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Sim Racing |OT| Point Brake

888

Member
I’ve taken the dive into full Sim Racing and have put all other gaming on a basic hold. Racing for me started way back with GT on PS1 and mostly other SimCade games up to the Forza series. I had always raced with a controller except for a short stint with Forza 3 and the Xbox 360 Racing Wheel, granted that wasn’t that great of a wheel and I ended up quickly jumping back to a Controller.

Fast forward to last year, I bought a G29 to play Dirt Rally 2.0. Combined with a Thrustmaster TH8A shifter and a ghetto JoyBrake I quickly got hooked. I would spend hours running Rally Cross and Rally time trials. Getting slightly better with every hour my times kept getting better and better. But I was still involved with other games and was heavily playing COD MW until COVID.

Covid has been interesting for lots of people that I know. Finding Hobbies is very important during all of this. I work in Healthcare and when I wasn’t working, I was playing games with my Family. I decided after a long on call week to dig out my G29 and run some laps. Hours and many Spotify playlists later I took a break. My buddy called and offered to trade a Vive for a .22 that I had. I quickly took the offer and that’s when everything changed. VR Racing is the ONLY way I can race now, even with the older Vive and Super sampling the depth perception is unbeatable. You find those apexes and feel way more confident diving into corners and drifting being able to look out another window to see where you are heading.

The Sim Racing Community has grown and become more desirable during the lockdowns. Companies like Logitech, Thrustmaster and Fanatec have provided multiple grades of equipment to the masses. Youtube Channels have become more and more popular for reviews, settings and Indepth guides. Communities such as iRacing have been a hot spot between Forums, FB Groups etc.

I figured I would take this time and see who in GAF is interested in a possible Sim Community right here. Below I will list out some high-level breakdowns of important things to consider for Sim Racing at any budget.


Hardware

Cockpits: Possibly one of the most overlooked things to new racers. Everyone jumps right to the Racing Gear but overlooks one of the most important foundations. Having a sturdy cockpit is very important to stay consistent, between flex or movement when you are slamming on a brake pedal, having a solid foundation is possibly more important than a high-end wheel. Below are a few of the options for cockpits that could be used.
Desks: This is doable with low end gear but will still lead to issues, particularly if you are using a chair with wheels or are on hard floors. Pedals will slip, desks will shake knocking down your Anime Weeb statues. Desks are possibly a good start for something like a Gear driven wheel like a G29 but Pedal placement will be crucial. Mounting a Direct Drive wheel to a desk could prove catastrophic.

Wheel Stands: A much better option, usually fold able and able to be moved easily. This leaves you mostly worried about a seat that doesn’t move or flex while you are racing. Some of the downfalls of wheel stands come with higher end wheels in the Direct Drive area, they can overpower the stand and cause flex or wobble which is very bad.

Prebuilt Cockpits: Companies such as TrakRacer, GT Omega, Next Level Racing, SIMLAB offer a variation of options, from Steel tube to 8020 Aluminum rigs. These usually range from $600-$1500 but beware shipping charges and stock issues.

DIY Cockpit: This is the option I went for, I went to a local metal shop and bought 30ft of 2x2 11 GA Steel tubing, learned how to weld and went to it. With plating I spent about $200 on the frame including castors to move it and $250 on a racing seat. There are downfalls, it may not offer as many options for adjustments but if it's just built around a certain set of equipment it shouldn’t be a problem.


Wheel Tech: This is where it gets interesting and heavily influenced by your budget.
Gear Driven: This is usually the entry point for most. It is cheaper because it uses a small motor and a set of cogs to amplify the Force Feed Back. This is going to provide a cheap way to see if you even like jumping further down the Rabbit hole. The major downside is overall Torque and Detail. Detail gets lost by the time it gets to the wheel.

Belt Driven: This is going to be much smoother but a little bit more expensive than a gear set. You get much better feedback and detail vs the Gear system. You get more Torque and detail but still some is lost compared to the next option. Most racers tend to stop here at a Belt system. They are the happy medium.

Direct Drive: This would-be Tim the Tool Man Taylor’s pick. Huge amounts of power, for better or worse. This is the smoothest and most detailed system; you will have the ability to really fight the motor in turns and even feel the difference in road texture down the painted surfaces. This comes at a cost though, possible Physical harm. Thumbs can be dislocated, wrists broken, and heaven forbid you get your arm caught in the wheel. This is what I just went to. Also consider an E-Stop button by your legs just in case. At times this can feel like arm wrestling a Gorilla, but the feel is downright amazing.


