Worth upgrading sim hardware to be more competitive online?

[Phantom Lord]

Hi there,

Question: Anyone here seen a noticeable increase in their speed after upgrading their equipment?

Particularly interested in those who have switched from a single-screen setup to VR/triples/ultra-wide and those who have upgraded to load-cell pedals. VR in particular would be useful to learn about as space is a bit of an issue, somewhat ruling out triples or ultra-wides.

I’m primarily an offline racer but getting a bit disillusioned with just racing against AI. I’ve been trying iRacing lately and whilst I enjoy driving in the sim, I am woefully off the pace. Main problems are consistency with trail braking and a narrow-FOV making it difficult to spot apexes (hence my points about VR and pedals). I’ve had a go playing around with settings and it’s yielded some small improvements, but not enough. Ditto with car setup.

My driving can certainly be improved and I’m aware there will still be people setting records on stock G29s and single screens, but I’d be interested in hearing other people’s experiences.

Thanks

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

Question: Anyone here seen a noticeable increase in their speed after upgrading their equipment?

Nope, gimme a basic Logitech G25 and i'll be as fast as with a high end wheel with ditto pedals. Small vs larger monitor, same story.

More immersive? For sure! More speed? No.

 

[EsxPaul]

The only thing I would say has made a noticeable difference for me was a nice set of pedals with a load cell brake. Apart from those, all the other upgraded parts haven't made any difference in terms of outright speed although they have increased my enjoyment due to feeling more immersed.

 

[Shovas]

It depends on the kind of person you are. Will you take advantage of better equipment's benefits? You'll know if you are if you're already tuning your ffb for greater information, tweaking your pedals for more consistency, changing your FOV to better hit your brake points and apexes, etc.

The common refrain is that better equipment doesn't make your faster but it can make you more consistent - and that can make you more competitive.

Beyond that, it's all about seat-time. Do a practice stint in iRacing and then do as many races as you can. You'll definitely get better. There's no fix for plain old seat time.

 

[manu68]

Just my own experience.

I got an Fanatec pedal set for Christmas , coming from a Logitech G25 .
I keep on using the wheel.

Since then , I am about nowhere.
I can not brake properly, my laptime are a lot slower, I miss apexes , ....

but I love the pedals. Immersion is great.

I will probably take a pretty long time before I recover my level, which was already not so quick but pretty constant and reliable during races.

 

[maelstrom]

... and a narrow-FOV making it difficult to spot apexes

I know that there'll probably be gasps of disapproval, but widen your FOV until you're happy that you can see what you need to. It may not be exactly as you'd see it in real life but you'll quickly get used to it. Also, if available, have a play with any Look to Apex/Look With Wheel options - they may help.

 

[ShinyAndy]

It won't make you faster (often makes you slower!) but it'll make you way more consistent and be a far more immersive experience. We have people in our online leagues racing on G25s and a laptop who basically win every round. I went from single screen to VR to triples and T3PA pedals to Heusinkveld Sprints and I'm in a nice place with consistency being much better and feel much more able to compete online safely. Triples and VR definitely help when online racing as you're more aware of who/what is around you so helps you to not be "that guy" who regularly takes people out.

 

[Denis Betty]

Over the last year i upgraded to triples, a better wheel and HE pedals. The pedals are, without doubt the biggest help with speed/consistancy for me. I had people comment on this within a couple weeks of buying the pedals.

 

[Phantom Lord]

I know that there'll probably be gasps of disapproval, but widen your FOV until you're happy that you can see what you need to. It may not be exactly as you'd see it in real life but you'll quickly get used to it. Also, if available, have a play with any Look to Apex/Look With Wheel options - they may help.

I confess I am a stickler for correct FOV

Hadn't thought of those look to apex options though. Will check that out - Cheers!

 

[Phantom Lord]

Thanks for all the replies - seeing a theme of consistency, rather than speed here. Worth bearing in mind before I fork out £££££s on a set of HE pedals

Much appreciated!

