How to finally get gud (or at least better)

[Groundfish]

I just came across this one YouTube, it may also be helpful.



The first half more so then the second half.

This is yooooj.
Driving fast is imo maybe 50 percent of it.
That’s why I posted through the wormhole on the first page.
First you get knowledge of concept of driving fast.
Second you develop the mechanics and coordination of it, but...
Third you let yourself become immersed and do it all subconsciously by feel.

You can’t think your way around the way you think about this thread analytically while you are driving...
You don’t think a lap you drive it.
You have to get out of your own way.
The mind is almost the biggest part or maybe is biggest after you have the skill of driving fast.
You have to drive by feel and confidence plays a yooj role too.
You’ll never reach your potential unless you get in a zone which is technically an altered state of consciousness for most people and it’s true in all athletics.

 

[x5abotagex86]

Have I ever completed a lap perfectly in GTS?
After over a thousand hours NO!

Mmm. Always chasing the dragon...

That’s why shaving those tiniest margins = the biggest gains

 

[Pigems]

Campaign Mode, Circuit Experience, Missions and GT League. Seems to work for 95% of players.

If you need more, maybe consider paying for one-on-one lessons?

Do people really pay for lessons?

 

[O604]

Do people really pay for lessons?

I've seen it advertised for other platforms. So I assume so.

Here's a cool article on how even the best can learn.

https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2020/05/12/jimmie-johnson-ray-alfalla-iracing-training/

 

[Kermit_2142]

David Perel charges something like $150 an hour for sim tutoring so yes people pay it .

https://coachdaveacademy.com/coaching/

Having watched this thread I’m with @RacingGrandpa, the OP has asked for advice and then consistently shot people down for offering fair and reasonable responses. The OP seems to think he is above all of those comments as he “knows it already”.
If the OP wants to improve he first needs to put down his ego and his arrogance.
Good luck.

 

[Veinz]

I like David Perel but that price... Who pays for this??

You have to understand how the weight shifts around. For example if you let off the brakes too quickly and get aggressive on the throttle, then you are going to lose grip on your front tires when turning in since the weight is being shifted to the back too quickly.

 

[breeminator]

David Perel charges something like $150 an hour for sim tutoring so yes people pay it .

https://coachdaveacademy.com/coaching/

On the official Forza forum, someone offered paid coaching, and it was removed, with the reason given that it was in violation of Xbox Live terms and conditions to exchange real world money for any services related to games. Is there not a similar PSN rule somewhere that prohibits this?

 

[Kermit_2142]

On the official Forza forum, someone offered paid coaching, and it was removed, with the reason given that it was in violation of Xbox Live terms and conditions to exchange real world money for any services related to games. Is there not a similar PSN rule somewhere that prohibits this?

tbf it doesn’t name any sim specifically on the website.

But yes people definitely get mentored for games, even cod etc you can find tutors pretty easy these days. If you’ve got the money and want to improve, then why not??

 

[breeminator]

Aaaaah, guys....
The short answer is: I have to find specific practices and do them.
The obvious follow-up is: Which ones? (Besides mimicry)

You'd have to share videos for people to see specifically what you need to work on. The best people in any activity are either good at working this out for themselves, or they have a coach who observes them and gives them specific practices to do. For example, in swimming it's common for coaches to get swimmers to do "drills", which are movements that train an individual element of the stroke, as most people's brains can't cope with focusing on lots of things at the same time. An analogy in driving games would be to focus on just one element of one corner. For example, focus on getting the car position on entry spot on. It doesn't matter if this is mimicry, just copying the best driver in the world, so long as you understand why they are positioning the car where they are. An example would be the entry to the final corner at Nurburgring GP, where you see the top players just getting that little bit wider on entry than slower players. It would be nice if the game had a rewind feature to allow practising one element like this over and over again in isolation, as I find it really annoying to have to wait a couple of minutes in between each time I practice something like that.

The vast majority of what makes people slower than the best driver, is:
1. Not entering as wide as is possible
2. Not apexing as tight as is possible
3. Not exiting as wide as is possible
Most people are not able to replicate the exact same car position every time, so the more random they are, the more they have to bring the car in from those limits to get around the track cleanly. The only way to get better at accurately positioning the car is practise. Then there is
4. Not braking as late as possible
5. Not going as fast as possible at every point on the track

JSR Devon goes through two replays here, looking at why the slower driver is slower. The same differences are still there if you compare e.g. world 10th place vs world number 1, they just become smaller.

 

[RussRobit]

Hey guys, average driver here.

Desperately need some tangible advice on what to do specifically in order to get better.
Beyond the usual 'watch Top 10', etc. advice.

