iRacing - Getting Started - Buying Stuff

[Ph1sh]

--Rookie Questions of a Future iRacer--

I'm currently in GT5 in many leagues which are great! But every once in awhile there will be a dirty racer. I've been looking into iracing for quite a while now and thinking about buying a new rig the Obutto Ozone $400

I do have the G27, which is great! Awesome wheel. So got a few questions, and if you have questions about getting started or even into iRacing already.

I'm looking at getting 3 moniters and a computer for $1,331. Worth the money? It sure looks like it, but would be great to see what you guys think?

-so the 3 moniters, computer, obutto ozone will be roughly $1,750.

I also hear that just by completing races, you earn credits for your monthly subscription or by purchasing cars and tracks.

It does look really awesome and I really hope to get into iracing soon and see you guys on track! If there is any tips that I need to know about iracing, probably the best time for me to know now.

Is there different subscriptions for road racing and oval racing or does it all go as 1 subscription?

I know your saying to yourself, "how many questions do you have!!??" But I'm just trying to learn as much info before getting into iracing. Thanks to everyone who plans to reply and share information with each other, even videos, pictures would be great! Just by helping each other out.

 

[Zathra5_]

I'm currently in iRacing which is great! But every once in a while there will be a dirty racer.

iRacing doesn't get rid of all dirty racers. Racing with people that you know and trust will always be cleaner than drop in racing. iRacing is very good for drop in racing.

You need to give more details if you want someone to comment on the computer.

You can gain some credits by racing a certain number of races per season in non-rookie series but I've never raced that often.

Read a lot, watch the rookie tutorials that someone here posted, and practice a lot before you ever race.

Oval and Road are included in the same subscription.

Look at the promos thread before you sign up. You can get a better deal than what they have on their website.

 

[Ph1sh]

I'm currently in iRacing which is great! But every once in a while there will be a dirty racer.

iRacing doesn't get rid of all dirty racers. Racing with people that you know and trust will always be cleaner than drop in racing. iRacing is very good for drop in racing.

You need to give more details if you want someone to comment on the computer.

You can gain some credits by racing a certain number of races per season in non-rookie series but I've never raced that often.

Read a lot, watch the rookie tutorials that someone here posted, and practice a lot before you ever race.

Oval and Road are included in the same subscription.

Look at the promos thread before you sign up. You can get a better deal than what they have on their website.

Thanks zathra! That helped a lot. I've been practicing a lot on gt5 and on dirt track racing as well so I know how all those endurance racing/pick up races go. And when I mean about dirty racers, like it sounds like there's way more on gt5 compared to iracing.


What is your guys opinion of the best option for the subscription of iracing? I see there's a buy 1 month get 2 free right now which looks awesome! Might have to start with that once I get my rig/moniters/computer.

Trust me, I've been watching iRacing videos like nuts! I think I'm in love...customizable paint schemes on your race car..own number.. :0

 

[Carlos]

I hope I can help you a little bit.

First: iRacing is pretty much a CPU based 'game', I'm steady at 100 fps with an i7 3770k, Asus Sabertooth motherboard and an Nvidia GTX 650 Ti, on 3 screens.

I'm not sure what you mean with dirty racers, but you are probably not going to get wrecked off by someone that just joined your race for crap reasons. Pretty much everyone tries their best but some just can't race... And if you do experience something weird, you can report that and if you are right you will get the points back you lost due to that offtrack/accident.

What Zathra says about riding with people you know is totally right. In my experience, people who know each other (irl, or just internet known) have more patience. I mostly race with guys from the 'club'. Official races are probably more challenging the further you get, if you qualify. When you qualify you will go into a good split, or in either way the split you probably belong to.

Here is a short video of a race some time ago with my friends:


Stupid crash in front of me But like I said, this is with friends so it doesn't matter and won't hit your iRacing points. (Not an official race)

You don't need 2 accounts or different subscriptions, just 1. Your account will be split up into oval and road. You can race both as much as you want.

I would encourage you to do both, maybe you don't like everything but it's good to do if you want to gain some skills. Like with oval racing, the cars are almost always close to you, which could make you sweat for a bit

You will begin both classes as Rookie, you will have to drive (not win) races to get into higher classes. It really doesn't matter if you finish first or last, just try to drive clean and don't go offtrack. That is what makes your rating go up, and that's what you want. As Rookie you can only enter rookie races, for road I recommend the MX-5 Cup races, perfect car to learn iRacing. Or if you prefer oval, or just want to try, go check out the Street Stock series. My experience with Street stock isn't that good, because I got a few hate crimes on my ass:


But that's why this is a rookie series, to filter out the idiots. They will never make it, but you do!

