- 3,211
- Brisbane
- Punknoodle_Nick
Recently I was asked by a fellow member here to describe the differences between iRacing and Assetto Corsa in terms of the actual driving feel, ignoring the online multiplayer component which iRacing is well known for, and ignoring the modability that Assetto Corsa is well known for.
Just a bit of background before I get in to it; I’m not starting this conversation to start some kind of debate on which is better. I am a big fan of both iRacing and Assetto Corsa, and regard them both as being two of the best commercially available racing simulations on the market today. This conversation is more to try and describe the differences between the two when you strip it right back to simply sitting in a cockpit of a race car and driving alone on a circuit. I think this is something that quite a few members in the community are curious about.
Let’s start with something you are going to need to do with both simulations, which is setting it up for your own preferences. Both have excellent triple screen support, although I think Assetto Corsa's is more user friendly to set up, both have excellent peripheral support and the ability to run things like external dashes and telemetry easily. With iRacing though, you have the ability to map things like the joystick axis on your wheel (if you have it) to look around and there are many more mappings available. It also has a function to be able to map functions per car – brilliant for those like me who have both a sequential shifter and multiple wheel rims. When I drive the GT3 car for instance, I run the Formula Rim and use paddles, and I don’t have to remember to change it if I was just using the MX-5 for example, where I would be running the larger wheel rim and using the shifter.
For the actual driving comparisons, I decided to use Imola, as both iRacing and Assetto Corsa have and excellent laser scanned version of it, and the MX5 Cup car for the same reason. Ambient temp is 26 degrees C in both cases, traction control is off (standard in iRacing, forced in Assetto Corsa). Car set up is completely standard in both cases. I could goose around with the set ups to try and see if they are the same, but normally I drive the standard setup so I figure this will be good enough.
I’m running ACTI for Assetto Corsa and Mu for iRacing for the telemetry data, which both export to the Motec i2 telemetry software format. From here I can simply pull up both log files and compare them directly.
I drive with a Fanatec Clubsport v2 wheel and for the MX-5 I’ll be using the BMW GT2 rim. I use Fanatec Clubsport v2 pedals with a modified brake, and in the MX-5 I shift with a DSD Pro Sequential shifter, using the Heel and Toe braking technique.
iRacing does punish miss-shifts by putting the car in neutral until you re engage the clutch and select the gear again. This is something Assetto Corsa does not do, in fact you don’t actually need to lift or use the clutch at all it seems.
This was a fresh test, I just ran a few laps and selected the best lap from each session. As you can see I’m no alien, but when not pushing for the last tenth I can usually put in some pretty consistent times.
I made these two videos by copying the replay data over to my laptop to avoid changing the display properties on my rig PC to single screen. Sorry that the iRacing one came out a little weird...
AC laptime: 2:11.351
iRacing laptime: 2:10.069
The car feels a little bit looser in Assetto Corsa, it feels as though you have to perform more corrections. The car just generally feels more stable in iRacing. I don’t know if this is down to the tire/physics models or down to the individual setup from both. Really, to get a fairly similar laptime from both and have the telemetry showing similar traces, I think it shows that both do a really good job of the simulation. It feels a little more involving to be driving the car in Assetto Corsa, like you have to try harder to carry more speed through the corner (telemetry shows that's where I'm slower in AC). I think with more laps the gap would decrease between the two. That's not to say iRacing isn't involving, not at all, in fact it pretty much just as good, it's just that you need to work a bit more in Assetto Corsa in this car, anyway. It still takes the same amount of skill to drive in both, to maximise corner entry and exit and so on.
I’m impressed by the sound of the MX-5 in both titles. The interior is a little different in each, interestingly enough. In iRacing the car has no pit lane speed limiter, whereas in Assetto Corsa every car has a pit lane speed limiter. In iRacing, when in a car such as the Z4 GT3, when you engage the pit lane speed limit you can hear the pops and bangs from the engine as the timing is being retarded to control the speed, and it sounds brilliant. However in Assetto Corsa, as you run over kerbs you get to hear little things in the cockpit like the belt buckles clang around. Both are incredibly immersive in different ways.
The circuit looks great in both versions, but I feel like the Assetto Corsa version feels more natural.
One thing iRacing does that I really like, is that the pit lane speed is left up to you. There are still speed limits, but it’s your responsibility to obey them or risk a penalty. In certain cars, it’s just a matter of engaging the pit lane speed limiter but in others you have to control the speed yourself. It’s a personal preference, but I think it just adds to the immersion and authenticity. I’m the kind of guy that doesn’t just pull over at the end of a race and quit, I like to do the in lap and bring the car back in to pits, so engaging the speed limit and seeing the lights flash on the dash is just very rewarding.
