iracing.com

[swiftwilly]

Since about 3-4 builds prior, the physics have really started to go down hill. I don't know what they changed, but now setup adjustments don't work the way they should, trailbraking causes immense understeer, and I have zero feel of what the car is doing in relation to the ground. Honestly it's just awful now. Which is sad because I love the community around iRacing, I love their staff, and I used to love the sim and give it praise unlike any other sim in existence. I'd go as far as to say that Assetto Corsa and even P CARS feels better and more realistic at the moment. Move iRacing back a few builds and it goes back to being at the top, but not with its current state.

Try AC/rFactor 2 with race2play.

Race2play is a free to play mod that is similar to iRacing. Has events, sign ups etc.

Great for casuals. I joined an event that is held monthly (there is daily, weekly and monthly events). Events span every sim racing game, even iRacing itself.

Give it go.

I reinstalled rFactor 2 as well, it seems more vents are held in that game.

 

[Vitessekid]

It also has no virtual rearview mirror and no look back button. All the real life mirrors are completely adjustable though.

But I'm guessing you can still look left and right since in real life you can turn your head right?

 

[Ettick]

It also has no virtual rearview mirror and no look back button. All the real life mirrors are completely adjustable though.

It actually has a virtual rearview mirror.

You can look left and right too.

 

[skazz]

You have not only a wide angle virtual mirror and look left/right, but also an inbuilt "spotter" which verbally assists you by telling you when there is overlap with other cars.

 

[fatkrakr]

How could I forget there is a virtual mirror? Sorry about that.

 

[swiftwilly]

But I'm guessing you can still look left and right since in real life you can turn your head right?

If you don't have 3 screens you will be at a disadvantage in iRacing in my view because it is very wheel to wheel.

 

[Vitessekid]

If you don't have 3 screens you will be at a disadvantage in iRacing in my view because it is very wheel to wheel.

Damn, I didn't think about that either. I was thinking of hooking my PC to the TV via HDMI port, I'll have to look at that too.

 

[noshog]

Triple screens aren't really a necessity, they are more of a luxury. You have your mirrors, look left and right buttons, and the spotter to help when you are racing on a single screen. Most of us would've have started on single screens, and the majority probably still use a single screen. You can definitely still be just as fast and race just as well with only one monitor.
If you have the resources to get triple screens I would definitely recommend it, they do help with the wheel to wheel racing, give a larger field of view, and give a bit more immersion... but all those really are just luxuries.


Hey @swiftwilly it's been awhile since we've seen you around here, thought you completely disappeared from GTP and sim racing.

 

[MadRR]

Damn, I didn't think about that either. I was thinking of hooking my PC to the TV via HDMI port, I'll have to look at that too.

You can use your tv through a hdmi cable to get you started. That's how I raced for the first year or so I was on iracing. I will say though that using a monitor especially one made for gaming with a low response time and high refresh rate will help you out over a tv as well as getting better resolution to see the finer details. My tv is one of the first flat screens so its about 12 years old so the response time on newer tvs are likely better but I did pick up a bit of speed and consistency when I switched to a 27 inch monitor from my 32 inch tv. Also depends on how close you can get to your tv. When i used my tv it was at the end of my rig and my eyes were about 6 feet or so from the screen where with the monitor Im about 2 1/2 feet away.

I fully agree with @noshog about the triple screens. They can help with close racing and immersion but not a must have. Lot of people probably aren't aware that a lot of the top guys in all of iracing still use a single screen. Hugo Louis is the only guy to beat Huttu to a world championship and he used a single screen, Ty majeski the top oval racer in all of iracing uses a single screen the guy that just won the mazda scholarship from iracing just used single screen. Im sure there are plenty more but those are ones I can think of off top of my head. I don't consider myself one of the top guys or anything but I do race with Ty and a few other pro/dwc drivers including Tyler hudson that won the oval dwc the other season in the league I race in and I'm competitive with and beat those guys some races and I've always used a single screen.