Manufacturers: For this segment I am going to keep it mainstream and offer 3 of the main options on the market.

Logitech: G29 Platform, this is the cheapest method of entry. It comes with the wheel and pedals with a Gear driven system. Probably will do most people well enough but will be easily outmatched by nicer gear. Pedals are the major weakness due to a soft inconsistent feel.

Thrustmaster: Their systems are the ones I know the least about actually, TM offers a few options and are slightly more expensive than Logitech, but they have a big following in the Market. They can also be mixed and matched if you wanted certain offerings (PC Only).

Fanatec: These guys are the big boys of the Mass market. Offering a few options and lots of compatibility between systems. They are kind of like the Apple of Sim Racing. Offering Belt driven options like the CSL Elite and CSW 2.5 up the DD1 and DD2 Direct Drive offerings. Usually, a set of their pedals are quickly mixed in with a Logitech and TM system.


Pedals, Shifters and Handbrakes Oh My!

These are usually the first things that get swapped or added. Pedals are widely known to the be best first upgrade you can do. In my case I went with a Fanatec Clubsport V3 pedal set, offering a load Cell Brake. Shifters such as the Logitech Shifter are missing a lot of feel to them and they feel loose and flappy. Going with a Thrustmaster THA8 is a much better feel but still quite dead feeling. Something like the Fanatec CS Shifter 2.5 offers a much better feel as well as a quick swap to a Sequential shifter and the pull of a toggle switch. Handbrakes can be found on Ebay for cheap or can be found from Fanatec etc. This is very important for games like Dirt.


Displays

This is going to be highly subjective but from spending enough time in the Community I can safely rate them in a general fashion.

Single Screen: This is going to be the least appealing, limited FOV and depth is going to be lacking from this.

Triple Screen: This is a much better option providing huge gains in FOV but comes at a huge price tag and performance budget.

VR: This is where racing comes alive, if you can handle it. Some people have no issues, some just can’t do it. But far and away one of the best ways to be immersed into the race.


Tactile feedback

When you drive a car, you feel all sorts of information being fed to you. When you are racing in a sim just having the wheel giving you that information sometimes isn’t enough. Pedals sometimes have built in motors that can give you info on wheel slip or locking your brakes. But the best way to get immersed is by something like a Buttkicker or other like systems. Feeling the engine, road bumps or getting the feeling of rubbing another racer in a corner is an amazing feeling and well worth the effort to set it up.


Gloves, Shoes and Helmets
Just kidding on the Helmets. But Gloves and Shoes could prove useful. Gloves provide grip and protection both for you and the wheel. Suede wheels can get nasty with oils from your skin. Other things that gloves can help with is protecting your fingers from catching a spinning paddle shifter or a sharp handbrake lever while shifting into 5th (I got a huge gash on my knuckle from that).

Shoes are just as important in my opinion Thin racing shoes allow your feet to be flexible to heel toe vs having a bulky shoe on. Racing shoes are so light you almost don’t know they are on. Barefoot with some of these pedal sets can get uncomfortable.


Software

Software and Add Ons

This is very important if you want to use all the information the sim gives you. Something like Simhub to control forcefeed back settings for Buttkickers, or Racedepartment.com to download add on tracks, cars and even engine sounds. There are all sorts of things out there but Simhub and Race department are great starts.

Now the actual Sim Software

Sim Racing has a huge community to mingle with over a few different options.

IRacing
Assetto Corsa Series
Project Cars
RFactor 2
Dirt Rally
And many more.

IRacing is probably one of the most well-known. It is a Subscription service but also requires in game payments for tracks and cars. There are leagues where you can make money on. It is a real name affair when racing on iRacing, your real name is displayed when racing based on your account that is setup. You can be banned or have your license demoted based on your driving, every Collison or off track even is an incident point. It helps keep people from being idiots.

The other games on the list support DLC and even community content to many degrees. Assetto and Rfactor 2 are heavily moddable for free but also support their own Laser Scanned tracks you can buy for the best experience.

Virtual Racing School is a new one that I’ve tried. It has free features but is mostly paid monthly. It runs while you play, analyzing your telemetry data. You log into the website and it gives a full map and graph of everything down to tire temps at a certain point. It will allow you to detect bad habits and make corrections.