 

[Denis Betty]

Thanks for all the replies - seeing a theme of consistency, rather than speed here. Worth bearing in mind before I fork out £££££s on a set of HE pedals

Much appreciated!

Force yourself to fork out on those pedals. The pain of the high cost is short term, the satisfaction and enjoyment of quality pedals will be lasting. You'll always get really good money for HE pedals should you decide to sell them. Best sim racing purchase I ever made.

 

[Shovas]

I can also recommend ProtoSimTech PT-2's. Had mine for a few years now and they're rock solid and reliable and quite configurable too and easy to work with. They also tend to cost less than other pedals.

ProtoSimTech

Home of the PT2 load cell pedal set, Heusinkveld, HPP, Fanatec, Sim Racing Pedals, Sim Pedals

www.protosimtech.com

 

[RCHeliguy]

If you already spend lots of time as much as you can playing, than it probably won't make any difference. We can learn to compensate for almost anything.

If you would race more because you are enjoying it more, than it could make a difference.

As was mentioned a good set of pedals "can" make it easier to modulate the brake better, otherwise it is all about immersion and if you are having more fun because of it.

That really depends on the individual. Just remember this is a ONE WAY TRIP. Once you get used to nicer equipment and are sensitized to it, you will miss things.

 

[dud]

Steering wheel - not really.

Pedals - yes.

 

[hypertek]

my consistancy went up going from desk mounted wheel, to a rig. my times went up going from a single monitor to VR. my competitiveness went up going to VR (knowing my positional awareness).

My enjoyment keeps going up! I know budget can be an issue, but i think enjoyment and immersion enough is worth upgrading.

 

[bassun]

I am still running cheap gear, but I did go from single screen to VR. (Rift CV1) Awareness jumped significantly. When I first looked through the VR immediately I noticed a reduced FOV which concerned me. It took about 2 seconds to begin looking around by turning my head and I realized, 100% improvement. Not graphically...at all...but awareness. A couple laps with AI and a few things happened.

1 - I was off pace
2 - I was aware of cars beside me without looking. I had stereo speakers, but the headset in stereo blew those away in terms of positional sound.
3 - I was using all of my mirrors more often. Second nature from driving for decades kicked in and suddenly I was glancing more at side mirrors etc. I tried using them on the monitor, but meh. In VR it felt normal.
4 - I was able to glance left or right, naturally. You don't loose focus on everything like on a monitor. It's a natural movement so your brain keeps tracking things.
1a - (why) I was off pace -- because I was taking it all in. I was looking around in car, around the car, just looking everywhere lol. I saw things I never noticed in game before.
1b - As soon as I focused on driving... I was faster. I was hitting apex's better, braking points better, and just overall more situationally aware. Better being consistent.
5 - My depth perception improved. I was instantly doing much better judging distances, including rates of approach (say the car slowing ahead).
6 - Going from single to VR i could just tell where everything was, naturally. This really came in with online racing. I had been very tentative in traffic, having to constantly "look left" or "look right". That screwed with me. Now, if I am unsure, I just turn my head a tad and boom... No longer losing focus ahead, but adding the view I needed.

7 - I did find myself leaning my head left in oval racing, lol. Still do.

In summary, I absolutely love it -- BUT -- and this is a serious BUT -- If you are huge into top end graphics, you WILL be disappointed. There absolutely is a graphical let down, and depending on your specific set up it could be slight to very significant. I would like to see things be as pretty in VR...and one day they may be. Today is NOT that day. That said, I will NOT race unless I'm in VR. Period.

Something to think about with VR is peripherals. You cannot see them. So if you have tons of gizmos and displays etc. it is something to consider. You also have to memorize button locations. Not a big deal, but something to consider. Touch screens would be all but useless... conversely, it will keep you from spending more to buy some stuff lol.

 

[Terje Helle]

I’m faster and more consistent with larger FOV. Also, it helped to go from a single screen to a three screen setup, it helped even more to go from a 3 screen setup to VR. It’s much easier to look a head, see the apex and also to notice the rotation and how the car behaves in VR. So for me, it helped tremendously. Still not fast though. Just not as slow.

