I suck. That is all.

I started 'simracing' in '84 with 'Revs' by Geoff Crammond. I was 14. Now I'm an old man, my son, 14 atm plays FIFA and COD but I'm faster @ GT5 as ever lol.

In '94 There was 'F1 Grand Prix'by the same guy, there was a lot more but in '98 came Grand Prix Legends by David Kaemmer. The latter was THE racing sim(and probably still is as the Genesis of them all): Gameplay, realism and above all PHYSICS were at that time Numero Uno @ this planet. I tried it in 2000? ( I çannot recall if it was in the morning or the afternoon sorry) and it was*(&^^%$#@#@(understatement) .
My mates (me too) drove with joysticks(!) at that time and had worldrecord laptimes at some tracks but I couldn't even get out of the pitlane without touching the armco the first days...

Every throttle reaction /input caused an oversteer reaction 99/100 times resulting in a spin/shunt/off track.

But after a few weeks practice (maybe months) I got the hang of it more or less: be gentle with the steering AND throttle/shifting/brakes/downshifting.

to make this long story short : It's all a matter of practice and feel. I'm drifting around in ANY car in AC like there's no tomorrow even the 599/Zonda, that's just from experience and PRACTICE.

Good luck! Keep the faith

Cheer
Robin

 

Slow-in, fast-out is very important in the Formula Abarth. At Monza, which is the only place I've driven it, there are corners where, if you are patient, brake smoothly (it has fantastic brakes) you can trail brake into the corner, get just a little sideways and hit the gas before the apex. Like you, I'm not naturally fast, but learning how to set up for corners where you can pivot the car and get on the gas early has got me into the 1:58s at Monza, not blazing fast but reasonably competitive. You cannot do any of the above if you rush into the corners. The final carousel, for example, the Parabolica, can be done almost flat out in third gear if you get just slow enough on entry to turn the nose in and maintain that slip angle all the way round, but it's not possible if you approach the corner so fast that you slide around it, drift to the outside of the line and have to kill the understeer by lifting.

 

Hmm, I need to get used to its close ratio gearbox I guess... I've been taking the Parabolica in 5th. It doesn't demand the full throttle so I didn't worry too much about it.

 

Choose a track ( id suggest magione or vally club) choose a car and start by lapping the track in 4th gear at 40mph.. Your task here is he be as fast as you can at only 40mph.. Once consistant up it to 50mph, then 60mph and keep going...

What you are doing is learning how to watch your speed and learn how fast you can get round a specific corner.

This method takes lots of time but will help you a lot.

 

This actually seems like a really good idea.
Oh..and Robin... I would be surprised if the majority of us here aren't over 35. I'm 40 myself and I know exactly what you're saying.

 

/me = 40 - mental age = 28

 

WTF is it with 40 year olds? Mid life crisis?
I'm 40 too, mental age 5

 

Im only 29 but done lots of real racing which helped.

Another tip.. The majority of those struggling, im betting you guys are no where near the track edges when turning into corners.. A little tip for that is go to f5 mode and drive next to a straight white line, park so your tyres are about a tyre width away from the white line, now go into the cockpit and make a note where theline huts the dashboard, put a little sticker on if you cant visualise it.. Now go do the same for the other side..

Once you have done that you will have two visualisation points or stickers in the cockpit so you know instantly, exactly where the car is on track and how far away from the edge of the track you actually are (usually a lot further than you think)

Using your new stickers go drive and see your much improved track position.

 

This and turn-in point. If you turn into Monzas Ascari turn to cut over the kerbs, then flatout all the way to parabolica, you can gain massive amounts of time, 1-2 seconds at least. Same with tamburello and villeneuve turns. But that, combined with the correct braking point, takes lots of practice.

