How to improve driving ability?

[RAZRr1275]

There are some cars that I just can't get. I went around with a audi r8 that I drove for the first time easily and can handle a RM ZR1 with almost 900 hp fairly well but I went into a Zonda and that was spinning like mad. I'm also having the same issues with cars like the Toyota 7 and Minolta. I think part of it is that i don't know how to adjust to cars. In an r8 and ZR1 I can tap the throttle in corners to keep it glued down but in the Zonda if I do that it's an insta spin. I can't step on it either because then I just get rampant wheelspin. Another thing that I don't get are the nascars. They spin no matter what. I guess my questions are this.

1) Throttle control: How do I do it properly and how do Ii adjust to different cars?

2) Steering input: How do I determine how much is too much? Also i've been watching a lot of top gear and I noticed the stig rarely ever just points the wheel in the direction he wants to go he does a whole bunch of small jerky inputs, what is he doing there? How do I correct when my car starts spinning so I don't just send the tail in one direction and back in the other?

If possible try to be as specific as you can. Thanks

 

[X-Power]

Hello, I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can.

1) If you are using a controller to drive, the analog sticks are the best control method, configure the right analog stick to be your accelerator/brake and you'll be able to have much more control than you would using the buttons. The high-powered rear wheel drive cars, such as the Zonda, are the hardest to drive. When approaching a corner, brake in a straight line, so you don't upset the cars balance. You then need to be very gentle on the throttle, give the car about half-throttle through the corner and gradually increase it to full throttle once you're on a straight. This may take some practice, as you will need to learn when to apply the correct amount of throttle to avoid the car spinning, but you'll get it eventually. A little tip also, if you're going over a hill, ease off the throttle a little to avoid the car spinning out when the suspension compresses and rebounds.

2) Try to be as smooth with the steering as possible while still steering sharply enough to get round the corner. If the back end starts to slide then gently correct it while reducing the throttle until you've regained control. You may need to make minor corrections while going round the corner in order to keep the back end under control, this is what The Stig does a lot on Top Gear.

I've tried to explain as well as I can but it's quite hard to explain something like this, you need to 'feel' the car if that makes sense, the more you drive it, the more you'll understand it's behaviour and be able to drive it better.

Here's a video I made, sorry for the poor quality but hopefully you can see the basics of driving the Zonda fast.

 

[dougdoberman]

Hello, I'll try to answer your questions as best as I can.

1) If you are using a controller to drive, the analog sticks are the best control method, configure the right analog stick to be your accelerator/brake and you'll be able to have much more control than you would using the buttons. The high-powered rear wheel drive cars, such as the Zonda, are the hardest to drive. When approaching a corner, brake in a straight line, so you don't upset the cars balance. You then need to be very gentle on the throttle, give the car about half-throttle through the corner and gradually increase it to full throttle once you're on a straight. This may take some practice, as you will need to learn when to apply the correct amount of throttle to avoid the car spinning, but you'll get it eventually. A little tip also, if you're going over a hill, ease off the throttle a little to avoid the car spinning out when the suspension compresses and rebounds.

I disagree with at least part of this. If you're stuck using a controller, you're far better off using the triggers (with the addition of concave trigger extensions available for $5 just about anywhere that videogames are sold, of course) over the buttons or even the analog stick.

There are often times where you may want a touch of brake without getting off the throttle. Something which is impossible to do with the stick. Plus, I'd bet that most people have better fine motor control with their index finger than their thumb.

 

[Sum1s2pid]

First thing's first: You cannot drive an MR car (Zonda, Toyota 7, Toyota 88C-V) like a 4WD (R8) or an FR (ZR1 RM) and expect success. They are among the most sensitive cars in the game, and they will bite you in the butt. An MR will severely punish you for mistakes you would normally get away with while driving an FF, 4WD, or FR.

If your not using a wheel like I'm going to assume, but are instead using a controller, you may want to turn on a few assists -- namely Spin Recovery. Otherwise...

1. In most every situation, throttle application will be a bit touchy on corner exits with an MR -- as well as with aggressive braking. If you're not comfortable in an MR, doing either when not traveling in as close to a straight line as you can, will spin you out.

Be smooth. Be mindful of lifting off the throttle and / or braking mid-corner -- especially mid-to-high speed sweepers. Ease onto the throttle when exiting a corner. Partial throttle -- and even blipping the throttle -- when braking helps stabilize an MR when downshifting into a corner (like the left-hander at Grand Valley leading into the first hairpin).

2. Small steering inputs, when driving an MR, will help limit mistakes and corrections.

Try not to pay too much attention to how The Stig does Power Laps. His skills are unGodly, and any attempt to make sense of his technique will only serve to confuse you -- or worse, make your head explode into a gooey puddle of pink jam.

All it takes to turn an MR is a bit of steering. Its back end will want to come around on you seemingly all on its own. Fight the wheel to straighten it out if needed, and be on the ready for a quick flick of counter-steer.

...practice makes better. Good luck!