Community
As mentioned before Sites like Racedepartment.com is a great option. If you prefer Youtube Boosted Media and Sim Racing Garage are perfect places to go for information. SRG has been called the Bob Ross of Sim Racing, guy is amazing in his ridiculous Indepth coverage of equipment.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT_50ZiRFWSm7oziV1OZloQ
https://www.youtube.com/user/projectbrz

I am hoping this thread can get a little movement here in GAF to hopefully build a small community of Racers right here. Who else is interested in doing some laps?
 
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888

Member
*Reserved*

My New setup consists of the following now.

Cockpit: Homemade Custom Cockpit built from 2x2 11ga Steel Tubing with a NRG Fiberglass racing seat. Frame isn't finished yet, will be finishing welding and paint soon.
Transducer: Buttkicker Gamer2 along with Simhub to control it.
Wheel: Fanatec DD1 with Porsche 911 GT3 Wheel
Pedals: Fanatec Clubsport V3 Pedals with Performance Kit
Shifter: Fanatec Sq Shifter ( Both H and Sq modes)
Handbrake: Fanatec Handbrake 1.5
VR: OG Vive

I ended up selling my old stuff but one thing I noticed about the market is that resale is very high for the equipment so makes it a little less painful to give it a shot.




 
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MCplayer

Member
What did you end up picking up?
Fanatec CSL Elite v1.1 , CSL Elite Steering Wheel WRC and CSL Elite Pedals.
I will also get the clutch, shifter and handbrake after doing some more freelance videography work.

Finally me and my brother are gonna be able to go sim racing with a good wheel, been playing racing games since 1999 thanks to my brother, and I was born in 94, but the wheels at the time well were just toys, so a controller were always our main control source.

I'm gonna play Dirt Rally 2.0, Asseto Corsa, rfactor 2, AMS, Raceroom and maybe iRacing (to much expensive).
And of course the usual jams for fun, Forza
 
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MCplayer

Member
*Reserved*

My New setup consists of the following now.

Cockpit: Homemade Custom Cockpit built from 2x2 11ga Steel Tubing with a NRG Fiberglass racing seat. Frame isn't finished yet, will be finishing welding and paint soon.
Transducer: Buttkicker Gamer2 along with Simhub to control it.
Wheel: Fanatec DD1 with Porsche 911 GT3 Wheel
Pedals: Fanatec Clubsport V3 Pedals with Performance Kit
Shifter: Fanatec Sq Shifter ( Both H and Sq modes)
Handbrake: Fanatec Handbrake 1.5
VR: OG Vive

I ended up selling my old stuff but one thing I noticed about the market is that resale is very high for the equipment so makes it a little less painful to give it a shot.





thats sick!
 

888

Member
Fanatec CSL Elite v1.1 , CSL Elite Steering Wheel WRC and CSL Elite Pedals.
I will also get the clutch, shifter and handbrake after doing some more freelance videography work.

Finally me and my brother are gonna be able to go sim racing with a good wheel, been playing racing games since 1999 thanks to my brother, and I was born in 94, but the wheels at the time well were just toys, so a controller were always our main control source.

I'm gonna play Dirt Rally 2.0, Asseto Corsa, rfactor 2, AMS, Raceroom and maybe iRacing (to much expensive).
And of course the usual jams for fun, Forza

Ahh you were probably stalking the Fanatec site along with myself over last week. I was hoping for a DD discount but NOPE! My nephew is building a setup and I was showing him the CSL set, would like to give it a shot and see how it is. I am probably going to order that WRC wheel for my Dirt obsession.

You know, iRacing isn't that bad if you buy in long term from what I see. I did 2 years for 149 with their renewal discount but new players can get like half off, so 99 for 2 years. I should have done that. But there is nothing more intense than a full grid of other players fighting for a win. The nice thing is that people try to race clean because it directly affects you if you dont.
 

MCplayer

Member
Ahh you were probably stalking the Fanatec site along with myself over last week. I was hoping for a DD discount but NOPE! My nephew is building a setup and I was showing him the CSL set, would like to give it a shot and see how it is. I am probably going to order that WRC wheel for my Dirt obsession.

You know, iRacing isn't that bad if you buy in long term from what I see. I did 2 years for 149 with their renewal discount but new players can get like half off, so 99 for 2 years. I should have done that. But there is nothing more intense than a full grid of other players fighting for a win. The nice thing is that people try to race clean because it directly affects you if you don't.
Oh ok that doesn't actually seems expensive!

yeah, sadly they only discounted the csl wheel base + ps4 official which is inferior to the csl elite v1.1.
 

