How to properly learn how to drive?

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neemo6

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I would like to know how to learn how to drive a race car. Without the drive line overlay I would be lost at where the apex would be in a turn, where to break, or when to accelerate. Is there a guide, book, or tutorial out there that would help out with this. Ive played all previous versions of GT before but never on a wheel or ever with any intent to actually get good.
 
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/wheel-driveing-hints.301452/

I posted reply in there that might help. Other good advice there as well.

In regards to the racing line, research real world circuit driving techniques via Google. You should be presented with a plethora of theory on braking points, corner entry and exit clipping points, apex clipping point, multi apex corners and everything else.

The driving line gives a good idea of roughly what you should be doing in most cases. It is not the be all and end all and once you feel comfortable with a track, you should turn it off.

One general rule is to get as much braking done in a straight line as possible, then as you turn in, lift of the brake simultaneously and progressively. You almost always need to turn in later than you think. Some corners do require an early Turn in though so don't use it as a rule.

Practice most of all. Watch videos. I highly recommend searching youtube for "hot version" and "best motoring international".

Watch what they are doing. It may seem a lot to take in, but you can learn a lot from the multiple camera angles.

Have fun!
 
If you can drive reasonably well with the driving line on, maybe do some laps with it on, and then watch the replay from your driving view. I'm guessing the driving line won't show up in the replay anyway. Bring up the info bits so you can see where you're hitting the brakes, speed, what gear you're taking the corner, etc., as well as watching for where you're braking, turning in, apex, etc. As FuzzyFez said, there's a lot of stuff around on the internet, and really, most corners are covered by just a few simple concepts. Simple to grasp anyway... then you have to learn to actually do it on track.

Back when I first got into racing games I'd use the driving line thinking I'd eventually just be able to turn it off. But IMO, as long as you have it on, it's not really helping you move forward. Instead of getting used to sighting reference markers and looking to the apex and whatnot, you just stare at the line for all your cues.

As you get better at it, your braking points will get closer to the corner, you'll carrying more speed on entry and trailing the brake to the apex, and then getting on the throttle and smoothly powering out to the corner exit. You'll also get better at judging the specific situation you happen to be in at the time and adjusting on the fly. Having the perfect driving line all planned out and practised is great for a time trial, but in a race you have to be able to adjust if you plan on doing any overtaking.

I'll also say it's maybe not as big a task as you might be thinking. While you do have to learn your way around any new track (and of course the car plays a part too), once you have a grasp of how to do it, it'll come fairly naturally to apply it elsewhere. Aside from the fact that you'll have become better at it, if you break a circuit down corner by corner, you'll find a lot of what you're looking at are corners you've already learned to take navigate at other circuits.
 
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Start with 1 track, getting faster and faster. Trial Mountain is an easy enough track, but you need good apex skills to get a good time as there's a lot of straights that you can't afford to lose exit speed on, so that's a good one to start with. Just race on Free Run, and figure out what makes you faster, what makes you under / oversteer.

Learning a track is the most important thing of all. I can do tracks like Trial Mountain flat out to my limits, but put me on Ascari or a night time track I don't know too well and I'll drive like an old granny hesitating on every corner.

Also, I've never used the "racing line" on any game. Of course there is a perfect racing line most of the time, but you'll find with the line on you will end up just watching the line and colours changing rather than realising what you are actually doing on track. Not only that, but you will have to overtake, or might take a corner wide etc in which you'll have to adjust in real time your racing line, and different cars oversteer / understeer more than others so you might have to take a different line anyway. I'm not 100% sure how the "racing line" option works to adapt to different cars but at the end of the day it will more than likely put you off.
 
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neemo6
I would like to know how to learn how to drive a race car. Without the drive line overlay I would be lost at where the apex would be in a turn, where to break, or when to accelerate. Is there a guide, book, or tutorial out there that would help out with this. Ive played all previous versions of GT before but never on a wheel or ever with any intent to actually get good.
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If u played the past GT games on guessing u probly have one or more if the books where they explain driving theory. I'd bet that would be a good place to start. As for braking a lot if the real world tracks have braking markers before each hard braking zone. A good overall tip is slow in to the turn and fast out if the turn.
 
Perhaps have a read through this:
http://www.drivingfast.net/techniques/track-corner.htm#2

As for driving with the racing line ON, I actually think this promotes you to rely on watching the line and not concentrating on (a) what the car is doing and (b) markers or objects alongside the track to help guide you when to brake etc.

If I were you I'd pick a track and just practice driving around it at a comfortable pace. Don't worry if you make mistakes, you first need to learn the track. You need to know what is coming up ahead next and which side of the track you should be on to take the next bend efficiently.

Once you start to know the track layout you can start speeding up and by doing so you will need to hone both your steering and throttle/brake control. You don't want to be heavy-handed and go from full-on braking into the corner to 100% throttle coming out of a corner or you will likely spin out or run off the track (until you have learned how to manage your throttle and at which point in your exit you can start putting down the power - and this will change depending on the type of car you are driving, its power, your tyre fatigue and track conditions).

Once you start getting the hang of it you will see your lap times getting faster (and hopefully more consistent)....but as others have said, you can't go fast without knowing the track and then beyond that you can't improve without knowing when to brake and accelerate and by how much.

Dave
 
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