 

[Vitessekid]

Does anyone here know how GT6 TRL players compare to iRacing TRL players?

 

[Ettick]

Does anyone here know how GT6 TRL players compare to iRacing TRL players?

It's difficult to compare. They're both at the top level in each game for sure. TRL doesn't win every race in iRacing but I think that's because the level of competition is generally higher.

 

[Kamuifanboy]

You can use your tv through a hdmi cable to get you started. That's how I raced for the first year or so I was on iracing. I will say though that using a monitor especially one made for gaming with a low response time and high refresh rate will help you out over a tv as well as getting better resolution to see the finer details. My tv is one of the first flat screens so its about 12 years old so the response time on newer tvs are likely better but I did pick up a bit of speed and consistency when I switched to a 27 inch monitor from my 32 inch tv. Also depends on how close you can get to your tv. When i used my tv it was at the end of my rig and my eyes were about 6 feet or so from the screen where with the monitor Im about 2 1/2 feet away.

I'm using a 24 inch Asus monitor that you can buy for $250 now with 140hz refresh rate and 1ms of lag. It's a really nice and cheap monitor for gaming!

I fully agree with @noshog about the triple screens. They can help with close racing and immersion but not a must have. Lot of people probably aren't aware that a lot of the top guys in all of iracing still use a single screen. Hugo Louis is the only guy to beat Huttu to a world championship and he used a single screen, Ty majeski the top oval racer in all of iracing uses a single screen the guy that just won the mazda scholarship from iracing just used single screen. Im sure there are plenty more but those are ones I can think of off top of my head. I don't consider myself one of the top guys or anything but I do race with Ty and a few other pro/dwc drivers including Tyler hudson that won the oval dwc the other season in the league I race in and I'm competitive with and beat those guys some races and I've always used a single screen.

Fun fact. Most of the top guys drive with ffb disabled... Which I found really interesting.

 

[Vitessekid]

I'm using a 24 inch Asus monitor that you can buy for $250 now with 140hz refresh rate and 1ms of lag. It's a really nice and cheap monitor for gaming!



Fun fact. Most of the top guys drive with ffb disabled... Which I found really interesting.

How are they supposed to feel the car? IRL you use your butt, now they don't even have hand feedback??!!

 

[fatkrakr]

Fun fact. Most of the top guys drive with ffb disabled... Which I found really interesting.

That's because they aren't racing for fun and/or immersion, but strictly to be the fastest they can be. Nothing wrong with that, but means that gear and feel mean nothing to them.

 

[Ettick]

How are they supposed to feel the car? IRL you use your butt, now they don't even have hand feedback??!!

They just use visual cues and knowing the car very well from driving a lot. At the top level, FFB can confuse you because it is slightly delayed, and any small delay is huge when you're fighting for hundreths like the IWCGPS drivers are.

 

[noshog]

Does anyone here know how GT6 TRL players compare to iRacing TRL players?

Just to add to what @Ettick posted and from personal experience, it's very difficult to be top of the ranks on GT6 and iRacing at the same time, they are very different 'sims' and swapping between the two different styles of physics is like relearning the games each time you plug them in. My guess would be be that the top GT6 TRL players are exclusive to GT6 and the same would go for TRL iRacers.

Fun fact. Most of the top guys drive with ffb disabled... Which I found really interesting.

I've read that here before as well, must admit even though it may well be faster, it doesn't make sense to me, I would rather be a fraction slower and get all the feedback...Otherwise you might as well just play racing games on your smart phone

 

[Vitessekid]

That's because they aren't racing for fun and/or immersion, but strictly to be the fastest they can be. Nothing wrong with that, but means that gear and feel mean nothing to them.

So... No restriction in turning? What about tuning?

They just use visual cues and knowing the car very well from driving a lot. At the top level, FFB can confuse you because it is slightly delayed, and any small delay is huge when you're fighting for hundreths like the IWCGPS drivers are.

