentially the same driver skill.  It might be interesting to try again with a noticeably different DS to see if the distribution narrows or not.

Not sure if you noticed yesterday Kiber, but we were in an Industrial race together.  I led the first two laps.  You were in 6th at the end of both.  In fact, I had an 11 second lead on you based on lap times.

I ended up in 3rd, you won the race, beating me by 14 seconds.  Meaning you outran me by an average of 2.5  seconds per lap for the final 10.  This after I had outrun you by an average 5.5 seconds the first two.

If these were straight line or even circular tracks where braking didn't come in much, I could understand better that one car might have great acceleration while another had the speed just took longer to get to the top and pass the quicker car.  But, perhaps especially on Industrial that does not hold true.   With the braking needed and the average times of the top times being only 63 mph I just do not see huge differences in lap times being possible.  Did I drive some at 60 and others at 45?  Does that mean I got out and pushed the car at the more severe places?  Or, was I hitting 220 in the straighter areas?

Oh well.  Nothing will change in the foreseeable future so just going to enjoy what there is as long as I can laugh at the vagaries.