Driving fast in FC

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Biggles

Biggles

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As there are a number of new drivers joining the FC crew, I just thought I would share a few pointers I have learned through grappling with FC over the last few weeks. They may help new FC drivers get to grips with FC's physics, & get up to speed (literally) quicker. Bear in mind that I'm talking about manual driving with a wheel & no assists - it's possible there might be a slightly different feel to controller driving with/without assists.

1) Brake early.

2) Let the wheels roll.

3) Accelerate around & out of the apex.

4) Always stay on the track.

Well, I admit they seem pretty obvious, but coming from GT5P the feel of the physics is different & requires a little different approach. My impression is that FC models weight transfer & instability under braking more than GT5P, but models oversteer less.

In practice, this means that it's really important to control your speed well before entering the corner, make sure the car is stable & the tires rolling & then accelerate out of the corner more aggressively than you could in GT5P. Overall, being smooth counts for a lot & rather than pushing too hard at any one corner, it's better to plan ahead & let the car roll through the series of turns with an even, balanced momentum. Normally, the driver in front will eventually make some small mistake that will allow you to overtake, as long as you stay in touch & don't drive off the track.

Disclaimer: there are a bunch of drivers who are much faster than me on many of the tracks :irked: so I may be completely wrong about all this! :ill:

Any other comments/opinions?
 
You make good points. I've only had the game for a few days, but have already won a few races at Monza. I better be fast there, considering all the F1CE laps I've done there! I like the physics of the game. The cars are a little squirelly, but I've found it pretty easy, to powerslide/drift out of many turns. The freedom to customize the cars is pretty cool too. Its nice to see some new tracks, that haven't been seen in a GT title, or F1CE. Its got Spa!!! My only gripe is that it only has Ferraris, and I'm a Porsche & Lotus fan. I want a Porsche 917K mod!

I haven't tried the online racing yet, but look forward to racing you guys soon. 👍
 
Few pointers I can add having finished the game.

1. Don't fight the AI. Better to lay off for a corner and take them approaching the next on the outside as they agressively cover the inside. You will also find you end up getting past them faster
2. If you do use the racing line. It is not always right. Some corners don't require braking
3. If its a fast corner and you normally run wide going through it full throttle, lay off the gas for a split second and reapply. Virginia raceway is a track I can think of that this applies to
4. Flying over curbs is normally slower as it unsettles the car
 
1. Don't fight the AI. Better to lay off for a corner and take them approaching the next on the outside as they agressively cover the inside. You will also find you end up getting past them faster
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Definitely. It's always a good idea to overtake the AI on the outside of the turn as they always protect the inside line.
 
Biggles
4) Always stay on the track.
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:lol: Classic!

I've only been playing since mid October and haven't been able to spend as much time practicing as I want to. I've unlocked all the cars and tracks but some I haven't driven more than a handful of laps. And even the tracks that I 'think' I know I find I still make too many errors.

But this is actually a good tip. I found from racing the AI, they seem to want to brake test you mid apex and force you to slow down much too much. Unless they're coming from behind, in which case they can seemingly brake ridiculously late and still make the corner. I can't tell you how many times they've rear ended me. So from that alone I think I've tended to brake much later than I really need to in the race in a desperate effort to hold position, compared to say in Time Trial where I have the luxury of braking earlier.

But I'll make a more conscious effort of it now. Thanks! 👍
 
But this is actually a good tip. I found from racing the AI, they seem to want to brake test you mid apex and force you to slow down much too much. Unless they're coming from behind, in which case they can seemingly brake ridiculously late and still make the corner. I can't tell you how many times they've rear ended me. So from that alone I think I've tended to brake much later than I really need to in the race in a desperate effort to hold position, compared to say in Time Trial where I have the luxury of braking earlier.
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I don't generally have a problem with the AI hitting me - when it happens, it's on the tracks I'm weakest on: Homstead & California :yuck: so I think it's a question of driving in the way "they" expect . Yes, they often dive into the corner ahead of me, but when they do, they're almost invariably slower coming out of the corner, which sort of reinforces what I'm saying: brake early, stabilize the car, maintain momentum through the apex & accelerate hard out of the corner.
 