"FFB is delayed", never heard of that before in a sim. That's very weird. Is it a really noticeable delay or not?

Just to add to what @Ettick posted and from personal experience, it's very difficult to be top of the ranks on GT6 and iRacing at the same time, they are very different 'sims' and swapping between the two different styles of physics is like relearning the games each time you plug them in. My guess would be be that the top GT6 TRL players are exclusive to GT6 and the same would go for TRL iRacers.

👍 Switching between wheels is already hard for me lol

 

[fatkrakr]

So... No restriction in turning? What about tuning?


"

That depends on the series. Some are fixed series with no tuning while others your free to tune the car as you please, as long as it passes tech.

 

[Mac K]

Tuning as in suspension, differential, etc. settings not adding turbos, etc.

 

[Kamuifanboy]

That's because they aren't racing for fun and/or immersion, but strictly to be the fastest they can be. Nothing wrong with that, but means that gear and feel mean nothing to them.

I guess that makes sense. I've had a few times where my ffb dies mid race and then my lap times dropped about a half second... really felt on edge all the time though and was not comfortable at all

 

[Mac K]

 

[swiftwilly]

Triple screens aren't really a necessity, they are more of a luxury. You have your mirrors, look left and right buttons, and the spotter to help when you are racing on a single screen. Most of us would've have started on single screens, and the majority probably still use a single screen. You can definitely still be just as fast and race just as well with only one monitor.
If you have the resources to get triple screens I would definitely recommend it, they do help with the wheel to wheel racing, give a larger field of view, and give a bit more immersion... but all those really are just luxuries.


Hey @swiftwilly it's been awhile since we've seen you around here, thought you completely disappeared from GTP and sim racing.

Firstly, thanks for remembering me. I had a child when I quit iRacing. The money and the time require to dedicate to it wasn't enough.

Secondly, the hype of iRacing died down for me. It wasn't as realistic as I thought and the multiplayer whilst it is the best there is, still isn't perfect. I was very fustrated (as I was losing more and more time for sim racing) that car models, physics, tires would literally change from season to season (doesn't seem realistic to me with constant changes) I also disliked how it is a no-fault and "closed loop" system. I had a number of bad races and iRacing have pretty arrogant staff, responses were simply "race again". But as a guy who spent a week running a course to have 1 race, to get it spoiled by one person is tough to bear. Then response from staff telling me to race again and sometimes I have another bad race. Whilst I don't have a solution to improve it (perhaps don't make it closed loop and refund lost SR or iRating points for a start??), I don't believe deep down the price justified iRacing overall. And since then, a lot of good sims has come out, like AC which is just great (just not the multiplayer part).

But, my child is older now and I am starting to get some time back, unlikely enough for iRacing but I enjoy AC from time to time. Looking to start getting back into events with Race2Play which is like iRacing but free! Maybe when my child is much older I can get back in, but I actually hope there is another game out there that can rival iRacing on the multiplayer side, I never really liked my time there. More competition is good for us sim racers. I hope AC gets its multiplayer act together, because that is a truly great game.

Ideally, my dream would be to race all sims. Because I believe each has their own strength and weaknesses. Can you sponsor me? I was actually in NZ (Queenstown) just a few weeks ago!

Sorry for the long rant. Is that Mad/Max (forgot his name) that was some crazy V8 champion still racing/posting here? I see left888 isn't here anymore!



As for the triple screens, never said it is necessary, the top aliens use things like G27 and some folks race slower but with accuforce wheels and stuff. Just from my experience with iRacing, priority is triple screens over a better racing wheel or pedals. Since they have SR and iRating, its important to stay accident free. There isn't a reset button. Also it is pretty damn wheel to wheel on some tight tracks, not all drivers are good.
My view on priority:
clutch/shifter > triple screens > pedals/wheel

 

[noshog]

Firstly, thanks for remembering me. I had a child when I quit iRacing. The money and the time require to dedicate to it wasn't enough.

