GT realism and track days

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loopyloogrrr

loopyloogrrr

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So today I did my first track day in a Lamborghini Gallardo thanks to my girlfriends gift this past Christmas and I have to say GT has it spot on with realism. Besides wheel weight and the sensation of movement GT physics seem accurate. The lambos sharp stiff and precise handling felt like Gt.

I was well impressed and slipped into the car just like jumping in to my g27 playseat. And it ended so quick. I Managed 110mph it was raining hard and there were chicanes everywhere to limit speed. But this is a huge score for GT as far as I'm concerned.

Share your experiences with track days or if you plan one. Surprisingly I felt very prepared for it. I even said to the instructor I play GT and he said a lot do that come here.
 
Samus
Did he also say a lot do that, come here and crash?
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I'm not sure where this was going?




I personally used gt5 to prepare myself for a Ferrari experience day.

I was due to use a F360, so took an F430, detuned it to 360 levels, and blasted about on CS and SH for months.

When I drove the 360, it was very surprising to have the abs kicking back at me hard at half brake pressure, with the instructor yelling at me "harder! " after the initial "brake!", once I got passed this, and realised that he wasn't going to let me push the cars cornering limits, the hours spent powersliding the F430 in GT seemed pretty much irrelevant.



I will say however if you are taking your own, budget track toy to track days, and you can build a replica in game, in my opinion, you could gain some knowledge and skill.

This is especially true if the track you attend in real life is available in game.
 
Not going anywhere in particular, just noting that most instructors at race tracks will tell you that a video game will always be a game and not something to properly prepare you for the real thing. The Nordschleife instructors even have a term for it, 'Playstation Heroes'.
 
Samus
Not going anywhere in particular, just noting that most instructors at race tracks will tell you that a video game will always be a game and not something to properly prepare you for the real thing. The Nordschleife instructors even have a term for it, 'Playstation Heroes'.
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He didn't really go Into detail he just said many have mention GT and forza. And my point is the physics seem accurate. I really wanted to go faster. Apparently there are speed limits on race days. Ha. Still great fun
 
FussyFez
I'm not sure where this was going?




I personally used gt5 to prepare myself for a Ferrari experience day.

I was due to use a F360, so took an F430, detuned it to 360 levels, and blasted about on CS and SH for months.

When I drove the 360, it was very surprising to have the abs kicking back at me hard at half brake pressure, with the instructor yelling at me "harder! " after the initial "brake!", once I got passed this, and realised that he wasn't going to let me push the cars cornering limits, the hours spent powersliding the F430 in GT seemed pretty much irrelevant.



I will say however if you are taking your own, budget track toy to track days, and you can build a replica in game, in my opinion, you could gain some knowledge and skill.

This is especially true if the track you attend in real life is available in game.
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Ah I had the same experience I had to brake way to early he didn't want me cornering quick either through that hilly and undulating section of the track. There was a 40 mph speed limit there. And when u got on the power soon after there was a chicane. GT had prepared me I believe
 
Samus
So you didn't drive the car anywhere close to the limit, like you did in GT? There is the difference.
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But I would have drove it faster and cornered harder but I was limited it wasn't frightening it felt natural and I think GT had something to do with that.
 
I do a bunch of track days in the GTR and GT really does help me with my basic skills. I would say the biggest thing is just the muscle memory reaction to what the car is doing.. if the back end starts to slide out or you under steer you do a quick correction as soon as you feel it without really acknowledging it and that instant reflex for me has really been honed in from playing GT all these years with my cockpit set up
 
MCNAGTROC
I do a bunch of track days in the GTR and GT really does help me with my basic skills. I would say the biggest thing is just the muscle memory reaction to what the car is doing.. if the back end starts to slide out or you under steer you do a quick correction as soon as you feel it without really acknowledging it and that instant reflex for me has really been honed in from playing GT all these years with my cockpit set up
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That's a great comment and my experience is smooth braking and throttle control. Where GT has helped. I want to go further now but race driving is a rich man's game. I'd kill my wages just getting a car race ready.
 
The only two cars I've driven at a track that are in the game feel virtually the same as they did IRL, or at least as close as can be reasonably expected anyway.

Sadly I only get that sense of realism with my mate's wheel when we play GT at his place (I don't own one so it's not a fair comparison with my DS3) so I haven't had as much chance to compare as you may have.

When the cars and physics are working as they should though, i.e. the car not flipping on kerbs and standing on it's nose under braking, yeah, I'd say they're pretty much spot on too. I really like the sense of weight shifting you get now. The new suspension physics are, for the most part, great.

I told my instructor I play a lot of GT too and he just said "Yeah, lots of people say that. It's very different cornering at 100 mph in the real world you know." He was right. You don't get that assault on the senses you get IRL in GT. For a start, you don't get pinned to one side of your race seat at home when you go around a corner. :D

I still think I was more confident going into the thing because of GT. Whether or not it taught me anything other than lines though, I'm not so sure.
 
