Do you think GT5 has made you a better driver?

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sporkface69

sporkface69

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SPORKFACE69
As the title implies, I'm wondering if you think GT5, or just racing games in general, has made you a better driver in real life?

A few years ago my mom told me that when kids play racing video games they are better at driving and I would have to say that I agree. Simulation games in particular have given me a totally different view of driving than I had when I was say, 10. They teach you car control, situational awareness, accident avoidance, and in my experience an overall more serious view of driving and just how dangerous it can be. I like to pride myself on good driving. I don't speed (too much), don't text or talk on my cell phone, always focus, and always use my turn signal, among other things, and I would like to say that it is because of 8+ years of racing simulation.

Thoughts?
 
It's hard to say, I've played racing games my entire life, any number of them could of helped, or even a combination of them all. I know GT5 definitely hasn't hurt my ability to drive. I would say that it probably has helped in some ways. I only started driving when I first started playing GT5.
 
On the track maybe but definitely not on normal road driving. I found that it made me want to push my car too much, driving too hard etc. I take my time in real life and red line in the game, totally different driving experience between the both!
 
yes, it helps, but only in the theory aspects, (like your driving line which results in a more controlled, smoother ride)

Since this is a racing game, and you dont (shouldnt) race in real life traffic. It hardly has any realistic benefits.
 
No, my real-life driving is far too mundane to benefit from learning to apex corners. Public roads tend to be built as straight as possible, and in the extremely rare instances where you can find a nice twisty stretch, your view of oncoming traffic is completely blocked by hills and trees.
 
Absolutely. I've been playing racing games almost my entire life. I started using a FFB wheel with GT3. Granted I started racing go karts when I was 6, but I credit a majority of being able to wheel full size cars to racing sims.

Great example, a couple years ago I bought my first AWD car, a 1997 Audi A4 Quattro 5spd manual. Since I enjoy rally in GT the first time it snowed was like I had been sliding the car for years. No hesitation, just pure instinct.
 
stormbringer
yes, it helps, but only in the theory aspects, (like your driving line which results in a more controlled, smoother ride)

Since this is a racing game, and you dont (shouldnt) race in real life traffic. It hardly has any realistic benefits.
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Half of the rooms online are cruising rooms. Another thing, I change it up offline when I'm hotlapping from cruising to sliding to full acceleration on the straights. The most important thing people learn about driving on streets in real life from driving/car simulators is turning radius. Drive a city track like you would drive in real life and you should be able to see what I'm talking about.


LVracerGT
Absolutely. I've been playing racing games almost my entire life. I started using a FFB wheel with GT3. Granted I started racing go karts when I was 6, but I credit a majority of being able to wheel full size cars to racing sims.

Great example, a couple years ago I bought my first AWD car, a 1997 Audi A4 Quattro 5spd manual. Since I enjoy rally in GT the first time it snowed was like I had been sliding the car for years. No hesitation, just pure instinct.
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👍


GTP: How well did Gran Turismo 5 prepare you for the challenges of driving a real car fast?

Jann M: A great deal. At the national finals we had some gaming on Gran Turismo 5 and then went straight into a 330 BHP Nissan 370Z, and I was amazed by the end of it how natural it felt and when the car got into an oversteer situation (which I’d never experienced leading up to that), and I was able to control it with throttle and steering input. So, Gran Turismo has shown it’s one of the best simulators out there and it can help your driving in real life situations.
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If GT6 adds Full damage, we will all be better drivers. Hopefully they will add the damages as shown in that virtual damage truck video (no link).

Adding damage (as a race option) will be the only sure way to separate the drivers from the gamer's, online, or during regular game play. Hope they add it?
 
wWsLack
If GT6 adds Full damage, we will all be better drivers. Hopefully they will add the damages as shown in that virtual damage truck video (no link).

Adding damage (as a race option) will be the only sure way to separate the drivers from the gamer's, online, or during regular game play. Hope they add it?
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About 90% of people don't use it online. Kaz's words. They can check those things.
 