👍

 

[stormbringer]

My personal prefernce: Analog stick should be used for throttle for sure, more precise than the trigger R2. brakes you can use trigger L2.

having both acc and brakes on the analog stick sucks.

 

[skywolf23]

The stig in a real car, or any pro racing driver for that matter, can feel any change in the forces at work in the car to so small adjustments are natural to change the balnace of a car get s slip under control etc. A few of those forces you can feel with a wheel which really helps, like you can feel the tires in some cars sliding etc which makes up for a lack of g forces, and proper tires to drivetrain to wheel feedback, and pitch/roll weight distribution that you feel just naturally driving any car.

Few tips tho i guess, drive stock cars, ones that have 0 modifications, adjust the break bias tho because one thing gt5 does horribly bad it is that default 5/5 break bias that will get you killed in a mr/fr car unless you are running a ton of abs. Zonda r and others that come with a custom race suspension are probably the worst cars to try to drive out of the gate because the suspensions are not set up for the cars at all again gt5 has a default suspension that has nothing to do with the car.

Beyond that find a reasonable and tamer MR car, BMWs, ferrari 430 or the italia, etc cars that are MR but are well balanced and not overly BHP monsters that will not kill you if you get the throttle a hair wrong.

If you really want to master a super BHP MR car, be prepared to put some time into driving it a lot, and get to know all its tendencies.

 

[tatfa]

If these cars are upgraded to the highest BHP go into the car settings and take off the Turbo's .. Dropped the LSD settings down until you can handle them .. Use a track that is twisty like Deep Forest to practice on lots of accelerating and braking on that track . Instal Racing Soft tyres and use TCS and ABS until you get a feel for the car(s) then lower the TCS / ABS until you master them .. Then increase the LSD settings add the turbo's back and start again until you master them .. Then move on to a track like Fuji for the high speed handling and tight turns. In time you will master them .. Don't try to Sprint until you can crawl,walk and run in them first. I was the same as you spun them at every turn almost but i sat for a few days and just practice MR cars (High Powered ones) .. The Zonda i still spin to this day i love to hate that car my nemisis. Search the tune section on here for settings sometimes they can help. Remember too sometimes less is more (don't always use the throttle, let the car glide around the bend or into the bend) Good luck with it fingers crossed you will master them and have more great cars at your disposale. Rome is a good track too for just getting the feel of the car and learning to brake and turn then throttle !

 

[Hig-GT]

If you really want to learn throttle control grab you Corvette ZR-1 RM and try taking it around the Nurburgring 24 Hour track in under 9 minutes in the wet with no TC etc. That was not much fun but you do learn a lot about the car and will definately teach you about throttle control.

I find that with cars that are a pain to drive, such as the Zonda, I generally don't bother with as I don't enjoy having to faff about on the throttle here there and everywhere, but maybe to start with you could soften up the suspension a bit, take 1 off of the anti roll bars and reduce rear camber and then take it easy from there, leave it fully modded as you'll be driving it like that anyway, get to grips with it and then start to fine tune the suspension.

I'll have a play with the Zonda at some point and see if I can find a quick set up that could help (not a race useable set up just like a training set up so to speak)

 

[Turbo-Kai]

just tiny hints in short form (maybe for pad drivers only...because i only have pad experience):
> practice, practice, practice
> corners: slow in fast out
> use a "smooth" driving line. try out several lines...sometimes a line that looks worse is quicker...
> if you got too much understeering try better tires in front or less good tires in back.
the opposite for oversteering
> not for all cars the best moment to shift when the red-rpm-area begins...some cars have their max tork earlier (or later?)!
> MH cars: don't lift throttle drasticly in corners...
> traction control 1 / ABS 1 (sometimes 3)
> try different gear setups...

 

[nitro_2005]

I would watch and learn from these 2 videos. They've helped me out no end!

 

[IndyRacer]

One thing I miss with all racing sims is the feel you get with your whole body in real racing. Just the feel in your hands of the car's motion through the feedback on the wheel is not enough for me. I know I would be able to recognize the back end coming around a lot sooner if I was actually in the car. It is a learning experience to recognize that through just the feedback on the wheel or controller.

 

[Highlandor]

It is a learning experience to recognize that through just the feedback on the wheel or controller.

The magic words = ''learn'' i.e. educate yourself about driving fast and the differences between cars and ''experience'' i.e. practice, practice, practice..

👍

 

[FULL_THROTTLE]

All Zondas handle like trash when using a Dual shock 3, best bet is to make it low, add down force and use racing soft tyres

 

[HBR-Roadhog]

Well I would say that the reason you can control the Vette and not the others is that the vette suffers from a bit of understeer where the others do not. My brother is a good driver but struggles with cars which have a little oversteer. As an experiment he started using soft tires on the rear and harder ones on the front and he found that he could drive them much better. So you may want to give this a try and see if it helps. You could also change the setup on the car to tame the oversteer or you could just keep practicing until you are able to control the oversteer.

