iRacing users...any tips for newbie?

After my previous thread a while back about what racing game to start with for a newbie, I decided to go with iRacing. I bought a Logitech G27 wheel and signed up for a one month trial of iRacing....figured if I really don't like it, I can switch to a PS3 system.

All I can say is holy crap!! I'll be the first to say my real HPDE experience is limited and I haven't run in several years. But it "feels" so much different than the cars I was running. I've only done practice sessions, there's no way I'd want to get into a race right now and accidentally take someone else out because I'm driving like my BAC was .19.

I've only gotten to use it a handful of times so far. When you sign up, you have a very limited choice of cars and tracks. I've been mostly trying the Pontiac Solstice rookie car at Lime Rock Park. Let's just say I've familiarized myself with many of the grassy areas around the track...and done some cool donuts. I actual found the Spec Racer a bit easier to "control" around the track, but I liked driving the Pontiac better.

Any tips for a newbie trying to get the hang of iRacing? When I did HPDE, I didn't have anything close to this kind of trouble...thank heavens...but then again in a real car there is "seat of the pants" feel and I probably didn't push the car that hard...

iRacing kinda forces the "slow is fast" mentality. Gentle inputs and patience got me from a .19 BAC to maybe .05, but I couldn't keep up with the faster guys. Lime Rock and Laguna err...Mazda Raceway were great to learn on, and when I moved to different tracks later it was easier thanks to a ton of seat time on those two tracks.

I had all of the extra cars at one point, and I think the Solstice might be one of the hardest to drive in the whole iRacing system. Heck, the C6.R was easier for me, but I agree that the Pontiac is a lot of fun.

My iRacing membership has lapsed, so I get my kicks with Forza Motorsport 3 on xBox lately. I find it much easier (and more fun) since I only get on every couple of weeks, but it's no comparison to the level of simulation in iRacing. On the other hand, FM3 is much more fun than iRacing was for me.

Noob tips...

• you get no brake feedback from the pedal and you are probably stomping them. They are an analog device just like the steering but w/o FFB. Practice smooth transitions from 0-100%-0 brake and then throttle to brake. It is the thing that most upsets the car. Popping off the brakes while turning... mashing throttle with lots of steering input, etc... Make sure you are unwinding the wheel as you add throttle... treat it like a real car.

• Watch other people's laps. Pay attention to gear selection, wheel input and RPM.

• The Solstice kinda sucks. Its a momentum car but isn't lively like the SRF and other cars you "graduate" to. Be patient and slow your entry more than than you think you should to ensure a good run on the way out. Crucial at Laguna.

• Make sure you set the wheel up properly. 900 degrees is a nice marketing tool but I've never seen a formula ford that needed more than 120. Let the hardware help you by dialing out some of the twitchiness.

• DOn't try to qualify on every lap. You have to be able to finish a race to win. Patience and consistency trump outright speed until it becomes second nature. 7th is better than DNF even if you started on the pole.

• Seat time, seat time, seat time. Learn the track, then get into practice with other cars. Use the microphone to talk to people. Often there are others who want to practice traffic navigation. Join up and crash each other silly until you make sense of where/how to do it right.

Cheers. See you there, Its almost winter so I'll be signing up again.

All of the above. Definitely put in the time, watch other peoples' replays and laps - keeping an eye on their line, brake and shift points, etc. Save your own replays and watch back to see where you you aren't using all of the track, breaking early/late, losing time.

Keep in mind that you will not go fast out of the gate. It takes time to get fast and just when you don't think you will be ever be able to eek out the speed to be as fast as the faster guys, you run a few laps and have a breakthrough. There are some "phantoms" out there that you or I will probably never catch, so don't go comparing yourself to them - at least not early on. At Laguna, I can run consistently in the 1:49s and have dipped a toe into the 1:48s. At Lime Rock I run low to mid 1:04s and have seen a couple of high 1:03s - how these guys find another two seconds is beyond me, but it keeps me motivated to keep practicing/racing. Start out by setting your sites on getting into the top ten or so in whatever practice, qualify, race session you are in and work your way up from there. You'll find satisfaction in finding seconds at first and hundredths later on.