888

Member
Oh ok that doesn't actually seems expensive!

yeah, sadly they only discounted the csl wheel base + ps4 official which is inferior to the csl elite v1.1.

Ahh, didn’t actually realize there was a difference between them besides platform comparability.

The only other thing with iracing is you have to buy cars and tracks outside of the initial ones but honestly you get a good assortment to keep you busy until you figure out what kind of racing you want to do.
 

888

Member


Survived the iRacing - Road Racing Rookies. Got the license upgrade to race in D class. Not gonna lie it was hard and took a good amount of practice to fix mistakes I was making but well worth it. This has brought way more thrills and intense online matches than any other game I’ve played. Anyone that is even interested in racing competitively should look into it.
 

drotahorror

Member
Here's my little setup I bought this year. I don't have room for a cockpit or even for the wheel to sit where it's at in the picture. I have since added a loadcell brake and I have the Fanatec Handbrake.

HLA7sMi.jpeg


I only play Dirt Rally 2 and other rally games.

* I should take a new picture, I have it looking much cleaner now with cables etc. Which trust me, with a wheelstand it's a bit hard to hide them.
 
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888

Member
Here's my little setup I bought this year. I don't have room for a cockpit or even for the wheel to sit where it's at in the picture. I have since added a loadcell brake and I have the Fanatec Handbrake.

HLA7sMi.jpeg


I only play Dirt Rally 2 and other rally games.

* I should take a new picture, I have it looking much cleaner now with cables etc. Which trust me, with a wheelstand it's a bit hard to hide them.

Ooooo a fellow fanatec. I really wish I would have started with a csl instead of the g29 in the first place. I love dirt rally, just haven’t gotten it tuned for the direct drive wheel yet. Do you do rally or rally cross?
 
Finally a Sim Racing thread. I’ve been super hooked on Dirt Rally 2 since getting a rig last year. It’s more addictive than most AAA games.
 
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888

Member
Rallying one handed while filming


Dirt rally seems to be a good entry point into the hobby for a lot of people. It’s what got me big into it. I started with rally cross but rally is where I’m at now with it.


This was one of the last tracks I was spending time on before I took the plunge into Rally itself.

Like I said above I haven’t done it with the new wheel yet, really have to dial in settings, don’t wanna break a finger lol.
 
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hariseldon

Unconfirmed Member
My kind of thread. Wife got me a cheap wheel and pedals 2013, this led to me IRacing, buying a T300 wheel, she got me Fanatec CSR Elite pedals, I picked up triples then Rift CV1, took a Caterham R300 around Silverstone and Donington for real and loved it - this hobby got expensive fast. I fucking love it.
 

888

Member
My kind of thread. Wife got me a cheap wheel and pedals 2013, this led to me IRacing, buying a T300 wheel, she got me Fanatec CSR Elite pedals, I picked up triples then Rift CV1, took a Caterham R300 around Silverstone and Donington for real and loved it - this hobby got expensive fast. I fucking love it.

Well come on, Lets host a private iracing session and turn some laps! I just hit class D on Road Racing and spent last night working on getting the Skip Barber down before I go into Official races. Started using VRS to work on laps.


sFG8BqD.png



The hobby is legit addictive and keeps pushing you harder and harder to get faster.

I am set on hardware for now, I think I may upgrade pedals if Fanatec releases a Podium grade pedal set anytime soon but I don't see that happening. I mostly need to finish welding, replace pedal mount and then paint it. I am looking at getting a VR upgrade tho, I like to use the car gauges and sometimes thats a bit hard to read with a OG Vive.
 
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TheMan

Member
Very cool thread. A year or so ago I was really into it- i have most of the major PC sims including rfactor2 (with some dlc), AC, ACC, PC2, and even a few years of f1. I've subbed to iracing a couple of times and I just can't get over the handling model, you slide too easily. I never did upgrade my hardware beyond a lowly t150, and more recently I don't really feel compelled to spend hundreds on fanatec gear, but I wouldn't bother upgrading unless I made that jump. Haven't been playing much lately but I might get back into it soon.
 
