iRacing - is there anything to learn

[(H)]

With Winter still having a firm grip on the NE and my craving for track time getting unbearable, I bought a G27 and joined iRacing.

Was wondering what your opinion was on the actual effect on real world driving. Any? Negative? Positive (you can actually hone your real life skills).

I know, slightly OT but would appreciate your input.

And of course I would say we all join and convince them to introduce the F8x!


Best,
H

[captainaudio]

What you do not get with iRacing and other simulators is the "seat of the pants" feedback, G Forces, etc. The sight lines are eerily accurate and it is a great way to learn an unfamiliar track. If you are driving on a track for the first time but have become familiar with it in iRacing it will give you a huge advantage. I have had the experience a few times of driving a track in real life an then driving the same track shortly afterward on a simulator. It was amazing how similar the visuals were.

CA

[Vectors2final]

Originally Posted by captainaudio

What you do not get with iRacing and other simulators is the "seat of the pants" feedback, G Forces, etc. The sight lines are eerily accurate and it is a great way to learn an unfamiliar track. If you are driving on a track for the first time but have become familiar with it in iRacing it will give you a huge advantage. I have had the experience a few times of driving a track in real life an then driving the same track shortly afterward on a simulator. It was amazing how similar the visuals were.

CA

Wasn't there some kid that was the beast of iRacing, had the best time on some track and they brought him in, taught him how to drive the race car, and he came close to the actual record or something like that in real life?

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by Vectors2final

Wasn't there some kid that was the beast of iRacing, had the best time on some track and they brought him in, taught him how to drive the race car, and he came close to the actual record or something like that in real life?

There is a GT4 Academy.

[Vectors2final]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

There is a GT4 Academy.

Here it is...


http://www.autoblog.com/2010/12/02/i...-road-atlanta/


http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/gee...ted-2010-11-26

I think this is the full vid.

[captainaudio]

Originally Posted by Vectors2final

Wasn't there some kid that was the beast of iRacing, had the best time on some track and they brought him in, taught him how to drive the race car, and he came close to the actual record or something like that in real life?

,

Most people would love a chance to show their stuff behind the wheel of racecar. Problem is, most people probably wouldn't be any good at actually driving one. We can all try to hone our skills through the use of racing simulators, but just how much can they actually teach you without the visceral feedback and life-or-death consequences that you can only get from real life? Apparently, they can teach us plenty. One person in particular, who goes by the name Greger Huttu, got to put his virtual racing prowess to the test.

Greger Huttu hails from Vaasa, Finland, where he can be found spending putting a lot of time into the iRacing simulator. Huttu is not just good at the game, he utterly dominates it. For the last six years, he's turned 2,581 laps and led for 2,339 of them. He's won every race from the pole position, including the iRacing World Championship that netted him a cool $10,000. Still... he's never actually driven a real racecar, and the folks at Top Gear were curious to see if he actually could.

Top Gear flew Huttu out to Road Atlanta – one of America's toughest tracks – and stuck him in a Star Mazda racer. Both the track and the car are familiar to Huttu because he's experienced both in the iRacing simulator. How did he do? Quite frankly, he did amazingly well. Entering corners at 100 miles per hour, which is just 10 mph shy of where experience drivers come in, Huttu was able to rip off clean lap after clean lap and eventually came within three seconds of what the experts consider a solid time at Road Atlanta.

The difference between a professional driver and a professional simulator driver soon became apparent, however, as Greger Huttu's body began to be affected by the G forces. The pros work hard to stay fit for a reason, and the toll on Huttu resulted in a helmet full of vomit. Though he wanted to continue, Huttu had to eventually throw in the towel because his body could take no more.

Still, his accomplishments are pretty remarkable and suggest that a good simulator can indeed prepare the armchair racer for a car and a circuit. Head over to Top Gear to get the full scoop on Huttu and his real-life racing adventure.

[Wah]

Originally Posted by (H)

With Winter still having a firm grip on the NE and my craving for track time getting unbearable, I bought a G27 and joined iRacing.

Was wondering what your opinion was on the actual effect on real world driving. Any? Negative? Positive (you can actually hone your real life skills).

I know, slightly OT but would appreciate your input.

And of course I would say we all join and convince them to introduce the F8x!


Best,
H

This is pretty neat.... I'll check it out.

(H) when are your central jersey meets going to start up again? I'm not that far from you....

Stay warm people!

[captainaudio]

Originally Posted by (H)

With Winter still having a firm grip on the NE and my craving for track time getting unbearable, I bought a G27 and joined iRacing.

Was wondering what your opinion was on the actual effect on real world driving. Any? Negative? Positive (you can actually hone your real life skills).

I know, slightly OT but would appreciate your input.

And of course I would say we all join and convince them to introduce the F8x!


