HUD..or not.

[tunaphis]

It's hard to be starved of information these days but when does it become too much? While behind the wheel/controller does all this help or hinder?

Sure looks pretty but does sensory overload kick in and most is just ignored while racing. As most have remote telemetry monitoring/radio contact/spotters the amount of incoming information drivers face must lead to a constant mental triage while extracting the most relevant data.Is there a point where it becomes a diminishing return?
Are Rally drivers aware of this and equip their cars accordingly.

By habit now the first thing that gets the flick is all onscreen data.The amount of times I've crashed while looking at some thing onscreen leads me to believe less is better.

 

[Tristan H]

I'm no expert sim racer, but I prefer no HUD. I find it more immersive and enjoyable, and I'm pretty sure I'm quicker without it.

I think the HUD is going to be most beneficial when doing endurance racing.

 

[Morgoth_666]

I'm no expert sim racer, but I prefer no HUD. I find it more immersive and enjoyable, and I'm pretty sure I'm quicker without it.

I think the HUD is going to be most beneficial when doing endurance racing.

That's why it's so important that HUD can be both customized to show you what you need as well as turned on/off/mode-changed with a button. For endurance racing having all the info can be very annoying in fact, especially at night when it becomes brighter than the track -- but you also need to have it. I usually will pick an easy straight on the track and turn it on once every lap or two to check my gaps and anything else I can't see on the car's own displays.

You do sometimes need to be careful you're not checking it all too much. I couldn't even begin to count the amount of times I've crashed after studying numbers or tweaking pit strategies. Then again, I can't begin to count the number of times I've crashed anyway... you do tend to notice it when you've been strategizing though! On the other hand, I find that having the HUD off sometimes leads me to settle into a comfortable rhythm which is not always at the cutting edge of the lap times I need when I'm not near my rivals. It is nice to get at least lap times if not sector times even when all the other info is hidden. Even if you just have your engineer once in a lap tell you "all right, that was a two-fifteen-point-two-six" it helps keep your head in the game.