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888

Member
Very cool thread. A year or so ago I was really into it- i have most of the major PC sims including rfactor2 (with some dlc), AC, ACC, PC2, and even a few years of f1. I've subbed to iracing a couple of times and I just can't get over the handling model, you slide too easily. I never did upgrade my hardware beyond a lowly t150, and more recently I don't really feel compelled to spend hundreds on fanatec gear, but I wouldn't bother upgrading unless I made that jump. Haven't been playing much lately but I might get back into it soon.

That’s an interesting observation about the sliding. I felt the same way with my G29. Now on a direct drive wheel I don’t feel that way. With my holding forces and the ability to really add weight to the wheel I don’t have nearly the issues anymore. Even with the MX5. In the video I posted the first half was with the g29 and when I started finishing in the top 3 and laying down new PBS I noticed a lot of it was not having a floaty dead zone of no feedback.

Here is a video of AC on Nord. This is using about half of my current wheel force. I was able to drop about 20 seconds off my lap time do to having more weight and torque on the wheel. I used to have a much harder time completing a lap with the g29 let alone setting good times due to that dead feeling at times.


 

MCplayer

Member
How does that WRC rim feel? I was thinking about getting that for dirt rally.
pretty good, perfect size, already played alot of dirt rally 2, the pedals rotate with the wheel so carefull with the pedals on hard rotation or it will cut your fingers, thankfully I got used to the pedals quicly and never got cought
 

888

Member
pretty good, perfect size, already played alot of dirt rally 2, the pedals rotate with the wheel so carefull with the pedals on hard rotation or it will cut your fingers, thankfully I got used to the pedals quicly and never got cought

Yeah I know that feeling. My hand got caught by the paddles after taking a hit from another driver. Caught the fingernail in the worst spot.

Between that and my handbrake that will literally cut your finger open is why I now use Sparco racing gloves.
 
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hollams

Gold Member
Wait until you get a motion setup then things start to get real interesting. Mine is just a seat mover but it makes a huge difference. The first time I flipped my car in dirt rally I thought I was going to fly out of my chair.
X2qpmv8.jpg
 
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888

Member
Wait until you get a motion setup then things start to get real interesting. Mine is just a seat mover but it makes a huge difference. The first time I flipped my car in dirt rally I thought I was going to fly out of my chair.
X2qpmv8.jpg

Next house I’m making a dedicated area for something like that. My current needs to be a little portable but I really want motion as well. Looks awesome btw

How is the DD with dirt? I haven’t tried it just yet. Mostly playing AC and iracing.

I also spot three gamer2s ;) very nice. Mine resonates thru the steel frame so much I haven’t thought about adding more yet.
 
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hariseldon

Unconfirmed Member
Well come on, Lets host a private iracing session and turn some laps! I just hit class D on Road Racing and spent last night working on getting the Skip Barber down before I go into Official races. Started using VRS to work on laps.


sFG8BqD.png



The hobby is legit addictive and keeps pushing you harder and harder to get faster.

I am set on hardware for now, I think I may upgrade pedals if Fanatec releases a Podium grade pedal set anytime soon but I don't see that happening. I mostly need to finish welding, replace pedal mount and then paint it. I am looking at getting a VR upgrade tho, I like to use the car gauges and sometimes thats a bit hard to read with a OG Vive.

Who needs private when the skippy is running legit the best track this week? So.. what's your irating? Mine's hovering around 2k at the moment - was 2.8k when I was racing more regularly and practicing more. I've tended to mostly race the skippy but also did a lot of Lotus 49 and Lotus 79 back in the day.

Re VRS - I used to use iSpeed, but that became less useful once weather was a thing. Now I just say fuck it and do my own thing, let the green/red bar do its thing to let me know what works and what doesn't.
 
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MCplayer

Member
mate, sell your fancy f1.4 lens and buy a bigger screen for sim racing.


3kmiy3a.jpg


3ywr1zf.jpg




wish I had space for smth sturdier than the Playseat, but it gets the job done.
Haha, I will get one don't worry, I cant sell since Im a professional videographer, but money after covid will come and I will get 3 screens not that huge, this screen is perfect for video or photo editing tho, if anyones interested.

Nice screen you got 👍
 
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888

Member
Who needs private when the skippy is running legit the best track this week? So.. what's your irating? Mine's hovering around 2k at the moment - was 2.8k when I was racing more regularly and practicing more. I've tended to mostly race the skippy but also did a lot of Lotus 49 and Lotus 79 back in the day.

Re VRS - I used to use iSpeed, but that became less useful once weather was a thing. Now I just say fuck it and do my own thing, let the green/red bar do its thing to let me know what works and what doesn't.