Secondly, the hype of iRacing died down for me. It wasn't as realistic as I thought and the multiplayer whilst it is the best there is, still isn't perfect. I was very fustrated (as I was losing more and more time for sim racing) that car models, physics, tires would literally change from season to season (doesn't seem realistic to me with constant changes) I also disliked how it is a no-fault and "closed loop" system. I had a number of bad races and iRacing have pretty arrogant staff, responses were simply "race again". But as a guy who spent a week running a course to have 1 race, to get it spoiled by one person is tough to bear. Then response from staff telling me to race again and sometimes I have another bad race. Whilst I don't have a solution to improve it (perhaps don't make it closed loop and refund lost SR or iRating points for a start??), I don't believe deep down the price justified iRacing overall. And since then, a lot of good sims has come out, like AC which is just great (just not the multiplayer part).

But, my child is older now and I am starting to get some time back, unlikely enough for iRacing but I enjoy AC from time to time. Looking to start getting back into events with Race2Play which is like iRacing but free! Maybe when my child is much older I can get back in, but I actually hope there is another game out there that can rival iRacing on the multiplayer side, I never really liked my time there. More competition is good for us sim racers. I hope AC gets its multiplayer act together, because that is a truly great game.

Ideally, my dream would be to race all sims. Because I believe each has their own strength and weaknesses. Can you sponsor me? I was actually in NZ (Queenstown) just a few weeks ago!

Sorry for the long rant. Is that Mad/Max (forgot his name) that was some crazy V8 champion still racing/posting here? I see left888 isn't here anymore!



As for the triple screens, never said it is necessary, the top aliens use things like G27 and some folks race slower but with accuforce wheels and stuff. Just from my experience with iRacing, priority is triple screens over a better racing wheel or pedals. Since they have SR and iRating, its important to stay accident free. There isn't a reset button. Also it is pretty damn wheel to wheel on some tight tracks, not all drivers are good.
My view on priority:
clutch/shifter > triple screens > pedals/wheel

Hey no worries. I am now pretty much in the same boat as you, started a family and sim racing has to take a back seat, my daughter is getting old enough now where I can start getting back into it...but I've gone and got my wife pregnant again, so will be probably another year or so before I can even think about racing again

I guess I was lucky and never quite had the frustrations you had, so in a way I cant wait to be able to get back into some proper racing. I think we all can admit iRacing isn't perfect but it is the best online racing around and thats what I miss the most.

I haven't even been able to log on to watch the Monday night V8's in iRacing so have no idea if @Mad94d is still around or even if Monday night V8's is still a thing ?

Hope NZ treated you well

 

[Mad94d]

I haven't even been able to log on to watch the Monday night V8's in iRacing so have no idea if @Mad94d is still around or even if Monday night V8's is still a thing ?

I still jump on and read these forums but rarely post. The monday night V8s is still going and competitive but myself and many others no longer run in it. The time and effort to do 48 races a year burned many of us out including the broadcasters. So we started another series called the V8 Supercars Online Premier Series that runs on Sunday nights and over the course of a year. It is open to anyone and everyone to run and is now widely considered to be the most competitive V8 series (so basically, the old Monday night series).

If you want more details give me a yell and I can post them.

In other news... I'll have a bit of a brag and comment that I was able to qualify for the Blancpain World Championship next year finishing P9 in the Blancpain Endurance Series this season. Nice to be able to get the job done in GT3 and hopefully we go ok! Another good thing for us is that 5 Australian teams were able to make the Top 40! So we're excited for next year!

 

[swiftwilly]

which car did you use in the GT3 series? Which one is more "newb" friendly?

I guess I was lucky and never quite had the frustrations you had, so in a way I cant wait to be able to get back into some proper racing. I think we all can admit iRacing isn't perfect but it is the best online racing around and thats what I miss the most.

I haven't even been able to log on to watch the Monday night V8's in iRacing so have no idea if @Mad94d is still around or even if Monday night V8's is still a thing ?