 

I like the Skip Barber video but tell me this... aren't we supposed to avoid drifting (understeer / oversteer)? Doesn't anything but 100% traction mean a loss of overall speed? Is there a proper place for neutral drifting or oversteer?
After watching the video I'm lead to believe that you want to find the widest arc in a turn at the fastest speed (100% traction). That's the trick, amiright?

Mid-life for poor guys who actually can't afford to buy a Porsche - that's why so many 40yr olds here.

 

I like the Skip Barber video but tell me this... aren't we supposed to avoid drifting (understeer / oversteer)? Doesn't anything but 100% traction mean a loss of overall speed? Is there a proper place for neutral drifting or oversteer?
After watching the video I'm lead to believe that you want to find the widest arc in a turn at the fastest speed (100% traction). That's the trick, amiright?

Mid-life for poor guys who actually can't afford to buy a Porsche - that's why so many 40yr olds here.

 

Well I suck at racing as well and as long I can get the car around in a semi decent way I don't care too much. I guess I am about five seconds a lap too slow, but as long as I can drive a track consistently I am having fun. Try to find a car that fits you're natural style of driving. I love the Formula Abarth and P4/5C for that. In real life I like the 599xx much more than those cars, but in game less so as I still haven't found out how to get it to turn in properly. For now forget about being fast and just enjoy driving the cars on your personal limit.

 

The moment you start to loose traction be it under or oversteer you start to loose speed, what you need to do is have the largest arc availiable so you are subject to the lowest lateral weight transfers which allows you to have 100% traction and have the highest speed availiable.. Thats the theory anyway.. Putting into practise is another thing all together.

Just remember, the straighter you can make the corner the faster you will get through it..

Not all corners have a geometric apex tho, (outside, apex, outside) some require you to apex early or late but that isnt important if ypur struggling with the basics.. Everybody says slow in fast out is the fastest way, well thats actually wrong.. Fast in and fast out is the fastest way but its far harder to get right.

 

Am watching the vid as we speak (at 39 mins atm) I believe it depend on what car you drive, ie high downforce car or low downforce car.
Obviously a F1 car works best when you do not drift it. But when you look at the M3 E30. That is a car that you need to set up for specific corners, and some drift is usefull.

Its also depends on what corners i believe. But yes a drifting car is a slow car. Thats what i believe anyways

27 Years old here, Also can't afford a Porsche

 

In this instance its called slip, not drift. Drift is something you have when you have too much slip.

Getting the terminology right now can only help in the future of understanding..

P.s i dont own a porsche either, i do have a race car tho

 

you're right...he says a car generates is best turn at 7-10 degrees of slip angle. I dont understand that. any further resources on this? He lost me there. (23:55 in the video)

so is he saying that if you don't hear a bit of tire slipping in the corners you're probably not going quite as fast as you could do the arc?

 

You're right ChrisR, Slip is what i meant
Only racing "car" i have ever driven is my Old Kart, Vortex Motor, Dino chassis

 

its hard as hell to understand for the first time but once you get it, its so simple you will slap yourself..

basically.. if you point your front wheels straight the rubber on the tread pattern is facing forward, if you turn the wheel 5 degrees either way the alloy wheel will turn but the tread pattern will stay put due to friction between the road surface and the tyre..the rubber in the sidewalls will flex which allows your wheel to turn that 5 degrees and the tyre tread pattern to remain pointing forward... turn more and the tyre tread will eventually start to follow the wheel.. this is the slip angle.. so when they talk about a slip angle its the angle at which you turn the wheel and the tread pattern stays put.. which generally is 5-7 degrees.. but it is tyre dependent, pressures, compounds, sidewalls all come into effect when you talk about slip angles, the larger the tyre walls the more of an angle you will get between the alloy wheel and the tread pattern..

does that make sense?

 

just dont try take in everything that the vid is telling you.. all you need to know are the very basics of track driving to start to improve..

 

this is a crappy vid of mine, interestingly the stewards and i worked out that i was about 4 seconds slower around the track than a mclaren mp4-12c gt3 can am car.