I just got out of rookies so I can’t imagine my irating is too high yet. I’ve spent a few hours in the skippy the last few days. My last few laps with it was awesome and get new PB on the current track. It took me a bit to get used to slowing it down. Brakes seemingly have to be applied at the right time or you’re screwed.

Question tho. I’ve noticed you’re able to downshift the skippy without the clutch but it will only do it at a certain speed range. I tend to clutch with every downshift and quickly release to use the engine to help slow down along with the brake personally. Just curious how you downshift with it.

Upshifting I flat foot it and just pump the clutch as needed.

The times I set good lap times are the times I stopped worrying about the rpm gauges and just used the sound of the engine. It’s a weird car because it never seems to sound like you need to shift it once you hit 6500 rpm. So still getting used to that. I think I hit a 1:55 on the current track.

Just looked up irating. 1228 currently. Like I said. Just got out of rookies so nothing too special yet.
 
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hariseldon

Unconfirmed Member
I just got out of rookies so I can’t imagine my irating is too high yet. I’ve spent a few hours in the skippy the last few days. My last few laps with it was awesome and get new PB on the current track. It took me a bit to get used to slowing it down. Brakes seemingly have to be applied at the right time or you’re screwed.

Question tho. I’ve noticed you’re able to downshift the skippy without the clutch but it will only do it at a certain speed range. I tend to clutch with every downshift and quickly release to use the engine to help slow down along with the brake personally. Just curious how you downshift with it.

Upshifting I flat foot it and just pump the clutch as needed.

The times I set good lap times are the times I stopped worrying about the rpm gauges and just used the sound of the engine. It’s a weird car because it never seems to sound like you need to shift it once you hit 6500 rpm. So still getting used to that. I think I hit a 1:55 on the current track.

I'm able to get about a 1:52.5 if I recall, though weather is a big factor in times, plus you should note that the tyres take a while to work in. You might want to have a look in the forums - the weekly topics are handy and usually contain demo laps to see where you're losing time (https://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts/list/3782435.page for this week's track).

So shifting - the clutch is only needed to launch at the start. After that you can ignore it - it's a dogbox. So, technique is to do a little lift off the accelerator on up-shifts, and a little blip on downshifts. Those blips can also be used to unsettle or settle the car depending on what you want to do (ie a smaller blip will cause engine braking to unsettle the car where a larger blip will unsettle it less).

The biggest thing in terms of getting a good lap time is getting your line right. Focus on that first. Use all the track, make damn sure your tyre is right on the white line. Also look at what the fast guys are doing, that'll tell you which bits you can get away with a slight cut.
 
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888

Member
I'm able to get about a 1:52.5 if I recall, though weather is a big factor in times, plus you should note that the tyres take a while to work in. You might want to have a look in the forums - the weekly topics are handy and usually contain demo laps to see where you're losing time (https://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts/list/3782435.page for this week's track).

So shifting - the clutch is only needed to launch at the start. After that you can ignore it - it's a dogbox. So, technique is to do a little lift off the accelerator on up-shifts, and a little blip on downshifts. Those blips can also be used to unsettle or settle the car depending on what you want to do (ie a smaller blip will cause engine braking to unsettle the car where a larger blip will unsettle it less).

The biggest thing in terms of getting a good lap time is getting your line right. Focus on that first. Use all the track, make damn sure your tyre is right on the white line. Also look at what the fast guys are doing, that'll tell you which bits you can get away with a slight cut.

Yeah you’re absolutely right. The first lap or two I have to take it super easy or T2 I lose it just giving it a little turn on the wheel. Tires do need some warming up.

As far as upshifting I’ll give that a shot. I hadn’t tried it that way.

I think the reason I’m a bit slow on the track is I haven’t gotten on it with other racers to follow lines. Been mostly getting used to the skippy alone, finding out it quirks etc. but I get what you mean. That’s how I got my lap times during the MX5 series. I always dropped my lap times a few seconds hanging out in 3rd and just following the leaders.

I’ll check out the forum post. I haven’t spent much time over in those forums honestly.
 
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hariseldon

Unconfirmed Member
Yeah you’re absolutely right. The first lap or two I have to take it super easy or T2 I lose it just giving it a little turn on the wheel. Tires do need some warming up.

As far as upshifting I’ll give that a shot. I hadn’t tried it that way.

