How to get good at Nurburgring?

  • Thread starter Thread starter TheTaZ
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i was familiar with this track from pgr2, but its a whole new ball game on gt4. like everyone keeps saying, practice, practice, and practice again. i always use the ring to test out my new cars, its the only track to use, and it can really test your car and your skills to the limit.
i find concentrating on sections a little easier to manage, as opposed to trying to memorise the whole track at once. after a little while, you will find that there are two distinct parts of the track. theres the first half thats fast as hell, then the second half (between the two banked curves) thats a real dog, and uber techincal. im pretty competent with the speedy first half, but the second leg is proving a little tough to master. use slow cars to start with, and gradually work up, before you know it, you will be recognising parts of the track, and putting down some good times. it doesnt matter that everyone else is doing 5.xx.xxx a lap, the toughest competitor you will ever face is yourself. keep improving on your personal best, and work from there. practice, dedication, and hard work are the only ways to master this track. so keep at it, and learn to love the 'ring.
 
Instead of memorizing the whole track, memorize sections. Start to the first long straight is a section, there to under the first bridge is a section, bridge to the slow left-right is a section, there to the top-of-the-hill right-hander, etc. That won't necessarily coincide with the split times as they are displayed. Some of those are impossible to look at when driving hard, you can't move your eyes off the track to look at the splits.
Anyway, by doing this, instead of being lost all the time, or remembering each and every turn, you get to, say, the bridge, and you know that you're flat out till the uphill left, then slow for the chicane.
Also, by "push" in the first post, I assume you mean going deep into the turns. Very bad idea. Brake early and accelerate through the turns. Exit speed is key, especially on the long flat-out sections. If you're 15 MPH down for 20 seconds, how far behind will you be? You can't make it up. Ever. Do another lap. On most tracks, you can wait for half a second or so when the red gear indicator flashes. Not here. Try to see how close you can get to braking JUST BEFORE the red digit shows. Then you'll have your brake points. Slowing down late means slowing down too much, means missing the apex, means lost speed out of the turn, yada yada yada.
 
In addition to lots of practice, learning the names of the corners helped me to memorize the ring. The little green signs on the sides of the track have the names on them, but you are usually going too fast to read them. A map like this one is a big help.

http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/satellite_pic_named.jpg

Also take the time to learn the history of the ring - it helps put things in perspective and gives you something to think about during those laps! :)
 
wfooshee
Instead of memorizing the whole track, memorize sections.
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This is how I learned the 'ring. I was intimidated with just taking any car out on such a big track and doing it over and over again. So, I just re-ran ALL of the license tests that run on part of the 'ring. After you have those sections down really well, then run the whole track with a familiar car and it should come together pretty easily.
 
There are 2 ways to master the track both to be done on free drive mode

Use medium slicks as super softs tires can trick you into a false sense of security leaving you with a bad case of wall mouth whenever you enter a real race and have to use less grip wheels

1: Tune every one of yours cars on it

Buy every part and run it on free drivemode without making adjustments, then view the replay to see how the car is handeling, Ie is the back end drifting out or rolling too much on cornering or is my front end diving on braking. Make adjustment and run the race again with the ghost car. Doing this over and over again does 2 things, 1 give you a sweet setup for your car and 2 makes you a better driver as almost all race course characteristics are in this one track. Pay attention to your handeling characteristic and view that replay to see if you are bottoming out or something you didn't notice while driving is going on.

2: If you already have a sweet setup on a super car drop the Horsepower

If you car has stage 3 N/A or Stage 4 Turbo, Remove the N/A tuning or Turbos and adjust your gearing to compenate for the loss of power, then run the race and save the ghost lap. Try to make it around the track as fast as you can by beating you ghosts until you can no longer do so. Then drop in a stage one engine mod and adjust your gearing. No go back out and continue beating your ghost and saving your best lap. Once you cannot beat your ghost switch to the next engine stage. Continue this until you either get to the last engine stage or you cannot beat your ghost even with a higher engine mod. Sometimes less horspower = more control which = better lap times. Especially if you are driving turbos on automatic. Though really skilled players with leet manual shifting skills can work a stage 4 turbo like no ones business. I wish I could :guilty:
 
also, watch replays in fast foward as well as normal speed.

i find fast fowarding helps to burn the track into your mind faster, and also forces you to think quicker and quicker. it will be especially helpful when you try to take the ring with your f1 car.
 
