Racing simulators

[gtcrackers]

Anyone use a racing simulator or iracing over the winter while the shelbys are put up?

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[J_Maher_AMG]

This might sound kind of silly, but I've used Gran Turismo for years with a full seat, shifter, wheel and pedal setup. Probably wouldn't think it would translate to real life that well, but when I attended the Track Attack I was the fastest in my group of 7 drivers with it being my first time ever being on a track without even any autocross experience, including having several driver's in my group being locals who attend that very circuit regularly...

Take it for what it's worth, but during my time with an instructor, the only major point of improvement that I was really critiqued on was braking a little too long and over slowing my entry speeds. Threshold braking, steering angles, apexes, and throttle application were all spot on according to the instructor. Told me the only thing I needed was some more time on track to become accustomed to the car's cornering limits and become more comfortable with entering at higher speeds

Some of the guys who topped the "Nissan Academy" on Gran Tursimo have also been podium finishers at LeMans recently as well, so IMO it definitely helps and is a great way to pass the time all winter

Not trying to brag by any means, just proud at being able to be proficient at something that I never past experience with, and wanting to showcase that IMO those simulators do really make a difference. Certainly have tons of room for improvement, but my instructor was pretty shocked that I had no previous experience when I told him Wish there was a track locally to me, as it was probably some of the most fun I've ever had :ford:

 

[AutoX R]

I also like Grand Turismo. I have a full seat with a Logitech G29 wheel. I know it's not the same as the real thing, but a lot of the basic driving principals carry over. I know it vastly shortened the learning curve for me when I started autocrossing.

The real world also can even help you in the game. I was having a lot of trouble getting the gold trophy in one of the license slalom tests. After coming home from a level 2 SCCA autocross school, I jumped on the game and nailed it right away.

It'll also be great during the winter when I have to lock the Shelby's away.

 

[gixxersixxerman]

Ive been to the track many times and I do ok, im far from great. I do use iRacing and was surprised that through the force feedback i could tell what the car was "doing" I had no idea about rigs though until i went to a friends shop here in Vegas and got in a 6 axis machine with VR. while no its not the same thing, its pretty close... ok close lol, but the fundamentals are there, too much gas you spin, to much brake you lock them up and so on. Doing the road cars i was putting in good times, but when they loaded up the "F1" sim, i was way way way off, the braking and down force with the corner speeds take a lot to get use to

 

[Donkey]

Since we are discussing simulators I would suggest iRacing. While it's computer based so it isn't as accessible as the console "games" it is in another level entirely. Which is why you can find numerous pros using the service. The hardware supported by the pc also reaches to another level should you choose to take it to that level. I'll link some videos up when I get back home.

 

[J_Maher_AMG]

Since we are discussing simulators I would suggest iRacing. While it's computer based so it isn't as accessible as the console "games" it is in another level entirely. Which is why you can find numerous pros using the service. The hardware supported by the pc also reaches to another level should you choose to take it to that level. I'll link some videos up when I get back home.

Interesting, I've never heard of iRacing prior to this thread, and I don't even have a desktop that could run it more than likely. I believe that Ferrari and a few other pro F1 teams have used Gran Turismo in the past during the off-season, but you think iRacing is a step above and beyond the level of simulation that GT offers?

Interested to hear your thoughts as to how and why you think it is better! :cheers:

 

[gixxersixxerman]

i have iRacing, GT, assetto corsa, RaceRoom, and none really come close to iRacing. GT is fun and its a ok Sim, but iRacing still shits on it imho. Yes you can do the GT academy and all, Hell even some kid thats done iracing for years just got a ride in NASCAR xfinity and he does "ok" But in the sim world, iRacing is about the best there is.. There are some haters, and it sucks its subscription based. but all the ones ive used its the best.. Assetto Corsa second then GT/Forza sim games

 

[AutoX R]

I just barely started using iRacing. The focus is mainly on the driving and less so on the graphics. The default settings give me zero feedback on the wheel, and I still need to adjust those.

Also competition plays a major part, and there's a lot of league play available. There are even professional teams. A lot of U.S tracks are in iRacing, and they are very accurate. I look forward to getting more into it when I figure out the wheel settings.

 

[Khyber]

someone say iracing and racing sims?

checking in!

used to have triple screens but sold that off year in half ago now just do VR racing and have the 1440p ultrawide for other games.

p.s. forza and gran turismo are not sims.

 

[Khyber]

I've raced with plenty of the nascar xfinity and monster cup guys too.

here is a video on Aj Allmendinger wrecking me haha at Michigan.

I'm the 11. AJ is the white truck.

