Corner speed

  • Thread starter Thread starter rikcougar
  • 20 comments
  • 3,550 views
rikcougar

rikcougar

Messages
83
United Kingdom
Ollerton
Looking for some advice to lap quicker

Is corner speed the key?

I am using T300RS GT AND Playseat

GTS - TC off, ABS default

I have tried ABS off but most Gr3/Gr4 cars lock up far too easily - probably lack of talent

DR D, SR S

Race dailies and manufacturers

Any assistance and advice gratefully received

Many thanks in anticipation
 
I guess it depends on each corner, sometimes its better to break early and have a good exit. Best thing you can do is do some laps in time trial and use the ghost to experiment with other driving lines/breaking points
 
Unless you are trying to challenge the Top 10 you may as well use traction control on 2 with the Gr3/4 cars, it'll help you be much more consistent and less prone to spinning. Then you can concentrate on getting each and every corner right, the only way to know the best lines is by practice and maybe watching how the super quick guys are doing things.
 
rikcougar
Looking for some advice to lap quicker

Is corner speed the key?

I am using T300RS GT AND Playseat

GTS - TC off, ABS default

I have tried ABS off but most Gr3/Gr4 cars lock up far too easily - probably lack of talent

DR D, SR S

Race dailies and manufacturers

Any assistance and advice gratefully received

Many thanks in anticipation
Click to expand...

Keep the ABS to Default 99.999999999% of the time. Until you get really good it will just get in the way and the payoff for not using isn't always there (sometimes you get better top speed, but just barely).

Keep TCS at 0 for 99.999% of the cars, one exception off the top of my head is the Honda Sports VGT, she's an animal. For the vast majority of cars leave it at 0, even if you are just starting out because A) its faster B) forces you to learn proper throttle control and exit speed

For hard to drive RWD cars where youkeep spinning out, try turning on ASM and Countersteering Assist (CSA). Eventually when you get comfortable with the car, turn one off and FORCE yourself to complete a clean lap before you remove the other aid. Biggest thing to take away here is how the car responds to your inputs.

Some more tips:

- Slow in, fast out
- Use the driving line and/or cones to help you familarize yourself with tracks
- Memorize each track, forward and backward (where applicable)
- Go on youtube and watch how the top guys drive, study their racing line first. Then study their braking points, apexes, etc.
- Make sure you are 100% comfortable with your setup (I have an old playseat, pretty good rig) so you can drive for hours at a time without getting distracted by some level of pain
- Make sure you complete the Campain mode, you should really master them by golding everything. That in itself will go a long ways to improving yourself as you can race your ghost and try different lines to see what works best for each situation.
- When you get more experience, you can play with the Brake Balance of each car, that can help correct some amount of oversteer/understeer, not a lot but it helps.

HTH!



Jerome
 
Thank you all - food for thought

Practise it is, back to campaign to gold all of it and see where I am at the end

I do feel that tcs holds car back a lot, especially Gr4 458, I can drive clean laps without tcs as long as I am on my own

Melee mode is a different matter!
 
There are a lot of factors in achieving better laps times, as everyone has pointed out, corners included. If you're looking to start with just one thing, try this:

Pick a track, find the longest straight, and focus on mastering the corner before it (with regard to maximizing your exit speed). All else being the same, this more often than not will chip the largest amount of time off your current lap record.
 
Method36
There are a lot of factors in achieving better laps times, as everyone has pointed out, corners included. If you're looking to start with just one thing, try this:

Pick a track, find the longest straight, and focus on mastering the corner before it (with regard to maximizing your exit speed). All else being the same, this more often than not will chip the largest amount of time off your current lap record.
Click to expand...

agreed. this is a crucial skill

the speed by the end of a long straight gets drastically different depending on your exit speed of the previous turn. most complaints about people getting smoked on long straights by late cars is due to this. to get the most out of these specific turns learn how to take a late apex on the turn and even add some trail braking into the mix to get a deeper entry.

http://www.drivingfast.net/racing-line/

some of those double cone brake markers can really only be used by trail braking
 
I personally find that corner exit speed is the key, so be super smooth so you can get on the power early. Especially on corners that have long straights after them. Need to find the best line through the corner for maximum exit speed.
 
Drive with whatever feels comfortable for you.
I use TCS at varying numbers depending on the car, I also drive with counter steer assist at weak (I use a DS4).

I can turn all of these settings off and still put up similar lap times, but it's easier for me to do it with the assists, so I use them.

The biggest thing for me was learning just how to carry speed through tricky sections of tracks.

