Ruf Yellow Bird For Dummies

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10Ten

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who can help? who is GOOD with this car or the BTR?

i need driving tips. i know some basics, but i simply cannot get this car down a straight w/o hitting a wall, and obviously i can't hardly get around turns.

but i'm not a bad driver, not great, but not bad... just no feel for RR configs. i can kind of get around with the RGT, but am not great at it... it's a much more stable car. the YB looks to be massively fun if i can feel it, but i cannot... yet. do you have any solid pointers?

here's what i know:
-slow in, fast out
-minimal steering input
-lift oversteer going into turns, or a gentle brake tap
-controlling oversteer with the throttle (which is merely theory to me... I cannot really do this)

there's more wisdom to be had for sure. i have watched the onboards in this car, but they only show the wheel, not the pedals, and throttle/brake modulation is among the biggest contributors to controlling the oversteer, which i have almost no control over.

if you have any tips, help me out with good ones. i have ok skills with throwing oversteery cars around, but this is something else.

i'm on a G27.

TIA!
 
Bro sorry I can't help but will be keeping an out on this thread so I can also learn. What I know though is that we require a life insurance before driving the yellowbird. That car will kill someone one day in GT5.
 
I was doing Shuffle Races last night and was blessed to receive a Yellow Bird. Down the straight at Deep Forest the Back end got loose and came around when I shifted from second to third.

Needless to say I didn't do very well that race. If you tune the RUF a bit, you can manage some decent times with Sports Hards. But you have to be very careful with the throttle....
 
Here's my take:

In a FF car the front end is pulling the back. When you steer the back end is trailing the front end. The pivot point of the car is near the front axle.

In a FR car the back end is pushing the front. When you steer you are trying to point the rear. The pivot point is usually near the front axle but can be closer to middle of the car.

In a RR the back is is moving the back end. When you steer you are trying to point the rear (just like an FR, But!). The pivot point is near the rear axle.

When you look straight down in a car as it takes a corner the pivot point becomes very apparent. In a Yellowbird because its pp us at the rear axle and the front is so light its hard to point the car. With this new edition of GT5 it should be easier to control the YB.

You have to be very careful with the YB in corners. Sudden changes in input control can cause sudden adverse attitude changes in the car. This means the car is great for TT driving but not as good at racing against other drivers.
 
thanks for the replies, but not even a hint at the answer to the question: driving tips. i'm not trying to tune myself out of this corner, but trying to drive out of it. ;)

if anyone is a good driver with this one, please chime in! thanks again. :)
 
Tips: be gentle. At the limit of any car you only want to be adjusting your input controls by 5% or so of their max. With a YB its even less.

Weight shifts are important to learn to control. Because the front is so light any transient weight shift along the longitude axis will have profound effect. Only tap, if that, the breaks as you enter a corner to help point the front.

Break early so you are as close as you can be to the corners optimal speed, then control the cars attitude/turning with slight throttle control inputs. You will do more steering with the throttle than the steering wheel.

It's a beast and the hardest car to control in the game. It's not meant to be easy. Above all: enjoy it, you're only crashing pixels.

Also, it looks like you want quick answers and in driving quick answers are usually wrong. When you understand the logic/reasoning behind the quick answer then you will get it.
 
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10Ten
thanks for the replies, but not even a hint at the answer to the question: driving tips. i'm not trying to tune myself out of this corner, but trying to drive out of it. ;)

if anyone is a good driver with this one, please chime in! thanks again. :)
Click to expand...

I'm certainly not a good Yellowbird driver but I have found that left-foot braking (I'm using a DFGT wheel) can calm down the squirreliness quite a bit.

For example, coming into turn 1 at Suzuka from full speed I can keep the back end in line even while trail braking into and partially through the corner. Then easy on the gas with smooth brake release at apex. In most higher-speed corners, in fact, I am braking while never fully releasing throttle. I even got the thing successfully around the 'Ring once:) with left foot braking. Lap times are better for me than 100% straight-line braking.

Still, controlling the beast is not unlike dancing with a fat lady. As others have said, though, smooth inputs are always required.

Give it a try, although it may be tough with a controller if that's what you use.

Z

Edit: I see now that you use a G27.
 
Did you notice the recurring theme in the answers? I must agree..... BE GENTLE!!! Gentle on the gas, gentle on the brake, gentle on the steering and above all ..... BE GENTLE!!!
 
all helpful... thank you. i have been gentle, but part of the curve for me is being gentle with a G27 with zero weight-shift feel. i think this car really makes a sim driver dig deep to take the FF & environment cues and figure out what's happening, and i'm just not that sensitive yet, but am working.

also, i noticed that zeemie is describing trail braking. i have tried it here and there, especially on the RGT, and it works well on that car to stabilize it through the apex, but i haven't really done this much with the YB. now i'll get busy with integrating that.

thanks again!
 
I'm not a good driver, but what helped me was:
  • Get your breaking done before the turn-in
  • Coast around the corner at ~1/4 throttle input (a little gas helps to stabilize the car)
  • Gently get on the gas, but not before you see a straight line to follow for accelleration
 
All this talk about the Yellow bird being utterly deadly and I still havent taken a drive in mine... What, overall, is so bad about the Yellow bird? Insane Power/weight? Ridiculous weight balance? (Although I have a Yellow bird, I havent actually checked the stats or driven it and whatnot and I dont have access to the PS3 to check myself)
 
sprplay
I'm not a good driver, but what helped me was:
  • Get your breaking done before the turn-in
  • Coast around the corner at ~1/4 throttle input (a little gas helps to stabilize the car)
  • Gently get on the gas, but not before you see a straight line to follow for accelleration
Click to expand...