So from Rookie you go to D, then C to B to A. After that, you must be very skilled to get your pro license. I'm currently B class road, I could have been A I think but I did a lot of unofficial races so they didn't count on my rating. If you got into erm let's say C class, and you drive very very bad for a few races there is a chance your rating drops so bad you can lose your license class, so always try your best to stay on track!! Also, finish your race, also when you have crashed. You can get your car fixed, take a cup of coffee and go on track again. This way, the crash won't hurt your rating too bad and you'll slowly learn not to get mad when someone crashes into you. It's not about them, it's about you. They can f up your race and there is nothing you can do about it.

Not sure what to tell you know, if you have any more questions, throw them and they will be answered Have fun 👍

 

[Kevin01SH]

Open your wallet and cry, welcome to iRacing

 

[Ph1sh]

Open your wallet and cry, welcome to iRacing

once I pay my bills, shall the iRacing World begin!

Carlos-thanks for sharing the videos mate! I've been racing for a long time now and I think I might try iracing soon. Thanks for all the tips as well everyone. And when I mean dirty racers, I mean ramming into you, dive bombing, cutting you off, and more. Maybe its called "poor driving?" That green street stock took you out..holy crap,

 

[Carlos]

Yeah that still happens, nothing you can do about. Watch out for divebombers in the first few corners or make sure you do a good quali and get into a good split, most times I got into a good split nothing bad happens.

Some people just don't know how to slow down.... Or take their time and try again later. Aaaand sometimes people just screw up

 

[Ph1sh]

Yeah that still happens, nothing you can do about. Watch out for divebombers in the first few corners or make sure you do a good quali and get into a good split, most times I got into a good split nothing bad happens.

Some people just don't know how to slow down.... Or take their time and try again later. Aaaand sometimes people just screw up

Right on! I hear ya! Kind of reminds me when I was racing my hornet around a dirt oval in 1st place and the guy on the inside kept pushing into me and I went sideways into the infield and over corrected turning the wheel too much to the right going sideways back on the track before turn 3 and he ran right into my engine..he did break his jaw somehow though..

I guess that can maybe relate to what we are talking about poor driving? Anyways I know it happens like all on the first lap. Just survive the first lap or so and you should be fine is what your saying.

I do actually have 1 more question.. I have had the playseat evolution for about 6 months now and have been playing GT5, regardless of money, would you guys say that a transition to iRacing is a smart move as of racing experience and for the fun of it?

 

[Infinital-NG]

I do actually have 1 more question.. I have had the playseat evolution for about 6 months now and have been playing GT5, regardless of money, would you guys say that a transition to iRacing is a smart move as of racing experience and for the fun of it?

Yes, regardless of money it's worth it.

There will be some races that your SR and Irating will drop and you'll want to scream.

 

[Ph1sh]

Yes, regardless of money it's worth it.

There will be some races that your SR and Irating will drop and you'll want to scream.

thanks Infinital!

 

[stone775]

Hey Ph1sher, You'll really like iracing I use to play a lot of racing games on my xbox like; Need for speed, Nascar 2011, F1 2011 and several others and since I joined iracing I have not played them anymore at all. I fact I've boxed them all up and thinking about selling all that stuff. I'm still a rookie here as I'm trying to really get into the swing of everything here and NOT mess-up I've read the "Sportsman Code" and there is a bunch of videos here you should watch and it will teach you alot and you will get a certifiate and other stuff for doing so. And there are Club's that you can join according to where you live at or what state you are in and these are real cool also lot's of good people to race with and to help you out when you need it. The "Forums" are great to post questions and other things. There is so much you can do here then in those console type games (they are a joke once you get here, I think) There is also alot of other stuff you can do like; painting your car's, suit, helmet and "Trading Paints"(this is a must have) as far as I'm concerned...."Team Speak" is another thing to have to talk to everybody at the track. This is just a little bit of what you can do here. SO Come On Over Here We're Waiting On You.

 

[Ph1sh]

Hey Ph1sher, You'll really like iracing I use to play a lot of racing games on my xbox like; Need for speed, Nascar 2011, F1 2011 and several others and since I joined iracing I have not played them anymore at all. I fact I've boxed them all up and thinking about selling all that stuff. I'm still a rookie here as I'm trying to really get into the swing of everything here and NOT mess-up I've read the "Sportsman Code" and there is a bunch of videos here you should watch and it will teach you alot and you will get a certifiate and other stuff for doing so. And there are Club's that you can join according to where you live at or what state you are in and these are real cool also lot's of good people to race with and to help you out when you need it. The "Forums" are great to post questions and other things. There is so much you can do here then in those console type games (they are a joke once you get here, I think) There is also alot of other stuff you can do like; painting your car's, suit, helmet and "Trading Paints"(this is a must have) as far as I'm concerned...."Team Speak" is another thing to have to talk to everybody at the track. This is just a little bit of what you can do here. SO Come On Over Here We're Waiting On You.

