iRacing Questions...

[SKIDMARX]

I'll throw a couple of newb questions out.

1. Does the steering wheel of the MX5 cup car really only turn 90* in each direction or am I doing something wrong? Sometimes when I spin out, I feel like I would be able to catch it if I could throw just a little more opposite lock on it. I'm using a G27 by the way.

2. I read a little about fuel management and starting with less fuel when qualifying. Is there a how-to guide somewhere that explains this?

3. Anything else that fits the statement "Every newbie should know this..."?

1. If you have the driver arms visible the the virtual wheel will only turn 90'. The wheels on the car however turn a bit more than that, not sure how much precisely.

2. In fixed setups like the Nvidia MX5 Series, tuning is not allowed, including fuel amount.

3. Get out of rookie is the goal to start off and the racing becomes a whole lot better, believe me, I was there not so long ago.

 

[Maxitsu]

3. Anything else that fits the statement "Every newbie should know this..."?

Try to use the spotter & and drive clean. Thats the only way to get out of rookie.

 

[noshog]

I'll throw a couple of newb questions out.

3. Anything else that fits the statement "Every newbie should know this..."?

And just in case...Always use your F3 box, especially coming out of the pits.

 

[VBR]

Okay, I can understand the bit I put in bold... But the other bit isn't true. In real life it is purely driver choice whether they want the spotter to talk to them and warn them etc, some professional drivers don't like it, for example Kimi Raikonnen- "Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing". But a lot of other drivers do like it as they can concentrate on the race without having to look in the mirrors all the time. It's the same in iRacing, I'm sure most use it so they don't have to look left and right constantly to check for cars.

In F1 they don't have a spotter, they have race engineers, & they most certainly never tell the driver when someone is alongside them & to leave room. That's racing & should be up to the driver to discern how he reacts to it.

If you could show me some video footage of any real life motorsport where a spotter is telling someone how to race regarding another driver being alongside them, post it up here, I'd be interesteed in viewing it.

 

[SKIDMARX]

If you could show me some video footage of any real life motorsport where a spotter is telling someone how to race regarding another driver being alongside them, post it up here, I'd be interesteed in viewing it.

Notice he tells him to 'Stay Low' and then is telling him where he might be able to slot in.
I'm pretty sure they are directions to the driver on how to race and where to go.​

 

[MadRR]

If you could show me some video footage of any real life motorsport where a spotter is telling someone how to race regarding another driver being alongside them, post it up here, I'd be interesteed in viewing it.

Happens in NASCAR and local oval tracks each and every weekend.

 

[ErikAndre71]

In F1 they don't have a spotter, they have race engineers, & they most certainly never tell the driver when someone is alongside them & to leave room. That's racing & should be up to the driver to discern how he reacts to it.

There are a few differences between the random iRacer and Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Button and the rest of the guys racing F1.
They are professionals racers and do this on a level most iRacer can dream about being on.
I know for sure I would like the guy I'm overtaking to know I'm there. Because more than 50% of all sim racers around the world are doing this for fun. And their awareness for what going on around them isn't always great.
If you prefer them to smack into you I guess you like them to turn off the spotter and say sorry after it.. when your race is over and you trying to figure out why he didn't know you where there.

Spotter isn't there to make iRacing more realistic, but to make it more enjoyable for everyone. Because people like to finish their race and hate to stay in the pit repairing their car for 10 minutes and lose 5-8 laps on everyone else. Incidents still happens so sitting here making questions about it is a waste of time in my opinion.
The spotter is very helpful to make everyone finish their race and finish their race on the lead lap and not 10 laps down. That makes for more fun for everyone. Because if we had the skills of the Formula 1 drivers we still have to drive along side "normal" people. I'm one of the normal people by the way, and I use the spotter to avoid crashing into formula 1 wannabes who turn if off for realism.

If you could show me some video footage of any real life motorsport where a spotter is telling someone how to race regarding another driver being alongside them, post it up here, I'd be interesteed in viewing it.

I guess that's already shown you. But I just want to let you know that my spotter isn't telling me how to race at all. He just makes me aware of things.. having one beside me is one thing. A crash around the next corner, or a guy is off track and returning.. And he suggest me to hold left.. or what ever. I choose to listen or not

If you still hate the spotter I guess iRacing isn't for you, because I really think its there to stay, and trying to argue it on a Grand Turismo forum wont alert the iRacing crew. And everyone I talked to after they tried the spotter love it and have gotten almost addicted to "him"

But good luck finding something that is more realistic on the marked today..

And you can actually download a additional spotter pack. http://www.dwarehouse.com/

Makes for an interesting evening when you race. At least if you make a fool out of your self.. haha they let you know it

 

[Ardius]

In F1 they don't have a spotter, they have race engineers, & they most certainly never tell the driver when someone is alongside them & to leave room. That's racing & should be up to the driver to discern how he reacts to it.

If you could show me some video footage of any real life motorsport where a spotter is telling someone how to race regarding another driver being alongside them, post it up here, I'd be interesteed in viewing it.

For me the spotter makes up for the fact I lack peripheral vision as I don't have a triple-monitor setup and also it makes up for various other feedback that you don't get quite the same as real-life - e.g. you can't hear the cars around you so well without a very good surround-sound system (or good headphones).

Its not like its constantly telling you stuff all of the time so its not really that distracting and its not exactly "cheating reality" because you still need to keep alert and watch your gaps and spaces.

To me, its more of a case of why not? Rather than trying to prove why. There are too many good reasons why.

Why would we want people's inability to watch traffic and overtake cleanly to be realistic? Shouldn't we be encouraging people to improve it by having the spotter on? I mean there are always going to people who can't run wheel-to-wheel very well even when they have a spotter on, but at least it gives both drivers a better chance of recognizing when they are alongside.