I think the reason I’m a bit slow on the track is I haven’t gotten on it with other racers to follow lines. Been mostly getting used to the skippy alone, finding out it quirks etc. but I get what you mean. That’s how I got my lap times during the MX5 series. I always dropped my lap times a few seconds hanging out in 3rd and just following the leaders.

I’ll check out the forum post. I haven’t spent much time over in those forums honestly.

I take it you're doing the 'test' thing. Use practice sessions, they're much more useful. You'll learn from being on track with the fast guys. Also, it's a good place to practice side-by-side stuff if you can find someone up for it, so you can cope when it happens in race.

The skippy forums are the dog's bollocks, a real big help for newbies, loads of useful resources etc. I can't recommend them highly enough.
 
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hariseldon

Unconfirmed Member
Oh nice thread, I'm a peasant with my old G27 but hey AC is fun with any wheel and thats all I care about

Nothing wrong with that. I ran for a couple of years with a DFGT with a squash ball stuffed down the back of the brake pedal. Also, AC is the dog's bollocks. Much better than the sequel (which runs like absolute dogshit).
 
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888

Member
Nothing wrong with that. I ran for a couple of years with a DFGT with a squash ball stuffed down the back of the brake pedal. Also, AC is the dog's bollocks. Much better than the sequel (which runs like absolute dogshit).

ACC is nearly impossible in Vr. Game sucks performance wise. I spent most of my time running AC on Nord. Still my go to for fun.

Oh nice thread, I'm a peasant with my old G27 but hey AC is fun with any wheel and thats all I care about


That doesn’t matter. You can still get good lap times with that. I spent a majority of my time with a g29. Had a blast and that’s what got me hooked.
 
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hariseldon

Unconfirmed Member
ACC is nearly impossible in Vr. Game sucks performance wise. I spent most of my time running AC on Nord. Still my go to for fun.

Shame you weren't in the skippies last season - it was the ring's last season on the schedule and won't be back for about a year (each track gets to appear in 3 consecutive seasons before being sent to wait for at least 4 - helps keeps costs down and prevent boredom from too much repetition). Definitely suggest looking at how the schedules are done so you can figure out where best to spend your money. The forum link includes details of how many seasons each track on this season's schedule has before being booted off, which will help. And don't forget, discounts for buying 3 items or 6 items in one hit.
 

888

Member
Shame you weren't in the skippies last season - it was the ring's last season on the schedule and won't be back for about a year (each track gets to appear in 3 consecutive seasons before being sent to wait for at least 4 - helps keeps costs down and prevent boredom from too much repetition). Definitely suggest looking at how the schedules are done so you can figure out where best to spend your money. The forum link includes details of how many seasons each track on this season's schedule has before being booted off, which will help. And don't forget, discounts for buying 3 items or 6 items in one hit.

that’s a good idea. I was thinking about grabbing some tracks and a few new cars so I’ll get the discount while I’m at it. I’ll check out the schedule to see what I can run. I’m hoping to get thru D class as quick as I can.



heres my current skippy situation. I have a harder time with longer sweeping corners with it. For sure a pretty strange car to drive compared to a normal formula style car I’ve driven in say AC.
 
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hariseldon

Unconfirmed Member
that’s a good idea. I was thinking about grabbing some tracks and a few new cars so I’ll get the discount while I’m at it. I’ll check out the schedule to see what I can run. I’m hoping to get thru D class as quick as I can.



heres my current skippy situation. I have a harder time with longer sweeping corners with it. For sure a pretty strange car to drive compared to a normal formula style car I’ve driven in say AC.


Some thoughts (not 100% sure as it's difficult with the FOV in the video)..

49913009438_9394c27502_o.jpg


Map for reference...

I reckon you might be turning in a bit too early I think on the first right hander (T1) but good use of whole track on exit - think you can use a little more of the green stuff on the left if I recall. Not carrying nearly enough speed coming out of T3 which suggests not enough going into it - it's a 3rd gear corner (can't tell what gear you're in). T4 you've started drifting left too early - hold that right and make a sharper later left turn - it wants to push you to the outside all through T4 to a sharp earlier turn will help a lot, too early and you cut the angle too much. The fact that you have no trouble holding that left line tells me you're going too slow. Too slow exit out of 5, you should be really struggling to hold it and keep it on track. Good first chicane. 2nd chicane isn't bad either. Exit to 12 however you can cut the corner a little more and that'll help turn the car, so you can come at it with more speed. Top of the hill is interesting, could have done with being on the right more and cutting over to the left to give an easier angle before you take T15. T16 I think you've turned in too early.