Biggles
1) Brake early.

2) Let the wheels roll.

3) Accelerate around & out of the apex.

4) Always stay on the track.



Any other comments/opinions?
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Yes, I'd like to comment that Ferraris are very unpredictable, they either understeer or oversteer. I'll try to demonstrate it with two Youtube HORRENDOUS clips:


UNDERSTEER EXAMPLE.
This guy failed on Biggles test by not complying with rules 1), 2) and 4). Besides, he's an idiot. Not as idiot as the car owner, however.





OVERSTEER EXAMPLE
This guy failed on Biggles test by not complying with rule 3). Besides, he's an idiot, maybe even more idiot than the guy in the previous example, because this one is - probably - the car owner himself.




Sorry, but I had to share these with you guys :lol:
 
The things you've said are true. I love the feeling of applying a little but too much throttle, you release it and the whole car becomes agile again and it wants to turn for you! Then throttle on and the power is put down so sharply! One of my favourite cars is the F40. Its an old dog but it is a drivers car.

I also love how the AI will brake test you at any moment that they think you're too close! I have had to really swerve to avoid them sometimes. They should take note of the AI in this for GT5!
 
One of the biggest "issues" for me is switching from one car to another, It's not such an issue with say going from a F40 to a 348 but rather going between 2 very similar cars, the thing is that even the similar cars have a different feel to them, by that I mean an ever so slight level of grip or a slightly more pronounce under pr over steer. I get luled into thinking I know where to brake and more importantly where to apply the throtle on the apex to exit the turn, this can see me either having to fractional come back off the throtle to readjust my exit position which kills my speed down the straight of just pain pulling the most rediclous powerslides out of bends LOL
I really have to put more time in and really work not just on the tracks but also the cars! On some tracks I'm very quick and can really relax then same track different car and I'm really strugeling LOL Theres really alot of game in FC

Oh and to add to the excellent tips posted earlier I'll add a jackie stewart tip given to capt slow........when exiting a corner don't put the power on till you know you don't have to take it off again!
 
I've just spent a couple of hours driving the '64 250 LM. Anyone who thinks FC feels "weird" will think so doubly if they try the "vintage" cars!

The older cars with lots of HP, skinny tires & crappy brakes really show-off the physics & FFB of FC. You can't simply muscle the cars around the corners - they force you to really feel the weight transfer of the car & work with the momentum, carefully choosing your braking & throttle points. It feels quite strange at first, but once you get a feel for the car, it's absolutely brilliant. 👍
 
Biggles
As there are a number of new drivers joining the FC crew, I just thought I would share a few pointers I have learned through grappling with FC over the last few weeks. They may help new FC drivers get to grips with FC's physics, & get up to speed (literally) quicker. Bear in mind that I'm talking about manual driving with a wheel & no assists - it's possible there might be a slightly different feel to controller driving with/without assists.

1) Brake early.

2) Let the wheels roll.

3) Accelerate around & out of the apex.

4) Always stay on the track.
Click to expand...

I have had the game for a few months but never got into it, with the Holidays and kids being out of school just haven't had time... But I started playing again and I can say that I was having trouble with #'s 1 & 2. It seems difficult to brake "into" the turn like you can in most console racing games... in FC, which I am loving right now, you have to do the majority of your braking in a straight line - or the cars push badly. I hooked up my Driving Force Pro last night but had F1CE in the PS3 already - so got hooked back on F1 for the night. :sly: Am going to be spending some time this weekend running FC with the wheel.

Feel free to add me to you friend list - I haven't played online since I got the game back in like, early November (I think), but I'm getting better and enjoy the game quite a bit. I mainly need to learn some of the tracks.