Try golding the licenses that take place on Nurburgring. That way you really memorize some parts of the track and know how to get through them fast.
 
I first knew the whole track by seeing many videos in 2000/2001, enough for going a fast lap. And i haven´t played any racing game that had nurburgring in that time.

If u see many videos of onboard racing/trackdays, u will get the proper racing line and the fastness at there. Seeing how it looks like in real life and how is the real racing line is important, that´s why i suggest you to see many videos, because its just the same as its in GT4. When i had my very first day @ GT4 @ the ring, i was just at home, because i knew already the whole track, so it was just a matter of 2 laps to get the car´s phisics and so i could go really fast and non mistake.

After that, just practice as more as u can, with all the types of cars, since a single ´05 Golf GTI until the hell Formula 1.

Going fast in the beggining is not the most important part, but geting all and the proper racing line is the main part.

So after that you can really put insane, and fly very high. :D
 
veilsidebr
I first knew the whole track by seeing many videos in 2000/2001, enough for going a fast lap. And i haven´t played any racing game that had nurburgring in that time.

If u see many videos of onboard racing/trackdays, u will get the proper racing line and the fastness at there. Seeing how it looks like in real life and how is the real racing line is important, that´s why i suggest you to see many videos, because its just the same as its in GT4. When i had my very first day @ GT4 @ the ring, i was just at home, because i knew already the whole track, so it was just a matter of 2 laps to get the car´s phisics and so i could go really fast and non mistake.

After that, just practice as more as u can, with all the types of cars, since a single ´05 Golf GTI until the hell Formula 1.

Going fast in the beggining is not the most important part, but geting all and the proper racing line is the main part.

So after that you can really put insane, and fly very high. :D
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amen...
 
as a general rule stick to the inside of the corners. try to keep the car straight, learn where to break and glide through the corners. its all about the line.
 
YuRiPa
5m19? Knew that was possible. My fastest time with my unmodified Sauber C9 is 5m22, but that's with a trip through the gravel. My aim is a time under 5m20, which is possible, now I know for sure. But to do the track perfectly in one lap ain't easy, I'm always too enthousiastic somewhere, which causes me to end up off the track. And I think I wanna do it too perfectly, don't wanna get on the grass, not even with one wheel... But it's nice to do, and I'll try to beat your 5m19.:) Think 5m19 is the fastest possible for me with the Sauber C9 unmodified on the Nurburgring.:) But it's possible, now I know for sure.:)
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Possible indeed. Could probably drive even faster now but I'd say that lower than 5:15 would be quite the challenge. Maybe with some tuning to the car's settings and with a perfectly driven lap, but as you stated... that's really hard! Not making any mistakes while still pushing yourself and the car to the limit can sometimes seem like a contradiction :)

Good luck with your time attack!
 
Pick a car you have fun driving then just go out and do it.. I took the 3 wheeler Midget around the thing and had a blast. Once you start learning it you will be able to download one of these rl videos and know exactly where they are on the track.

I am still about 30 seconds from even having a chance with mission 34 and I would recommend NOT using that for learning unless you feel like waiting a few mins between each lap watching a stupid counter. :crazy: 👎

My routine is whenever I get a new car I take at least a one lap spin on the nurb with it. This helps greatly and if you use different cars you wont get as bored with it.
 
yeti
Completing the S-16 licence test or the IA-15 licence test to Gold will help...
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IA-15 is definately the way to go.. You follow a pace car throughout the lap and you'll have to stick to it like white on rice (since it tries to keep a 0.3 gap between you's) to get Gold. You drive a fun car (Merc E190 Touring) and the pace car is pretty quick around most of the corners. Just watch out on the straights. You can push it forward, but be carefull not to nudge it too hard. Make sure you leave a fair gap at upcoming braking points after the straights, too.
 
Hmmm... lots of folks just saying to practice. And I do agree with that. But there's a bit more to it than just practicing, I think.

