Showing a friend GT7 with a wheel - best combo?

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Bonneville120

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I have a friend visiting soon who has never tried sim racing before. I have an RS50, playseat trophy and GT7. I want him to experience everything the physics model has to offer so I'm looking for some good suggestions for car/track combos.
The plan is to start him off in something low powered and FWD, then something low powered RWD (MX5 etc) and progressively switch to more powerful cars all the way up to GR1. Has anyone done this before and can recommend some custom race setups? The Caterham must be included because it's so damn fun to drive
 
You may never proceed past that low powered FWD stage. Not kidding, for someone who has never done this before the entire concept of even knowing where to brake and how much to turn in will take time, and a lot of it.

It's hard even when there is pad experience but none with a wheel, an old friend - in fact the same guy who introduced me to GT some 28 years ago - came by some time ago and he's not THAT bad with a pad but getting to grips with a wheel and pedals was anything but easy. We who do it regularly really have no idea how difficult it is for a beginner. While you find the Caterham fun to drive, your friend will probably consider it a nightmare that won't go straight at all.
 
Kaz said the best way to experience GT7 is with a wheel and PSVR2.

First time my oldest daughter and her now fiancé played GT7, was on my PS5 in PSVR2. While it was on controller, they adapted to the physics quite well. An MX-5 would be fine if they go slow and learn where they’re going on a given circuit. Maybe even if your friend has a car that’s in the game.
 
FWD... I don’t really know. A japanese car or a Megane RS ?

Alpine A110/cayman GT4

Also you can give hime a car like the 992 GT3RS or RS5 DTM with the "DRS".

May be a muscle car or something. To feel how heavy boat cars feel !

And, of course, the caterham 😎
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Bonneville120
I have a friend visiting soon who has never tried sim racing before. I have an RS50, playseat trophy and GT7. I want him to experience everything the physics model has to offer so I'm looking for some good suggestions for car/track combos.
The plan is to start him off in something low powered and FWD, then something low powered RWD (MX5 etc) and progressively switch to more powerful cars all the way up to GR1. Has anyone done this before and can recommend some custom race setups? The Caterham must be included because it's so damn fun to drive
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I've done this quite a few times and been surprised at how easy my friends have caught on (this may not be necessarily be the case for you, of course). High Speed Ring with something FWD is a good start, and than move up to something more stable yet faster like a Gr.4 car on the same track. Sometimes you can get away with letting them pick the car if they have an idea of how it will drive (something stereotypical)
 
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LeMansLambo14
I've done this quite a few times and been surprised at how easy my friends have caught on (this may not be necessarily be the case for you, of course). High Speed Ring with something FWD is a good start, and than move up to something more stable yet faster like a Gr.4 car on the same track. Sometimes you can get away with letting them pick the car if they have an idea of how it will drive (something stereotypical)
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He does drive IRL and has done a few track day experiences where you get to do a few laps in a lambo of sorts, so it will be interesting to see how well he picks it up
 
Bonneville120
He does drive IRL and has done a few track day experiences where you get to do a few laps in a lambo of sorts, so it will be interesting to see how well he picks it up
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Yes, from my experience switching from real-life to a sim and visa-versa can feel a bit weird. From the simracer's perspective, RL can be intimidating and uncomfortable. From the RL driver's perspective, the sim can feel disconnected and lifeless. None of my friends had experience with either when they tried my sim, but they didn't do that bad anyway.

The difference between their past experiences with say, road Lambo, go kart, race car etc. in either can affect their view point on how hard it is too. If he's done track days than I imagine he'd have some idea of what he's doing, anyway
 
Personally, I wouldn't start with a FWD car. They're sub-optimal for being driven hard and racing, and to be driven fast and well, you must learn to drive around their flaws. Much better to start with a low powered rwd car, the Caterham detuned to Academy spec would be a great starting point. It's prefect for learning the fundamentals of car control and been a gateway car into motorsport for many years. Learning how to manage the wheel-spin and understeer that can plague FF cars when driven hard, are skill to be learnt after the core skills have been covered, IMHO. Plus, as you said, the Caterham is great fun to drive!
 
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