Hope NZ treated you well

I think the problem was that I had only enough time for one race per week. After spending a week to learn the track and car since they kept changing it from season to season (which doesn't seem realistic to me, if not annoying and a deliberate effort on their part to keep people "new" at cars). And if you think about it, if it wasn't my fault, or a "ping" issue with the server, or a pile up on T1, or a mistake by another racer, I had low % on actually finishing the race. So yea, I agree it is the best multiplayer set up there is UNTIL I discovered race2play, so I am not fussed at all missing out on that.

I'd be back in iRacing in a heartbeat if they kept the cars more constant and less changes so I don't end up relearning the car every season! OR they fix up multiplayer and stop the "closed-loop" concept. I think a lot of people would be happy if they could get a refund on lost SR/iRating from clear incidents that wasn't there fault.

Pricing is getting steep too. Given that the USD has appreciated past few years, yet they haven't changed their pricing.

NZ was sweet as, I am keen on buying a holiday home in Queenstown for sure.

 

[Mad94d]

We used the RUF Track... Most all round consistent car and we wanted to give ourselves the best chance possible to make the World Championship.

As far as easiest to drive goes... They all have their strengths and weaknesses. I enjoy driving the McLaren and the Z4 the most out of the lot, but the McLaren and the Z4 have definite strong and weak tracks. McLaren was very strong at Monza due to good straight line speed. But the Z4 was good at the tight tracks due to having awesome downforce and handling but it has no power so at Monza it was hopeless. They're all relatively easy to drive, but hard to drive at the limit (like anything). Only one I don't recommend is the Ford GT3. But in the new build... who knows, they will likely update all the GT3 cars and the parity again which will mean that the cars pace will inevitably change.

 

[gm matthew]

Fun fact. Most of the top guys drive with ffb disabled... Which I found really interesting.

Where did you hear about that? I've heard one mention of oval racers using non-FFB wheels (source), presumably because FFB isn't quite as crucial in oval racing and drivers want as little interference to the steering input as possible, but other than that I've never heard anything to suggest top drivers run with no FFB at all. I couldn't imagine trying to push a car to the limit without it.

 

[Kamuifanboy]

Where did you hear about that? I've heard one mention of oval racers using non-FFB wheels (source), presumably because FFB isn't quite as crucial in oval racing and drivers want as little interference to the steering input as possible, but other than that I've never heard anything to suggest top drivers run with no FFB at all. I couldn't imagine trying to push a car to the limit without it.

Well, I've heard it from Atze. When he invited me to Redline, he told me that they turn it off.

 

[gm matthew]

They just use visual cues and knowing the car very well from driving a lot. At the top level, FFB can confuse you because it is slightly delayed, and any small delay is huge when you're fighting for hundreths like the IWCGPS drivers are.

I've never noticed any significant FFB lag in iRacing; certainly not enough to cause any kind of confusion. I have noticed FFB lag in GT6, and even then it's only a problem if I let go of the wheel. There's a study (link) which demonstrated that humans are generally quicker to respond to tactile stimuli (touch) than visual stimuli, so if anything, humans would react faster to FFB than to visual cues even if there was a small delay.

Well, I've heard it from Atze. When he invited me to Redline, he told me that they turn it off.

Interesting. I saw a few comments on their YouTube videos suggesting that they do use FFB, but at a low setting. Maybe it's different for each driver; who knows for sure?

Hurry up iRacing staff, I want to try out the Nurburgring and MP4-30 already!

 

[Ettick]

I've never noticed any significant FFB lag in iRacing; certainly not enough to cause any kind of confusion. I have noticed FFB lag in GT6, and even then it's only a problem if I let go of the wheel. There's a study (link) which demonstrated that humans are generally quicker to respond to tactile stimuli (touch) than visual stimuli, so if anything, humans would react faster to FFB than to visual cues even if there was a small delay.

That's interesting. I heard that FFB is delayed from Braden Cohen and actually haven't experienced it myself, so I just gave his reasoning for having it very low/off.