Help me suck less! Tier 3 Career, Pro settings, X-Bow R: Ugh!

I have a G29 wheel and pedals (no shifter) and CV1. I am no expert but do enjoy racing games. I understand AC is loved over PCar (which I also own) because it is a more realistic sim and has better ffb, even for my wheel.

I am 'trying' to play Career mode at Pro settings. I was doing OK until I reached the third tier; it was then I realised I suck. I am in that X-Bow R. The AI seem to be able to break harder, break later and they appear to have greater grip than me. It takes ages for the tires to warm but even so as soon as I start to spin out, nothing I do corrects the spin (although I don't really know how to correct spins tbh).

What is the difference, ethos-wise, between Racer settings and Pro settings? I am clutching at straws to protect my pride. Could a Pro race well with my hardware setup or would s/he require additional hardware to feel the nuances? Do you need ffb pedals or something or some form of seat of the pants servo kickers to be competitive with the AI at Pro settings?

Thanks!

 

If you mean Pro settings in the assists section these are just presets, I'd recommend to have ABS and TC set to factory (you can cycle multiple abs/tc settings and turn them both off using ctrl+a & ctrl+t whilst on track) and use whatever else you need to use paddle shift in H box cars.

Apparently the AI have got a lot better in modern cars but I imagine they are still not a good guage of what to do. Whenever I have tried to race them they do brake in a rather odd way and can be slow in some areas and really fast in others. I'd recommend trying the same car/track combo in hotlap mode for a while before going back to your challenge. Make a note of the AI fast lap times for comparison in hotlap.

Use brake markers. Find the point where you can comfortably slow the car down for each corner without taking too much of a risk and without having to release the brake because you are going to stop before the corner.

A fairly common mistake is to assume you need to do everything at lightning speed and push like crazy to go faster. Much better to always be in control of the car and to get it to the apex of each corner in a controlled way so you can get back on the power sooner.

Don't let the car get into a wild oversteer, being able to feel when the car is going to step out and make an early minor correction is probably something that comes with time, much better to put a little bit less power down than is possible and keep the car smooth and predictable rather than a bit too much and have a big "moment."If you struggle to control the car when it gets away from you... don't let it get away from you.

Analyze your driving and learn from your mistakes. How is the car spinning out? Is it while you change gear, if so you need to change down at lower rpm for less engine braking or rev match. Is it from braking? Then you need to adjust the brake balance or brake more gentle. Is it when you turn in? If so then you may need to turn in more slowly or have the car more under control before you try to get it to the apex. Overshooting a corner can be a source of frustration or it can be a valuable lesson that your brake marker is wrong and you now have extra data to adjust it. Try using a different gear for some corners or atleast be aware of the gear you are selecting and when it might be worth trying a higher or lower one... with the KTM and it's 6 speed box it is easy to be 1 gear too low quite often causing you to over slow the car in the corners.

 

Lower the X-Bow as much as you can.

 

Many thanks for the replies!

I really should look at AC in more depth.

@andy-riches
I applied a bit of patience and I am now really enjoying the track - Imola. I tend to rush things and I guess with this sim you do need to take the time to learn. I can't monitor the car on the track if I don't 'know' it or the track. That hotlap was a fab call
Oh... How do you see the AIs time in HotLap? Or do I need to make a note of their lap times in Career mode?

@LeSunTzu
Thanks for that tip. The X-Bow is a bit of an overpowered go-cart right? Or is that sacrilege?

Edit
How do you lower cars in this game? I couldnt see anything in the menu?
Soz for being a noob

 

Everybody was noob, no need to be sorry

Hope the suggestions help a little, it was kinda generic tips but IMO a sound method for improving.

Yes you would have to make a note of the AI times in career mode... also take note of the track temp and grip which you can find at the screen you see from the pits. From that same screen 1 of the tabs on the left is for your garage/setup area where you can adjust the setup of the car. Go to the suspension tab to adjust ride height, you can see live values in the area opposite the selection boxes (be warned most pit boxes are not flat which is why you see some variation side to side etc.)

When you go to hotlap mode be sure to use the same track grip as the career event as you are already used to it a bit (optimum is 100%, it is likely that 1 or fast... fast may have some grip variation from session to session.) You could also set the same ambient/track temp in hotlap so the tyres will need similar psi to the career event.

 

It takes time to develop any skill so try not to get frustrated. Being humble enough to ask for advice is a great start and as you can see this place is a wealth of information. So far the tips are great and spot on the only thing I will add is to view the replays and make sure that your are doing what you think that you are doing. By that i mean take the time and make sure that you are hitting your braking markers and that your lines are clean and you're hitting the apexes properly.

 

Assuming you drive the same line as the AI, you should be able to keep up if the setup is about right, on very high AI strength.