I'd like to add to this, I tend to take the corners a bit square.
Meaning, braking more then I would feel optimal, turn quickly (lower speed allows more angle) and straighten out quite quickly before pushing the throttle again.

On the lift off drift to take a corner fast, it will take a lot of exercise. It might be good to do some drifting with the car, you are supposed to drive it on the limit on the adherence site, but if you do not learn what to do when it drifts, you will lose it with every mistake you make.
 
The RUF YellowBird is not a car for dummies!

Björn Waldegård once said about the Rothmans 911 rally car; "That car was a good car for the aggressive drivers. If you were scared, it didn't work"

The YellowBird is much the same.
You have to take it by the scruff of the neck and show it who's in control.
It's very easy to end up with the car driving you, if you know what i mean.

Try imagining it this way; when you put your foot down, the rear will become unstable because of the massive power, but it also squats down on its rear wheels giving it good mechanical traction.
The trick is to time your throttle input.
This thing is only balanced (sort of :lol:) when on throttle.

YOU SHOULD NEVER LET THE REAR SLIDE OFF-THROTTLE

With that said:
There's an old myth about how only a handful of people in the whole world could really drive these machines close to their potential.

Question is, are you one of them?
 
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Just went on my maiden voyage in the Yellow bird and I must say it is an absolute 🤬 to handle. I took it round the Green Hell in stock form and I cant even count the ammount of times it wanted to throw me into a wall.
I can definatly say throttle control is key, I would also recommend learning to drift in the thing first.

Oh yea, stock, sports hard, nurburgring: 7:59.574...
 
Vegard
The RUF YellowBird is not a car for dummies!

Björn Waldegård once said about the Rothmans 911 rally car; "That car was a good car for the aggressive drivers. If you were scared, it didn't work"

The YellowBird is much the same.
You have to take it by the scruff of the neck and show it who's in control.
It's very easy to end up with the car driving you, if you know what i mean.

Try imagining it this way; when you put your foot down, the rear will become unstable because of the massive power, but it also squats down on its rear wheels giving it good mechanical traction.
The trick is to time your throttle input.
This thing is only balanced (sort of :lol:) when on throttle.

YOU SHOULD NEVER LET THE REAR SLIDE OFF-THROTTLE

With that said:
There's an old myth about how only a handful of people in the whole world could really drive these machines close to their potential.

Question is, are you one of them?
Click to expand...

i asked a friend who is a winning 911 racer a generation ago, and although he doesn't like Rufs much, he knows his 911's. his feedback is very similar. he says be wary of going fully off throttle, that the throttle can stabilize the rear due to the weight shift and squat... but it take alot of feel to learn that, and sims really don't provide enough quality information of what's happening regarding in the F-R weight balance. so for now i'm still in trial-and-error mode trying to feel it out.
 
My hint solves 50% of the problem, but it may alter the character of the car too much. It's a real life solution used by some beetle owners a long time ago here in Brazil. BALLAST.

200kg of ballast @ front. Voilá. 50/50 weight distribution. It'll be slower, but you can compensate on power.

Enjoy... :) Works for both Yellowbird and BTR.
 
I'm no master in the car but I'll try giving some advice.

1. If you really wanna learn how to drive the car, the answer is practice, practice and practice (but you must already know that).

2. Don't try to drive it with tires with too much grip. It will seem easy and you won't learn. I suggest Sport Hard or even Comfort Soft.

3. If you're losing control too often, go slower. Remember you learned how to walk before you started running.

4. If it's still too hard, try putting better tires on rear than on front, like CS on front and SH on rear. That will make the car oversteer less.

Hope I have helped.
 
psavi
I'm no master in the car but I'll try giving some advice.

1. If you really wanna learn how to drive the car, the answer is practice, practice and practice (but you must already know that).

2. Don't try to drive it with tires with too much grip. It will seem easy and you won't learn. I suggest Sport Hard or even Comfort Soft.

3. If you're losing control too often, go slower. Remember you learned how to walk before you started running.

4. If it's still too hard, try putting better tires on rear than on front, like CS on front and SH on rear. That will make the car oversteer less.

Hope I have helped.
Click to expand...

simple but good advice. i have already downgraded the tires, because grippy tires were a real problem on that car. it needs to slide for smoothness.
 
What I could tell you is first, take the car on a track that you are familiar with. So you will concentrate more on the driving on the car, instead of focusing on your racing line. Also, drive with both feet, to allow you to use gas and brake at the same time. When you have to brake hard, give a little bit of throttle while keeping the wheel straight, then lift the brake and turn in and control the slide with the throttle.

It's pretty much the only way to drive the YellowBird and have decent speed. If it's too tricky, I suggest you begin with the Elise on bad tires, since the principle is similar.

Hope it helps, and don't give up after one lap! :sly:
 
lapierre4
What I could tell you is first, take the car on a track that you are familiar with. So you will concentrate more on the driving on the car, instead of focusing on your racing line. Also, drive with both feet, to allow you to use gas and brake at the same time. When you have to brake hard, give a little bit of throttle while keeping the wheel straight, then lift the brake and turn in and control the slide with the throttle.

It's pretty much the only way to drive the YellowBird and have decent speed. If it's too tricky, I suggest you begin with the Elise on bad tires, since the principle is similar.

Hope it helps, and don't give up after one lap! :sly:
Click to expand...

this is good. i have experimented with trail braking, but i don't know exactly the method and its application. but this is a good start. thanks!
 

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