In general understeer = easier to drive where oversteer = faster but harder to control.

 

[strtgng]

I disagree with at least part of this. If you're stuck using a controller, you're far better off using the triggers (with the addition of concave trigger extensions available for $5 just about anywhere that videogames are sold, of course) over the buttons or even the analog stick.

There are often times where you may want a touch of brake without getting off the throttle. Something which is impossible to do with the stick. Plus, I'd bet that most people have better fine motor control with their index finger than their thumb.

Agree - the $5 trigger extensions help a lot. My brain can't compute using the analog stick for throttle/brake!

 

[Rod-Luke]

Goto Top Gear track and practice donuts with all different cars on the wide section of runway with all aids off and Sports Hard tires. Do it until you can practically spell your name on the track. Practice tight donuts to long donuts where you can point the car in the direction you want after exiting the donut. Refresh tires by exiting out and going back into Free Run once tires have died.

Then blast around Top Gear track making the cars dance and arches smoke around Crooner, Chicago and the Hammerhead. Easy cars such as Lancia S4 and Lamborghini Gallardo (4WD) are fun, then try it out in the MUCH different Zonda and Enzo, a slight tap on the throttle and ass end twitches out and requires good throttle control to counteract (but once you get used to it MUCH FUN). This isn't a drifting lesson but more of how to control your different cars if you should start to oversteer or lose control.

Cars that I had trouble controlling I usually take out on an Endurance - Either the 60 lap Grand Valley or Laguna Seca 90 lap always with Sports Hard. This is where I'll get used to any car as you're forced to do so many laps - Usually 20 laps in and you're making the car do what you want to do. And if you're Hollywood movie driving then you'll have to change tires lots no matter how good you are at control.

When you've unlocked the lvl 32 Nordshchleife V endurance take yer Zonda out on that cos by the end of the 4 hours you'll be driving it perfectly . Slow in FAST OUT. Brake in straight lines and to add to that you need to concentrate to remember to do the SLOW IN FAST OUT stuff all the time.

 

[Hig-GT]

Right I have just had a quick run around Deep Forest Raceway in the Zonda R and I ran a time of 1:07.666 without too much drama and without having to push like a crazy person.

I found that with the below set up the Zonda was quite relaxed but I still had to be very careful on the throttle, I left the LSD as standard though to give you room to play with so you may be able to hone it a bit more than I did ...

Rigidity Improvement Installed

Downforce - 40 Front - 65 Rear

Transmission - 236 MPH (Don't be afraid to widen the gears though to slow up acceleration a bit, could help you with the wheel spin)

Fully Customisable Ltd. Slip Dif. - Initial - 7 Acceleration - 30 Braking - 15

Ride Height Front -20 Rear -19
Spring Rate Front 16.3 Rear 16.4
Dampers Extension Front & Back - 8
Dampers Compression Front & Back - 6

Anti Roll Bars - Front 4 Rear 5

Camber Angle Front and Back at 0.6
Toe Angle Front -0.10 Rear -0.20

Brake Balance - Front 9 Rear 8

No aids on except ABS which you can set at any level you want.

I have the replay saved aswell if anyones interested in it?

Hope that helps.

ps ... Just to re-iterate, this isn't a fully fledged race set up, it will require some tuning, I just found it to be a good starting point in learning how to drive the Zonda, it may still require some more fine tuning but I'd be happy to race the Zonda now with that set up.

 

[Hig-GT]

Correction, try using the Std. Diff and make Brake Balance 8 Front 7 Rear

Just done another couple of runs and hit 1:07.184 ... I do think it could get into the 1:06 with a good lap.

Just run it around the Nurburgring in 6.11.378 with the set up mentioned above. I had a few mistakes on that though so there is still a couple of seconds to find on that set up, going to check youtube nopw to see how fast this thing can do the Nurb! (I think that is a quick time actually lol )

 

[TouringBubble]

You mentioned the Stig's wheel inputs ...

The Stig is a racing driver and uses racing techniques. When people say "smooth steering inputs are faster," they are correct, but only to a point. You want to be as smooth as possible, especially on turn in, as it decreases the amount of steering used and therefore reduces the amount of speed scrubbed in the corner. If you could always corner at 100% precision, smooother would be ideal.

Check out this comparison video I made at a local autocross event. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhGe7vOoEl8. I'm on the left and my friend Ervin is on the right. We were co-driving my car that event, so it's the same car on the same course.

Notice that he is a much smoother driver, but he ended up about .6 sec slower than me around the course on his best run, even though he had a top speed of around 3 mph faster than me.

Why? He was aggressive on his approach to corners and encountered understeer. When that happened, he kept driving smooth. When correcting for understeer/oversteer, you must make quick, precise steering corrections along with some fancy work on the throttle to get the car back in line.

When the Stig is sawing at the wheel, he's correcting for loss of traction when he pushes the car past the limit of traction. It's much easier to feel this and use that technique when you can feel the G-forces in the vehicle.