Ugh...makes me want to join iracing even more..I'm going to wait until I get my rig, computer and 3 moniters..I have to wait for my bill that I have to pay first..its taking forrreeverr but ill let you guys know when I'm over on iRacing! Defintaly pumped for it and hey if there's anymore vids I need to watch about iRacing, let me know, I've watched like every iRacing video on Youtube, especially iRacings YouTube channel..man! Can't wait!!! Guessing its smart to subscribe when you get the gear vs not having it..so that's why I have to wait, if I had the computer and moniters already, I would be on iRacing already..those Legends look wickedly awesome, same with the McLaren, modified..and so many more awesome cars.

As of trading paints, is this thing a app. I have a droid DNA, so if its in the play store on android, let me know so I can get it

 

[spinner]

http://www.tradingpaints.com/

It runs in the background on your PC.

The only advice I will offer re iRacing is:
Take your time progressing through licences. It's not like there's a million bonus points for making it to A.

Be respectful to others. Some people put a lot of time and effort into preparing for the official races. It can all go out the window at turn 1 thanks to one driver lacking in patience and consideration for others. Treat others as you expect to be treated on track.

Personally , I see console "sims" as fun and a more casual racing environment. That's not to say that all iracers are super serious elitist snobs. It's just not the type of place where you'd "jump into a race with no preparation or practice because you have a spare half hour this afternoon"

Also 3 monitors isn't necessary. I race with a single 42" TV. That combined with the spotter and an awareness of where others are around me is adequate to race clean and safe.

 

[Ph1sh]

http://www.tradingpaints.com/

It runs in the background on your PC.

The only advice I will offer re iRacing is:
Take your time progressing through licences. It's not like there's a million bonus points for making it to A.

Be respectful to others. Some people put a lot of time and effort into preparing for the official races. It can all go out the window at turn 1 thanks to one driver lacking in patience and consideration for others. Treat others as you expect to be treated on track.

Personally , I see console "sims" as fun and a more casual racing environment. That's not to say that all iracers are super serious elitist snobs. It's just not the type of place where you'd "jump into a race with no preparation or practice because you have a spare half hour this afternoon"

Also 3 monitors isn't necessary. I race with a single 42" TV. That combined with the spotter and an awareness of where others are around me is adequate to race clean and safe.

Do you think having 1 big moniter is better than 3?

Thanks for those tips...I've learned that from racing in real life on dirt tracks and on gran turismo 5. I still put up with impatient drivers wrecking you on turn 1, but there's nothing I can do about it other than continue the race. I hear ya when you saying people are practicing hours or so just for 1 offical race then getting it ruined early in the race by someone..can be frusterated..and when I first join iRacing..soon.. I think my goal really is just to finish every race and maybe get to a new license..like a better 1 every 3 months or so. I can't really judge or I don't know how they upgrade the better drivers in a bad division. So I'm not sure but either way I'm in for iRacing and learning to race better as I'm aware, iRacing is one of the best "realistic" sim racing experiences out there.

Thanks for the link on the paint thing..will install when I order my moniter! Appericate all the help. I dont know how to pay you guys all back right now, but I will eventually 👍

 

[spinner]

Do you think having 1 big moniter is better than 3?

No , I think triple screens would be better than one big single , just saying that you don't need 3 to race safely.

 

[Ph1sh]

No , I think triple screens would be better than one big single , just saying that you don't need 3 to race safely.

Sounds good..I saw on newegg, they had a deal with 3 moniters and a computer for only $1,331 I believe the size of the moniters are 21.5 inch if I remember.

 

[Infinital-NG]

You have a link to the deal you see on newegg, ph1sher? I don't see any deals with monitors included.

I work IT so I build all my stuff, but if you can build your own you'll more than likely save some money.

mainperformancepc.com seems like an ok place to buy pre-built systems. The main guy is talked up a lot on iracing forums. One day I priced one of his systems to what I get pc components for and it wasn't too bad of a markup.

Building a PC isn't as hard as it used to be, mainly boils down to careful planning and proper execution.

 

[Carlos]

I agree with building your own pc, and it's a lot of fun building them too!

Don't run into this guy though

 

[Ph1sh]

You have a link to the deal you see on newegg, ph1sher? I don't see any deals with monitors included.

I work IT so I build all my stuff, but if you can build your own you'll more than likely save some money.

mainperformancepc.com seems like an ok place to buy pre-built systems. The main guy is talked up a lot on iracing forums. One day I priced one of his systems to what I get pc components for and it wasn't too bad of a markup.

