New person here with couple ?'s

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BrokenNut

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Hello all, Im new here. Got a serious racing question and annoying game question.

First, how do you know if your car is understeering, oversteering, sliding, or just taking the turn way too fast? I followed the beginners guide here to get a gillet vertigo car and sold it to buy a zonda C12S. Fully modded its fast, too fast perhaps, and Im having a few problems keeping it to the road.

Secondly, how come the prize for winning certain races is a completely useless car? Like the Audi TT race. You have to have that car in order to compete in the race, so whats the point of getting it as a prize as well? :mad:
 
Hmm dunno really you just know.... try following one of the cars (of similar spec) round the circuit, try and keep up with it (even if you can overtake) watch it's braking points and follow it's lines through the corners, you'll soon see what's meant by understeer etc.

Be careful with the settings on the car, particularly suspension. lowering the car is fairly safe, but mucking around with stabiliser bars can really screw up your braking, if fact can even make the car undrivable.

I set my cars up heavy on the front brakes, as low as i can run it then stabilisers to suit the track. Most of the other stuff i don't bother with as to be honest i don't undrstand it and don't need it.

Tyre choice is an intresting point of debate here (GTplanet)as some go straight for the hardest tyres for better tyre wear, me i'm prepared to pit in return for grip, particulary in a series comp.

As for the prize cars, yep you got it, completely daft in some instances.

Oh and big welcome to you as well.

Cheers mate and good luck.
 
Originally posted by BrokenNut
Hello all, Im new here. Got a serious racing question and annoying game question.
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First off,

Hey, welcome to GTP
First, how do you know if your car is understeering, oversteering, sliding, or just taking the turn way too fast? I followed the beginners guide here to get a gillet vertigo car and sold it to buy a zonda C12S. Fully modded its fast, too fast perhaps, and Im having a few problems keeping it to the road.
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Yes, the C12s can be a handful - infact, some people here accuse it of not actually having steering wheel. :D

I find it's easiest to know whether the cars is under/oversteering by using the in-car view. Now, I can't describe how it will look in the car (so therefore, how you would know).

I assume that you actually know just what exactly understeer and/or oversteer is (I think it talks about it in the book) but the really short coles notes version is:

Understeer: Any time the car doesn't "turn" enough to get you around your corner - the front tires lose traction and therefore, can't steer you around the corner. For example, you are driving a really high powered FF (Front Engined - Front wheel drive) car, coming up to make a 90 degree left hand turn - You brake hard before you come to the corner, and begin your turn - all is going well, if you are going slowly, however if mid-corner you just jump back on the accellerator and give it full gas, your front end will begin to slide, and you go from turning 90 degrees, to 75 degrees to 60 degrees to 45 degrees and then next thing you know, you are hitting the far wall. (That whole explanation makes perfect sense in my mind - it probably won't to anyone reading it).

Oversteer: Any time the car turns too much to get you around the corner properly. This happens 'cause the back wheels lose traction and start to rotate out further than the front of the car. For example, you are now driving a high powered FR (Front Engine - Rear Wheel Drive) car, coming up to the same left hander. Again, you brake hard coming up to the corner and begin your turn - you have your "wheel" turned enough to get you safely around the 90 degrees while going slowly. Mid corner, if you get on the gas again too quickly, the back wheels will lose traction and momentum will start to make it swing out. So, you would go from turning 90 degrees (then the back end breaks loose) to turning 100 degrees, then 120 degrees until you hit the near side (inside) wall.
Secondly, how come the prize for winning certain races is a completely useless car? Like the Audi TT race. You have to have that car in order to compete in the race, so whats the point of getting it as a prize as well? :mad: [/B]
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Ahh... one of the mysteries of life. :D No one knows what the logic is behind this one. You would think that they would at least pawn off an A4 on you or something....

<shrug>

btw - I love your signature - it appears to be adapted from George Carlin's stand up routine - Where he would have conversations like this with his priest:
George "If god is all powerful, could he create a rock so big that even he couldn't move it?"
Priest "The lord works in mysterious ways George"
 
Originally posted by BrokenNut
First, how do you know if your car is understeering, oversteering, sliding, or just taking the turn way too fast? I followed the beginners guide here to get a gillet vertigo car and sold it to buy a zonda C12S. Fully modded its fast, too fast perhaps, and Im having a few problems keeping it to the road.
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Ethanol touched on some important points there. Basically if you can't turn very well you're understeering, if you spin out you're oversteering, and if the car just slides sideways and broadsides the outside wall you're probably taking it too fast. All three are bad, although understeer is probably the least dangerous of the three.

