Driving R18 AE or any LMP really

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travis617

travis617

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travis617
So I tried out the R18 AE and with all assists but ABS off and on RH it spins tires through at least 3rd gear and I spin out constantly. I had to set the TCS to 5 to beat the IA championship to unlock the S License tests. Is the car that hard to drive and I just suck?

I could take corners under partial throttle but as soon as I eased on for corner exit it would spin. Should I just take a couple gears higher before getting back on throttle? I use a Fanatec CSR Elite and CSR pedals and have never really struggled this hard with traction. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
travis617
So I tried out the R18 AE and with all assists but ABS off and on RH it spins tires through at least 3rd gear and I spin out constantly. I had to set the TCS to 5 to beat the IA championship to unlock the S License tests. Is the car that hard to drive and I just suck?

I could take corners under partial throttle but as soon as I eased on for corner exit it would spin. Should I just take a couple gears higher before getting back on throttle? I use a Fanatec CSR Elite and CSR pedals and have never really struggled this hard with traction. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Really? I drove these cars and the Peugeot 908 seem to be violent with acceleration and require modulation but it's not as hard as they should be with all that torque these things put down. Just remember to ease into the throttle when exiting a corner and only go full on the throttle when your car is straight. GT6 is much better with throttle than GT5, in GT5 it was a war just to find the sweet spot with accelerating out of a corner and not wide or oversteer into a spin. GT6 you can actually tell what you did wrong. It's not perfect but it is much better than the crazy throttle control of GT5.

MR cars love to be finessed, what I do is never stay of the throttle for too long. Longest time off the throttle is when you brake, after that you can start throttling as soon as you finish braking and use the throttle to keep the rear planted and set your car up for exit once you have your trajectory plotted then you can increase throttle as you feel confident.
 
Have you put an aftermarket turbo on it? Because totally stock you can just about nail the throttle and it'll take off.

Haven't driven the anniversary edition though, just the #2 one from the dealership. (Even though I have the anniversary edition)
 
Traction control set to two for me; also raising the initial torque on the limited slip differential helps with tire spin while accelerating. With the higher, lsd setting, you can be more aggressive with the camber and toe angles, giving you better mid corner steering without the unwanted oversteer while accelerating. NOTE; this car does create most of its torque and hp at a lower rpm level than most Lemans Prototypes, which contribute to the wheelspin issue that many are seeming to have.
 
I have a qualm with how we treat this cars. Usually we go all "Oh, I'm so simz razer I drive without aids!!! Look! No TCS, no ASM, no ABS!" and, of course, nothing wrong with that with most cars. You actually have more fun and hone your driving skills more when driving without aids. But the ultra-modern supercars and high-end racecars sort of need TCS and some of them even ABS to be realistic...because that's what they have in real life. A simulator is supposed to be driven as close to reality as possible, not harder nor easier. So, if the real R18 stays on track thanks to TCS...erm...why not using it? If the real Nissan GT-R has ABS...why not use ABS 1? If the Ferrari 599GTB was dessigned to work with TCS...why not use it?

The only driver aids you shouldn't ever use, if you take the game a tiny tad seriously, are ASM and SRF. ASM because it slows you down and makes you a poor driver that gets used to driving like a fool and SRF because it just breaks the game.
 
CarBastard
I have a qualm with how we treat this cars. Usually we go all "Oh, I'm so simz razer I drive without aids!!! Look! No TCS, no ASM, no ABS!" and, of course, nothing wrong with that with most cars. You actually have more fun and hone your driving skills more when driving without aids. But the ultra-modern supercars and high-end racecars sort of need TCS and some of them even ABS to be realistic...because that's what they have in real life. A simulator is supposed to be driven as close to reality as possible, not harder nor easier. So, if the real R18 stays on track thanks to TCS...erm...why not using it? If the real Nissan GT-R has ABS...why not use ABS 1? If the Ferrari 599GTB was dessigned to work with TCS...why not use it?

The only driver aids you shouldn't ever use, if you take the game a tiny tad seriously, are ASM and SRF. ASM because it slows you down and makes you a poor driver that gets used to driving like a fool and SRF because it just breaks the game.
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People don't use TCS in GT because it slows you down.
 
