Iracing Noob

[jimortality]

So I decided to take the plunge and try I racing for a month and see how I get on. Firstly, it works fine with my rift especially crashing and seeing the front tyres squashing up towards you is great. The driving itself, well I've been testing with the free content and I've got to say it's bloody hard! I'll give it a good go over the next month and see how it goes and as always, any hints tips always welcome cheers

 

[fossala]

Dammit, there are codes to get 3 months for $5.

 

[jimortality]

Dammit, there are codes to get 3 months for $5.

I did look but the codes I found didn't work as I already have an account but I'll know after a month if I want to continue.

 

[fossala]

I did look but the codes I found didn't work as I already have an account but I'll know after a month if I want to continue.

Yes, they only work on new accounts.

FWIW I only keep my account open for the oval racing. For road racing there are so many leagues that offer just as good racing (RF2-AMS).

 

[jimortality]

Yes, they only work on new accounts.

FWIW I only keep my account open for the oval racing. For road racing there are so many leagues that offer just as good racing (RF2-AMS).

Problem being I can't really commit to a league and I'm mainly playing games that are vr ready.

 

[Lars Hansen]

One oft repeated advice:
Get out of Rookie ASAP.
Do time-trials to get your MPR. Then do more time-trials to get your SR up.
If you absolutely have to join a Rookie race, stay the hell away from everybody.
It gets better as you get into higher classes, but Rookie is a wreck-fest.

 

[Si]

Have to say, if your a Rift guy then Iracing is wonderful! I always struggled with it tbh, but since I got my rift I find it awesome! follow @Lars Hansen advice and promote quickly, there are some wonderful series to get involved with at the higher levels.

I once finished 2th in a 40 minute GT3 even with no x1's and it was so satisfying!

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

i had some decent rookie races way back when i started iRacing. just start from pits and you'll be fine. if you just do time trials you will be ill-prepared for the close racing in sth. like the formule renault or the gt3, unless of course you have plenty of online racing experiences in other games, such as rFactor. pick series that are very populated to get as many players on roughly your level on the grid and don't try to artificially boost your iRating. let the system take the measure of you. examples would be the two series mentioned or the skip barber.
i also had a great gt3 race the other day where i finished mid-grid but had big fun with four other players all almost exactly my level. if you made just the tiniest mistake, you were swallowed in one piece. no other game can give you that on a regular basis if you do not want to commit to an organized league.

 

[SeanW]

I signed up for iRacing this past week with the 3 months for $5 deal. I finally got the time to do some racing in the MX5 this weekend. I have to say there are some rookies on the track that had no business racing, but for the most part the racing was excellent. I was spun in my first 2 races and ended with an incident average over 9. I did 2 more races and managed to qualify closer to the front and had 2 close incident free races coming in second in my final race. I was promoted to D class after 4 races and 2 time trials.

I started looking at the other series and was a bit disheartened to find that I would have to buy nearly every track to be able to race. I will continue to race in the MX5 series and try my hand at the ovals.

I love using the ispeed lap analyser. I was able to find 2 seconds of time by comparing my best lap to the fastest in the log. I still can't find the additional 2 seconds to get below 1:01 on Okayama Short. The best part of iracing I found was having the ability to know I could rate at the top of the hour at any time and find 50-100 people had registered. I would love to continue with Assetto Corsa, but the servers seem to only be populated during peak European times and that does not work for me being in North America.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the next road series I should try? I noticed that the upper series seem to be less populated and I would hate to buy content for a series that I can't find full races in.

 

[Lars Hansen]

Does anyone have any suggestions on the next road series I should try? I noticed that the upper series seem to be less populated and I would hate to buy content for a series that I can't find full races in.

If you're D class, Skippys are probably your best bet.
Reasonably well-populated, great fun, and a very friendly sub-forum.
Or if you like the MX5, there's the advanced version (though that may be Class C, can't remember).
Same car, but the set-up isn't fixed any more.
Personally, I like the SRF, but there aren't all that many people racing it.