 

[Maxitsu]

I agree whit Ardius 👍


The spotter gives me so much more confidence. i am 50% more clean whit using it + 45% more clean since i started iracing, i did go from a agressive driver to very calm one in a few months. the other 5% makes me still human, and also the fact i don't know the distance beween the cars sometimes, so i try to leave alot of room for the other car if i don't know were he is. Sometimes i lose battles becaus of it but atleast i have no incidens if the other driver thinks the same way as i do.

at lower licenses a spotter should be mandatory.

 

[OLDSKOOLACURA]

Spotter is a great thing to have on, I've used it from the start and has saved me a few times and made for close fun racing.

 

[left888]

In iRacing the spotter is a must have. Between the spotter and your F3 key they can save your ass, cars can appear out of nowhere in a split second, without the two I mentioned you are just asking for trouble.

 

[VBR]

Notice he tells him to 'Stay Low' and then is telling him where he might be able to slot in.
I'm pretty sure they are directions to the driver on how to race and where to go.​

I am shocked to see that! Not watched much NASCAR at all. No offense to fans, but if you need someone to talk you throughout a race where you go round in circles with someone right next to you, then in my opinion you shouldn't even be in a race car.

I can understand casual iRacers liking the spotter, but I think it takes away from the skills that a race driver should be developing, ie; thinking for himself & general awareness. It's good to have a race engineer warn you about things you might not know about like oil spillage, crashes, debris etc. However, the level of info that NASCAR spotter is giving in that video, he might as well just drive the car himself!

I guess I'm more like Kimi Räikkönen, "leave me alone, I know what I'm doing!"

 

[Mac K]

I'm no fan of Nascar, but that first comment was not needed at all..

 

[Imari]

I am shocked to see that! Not watched much NASCAR at all. No offense to fans, but if you need someone to talk you throughout a race where you go round in circles with someone right next to you, then in my opinion you shouldn't even be in a race car.

You have no idea what you're talking about.

You're wrestling a massively heavy 600+hp car with prehistoric suspension and hardly any downforce around a track at top speed with at least half a dozen other cars crowding you on all sides. You can only see half of what's going on, because the other cars are hiding behind each other and moving constantly. If you take your attention off one for half a second to concentrate on another he could slip up beside you, tap you and you're off.

You need every bit of information you can get, and it's still not enough.

And if you think that F1 drivers aren't constantly fed information by their engineers you're woefully uninformed. It's merely that the timeliness of information in F1 is less crucial than it is in NASCAR.

 

[Wilbur]

I am shocked to see that! Not watched much NASCAR at all. No offense to fans, but if you need someone to talk you throughout a race where you go round in circles with someone right next to you, then in my opinion you shouldn't even be in a race car.

I can understand casual iRacers liking the spotter, but I think it takes away from the skills that a race driver should be developing, ie; thinking for himself & general awareness. It's good to have a race engineer warn you about things you might not know about like oil spillage, crashes, debris etc. However, the level of info that NASCAR spotter is giving in that video, he might as well just drive the car himself!

I guess I'm more like Kimi Räikkönen, "leave me alone, I know what I'm doing!"

You couldn't be more wrong at all! There are times where like super speedways where you don't know if someone is besides you still or you are pulling away. I stated in Iracing forums that normally you gain the sense to know where people are and where you car will fit or clear but there are times that spotter will help you.

I honestly believe if you don't take some weight to a spotter then you have no business racing but that's my opinion. Are they perfect, no not at all but it's nice to have that too.

Granted people do rely way too much on it for passing like forcing inside when line isn't there because the spotter will make drivers avoid contact but you know I will normally run my line and don't force the issue because I will give you the spot if your that fast or bullying your way through.

 

[left888]

I can understand casual iRacers liking the spotter, but I think it takes away from the skills that a race driver should be developing,

So you are a well seasoned iRacer then or perhaps a phenom? You never use a spotter? I know of not one person in iRacing that doesn't use a spotter in at least text form.

BTW I agree with Mac"s assessment of your smart-ass reply.

 

[SKIDMARX]

I am shocked to see that! Not watched much NASCAR at all. No offense to fans, but if you need someone to talk you throughout a race where you go round in circles with someone right next to you, then in my opinion you shouldn't even be in a race car.

May I also add that besides the Nascars being 600 or even 700bhp+, the cars are also constantly sliding and moving around, throw in the wake effect from other cars not just in front of you but at either side and even behind you then your car becomes a real handful. So it does help to have somebody telling you where other cars are on the track.

And although it sounds stupid, driving in 'circles' for 500 laps is actually just as difficult as driving a road race because by about halfway into the race drivers are trying everything to keep there arms from cramping up and there neck from locking.

Still don't like it? Then I guess you should go over to the USA and enter a Nascar race and I bet you any money that you wouldn't finish the race without a spotter, unless that is your going 5mph the whole race, then I believe that driver would not belong in a race car.

I can understand casual iRacers liking the spotter,

And this is just a stupid comment...

I'm pretty sure the likes of Hugo Luis, Pablo Lopez, Greger Huttu etc all use the spotter. So I guess I'll agree with left888 and must think that you are the best and greatest driver on iRacing.

 

[ErikAndre71]

Well I can't see this guy being part of the iRacing community.. Read the OP, he ask questions to "iracers" as he clearly isn't one.. And the questions asked is something you should know if you are on iRacing

And I'm glad I don't have to race this bloke anyway, so let's just keep him convinced his right

 

[VINCE__]

He is right. We don't need any spotters in NASCAR & Indy Car oval racing. Who needs a spotter doing 200 mph nose to tail and door to door? Being factious of course. "Still thererrrrrrr, clear".

 

[VBR]

Like I said, it's my opinion & I'm welcome to it, as everyone else is to theirs.