CarBastard
I have a qualm with how we treat this cars. Usually we go all "Oh, I'm so simz razer I drive without aids!!! Look! No TCS, no ASM, no ABS!" and, of course, nothing wrong with that with most cars. You actually have more fun and hone your driving skills more when driving without aids. But the ultra-modern supercars and high-end racecars sort of need TCS and some of them even ABS to be realistic...because that's what they have in real life. A simulator is supposed to be driven as close to reality as possible, not harder nor easier. So, if the real R18 stays on track thanks to TCS...erm...why not using it? If the real Nissan GT-R has ABS...why not use ABS 1? If the Ferrari 599GTB was dessigned to work with TCS...why not use it?

The only driver aids you shouldn't ever use, if you take the game a tiny tad seriously, are ASM and SRF. ASM because it slows you down and makes you a poor driver that gets used to driving like a fool and SRF because it just breaks the game.
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I have to agree, in Assetto Corsa the cars always come with the driving aids of the real car, even if you're set to "pro" mode where the driving aids are all off. Also like the real cars though you can manual overide and turn off the driving aids within the car, but some cars were clearly designed to be driven with them on.

In that sense all the cars are exactly as they come, The Ferrari 458 comes with ABS and is pretty terrible if you turn it off, still driveable but it's clear it was designed to be used with ABS. Though TC can slow you down and I also never use it (never seems an actual need to use it), I have seen a top 10 GT academy time done with Traction Control on, during GT5. People shouldn't feel bad about using TC, it's there to be used. But like I've said, I've not yet found a need/use for it.

I'm someone who enjoys the cars being a bit naughty and wild. Playing with a wheel makes it fun, on the other hand I can barely drive with a gamepad.
 
Ittybitty Stigy
People don't use TCS in GT because it slows you down.
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I agree, but there are some cars with which most of us, the non-alien D1 drivers, have to ask ourselves: What will make me slower? A tad of TCS or burning tyres at every touch of the throttle?

Of course, it would help loads if the geniuses at PD didn't removed the RA adjustment option :(
 
Another thing is try to keep the revs low with this car, if you want to be fast.

In real life, the drivers of the R18 shift at around 5,000 RPM give or take a few.

That's because most of its power and torque come in the 3500-4500 range.

You should never really be getting to the 6,500 redline, even though it lets you do so in GT. Shifting at 5,000 is actually faster because the power drop-off is so high after that (remember that this is a diesel!)

As a result, short shifting may actually be making it HARDER to get off the corner cleanly since you might be shifting into the fat of the torque curve.

When I need to short shift this car (typically in heavy rain) I shift at about 4,000 RPM. It sounds super low but it works.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your R18, beast of a car. Especially through those turns.
 
It seems to me that the FIA changed their regs last year with regards to TC systems. This year it seems they are allowing it, as last year I read they were not allowed (yes i read the whole reg sheet right after the finale as testing begins {for Audi} one week plus 1 day later) for LMP1 (not sure about LMP2).

Strange things are about to go down between Audi and the FIA as now they are also using energy from the heat created from the turbo fan to power the front hybrid wheels as well (ERS-H. Energy Recovery System-Heat). Nothing has been published about the use of heat but kinetic is still allowed. My question is since the heat is constant and varies most when in and out of pits is can this energy be used whenever need, as last year they had to wait till the car reached 100 km/h..

anyways, back up to speed, a lot of the tire spin people have is they run their cars with too high horsepower, too high differential settings, and too straight of toe angles. My setup for my R10 and 908 in GT5 was to have almost 3.0 toe-out in the back and .5 toe-in for the front. That depends also on your driving style. I test all my cars at Le Mans as you really cant test cars for Spa and expect to use the same telemetry from those tracks to transfer to different ones. GT isnt that complicated yet to do so. But anyways, you have to find the perfect setup to get the fastest speeds at corners where you know the competition cant make up for.

Which basically limits it down to the Porsche chicanes as dropping off of the throttle there will cripple your momentum. Finding a setup that can make you hug the inside turn of the first porsche corner and then swap to the left, back to the right, back to the left, and then hold the tight right hander at full or more than 3/4 throttle is best.

