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]

I believe even though if there is only one ideal racing line but still, able to follow the line perfectly is one thing, how to do it fast is another thing. So i believe "how to follow the line" is not the question but "how to follow the line as quick as possible" is.

 

[hazy]

...but the line itself varies depending on the car, the conditions, the driver, etc....

...where you are simply following the line instead of learning the course.

I agree with all of this but in the simple mater of getting a bit more precision then just using the basic principals of doing a corner outside to inside the racing line is best. I'm not suggesting to actually getting used to it and making it your base of how you drive, just saying that is a great starting point and when you get to grips with it turn if off.

I guess I'm just trying to say that if you have never driven on a certain track then there is no better way of learning the basics of it.

 

[Michael Hornbuckle]

I'm all for using whatever method helps you. If you can use the line and after a handful of laps turn it off and know the track that is great; for alot of people though they make the handful of laps only looking at the line and not the track and when you turn it off they are as lost as if they hadn't made the laps to begin with.

I would say that for the average person, any of the tracks we have in AC right now should take less than 15 laps to know your way around the whole thing. Then it will take a dozen more to learn the fastest line through the majority of the track, then it will take hundreds, if not eventually thousands of laps to find all the speed that you can.

 

[LazyBug]

By the way i learn some new thing watching utube "FastLaneDaily" channel's video just now, there are early / geometric / late apex for most corner and many time late apex actually gain more speed than geometric apex which follow the exact racing line
Interesting stuff

 

[LazyBug]

Here is the video talking about racing line, quite informative for newbies like me
[medio]5747[/medio]

 

[hazy]

To tell the truth, I never use racing lines just because I want to determine them myself but I guess that you all will agree with this - the higher your average speed is, the better your lap time will be.
This has been said many times "carry as much speed through the corner as its possible" - to many this is a no brainer but what does it actually mean ? To me it means - the harder you turn the wheel going through a corner the more speed you will loose so the answer to this is - make the corner as straight as its possible.

Sorry if this was said before, I did do a search though.
Just realized that its more about driving then learning.

Since I already turned my post into a driving school one, I think I can also say this - never make the common mistake that is focusing at what you currently doing, by this I mean - always focus at the end of the corner, at the exiting point.

 

[LazyBug]

I dont know about others but my very first problem in learning sim racing is about car control, i cant make the car do exactly what i want it to do, yeah i improving after every practice but still far from what i can do with the car playing Grid 2 / Most Wanted 2012 using just a keyboard
Even F1 2013 become simple compare to sim like AC

 

[LazyBug]

The harder you turn the wheel going through a corner the more speed you will loose so the answer to this is - make the corner as straight as its possible. Never make the common mistake that is focusing at what you currently doing, by this I mean - always focus at the end of the corner, at the exiting point

Yeah but then theory is one thing, how to execute perfectly in practical is another thing

 

[hazy]

Yeah but then theory is one thing, how to execute perfectly in practical is another thing

I actually consider it more a of physics kind of thing then theory.
The more you put in, the more you get out

Let me rephrase that - you can't expect the car to gain speed inside the corner, you lose it in the entry part, sustain it in the middle and gain at the exiting.

Tuck it in and push it out, literally.

 

[Oemie]

Great new posts. Keep them coming, please....

I used to be something of a racing line aid slave in previous games, but in the end, it just didn't really teach me anything, and I was more focused on following the line, than paying attention to the track, and once turned off, I would be lost. So, once I got into F1 20xx I turned it off.

In AC I tried it, but it seems like it was just recorded or something with real early braking, and for many car and tracks combo, I doesn't have a braking line at all and stays all green. In the end I found it far more useful to just run laps and feel how different lines feel.

Also, as LazyBug says, I am still often trying to make sure I got everything right, and I think as long as I have to remind myself before a corner at the end of a straight to brake.... shift down... blip... maybe shift down again... blip... turn... throttle and wheel straightening - all while trying to look at the next corner/reference point, I can't expect my times to be particularly good, or even to really get the line right, because a slight mistake in any of these points can immediately throw you off. I think I know intellectually, what I should be doing, but will need a lot more practice to be able to execute these things naturally/automatically.

I also think that the slow AI in F1 2013 before corners at the end of a straight has taught me some really nasty late braking habits, that simply don't work in AC, and I have a hard time to get rid off. So now, I probably brake too early...

 

[LazyBug]

I think I know intellectually, what I should be doing, but will need a lot more practice to be able to execute these things naturally/automatically

Yeah its lot more easier to talk about "how to do this or that" than actually really doing it or else we all are Fernando alonso / Sebastian Vettel / Lewis Hamilton already

 

[JoelGL]

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

@William, the video says its private.

