Has GTS with a wheel setup made you a better driver in the real world

[Junkman55]

This may sound silly but I find in my real world driving , the skills learn in racing help make quick decisions that may have save my butt and Other of having a bad day.

 

[TonyJZX]

Yeah that's pretty much it. I think I have better reflexes and I see 'more' stuff in the real world and I react quicker due to GT. Anticipating other drivers other AIs bad decision making. You can also make the correct decision or move and that can still be wrong.

However I learned to drive on carburetor pushrod live axle manual cars with no power nothing no electronic aids at all... and then graduated to RWD V8 and turbo six manual cars that had ABS at best. That was in the day of the Commodore 64 Amiga 500 IBM XT pc w/ Hercules gfx.

You cant beat that seat of the pants feel and the body roll and that suspension working on real roads real weather.

 

[O604]

I'm on a wheel but I believe it's not that different on a controller. I believe playing GT no doubt improves road awareness.

#1 cause of road accidents is distracted driving. Driving games/simulators demand 100% attention. Being distracted in the game often results in consequences. Thus players are conditioned to look forward at the screen and pay attention.
Attentive drivers are better/safer drivers. GT makes the world safer.

 

[sirjim73]

It may increase awareness/concentration, particularly it encourages you to look ahead, which is a good thing.

On the other hand, if I get in a car straight after gaming, i find that:

1) I drive faster trying to catch up with the rabbit in front; and
2) Whenever I see a line of traffic in front, I have this uncontrollable urge to pull out, and start complaining about the terrible AI...



(PS Mars is the best planet, followed by Twix )

 

[TonyJZX]

My kid literally said once that I was driving my real life car at the time (a GTR) like it was Gran Turismo. ie. I was planted in the overtake lane dropping everyone... and anyone who was hogging the lane, I overtook on the left (there's no such thing as an LHD 32-34 Skyline).... so there's that.

 

[O604]

It may increase awareness/concentration, particularly it encourages you to look ahead, which is a good thing.

On the other hand, if I get in a car straight after gaming, i find that:

1) I drive faster trying to catch up with the rabbit in front; and
2) Whenever I see a line of traffic in front, I have this uncontrollable urge to pull out, and start complaining about the terrible AI...



(PS Mars is the best planet, followed by Twix )

My kid literally said once that I was driving my real life car at the time (a GTR) like it was Gran Turismo. ie. I was planted in the overtake lane dropping everyone... and anyone who was hogging the lane, I overtook on the left (there's no such thing as an LHD 32-34 Skyline).... so there's that.

I would argue that even if you felt you were going faster than you should, you were constantly aware. And not distracted.

 

[meekrab]

No, but I don't drive in real life, haven't owned a car for several years.

 

[Pigems]

Better, probably not, but more aware of others, and more cautious, definitely. 👍

 

[kilesa4568]

Voted no. After 30 years of seeing ever increasing traffic and a serious drop in driving skill and awareness, I've learned far more from it.

Never had a crash or collision in real life or made an insurance claim (*touch wood*...*twice*...) but I've lost count in zero consequence sims. Never intentional (mostly) but it shows I'm a better (or luckier) real life driver over the virtual.

 

[HaydenFan69]

As a left foot braker in the simracing world, no.

Plus, I drive a SUV, so when a car has a, "Rollover Risk: Don't make sudden maneuvers" sticker on the sun visor, you know it was never intended to be intended for sport driving (which is odd given how successful the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport has been in the Dakar).

 

[Junkman55]

When you get behind the wheel of your car and you are entering a turning exit ramp off a highway and your speed is 65 mph and you have to drop down to 25 mph to enter the ramp safely, But your speed is 35 mph do you wet your pants or do you make it . I think the skills you learn in any racing will let you make it . The only one with wet pants might be the guy in he passenger seat.

 

[wtrain77]

I can say sim racing with a wheel has definitively made me a better driver. I have empirical evidence to prove this.

I was on the freeway in a rwd vehicle (Mazdaspeed Miata) attempting to change lanes to my right. A car to the right doesn't see me and merges into the same lane. As a result, I had to change directions very quickly to my left to avoid a collision. This abrupt change in direction upset the balance of my car and caused the rear wheels to lose traction. I immediately knew what to do from sim racing to catch the rear, regain traction, and avoid an accident. Without the recognition of what was happening, muscle memory, reflexes, and knowledge gained through sim racing, I would have been toast.

 

[ROCKET JOE]

Anyone else seeing a chicane ahead when approaching a traffic circle ?
40 mph instead of 20 ?

 

[kilesa4568]

I can say sim racing with a wheel has definitively made me a better driver. I have empirical evidence to prove this.

I was on the freeway in a rwd vehicle (Mazdaspeed Miata) attempting to change lanes to my right. A car to the right doesn't see me and merges into the same lane. As a result, I had to change directions very quickly to my left to avoid a collision. This abrupt change in direction upset the balance of my car and caused the rear wheels to lose traction. I immediately knew what to do from sim racing to catch the rear, regain traction, and avoid an accident. Without the recognition of what was happening, muscle memory, reflexes, and knowledge gained through sim racing, I would have been toast.