86Debris86
The only two cars I've driven at a track that are in the game feel virtually the same as they did IRL, or at least as close as can be reasonably expected anyway.

Sadly I only get that sense of realism with my mate's wheel when we play GT at his place (I don't own one so it's not a fair comparison with my DS3) so I haven't had as much chance to compare as you may have.

When the cars and physics are working as they should though, i.e. the car not flipping on kerbs and standing on it's nose under braking, yeah, I'd say they're pretty much spot on too. I really like the sense of weight shifting you get now. The new suspension physics are, for the most part, great.

I told my instructor I play a lot of GT too and he just said "Yeah, lots of people say that. It's very different cornering at 100 mph in the real world you know." He was right. You don't get that assault on the senses you get IRL in GT. For a start, you don't get pinned to one side of your race seat at home when you go around a corner. :D

I still think I was more confident going into the thing because of GT. Whether or not it taught me anything other than lines though, I'm not so sure.
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The pinning to the seat i understand totally as I mentioned there's no sensation of movement in GT. I did feel a little bit of a squeeze but not as much as when my sister got her BMW m3 and we took it for a spin. As we weren't limit to a instructor either. Woooooo :-D
 
I'd say the major thing stopping ANY race sim from really prepping you 100% for a track day or otherwise high speed drive would be the G-forces... games like LFS somewhat represent it with violent camera swaying and head bobbing and VERY shaky vision at 140mph over a bumpy road in a formula car, but still that isn't enough to prep you for real life.
 
I did a Rally thing late last year for about £55, the instructor allowed me to push to an extent and I had quite a few goes around this rally course marked out with tyres so very good value for money. It was a bit surreal as got to experience lift off oversteer, use handbrake to rotate car and experience understeer for first time really. This was one of the few times I drove that year so going into it most of my driving experience was more or less just virtual. First time countersteering car and it felt very natural, similar feeling to GT for me. Also didn't spin the car once, even when I got the really sideways from only high speed section of course when approaching it close to maximum revs in 3rd gear IIRC and then lifting off to get oversteer, felt really fun countersteering while balancing car with throttle.

No doubt playing GT helped as the course was done in twos and I think I was youngest in the group doing event but I catched up other driver even if given about half the course headstart quite a few times, I didn't hit tyres while other person clipped about two of them and span out once which was only time I got to overtake other driver I think. I didn't feel like I was going that quick so gives me hope that with a bit more seat time like in virtual, I can be just as competitive as I want to be in real life. Post such as this also gives me hope too: Link and what GT Academy winners have achieved too.
 
I think GT academy raises a good point. People have become racing drivers because of GT. Fact. And the game has Contributed to that. So again say that GT can teach you how to race in real life.
 
GT Academy winners have become racing drivers because they had months upon months of hard training in real life, GT did not teach them anything unless some of them didn't know how to drive a car to begin with.

I'd like to see someone who has never driven a car in real life trying to learn how to drive manual by using GT.
 
PepeMickey
GT Academy winners have become racing drivers because they had months upon months of hard training in real life, GT did not teach them anything unless some of them didn't know how to drive a car to begin with.

I'd like to see someone who has never driven a car in real life trying to learn how to drive manual by using GT.
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It is quite incredible how good the drivers are in final race of GT Academy race camp, I think 2012 one was quite amazing.
 
PepeMickey
GT Academy winners have become racing drivers because they had months upon months of hard training in real life, GT did not teach them anything unless some of them didn't know how to drive a car to begin with.

I'd like to see someone who has never driven a car in real life trying to learn how to drive manual by using GT.
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Well that's why they probably exceeded as drivers because they could drive in real life in the first place. GT just took them Further.

And doesn't GT teach how to use the racing line. Braking and throttle control. Instead of arguing why it's not like real life. Give your experiences and base that on your evidence.
 
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I was gifted a driving/track day experience a couple of years ago, best gift I ever recieved. I would say GT comes close but there is a lot missing still, and that's not just the g-forces or sounds.

Actually, one of the things I remember most fondly about that day was the howl of the Gallardo's engine behind my ears, it was pure sex for the ears and pinning the throttle, shifting up the gears and hearing/feeling that engine scream was one of the most memorable moments of my life, unfortunately GT can't come closs to replicating that part.

I do remember the Ferrari F360 being a pleasure to drive, you would rotate the car with the brakes and throttle, the feeling was very smooth and gave you confidence rather than being scary like some cars can be.