@Michael, I agree. Though I haven't practiced driving tracks w/o the map yet, as I'm still too preoccupied learning other areas

 

[William Levesque]

@William, the video says its private.

@William, I agree. Though I haven't practiced driving tracks w/o the map yet, as I'm still too preoccupied learning other areas

Here:

 

[JoelGL]

Thanks @William. This is very new to me, so different from what I got used to in F1 games.
Pardon the novice questions, what is the 'blipping' for, is it to keep the engine revs at peak through the duration of the shift? found it.

I guess 'blipping' is irrelevant to using a gearshit w/o a clutch? Because I'm only using a DFGT, and currently using the pedal shifters.

And I noticed from the video, at times while he was still on the accelerator, he briefly presses the brakes (pressure tap). In what instances is this essential? Perhaps if braking alone would slow you down too much for a certain area in the track, than pressing it while accelerator is still pressed?

 

[Kristian Nenov]

Just to say, I didn't read the comments, just answering the first post.

Now, I don't usually use any kind of markers, I just know when I'm close enough to a corner that I should brake. But there are corners that it's just impossible to make without any marker, at least for me.

So there are a few ways or.. markers..
If there's a meter board, like 150m, 100m, 50m. You can use that and if it's a great braking point - great.

If it's not, you can try looking for a bump around it or something on the grass. For many corners, I look for a bump to brake after. That's quite important, if there's a bump, you should always try to brake just after it. Because braking just before it will most likely result in a lock up, but after the bump's out of the way, you might be able to make it if you're good enough with the brake pedal and if it's possible, of course.

Also, that's just adding for the 2nd one, I noticed on Assetto Corsa that on Monza, the asphalt changes around the braking point for T1. So you can use that as a braking meter. For example on the Ferrari 599XX Evo can brake at that point and make the corner pretty nicely. So just use that.

The last thing is, if I can't find anything as an exact marker, you can always use something and just brake a little after it. For example, 150m board. You pass it and a little after you brake for the corner. While racing you're incredibly concentrated so you can easily cut a second into tenths and for example wait around 5 tenths and brake. You'll get used to it after doing it, just try to wait every time the exact amount of time after passing the marker. Or, of course, the opposite. You can brake 5m before a braking point, again for example the 150m board. Not brake exactly at it, but just 5m earlier.

That's all I can think of now, probably there are a lot more but I just can't think of them now. Hope I was helpful.

 

[William Levesque]

And I noticed from the video, at times while he was still on the accelerator, he briefly presses the brakes (pressure tap). In what instances is this essential? Perhaps if braking alone would slow you down too much for a certain area in the track, than pressing it while accelerator is still pressed?

It's only to get the brake pads closer to the disc so braking is instant, instead of being sloppy as can happen sometimes, especially with steel brakes at high temperature. I don't think any simracing games simulate that though.

 

[Chris]

Well, at first I thought this thread was a little too basic what with racing line advice an all, but it helped me finally get my head around what Heel-Toe braking was and when to use it. I am just trying to learn how to do it now with the F40 since that tends to get very unstable at the rear under braking.

Heel-Toe shifting has vastly helped with the F40 when taking the first Lesmo.

Just wanted to say thanks

 

[JoelGL]

It's only to get the brake pads closer to the disc so braking is instant, instead of being sloppy as can happen sometimes, especially with steel brakes at high temperature. I don't think any simracing games simulate that though.

I see. But the portion where I saw him do a pressure tap was in the middle of a straight and not near a corner, why would he do it there? Perhaps he was just trying to balance the car as it was on a wet road.

 

[William Levesque]

I see. But the portion where I saw him do a pressure tap was in the middle of a straight and not near a corner, why would he do it there? Perhaps he was just trying to balance the car as it was on a wet road.

It's because he has to do it before braking, so on a straight is the best place to do it. It has nothing to do with balancing the car, it's only to prepare the pads for braking.

I guess 'blipping' is irrelevant to using a gearshit w/o a clutch? Because I'm only using a DFGT, and currently using the pedal shifters.

If auto-blip is deactivated in the options, and the real car requires blipping, then you need to. In that case, just use your right foot to tap the throttle at the same time you downshift.

 

[Michael Hornbuckle]

sherpa25 said: ↑
I see. But the portion where I saw him do a pressure tap was in the middle of a straight and not near a corner, why would he do it there? Perhaps he was just trying to balance the car as it was on a wet road.

They also give a slight tap of the brakes on the straight before the turn to give peace of mind that the brakes are still there. Brake failures are commonplace enough that if you suddenly have no brakes its best to know before you are committed deep inside the braking zone...by giving the brakes a little tap (not even enough to actually slow the car) they are making sure they will have brakes and preparing the pads like William said.