[ame]

 

[imbadatthis]

I am looking forward to the next Forza on Vive on PC.

 

[Donkey]

Interesting, I've never heard of iRacing prior to this thread, and I don't even have a desktop that could run it more than likely. I believe that Ferrari and a few other pro F1 teams have used Gran Turismo in the past during the off-season, but you think iRacing is a step above and beyond the level of simulation that GT offers?

Interested to hear your thoughts as to how and why you think it is better! :cheers:

I believe the biggest advantage iRacing has is that it chooses to model fewer vehicles at higher levels of detail and fewer tracks at higher detail, vs. GT/Forza etc. that choose to have tons of cars modeled to boast that in the marketing department. While GT etc. do external modeling and even sounds very well, they simply aren't as detailed as the iRacing models. iRacing laser scans every car and every track and uses data provided by the teams to simulate the car as accurately as possible, even offering telemetry data outputs that can be analyzed via telemetry software and vrs which is an online telemetry and data analysis website that allows you to compare your inputs and laps to "pro" level drivers. iRacing is also a structured service, where there is both a safety rating and an iRating to help balance drivers with people of like skill levels and experience. The safety rating is basically a gauge of how clean/experienced of a driver you are, as you spend more time you earn points that eventually qualify you to race faster cars and and upper level online series (leagues govern who races outside of the iracing license rules). iRating uses a system to tally points from race to race that you gain or lose based on where you finish in races, the faster you are in your respective discipline (oval or road racing) the higher your iRating, in races where there are say 15 slots open and 30 drivers registered it will group you into the split that closest matches your skill level.

iRacing also features a very advanced track modeling system that generates heat on the surface as well as accumulated rubber as the races and sessions progress. This obviously affects grip and can haunt you as marbles accumulate outside the groove. iRacing is the only simulator I can think of that accurately simulates this. The tire model also continues to get more complex as the computers get more advanced and capable of doing the calculations needed to simulate hot spots on the tire from brake lockup etc.

iRacing also has endurance races with live driver swaps, which allows you to race on a team and compete in legit endurance races.

With high end pedal sets that use real pedal sets, direct drive wheels, and motion sims you can literally have a simulator setup that would have cost thousands and thousands of dollars 10 years ago for a fraction of the cost. With VR just getting it's first wind it is crazy to think how things will go, I've been doing it since 1994 and it's unbelievable how far things have progressed, I have just completed a new computer build and upgraded to VR and the sense of immersion is outstanding.

At the end of the day GT and other console titles have to appeal to the masses, from 9yr olds to 60 yr olds, having all the coolest cars that sound cool and decent enough physics to keep the hardcore guys interested to have fun with buddies racing online to ease of use for people like my 15 yr old brothers who race with their high school buddies.. iRacing caters to the hardcore sim racing audience, they are the leader in this segment and as others have since stated, they are at the front of the pack. With dirt track racing being recently introduced and rally cross coming soon, I really don't see anyone challenging that. Here is a link to the new Ford GT they just recently completed, I feel like the sounds and physics are enough.. It's also worth noting that the closest thing to a street car you will get on iRacing is ruf Porsche, as they focus primarily on nothing but race cars. Which is something console titles typically always feature.. there is no balance of power here to let a Cobra R run with a GT-R etc.

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[icormba]

I got XBox with Forza 6 because it had Sonoma Raceway and Laguna Seca plus the GT350R, Focus RS, and the Ford GT. Talking with a guy at Sonoma on Sat who did the same thing, but he added a setup like J_Maher_AMG where as I had the regular hand controller that came with the xBox. His first time at Sonoma, but I couldn't tell! He was much faster than I was.

 

[elmn8r]

Donkey and Khyber,

Mind sharing your setups with us? I'm interested in putting together a rig and would love to leverage what you've learned works and what doesn't. I'm pretty savvy with building the computers but I don't know much about VR and what works there.

Would be cool to have Mustang6g sim races...

 

[Donkey]

Donkey and Khyber,

Mind sharing your setups with us? I'm interested in putting together a rig and would love to leverage what you've learned works and what doesn't. I'm pretty savvy with building the computers but I don't know much about VR and what works there.

Would be cool to have Mustang6g sim races...

My setup is very basic, I have a g25 Logitech wheel and pedals (very old but they work). A tiny monitor as I use oculus rift. My computer I built with i5 7600k, 16gb ram, corsair water cooling, gtx1080 graphics card. It runs iracing in vr very well. Most titles will tax even the best systems in vr. If you're looking to build and know your budget I can likely point you in the most cost effective direction. I will be either doing an 80/20 chassis or something from gt omega soon.

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