So I suck. I have pretty much always sucked at racing games, even when I used controller. I played a lot of AC over the summer, and then kind of ran out of time but I'm picking it back up again.
Recently just jumped into a Toyota 86 (new one) and did some laps around vallelunga club. Not only were my times horrible, but I was inconsistent, had a really hard time figuring out where to brake and turn in, where to apply power, and could not catch spins to save my life. (I suspect part of the last portion is my rickety desk- never get to full lock). I have killer difficult time trying to judge my speed and figure out how much speed to carry through the corner. Commonly, on corner 1 and the final corner at vallelunga club I will brake too early - because I think I'm going to fast, and then need to apply throttle before I hit the Apex. I've noticed also that when I carry a bunch of speed down the back straight, but still brake at the same spot for turn one, I'll hear squealing and turn in much later, but I'll have faster laps. It's almost like forcing myself to brake later is helpful. But when I try to consciously do it, I understeer out or spin. Corner three at vallelunga club also seems impossible. It's a tight hairpin, I can never see my Apex, and I always either slow down too much or understeer into the berm. And I can never seem to feel when grip is actually giving until the front end gets light or the rear end snaps out on me
For some numerical reference, my best time in the 86 is 1:05. but my usual good feeling laps are between 1:07 and 1:09.
I want to join the GRM league but dont want to do so until I'm not longer a hazard on track. So i'm looking for any good resources on how to suck less lol - how to figure out how much speed to carry in, where to brake, where to turn in, how much power to apply mid corner, at the Apex, etc. I get the basics of the racing line, braking points, turn in points, and weight transfer but I can't seem to apply them.
If you like, I can post a replay of one of our races so you can download and review it (I can show you where to move the file). With the replay you can change view to one of our more "expert" drivers (to whatever view you use) and see how they do it. You will want to make sure you have the Pedals app up and you will be able to see where they brake, hit the throttle etc. You can pause, backup, replay, slow mo to as much as you need to. I would recommend concentrating on one corner at a time and doing that over and over until you have it down.
We just did Watkins Glen which is a reasonable simple and wide track, so that might be a good choice. The downside is we are using the 914-6, which is pretty dynamic for driving, but is also forgiving in general. Unfortunately I don't have our MX-5 replays anymore (that would be perfect for you), but do still have our Mustang replays (Autumn Ring would probably be a good choice).
It would be nice to be able to load up a ghost car of a lap, but I am not sure that can be done.
And honestly, we do have a few slower drivers in our pack that would likely love to have some "competition".
We have a channel specifically for coaching in our discord. Join us and you'll have plenty of opportunity to improve.
In reply to ProDarwin :
Thank you! Could you send me an invite?
In reply to aircooled :
Thank you so much, I would really appreciate that if you could post it. What should I be looking out for when watching?
I would love to give them some competition, but I don't want to be a hazard on track and ruin everyone's time. I'm sure with a year of practice and work I'll be good enough to not cause problems, but I'd hate to wreck people out and ruin their race.
https://discord.gg/EG4fTRzj
Message me on discord once you are in, I'll have to adjust your role
Here is the replay for the first race at Watkins Glen.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kUxDvFFdt8uVLj6LJmG9bmBr-WXLK62J/view?usp=drive_link
Go to Content Manager: Media section,
Replays,
go down to the bottom of the screen and click Folder. This will open the replay folder, where you can copy the above file.
Open the replay and switch the Car (bottom of screen) to 13 or 22 and change the Camera to whatever view you use. Open the Pedals app to see what they are doing with the gas and brakes.
Right there with you. I am trying to get into sim racing because there are no real racing opportunities where I live. I am very much a seat of the pants driver and not having that movement throws me off big time when racing in game.
Evanuel9 said:
Not only were my times horrible, but I was inconsistent, had a really hard time figuring out where to brake and turn in, where to apply power, and could not catch spins to save my life. (I suspect part of the last portion is my rickety desk- never get to full lock). I have killer difficult time trying to judge my speed and figure out how much speed to carry through the corner. Commonly, on corner 1 and the final corner at vallelunga club I will brake too early - because I think I'm going to fast, and then need to apply throttle before I hit the Apex.
Have you tried a VR headset?
Your experience sounds much like mine. Ever since Gran Turismo (the original) came out I've tried and failed to do sim racing, I could never judge brake zones. I think this is because I don't memorize brake markers, instead I just rely on my brain figuring out how fast I'm going and where to hit the brakes. Well, that doesn't work on sims because 2d screens don't offer any depth perception. A VR headset changes that, and my ability to drive a sim race car went up about 10,000% by using one. With the flat screen I couldn't make it 3 corners at Laguna Seca (a track where I have umpteen million real-life laps), with the VR headset I could suddenly do laps within a 5 seconds of what I can do in real life (with crappy/old wheel/pedals/etc). Currently putting together a sim rig with decent control hardware to try to get those 5 seconds.