 

[Phantom Lord]

I am still running cheap gear, but I did go from single screen to VR. (Rift CV1) Awareness jumped significantly. When I first looked through the VR immediately I noticed a reduced FOV which concerned me. It took about 2 seconds to begin looking around by turning my head and I realized, 100% improvement. Not graphically...at all...but awareness. A couple laps with AI and a few things happened.

1 - I was off pace
2 - I was aware of cars beside me without looking. I had stereo speakers, but the headset in stereo blew those away in terms of positional sound.
3 - I was using all of my mirrors more often. Second nature from driving for decades kicked in and suddenly I was glancing more at side mirrors etc. I tried using them on the monitor, but meh. In VR it felt normal.
4 - I was able to glance left or right, naturally. You don't loose focus on everything like on a monitor. It's a natural movement so your brain keeps tracking things.
1a - (why) I was off pace -- because I was taking it all in. I was looking around in car, around the car, just looking everywhere lol. I saw things I never noticed in game before.
1b - As soon as I focused on driving... I was faster. I was hitting apex's better, braking points better, and just overall more situationally aware. Better being consistent.
5 - My depth perception improved. I was instantly doing much better judging distances, including rates of approach (say the car slowing ahead).
6 - Going from single to VR i could just tell where everything was, naturally. This really came in with online racing. I had been very tentative in traffic, having to constantly "look left" or "look right". That screwed with me. Now, if I am unsure, I just turn my head a tad and boom... No longer losing focus ahead, but adding the view I needed.

7 - I did find myself leaning my head left in oval racing, lol. Still do.

In summary, I absolutely love it -- BUT -- and this is a serious BUT -- If you are huge into top end graphics, you WILL be disappointed. There absolutely is a graphical let down, and depending on your specific set up it could be slight to very significant. I would like to see things be as pretty in VR...and one day they may be. Today is NOT that day. That said, I will NOT race unless I'm in VR. Period.

Something to think about with VR is peripherals. You cannot see them. So if you have tons of gizmos and displays etc. it is something to consider. You also have to memorize button locations. Not a big deal, but something to consider. Touch screens would be all but useless... conversely, it will keep you from spending more to buy some stuff lol.

Thank you for the detailed response - lots of useful info there. Between this and Half-Life: Alyx, it might be time to take the VR plunge. Probably need a new GPU first though.

 

[bassun]

Thank you for the detailed response - lots of useful info there. Between this and Half-Life: Alyx, it might be time to take the VR plunge. Probably need a new GPU first though.

NP!
I generally tell people who are looking at the plunge into VR to consider 3 things.
CPU, GPU, VRU (I know VRU sounds funny, but it makes it easy remember.)

I initially got VR for racing. Rift CV1. So naturally I picked up a bunch of free titles just to play with, and got pulled into RecRoom Paintball and enjoyed it immensely! Not even a big fan of FPS on the PC, but that was a blast. Ended up doing tournaments and stuff with it. Over a year later, I am finally getting back into racing lol.

As a basic idea - I'm running an i7-6700k, GTX 1070, Rift (not Rift S) - and I am slowly starting to see more and more games struggle to keep at 90FPS (Rift generally runs at 45 or 90 -- 45 is ok for me, but makes some people sick.) Even in iRacing I have had to start dropping graphic settings recently... In the recent past I would have said my combo was "good"...but I am beginning to think it is more "ok" vs "good" anymore. Not sure what has changed or where, but something has.

 

[maelstrom]

I generally tell people who are looking at the plunge into VR to consider 3 things.
CPU, GPU, VRU (I know VRU sounds funny, but it makes it easy remember.)

And motion sickness! My brief dip into VR ended because I just felt nauseous all the time.

it might be time to take the VR plunge.

If you can try-before-you-buy (particularly for racing), I’d highly recommend you do so. Some people aren’t affected by the motion sickness, others are but get used to it eventually, the rest will probably never get used to it.