If there were levels, or achievements for racing clean with Full Damage... I bet we might get more cleane type drivers. Make it a goal, and you'll see results.

As to the better driver question, I'd say yes. While GT5 isn't a super great SIM; logging multiple hours and being in many different driving/racing scenarios while in GT5 has made me a better driver on track.
 
Bottoz
If there were levels, or achievements for racing clean with Full Damage... I bet we might get more cleane type drivers. Make it a goal, and you'll see results.

As to the better driver question, I'd say yes. While GT5 isn't a super great SIM; logging multiple hours and being in many different driving/racing scenarios while in GT5 has made me a better driver on track.
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👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
 
I'd have to say yes. I began autox last year and have 8 events now under my belt in my'01 Z28. Its a rather big car with alot of torque. Last year when i started, i tried throwing it into corners as many do on race softs in GT5 and was very slow as a result. During the ps3 outage back this past spring, i practiced on sports hard tires on stock vehicles. The game directly taught me smoothness with a slow in fast out approach as best, and learning to judge and feel for the threshold of grip. I applied my new found driving habit to the autox events this past season. I went from uncompetitve last year to a 3rd in points overall on this season in my class. Control is key.
 
Yes, it helped improve my driving. I realized the benefits of smooth driving through GT5. A very useful/enjoyable driving simulator indeed.
 
I think it has more benefits for a bicycle rider than for a driver. Bicycle roads are often a lot more technical than roads for cars. S-curves, chicanes, sharp corners etc.
 
LV hit the nail on the head. I've been racing video games with a wheel for 15 years or so, but only got my license about 7 years ago. On the street, you constantly use the instincts and reactions that you learned in GT5. Oversteer in the snow? No problem. Understeer on a wet onramp? No problem. People who get into a car cold and learn street driving only, never learn accident avoidance and car control instincts.

Also, I race cars in real life. I'm not going to say real racing and GT5 are an apples to apples comparison, but I will say that somebody who is an experienced sim racer will have an enornous advantage over somebody who is trying to learn racing from scratch. These are facts that I can verify with lap times.
 
Playing Gran Turismo 5 allows me to appreciate cars, the efficient/smooth driving techniques required for quick lap times, and motorsports that much more.

When using a well designed simulator such as GT5, the basics of vehicle dynamics, of sport driving techniques, and of the awareness, focus, and calm required tend to be assimilated and understood. This can have a positive affect on aspects of your learning curve when it comes to actually driving a machine at the limits and it may also allow you to better 'realize' or 'notice' certain aspects of driving be it when you are behind the wheel or when watching another pushing a machine to its limits through this understanding.

However, given the complex nature and uniqueness of reality involving machines and humans, mastering simulation driving will not prepare you for driving/racing a machine on the limit, will not improve your true race craft, nor will it hone your skills.
 
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P917K23
However, given the complex nature and uniqueness of reality involving machines and humans, mastering simulation driving will not prepare you for driving/racing a machine on the limit, will not improve your true race craft, nor will it hone your skills.
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I need to disagree a little bit on a few accounts, but I'll start at the end of your sentence where I agree and work backwards.

I certainly agree that it will not hone your skills. Maybe help learn the basics of a new track, but definitely won't hone your stills.

Race craft I believe is actually one of the best things you can learn from a sim. How to set people up, how to pull a crossover, how to sandbag a corner, how to be patient and pick your spot, how to defend, how to run share the track with others, are all things that can ONLY be learned from seat time. I believe it doesn't matter if that seat time is in a real car or a simulator.

It may not fully prepare you to drive a real car aggressively, but it will make you significantly more comfortable in the real car the first time you get in it. Perhaps to a detriment even as overconfidence can result, but for the most part having sim experience can make a first time race driver much more coherant in the cockpit.
 
iamsupernasty
... Race craft I believe is actually one of the best things you can learn from a sim. How to set people up, how to pull a crossover, how to sandbag a corner, how to be patient and pick your spot, how to defend, how to run share the track with others, are all things that can ONLY be learned from seat time. I believe it doesn't matter if that seat time is in a real car or a simulator...
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This. I've done some wicked passes IRL from things I first attempted in GT5. It helps.

