Is it just me or does the difficulty seriously ramp up the moment you start these?

Thus far in GT6 I've been mostly successful using cars that were somewhat below the allowed PP for any given event. In a few cases I tune the car up closer to the limit to win, but still was able to run the races and get 1st.

Two night ago I started the S level races and as yet haven't been able to win one. I'm working on the 650PP Street Cars and Big Willow, but with no luck so far. I started with a mildly tuned GT-R and have been adding bits and pieces after every attempt. Last night I maxed it out to 652PP, added a few kilos of ballast and still didn't manage to win.

"And the tires?"

I appreciate that they wanted to add the element of fuel consumption and tire degradation at this point... but really? Almost an entire tank of gas and a set of tires (just the front left in this particular case) in 4, max 5 on Hards, laps? The tires wear so quickly that you can literally go from setting a fastest lap to being unable to drive the last few corners of the subsequent lap. (Qualifying rubber?) Below "3" the tires become almost useless. You have to back off big time to avoid slipping off the track.

I'm loving the challenge, don't get me wrong... but it's the inconsistencies that get irritating.