Got off topic again.. tire spin... so yeah. Dont be affraid to use TC to find a good tune. Do some crazy things such as run the car on comfort softs with 3 TC, and 540 hp (regulations for 2011) and fix your transmission to stop tire spin. Then once you have gotten around every corner at the track you test, upgrade your tires a category to sports hards or mediums (i find no difference between the two). Find another transmission tune and move on again. Guarantee if you spend a whole days worth of time with the car, you'll get it right. Then, 3:24's around the Sarthe wont seem to hard to get..

ohh and here is a link for this year's regs for LMP1..
http://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/regulation/file/TECHNICAL REGULATIONS LMP1 (2014)-V08-27.09.2013-FINAL.pdf
 
I used the r18 with no upgrades nor tuning and I loved it, I won the championship like that. The only time I spun out was when I went on the grass on nurburghring in the last set of turns.
 
  • Max downforce
  • Drop LSD accel. from 40 to 20
  • Modulate throttle on corner exits
These are the only things I do and I can drive them without issues, even the crazy 90's LMPs.
 
travis617
So I tried out the R18 AE and with all assists but ABS off and on RH it spins tires through at least 3rd gear and I spin out constantly. I had to set the TCS to 5 to beat the IA championship to unlock the S License tests. Is the car that hard to drive and I just suck?

I could take corners under partial throttle but as soon as I eased on for corner exit it would spin. Should I just take a couple gears higher before getting back on throttle? I use a Fanatec CSR Elite and CSR pedals and have never really struggled this hard with traction. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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First things first: This car is built with traction control, so turning it off isn't something really necessary. Unless you are interested in mastering this kind of car.

Secondly, you must keep in mind that these diesel cars have insane amounts of torque, so you gotta be careful on the throttle, even with the TC set to 5. If you put the hammer down exiting the curves, the whole hell will breake loose.

I don't know in GT6, but in GT5, the 908 was easy to control with TC set on 6.

KinLM
Another thing is try to keep the revs low with this car, if you want to be fast.

In real life, the drivers of the R18 shift at around 5,000 RPM give or take a few.

That's because most of its power and torque come in the 3500-4500 range.

You should never really be getting to the 6,500 redline, even though it lets you do so in GT. Shifting at 5,000 is actually faster because the power drop-off is so high after that (remember that this is a diesel!)

As a result, short shifting may actually be making it HARDER to get off the corner cleanly since you might be shifting into the fat of the torque curve.

When I need to short shift this car (typically in heavy rain) I shift at about 4,000 RPM. It sounds super low but it works.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your R18, beast of a car. Especially through those turns.
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Very cool information. I did notice that I was faster the other day when I was trying to save fuel short shifting.
 
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I find it really easy to gold anything using TCS 1 and ABS 1.
I haven't tried the mentioned car though.. but I've golded the red bull on goodwood using tcs 1 and abs 1.. (29:241 If I remember correctly)
 
Don't know the year. But Johnny Herbert drove his old Mazdaspeed car on Le Mans this year or last year.
I was stunned by the fact how carefull Johnny was on the throttle. Even in a straight line it was easing the throttle in.

The Ferrari 458 is also mentioned. Jason Plato called it a B***** with all the aids of.

Thing is, in a real car you feel with you're butt what the cars does. My playseat doesn't slide around in the room.
This makes it easier to control the car, because you notice the impact of throttle.

My way of having fun, finding the right TC for every car. No too much (don't need to think). Not to less (no control).
Just enough that if i want the car to go sideways it can.
 
One thing you always need to be aware of on cars like the R18 is that they have a large amount of torque and they are turbo. When the turbo kicks in a bit more torque hits the wheels and this can cause sudden wheel spin under throttle especially in the lower gears sometimes even in 4th gear if you are turning. This is magnified if you put on the high rpm turbo where even at TC 5 if can still jump out from under you if you are turning and hard on the throttle when the tubo kicks in and especially on wet track. I find myself short shifting a lot in these cars and often do not really nail it unless I am up to 4th gear or higher and in a straight.
 

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