F1 2011 TCS off with X-box controller

[dazzadp]

I use an x-box controller with TCS off and all i seem to do is spin off under acceleration and sometimes turning.

Does anyone else cope with the same set up?

Is it even possible?

Am I just chasing my tail?

 

[Kyle Puttifer]

I don't think it's possible. I have a Madcatz wheel for my 360 and it's difficult but you get used to it. Much easier with my G27 on rFactor. With the new suspension model on F1 2011 I don't think you stand a chance. Best solutions IMO: turn TC on or (even better) save up for a wheel. The Madcatz Wireless Racing Wheel has 270 deg rotation so it's enough for F1 2011, and it has almost enough buttons (change camera doesn't have a button). I got mine for £100 but I think GAME were doing an offer. I think it's a repaint of that Saitek thing with the road car style pedals.
Alternatively you can cheat and use the 11/11 spring bug (plenty of threads about it here) but that will mean that you could win a race in a HRT, which I don't recommend.
My advice - find yourself a cheap wheel, you'll thank me later.

 

[Jon Hunt]

I feel your pain, dazzadp! I use traction control set to medium with a PS3 controller. It's got a pretty steep learning curve, but once you master it it can be very rewarding. The biggest problem for me is that there's simply not enough travel on the triggers to feather the throttle effectively.

Perhaps it might be better to focus on using manual gears (if you're not already doing so) until you get a wheel? This can be just as rewarding and will also make a huge difference to your lap times.

 

[Carlo Mantovani]

Its certainly do-able, make sure you have a good set up (your TCS on setups will probably be useless) and you have to use manual gears (it lets you prevent wheelspin). Just start on a track that you enjoy/find easy and work from there. Don't go flat out with the wheel turned at a large angle. The learning curve is steep but once you have it nailed then you will just instinctively know how much throttle you can put down.

 

[Pete Evans]

Yo man. I also play on the 360, ith pad and aids turned off. It is a struggle at first, but keep at it.. You'll get the hang of it, just need to practice, know where your limits are. As far as coming out of corners, you need to be extremely gentle. If you play on manual too it should be no problem, get on an easy course and you'll get the hang of it. Montreal is a good one. I play with friends with the same set up as myself, no glitch setup and were always very close, even though they have wheels and some of them have aids turned on. It'd doable, just make sure you practice.

^^^ Also, basically what Carlo said. If you have full lock and you apply the throttle you'll probably spin, you need to be straightening out the "wheel" while gently applying the throttle.. It's rather finesse, but you'll get the hang of it.

 

[Gavin Scruton]

I use a 360 controller for pc and loke PullThePlug666 said, just keep at it and you will come right. Once you have the nack of it, you will wonder why it was so hard in the begining.

 

[Christopher Greer]

With TCS off, you really have to be light on the throttle when you're exiting corners. Don't mash the gas until you're in a nearly straight line either. If you start getting spin just pop it up one gear, or let off the throttle slightly and reapply once you've got grip. There are also very few corners one should be taking at first gear. Increasing the length of your second gear can help too, I tend to run longer second gears so I'm not constantly spinning out of the slow corners when I'm chasing another car down.

It is a big change compared to even Forza 3/4 since F1 cars have such high power-to-weight ratio and the areo doesn't work until you hit certain speeds. I play with a PS3 sixaxis on my pc and it's a pretty steep learning curve, but you can be faster with TCS off when you get the hang of it.

PS: Rain is a whole other story, I run med or full TCS when it rains - I can't play it otherwise.

 

[Kimi450]

Play with tc off and autoshifting off. It will do it but i dont like manual shift so i HAVE to use tc on

 

[Gareth Jones]

I don't think it's possible with a control pad, until I bought a wheel last week I used a controller and had to have TC to medium. The madcatz mc2 I bought cost £37 including p&p.

Been using it for a couple of days with TC off and I find I have more control through the corners and can catch spins better. Throttle control is also much better too. I can't compare the madcatz to anything else as it's my first wheel, but it's better than a control pad.