SuperNasty... I think we've spoke before... but what do you race?
 
iamsupernasty
I need to disagree a little bit on a few accounts, but I'll start at the end of your sentence where I agree and work backwards.

I certainly agree that it will not hone your skills. Maybe help learn the basics of a new track, but definitely won't hone your stills.

Race craft I believe is actually one of the best things you can learn from a sim. How to set people up, how to pull a crossover, how to sandbag a corner, how to be patient and pick your spot, how to defend, how to run share the track with others, are all things that can ONLY be learned from seat time. I believe it doesn't matter if that seat time is in a real car or a simulator.

It may not fully prepare you to drive a real car aggressively, but it will make you significantly more comfortable in the real car the first time you get in it. Perhaps to a detriment even as overconfidence can result, but for the most part having sim experience can make a first time race driver much more coherant in the cockpit.
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Exactly.
Gran Turismo 5 doesn't make you a better driver. It teaches you how to be a faster racer. If you can apply the techniques and skills you utilize on GT5 to real world situations, you are much better off than where you'd be without GT5. Racing is a knowledge and a skill, much different than a sport like baseball or football. Learning how to hit an apex or chase a racing line on GT5, should carry to real life.
 
Bottoz
This. I've done some wicked passes IRL from things I first attempted in GT5. It helps.

SuperNasty... I think we've spoke before... but what do you race?
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I'm currently running in the 24 Hours Of Lemons. Own the #333 Ford. From a few weeks ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLgHcsiD2Y8&hd=1&t=6m32s

At the end of the video, you see the downside of GT5. I'm pretty sure I got stuck in GT5 mode, and it cost me a radiator. Maybe I was expecting that #888 VW car to ghost?
 
Subscribed to your Channel! Man you're really working your way up through the field... nice move at 11:12! And that Honda seemed to be forever around you.

Ouch! Hope the Festiva is all healed up... and you too.

This shows that one or two off in the real world is not the same as one or two or four off in GT5!
 
LVracerGT
I need to get into some of these races. That looks like a blast 👍
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Yep, you sure do! 2013 Schedule is being posted soon, so I'll let you know once we figure out which ones were attending; next one will likely be in Michigan in early April. Always looking for drivers.
 
I don't think GT5 has really affected my day-to-day street driving.

I did find that GT5 was an immense help in teaching me the basics of car control, track driving, and racecraft for driving a car on a track. I learned roughly where the race line runs and how to find it on a new-to-me track, the most fundamental ways a car acts when you lose control (I realize GT5 doesn't get the finer points right), and some of the basics of passing. The endurance races also were pretty good at reminding me of the importance of patience, though I still needed another object lesson in that when I drove wheel-to-wheel.

The interesting thing for me was, after I'd drive on the track a bit, I found that there were some things I learned driving live that made me a better driver in GT5.

LVracerGT
I need to get into some of these races. That looks like a blast 👍
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Check out the ChumpCar World Series too. The sensibilities of the two series differ somewhat, so you may find that you like one a lot better than the other, but if you're interested in driving in both it will expand the number of races and the tracks you can run.

Both series have a very nice "getting started" post stickied in their discussion boards (the ChumpCar one largely cribbed from the LeMons one).
 
Bottoz
Subscribed to your Channel! Man you're really working your way up through the field... nice move at 11:12! And that Honda seemed to be forever around you.

Ouch! Hope the Festiva is all healed up... and you too.

This shows that one or two off in the real world is not the same as one or two or four off in GT5!
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Thanks! The Festiva was fine; had it fixed in 10 minutes and we were back out. The VW on the other hand, was down for the count.

I watch some of your vids too, pretty cool man. Keep up the good work!
 
MrWednesday
Both series have a very nice "getting started" post stickied in their discussion boards (the ChumpCar one largely cribbed from the LeMons one).
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Do you drive in Chump and/or Lemons?

Feel free to add me on PSN if you'd like to join some clean races online this weekend. Always good to meet fellow budget racers...
 

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