Be respectful. If you cause a wreck, incident, etc., apologize, admit your mistake and explain that you are new and trying to learn your way around. Chances are, folks will offer up some tips, offer to run lead-follow to give pointers, etc.

Thanks for the tips. I've definitely been trying to go by the motto of "slow is fast", but I'm still struggling to find that sweet spot. Either I go so slow I can drive with a cup of coffee in my hand...or I go so fast I'm mowing the lawn.

I never realized I could watch other people's laps. How do I do that? Right now, I'm just doing testing on the track by myself. I haven't tried being on track with anyone else or done any "qualifying".

The Solstice is definitely a handful. If that's how they are in real life...I'll stick to my Miata forever. I haven't had time to fully read up on the site, how do I get to pick from other cars?

So far, my best lap on the chicane course at Lime Rock, in the Solstice, I think was around 1:19 or so. Going to give it another shot right now....

One of the best tips for most wheels, regardless of platform or manufacture, is to take some rolled up socks and place them behind the pedal. Gives some progressive resistance, and is easier to replicate over several laps.

That sock tip is a neat idea. Wish I'd thought of that.

Klayfish, I had the same problems when I first started. I got so disgusted I quit for about 6 months and then tried it again. Eventually, you WILL get the hang of it but it's tough fighting your senses because a) it doesn't respond like a real car in the sense you don't get physical feedback and b) it doesn't respond like a typical video 'game' either. All I can tell you is keep practicing and stick with the cars they give you for awhile. When you get better, maybe buy another spec car like the TDI that you don't have to screw with. The cars that offer setups can be really discouraging for a noob.

Once you get to the point you can keep the Slowstice on the track most of the time go into the open practice sessions with other people. It doesn't matter if you wreck anyone there as it doesn't hurt them, just annoys them. If you get in a session with Ryan Schuster punt him...and then ask him to give you some pointers. He's one of my buddies. One of the things we enjoy doing is racing each other in practice sessions and doing little bumps...unsettles the car and you learn recovery and what you can/can't do. We and others will also create 'pit party' races that are just laps that don't count for anything; again, good practice. The open practice sessions can be a lot of fun and a great tool. Once you're comfortable there, then you can try a race. If you jump into the races too early you'll wreck, ruin your SR and piss off a lot of people. Open practice is safe without the completely boring aspect of being on the track alone.

I gave up iRacing for awhile as I don't have the time right now to use it but will probably join again over the winter. After doing it for the last 2 years other games hold zero interest for me.

To watch others replays and live laps, go into a practice session, find the fastest guy lapping, sit in the pits and click the arrows next to your helmet until you find that name. You can change camera angles on that guy and watch his line from inside the car, tv, etc. You can also hit the "tools" icon in the center of the screen and save the replay to watch back at a later date. If you are in a practice or race, you can use the helmet arrows again to switch between different drivers.

Carrera4 wrote: To watch others replays and live laps, go into a practice session, find the fastest guy lapping, sit in the pits and click the arrows next to your helmet until you find that name.

With the current build's new spectator mode, you can watch any session (of which you have the car/track combo) without joining the session as a driver.

Hover over Events in the dashboard, then select Spectator Sessions.

Also, you can spectate sessions in which your studied/friends drivers are in by hovering over the "xx MyRacers Online" under your name in the upper right of the dashboard.

ddavidv wrote: When you get better, maybe buy another spec car like the TDI that you don't have to screw with. The cars that offer setups can be really discouraging for a noob.

The Jetta is hard to find races with these days, unfortunately.

IMO, going off this season's numbers, the Mustang would be a better investment for a Class D tintop. You can do very well with the baseline setup, and beyond that, there's not much to adjust.

How accurate/helpful is iRacing? Other than the force feedback isn't accurate for any vehicle. I tend to drive by feel than by position, (by psychology studies a rare thing.) No "seat" wiggle means no sense of traction for me.

what is everyone else's impression?

In reply to FlightService:

For me, it replicates the mental aspects of racecraft very well. The intensity of wheel-to-wheel is the same.