Barry
PSN: aracefan
 
Me, I am struggling with 2) Let the wheels roll. I have conducted some brake testing at the long Monza straight, with the Ferrari 575GTC. But no matter how gently I apply the brakes I am constantly locking up the rear wheels. The front wheels keep rolling, but the rear is sliding. In one of my PC sims I would simply change the brake bias more to the front, but i can't find that setting in FC.

In order to work around this problem I am at the moment applying brake and throttle at the same time to keep the rear wheels from locking up. This however seems a bit contra-productive.

Would be happy to hear how you are dealing with this, or if it's just me...
 
Me, I am struggling with 2) Let the wheels roll. I have conducted some brake testing at the long Monza straight, with the Ferrari 575GTC. But no matter how gently I apply the brakes I am constantly locking up the rear wheels. The front wheels keep rolling, but the rear is sliding. In one of my PC sims I would simply change the brake bias more to the front, but i can't find that setting in FC.

In order to work around this problem I am at the moment applying brake and throttle at the same time to keep the rear wheels from locking up. This however seems a bit contra-productive.

Would be happy to hear how you are dealing with this, or if it's just me...
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What I find works for me is to brake early & control my speed well before the turn in to the corner. That way I can stabilize the car before entering the corner, roll into the corner & accelerate through & out of the apex. I.E. don't push too hard into the corners. Keeping the car balanced is more important than squeezing late-braking out of it. This is particularly important with a car like the 575 GTC which is very "twitchy". I think this is the big difference between GT5P which doesn't model weight-transfer so much as FC, & is the main reason people used to GT5P complain about FC's physics being "weird".
 
I've been experimenting with trail braking into some of the medium and slow bends in the older cas, really hooks the front end in and keeps the car balanced. bewarw though as your braking points are quite a bit later than people not doing this so use it wisely LOL
 
Thanks for your input. I gave Monza and the 575 GTC another go last evening. I still feel that the brake bias is too heavy on the rear, so I have to use a fair amount of throttle while braking in a straight line to keep the rear wheels from locking and sliding. However, I am really getting fond of how the weight transfer is simulated and transferred through the FF. Using brake and throttle simultaneously you can really balance the car and negotiate through Ascari almost without inputs from the steering wheel.

Yesterday I also realised how important the timing of down-shifting is for minimising braking distance. I find down-shifting a bit tricky though, especially from the cockpit view since you can't see the rev counter. The flashing lamps on the steering wheel are useful for up-shifting, but down-shifting you have to play it by ear. Furthermore I haven't quite figured out how the gearbox is modelled. Do you have to blip the throttle when down-shifting?

The gearbox modelling leaves me even more puzzled when I switch to a car with a non-sequential gearbox. When you move up through the gears they seem to blip the throttle, but not when shifting down. So I'm wondering... Am I doing something terribly wrong, because every time I put in a higher gear it sounds like I am breaking something very expensive?
 
Thanks for your input. I gave Monza and the 575 GTC another go last evening. I still feel that the brake bias is too heavy on the rear, so I have to use a fair amount of throttle while braking in a straight line to keep the rear wheels from locking and sliding. However, I am really getting fond of how the weight transfer is simulated and transferred through the FF. Using brake and throttle simultaneously you can really balance the car and negotiate through Ascari almost without inputs from the steering wheel.

Yesterday I also realised how important the timing of down-shifting is for minimising braking distance. I find down-shifting a bit tricky though, especially from the cockpit view since you can't see the rev counter. The flashing lamps on the steering wheel are useful for up-shifting, but down-shifting you have to play it by ear. Furthermore I haven't quite figured out how the gearbox is modelled. Do you have to blip the throttle when down-shifting?

