How do you learn your line?

  • Thread starter Clint_MPS
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Clint_MPS

Clint_MPS

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Clint_MPS
With the new tracks it has been fun to challenge myself to learn the perfect line for each track. Especially since I turned the racing line off as soon as I could.

Personally I take my time in my favourite stock car, BRZ GT300,and slowly ramp up the speed each lap looking for changes in behaviour or anything that upsets the car.

The best racing however is always door to door. So learning different lines while trying to pass is difficult without real life opponents.

Does anyone have something they do to practice multiple lines or do most people just make it up on the fly?
 
As for the regular racing line, I do it pretty much like you. Watching onboard videos on youtube also helps quite a bit.

When it comes to alternative racing lines during a race, I never really practised it. For me most of it comes from experience.
 
You should always check out the fastest laps of every seasonal time trial. Study each one for about five minutes. Race online as much as you can. Race your ghost in single player time trial mode. And prioritize your corners. Make sure you get the best exit possible on the corners with a long straight right after it.
 
rosckolove
You should always check out the fastest laps of every seasonal time trial. Study each one for about five minutes. Race online as much as you can. Race your ghost in single player time trial mode. And prioritize your corners. Make sure you get the best exit possible on the corners with a long straight right after it.
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Great if your using SRF...




But I do agree with the rest.

Racing your ghost can help for where to overtake etc, but it won't get you faster lap times.

Lap times are all about corner exit speed into long straights.


Prioritising corners is a very good suggestion, and the key to some tracks.

Some (rare) corners are better taken with an aggressive entry, but all cars are different.

The best line for a 400BHP FR on SH will be different to a 200bhp fwd on CM. Then you have race cars on slicks, different again.



Watch as much real life on board footage as you can.

After a while you will get the hang of it and it will all become natural.
 
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I always looked at the AI. It gives a pretty good showing of the prefered racing line.

Alternatively, you can follow someone (somebody willing to let you) around in a lobby, I believe that is the best way.
 
rosckolove
Fast lines are still fast lines. There is something to learn, especially if you are posting a thread about it.
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I've recently been testing at motegi East, watching alot of the youtube stuff from a GT academy, the turn in points are much earlier than what I'm finding to be fastest.

This key to this track is corner exit speed, and a chicane that needs prioritising over the 2 corners before it.

Some of the laps I have seen, in my opinion, have been far too aggressive on entry, compromising exit speed.


The only reason these lines are good for them is that they are using SRF.

Because I am not using it, the Lines are unusable for me.

That's my point.

It's all personal preference, down to car, setup, tyres, race or lap times, driving style etc.

All about practice and finding what's best for you.
 
FussyFez
Racing your ghost can help for where to overtake etc, but it won't get you faster lap times.

quote]

Hello every1,

FussyFez, i don´t agree with you on this one. It's just my opinion, but i use the ghost alot to improve myself on lap times. Helps me to realize where i can be faster or where i need to be "cleaner".

As for the suggested lines, you are correct, sometimes they are not the best around a particular segment or lap.

Take care every1
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Zenmervolt
I still like this video the best. It's full of 1980s gloriousness, but the information it presents is as true as ever.

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This. There's a damn good reason this keeps resurfacing. I wonder how many times it's been posted on GTP alone.. not that that is in any way a bad thing.
 
86Debris86
This. There's a damn good reason this keeps resurfacing. I wonder how many times it's been posted on GTP alone.. not that that is in any way a bad thing.
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What I like most about the video is how, after giving all the basic information one needs to understand the concepts of driving fast, it then emphasizes spending time to learn the track. There really is no substitute for spending time on the track with the car.
 
I like to use driving line at first to give me an idea of where the correct line is, I will keep following this until I feel I know my way around. I will keep trying to brake later and later until I find out how far I can push it in the different corners. Once I feel like my lap times have peaked using the suggested line I will start trying wider/shallower lines than before and compare with my split times where I'm getting faster and where I'm losing time.
As with most things in life, the more time you spend practising the easier it will get.
 
Two rules of thumb that work almost all the time.

1. The grip in GT is on the dark stuff. Try to keep the weight bearing wheels in the dark stuff (virtual rubber on the track) especially on entry and mid corner. On exit use as much track as possible (see below).

2. Use as much track as possible. If you exit a corner for example and can do so comfortably leaving a foot or two or three breathing room on the edge of the track, congratulations, you just left one or more tenths on the track. If you hit the apex and aren't riding the curbs (those that can be ridden) again you are leaving time on the track.
 
The very basic general rule for prioritising corners as I understood:

According to Alan Johnson in his 1971 "Driving in Competition" book

Type 1 - One that leads onto a straight
Type 2 - One that comes at the end of a straight
Type 3 - One that connects two other corners

Then you can divide those corners into several categories like fast, medium and slow. So type 1 fast corner is the most important while type 3 slow corner is least.

This is all what I learnt from @Scaff's "Making Progress" content.

This was an eye opener and taught me a lot of things when I started playing GT5 mid last year. After I read that I was a full second faster driver the next day.
 
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Thanks for the videos they are an interesting watch.

I find the driving line useless. The first 6mths playing GT5 I used it and then spent the next year relearning the fastest lines.

I hate srf. The attitude of the car is completely unnatural and there is little to no skill required to balance the car in the corners.