Length aside, the ring has a couple of unique features that really throw you for a loop.

First, it's narrow and tends to lack for burms and curbing. At the edge of the track is usually just grass. If you touch it even a little, you crash. This tends to force you to the center of the track.

Second, it's bumpy. In some places, it's horrifically bumpy. There's a number of places which severely unsettle the car. This makes you tend to concentrate on just staying in the middle of the road without turning because it seems like almost any input you give the car causes it to spin.

Be aware of these factors and tackle them specifically as you practice. Force yourself to use the entire track. The lack of burms just means you need to be a little more precise... it's not as hard as it initially seems, so don't let it paralyze you into driving down the center. The track _can not_ be driven from the center... it gets harder that way, not easier.

As for the bumps, you're going to have to learn some new things about car control. Learn how the car responds over bumpy sections. The big thing to learn here in particular is that if you're heavy on the throttle or brakes through a very uneven/bumpy section, bad stuff happens. That's because individual tires completely lose contact with the ground... if you're full on the brakes and suddenly only the left side tires are touching pavement... even for just a moment... the car will rotate suddenly into an unrecoverable spin. The trick here is to go to neutral throttle (just maintaining speed, not coasting down) when going over bumps.


Learn the track in a stock car with good handling for its level of horsepower and no oversteer. The ring is very harsh to any car which has oversteer.

Also... do not look at the map overlay to figure out where you are on the course. The course is too large to figure out anything really useful from it. Tight hairpins don't look like tight hairpins on the map. So ignore it completely and learn the track by driving it. Watching the map will just catch you out.

The ring is the length of about 5 standard tracks. I found it worked well to think of it like that. It definately has different sections which each have their own character. So I would concentrate on learning the different sections in general first... and then the individual turns within those sections. But basically, all of the turns in a particular section have generally the same character to them. The whole section can be attacked using the same approach. But as soon as you get to a different section, you have to take a different approach. People tend to get caught out most when they move from one section to another, and the whole feel of the track changes.

Anyway... hope this helps. :)

- Skant
 
Yup...all true. I find settings on cars are crucial cause of bumps mostly (not so much width for me). The MB touring car is by far my favorite. I had a hard time remembering the track, so i concentrated on remembering what the approach to the sharp turns looks like. I guess the drive assist shows you this but ya. Another clue as to where you are is the lighting. First section of course sun is on your left...for some time later there is no sun, then sun behind you and finally to your right on the long straight.

Its hard to do when going fast, but can be done...take fast looks over at your map radar. Just so you know if sharp corners coming up.

*what took me the longest to learn was the bump approach on one of the turns in the early part of the track. Always breaked too late after hitting the bump and ended up in grass
 
A small tidbit is after that first long straight before the first really sharp corner(i dont know the names of the sections yet) slow down a bit if your in a fast car before the top of that last hill even though it looks like you can make it or 'best' case this happens:



usually it's lawn mowing time because after you land there is no way to turn on the corner thats coming.

There is a vid around here somewhere of a guy spinning out (and barly saving it) in real life on that hill so it is probably pretty accurate.

Oh I found a great guide from another thread about driving this track in GPL although it should apply to GT4 as well:

"Pete Tabrams Guide to Driving the Ring"
http://www.oppositelock.freeserve.co.uk/guide.html
 
nerv2112
Pick a car you have fun driving then just go out and do it.. I took the 3 wheeler Midget around the thing and had a blast.
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You have more patience than I... :crazy:

I second the IA-15 recommendation. Following the pace car is good for you on this track. Until you know it you'll be hard pressed to get Gold on that licence test, however, since you have to anticipate certain corners before the pace car reacts.
 
Skant
Also... do not look at the map overlay to figure out where you are on the course. The course is too large to figure out anything really useful from it. Tight hairpins don't look like tight hairpins on the map. So ignore it completely and learn the track by driving it. Watching the map will just catch you out.
- Skant
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I couldn't agree more and, as someone else mentioned, use the simple hud - the fewer distractions the better.

Pretty much all I do in gt4 is time trial laps of the ring, I'll usually do 5 - 6 laps before my hands need a rest :) I've far from mastered it, but I'm familliar enough that I can rattle of a few laps at 100% without any big offs.