The gearbox modelling leaves me even more puzzled when I switch to a car with a non-sequential gearbox. When you move up through the gears they seem to blip the throttle, but not when shifting down. So I'm wondering... Am I doing something terribly wrong, because every time I put in a higher gear it sounds like I am breaking something very expensive?
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I'm not sure how to respond to this, as I'm not clear how experienced you are in FC. ALL the cars exhibit gear-box "crunching" if you shift up too late or shift down too soon. However, the 575 GTC has a very different feel to a lot of the other cars in FC: it is very fast & powerful, but also very "smooth" &, unlike some of the other Ferraris, does not take a long time to "over-rev" - ie you cannot stay in the same gear for very long while accelerating.

I find the best technique when driving the 575 GTC is to shift gear frequently in order to keep the engine revs in the range where the the car is most comfortable & powerful. BTW: I rarely use the cockpit view in FC - mostly the "dashboard" view - which means I can clearly see the tachometer.
 
Well I am not very experienced when it comes to FC, but I have been simracing since Grand Prix Legends was realeased on PC, and that is over 10 years ago. During that time I've tried out quite many sims. Lately I've mostly been driving SimBins creations like: GTR2, GTL and Race07 and indie projects like Live for Speed, NetKar and mods to rFactor; So it has mainly been PC titles.

Every time you switch to a new sim you have to adapt. How is weight transfer modelled? IS it modelled? Do you have to consider tyre wear? Do you have to warm up the brakes? Can you burn the clutch?

Finding out IF and HOW things are modelled takes quite some time to figure out and given the rather slim manual that comes with FC I turn to you for information.

My questions may seem stupid or irrelevant to you; in that case let me know.
English isn't my native tounge and I find some technical things rather hard to explain: I lack words or knowledge or sometimes both... try to bear with me.

My main interest for the moment is to come to grips with how the gearbox is modelled. So far I have gathered that the G25 clutch isn't workning. So no use pushing that. When it comes to the sequential gearbox; Please correct me if I am wrong; You don't have to blip the throttle when down-shiftning. That is, you don't have to do any rev-matching. Just avoid "hitting" the rev limiter when down-shifting, because that will result in a grinding noise and no gear being shifted. Furthermore you don't have to lift the throttle when up-shiftning.

When it comes to cars with manual H-gated gearbox I am still very confused. When shifting up, way below rev limit, i lift the throttle but still the rev goes up and then down before the new gear is engaged. This seems strange to me and i wonder if I am doing something wrong or if it supposed to do like that. When shifing down I don't seem to get any effect from blipping the throttle and trying to match the revs. The downshift still seems to take a very long time. So I am just curious: Am I doing something wrong, and do you have a different techninque?
 
Well I am not very experienced when it comes to FC, but I have been simracing since Grand Prix Legends was realeased on PC, and that is over 10 years ago. During that time I've tried out quite many sims. Lately I've mostly been driving SimBins creations like: GTR2, GTL and Race07 and indie projects like Live for Speed, NetKar and mods to rFactor; So it has mainly been PC titles.

Every time you switch to a new sim you have to adapt. How is weight transfer modelled? IS it modelled? Do you have to consider tyre wear? Do you have to warm up the brakes? Can you burn the clutch?

Finding out IF and HOW things are modelled takes quite some time to figure out and given the rather slim manual that comes with FC I turn to you for information.

My questions may seem stupid or irrelevant to you; in that case let me know.
English isn't my native tounge and I find some technical things rather hard to explain: I lack words or knowledge or sometimes both... try to bear with me.

My main interest for the moment is to come to grips with how the gearbox is modelled. So far I have gathered that the G25 clutch isn't workning. So no use pushing that. When it comes to the sequential gearbox; Please correct me if I am wrong; You don't have to blip the throttle when down-shiftning. That is, you don't have to do any rev-matching. Just avoid "hitting" the rev limiter when down-shifting, because that will result in a grinding noise and no gear being shifted. Furthermore you don't have to lift the throttle when up-shiftning.

