Beta question - Performance rating

[Limmin]

Hello,

Quick question about Beta. Each time I do a major inspection / parts replacement job on the car and when done, click the "test car" button, I see a performance rating letter grade.

I started at something like C, then after some work I saw D, then after even more work, E.

I hope the higher the letter the better the performance, else my car is somehow getting worse as I improve its condition LOL.

Thank you-

[luke11037]

A++ is the highest rating possible, your car is in fact getting worse after these major inspections. This could be because as you race them after fixing certain parts you neglected to change out other parts and they are simply wearing out. Check the log book on the car for any parts near or over the hour rating on them as you could have easily skipped over/missed these when doing the service

[Limmin]

Hmm. That's weird.

- My C rating was when I first got the car and fixed the brakes and suspension.
- It was rated D after doing about a 75% inspection of the engine and replacing several worn parts.
- I then raced it for exactly one hour.
- It was rated E after doing a 100% inspection of the engine and replacing most of the rest of the worn parts.

I doubt the one hour of use did much. I see a very tiny, incremental increase in wear condition of all the parts I inspected, and not one of the parts failed during the race.

Maybe the rating goes down as you learn the true condition of the vehicle...?


That said, the engine head is the final frontier for me, filled with an awful lot of old parts that haven't failed but need replacing, valves, valve seals, etc. These are likely the contributor to this low rating.

Meanwhile, along with this rating, I'm told there is a loud knocking coming from the bottom of the engine. I happen to know that there are no worn parts in the crankshaft system; I have 100% replaced all bearings down there. I suspect this diagnostic points to something outside the engine but I haven't found it yet.

[missingdigitgames]

The rating isn't impacted by inspections. Some parts are fairly sensitive to adding hours. Among them, tires will start to slowly lose grip as they age. The point at which the tire begins to lose grip is variable based on which tire you are using and that slow loss of grip is independent of failure. There are a few other parts which taper out performance before they fail. I believe I set up compression rings to do that as well.

If you want to car that performs well, keep your consumables fresh for each session (tires, pads, etc) and be proactive with your maintenance.

Also, if you build an unlimited class car, your rating will be based on the maximum possible prep for that class. If you have an under prepped car, your rating will reflect that.

[Limmin]

Ok, so I went down two performance grades, during which time I
- Replaced about 1/3 of the car's parts to 100% (new)
- Raced it for exactly one hour

Do I have to replace the entire car to 100% for each hour of driving to improve the rating? Or just the tires and brake pads?

Thanks!

[luke11037]

Originally posted by Limmin:

Ok, so I went down two performance grades, during which time I
- Replaced about 1/3 of the car's parts to 100% (new)
- Raced it for exactly one hour

Do I have to replace the entire car to 100% for each hour of driving to improve the rating? Or just the tires and brake pads?

Thanks!

Replace worn out parts/parts which are near the hour rating

[Limmin]

OK. I guess it's time to fix the engine head and its many questionable parts.

Meanwhile...the game keeps saying there's a loud knocking from the bottom of the engine. All the parts there are new (all new bearings, pistons, rings), and the suspension is in very good shape. Put in a new throwout bearing and harmonic balancer too, but no change in this message.

I'll soon find out if fixing the "top" of the engine makes this message go away.

[luke11037]

Originally posted by Limmin:

OK. I guess it's time to fix the engine head and its many questionable parts.

Meanwhile...the game keeps saying there's a loud knocking from the bottom of the engine. All the parts there are new (all new bearings, pistons, rings), and the suspension is in very good shape. Put in a new throwout bearing and harmonic balancer too, but no change in this message.

I'll soon find out if fixing the "top" of the engine makes this message go away.

Do try refreshing the head but have you checked every bearing and piston to make sure they are performing good?

[missingdigitgames]

Loud knocking coming from the bottom of the engine isn't going to be a cylinder head part. I'm going to guess you forgot a part, either it is worn out or just missing. Likely one or two thrust bearings.

[Limmin]

I put in brand new thrust bearings x2, and brand new crankshaft bearings x10, brand new rod bearings x8. I think you can imagine my confusion.

I'll check again once more, but I have had this same message regardless of the work I do. Maybe I'll discover that in fact there is a part missing, please stand by.

[luke11037]

Originally posted by Limmin:

I put in brand new thrust bearings x2, and brand new crankshaft bearings x10, brand new rod bearings x8. I think you can imagine my confusion.

I'll check again once more, but I have had this same message regardless of the work I do. Maybe I'll discover that in fact there is a part missing, please stand by.

check the everything related to the pistons and the crank

[Limmin]

OK, so I went and tore the engine down again.

- All bearings present and new.
- I reassembled the bottom end in the order specified by the manual.
- I replaced the worn valve seals in the top end, and reassembled in the proper order.

The average wear level of top end parts is 30%, +/- 5%. Nothing is over 40% wear.
The bottom end, including all bearings, crankshaft, pistons, rings and rods are all either new or have wear ratings no more than 20%.

The engine is overall in very good shape. However, I reassembled the car fully and "tested" it, and once again:

- Performance Rating D
- Message "There is a loud knocking sound coming from the bottom of the engine." This message has been here since the beginning and refuses to go away.

I've been through this with a fine tooth comb three times now.

Maybe there's a missing part that I do not have, so I don't know that it's missing. However, I followed the instructions, and did not skip any steps. I never have any parts left over after a build, and I double check every part, bolt and nut carefully when assembling.

I wonder if there's a bug? Could a dev please check through a savegame for me, and tell me what's going on?

Thank!

[luke11037]

Originally posted by Limmin:

OK, so I went and tore the engine down again.

- All bearings present and new.
- I reassembled the bottom end in the order specified by the manual.
- I replaced the worn valve seals in the top end, and reassembled in the proper order.

The average wear level of top end parts is 30%, +/- 5%. Nothing is over 40% wear.
The bottom end, including all bearings, crankshaft, pistons, rings and rods are all either new or have wear ratings no more than 20%.

The engine is overall in very good shape. However, I reassembled the car fully and "tested" it, and once again:

- Performance Rating D
- Message "There is a loud knocking sound coming from the bottom of the engine." This message has been here since the beginning and refuses to go away.

I've been through this with a fine tooth comb three times now.

Maybe there's a missing part that I do not have, so I don't know that it's missing. However, I followed the instructions, and did not skip any steps. I never have any parts left over after a build, and I double check every part, bolt and nut carefully when assembling.

I wonder if there's a bug? Could a dev please check through a savegame for me, and tell me what's going on?

Thank!

put your save game up here as i want to check it through as well

[Limmin]

Thanks. Let me know if this link works.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1PTkxjVgTuW1gBnss7zJY1zSsUs9r4RIC

[missingdigitgames]

You are missing wrist pin clips on one side of all 4 pistons.

[Limmin]

That was fast. Thanks, good to know! And I'm glad it isn't a bug.

It was as I suspected, a missing item that was missing from the start, so I did not know it was supposed to be there. These clips don't wear, do they? So I wouldn't see them in the list of part condition. I was focusing on those.

Possible solution: Is there a master build list of all items required for a full build of the vehicle, somewhere in the documentation? Planned or current?

Suggestion: Please don't have 4 symmetrical, non-wear type parts missing from deep inside the engine. If it's just one part missing out of several similar types, you would find it. If it's a part that wears, you would find it. But this was...very subtle, and a bit diabolical. And would this condition occur in real life? Hmm...

Again, many thanks for checking. :)