Your approach to car choice

You understand very well what I mean...

 

I’m British and I own a Fanatec McLaren GT3 wheel. It’s a no brainer as to what I’m driving, regardless of whether it’s the best/worst/middling car of the bunch.

 

Great car Mclaren... i think that short and light cars are better in short circuits like Br.Ha and Zolder. I tried BMW in the wet in Spa, is stable like a tank.

 

I think I will add the Mercedes AMG to my fave go-to list. It seems to have plenty of power, good handling and manages to point in the right direction for the majority of a race. I don't mess too much with the setups at this point until I get used to the cars and tracks etc. At least with the Merc, I keep up with the pack and occasionally given the right conditions ie. downhill with a tailwind I even manage a pass or two.

 

I like to run them all, rarely will I pick the car I find easiest to be fast in as I prefer more of a challenge. Currently my prefered one is the 911, just so much more fun to drive with other cars being a bit bland after in comparison. But trying all types of cars helps your skills improve, learning how to get the most from any car is fun for me more then just finding one I am fastest with then pick this for easier wins.

There isnt much in it between most of the cars and in a longer race in changeable conditions they can all do fairly well.

Its cool how all cars have their own character and even though there is less actual content then many other games you can actually run them all in any server in any race and be reasonably competitive.

You actually get more useable content, people can pick a favourite or try them all. Yet they can all still race eachother in any server. Still amazed many stick to 10 grid spot open servers.

 

Never tried Porsche yet. It seems very fast. But when i saw a P in Spa near me it seems just little slippery. Is difficult to drive?

 

It can be difficult, its a bit different to the others with its rear engine and less downforce from the diffuser. This means you need more from the rear wing and so costs drag, so you need to avoid using too much to be competitive.

If you can handle a loose and responsive car its ok. To be competitive you just need good quick inputs and keep it balanced making sure it doesnt get too loose as you will either spin or just lose chunks of time. Its awesome under brakes and can be very quick once you get close to its limits.

Depending on track conditions however you may need to tame the setup but I have been using mostly agressive setup with minor adjustments like a a bit more front ARB or 1 click more rear wing if a bit slippery can be more agressive with good track conditions. Play with TC in car and move bias as needed for balance during a stint.

Over a 1 hour CP race at Silverstone in cold and damp conditions I was able to get my CN to 99 running within a couple tenths most of the race. Just needed to avoid asking too much from it as it can bite very hard. For a proper enduro you will just set it up a bit tamer, I wouldnt expect too many AM's to be running the 911 in Blancpain though.

 

Probably a stupid question.... all the cars have the same HP?

 

No that's where the BOP comes in, they will have power restrictions, aero limited, ride height limits and ballast added.

Here is the BOP for Blancpain asia found via a google search, I saw this for the European series some other time but couldn't find the link just now.

 

My favorite is the R-EX but since I am a couple seconds a laps slower in it at Brands Hatch (pretty much the only track I am good at enough to confidently race) than the 911 the Porsche has become my go-to. Also love the Ferrari.

 

Yesterday I felt good in Spa (Kunos1) with BMW, with a P3. Today I'm very courious to try Porsche. I'll arrive P-last

 

Ever since Early Access I Always find myself moving back to the 488. It just feels like wearing a perfectly tailored glove on your hand - That car and me were made for each other Often so do shorter test runs with the other cars, but so far only the Honda has caught my attention as alternative.

And then there is the Lambo... my arch nemesis. I always seem to hit some minute bump in the road or find a slippery spot the size of a coin on the tracks in this car sending me spinning into the barrier - IRL I would have been long gone and dead driving the Lambo...

 

Sorry. I quoted You but this post isn't meant to to reply You at all, so ignore me. It is meant to be a response to believers in the whole mith and cult to the magic setups, because of late I've seen an increase in the number of backers of that falsehood. Yes, a badly setted up vehicle can handle like trash (even in other sims we have seen that in the past, because no work at all was made in base setups from the devs), and sometimes just a small tweack can make an huge change in both balance and handling, sometimes even grip.
But in ACC as it is now it isn't the case, base setups are really good. Those setups are competitive and in most of the cars the balance goes from reasonably well balanced to almost spot on. I'm not saying that there's not room for improvement, but there isn't 1.5 or 3 seconds of improvement waiting for a setup wizart to be discover them click by click and go from the lower end of the time tables to consistently fight for poles, at most it can be 0.6s in some cars, and I don't see >90% of the player base of the game lapping that fast as to be able to blame the setup for their lack of pace.

