I think the Speed rating is the PI eater.
As I look through the discussions over on the daught net a resounding theme is that Muscle Cars are flawed. One issue is the engine swaps in several of the cars, not the AMX that I've seen yet, but not drivetrain swaps like in FM3. In the lower classes the ability to stuff a V10 into a dart and not lose the factory transmission is another discussion point. The factory gearing sets the potential top speed of the car and doesn't change based on engine mods.
If a newer higher revving engine or a new high revving cam is put behind a fixed gearset the car will go faster but Forza doesn't seem to take that into effect when calculating PI. Looking over the beginning and ending stats of the two, very similar, cars it is easy to see how close they look. However, 1.7 additional speed points adds up to a large increase in top end.
IIRC Dirt and Fndr were calculating what each 0.1 worked out to be in mph. I know that the AMX is limited to 127.9 in my build. Round up to 130. Divide it by 3.0 and each 0.1 is worth 4.3 mph. Still talking about speed rating here to be clear.
AMX = 130 mph calculated top speed with a 3.0 rating
Using that one example as a rationale the Barracuda would be capable of a much faster top speed and would be quicker around the available tracks as well as the mythical PI track.
Barracuda S has 1.7 more top speed points and that equates to 73 more mph on the top end. (Assuming this is correct and I'm sure it is less across more examples) That is a lot of top speed and a huge deal in the overall times on a large number of tracks. Even on Infineon all of my cars are pushing over 110mph on the short straights. On Road Atlanta or Sebring a car with the ability to go 20 or 30 mph would easily overtake the AMX with similar handling abilities. At 73 mph the poor AMX is a sitting duck on the straights.
I don't think the Javelin is hands down better. I think it is a light weight car with a low speed rating and loads of grip. Several other cars fall into this category but as the leaderboard, and even here, proves. Once a front-runner emerges the hordes flock to it and increase its popularity as well as its presence in the top spots. Why spend time going through 3, or 5, or even 10 cars to find something different when you can grab a proven front runner, download a tune, and run a good time?
As we all go through this game and find out what makes it tick and how to manipulate it I'm sure there will be outliers that shine in specific settings and other cars that are a mismatch for the environment. Are we cheating at that point or just using all of the available information and options to create the best tool for the job? If it were possible to oversee and account for all of the cars and all of the options and the human element we would all be in the running for head of the FIA. As long as there are rules there will be more people looking to stretch them than trying to survive within them.
It's all part of the fun and the reasoning behind why we run early challenges like this. To find the outliers and determine what to do with them. I know my AMX time should have an asterisk next to it at this point in the FSRA challenge but as the first challenge it was not knowable that it would work out like it has. I remember the Muscle Inc days and once the guidelines were established and well worked through we had very close racing. It didn't happen on the first outing so as a work in progress the FSRA is still under construction until the results of this challenge group the cars and available upgrades together.
