My Daytona USA 2 Tips To Win (Plus Fun Trivia)

Since Daytona USA 2 is in full-swing, let's post these tips that I got.  I'm taking this from a post I made on the Supermodel board so sorry if it seems a tad bit lazy:

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Right now, for me, Scud Race is the harder of the two games. Well, that's probably because I played the heck out of Daytona 2 back in 02'-05' so it's more familiar to me.

I actually managed about a 3:48 on Expert and 2:56 on Advanced. I really don't know how I did it--you just have to play the heck out of the game and get used to every corner and hope you don't screw up. I'm not as good as I once was...it's hard to come in the Top 3 when playing at 100% speed.

Here are my tips for Daytona 2:

1. Get used to manual transmission. It really isn't that hard once you get a hang of it.

2. Do the fast start. This works for the 3 Daytona 2 cars (not the Hornet, see fast start in Daytona 1). Hold the brake and try to get the RPM's between the white & yellow parts of the tachometer (7000 RPM's). Then about .1 seconds before the guy says "Go," let off the brake and slam on the gas. You'll pop a wheelie and take off. Be careful that you don't rear-end the car in front of you (the lousy yellow SG8 Cartool car nonetheless) and make sure to upshift right away.

3. For most turns, I just slam the brakes and downshift from 4 to 2. Hold it in 2 until you get the car sideways. Then switch back to 4 and hit the racing line as normal. Try to brake slightly early so that you can compensate for the delay of having to overcome the forwards momentum. You can shift to 1st gear but it's very risky. I would only do it on really slow corners, such as the shipyard/factory area on Expert.



4. When powersliding, keep in the 4th gear. Your car regains speed faster while sliding than if you're in 3rd.

5. When shifting from 3rd to 4th gear, most tend to shift once the red light starts blinking. Don't shift then, wait until you get to about 290 kph (180 mph) until you switch to 4th. You get faster acceleration that way.

6. The natural tendency is to get the car to slide as far as possible without spinning out. While you can corner at a higher speed that way, if the slide is too far, it takes too long to straighten out and thus you hit the outside wall coming out of the turn. This is evident in most turns on Expert course since the tracks is not very wide. So take more moderate slides when necessary.

7. Draft as many cars as possible since the speed boosts are very potent in this game, even at the start of the race when you're driving slowly.

8. If you really suck, then just pick the Easy car (Chums Gum/JC Eagle) and don't get all fancy with the powerslides & stuff. Just play like you would Gran Turismo or Forza--hit the racing lines but play it safe. The car's high skidpad ratings should make it easy to get by.

9. And the Number One tip of all (which applies to most games in particular)...

Practice, practice, practice, and you'll be #1.

PUT THE PEDAL TO THE METAL!!!

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Now for something fun I noticed.  I don't think I've mentioned this recently.  Anyway, take a good look at the three cars from Daytona 2.  What do you notice?  HINT: It has to do with the car's top speed/aerodynamics.  Check it out:

Look at the rear wing on the cars.  The Chums Gum has the most upright angle.  The Phantom has the most laid-back angle.  The Scorpio is somewhere between the two.

As you know about car physics, there's a little thing called "downforce."  Basically, through wings, car shape, and so forth, it catches the air that whizzes by and applies weight to the car.  More weight from downforce keeps the tires pushed down and thus results in better handling/grip, stability, and skidpad (the angle at which the car can turn).  However, it comes at the cost of lower acceleration, top speed, and drag due to the extra drag the car bears.  So it's a double-edged sword--how much air do I want to punch?  Which is better: grip or speed?

It's still funny that such a tiny rear wing could have so much of an effect on handling.  Bear in mind that stock cars are rear-wheel drive so the amount of traction/stability that the rear wheels accrue is paramount.  Not enough downforce and you'll spin out.  Although in theory, front downforce increases skidpad while rear downforce increase stability.  However, downforce from any part of the car has a positive effect on handling in general.

EDIT: Let me add this if you can't see it.  Chase cam views of all three cars.  Observe the rear wings.

This concept isn't rocket science and you should know all about this just by playing Forza, Gran Turismo, or any realistic racing game.  But now you know why the Chums Gum has good handling but bad top speed while the Phantom is the exact opposite.  MINDS HAVE BEEN BLOWN!!!!  Read the Wikipedia entry if my explanation sucks.

Now I'm off to play Scud Race so I can get better at it.  My best tip for Scud Race so far has been is to accomodate for the car's extreme reactions to downshifting so don't spend so much time in the lower gears.  Make sure to slow down before the drift since it's really hard to hit the turns at full speed.  This isn't a damn Cruis'n/FNF game, idiots--you don't have unlimited skidpad ratings.  Ok, laters.