Back in the previous release the 0.7.2, In the SRO even in monza the setups where locked, meaning that the participants only could use the default setups that come in the game. Guess what, the poleman did a 1m46.5xx in a jaguar. The guy was simply far more skilled than the average Joe, no setups involved. In race pace they where lapping in the low 48s high 47s, >90% of the players cant even get into the low 48s in hotlap configuration with a track rubbered to the maximum and just the fumes in the fuel tank. Those guys in the SRO event did that with fuel anough to go more than 40 minutes without stopping and while taking care of the tyres. Nobody lapping slower than mid 47s in the 0.7.2 has moral right to blame setups as their excuse for being slower, it is the player that needs an overhaul, and maybe learn how to use a very powerfull tool as Motec to see where to improve the driving instead of believe that tweaking in the car looking for 2 or 3 seconds that aren't there is the real reason of being at the low end of the time tables.

 

As Aris said though don't focus entirely on 1 set of optimal conditions, running dynamic weather and longer races spices up the pecking order a fair bit. The fastest cars in optimal conditions may struggle to get in the window when it changes up a bit or eat tyres quicker.

Just had a good battle with some friends online, 1 race I was in the McLaren at Barcelona and 1 guy was in the rex. Off the line he had some proper speed in that thing and I tried hard but couldn't find a way past. Even if I was centimetres away coming out of the last chicane I could not hang on to a draft. All brake zones I was a bit too far back with only dive bombs available. Pace wise I probably had a second per lap but over 20 minutes I ran out of ideas.

If you get a good solid field with solid connections, good racers ACC will be a blast in any car over a long race.

 

Today I did my experience with Porsche. Very funny to drive. I can feel the light weight. But.... just today there was (Spa kunos1) heavy rain. Oh my god! No! Heavy rain with the slippery Porsche (and unknown car) please no! At the start someone said in chat: "we all die" (double LOL). It was like a survive test. Leave the idea from your mind to pass someone. It was a great result remain in the track. Many cars fly away. Me too, three or four spin. But at the end P4. Not bad! Love this game.

 

I cant get the Ferrari or Lambo to work for me. On Spa and Monza I'm over one second quicker just driving carefully in a Porsche (monza 1.50.xx, Spa 2:20.xx in fast conditions, hot day, aggressive setup) than I am pushing in most others. I keep sliding all over the place in Lambo and 488 and they hate kerbs. Do I need to sacrifice cornering speed and go slow in, maximize exit or what? The 488 drivers rather differently to how it does in iRacing...

 

I drove quite a bit of 488. Straighline performance is aweful. The turns are where this car gains it's time. You need to round off corners and keep apex speed as high as possible. Trailbrake deep in the corner and then get on the power right away. Car is pretty neutral on throttle compared the more rearheavy cars. So you need to abuse this on exit. This car is all about smooth driving. Don't jump off the brakes too quickly or it unsettles and you can't get on power early enough.
Passing is an absolute nightmare in this car tho.

 

I nearly always chose the 488 but I have done a few hours in the McLaren recently and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. Completed my first CP race at Barcelona with the 650s and i managed the car (I think) well for the hour race and was only around 2 seconds off the fast guys/girls. Took me quite a while to find a car I was completely comfortable and confident with. Definitely an element of trial and error, plus I just achieved FIA Gold license with the 650s! A car I will definitely be sticking with for some time.

 

Would've edited my earlier post, but too late now.
I fired up Silverstone with the 488 to illustrate what i mean. It's an excellent track to make use of the superior aero of the Ferrari in the long fast sweepers. Also going over curbs try to not upset the car with too much steering lock or sudden braking/accelerating. Putting TC a bit higher can also help to keep the car in check, if you are a bit heavy footed.
Take a look if you want:

https://streamable.com/pj9qp