The best thing to do is to first make sure you're not over-running the turns (if you see white smoke coming off your tires, you're going too hard around the corner. Thus, proper braking is crucial. Have you noticed that when you approach corners, a red number pops up next to the gear indicator and starts flashing? Keep an eye on that. When it starts to flash, you're in the braking zone and should be slowing down until you're in the gear the number tells you. It's a bit tricky, but eventually you'll learn where the brake points are on the track. Remember, brake then turn. You're not running from the Mafia, so there's no need to drive like you are. ;)

Once you know you're taking the corners at a proper speed, then you can determine if the car has a handling problem that needs tuning out. There's plenty of tuning guides available that can help you there.

Also, if you're a novice it's a good idea to practice all this with a less powerful car, so you can get the hang of it easier. Most people would recommend a Miata, though I think a Silvia K's 1800cc would be a bit better since it's a little larger and heavier.

Let us know how it works out! :)
 
Originally posted by BrokenNut
First, how do you know if your car is understeering, oversteering, sliding, or just taking the turn way too fast?
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Understeering cars resist turning, oversteering cars like to tuck the rear end in too much, so that it swings out. In general, the best car setups will have a little bit of oversteer, so that you can take a corner the fastest.

I followed the beginners guide here to get a gillet vertigo car and sold it to buy a zonda C12S. Fully modded its fast, too fast perhaps, and Im having a few problems keeping it to the road.
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Pace yourself. ;) Don't jump from a Miata or Trueno to a full-fledged racing car... you should go from your beginning car to a WRX, Lancer Evolution, or a Skyline if you can really afford it. Then, continue working your way up... maybe get a TVR Speed 6, a modded Corvette, a Viper, etc... the key is to gradually get to the mega-power racing cars.

Secondly, how come the prize for winning certain races is a completely useless car? Like the Audi TT race. You have to have that car in order to compete in the race, so whats the point of getting it as a prize as well? :mad:
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Trust me, that's not the first time you'll experience disappointment. Just be glad that GT3 exists. :smilewink
 
Thank you everyone. Lots of good tips here. I have since switched to a slightly slower car, the Camero Racing car. Fully modded, which only consists of 1 engine upgrade. This car is still fast but handles a lot better as its 200hp less. Also, following your advice, I realize it is understeering as the tires aren't smoking and I am in the proper gear or less than what the game recommends(btw, THANK YOU for that, I never knew what those flashing red numbers next to the gear were for) and I am still not making the turn properly. So gonna play with the car to get it to work properly.
Not sure where to go now, other than get money, buy new cars to complete the other races, and just start knocking out all the races I can before moving on to the hard stuff, pro and rally leagues.
And yea ethanol, my sig is adapted from George Carlin =)
 
Originally posted by BrokenNut
Hello all, Im new here. Got a serious racing question and annoying game question.

First, how do you know if your car is understeering, oversteering, sliding, or just taking the turn way too fast? I followed the beginners guide here to get a gillet vertigo car and sold it to buy a zonda C12S. Fully modded its fast, too fast perhaps, and Im having a few problems keeping it to the road.

Secondly, how come the prize for winning certain races is a completely useless car? Like the Audi TT race. You have to have that car in order to compete in the race, so whats the point of getting it as a prize as well? :mad:
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Welcome to GTP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Welcome to GTP!!!!

You'll have your hands full with the Zonda.
 
The Zonda is the only car that needs to start braking for the turn in the middle of the previous turn.

Trying to win a Zonda Race Car at the moment: hoping it's better than the C12s! :nervous:
 
Originally posted by alexy2k
Great job Guys and what a great explanation by Ethanol....Should he get a GTP award for that :gldmedal:

:gcar:
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Awww shucks...

:lol:

Nah, I sat for like 4 hours trying to explain it all to my girlfriend the other day....
 
Originally posted by GilesGuthrie
The Zonda is the only car that needs to start braking for the turn in the middle of the previous turn.

Trying to win a Zonda Race Car at the moment: hoping it's better than the C12s! :nervous:
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I found some setting that make the Zonda actually steerable.
Set the front springs to 9.0 and the rears to 6.0. Stabilizers to 4
Then play with ride height. Lower the front to dial out understeer, Lower the rear to dial out oversteer. Also, with this car, brake EARLY. It will lose a little ground in the corners but will pick it up and more on the straightaways.
 
Originally posted by ethanol


Awww shucks...

:lol:

Nah, I sat for like 4 hours trying to explain it all to my girlfriend the other day....
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:lol: 4 hrs :rscared:...... phew that's along time :clock:....but then i guess it's like a women explaining her make up routine to us we'll never understand it.....
 
Originally posted by alexy2k


:lol: 4 hrs :rscared:...... phew that's along time :clock:....but then i guess it's like a women explaining her make up routine to us we'll never understand it.....
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:lol: Ya, she works for a company that produces Development kits for embedded Linux systems. Now, that's the sum and total of what I know about her job. She's tried to explain it to me, but to be quite honest, I don't care. :D As long as she keeps bringing home decent comission cheques, I'm happy. I'm sure she felt the same about me explaining the whole under/oversteer thing to her. ie - as long as I stay quiet and leave her alone playing GT3, she doesn't care. :lol:
 

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