As far as driving, if you can work around the disconnect of using aural and visual cues to overcome the lack of seat-of-the-pants feel, there can be benefit from a learning standpoint. For me, it's more about working on my consistency and minimizing my race average laptime while going for minimal incident points.

Mid-Ohio's the only track I've driven that's in iRacing. I was impressed that the little bump after the apex in the Carousel is there.

After commenting and reading this... I re-signed up.

Still in Class D with a 4.47 rating... SWEET!

Uh, holy crap. After 8 mos of not playing I'm like a 3yr old playing soccer. That super rating is going to take a beating while I re-train.

jde wrote: In reply to FlightService: For me, it replicates the mental aspects of racecraft very well. The intensity of wheel-to-wheel is the same.

Yep, that. The mental games you play on track to lure people into mistakes still work. That is the aspect of the game I enjoy most.

Someone mentioned the Mustang as a choice for a car to purchase. I agree, it's not a bad one. Lots of buyers mean the races usually have good grids. You definitely need to tune the car some to get rid of the horrible understeer the default setting has, and you have to learn some tire management, but it's not a bad car overall. The TDI is really odd to learn, but once you get it you can have some incredibly close races. Grid fill on those is feast or famine; either they are barely enough to make a legit race or there are 20+ cars, it seems. I really enjoy the TDI races. I find the Mustang typical of most races with tuned cars...there are too many guys you just will never catch.

Learn the ropes in the Solstice. Accident avoidance is one skill you will pick up quickly, but it will help you greatly. There are always plenty of folks running practice sessions, so there is plenty of opportunity to learn how to let a faster guy pass or how to pass a slower driver.

I would also recommend getting a headset. It is much easier to speak and drive than type and drive.

Carrera4 wrote: It is much easier to speak and drive than type and drive.

Huh...judging by the number of people I see on the road everyday sending text messages I thought driving and typing was a snap...

Thanks for the tips. Gotta find more time to play. The one time I did get to use it last week, I was able to run a 1:15 at Lime Rock in the Solstice.

So if I get a headset and join a practice session, is it like a conference call? Can anyone talk to anyone else at any time?

Thanks

In reply to Klayfish: Yup. The folks without headsets will either turn off player audio or hear it over their speakers. If you are on after like 8:00 eastern some evening, I'll take you around the track a few times. I'm in the high 1:03s to low 1:04s on Limerock. With a little coaching we should be able to trim off 8-10 seconds easy!

I didn't have a headset. Used one of the buttons on the wheel to activate the speaker mounted in my laptop. Worked ok, provided the game volume wasn't cranked.

I recommend a headset because it helps to enhance the experience a bit. I have a cheap single ear unit with a boom mic. My sim rig is set up with surround sound, so I have the immersion factor of being in the car (audibly) and my spotter and other driver's voices are piped in to the headset for a more realistic experience.

Carrera4 wrote: I recommend a headset because it helps to enhance the experience a bit. I have a cheap single ear unit with a boom mic. My sim rig is set up with surround sound, so I have the immersion factor of being in the car (audibly) and my spotter and other driver's voices are piped in to the headset for a more realistic experience.

+same here. Mapped the "Push to talk" to a button on the wheel so I can say "Sorry about that" more efficiently. :)

Someone mentioned the Mustang as a choice for a car to purchase. I agree, it's not a bad one.

That was me, too. I really like racing the Jetta as well, but if one has to make an either/or decision for a Class D car, I'd lean toward Mustang, as the Jetta grids have tanked this season. The Mustang being easier to jump in and drive seems to have poached from the Falcon too.

Perhaps we should have an "iRacing real names" thread so we can find each other. I meant to take a screenshot of my cars and post them up so you could find me that way. Thoughts on a good way we can identify each other without giving out our SSNs?

Initial thoughts: First name Last initial, current license level, times you can typically be found on iRacing, car(s) you typically drive, possible screenshot of said car(s).

Perhaps GRM should find some way to get their logo in as a "sponsor" logo, so we can slap virtual GRM stickers on our virtual race cars when we go an virtually tear it up!

P.S. - Forgive my ignorance if there is already a thread on this, thanks!