Feeling the car's inertia through your body probably helped a lot more than your two dimensional sim racing where you're completely numb to it. You could even argue that sim racing made your situation worse as you turned violently enough to lose control in the first place. You can get away with that on a track but road cars on public roads don't take kindly to that sort of treatment.

The only way sim racing could be beneficial to real world driving is when you're using VR in a 6DoF rig with a finely tuned wheel and even that is limited. It will feel a lot like driving in a real car but it will never replicate everything a real car does when it's unsettled. You need real world experience for that.

Anyone else seeing a chicane ahead when approaching a traffic circle ?
40 mph instead of 20 ?

Sometimes...

 

[wtrain77]

Feeling the car's inertia through your body probably helped a lot more than your two dimensional sim racing where you're completely numb to it. You could even argue that sim racing made your situation worse as you turned violently enough to lose control in the first place. You can get away with that on a track but road cars on public roads don't take kindly to that sort of treatment.

The only way sim racing could be beneficial to real world driving is when you're using VR in a 6DoF rig with a finely tuned wheel and even that is limited. It will feel a lot like driving in a real car but it will never replicate everything a real car does when it's unsettled. You need real world experience for that.



Sometimes...

I cannot disagree more. Sim racing taught me how to regain control of cars and this knowledge was applied to a real life situation. I had to counter-steer and was in a controlled drift waiting for traction to return. Once this happened, I had to be prepared to straighten out my steering so I don't spin out the other way.

If you watch videos of cars losing control, you will usually see them counter-steer. What typically causes them to crash is they are not prepared for what to do next when the tires regain traction. They hold the wheel into the counter-steer position for too long and spin out in the opposite direction. Without sim racing, I would likely have done the same because of a complete lack of experience and understanding of car dynamics and physics. The presence of inertia did not magically teach me this.

It might be worth noting that I am an A+ driver and race in the top splits. I race all classes of cars without traction control. What that means is I had to work really hard to learn how to tame these beasts. As a result, what I learned and was able to apply in real life may not translate equally to everyone.

Also, to say the ONLY way sim racing can translate to real world driving is with the equipment you mentioned is disingenuous. While it won't replicate everything perfectly and exactly, it can teach basic principles and mechanics in a general way. If you don't believe me, just look at Gran Turismo sim racers turned real life drivers. Granted, they needed real world driving experience to complete them as drivers. However, the amount of real world seat time required to allow them to race competitively is greatly reduced thanks to sim racing.

 

[kilesa4568]

I hear what you're saying about the theory but haven't you ever driven in adverse weather or poor road conditions before you took up sim racing? I have to go back 20 years or more to my last RWD cars with ABS, stability control and TC non existent in the old jalopies I used to buy that were well past their best and they were that bad in the winter, I used to carry a couple of bags of cement in the boot to try and tame them.

I learned more in the first 10 years than all the other years combined and all we had back then was Sega Rally in the arcades.

 

[Groundfish]

Hmmm good q. I was pretty torn but I’ll go with yes, but just since I’ve always driven pickups and a4runner circa 2000.
The one thing I’d say is on country two laners I’m maybe a little smoother than before shifting weight less and making a better ride for passengers (little bit-not much been doin those roads my whole life)
First thing you did when you got a license when I was a kid was find dirt or gravel or grass lol or get out in the rain and goof around. There weren’t nannies there wasn’t variable ratio electric steering or stability control or abs. You didn’t need a video game to try to play drift king or e brake spin back then. Snows the best but long drive to get there.
That said, racing has nothing to do with street driving. If GTS made you more aware then you weren’t paying enough attention before imo.
There is no place on the street for racing or performance driving at all imo.
Lotta people have run off cliffs on country 2 laners tryin to play Parnelli Jones on a public road.
One thing that did translate really well tho was when I was gifted a chance to hop in a late model on a short oval. That was a blast! The others in the group all said they felt like their visibility was impaired after getting on the nomex and climbing through the tube frame little opening to get inside and looking out the helmet, sitting low etc. I felt at home with the view and definitely attribute that to GTS, already knew where to look!
Imo street driving is about safety, you should never be approaching a vehicles limits on the street. If you want to do performance driving go to a circuit or do karting.
I know for myself I’ve tried to setup the controls and view I use to be more like what I’m comfortable with day to day in a pickup as opposed to trying to take GTS to the street. Upright seat right foot brake.
Safety first, you should never be at or near the vehicles limits on the street period.

 

[Junkman55]

Anyone else seeing a chicane ahead when approaching a traffic circle ?
40 mph instead of 20 ?

Hey Joe are you saying when you are entering a traffic circle with bad weather conditions the skills you have learned in a racing simulator will not help You if you lose traction . I bet you will not be the guy locking his brakes up. You will be the guy trying to get control trough that turn. The skills you have learned in real life driving and a racing simulator.