Best,
H

Lime Rock Park is running winter driving track days this year. You may want to check it out,

CA

[CanAutM3]

While it is far from a complete driving experience, I think there is a lot to gain with sim racing. It develops cognitive memory (learning to learn tracks) and helps keep reflexes in shape. I do try to keep active with sim racing during the winter season to keep the mind in shape for the summer track season. This winter, I did not have much time to do so because of my second kid being recently born. I am sure my next track season will suffer a little because of it.

I believe that "GT academy" is the best proof of this. Where the best "bench" racers (sim racers) were put is true racing cars in actual real world races and are actually not only competitive, but actually winning races .

[03///m3]

I am huge supporter of iRacing. I think sim racing is a great way to get unlimited track time and practice while also learning race craft. Another great sim to try is Assetto Corsa (available on steam). The tire model is excellent however their online racing is terrible compared to iRacing. I use it mostly for just hot lapping but its still good fun.

[brian99997]

Originally Posted by 03///m3

I am huge supporter of iRacing. I think sim racing is a great way to get unlimited track time and practice while also learning race craft. Another great sim to try is Assetto Corsa (available on steam). The tire model is excellent however their online racing is terrible compared to iRacing. I use it mostly for just hot lapping but its still good fun.

What wheel setup are you using? I haven't looked in a few years, but nothing felt quite right

[nicknaz]

I tried iRacing on an Apex GT3 simulator http://torontostar.newspaperdirect.c...er/viewer.aspx and it was amazing. It felt very close to driving in real life. (This makes sense, since the owner of the sim uses it for driver training in the off season, and said his times in the sim were +/- 1 second of his real world times)

Personally, I think there are very real benefits, and the benefits increase depending on the $$ spent on the sim hardware

I'm currently using Gran Turismo 6 on the PS3 just to more familiar with the visuals of a track and to identify the higher risk areas. One nice thing about GT6 is that they have the M4, and a very detailed interior rendering, so it looks great and the cost is very low

[03///m3]

Originally Posted by brian99997

What wheel setup are you using? I haven't looked in a few years, but nothing felt quite right

I'm currently using a Thrustmaster T500rs with a Momo 27c wheel with custom buttons/paddle shifters from Sam Maxwell (http://www.sammaxwellcustoms.com/). I plan on upgrading to the new Simxperience accuforce wheel when they release the pro Momo version later this year. For pedals have the ARC team pneumatic pedals.

[brian99997]

Interesting idea.. so roughly for the cost of a set of tires you can drive unlimited iRacing. Not bad but I know I have a really tough time playing Forza because I can't figure out the braking distances so I just have to use specific points on each track rather than the relative feel of speed.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by brian99997

Interesting idea.. so roughly for the cost of a set of tires you can drive unlimited iRacing. Not bad but I know I have a really tough time playing Forza because I can't figure out the braking distances so I just have to use specific points on each track rather than the relative feel of speed.

That is the most difficult part with simuators IMO, getting the feel for speed and braking distances. I played GT6 at one of my buddies that has a 3D setup, it makes the whole difference. I could figure the braking points much more intuitively with a 3 dimensional view. It gives a much better sense of speed.

[brian99997]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

That is the most difficult part with simuators IMO, getting the feel for speed and braking distances. I played GT6 at one of my buddies that has a 3D setup, it makes the whole difference. I could figure the braking points much more intuitively with a 3 dimensional view. It gives a much better sense of speed.

That makes tires sound more affordable in the near term for sure.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by brian99997

That makes tires sound more affordable in the near term for sure.

GT6 in 3D is not more expensive than the standard GT6, as long as you have a 3D TV with the funky goggles to hook up your PS3

[CSBM5]

Be creative with iRacing and do stuff you could/would *never* intentionally do at the track. One action is to simulate failures and the ensuing off to understand what is "out there" and how you might recover or at least minimize the impact if you ever find yourself in that situation. For example, try out brake failure at the end of VIR's back and front straights and how you react/recover along with what is the most advantageous path to target.

Similarly, something like turn 5-6 area at VIR where getting loose introduces people real quick to how close the Armco is to the right of the track in that region. Work on how you stay ahead of the car and recover. Vision is almost always the key ingredient -- where you look and most importantly how you visualize the imminent future path you intend to make the car travel.

Another spot at VIR is turn 10. Overcook the entry into 10 and work on recovery. In most all cases you can open up the wheel and drive right off the outside into the grass since there is huge runoff room. VIR moved the Armco inside left on track out from 10 due to so many people getting loose and crashing there. Try to work on scenarios here where you overcook the entry and are understeering heavily in numerous different spots -- early corner, at apex, coming off apex, etc. Do the same thing but now getting the tail loose in each of those locations, etc. Be creative.

You can dream up a LOT of these scenarios and work on stuff over and over again that you can never do in real life. Having that mental memory of the best path to follow, recovery plans, etc, can potentially come in handy someday in the future...perhaps life-saving handy.

Second thought about unusual use of iRacing is to drive a track backwards. You learn a huge amount about the topography of the track that isn't readily apparent normally. It's a source for creative input for understanding the track in its normal direction.

Regards,
Chuck

[aajjcc]

,