"new" to ac. looking for tips and tutorials/advice.

Hey Guys.

I'm not necessarily 'new' to AC, I've had it for about 6-7 months or so, but I've decided I want to get good at road racing.

I spent a fair amount of time on iRacing, but I could be found spending 99% of my time on the Oval series'.

I've been having a blast going as fast as I can in GT cars on Nordschlieffe and historic Monza, but there's clearly not a lot of skill to my approach! I've just been playing a lot because it's so damn fun, even if I hardly ever complete a clean lap!

So... I have a DFGT, (I know, not the greatest, but it works!)

What are some tips to get good at this skill? What's a good track to start to master? What's a good car to use to get my chops? The iRacing way was to stick with one car and one track until you can nail it pretty well, then move on. Same here?

I'd love to see some videos explaining breaking points, setups, etc. as well.

Thanks a lot! Let's see if we can get this oval track redneck some refinement!

 

Hi JughedJones, Imola is a great track to learn as it has a good variety of corners and gradients, Spa is also a darn fine track, to be honest all of them have something to learn from. This will most probably be flamed but I would also recommend using the road cars as they have less grip and give you far more feedback than the GT cars. A personal favourite for being fun but can bite you in the backside is the BMW 1M S3, and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV both have great feedback and movement.

As for videos and such there have been some great links in the forum but they can all be found on Youtube, I'm sure someone will post a link to point you in the right direction.

Good luck and have fun on your journey.

 

Thanks, Horus.

I'll look forward to seeing some of those tutorial vids being posted (maybe?)

I just looked at the BMW 1M S3, that does seem like the car to start with huh? It can get away from you but looks like it has great feel to it... plus a little faster than the Alfa.

 

I would stick with the standard 1M if you want to learn consistency more quickly. That car is more than enough to keep you "entertained". The S3 version can be a bit of a monster if pushed too hard. In fact, I find it to be one of the toughest road cars to be consistently quick in.

 

I'd start with the X-Bow or Fiat 500. Practice one of the shorter tracks.

 

Lotuses are fun and there are plenty to choose from. You may also use street tyres, which give you better feel of what happens with the car. Semislicks loose grip more violently, it's harder to manage when you're on the limit.
I also suggest shorter tracks for a start, like Magione, short variants of Vallelunga or Silverstone.

 

Great. I appreciate it.

ALl these tips will be put to use. Any luck on those vids?

 

If you'd have a clutch and a manual shifter I'd recommend the BMW M3 E30 cars. Just pure driving right there. But some of the best when learning the game is to drive the cars from Production (shelby cobra is not that suitable at first maybe), GT and GTR category, see below.

PRODUCTION
- Abarth 500 EsseEsse (2 variants)
- Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV
- Bmw 1M (2 variants)
- Lotus Elise SC (3 variants)
- Shelby Cobra

GT
- Bmw M3 E30 Evo (3 variants)
- Bmw M3 E30 Group A
- Bmw M3 E30 DTM
- Bmw M3 E92 (3 variants)
- Bmw Z4 E89 (3 variants)
- Lotus Evora GTC
- Lotus Evora GX

GTR
- McLaren MP4-12c GT3
- Bmw Z4 GT3
- Bmw M3 GT2
- Ferrari 458 GT2
- P4/5 Competizione
- Mercedes SLS GT3

CLASSIC GP
- Classic Team Lotus Type 49
- Classic Team Lotus 98T
- Ferrari 312T

SUPERCAR
- Ferrari LaFerrari
- Ferrari 458 Italia (2 variants)
- Ferrari F40 (2 variants)
- Ferrari 599xx
- McLaren Mp4 12c
- Mercedes SLS AMG
- Pagani Zonda R
- Pagani Huayra
- Lotus Evora S (2 variants)
- Lotus Exige S Roadster
- Lotus Exige Scura

TRACKDAY
- KTM X-Bow R
- Lotus 2 Eleven
- Lotus Evora GTE
- Lotus Evora GTE Carbon
- Lotus Exige 240R (2 variants)
- Lotus Exige V6 Cup
- Lotus 2 Eleven GT4

 

Are you saying that's the order of things to go with, or just that I should stick with production for a while?

 

** i would love to see a video explaining the ac setup indepth too **

For driving you can watch real life videos, for example for the Nordschleife there are good tutorials for driving it fast:

You can even take the BMW for it, which is a really good car to see the physics in action!

I have noticed though that it take quite some time to really get familiar with one car, switching too much can set you up for alot of spins

Same goes for all the other racetracks and also cars to some degree.

I am currently working on a more smooth driving, sometimes its just easy to not care and try the more arcade-ish approach which leads to bad times and crashes

 

Hi, I would go with Production to learn the tracks and then when you feel comfortable with them you can jump in faster one like the Trackday Lotus for exemple.
There is no perfect learning path, but if one thing is for sure (IMO, glad to discuss with those who disagree) is that you have to spend time (who said a lot ) driving one car/track until you know the car AND track enough to go round making almost the same time on each lap feeling you reached the limit of the car (avoid offroad and spin). At least that what I do and it does work not so badly...

 

Right on, guys.

How bout the 'racing line?' Does that help or hinder? I know it doesn't show you dynamically what you should be doing,
but is it helpful for remembering braking points? Should I just turn it off forever?

What's the consensus on this?

 

NO WAY for the AC racing line. As it is not dynamical, it is a hindrance! Every car has it's own braking points, and it's own line through a given corner. To be fast in every combo you have to practice, practice, practice.

 

Again, and it's my opinion, the racing line as it is not dynamic only help for learning the Apex because from one car to another the breaking points are not exactly at the same place... So few laps with it, then forgive it

 

As you say the colours are mostly useless, cause they arent dynamic. But you can use the line to learn the idealline, which can be tricky in some turns/combos. Maybe try it without it and if there is a part in a track where you arent sure about the best line, you can activate it with "Cntrl + I" .
I forgot to mention. Like Epocx said there are meter signs, if not there are trees or signs or whatever, you can use those as a help to remind when to break.

 

I use the racing line if i am totally new to a track. with production cars the breaking points are good enough and it gives you a good help. Although most tracks have meter signs which are more important later.

 

very helpful, thanks very much.

Keep em coming if you have any more videos, but I appreciate it a lot!

 

Start with one of the slower production cars and a track that you like and practice, practice,...until you get comfortable with the track and the behaviour of the car. Then move to a faster car on the same track

 

Make shure to look into this:
http://www.amazon.de/Ultimate-Speed-Secrets-Bentley-Paperback/dp/B00IJ0C8HG/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413987072&sr=1-1&keywords=Ultimate speed secrets
It will teach you all you must know about racing.

 

Or this: http://www.drivingfast.net/