As for the whole Rookie race thing, yes you CAN have good races in Rookie.
But in my experience, they're the exception rather than the rule.
It's a valid tactic to simply start at the back and watch as everyone else spins out.
Pretty sure I got a few podium finishes doing just that.
You're usually better off doing time-trials and conserving your SR.

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

check these threads, most of wht it says there is still valid: http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/iracing-advice-if-possible-class-d.115491/
http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/how-do-iracing-series-work.117265/
http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/iracing-noob-question.103272/
http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/beginner-iracing.96851/
http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/new-iracer-looking-for-some-pointers-on-how-it-works.89340/

happy reading

 

[jimortality]

Apart from testing with my free content, I'm stuck on the main members page trying to find time trials to take part in lol

 

[Lars Hansen]

The TTs aren't listed as such.
Just click the event you wish to do a TT in, and there'll be a small window opening below showing 'Next Time Trial'
Click that, wait a minute and you're golden.

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

yep, they're every two minutes or so, can't miss them. click on the "race now" at the top right of your screen. above the button a field will appear which lets you choose between race / quali (mostly obsolete now) / TT / practice. click TT, click on the red date showing up and you're fine.

 

[jimortality]

Thanks for your help guys much appreciated. Just regarding cost, how much have you spent on iracing say compared to other sims!

 

[Lars Hansen]

Far too much, considering how little I actually use it.
An exact number is a little hard since there are bulk discounts, 60+ discounts and so on.
But a conservative estimate is somewhere around $400, over the course of a year.
But bear in mind that a lot of it is start-up expenses. There are very few tracks that I don't have (except ovals), so any further purchases will be whatever they introduce next.
Got pretty much all the cars I want (and a few that I can't believe I bought ), so unless iRacing starts bringing in a bunch of new licenses, that part is free from now on.
But it is expensive, no question.

 

[jimortality]

Far too much, considering how little I actually use it.
An exact number is a little hard since there are bulk discounts, 60+ discounts and so on.
But a conservative estimate is somewhere around $400, over the course of a year.
But bear in mind that a lot of it is start-up expenses. There are very few tracks that I don't have (except ovals), so any further purchases will be whatever they introduce next.
Got pretty much all the cars I want (and a few that I can't believe I bought ), so unless iRacing starts bringing in a bunch of new licenses, that part is free from now on.
But it is expensive, no question.

Well the physics seem really good and vr looks amazing especially sat in the cockpit of the Dallara, it looks like the actual size of the real car!

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

probably a lot more than for other racing games, but bear in mind that you do not pay the game but the organization. once you have gotten used to racing real people online, ai just doesn't cut it any more. i tried to do some ai races on raceroom the other day and though it was fun, i'd say only 75% as satisfying as racing against real people. i see the money spent more like the money you spend on the gym or your tennis club: it's a bit much up front, but you get to use the facilities whenever you want and there's always someone around to have a game with.
in one of the links above i did a breakdown of what it costs on a yearly basis. try to minimize costs by buying cleverly (cars which run in more than one series, rovals which can be used for road racing and for oval racing, three item or six item discounts, 20 dollar or 50 dollar discounts which happen mid-season (though, not always), black friday 2 for 1 offer, series participation discount etc. etc. the iRacing marketing staff have come up with various little tricks to keep you interested and to help you reduce the final price of the content (which you never buy but only borrow, but who cares?).
if i were you i'd buy two tracks and one car to keep you happy for the last four weeks of this season and wait for the new season schedules which come out in week 12, i.e. in three weeks. then draw up a plan how you can maximize your participation with six more items and get those. another six item buy at the beginning of the following season and you should be good to go. after some years i have reached a level of saturation now, where i usually only buy one or two of the new items each season and basically pay for them with my participation rewards.

 

[jimortality]

I'm struggling to raise and lower the seats as I can't seem to find a control option for it.

 

[AadHofman]

View a replay from cockpit view, and press ctrl+F12. There are the controls.