Backstory:
On the wheel with TCS off. About 50,000km 'experience'.
DR B, sometimes cracking A if practicing a lot. Tending to low B if getting in unprepared.
This week I put in 2500km at Interlagos. Still unable to beat 1:32.000 in quali and 1:33:500 in race.
(Which is almost 2sec away from the top and about 1sec away from what most A drivers achieve without much practice)
The sad thing is that I had already achieved these times after about 500km of practice.
Sure, I am much more consistent now, but not getting any faster.
Another sad thing is that it takes me an hour to get back to yesterdays performance.
So it really looks like my limit.

So what should I do?
Yes, I watch TOP 10 and other replays. I am aware where I lose time. And yes, I am aware of what I need to do better:
- Trail-brake better/later
- Get on power earlier/better
- Don't unsettle the car (as much as I do)
- Handle the slow corners much better

The real problem is: I just don't know how to implement it.
I cannot understand how some guys just naturally find a faster line.
I always fall back to a kind of safe, casual (and wrong) driving style. When I try to push beyond that it mostly results in errors/spins/running wide.
Only at times am I really locked in and feeling the car. This is when I achieve the times mentioned above. In general I am about another second slower.

What can be done/practiced concretely?
How can I extend my personal limit?

I've been searching for the same thing, mind you I'm 60 and not quite as spry as I used to be. I've read the books, watched the vids and I'm sure I understand the physics and techniques but when it comes to putting it all together in practice I still end up asking "how the hell do they do that?". So if you find the answer please let me know. In the meantime I set my goal at improving my "K speed score" (kudosprime), which is currently 82.8 whereas the top guy's are high 90's, little by little, week by week.

 

[NevilleNobody]

Mid corner speed. Well for me anyways. When i find tome after a few days stuck on a qualy time it is usually mid corner on a really tight turn . The big hairpin at garden i just found half a second by not braking for so long and sliding around the corner a little more rather than big big stop, square her up and fire the canon. Half a second.

 

[KosmoKazi]

Have I ever completed a lap perfectly in GTS?
After over a thousand hours NO!

I once got to spend a day with Rick Mears, 4-time Indy winner and [EDIT: 6-time] pole winner. He said he loved practice and qualifying, because he loved the idea of making a perfect lap. But he said he also NEVER got a perfect lap. And he said he always knew right where the mistake or the lost 0.001 was. Rick Mears. Never perfect. There’s always something to learn.

 

[das89ca]

Well, what worked for me(improving pretty fast):

Find a good community that are having private leagues and are training for them on a regular basis in the same lobby. Preferably to have in that community at least 5-6 players better than you(faster the better). Then train with them on a regular basis, do short 3-4 laps races on different combos and so on. You will improve at things in no time by racing with them, watching their lines and so on.

Started with the game in October, hit the 2s from top10 wall(on 1.30 lap circuits) after 2 months and stayed there a lot. 2 months ago I joined this league in my country where pretty much the best GTS players from my country are competing. At the beginning I was struggling to get into top8, and now I am challenging in the top5 on some combos that I am better at.

In pure race pace I think I gained at least 0.5s a lap - on some circuits maybe 1s. In timetrial now I have tracks where I can go +1s from top EMEA. Also my racecraft has improved a lot...

 

[ShiftingGears]

I have a comprehensive two step program to git gud.

Step 1: git
Step 2: gud

Thankyou for listening to my TED talk

 

[DoctorNuu]

I have a comprehensive two step program to git gud.
Step 1: git
Step 2: gud
Thankyou for listening to my TED talk

I've seen worse advice

 

[LeLLs]

When you watch the top replays, make sure you have the full HUD displayed and switch to the HUD rather than the play/pause controls. Watch the level and timing of the driver inputs. You'll be surprised by:

• How rarely brakes are fully applied. If ABS has kicked in you're going to need more braking distance
• How often drivers are coasting through turns, no input (or almost none) on brake or throttle
• On the more skittish cars, how often BOTH brake and throttle are partially applied.
• Steering inputs should be applied smoothly, not jerked immediately to the required input.
• In high speed turns you may be surprised by how rarely full lock steering is used. If you've hit the steering stops the tyres are probably scrubbing which is wearing them out and burning off speed (and fuel if fuel consumption is on).
• Pay attention to what revs the driver shifts at. Lots of cars benefit from short shifting, some benefit from revving way beyond what seems to be the limit. Set your own HUD so you can see the tachometer, not just the rev bar.

Almost every turn actually. I used to go full but part of learning is that you get more brake power and better rotation by not going full on the brakes.
When you start doing it it just feels so wrong, but when you are entering the turn too fast and realize that letting the brake up will be better.
Also, just go round and round on a track you know well and deliberately do trail braking.

I was searching for this thread because I just wanted to say thank you guys. I've read this a couple of weeks ago and ever since not going full on the brakes anymore, I've been much more consistent than I ever was and have more control over the cars during braking and turning.