For example, on Dragon Tail - I was setting first sector times about 2 tenths off the fastest drivers, but my 2nd and 3rd sectors were dreadful.
Learning how to drive the middle section with the sweeping S curves gave me the biggest benefit to my laptimes - and my past 2 FIA races (Dragon Tail and Maggiorre), I qualified P1 by almost a second each time, and drove away from the field as my laps were simply consistently faster.

So for me it was learning how to take the high speed sections better.
Now I am consistently about 2 seconds slower than the top times in the Americas region and nearly at DR:A
 
Post a video. It's easier to give you advice if we know how you actually drive.
 
Sean Renon
Drive with whatever feels comfortable for you.
I use TCS at varying numbers depending on the car, I also drive with counter steer assist at weak (I use a DS4).

I can turn all of these settings off and still put up similar lap times, but it's easier for me to do it with the assists, so I use them.

The biggest thing for me was learning just how to carry speed through tricky sections of tracks.

For example, on Dragon Tail - I was setting first sector times about 2 tenths off the fastest drivers, but my 2nd and 3rd sectors were dreadful.
Learning how to drive the middle section with the sweeping S curves gave me the biggest benefit to my laptimes - and my past 2 FIA races (Dragon Tail and Maggiorre), I qualified P1 by almost a second each time, and drove away from the field as my laps were simply consistently faster.

So for me it was learning how to take the high speed sections better.
Now I am consistently about 2 seconds slower than the top times in the Americas region and nearly at DR:A
Click to expand...

How do you prefer to enter the S curves? Do you brake and turn in or do you lift off of the gas and turn in earlier?
 
BallPtPenTheif
How do you prefer to enter the S curves? Do you brake and turn in or do you lift off of the gas and turn in earlier?
Click to expand...

Typically I tap the brakes and turn sharply, aiming for the curb. I'm light enough on the brakes that I can ride through the corner at 1/3 throttle or so until I'm sure I can open it up again.
You want your exit from turn 1 of the S bends to put you out roughly middle of the track so that you can take a near straight line around turn 2 of the S. This allows your car to continuously accelerate through the uphill portion of the S bends which was the biggest time cut for me - nearly half a second if not more was gained by taking these corners consistently fast.

I'm assuming this is Dragon Tail S bends after the downhill.
 
My two cents of opinion:

ABS on weak (you still need to master brake intensity, as the more correct the braking, less intrusion of the ABS, when the ABS actuates, actually is by reducing braking power to avoid wheel blocking, it extends braking distances (far less than blocked wheels, of course)) So, even mastering braking, ABS still help you to avoid collisions, specially in endurance races, has worn tires tend to block more easily.

TCS - start practicing at 2 or 3, depending how you feel comfortable, then start reducing gradually until 0 (zero)

I don't use CSA as it doesn't work as a real world driving assist, which slows you down to stabilize the car, but that's my option and I'm conscient it slows me down, as I've to use TCS instead.
 
Starting to make some progress but DR rating is not increasing despite improving my position from qualy in the GT manufacturer series and dailies by 16 places over two days

It did show a blue line under DR on my profile on Tuesday evening but after last nights race Q17, F11 it has not moved, are there any other factors involved in DR increasing?
 
Just run the FWD or 4WD cars in Gr.4 for the most part they are the best anyways aside from the Viper, Porsche, and on rare occasion the 4C and Vette. You will never lose grip with the FWD or 4WD and you can push yourself harder for sure.

The WRX and the Atenza are my two favorite Gr.4 cars and I start in the top 3 every race at any track with one of them.
 
rikcougar
Starting to make some progress but DR rating is not increasing despite improving my position from qualy in the GT manufacturer series and dailies by 16 places over two days

It did show a blue line under DR on my profile on Tuesday evening but after last nights race Q17, F11 it has not moved, are there any other factors involved in DR increasing?
Click to expand...

It won’t always increase. It will plateau at a level that represents your pace.
 
On faster corners I tend to have it in the preferred gear +1 9 out of 10 times, except when its a very tight corner, I downshift to the preferred gear at the last moment so I brake using gears (I start downshifting when it says brake, but only at the last moment I downshift to the suggested gear). This gives me much more cornering speed and allows me to accelerate faster out of the corner.
 
rono_thomas
It won’t always increase. It will plateau at a level that represents your pace.
Click to expand...

that does seem reasonable but I did expect some movement of the blue line under DR in my profile to show something, when the race finished it did show "you are on +5 now"?

uMayBeSeated
Just run the FWD or 4WD cars in Gr.4 for the most part they are the best anyways aside from the Viper, Porsche, and on rare occasion the 4C and Vette. You will never lose grip with the FWD or 4WD and you can push yourself harder for sure.