You can always try my setup guide that is easy to understand, if other suggestion doesn't work.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=912315488

 

@Andysonofbob - Put whatever amount of gas you need for the race/session, then reduce ride height to the minimum on all corners. If this is invalidated by the program (car too low), raise all corners by 1 click and repeat until the ride height is validated. The X-Bow is nice to drive when sitting low, the default setup kind of spoils the fun.

 

Surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet...@Aristotelis has made some excellent videos with driving tips. Start with the first one below and when you see improvements move to the next one.

 

As advised by MarcM, follow the instruction in that video, particularly the tire pressure,
Use tire ingeneer or similar app to get the right and balanced tire pressure.
Don't worry about tire temp.
This video is gold to improve lap time.

 

Thanks again!

What is that magic with the tire pressures? How come the pressures equalise? Different pressures but ends up being equal?! Oh, different temps (hotter == higher pressure) - do the tires left tires always settle a little warmer than the left then regardless of the length of the race? I take it if your track is running ACW the right tires run hotter and you would reduce the opposite pressures?

Is it always the same rule?

Thanks again!

 

The purpose is to get optimal contact for the tire patch while driving. The reason why the pressure changes while driving is because each wheel doesn't travel at the same speed while cornering around the track. It lead to different temperature at each wheel which need different PSI in the initial setup to get even result on track.

They start to settle around 1 1/2 lap if you use the tyre blanked. At the second lap it's about right.

When the PSI is adjusted correctly, the car is simply faster at cornering.

 

Balancing pressures seems to be more important than temperatures.

 

The KTM is a good car to teach driving technique but it is also a car that will expose any driving errors as it has no electronics and is a pretty raw car. Your hardware isnt an issue as I have a g27 and its really not a handicap in any way in any car in AC with no aids used for me.

I don't race AI much and so couldn't run this in career mode as I only ran it a while back and lost progress without ever having another go. Earlier builds I found it quite boring as the AI were way too slow, now they are much better to race however still arent exactly very fast in any combo I have tried.

I did have a go at this in a custom 5 lap race with AI at 100% 1% variable and 100% aggression so pretty much as fast and aggressive as they can get, this at Vallelunga classic which I think is the track in this race but I could be wrong.

It was actually quite fun racing the AI here as they have much better race craft but they are a bit off my pace so even from 24th it would be possible to win over 5 laps but here I only came 2nd, its a bit hard to pass too many cars per lap once the field spreads out a little but the career races likely have a smaller grid so should be a bit easier to get them.

Here are my game settings used with the g27 and h shifter.



Here is a replay of the race, showing how to race the AI here. I use the clutch also on upshifts with downshifts just heal and toe with clutch into bigger brake zones but clutch doesn't show up in replay pedals app.



Technique wise take car on entries as the car has no ABS and any big locks will greatly increase stopping distance and likely make you either miss apexes or need to brake much sooner if its something you do most laps. Mid corner to exit the car on throttle is also prone to get a bit loose as it still has more power then tyre so throttle control plus quick reactive counter steering at times is needed. For fastest times you need to try and keep it clean but then racing the AI they are pretty good now and will leave you enough racing room but you just need to do the same.

They are typical AI as they will leave the same gaps each lap and if you get some overlap you can usually make a pass inside or outside of most corners if you leave them some room to avoid contact.

Setup wise I didn't do much get the rear as low as I can, max negative front camber rear just to balance out exits a bit. More will tighten it up less will be better out of the slower corners but will get a bit loose in the faster ones. Toe I was fairly neutral a little toe in at the front and minimal positive toe at the rear. Pressure set for optimal after about 3 laps but even on cold tyres it wasn't so bad here.

 

Mate!

That was so helpful and what a video. I notice you steer hard to correct the car.

I asked on your YT but I will ask here too: what settings do you use for your ffb? I think our wheels are essentially the same ffb-wise?

I take it you have similar pedals to me too. How did you get used to the break point?

Thanks!

 

I will put up my full wheel settings here later, not home atm. Fairly basic with just normal ffb none of the extra settings like understeer, curbs etc. Use the wheel at full 900 degrees with a custom ffb lut, gyro enabled and soft lock which are both settings within the ini files. I will add all these settings and where to find the ini files tomorrow for you to try.

Pedals for me arent much of an issue, I guess I have enough experiance with them that it just feels natural now. Some seem to struglle with them but to me I have no trouble adjusting between these, load cells Ive used at times and also real cars. Much like getting in another car you just find a way to make do with what you have.

On exits I was overdriving a bit and eager to get on power so it got a bit loose.
When trying desperatly to go last to first in 5 laps with fairly racey AI you need to hussle a bit. For a proper hotlap I would try to be abit cleaner on exits as some of that wheelspin is costing time.

 

Lowering the back height on a mid engine car seem like a very weird setup decision.

 

Mate, super helpful and that would be awesome.

Thanks!

 

I want to hear this, please explain why is it so.

 

The car weight is mostly in the back. Reducing the rear would reduce front bite during braking, reducing braking distance & also reduce overall downforce.