Skip to content

UNBOXING: Free GT500 Lexus SC430 by Advanced Simulation

In an age of GT3 and GT4 mediocrity, as a big fan of GT1 and GT2 series racing I always look forward to testing and racing that genre of sim racing car.

Advanced Simulation Modding Group have released a must-have 2013 version of the Lexus SC430 and the Honda HSV-010 – FREE – which were the last of the V8 normally aspirated 3.4L engines that delivered around 500 bhp and weighed in at just over a ton.

The result: a very fast silhouette of Toyota’s flagship Lexus brand which broke cover for the 2011 Japanese Super GT with modest results before they found the sweet spot. In 2013 Yuji Tachikawa and Kohei Hirate claimed the title ZENT Cerumo entry.

The virtual version of this car I test, in this video, is the Lexus Team Petronas TOM’S car campaigned by Kazuki Nakajima and James Rossiter to third in the championship that year.

Nick Stepanenko and his team at Advanced Simulation have delivered a high-quality, exceptionally immersive virtual rendition of this iconic car, with super detailed liveries and physics that set the benchmark.

As a gentleman driver who enjoys testing cars, perhaps I am not the fastest, so I had to work on the default setup until it felt good. Which meant softening everything by 30% and shifting the brake bias forward to my liking.

After an hour or so of fiddling, I got the car to handle to my liking and could pound laps around Watkins in the 1.41s with ease and in the 10-minute sprint race against AI (at 110% and 75% aggression) the pace was around 1:42​s.

But times are inconsequential as proper fast guys will easily dip into the mid to high 30s given time in the car and evolution of setups. There is a treasure trove of tweaks one can do to make the car to your liking, all noticeable when you do back-to-back testing.

Verdict? Drive it ASAP!

It’s free to subscribe on Steam. Give it a bash and then see if you agree with my video.

In a nutshell: one of the best virtual tintops I have driven in simracing, and I have not yet begun to delve into it.

Get the GT500 cars by Advanced Simulation on Steam:

2013 GT500 Lexus SC430 Car Spec

  • Name: Petronas Tom’s SC430 [2011 to 2013]
  • Race Category: Super GT – GT500 class
  • Dimention: 4535×1825×1355mm
  • Wheelbase: 2620mm
  • Tires: Bridgestone F 330-710/R-18, R 330-710/R-17
  • Weight: 1,100kg
  • Engine: RV8KG (V8 NA)
  • Displacement: 3,399cc (3.4L) RWD
  • Horsepower: 460ps (or more)
  • Torque: 40kg-m (or more)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Paul Velasco

Paul Velasco

Founder and editor of GrandPrix247.com. Racing in the Blood and all that stuff followed F1 since 1973 like a religion with periods of occasionally losing my religion. But still hanging in there and spreading the word.View Author posts