The WRX and the Atenza are my two favorite Gr.4 cars and I start in the top 3 every race at any track with one of them.
Click to expand...

I am signed with Ferrari for season 4 of the Manufacturers so might change to WRX for next season, don`t have too much trouble with Gr4 458 witout TCS but when it does go. it goes properly! Is the Atenza 4wd?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Depends on the corner, i'm usually sitting in 2nd or 3rd. if its very sharp, almost hairpin, downshift to 1, get off gas to use momentum to turn and then power out.
For general corners im usually at 60kph
 
Making some progress now, DR C and SR S

New manufacturer to sign up with today

Megane using TCS is the best Gr4 weapon at the moment but Gr3 Renault seems useless, it does pop up in top 10 fastest times occasionally though

VW seems the way to go, any other suggestions?
 
there are 2 kinds of fast...
1 lap wonders...
Race pace.

1 lap wonders;
I cannot help on being a 1 lap king, I'm at Dr.B (with 30% bar under) and that is likely as fast as I will be for quite some time. It's ok, I'm comfortable with it. You need to be real with yourself, stop trying to be Mr. Fast Lap. I find once I feel I can no longer go any faster, and simply settle in and set practice laps, a little more speed will show up like magic. Once you are relaxed and in a rhythm, things just sorta happen.

Race Pace;
Race your ghost. I mean, really race your ghost. Don't drive through him, but rather try and out brake the ghost, take a different corner entry/exit and try and get a run on him. You will not set a fast lap doing this, but it will teach you how to run different lines and make them work in a race... aka overtakes.
Like I said, I'm not fast, but in races I typically gain spots, seldom loose (I'm taking overall end finish, not individual spots through the race). It has less to do with my "speed" than it does in knowing how to run a different line to either gain a spot, or keep a car behind when he's in a section of track where he is quicker. I do not block - ever. If there is a car behind that is gaining on a particular spot, I'll adjust my line to match so as to take that advantage away.
There are always guys that qualify lower than you, that are actually faster. When an obviously faster car comes up on you let it through.
Why?
Because the more time you spend making life hard for that car, the more you have slowed both of you down. That allows other cars to catch you up. Now instead of letting one fast car through, you've got 2, 3, 4 or more other cars breathing down your neck. They've seen you hold up 1 car, so they believe you'll hold them up too, and now they are going to be coming hard... this is how race incidents form. Also, letting the fast car through allows you to watch learn where they are fast, and maybe even get faster yourself from the new knowledge, but certainly you will get some draft which will help keep others from gaining.
Mirror;
If you are not driving in your mirror you are asking to be overtaken. Plain and simple. Sure you can watch the track map to see if there are cars coming, but the mirror will show you where/how they are making up the time, and where you are holding your own or pulling. Where they make up time watch and see why, adjust to cancel/match their advantage, and keep on keeping on where you are strong.
When you see 2 or more cars behind jockeying for a spot, this is when you settle in and run as clean and tidy a lap as possible. You will be faster than them. If you are unaware of them jockeying, and you are still trying to go as fast as possible, it is an opportunity for you to makes a mistake, and now that battle for position just closed in. Exactly what you do not want, you want to be ahead of it putting in tidy laps, not pushing making slight errors and getting caught up in their battles.
Following a battle... do not approach this as an opportunity to gain 2 spots. Keep very close and stay out of it. They will see you are close and want to get the battle over with asap, this causes mistakes and opens the door for a position, maybe 2 if you get lucky. If you get aggressive and join the battle is is a good recipe for all cars to make a mistake and possibly loose several positions.
Getting bumped;
Stuff happens. Don't be a spoiled little child and go storming down the track intent on making up every spot lost. Be a man, take on the new challenge and work your way through the remainder of the race the same as you wold otherwise have done. I've gone from 2nd to 14th, and I've gone from 4th to 18th on the first corner. It happens. in those races I've placed in the top 10 by race end with blue Dr. and blue Sr.

That is how I drive... I seldom win, but I often finish higher than I started, and the game is very enjoyable.
When I first started racing online it was all about every position and going for the win. Those were frustrating days.
I am no longer an D/E driver, I'm a mid pack Dr.B and gentlemanly Sr.S, and the game is now fun and exhilarating instead of stressful and frustrating.

HTH.
 
Back