El Gigante
The ice tracks are especially hard. It's not just them though, on every dirt track i drive i just can't stop sliding around! Any tips? cheers
Dirt and snow are way more difficult than tarmac, of course because of the low grip level that is available. Such a low grip level shows how difficult it really is to control a car, while tarmac hides most of this difficulty. To get to similar grip level on tarmac you've got to reach higher speeds (without using aerodynamic downforces of course), or use crappy tires
.
As it's been said before, on these surfaces you really have to be extra smooth on the controls. Not only the throttle but every control, brakes and steering included. A note on steering : do not steer too much, get used to working with something in between 90 and 180 degrees of steering each way, depending on the corner.
Also as I said in the thread mentionned further down, when dealing with low grip the steering wheel does not steer anymore, it only provides the car a hint about where it should go. Your feet will do the steering by shifting the weight and modulating the grip level between the front and the rear. One last thing about the steering, you can't afford to be late getting your wheels back straight, otherwise you'll go the other way around.
For those using the DFP it gets even harder as they get into a lot of trouble keeping their arms from crossing and knowing when the wheels are back to straight position. This is due to the fact that the years of driving after getting a licence, and not learning how to properly use a steering wheel, lead to tons of bad habits that will be difficult to lose. I am working on a document that explains the technique I learned, I want it to be well done so it's taking time sorry about the delay. I've already done a demo run on Ice Arena with the 5Turbo, I need to setup my Pinnacle capture card (next week end if all goes as planned) and I will post it somewhere (anybody knows an easy way to post a video ?).
You will find tips here :
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=63732&page=1&pp=20&highlight=hate+rallying
Maggkrabar also provided this very good link :
http://www.rallysport.on.ca/articles/Driving.html
I almost forgot, your car setup needs to be completely different from what you would use on tarmac, you need to soften almost everything, just like you would do on the wet. When using a 4WD set the differentials so that you get a car that is easy to control with your right foot. If you understeer under power, shift torque from the front to the rear. If you oversteer too much and are in trouble do the opposite, shift torque toward the front. Setting the limited slip properly is also very important, you want all of your wheels to keep as much grip as possible.
For those interested, this is the place where I learned the ice :
http://www.ecgchamrousse.com/
Its next to a ski resort, spend a week here and you'll enjoy skiing, snowboarding and driving on ice, what more do you want ?
And this is where I learned the dirt :
http://www.conduirealoheac.com/
You will find a couple of videos on this last site, they show what everyone can do at the end of the sessions (no kidding, you can imagine how good it feels when you're up to this level in real life). This is where I spent a whole morning working the steering technique in the classroom, and then the whole afternoon working it on the track. Believe me you need it.
Hope this helps, keep trying, figure out what went wrong, try again, the reward is well worth it.
PhM
