FOV - LG 55"

[rodney241]

Hi folks!

I've been playing with this setup for a couple of years now and there are 2 things in my whole sim-race experience that bother me, Pedals and FOV..

The pedals are since I made the upgrade from the CSL Elite V1 to V2 more comfortable but still not that perfect, hoping to get the Heusinkveld's someday but maybe they look nicer/better then they are in real life/for me.

Anyway the question is about the right FOV for my TV, sinds I joined LFM my driving experience is growing but still I feel like I'm not getting further with my laptimes, In the rookie servers I won multiple times and now in the servers with Iron/Gold drivers I'm more like a gatekeeper..

The FOV calc. pointed me to about 40 FOV but that feels like driving on the back of a snail.. so that's not going to work.

I used to drive with 60 FOV and had no problems with that execpt some cerbs on the outside (right ofcourse) but I was so desperate to gain better laptimes that I experiment with the FOV settings, changed it from 60 to the default 54 and that gave me some positive delta and better lap times but the sense of speed was less then 60 fov so sometimes headed the corner to fast or screaming tires in the corner. Then I tried 56, 57, 58 but now I'm at the point that im not enjoying it at all..

Been searching on Google/Reddit/YT and the opinions vary from use the calc. to put it to your likings so I was hoping to find someone with the sort of same setup or experience!

 

[Emery]

FOV calculations and "Back of a snail" is realistic. Do what you enjoy, but understand that the physics/mathematics of FOV is correct, has been understood since the pyramids were built. If you need the wider FOV to see into corners, then pull the TV closer and recalculate your FOV.

 

[RasmusP]

I personally would never say that the FOV has any impact on lap times.
Imo the transformation from looking at a screen to make it "real" in our heads is such a massive task of our brains, that a bit of FOV distortion correction isn't an issue.

With VR, there's the effect of "wow, everything looks real", in terms of distances, FOV etc.
But I drove a few hours in a rig with 3x 27" at about 60 cm distance (between wheel and wheelbase).
Calculated FOV, perfectly set up.
It just felt weird. Although everything had, mathematically, the same size as in reality, it simply felt wrong, slow and side to side movement way way too fast.

So just set the FOV to a value that feels good and "realistic" for yourself.

The sense of speed issue comes from the fact, that our eyes see a bit more than 180° horizontally and everything on the side looks like it's moving way faster.
(the angle of the object to your eyes is changing quicker, when the object is on your side and close to you).
With a flat monitor, it's sadly not possible to have this sensation.


But to give you some advice and not just tell you why you won't get what you'd like:
It helped me to put my view as close to the dashboard as possible.
So I don't see my virtual arms or wheel.
My monitor is virtually at the same layer as the dashboard.
Better overview of the track, sadly no visible mirrors. But in AC and ACC you have a radar and for the rest I'm sure there are possibilities too like CrewChief or other little tools.

And to get faster, you need to find out why you are slower than the faster drivers.
Watch replays from you and faster drivers. You'll probably see differences in the line, braking points, steering angle and especially how much brake or throttle they are applying while turning.

Or like others would say: "You need to ride at the edge of the friction circle throughout the corner".

There's some truth in "Just drive and drive and you'll get faster".
But at some point, you need to get your brain to actually know what to do better and only very few people have the instincts to do this on their own.

Here's my cockpit view in ACC as an example. 46° vFOV, 34" 21:9 monitor (same height as standard 27" 16:9) at 100 cm distance to my head:

 

[stigs2cousin]

I'd like to gently contradict Rasmus here, but a realistic FOV actually aids in driving.
If you have roughly the same viewing angles like when driving your streetcar your brain doesn't have to recalculate every information.
From your Foto your simming with the windscreen 5feet away, of course this will look wierd.

Get the screen on a stand as close as possible to the wheel and start with a calculated FOB. It will not work instantly as you have to rewire your brain from the arcade view.

Regarding not instantly winning against the aliens, welcome to the real world.
Not many people start running and win a marathon the next year.

Easiest wayto improve will be coaching, helpfull is data aquisition (complicated but free: Motec I2) or Rasmus way, Analyse onboards on self critique.

It's an uphill battle, but rewarding if you manage a podium in the big league.

 

[rodney241]

Thanks for the reply's guys!

I'll try the tips you both given and will look for a good monitor/tv stand to get the TV closer if possible!

For now I keep on trying and see how others drive, I must say with the many online competition race's I learn more and more!