 

[David O'Reilly]

Quite a few guys in our Xbox league use the Madcatz MC2 including blokes who win. Very good for £40.00.
Agree with advice above. For more verbage I'll add below an expanded piece on driving with no TCS (but without wheel v/hard).

An expanded piece on driving without TCS (Traction control system).
As we move to lower assists some drivers have asked for more info on driving without TCS.
Definitely need to have assists off to get any feedback in a setup/testing session. TCS and ABS will both just hide poor setup.
If you think about sitting in a car weighing 650KG with 745HP in a car park with your steering wheel turned and flattening the throttle and imagine what would happen....
Then think about reducing steering lock to 20% and feathering (slight use of)the throttle. The difference between the two is throttle control.
Corner Exit:The more steering lock you have “wound on” and the slower you are going the greater the propensity for wheel-spin. TCS will manage this by taking off power the moment there is a hint of wheel-spin. For you to drive well without TCS the key skill really is to manage a progressive throttle application. If you stomp on the throttle with the wheel turned you will get wheel spin and possibly a slide. In essence you gradually/progressively apply throttle as you wind off steering lock. As your wheel straightens the foot goes down. It is really a movement that is linked as if by an invisible piece of string. This is why Walter Rohrls’ brilliant mental picture of a piece of string works so well.
In your head there is a piece of string tied from the bottom of the steering wheel to the big toe of your throttle foot. So you can only access full throttle when the wheel is straight. Automatically as you straighten the wheel exiting a corner your string gets longer allowing more throttle.
This applies eqully to the controller. Sit there away from the game and practice synchonising a counter movement of throttle and steering. Steer-reduce throttle, accellerate-wind off lock. As steering thumb goes vertical throttle trigger is pulled.
Another mental image could be: 1[SUP]st[/SUP] gear 30% throttle, 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] gear. 60 %, 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] gear 90%, 4[SUP]th[/SUP] gear 100%.
If we want to get even more precise and technically correct the aero down-force influence starts to kick in as speed picks up. By 5[SUP]th[/SUP] gear the string is replaced by elastic, by 6[SUP]th[/SUP] gear it’s not there at all. Hence Eau Rouge you can have near full lock at full throttle in 6[SUP]th[/SUP]-7[SUP]th[/SUP] at 250kph.
Another interesting phenomenon is where you might in a fast corner wind off lock temporarily to allow more throttle/acceleration then as aero influence kicks in wind on more lock. This happens in Spa corner 10-11 “Pouhon”. Under full fuel approaching in 6[SUP]th[/SUP] gear I will brake at about 75 metres and downshift to 4[SUP]th[/SUP]. Once getting good turn in, feed in more throttle on slight lock and as corner opens in 5[SUP]th[/SUP] give full throttle then 6[SUP]th[/SUP] at corner exit with full lock. The higher speed gradually allows more lock due to aero influence (and in a small way centrifugal effect of the wheels).
So in essence you have to develop a connection between the movements of your hands and of your feet. Here follows the section in the F1 2010 Advanced Drivers Guide that also deals with it albeit briefly.

1. Exit. The simplest and least cerebral part where you benefit from your good work in braking and apex phase. At this point you want to get the power down as fast as possible without breaking traction. The car will accelerate faster with minimum steering lock so once past apex allow the car to drift as wide as possible under throttle. If you leave track remaining unused outside you it means you could have carried more speed in corner or applied throttle earlier or harder or used less steering input on exit. All of these actions will net more speed. Exiting slow corners one must be mindful of avoiding wheel spin. This is because of the extra acceleration available in lower gears and the reduction in aero down force at lower speeds. In faster corners you can apply throttle more aggressively. The co-efficient of adhesion is higher than that of friction so wheel spin costs time. When dealing with throttle application a good mental image is that of a piece of string tied to the bottom of the steering wheel and your big toe. As you wind off lock your big toe is freed to apply more throttle.