Re progressing from the D license, don't be in a rush. By all means get your C license, but don't be in too much of a rush to push on to higher series. The skippy is a bit special in that people hang around in that car for years due to the excellent community and the large number of aliens still racing there. It's a great car for beginners but the range of people driving it is huge. Take your time, have some fun, learn more tracks over a few seasons, maybe have some fun on the oval side as well (it's great for improving your situational awareness). Btw the car may look like a formula car but there's basically fuck-all downforce. I actually used the skippy to practice to drive a Caterham R300 around and found them to be broadly similar in many useful ways, so you should probably treat it as being closer to that. It's all about mechanical grip with that car.
 
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888

Member
Some thoughts (not 100% sure as it's difficult with the FOV in the video)..

49913009438_9394c27502_o.jpg


Map for reference...

I reckon you might be turning in a bit too early I think on the first right hander (T1) but good use of whole track on exit - think you can use a little more of the green stuff on the left if I recall. Not carrying nearly enough speed coming out of T3 which suggests not enough going into it - it's a 3rd gear corner (can't tell what gear you're in). T4 you've started drifting left too early - hold that right and make a sharper later left turn - it wants to push you to the outside all through T4 to a sharp earlier turn will help a lot, too early and you cut the angle too much. The fact that you have no trouble holding that left line tells me you're going too slow. Too slow exit out of 5, you should be really struggling to hold it and keep it on track. Good first chicane. 2nd chicane isn't bad either. Exit to 12 however you can cut the corner a little more and that'll help turn the car, so you can come at it with more speed. Top of the hill is interesting, could have done with being on the right more and cutting over to the left to give an easier angle before you take T15. T16 I think you've turned in too early.

Re progressing from the D license, don't be in a rush. By all means get your C license, but don't be in too much of a rush to push on to higher series. The skippy is a bit special in that people hang around in that car for years due to the excellent community and the large number of aliens still racing there. It's a great car for beginners but the range of people driving it is huge. Take your time, have some fun, learn more tracks over a few seasons, maybe have some fun on the oval side as well (it's great for improving your situational awareness). Btw the car may look like a formula car but there's basically fuck-all downforce. I actually used the skippy to practice to drive a Caterham R300 around and found them to be broadly similar in many useful ways, so you should probably treat it as being closer to that. It's all about mechanical grip with that car.

Sweet. Appreciate the breakdown and it confirms what I’ve suspected about those turns. It’s funny that I’m more confident flying into a chicane with the skippy than some of what should be easier turns. But turn 3, 15 and 16 are the ones I really go easy with because I haven’t figured it out yet and I spend more time in the grass with those if I push too hard. Turn 5 does feel like I’m a bit slower on because I think I tend to drop to 1st gear for. I’ll record the replay again with more info on later to compare.

3 and 16 are the worst for me by far. I’ll give your suggestions a go tonight but I absolutely agree with it all. I guess I need to embrace the car sliding around when pushing it harder a bit more.
 
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hariseldon

Unconfirmed Member
Sweet. Appreciate the breakdown and it confirms what I’ve suspected about those turns. It’s funny that I’m more confident flying into a chicane with the skippy than some of what should be easier turns. But turn 3, 15 and 16 are the ones I really go easy with because I haven’t figured it out yet and I spend more time in the grass with those if I push too hard. Turn 5 does feel like I’m a bit slower on because I think I tend to drop to 1st gear for. I’ll record the replay again with more info on later to compare.

3 and 16 are the worst for me by far. I’ll give your suggestions a go tonight but I absolutely agree with it all. I guess I need to embrace the car sliding around when pushing it harder a bit more.

If I recall T5 I'm in 2nd - I've not had a chance to drive this week annoyingly. I will just say btw that you want to feel it on the edge but you don't want it sliding. That will absolutely kill speed. The car is a great drift machine but that's not the way to be fast with it.

Oulton Park has a few different layouts but the one with both chicanes was the right choice because those are two of the sweetest chicanes you'll find, beautifully technical, really benefitting from throwing the car in and then turning early before you even hit the apex to set up the exit. They also prevent the races being a draft-fest, giving you a chance to break the tow. It's useful to learn how to handle the draft, and you'll do that a lot at the Ring, Spa, Bathurst, Watkins Glen, but you don't want too much of that on the schedule.
 
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