How do you learn a track?

[JoelGL]

Hi, I'm relatively new to racing, so far been driving F1 2012 / 2013 only, and just recently acquired AC.

With F1, there are markers w/c help learn braking points more easily. With AC, so far I only try to remember spots in the curbs. What techniques do you employ?

I know different cars have their own characteristics and performance, unlike in F1, so practicing each car's performance is a must, but perhaps you have some common techniques in studying tracks.

Also, I'm using a DFGT and just using the paddle shifters. At what point in the tachometer do you upshift, when the line goes red, midway, or all the way when the gear number turns red?

Finally, when turning in curbs, is it faster to make the car skid slightly but revving hard for the wheels to catch grip, or better off just slowing down and making sure not to skid?

Thanks.

 

[LazyBug]

only 1.1 secs off the world record

Yeah i see the Magione@BMW Z4 Step 1 has a new world record & 1.1 secs off is quite alot to me (After 10 laps will be 11 secs behind in a race). That driver Kamil Franczak must be an alien cause he #1 for more than 90% of the combos that he attempt, crazy stuff.

By the way i still having hard time to link all the corners together to improve my time in this combo but then i believe the time i spend on this combo do save me a lot consider i lap 1:27.1xx in just 4 laps driving the base model
I guess i must get a pedal set with clutch if i wanna go faster, its very hard for me to challenge those top time using my no clutch DFGT. I still on the way saving $$$ for this & a high end pc

One off topic question: The driver name that show in the RSR is base on player's profile name or their steam account name ??

Thanks first & lets keep updating

 

[Michael Hornbuckle]

Not having a clutch doesn't affect you in the Z4...It has a clutchless semi-automatic gearbox. The name that shows up on leaderboards is the player's profile name.

 

[Michael Hornbuckle]

In the cars with a clutch and H-pattern (BMW E30, couple of the Lotus') you will be at a little under half a second disadvantage to somebody using a clutch and H-pattern correctly.

 

[LazyBug]

Not having a clutch doesn't affect you in the Z4...It has a clutchless semi-automatic gearbox. The name that shows up on leaderboards is the player's profile name.

Ic. Then i must start to work on setup to at least get within 0.5s to world record, 1.1 secs off is just too slow
Also nice to know its the player's profile name that show in the leaderboards, i like that
By the way Happy New Year 2014 to you and everyone here, thanks for every advise & tips and lets keep them coming

 

[LazyBug]

In the cars with a clutch and H-pattern (BMW E30, couple of the Lotus') you will be at a little under half a second disadvantage to somebody using a clutch and H-pattern correctly.

Yeah but then i believe that "little under half a second disadvantage" is just an estimate figure. It can be far less or more depend on how many corners & the amount of gear shift that need in a track.
What i thinking is that clutch + H shifter has less advantage in oval track but has huge advantage in a track like Monaco which need alot of shifting.
Of course i can be wrong, just guessing

 

[William Levesque]

Just gonna say that you have to really know what you're doing with manual driving to really gain. If your heel and toeing is crappy and gear changes sloppy, you won't gain at all, you may actually lose time.

 

[JoelGL]

Back in the day playing Forza and Forza 2 I had so much stuff on my screen it was crazy...Not sure I even knew you could turn off anything..

Once you have made hundreds of laps on a track and you really know it you will find you don't need the track map at all....The fewer apps on screen the deeper the immersion IMO....I'm probably the only weirdo that doesn't use some kinds of gear app; I just remember what gear I am in (most of the time lol)
I love the RSR timing app but I hate that I have to have it on my screen at all times.

Just for fun though, go to a track you know and turn all the apps off and try to make a few laps like it was real. (you can cheat and use a car such as the 458 that tells you the gear you are in if you must lol)
Report back here and tell me how weird I am or if it wasn't at least kinda cool having a "naked" screen (even if you would never race that way)

I tried doing this last night and yes indeed, I thought it was weird Not actually weird, but more of demanding, in the sense that one should already know well the track and selected car. In my case, I tried it with Silverstone, since this was track the most familiar to me (since its also in F1) and I mostly overshoot, until I got to remember braking spots and the respective speeds in those corners. And yes, the cheat using the 458 was really helpful as it shows the gear and RPM level, though at times I was just basing it on sound. One thing I learned, I think, that we should learn to be faster as it keeps our eyes on the road. One thing I found challenging w/o the speedometer/tacho guide was the difficulty of gauging speed when slowing down at corners. It seems/feels like the car has already slowed down enough at 60KPH corners but actually still at 80-100 KPH in the corners. I guess that's the limitation if there's no actual feel when driving.

