F1 2011 noob help please!

[Stephen220378]

Actually just yesterday at the Singapore qualifiers I heard about and saw Webber intentionally using KERS in spurts of 20%... Didn't understand why though but I guess he knew better

I guess Mark does since he's an F1 driver, however there's not much difference between 20% and 25% spurts, it's still decent use of the system, there's a huge difference though when you use tiny amounts on every single corner.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I'm also activating DRS whenever I can, no matter how short the straight is since it's still an (even minor) advantage. Am I doing it wrong?

Are you doing it wrong?

Yes, I'm afraid.

Take Melbourne as an example: you can take Turn 5 flat out when the rear wing is closed, but not when the rear wing is open. You'll just spin out. And since you have to brake to close the DRS, you'll end up taking the corner slower than if you had left the DRS alone.

 

[Mr. S]

Are you doing it wrong?

Yes, I'm afraid.

Take Melbourne as an example: you can take Turn 5 flat out when the rear wing is closed, but not when the rear wing is open. You'll just spin out. And since you have to brake to close the DRS, you'll end up taking the corner slower than if you had left the DRS alone.

Uh well, I'm closing it manually, that's the very same button.

 

[plate88]

Take Melbourne as an example: you can take Turn 5 flat out when the rear wing is closed, but not when the rear wing is open. You'll just spin out. And since you have to brake to close the DRS, you'll end up taking the corner slower than if you had left the DRS alone.

You can also close the wing by pushing the DRS button.👍 Don't know if you can in a real F1 car, but in the game you can.

Doh, sorry Mr. S. My page was old.

 

[Stephen220378]

Hm, I'm always using it to speed up to ~315 in qualifying (along the main straight) and then a bit after slow corners - keeping ~20% for the last slow corner before the finish line. I'm also activating DRS whenever I can, no matter how short the straight is since it's still an (even minor) advantage. Am I doing it wrong?

For KERS that seems fine if you feel that you are gaining more from the extra speed than you would for fast out of corner acceleration, personally I find that corner exit speed benefits me more than a straight line boost as I feel that more time can be lost there.

For DRS no you're not doing it wrong so to speak, it can't do any harm, it's just so minor it's unnoticable, aerodynamic drag really only comes into effect at high speeds. To try put it in simple terms, at low speeds the engine has a lot of power in reserve, more than enough power to push any force caused by drag, even if you take away some of the drag the engine will just use a little less power to acheive the same acceleration and speed, however since the engine has a lot of power in reserve at low speed it becomes irrelevant because it can counter it easily anyway. What you're doing is basically saving a small amount of engine power rather than actually going faster.

 

[Green]

Using DRS on the tiny straights is pretty much ineffective, at lower speeds there isn't that much aerodynamic drag created by the car and the engine is more than powerful enough to compensate for it anyway, it's pretty much a waste of time unless you are hitting high speed and there's drag actually affecting the speed of the car.

The way you're using KERS isn't much benefit either, using so little at any one time isn't having much effect on your acceleration especially if the corner doesn't have a decent straight after it or you're trying to correct a slight error in your corner exit speed, I've never seen or heard of an F1 driver using any less than a quarter of the stored KERS at any one time.

You're correct about that one, using KERS while you have no traction or low traction is a complete waste and will hinder rather than help you 👍

im normally beating the ai on pro by a second in qualifying in my force india so I must be doing something right ......but will try a few other ways to compare.....

 

[Stephen220378]

im normally beating the ai on pro by a second in qualifying in my force india so I must be doing something right ......but will try a few other ways to compare.....

That's probably down to your driving skill more than anything, the AI has KERS and DRS too so there's no way they are the reason for the second difference.

 

[gnargsly]

My Williams car is supposed to have KERS, but I don't know how to activate it. I'm using a Logitech Driving Force wheel, 3 races into season 1 and doing 20% races currently against medium AI. Can someone help? Thanks.

 

[Mr. S]

I'd suggest checking the button config, it's usually bound to the shoulder buttons of the common wheels & pads. Scroll down the button config (in the "My F1" menu) all the way and you'll eventually see the bindings for both DRS & KERS.

 

[BlacqueJacques]

You can also give KERS a squirt when leaving a slow corner; and what he said above

 

[mu22stang]

The use of KERS and DRS is not necessarily intuitive. I remember hearing an interview with Hamilton in '09 about his KERS usage. He would run hot laps, applying KERS where he wished. Then, he'd run hot laps again, applying KERS where the team suggested. Typically there's a compromise that maximizes its effectiveness. There are too many variables to say someone is doing it 100% right or 100% wrong. I have seen drivers many, many times use squirts of KERS. To say they always use ~25% at a time is simply not true.

As far as DRS goes, the chassis makes a HUGE difference. Vettel using DRS through the 130R on Friday is a testament to that. Also, some teams approach DRS differently. For instance, a team may run a relatively high downforce rear wing compared to other teams, relying on unlimited DRS usage during Fri/Sat for ultimate qualifying pace, while simultaneously maximizing rear end grip during the DRS limited race. Once again, too many variable to say one is using DRS incorrectly.