I think the most informative has been to prioritise my corners for time. Usually I prioritise for overtaking, placing the car in a position that allows me to maintain the inside line.
 
For me finding the best line for my style comes from knowing the track and the same goes for setting up a car. I tune at a track that has a variety of turns, etc then I can go to a track that I don't know with a balanced car and learn that track and the best lines for me...
 
I find about 3-5 laps on a new track to learn it works quite well. Watching a fast lap of it afterwards helps also to see room for improvement and then a few laps after, it helps you get close to the limit quite quickyl. It is easy in a game to learn tracks especially GT as it tells you even when to brake. Anyway I try and brake as late as possible without compromising exit speed. Most tracks have good references when to brake and you can then visualise it for rest of other corners too. The line you take generally is the most flowing one that can minimise the load on car while taking a corner or series of them. I just make it up on the fly personally regarding different lines if needed. You should always think ahead too.

FussyFez
I've recently been testing at motegi East, watching alot of the youtube stuff from a GT academy, the turn in points are much earlier than what I'm finding to be fastest.

This key to this track is corner exit speed, and a chicane that needs prioritising over the 2 corners before it.

Some of the laps I have seen, in my opinion, have been far too aggressive on entry, compromising exit speed.


The only reason these lines are good for them is that they are using SRF.

Because I am not using it, the Lines are unusable for me.

That's my point.

It's all personal preference, down to car, setup, tyres, race or lap times, driving style etc.

All about practice and finding what's best for you.
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If you are talking about Motegi East with 370Z tuned then that is without SRF.
 
Saidur_Ali
I find about 3-5 laps on a new track to learn it works quite well. Watching a fast lap of it afterwards helps also to see room for improvement and then a few laps after, it helps you get close to the limit quite quickyl. It is easy in a game to learn tracks especially GT as it tells you even when to brake. Anyway I try and brake as late as possible without compromising exit speed. Most tracks have good references when to brake and you can then visualise it for rest of other corners too. The line you take generally is the most flowing one that can minimise the load on car while taking a corner or series of them. I just make it up on the fly personally regarding different lines if needed. You should always think ahead too.


If you are talking about Motegi East with 370Z tuned then that is without SRF.
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As far as I was aware, all GT academy qualifiers have allowed SRF?

Hence the hullabaloo surrounding it's use in GT academy?


Please correct me and link me to some proof as I'd love to be wrong on this.



Doesn't change the fact also, that I can't use those lines, the early turn in, at the speeds they are turning in at, would see me in the gravel. And I'm on sports soft, not hard, so surely I should be able to be more aggressive with such things?
 
FussyFez
As far as I was aware, all GT academy qualifiers have allowed SRF?

Hence the hullabaloo surrounding it's use in GT academy?


Please correct me and link me to some proof as I'd love to be wrong on this.



Doesn't change the fact also, that I can't use those lines, the early turn in, at the speeds they are turning in at, would see me in the gravel. And I'm on sports soft, not hard, so surely I should be able to be more aggressive with such things?
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As I understand no GT Academy qualifier online has ever allowed SRF. Never seen such issues regarding it on online qualifying, as far as I know it has never been allowed. If there was issues it would be regarding the live events most likely.

It is what you do with the grip that counts, driving smooth is key. Below is video of the fastest lap:



Good to always see how the best at the game drives, look at how he steers, uses the brakes and throttle to manipulate weight transfer and keep good traction all the way around the lap.
 
Saidur_Ali
As I understand no GT Academy qualifier online has ever allowed SRF. Never seen such issues regarding it on online qualifying, as far as I know it has never been allowed. If there was issues it would be regarding the live events most likely.

It is what you do with the grip that counts, driving smooth is key. Below is video of the fastest lap:



Good to always see how the best at the game drives, look at how he steers, uses the brakes and throttle to manipulate weight transfer and keep good traction all the way around the lap.
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I played the Silverstone one showcasing the gt6 physics, and I could use SRF there...?


Video isn't loading for me, but it's probably my phone playing up.
 
The final event in both 2012 and 2013 didn't allow SRF.

You can learn your line by practicing and racing the same track over and over again. That's about it.
 
Run a lap. Stop. Re-think. "Where did I go wrong? What could I've do..ne better?"


Run a lap. Stop. Re-think...


Run a lap. Stop. Re-think...


By the fourth lap, you'll have some idea of what a fast time could be (or is, if you get it right straight away, as I did with Brands Hatch, having played it in other games)


Stop. Re-think.


If there's a corner where you are struggling, stop. In real life, walk through that corner and look at the bumps, the rubber, and the elevation changes. In GT6, use photomode to "walk about."


Factor everything in together. You should be able to do this with nothing more than just the gear indicator, recommended gear indicator, and track markings. :lol: Try doing a rally stage blind... That's way more challenging and way more rewarding.

*Language warning:*

http://youtu.be /YEKN9oqtNWU?t=3m44s

Remove the space and you've got the link for my "blind run" at Snokhana when I had no idea of grip level or track layout... I just focus on being smooth, but I had no idea of grip at the hairpin... Which led to colourful language. You can tell what you do well and what you don't...
 
Bathurst is a tough track to find the correct lines. Its so undulating a lot of the corners are blind and narrow.
Ive also found some corners you have to take wide to set your self up for the exit on the next corner. Very tough to just time trial let alone race. Best to start with a slow car & work your way up. Good fun though.
 

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