McLaren MP4 is now available...can someone please give some feedback on it?

Stefan Mizzi · Dec 18, 2012

McLaren MP4 is now available...can someone please give some feedback on it?

So, how does it feel?

Cheers

Stefan Mizzi · Dec 18, 2012

It's getting high marks on the iRacing forum....

http://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts/list/2417688.page

Chris Preston · Dec 18, 2012

I love it, it's hard to judge for sure right now because I'm going around tracks with the baseline setup, so obviously it will have some under or oversteer but I'm sure that will be fixed when people start producing good setups.

I highly recommend getting it if you haven't already, you won't be disappointed

Hampus Andersson · Dec 18, 2012

Probably the best sim car i have ever driven. it´s just insane how good this car is really.

First time i logged 70-80 something laps in one go.

Michael Hornbuckle · Dec 18, 2012

better than anything in Netkar or FVA Hampus? If you still feel that way in a couple weeks I might renew my sub again. For you to say that I'm assuming that hot laps aren't set on lap one anymore.

Hampus Andersson · Dec 18, 2012

Michael Hornbuckle said:
better than anything in Netkar or FVA Hampus? If you still feel that way in a couple weeks I might renew my sub again. For you to say that I'm assuming that hot laps aren't set on lap one anymore.

comparing with the 458 in FVA i would say definitely yes. And i have only run with base setup which for the first time in history was good right out of the box.
The FVA is not bad by any means, it´s an awesome car but the Mclaren trumps it quite easily.
Just on immersion it´s night and day.

I got the car, got into my league session and did a full race stint without any crashes or anything, just lap after lap of pure awesomeness.

If the Ford GT was a 1 out of 10 (which it is, a POS is what it is really)
Then the Mclaren is a 45 out of 10.
It´s worth re-subbing only for this car, it´s going to be the most popular car in the service i think.

the sounds of it is NOT what you hear in the onboard video they posted. You can actually hear flames licking the exhaust.
It crackles, it sounds damn near close to the real thing (but obviously not 100%)
burbles and is just an angry mofo really

It also came with a new steering model but i can´t feel any difference other then the fact that the Mclaren is dead easy to drive.
Race ABS is just magic. It helps you but never takes over. You can set in the settings.

Sometimes when you took chicanes and braked and turned at the same time you would lock a tire.
Not now, ABS is like "i got this idiot..."

Not even close to the ABS in the Mustang and Mazda but proper race ABS, feels great actually.

Hampus Andersson · Dec 19, 2012

some info on the steering model.

iRacing is all about the iConspiracies!... no, actually we're not. We just don't talk much and prefer our product to do the talking. I'll mention the steering model improvement a little before I climb back into my dev-cave for another month.

The steering improvement is a subtle effect that a lot of people are hard pressed to notice a difference, it isn't some super huge amazing fix-everything change. Basically we used to model the steering (since GPL or probably even Indycar) by computing the angle each front wheel should be at, then they'd try their best to be at the requested angle. But Dave figured out the math for how to properly constrain the front wheels mathematically together through a steering rack, so now it's the steering rack that tries it's best to go to where the steering input device says, and both wheels go with the steering rack properly. Example: in a current open wheel car if you smack a wall you can see the impacting front wheel twitch, but the other front wheel does nothing. With the steering rack constraint, you'll see the outside front wheel twitch in synchronized response to the inside wheel smashing the wall. The benefit is that now both front wheels are dependant on each other, instead of being independant of each other like before.

The McLaren itself is one of those cars that comes off the iRacing factory floor feeling really good on the NTM right away, and it has the benefits of the latest flavors of NTM tire tuning experience. And maybe perhaps it also might have a little tweak to something in it's NTM physics that none of the other cars have. It's a blast to drive, and we're very happy to have you guys share that experience

Hampus Andersson · Dec 19, 2012

Sound doesn´t even make it justice in this video but you can hear the burble at the beginning of the video

Also not how easy it is to control in the second chicane.

Bram Hengeveld · Dec 19, 2012

That looks great and the interious sounds are fantastic Hampus. Not so sure about the exterior sounds though.

Erik Hafner · Dec 19, 2012

Its a great car

i couldnt stop driving it yesterday

but im not sure what to think about the abs...

Kevin Cox · Dec 19, 2012

Yes having a blast in this car! It can also handle door to door racing very well. Had some fun with a mate last night and we had a few knocks and bangs and the car was still able to handle great!

Hampus Andersson · Dec 19, 2012

Bram Hengeveld said:
That looks great and the interious sounds are fantastic Hampus. Not so sure about the exterior sounds though.

Yea exterior could use some work but i think once we get reverberations and some other sounds it will sound acceptable there too.
But really, the interior sounds at full blast with a good set of headphones or speakers is very very nice

We had so many battles yesterday it was crazy

Hampus Andersson · Dec 19, 2012

Interesting quote, now keep in mind both cars are different in layout etc but they are built for the same series.
And to be easy to drive for these rich customers,

This car feels a lot like the SLS GT3 I drove back in may. Extremely easy to drive!! I can feel the FFB when the car goes into understeer. I'm using the Fanatec CSW with linear mode on. I've learned that settings play a big role in the car handling, so if anyone can't feel this, research how you should setup your wheel.

Rhys Gardiner · Dec 20, 2012

Just gave it a go...

This car is the first car in iRacing that I've ever actually enjoyed driving from the get-go. And given my history with this sim, that's saying something.

Stefan Mizzi · Dec 20, 2012

After lots of positive comments, I went for it too. Have to say I really like it.

Though I'm like 4 seconds off the fast guys. Yeah, I did get a set off the fast guys.

Is there a turbo boast button?

Hampus Andersson · Dec 20, 2012

if you turn it up a lot you can hear the turbo´s whistling and you can hear a pretty nice tire sound. Sounds like it came from karts.

Hampus Andersson · Dec 20, 2012

This car looks so good in any skin,

Stefan Mizzi · Dec 20, 2012

I've been trying quite a few sets from the fast drivers and this one is the best I've found till now.

I've tried it in Daytona and Road America. I think it has a good balance.

Hampus Andersson · Dec 20, 2012

Here´s my skin, done by Gergely Kiss,
Mind you, it´s not finished yet, he´s only started working on the sides and we will tune the colors later to get it looking like the bike below.

Team is called Swedish AirForce hence the livery

looks like a small jet fighter.