@Oemie, where can I find the iRacing vids? Sorry, actually this is my first 'sim' racing game, basically my first racing game is F1 only.

 

[JoelGL]

@William, are you saying there are corners in AC tracks where 'Heel-Toe' is an advantage? If so, can you cite an example? I guess I'll read up first on this, as I initially thought this skill was more for dirt racing, like Grid or Dirt or WRC.

 

[William Levesque]

@William, are you saying there are corners in AC tracks where 'Heel-Toe' is an advantage? If so, can you cite an example? I guess I'll read up first on this, as I initially thought this skill was more for dirt racing, like Grid or Dirt or WRC.

Are you sure we're talking about the same thing ? I mean rev-matching on downshifts.

If you don't do that, you risk locking the driven wheels (front for FWD, rear for RWD), extending braking distance and affecting the balance entering a corner, risking a lot of understeer (FWD) or oversteer (RWD). When you drive at the limit, you need to heel and toe.

In fact, I use it all the time in everyday driving aswell, it's much smoother and easier on the synchros and clutch.

 

[LazyBug]

Just gonna say that you have to really know what you're doing with manual driving to really gain. If your heel and toeing is crappy and gear changes sloppy, you won't gain at all, you may actually lose time.

Yeah understood. Thanks for the tips

 

[LazyBug]

@William, are you saying there are corners in AC tracks where 'Heel-Toe' is an advantage? If so, can you cite an example? I guess I'll read up first on this, as I initially thought this skill was more for dirt racing, like Grid or Dirt or WRC.

I dont think he mean that. I believe he mean heel & toe will help anyone gain in faster lap time in just any track if only do it the right way (the timing must be as precise as possible along with the gear shift).
There are many Heel & toe videos in utube if you actually dont know whats that

 

[LazyBug]

@Oemie, where can I find the iRacing vids? Sorry, actually this is my first 'sim' racing game, basically my first racing game is F1 only.

Iracing vids --> [medio]5740[/medio]
Watch if you like -->
[medio]5741[/medio]
[medio]5742[/medio]

 

[Oemie]

@Oemie, where can I find the iRacing vids? Sorry, actually this is my first 'sim' racing game, basically my first racing game is F1 only.

It's on YouTube. Just type in iRacing in the search box and they'll be the first channel. It's one of their playlists.

 

[JoelGL]

Are you sure we're talking about the same thing ? I mean rev-matching on downshifts.

If you don't do that, you risk locking the driven wheels (front for FWD, rear for RWD), extending braking distance and affecting the balance entering a corner, risking a lot of understeer (FWD) or oversteer (RWD). When you drive at the limit, you need to heel and toe.

In fact, I use it all the time in everyday driving aswell, it's much smoother and easier on the synchros and clutch.

I'm not sure, that's why I asked if you can cite an example, specific to a track and corner, and how and when you would do Heel-and-Toe.

@LazyBug, @Oemie, thanks, I'll check the other vids, as I've seen that of Skip Barber, though not the whole thing yet.

 

[William Levesque]

I'm not sure, that's why I asked if you can cite an example, specific to a track and corner, and how and when you would do Heel-and-Toe.

When = Every downshifts
How = Like this (In the video below, the driver skips gears, so only downshifts once. Many downshifts require as many blips):

 

[Michael Hornbuckle]

In the 458 or the new M3 you will hear then engine rev up a little bit everytime you downshift. (any car with a semi-auto gearbox does this) This is the car blipping the throttle for you.

 

[hazy]

Is the "Ideal racing line" to obvious to mention or did you guys actually forgot about it ?

 

[William Levesque]

Is the "Ideal racing line" to obvious to mention or did you guys actually forgot about it ?

Thing is, there isn't really an "ideal racing line"... There's a general consensus as to how to drive a track, but the line itself varies depending on the car, the conditions, the driver, etc...

The ideal line as to be experienced by instinct in my opinion. You can teach the basics, but finding what fits your current situation the best is all up to you and your experience.

 

[Michael Hornbuckle]

I honestly forgot it was there but I wouldn't recommend using it personally....It can easily turn into a crutch and become where you are simply following the line instead of learning the course.

 

[Michael Hornbuckle]

I have a buddy that has been playing all the Forza's throughout the years and has used the braking line this whole time...to this day if you turn off the braking line he has no idea which direction the turns go on tracks he has been playing on for years..he will also drive straight into the wall without the game telling him to brake...he is not mentally slow or anything, he just relies on the line more than probably any other person ever.