I'll post a couple more comparisons of different cars over time, perhaps when iRacing gets the Porsche Cup car. That would be quite interesting I think, especially surrounding the hype of the Porsche release for both titles.
Just a bit of background before I get in to it; I’m not starting this conversation to start some kind of debate on which is better. I am a big fan of both iRacing and Assetto Corsa, and regard them both as being two of the best commercially available racing simulations on the market today. This conversation is more to try and describe the differences between the two when you strip it right back to simply sitting in a cockpit of a race car and driving alone on a circuit. I think this is something that quite a few members in the community are curious about.
Let’s start with something you are going to need to do with both simulations, which is setting it up for your own preferences. Both have excellent triple screen support, although I think Assetto Corsa's is more user friendly to set up, both have excellent peripheral support and the ability to run things like external dashes and telemetry easily. With iRacing though, you have the ability to map things like the joystick axis on your wheel (if you have it) to look around and there are many more mappings available. It also has a function to be able to map functions per car – brilliant for those like me who have both a sequential shifter and multiple wheel rims. When I drive the GT3 car for instance, I run the Formula Rim and use paddles, and I don’t have to remember to change it if I was just using the MX-5 for example, where I would be running the larger wheel rim and using the shifter.
For the actual driving comparisons, I decided to use Imola, as both iRacing and Assetto Corsa have and excellent laser scanned version of it, and the MX5 Cup car for the same reason. Ambient temp is 26 degrees C in both cases, traction control is off (standard in iRacing, forced in Assetto Corsa). Car set up is completely standard in both cases. I could goose around with the set ups to try and see if they are the same, but normally I drive the standard setup so I figure this will be good enough.
I’m running ACTI for Assetto Corsa and Mu for iRacing for the telemetry data, which both export to the Motec i2 telemetry software format. From here I can simply pull up both log files and compare them directly.
I drive with a Fanatec Clubsport v2 wheel and for the MX-5 I’ll be using the BMW GT2 rim. I use Fanatec Clubsport v2 pedals with a modified brake, and in the MX-5 I shift with a DSD Pro Sequential shifter, using the Heel and Toe braking technique.
iRacing does punish miss-shifts by putting the car in neutral until you re engage the clutch and select the gear again. This is something Assetto Corsa does not do, in fact you don’t actually need to lift or use the clutch at all it seems.
This was a fresh test, I just ran a few laps and selected the best lap from each session. As you can see I’m no alien, but when not pushing for the last tenth I can usually put in some pretty consistent times.
I made these two videos by copying the replay data over to my laptop to avoid changing the display properties on my rig PC to single screen. Sorry that the iRacing one came out a little weird...
AC laptime: 2:11.351
iRacing laptime: 2:10.069
The car feels a little bit looser in Assetto Corsa, it feels as though you have to perform more corrections. The car just generally feels more stable in iRacing. I don’t know if this is down to the tire/physics models or down to the individual setup from both. Really, to get a fairly similar laptime from both and have the telemetry showing similar traces, I think it shows that both do a really good job of the simulation. It feels a little more involving to be driving the car in Assetto Corsa, like you have to try harder to carry more speed through the corner (telemetry shows that's where I'm slower in AC). I think with more laps the gap would decrease between the two. That's not to say iRacing isn't involving, not at all, in fact it pretty much just as good, it's just that you need to work a bit more in Assetto Corsa in this car, anyway. It still takes the same amount of skill to drive in both, to maximise corner entry and exit and so on.
I’m impressed by the sound of the MX-5 in both titles. The interior is a little different in each, interestingly enough. In iRacing the car has no pit lane speed limiter, whereas in Assetto Corsa every car has a pit lane speed limiter. In iRacing, when in a car such as the Z4 GT3, when you engage the pit lane speed limit you can hear the pops and bangs from the engine as the timing is being retarded to control the speed, and it sounds brilliant. However in Assetto Corsa, as you run over kerbs you get to hear little things in the cockpit like the belt buckles clang around. Both are incredibly immersive in different ways.
The circuit looks great in both versions, but I feel like the Assetto Corsa version feels more natural.
One thing iRacing does that I really like, is that the pit lane speed is left up to you. There are still speed limits, but it’s your responsibility to obey them or risk a penalty. In certain cars, it’s just a matter of engaging the pit lane speed limiter but in others you have to control the speed yourself. It’s a personal preference, but I think it just adds to the immersion and authenticity. I’m the kind of guy that doesn’t just pull over at the end of a race and quit, I like to do the in lap and bring the car back in to pits, so engaging the speed limit and seeing the lights flash on the dash is just very rewarding.
I'll post a couple more comparisons of different cars over time, perhaps when iRacing gets the Porsche Cup car. That would be quite interesting I think, especially surrounding the hype of the Porsche release for both titles.