Building a PC isn't as hard as it used to be, mainly boils down to careful planning and proper execution.

Its a deal my brother found on newegg I guess. It may just be seperated but all cheap..and my brother builds computers so Thats good..

Carlos- ill try not too but if I do.......I think I just watched that video like 10 times..Hahahahahaha wow..thanks for sharing! Now I know to avoid this guy

 

[Zathra5_]

We need to know specifics about the computer (processor, video card, etc) if you want us to comment on if it is a good deal and if it will work well with triples on iRacing.

 

[Ph1sh]

We need to know specifics about the computer (processor, video card, etc) if you want us to comment on if it is a good deal and if it will work well with triples on iRacing.

Ill let you guys the info once I get home... Thanks

 

[rabbitude]

I say just get started now, I'm guessing you have some sort of home computer and again guessing it will run iracing. I started on my laptop hooked up to my tv with a playseat. Start getting some seat time ASAP... Just do it

 

[Ph1sh]

I say just get started now, I'm guessing you have some sort of home computer and again guessing it will run iracing. I started on my laptop hooked up to my tv with a playseat. Start getting some seat time ASAP... Just do it

Right..what cord did you hook up your laptop to your tv? For who has helped me and would like to add there emails to my perfer to help you guys earn a couple of bucks. Pm me your email if you helped me and would like to earn some bucks just by me typing your email in the prefer in the sign up for iracing for me.

 

[Infinital-NG]

Depends on what output you have on your laptop.

Most newer laptops have an HDMI out, and you should use and HDMI cable to your TV.

What model laptop do you have?

 

[Ph1sh]

Depends on what output you have on your laptop.

Most newer laptops have an HDMI out, and you should use and HDMI cable to your TV.

What model laptop do you have?

I have a Dell..I Believe I do have HDMI out on my laptop. I can probably just start on this but eventually will move to the triple moniters soon.

 

[Ph1sh]

Heres the link to NewEgg and what im looking to buy for the moniters and computer. i do want a very good high quality computer and honestly i find this not that bad and pretty cheap, since my brother is a computer geek.. only like 13? he can build it for me. anyways i have it in a cart trying to consider if i should press that confirm button..what do you guys think

http://secure.newegg.com/Shopping/ShoppingCart.aspx?Submit=view

also soon i will be buying an abutto ozone cockpit..so this whole thing is really spendy but very tempting since iRacing looks really fun and very challenging and worth the experience.

 

[Infinital-NG]

That shows my shopping cart not yours. Save it to a wish-list or just copy and paste the details in here.

 

[Ph1sh]

That shows my shopping cart not yours. Save it to a wish-list or just copy and paste the details in here.

whoops.. well heres what im thinking of getting..

1- LOGISYS Computer CS305BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Enhanced SOHO Computer Case 480W Power Supply
2- Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
3- Gateway KX2153bd Black 21.5" 5ms Widescreen LED Backlight LCD Monitor (3 of them)
4- EVGA 02G-P4-2761-KR GeForce GTX 760 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card
5- NVIDIA GIFT Batman Arkham Origins
6- SAMSUNG Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model SH-118BB
7- AZZA Titan 1000W PSAZ-1000A14 ATX & EPS 12V v2.92 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
8- Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model BLS2K8G3D169DS3
9- MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate LGA 1150 Intel Z87 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX High Performance CF Intel Motherboard
10- Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell 3.4GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54670K
11- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

----My brother is building it for me. any suggestions to improve it would be appreciated.. i am considering buying this for iRacing. What do you guys think?

 

[Infinital-NG]

I've never heard of that power supply manufacturer.

Seems like they are just new to the game. If it were me I'd look for a better known brand PSU.

I buy Antec stuff for work machines I build.

Find a case without a power supply, since you are buying one anyway.

Edit: Nevermind about the included power supply, since it's a "freebie."

Edit again: Changed my mind I don't like that case. For one reason. The front intake spot for fan. From the looks of it, the power/reset button are in front of it. Then it looks like if you had a 120 fan up front there are only a few slots for air to come in. Not like a cash with a mesh front that's allowing most all of the air from that intake fan to be brought into the case. Also, with that limited air flow intake then there's the hard drive cage next to it. I know it doesn't come with an intake fan, but I'd say invest in a couple more fans for your rig.



There's my .02 cents worth.

 

[Ph1sh]

I've never heard of that power supply manufacturer.

Seems like they are just new to the game. If it were me I'd look for a better known brand PSU.

I buy Antec stuff for work machines I build.

Find a case without a power supply, since you are buying one anyway.

sounds good! ill look into that.

Edit: so I need to find a better power supplier? Or? Get more fans..got it!