iRacing - Is it worth it?

[Paul M Jones]

I was considering purchasing iRacing and wanted to know the pros and the cons against other sims (rFactor).
e.g. Physics, FFB, Cars, Tracks, Multiplayer etc.

Thanks
- Paul

 

[Stuart Phillips]

I was considering purchasing iRacing and wanted to know the pros and the cons against other sims (rFactor).
e.g. Physics, FFB, Cars, Tracks, Multiplayer etc.

Thanks
- Paul

Hi Paul, I,ve just started driving iracing again after being a member since 2008, now back in 2008 I never really gave it a fair chance as I was always active in rFactor,anyway the last two nights have been a complete new experience, it is so different to rFactor, I can only use rFactor to compare as its the only other game I really drive,
The physics so far of the cars I have driven are really good, and thats the Williams FW31 and the Mazda MX5, there is no "weirdness" about them, of course I stand more chance of driving the Mazda in real life! so its easier to comment on this car, FFB is better with my ECCI 7000, I have a nice smooth feeling of the road, rFactor would tend to shake my desk around! on certain mods anyway, Tracks look very good, multiplayer is superb, its more focused and none of the crash mayhem seen on rFactor public servers.

Iracing have an offer at the moment and its deffo worth a try, of course the downside is you have to buy most of your content, ie cars and tracks, having said that it is worth it.

Ace.

 

[Paul M Jones]

Hi Paul, I,ve just started driving iracing again after being a member since 2008, now back in 2008 I never really gave it a fair chance as I was always active in rFactor,anyway the last two nights have been a complete new experience, it is so different to rFactor, I can only use rFactor to compare as its the only other game I really drive,
The physics so far of the cars I have driven are really good, and thats the Williams FW31 and the Mazda MX5, there is no "weirdness" about them, of course I stand more chance of driving the Mazda in real life! so its easier to comment on this car, FFB is better with my ECCI 7000, I have a nice smooth feeling of the road, rFactor would tend to shake my desk around! on certain mods anyway, Tracks look very good, multiplayer is superb, its more focused and none of the crash mayhem seen on rFactor public servers.

Iracing have an offer at the moment and its deffo worth a try, of course the downside is you have to buy most of your content, ie cars and tracks, having said that it is worth it.

Ace.

Thanks, that gives me an insight.

 

[Jan Roman]

Nothing to loose really. Personally I think iRacing the best sim out there. Well, he's very special in a couple of ways and I don't think you'll regret your choice.Excellent physics (except for a couple of annoying glitches), superb multiplayer, laser scanning...

 

[Ivan Mills]

I've always been a picky hardcore simracer...physics always place on the top of my list, regardless of track,car and graphics...i have tried nearly everything the sim world has to offer and even i am surprised that it took me this long before i ended up signing with Iracing.........its even sweeter now,but dont be fooled...those ridicilous prices balance it all out in the end,as it is the case with everything else in life....


to compare Iracing with rF is to compare a bodybuider on steroids to a natural one..u cant

 

[Paul M Jones]

I can't seem to get the steering to be precise, I turn the wheel but it cannot turn the full rotation in game, HELP!
Thanks!

 

[Ivan Mills]

go to options during testing or race and play with wheel strenght and damping to find what suits u...i dont use full rotation as that is too much for me

 

[Will Marquez]

Paul,

iRacer John Bodin compiled alot of great threads on different topics that anyone new to iRacing should read. Here are a few links:

"Essential Reading" threads
http://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts/list/1354827.page#2946101

And probably check out this thread to get your wheel settings setup correctly:
http://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts/list/1500238.page

The FFB settings is of course all driver preference but gives you a good base to start with before tweaking them yourself.

Also check this one out as well: http://www.answers-script.com/iracing/

Enjoy!

 

[William Levesque]

i dont use full rotation as that is too much for me

And realistic physics is what you're after ? :S

I doubt this is too much, I never had to turn more than 180° in the MX-5, except to get out of the pitlane... I mean, it has a 15:1 steering ratio, which is what GT cars in general use, plenty fast...

 

[Paul M Jones]

Paul,

iRacer John Bodin compiled alot of great threads on different topics that anyone new to iRacing should read. Here are a few links:

"Essential Reading" threads
http://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts/list/1354827.page#2946101

And probably check out this thread to get your wheel settings setup correctly:
http://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts/list/1500238.page

The FFB settings is of course all driver preference but gives you a good base to start with before tweaking them yourself.

Also check this one out as well: http://www.answers-script.com/iracing/

Enjoy!

Thanks for sharing. This is great info.

 

[Ivan Mills]

And realistic physics is what you're after ? :S

Another homeboy who doesnt waste any of his infinite spare time to question my rationals....i use whatever keeps me upfront Billy,as Im sure you do to...if it means 180degrees,then thats what it is....if 900 degrees rocks your canoe,then stick with it.
as long as the suspension,tyres and engine behave as they should,i am ahappy customer,wheel rotation and degree is a driver prefference,but perhaps you arent there yet.

 

[Josh Barton]

I find I had to use the full 900 degrees just to make the wheel sensitivity useable. If iRacing has one flaw, its the steering sensitivity, it takes a bit to get used to (the formula cars as a whole are ok, but those sedans not so much.....)

However, when it comes to track accuracy,online community and FFB I dont think any sim competes in my mind. It is good. Rfactor has obviously more tracks and cars from mods, however what iRacing does have is far more quality than a lot of those mods.

 

[Hampus Andersson]

I recalibrate my wheel to 900 degrees. The sim takes care of what steering lock the car has.

Only bad thing is that you don´t have physical stops, you just feel FFB sort of running out after a limit.
We might possibly in the future though.

 

[Jan Roman]

If you have a 900° wheel, simply set it to 900° as Hampus suggested. You never really turn the wheel much so there's no point setting it in any other way. By setting it up this way you will achieve a perfect 1:1 linearity (works great in Corvette, which has around 480° radius I think). You never really turn more than +-120° in each direction, except for accidents. If you want to reverse and get back on the track for example, much larger wheel radius is getting a bit annoying (you can recognize full car lock only by looking at the wheel on your screen, it stops moving).

Long story short, if you have a 900° wheel, set it to 900° and you're done.

 

[William Levesque]

Another homeboy who doesnt waste any of his infinite spare time to question my rationals....i use whatever keeps me upfront Billy,as Im sure you do to...if it means 180degrees,then thats what it is....if 900 degrees rocks your canoe,then stick with it.
as long as the suspension,tyres and engine behave as they should,i am ahappy customer,wheel rotation and degree is a driver prefference,but perhaps you arent there yet.

Sure, it suits you, I understand that... It's just annoying that people have access to realism they don't take advantage of. I'd suggest trying it, get use to it and you won't be slower, you'll infact be much better on your tyres (although iRacing is a bit weird on that aspect) and smoother.

 

[Jamie Shorting]

wrong thread.

 

[Steve O'Malley]

Paul I bought it last year but have lately lapsed my membership due to lack of time. However, if you go for it, the main advantage is that there are always plenty of races to compete in.
From my experience, I joined and was obsessed with getting the next license. If i started again I wouldnt do this. The higher the license the harder it is to improve your rating and the easier it is to lose SR.
I would say start with the MX5 to learn the tracks then move onto the Skippy. The default Skippy setups are often undriveble but once you get a decent setup its great fun. Dont rush in and buys loads of new content until you have rced a while and decided to stick with it. My avice, do the odd MX5 race, get the Skippy, do a season then move to the Mazda. If you want to complete a season you will have to buy more tracks so there will always be something to spend your money on.