Edit: I should really make a comparison between the Gallardo I drove and the one in GT. Like the saying "You will always push harder in a game than real life" is true, in terms of what the car is actually capable of, I think the Gallardo in GT6 can be pushed beyond what the car can do in real life. Both will understeer unless you put some power down, but in GT6 you can get the car completely sideways by being extremely aggressive and you will have no problems, you wouldn't get away with the same in real life.
 
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Lewis_Hamilton_
I was gifted a driving/track day experience a couple of years ago, best gift I ever recieved. I would say GT comes close but there is a lot missing still, and that's not just the g-forces or sounds.

Actually, one of the things I remember most fondly about that day was the howl of the Gallardo's engine behind my ears, it was pure sex for the ears and pinning the throttle, shifting up the gears and hearing/feeling that engine scream was one of the most memorable moments of my life, unfortunately GT can't come closs to replicating that part.

I do remember the Ferrari F360 being a pleasure to drive, you would rotate the car with the brakes and throttle, the feeling was very smooth and gave you confidence rather than being scary like some cars can be.
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Where did you drive the Gallardo?
 
Ah that's great mine was a 6th gear Longcross part runway part Road. I wanted brands hatch but it was too busy
 
I've been competing in motorsport for a while, started out in MX5's and now compete in a Porsche GT Cup car. GT6's physics are well done to an extent. What it does, it does well, but it doesn't do everything. For example, have you ever tried tackling a corner really fast, and downshifting from 4th to 1st in GT6, only to face no consequence whatsoever other than a simple engine brake? Try that in a real car and see what happens. Gearing and shifting is an essential aspect of a competitive driver and that entire experience is gone in GT6. I also don't understand how torque is replicated in game, but I get no torque steer on FWD cars. These are just a couple of minor things that I could mentioned in a short post, but there are a lot of wrongs in GT6's physics. Personally, I prefer FM5's physics a lot more. It's difficult to compare the two, mainly due to the difference in hardware, but it's worth a mention. FM4's physics was horrible by comparison.

In short, I'm glad you had fun during your driving experience. GT6 is very realistic, but to an extent. There are a lot of times when I'm playing GT6 and I'm waiting for a certain reaction from the car, but I never receive it. Things like that just ruins the experience for me. Of course, if you don't expect or know those things, the game will seem flawless.
 
Saidur_Ali
You should do the rally thing there, awesome fun and cheap 👍.
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I will do one day, but first I have to have a go in an Ariel Atom, I want to feel that thing's G-forces.
 
loopyloogrrr
Well that's why they probably exceeded as drivers because they could drive in real life in the first place. GT just took them Further.

And doesn't GT teach how to use the racing line. Braking and throttle control. Instead of arguing why it's not like real life. Give your experiences and base that on your evidence.
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You could replace GT with just about any other semi-serious sim or above and achieve the same results.

GTA is a great marketing strategy and I fully applaud what it does, but please don't get carried away with exactly what GT brings to this.

Lewis_Hamilton_
I will do one day, but first I have to have a go in an Ariel Atom, I want to feel that thing's G-forces.
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Then head to a Radial, the Atom doesn't have effective downforce generating aero, a Radical does. I've been in both (and driven one) and its a big difference.
 
I think best thing about GT is feeling one with the car compared to most other driving games for me, similar when driving in real life, you get that feeling you are one with it. Fast in, fast out is fastest way like in real life too so you know how to go quick. Good ingredients for GT Academy to be successful, one at car and know how to go fast. Amazing how well it translates the skills, for example shifting seems main problem come to reality with manual cars mainly I think because GT drivers are used to pushing car virtually with semi-automatic and using paddles or control pad buttons. This is good article to show going from virtual to real: Link . I think if they used something like GTR, and did not use driving line (Maybe also used steering wheel instead of pad) in game they would have got a better transistion due to it being what they are sort of used to already.

Lewis_Hamilton_
I will do one day, but first I have to have a go in an Ariel Atom, I want to feel that thing's G-forces.
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Do both on same day ;), do they let you push the road cars at all going by your previous experience?
 
Scaff
Then head to a Radial, the Atom doesn't have effective downforce generating aero, a Radical does. I've been in both (and driven one) and its a big difference.
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I, too, prefer the Radial over the Atom. The Atom is fun (and slightly terrifying) but doesn't offer the the same level of control that the Radial offers.
 
I think it can help you with the muscle memory of turning in smooth, getting on the throttle, slide control, and weight shift.

But I kinda think it may provide a false sense of confidence over what you or your car is capable of. Driving at speed is extremely dangerous and sometimes I think it makes you lose respect of the danger.

alot of the feel of how close you are to the edge of traction is felt in your butt and in your hands. You do not get that in game, but it is something you must rely on.

Braking is also more unstable in real life. Even with abs and your car pointed straight, the tires are squirming and gripping unevenly. All while being slammed forward at such a termendous force that you almost fall out of your seat. Gaaah....so much scarrier in real life
 
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