For me the main challenge at the moment is driving different stock sports cars on the ring and learning their characteristics. I'll spend a few days in one then swap to something completely different - rwd to rr to fwd to mr, or whatever takes my fancy. I find that this forces me to reacquaint myself with many corners and sections. Even going from a 5-speed to a 6-speed gearbox can force a rethink on the best technique though a particular stretch.

Probably the best thing, even above practice, is to become inspired to drive it. Watch a few videos of the real thing and you'll be champing at the bit to have a go. The M3 GTR & Yellow Bird clips come to mind. :)
 
I agree with most comments. But here's my 2p.

1. Learn the track. By that I mean be able to run through the whole track with your eyes closed (literally).

2. Do IA-15. Do it until you get Gold. I also made a point of golding all the Ring tests (ex S-16) before racing there.

By now you should know the track and some of its quirks.

3. (you can do this with IA-15 or S-16), Perfect each sector in turn, be sure to really know how to get the best from them. It takes time but it works so well.
ie Master split 1, then Split 1 & 2, then split 1, 2 & 3 etc.

4. Now you need to run it in different cars. Ride heights are important and it is amazing just how different some cars handle around the ring compared to others eg braking points v lifting v just stay on the gas etc.

At first I hated the ring tests but now I love this track, and clearly many other people feel the same way.

regards


Steven
 
Where Polyphony Digital messed up is by underestimating the value of this track in their game. Rather than include it in portion or in whole in the existing license tests, there should have been a "Ring License".

They could have had a handful of tests breaking down the entire course into portions, a pace car lap test, and a free run lap test, all in the same easy to find area for practice.
 
Messiah
Memorise it - no other way. Yes, thats easier said than done - but there's lots of markers for braking points like signs, graffiti etc. The hardest thing about the track for me is finding a setup to cope with the bumps.
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Raise the ride height to give the suspension more travel, and soften the springs if necessary. You'll sacrifice a bit of speed through the corners, but you'll gain a lot of stability.
 
Last night, I played for more than two hours in the Nurburgring Family cup: If you want to enjoy this ring, you must start with cars who can forget your little errors along the track.

The greatest races I did (difficulty 5) were the ones I did with a Mercury Cougar (Stock except for the 6 speeds Gearbox) with N3 tires. The ride is so smooth and you can gently slide from a curve to another...

The other one I drove was a Corvette Gran Sport (blue with the white stripe) stock with N3 tires. More faster and efficient than the Cougar, it accept a lot of missing lines too...

The last one I tried was the TVR Cerbera (a used red one): very bad idea! this car has no brakes, doesn't like to slide and doesn't turn under braking all the time...

So, as I said before, somme cars can be a lot of fun, some others can be very frustrating...

And it depends the way your driving; I prefer a car that slide easily from the back.
If it has no grip in the front, i can't handle it (like most of the Front wheels drive).

And you, are you more rear wheels drive or front wheels drive?
 
I found that to best learn the track you need a really light car that will communicate every single bump to you. A bad example is the Mercedes SLR.. that car sucks up all the bumps and its not really telling you where it finds its grip and slip at.

one of the BEST cars for learning the track is probably the lotus 7 fireblade.. I got that car fully moded and with supersofts. and doing practice runs is SOOO FUN! the penalty for going of course is really heavy in that car because it cannot go in the grass AT ALL! it will bounce around and wont have more than 2 wheels on the ground at any one time when off the road. But when its on the road it really communicates! Some of the bumps cause the car to be on 2-3 wheels at times but its got so much grip! Eventually you start to see how to drive the track. Although.. this car is sooo fast that you will need to take it a lil easy and break earlier with other cars.

Surprizingly.. my lotus's best time was beat by the SLR during my practice runs for the mission test. but only by .3 secs. Which is crasy considering the top speed and acceleration of the lotus is worse than the SLR. The corners is where its at!

my best time in the lotus is 7.09.633

Lev
 
On reflection golding IA-15 is the way to go. The car is good, not brilliant but doesn't totally suck either. Even allowing for the fact that you have to ram the Pace Car in the back a few times, the braking points and handling are ok.

Steven
 

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