SOLVED PC hanging/crashing on map 'smallgrid' (confirmed in Safe Mode)

So this started happening only recently. I've got the latest updates. I load up smallgrid with any car, drive around some, and then the frames start pausing, getting worse and worse until a complete freeze and system hang. Sometimes it crashes out, but most of the time I have to close it out myself, always getting a generic STATUS_APPLICATION_HANG error.

I tested it exhaustively, with sometimes the test indicating that it has something to do with Bloom and Anti-aliasing graphics settings. But I could never narrow it down (not getting paid for testing this product).

The funny thing is that when I load up a custom track via Track Builder, or I just spawn some AI cars and have them chase me around, the map never seems to hang. It's only when I have one car and an empty map.

I have an old mod map that I found that is an 'endless' map like smallgrid, and it has the same problem of freezing up after driving around some. I think it was based off of smallgrid originally, but is not otherwise connected to it unless it's using some shared assets.

Could it be something about the endless nature of smallgrid?

No other maps have this problem. But it sucks because I use smallgrid to quickly test cars out.

Please fix this as soon as humanly possible. Thanks.

In the mean time, if anyone can point me to a large empty map that can fill my need I would be greatly appreciative. Gridmap_v2 takes too long to load when all I need is to do a quick test of a car.

 

Okay so I found a sure fire way to reproduce the problem:

1. Load up in Safe Mode
2. Set graphics to Ultra, but uncheck most PostFX options except for Ambient Occlusion
3. Freeroam on 'smallgrid' map("Grid, pure, small")
   
4. Choose Bruckell Moonhawk car
5. Go to External camera (keyboard '4')
6. Drive around in circles making hard rights and lefts for a while
7. Eventually the frames will start stuttering and then freeze up the game
   
8. Sound cuts out too before it freezes up

 

--- Post updated ---
I'm going to set the tag to SOLVED since I tested it more and using Vertical Sync seems to solve the problem.

It's just weird that 'smallgrid', the simplest most rinky dink map in the game, was the ONLY map I was having a problem with.