When it comes to cars with manual H-gated gearbox I am still very confused. When shifting up, way below rev limit, i lift the throttle but still the rev goes up and then down before the new gear is engaged. This seems strange to me and i wonder if I am doing something wrong or if it supposed to do like that. When shifing down I don't seem to get any effect from blipping the throttle and trying to match the revs. The downshift still seems to take a very long time. So I am just curious: Am I doing something wrong, and do you have a different techninque?
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I have not played any PC sims, so I can't comment on the difference between FC & those sims. However, I think you are "over-analysing" FC. I don't think it is necessary to "blip" the throttle. The various cars in FC do react differently to gear-shifting & may not be 100% true to real life. After driving each car for a while, I think you will come to feel the best way to drive each one...
 
Me, "over-analysing"? Well I get that a lot... :embarrassed: When lacking practical ability you have to compensate in the theory department.

Thanks for taking the time and helping me out.
 
@MartyParty: gear-shifting in FC is very strange (and I guess unrealistic) in some cars. besides no clutch and no need to rev matching, in some cars (mostly "road" or "normal" versions) there are some very strange effects. From memory I can name two cars, the 348 TB and the 550 (or maybe the 575, not sure). In this one, when you downshift, not only it takes a long time but also, when the gear is finaly engaged, the car gets an odd "impulse forward" even if you are off the throttle and hard braking. You really have to learn this odd behaviour and compensate for it. And this just doesn't happen in real life (I drove a 575, more than once, and I didn't feel anything like that when downshifting).

Vintage race cars, however, are very good and even if gear-shifting does take some time I don't find that unrealistic. If you use (as you should) the H-Shifter with those (I'm referring to the 250's and to the 512's) the overall "feel" is very good (mind you I wish I could also say that I drove any of those IRL ... but I didn't LOL, so I really can't tell how "real" they are)
 
Yeah, I really can't comment on exactly how "realistic" it is, but in FC (unlike GT5P) it IS important to shift at the right moment. If not, you may get that awful gear crunching sound :ouch: , which does slow you down. Also, as with everything in FC, weight-transfer counts for a lot: if the engine revs drop too much because of bad timing with the shift (with regard to the momentum of the car), it will slow you down a lot.
 
It also seems to me that the game automatically matches revs on most downshifts. If you downshift through all the gears on long braking zones like in Monza, Hockenheim or Montreal, it will actually increase your braking distance vs just simply hitting the brakes and shifting when you're ready to accelerate.
 
I just have to say that yesterday i re-bought GT5P after selling it months ago and i played it back to back with FC and i actually find FC's driving model to be much more realistic and exciting than GT5P's, which seemed sterile in comparison, and i feel like a total bit*h saying that having played GT since it's birth, but i was just disapointed. Maybe it's just because i played GT5P to the death when i had it before, and all of the tracks are imprinted in my memory, i dont know. They should have included the 'Ring in GT5P, that would have been a brilliant addition and a mammoth race.

I have noticed that if you shift down as quickly as possible coming to a corner this shaves seconds off of your braking distance, literally. Of course this hurts your weight transfer because of the huge force on the front of the car but you can learn to compensate this.
 
@Hun200kmh:It was the 348 TB I was struggling with. Since it was the first car with "normal" gearbox that I unlocked, I got a bit worried that all manual would feel that strange. Good to hear that you think the vintage cars work better, because I was really looking forward to those.

@Biggles: With a PC simracing background I automatically opted for the cockpit view. Last evening I tried the view overlooking the bonnet/hood. You loose a bit of the weight transfer information that you get from the cockpit view, but being able to see the tachometer made all the difference.
 
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@Biggles: With a PC simracing background I automatically opted for the cockpit view. Last evening I tried the view overlooking the bonnet/hood. You loose a bit of the weight transfer information that you get from the cockpit view, but being able to see the tachometer made all the difference.
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I do occasionally drive in cockpit view, particularly with some of the cars that have a more "open" view. But I just find the lack of sensation of speed in cockpit view too disturbing, so I generally race using the bonnet/hood view.
 

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