Lol at my supposed 20 min install time, but it'll be worth it.

You unlock it after completing the Special Event related to it, the one with the VW Sambabus.

What argument? You must get off by jumping to premature conclusions. I've hardly presented any sort of argument, outside of noting the severe inconsistency with GT5s graphics. But if you want to discuss actually sim racing physics, then lets go.

iRacing

Rfactor

NK Pro

Gran Prix Legends

LFS

All of these games top GT5 in terms of realism. Now you probably think GT created the sim racing genre (it didn't, not by a long shot), or that its the most realistic sim racer around (its never been anywhere close). And those games I listed are doing plenty of physics simulations that GT5 is not, like tire deformation and heat (this is why GT5 doesn't have cold starts, as it lacks this feature), aerodynamic simulations (not just look up tables ala GT), frame warping, suspension simulation, driver physics so the camera will bob around accurately, tires with dynamic wear, dirt and heatspots, clutch overheating, ect, ect. These are all features GT5 lacks, not to mention a proper form of damage modeling. Oh, and don't even try to bring up GTs laughable rally mode.

EDIT: Oh, and GT5s physics run at 60hz, while rfactor runs at 300hz. Does that count as quantitatively demonstrating GTs short comings?

Feel free to disagree, but there is a reason that those games are used in racing schools and by racing teams while GT5 is gets packed in bundles.

Having a bigger screen just makes things look worse, unless your sitting further away of course.

Anyone know if GT5 is running at 1920x1080 or 1280x1080 like Prologue?

Its in the Special Events section! You need to be level 3 or something to unlock the Top Gear Test Track beginner mode challenges. I only finished the first of the two, the second one with the Elise and zero driving aids is surprisingly hard!

i heard it was really good for the premium cars you could actually see the bolts and stuff 

didnt actually play it so cant say for sure

After playing a few more hours I have to say I think my view (on the visuals) is improving. It was an 8/10 now I think is more in line with your score.

It also seems that the jagged shadows are only for the cars. Environmental shadows still seem crisp (likely due to the fact they're static?). Also, the trees whilst ugly, actually look OK when driving past them at 100 MPH, so I think I can kinda understand why they didn't bother with 3D trees. The city tracks are what have really impressed me with their sheer detail, and the lighting has seen a significant improvement over Prologue.

Comparing the environments with Forza 3 I think part of the differences people notice actually come down to the different dev mentality of East vs West. In Forza (West) they used various shader effects, normal and bump mapping in the environment, whereas GT (East) uses detailed artistry which can clearly be seen in the city tracks with the detailed buildings but less so on some simpler circuits.

That res is still very high for a PS3 game. Not sure about FPS as I haven't noticed a dip so I'm assuming remains over 30.

No idea whether sieanr has played GT5 or not, but I'd guess he's talking about something like iRacing on PC. It's considerred a very realistic sim:

http://iracing.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRacing.com

I would have said any one that lets you change the tire pressure, lol.