I wasn't sure whether to put this here, or in the Gaming Discussion forum, but here goes:
I thought it would be helpful for a lot of GT5 players if we had a topic for all info on the X Challenge. It far and away the most difficult set of challenges in the game (for me, at least). I thought it might be possible for some of the people who have bronzed/silvered/golded the various challenges to give some tips and advice to people looking for it. Also, information like sector times and lap times, as well as car setup, would probably be really helpful as well.
I've just gotten the bronze trophy on Monza myself (2:09.6xx, I believe it was), but my fastest time on Nurburgring is 2:17.082 (just set that now), which is 2.582 seconds too slow. Suzuka, I can barely finish the first sector, I hate the climb at the beginning of the circuit.
I know I'd definitely find it useful if some of the more experienced players could give me some advice, and hopefully there are others who could also find some help here.
By the way, I'm using the Dualshock 3, so I am not aiming for Gold until I get a wheel :P
Having got gold on the X1 challenge, I can tell you that it's short of impossible to get a gold in it on a DS3, as it's extremely difficult to even get silver on Suzuka.
I did it with a DFGT and even then it was pretty hard.
I don't know how much I can offer in terms of tips. Other than the fact that you can't tune the car for the challenge (I may be wrong here, but I remember not being able to tamper with the Aerodynamics, which would have made Suzuka much, much easier), you can still mess around with the assists.
I only know about a handful amount of people over at GTP that has been able to do this challenge without Skid Recovery Force Off, other than myself, so that's an assist that you should have no issues using. Also TCS Off is almost a pre-requisite in order to get better times. Even at 1, TCS cuts your corner exit speeds massively and it's pretty much useless, as the X1 has amazing grip and can be "thrown" around corners without risking spin-outs. Setting a different Brake Bias had no impact on the car.
I don't quite remember my partials on Nürburgring and Suzuka, it has been a long time since I did the challenge, but for Nürburgring there are three critical parts that have to be taken pitch-perfect:
1) The corner after RTL straight and the Ford-Kurve corner. You should the first at 4th gear between 260 - 270 km/h and the later at 3rd, entering it at 190, clipping the kerb and exiting at 220.
2) Kumho - Kurve and Bit - Kurve. The former should be entered in 4th gear, at 270, by throwing the X1 at the apex, so that you have enough width in the track to recover to the outside and be able to grab the apex of the second corner at 250.
3) Veedol. The trickiest part of the track, since it's an uphill tight chicane. You should reduce all the way to 1st gear at the 150m mark and enter the chicane by going up the left side kerb of the first part of the chicane at 130 km/h. This will allow you to instantly clip the right side kerb in a straight line, without too much of a bump to the X1, allowing you to exit Veedol at 160 - 170 km/h.
As for Suzuka, since this track is much more technical than Nürburgring, it isn't focused solely on critical corners. Rather than that, there are entire sectors that can screw your times, here are a few tips for some of them:
1) The esses all the way until the Dunlop corner. This is probably the most critical sector of the track, as in order to get a fast time, you need to do the esses in a sequentially fast order in a tight racing line. If you screw up the line, you might as well restart the entire trial.
Enter the first corner of the esses in 4th gear at 290 km/h, in the most straight way possible. This will allow you to position the X1 to the inside apexes of each sequential corner, while applying gradual minute acceleration (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT). You should approach the Gyauku Bank almost at 320 km/h to the outside part of it, while reducing all the way to 270 km/h when you hit it's inside apex. This allows you to get the maximum speed possible out of the following Dunlop corner.
2) Degner and following corner. This is the section that almost always screwed my second lap, as it's deceivingly fast. The first one should be taken without braking (yeah I know it sounds insane), while trying to go over the kerb as much as you can. If done correctly, you'll be over the left side kerb of the tiny straight before the next corner which allows you to position the X1 correctly for the massive reduction of 380 km/h to 200 km/h needed to make that corner well enough.
3) The Spoon. Not as hard as it looks to be, but can be tricky enough to put a damp on your time. The first corner of the spoon should be entered in 4th gear, at 280 km/h, while positioning yourself as much as you can over the right side kerb. Reduce to 3rd gear and 210 km/h, follow the inside left kerb of the next corner for a while and then exit it at max acceleration. That allows you to reach the 130R corner at 420 km/h.
4) The chicane. To be frank, this chicane was never hard for me to do. Just make sure you start braking before hitting the shadow of the overhead "Suzuka Circuit" banner before the chicane, enter it at 140 km/h while going over the right side kerb, keep it straight and exit at 180 km/h after going up the left side kerb.
Here are my gold time videos for both Nürburgring and Suzuka:
Well I unlocked the challenge a few days ago. Sounds like you got it recently too. All you need to do is practice. I have bronze in the first too and will have done suzuka soon too (maybe today). I'm using a dualshock 3 also. Since you've decided to ask though the only things I can think of are to push the car as much as you can(so you know the limits) and then just drive as much as possible. Don't try beating the time just focus on staying on the track otherwise all the restarting will hinder your progress. As for setup I have ABS on 1 everything else off. Suzuka is definitely the hardest (so many bends) so it will take the most practice. You should be aiming for a first lap time off less than or about 1:09.5. Take a few seconds off and you should have bronze. The hardest thing is just completing two laps in a row.
My first sector for suzuka (on time for a bronze) is around 30 seconds ( /- 0.5 s) and the sector that ends before the 180R is about 55 seconds (< 55s is pretty good).
For the first corner you'll want to keep accelerating until you get just before the entrance to the second (the 2 corners before the S bends). For the S bends the key is flowing through them and with the controller you'll need to turn earlier then you think becuase of the high speed. I try to take them in 4th gear but I use 3rd alot too. The corner that goes under the bridge is pretty tricky since you can take the corner before at full speed so it is difficult to control, I suggest driving cautiosly through there until you feel familiar enough with the road. Then you have the hairpin, just make sure you brake early and it should be smooth sailing from there as long as you brake in time for the last chicane.
Your next challenge is then taking the first and second corners from a much high speed ( i think ~ 260mph!), again you don't need to brake too early, I brake as i'm exiting the first corner but not before.
Nurburgring GP is alot easier just keep at it, suzuka is more of a challenge so hope that helps. Good luck!
Just finished Nurburgring there, with a time of 2:14.246 (so .254 of a second under the bronze time). I didn't find the course itself too challenging, it's just about being consistent (but I guess, that's what they are all about really).