 

[ROCKET JOE]

Hey Joe are you saying when you are entering a traffic circle with bad weather conditions the skills you have learned in a racing simulator will not help You if you lose traction . I bet you will not be the guy locking his brakes up. You will be the guy trying to get control trough that turn. The skills you have learned in real life driving and a racing simulator.

Ah you're talking about advanced driving skill so ... my answer is no, I haven't learned that in a racing simulator. Reason is I never had one, my race setup looks like this :

Going by many of your former posts I can't be a sim racer, just one of these gamers spoiling everyone else's race with his wonky driving.
Guess you've lost your bet !

 

[dlshearon]

Daily driver is a 10k lbs, 20 something feet pickup. I answered no, in that beast I always hit apexes getting on the big roads. Little country roads, stay in my lane and don’t let the junkies try and run me off with their beaters.

 

[Junkman55]

Ah you're talking about advanced driving skill so ... my answer is no, I haven't learned that in a racing simulator. Reason is I never had one, my race setup looks like this :
View attachment 944742
Going by many of your former posts I can't be a sim racer, just one of these gamers spoiling everyone else's race with his wonky driving.
Guess you've lost your bet !

Sorry you are not able to get the full experience that Online Simulator Racing has to offer, I am sure if we met on the track that you would see the checkered flag before me . Maybe one day you will set aside your DS4 Controller made for gaming and invest in a wheel and pedals made for a simulator experience.
The use of simulators save lives , the skills they give race car drivers, pilots, and the military are priceless.

 

[Junkman55]

Daily driver is a 10k lbs, 20 something feet pickup. I answered no, in that beast I always hit apexes getting on the big roads. Little country roads, stay in my lane and don’t let the junkies try and run me off with their beaters.

So instead of hugging the inside Of your lane of a share roadway through a turn , the guy on the outside lane has to deal with Less room to make the same turn Safely , I guess That’s why PD gives penalties if contact is made more often then we like , and apexes will change by the speed going In on all turns.

 

[kilesa4568]

Sorry you are not able to get the full experience that Online Simulator Racing has to offer

If I was as fast and consistent as JOE is on the pad, I'd still be using it too.

The use of simulators save lives , the skills they give race car drivers, pilots, and the military are priceless.

The use of simulators saves on costly mistakes you can't afford to make in real life. Well outside GTS on a toy wheel's remit.

 

[dlshearon]

So instead of hugging the inside Of your lane of a share roadway through a turn , the guy on the outside lane has to deal with Less room to make the same turn Safely , I guess That’s why PD gives penalties if contact is made more often then we like , and apexes will change by the speed going In on all turns.

No man! I’m referring to on and off ramps of the interstate that are one lane. I have only a few inches of error if someone is to the left or right of me because I have 4 wheels on my rear axle.

 

[Junkman55]

If I was as fast and consistent as JOE is on the pad, I'd still be using it too.



The use of simulators saves on costly mistakes you can't afford to make in real life. Well outside GTS on a toy wheel's remit.

You can call it a toy but my T-GT wheel and pedal set cost $800 plus tax that twice as much as as PS4 Pro with GTS. What do you call a fanatec setup that cost twice as much as the T-GT setup . What You see is a game where others see a racing simulator.

 

[kilesa4568]

What You see is a game where others see a racing simulator.

You might find out that I'm not alone in saying that.

Have a read of this and tell me if the simcade part reminds you a lot of GTS: https://virtualracingschool.com/aca...-get-started/arcade-vs-simcade-vs-simulators/

Good for you thinking it's a true simulator but you're in for a rude awakening when you try a real one.

 

[Junkman55]

No man! I’m referring to on and off ramps of the interstate that are one lane. I have only a few inches of error if someone is to the left or right of me because I have 4 wheels on my rear axle.

So you drive a dually good for you , I guess you need it for work or pull a trailer, they can be a handful when doing off ramps On the interstates . I understand Touring Cars Don’t have that problem.

 

[dlshearon]

So you drive a dually good for you , I guess you need it for work or pull a trailer, they can be a handful when doing off ramps On the interstates . I understand Touring Cars Don’t have that problem.

If I’d seen your age, if you’re really 70, I would’ve said Sir. If I drove a car I’d say no still, cause driving in real live is about feedback from the road and seat of the pants. If I was 70 years old, I could see where GT could help ya out.

 

[CBH]

Playing GT5 & GT6 using a wheel made me a very good driver, but playing GT Sport has made me an average driver now.

 

[Junkman55]

You might find out that I'm not alone in saying that.

Have a read of this and tell me if the simcade part reminds you a lot of GTS: https://virtualracingschool.com/aca...-get-started/arcade-vs-simcade-vs-simulators/

Good for you thinking it's a true simulator but you're in for a rude awakening when you try a real one.

My friend a true simulator is that the best you got , I have experience real racing in go karts for fifteen years no seat belts , no roll cages , real Open wheel racing . All we had was a leather jacket and a helmet for protection, My last 4 years a neck brace Which save my life. I was Doing 60 to 70 mph 1 inch off the ground Is that awakening you are talking about.