Someone PLEASE tell me how to win snow races

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Ax Battler

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I've bronzed the Ice Arena S-license test so it's not like I can't drive on snow

I'm trying to do Ice Arena normal, it says its a 5pt race and I fly past the AI car at the start. I'm using an Impreza rally car and tried the Toyota RAID before that.

Every corner he goes straight past me. I've watched the replays show the buttons the AI driver is pressing and the same thing doesn't work for me, he brakes to start a skid then accelerates slowly then to maximum, I do exactly the same thing yet he zooms past as if his car is the better one. If I try to go any faster I go sideways.

I get in front at the start and sometimes manage to maintain a small lead only for him to catch up to me and nudge me from behind causing me to get a five second penalty.

I am completely lost as to why my more powerful car is getting so soundly beaten given that I was of sufficient 'skill' to do the track on s-license.

There must be some sort of technique I don't know about please somebody help me out here :indiff:
 
Well, not to be outdone, bronze medals are easy to get in all lisense tests, and have no corrolation with the difficult of Racing events. Yeah, Ice Arena, is quite difficult, but not at all impossible.

I've won it with the Raid and Lancia rally, (fully upgraded) as I alternate between the two.

As for what I did, well it's hard to say, I just raced like I would normally do, and I took home the checkerd flag. Staying ahead is always a bonus, and defending the line on a turn is critical, too, but sometimes I remember sliding, though I'd use the back of the car to push off the wall and retain the racing line.
 
Use the Dodge Ram truck, you get 200 pts every time and it handles great! You can also use the size and weight to block your opponent.
Hope this helps.
 
Try and drive like you would on a Tarmac surface. ;)
 
Change the drive to at least 40% from front wheels. I can not remember what it is called but it is to the far right in the setup screen.

Also put brake balance towards back wheels.

Now for the controversial statement. Point the front wheels to where you want to go and floor it none of this ***** footing around.

Also be aware that you only get penalties if the front of your car hits something - if the back slides into the railing you do not get penalties.
 
Turrn ur horse power down lol and drive smarter then the cpu
 
If none of the above works and you say when he hits you it gives you a 5sec penalty- give him some of his own medicine and stay in front of him forcing him to do the same speed as you.
NOTE: may require good driver are you up to the challenge?
Don't call this cheating when the cpu cheated first.
 
I've found that staying in a higher gear helps, and I usually take every corner in atleast one gear above what I would do on a tarmac track...
 
Hmmm, yes, that would work too, that way there would be less wheel spin :sly:
 
Well, not to be outdone, bronze medals are easy to get in all lisense tests, and have no corrolation with the difficult of Racing events. Yeah, Ice Arena, is quite difficult, but not at all impossible
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What I meant was I can drive around reasonably without crashing and sliding all over the place so I would have thought that in a much more powerful car I should be able to beat a much weaker AI one.

I've won it with the Raid and Lancia rally, (fully upgraded) as I alternate between the two.
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I know I could stick in a 600HP monster of a car but I'd rather try and accomplish it with a certain amount of skill involved, it's already a 1-5pt race. I was thinking there must be some sort of skill involved other than overpowered cars and wall riding.

ease it on the gas, make the turn slowly
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This is what I've been doing, brake into a skid then turn and accelerate just like I've seen the AI do in the replay but he's much faster at it.

Try and drive like you would on a Tarmac surface
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I've tried this but again the AI car just drifts round corners straight past me.

Change the drive to at least 40% from front wheels. I can not remember what it is called but it is to the far right in the setup screen.

Also put brake balance towards back wheels.
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I will try that tonight

Turrn ur horse power down lol and drive smarter then the cpu
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I was using a stock Toyota RAID Rally and figured it may have been too powerful so I switched to the Impreza Rally Prototype that's 110 less HP but I had the same problem. I'm trying to drive the same way as the cpu but somehow he's faster.

I've found that staying in a higher gear helps, and I usually take every corner in atleast one gear above what I would do on a tarmac track...
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If I try and corner fast I go sideways or backwards.
 
You can only go so far with wall-riding... it might make you quicker in the short-term, but it won't make you a better driver... I've found that staying as central as possible is the key to going really quick... that said, it's very difficult not to hit (or dare I say, 'use') the odd wall here and there... but as a rule, it's not the best plan.
 
I've found that staying in a higher gear helps, and I usually take every corner in atleast one gear above what I would do on a tarmac track..
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Weird, I always downshift so my revs are bouncing off the limiter. But then again I slide it and not grip it.
 
SADJO
Trust me on this one, go Really slow in the corners.
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I do and that's the problem. I do what seems like a good corner, cutting in close then accelerating out as fast as I can only to see a far less powerful car come around me on the outside.
 
I think that it comes down to traction and throttle. I always get agro when the AI car clips the back of you.. spins you around or puts you into the wall and penalises you or you slightly tip the rear of his car.

But.. I am using completely stock WRX Rally Car (purchased). And i had no trouble (about 4 seconds) ahead on the ice ring easy track. Havent tried the intermidiate yet.

The key on that course though is to definately stay ahead, and try and copy his lines/predict where the AI car is going so that way he cant pass you and when u get that small straight toward the finish punish him. Just keep your cool though try not to get frustrated and you will get there!
 
Everyone's driving style varies, but what worked for me was:
1) Find a car that has good directional stability (think Evolution VIII rather than Toyota Raid as an example).
2) Purchase lots of power and set the gear ratios as low as possible, ie just short of the rev limiter in top gear at the end of the straights. NA is better than turbos due to smoother power delivery, but if all else fails, slap a big turbo on.
3) IMPORTANT - set the car up to understeer under power, oversteer under braking. As noted earlier, there are no 5 sec penalties if you hit walls or opponents with the back of your car, so power through the corners, hit the brakes just before hitting something. Increase power distribution as much as possible to the front wheels, bias the braking 2:1 towards the rear, maybe 4:8, for example, and as a last resort, add some ballast to the front of the car to help the understeer and traction (play around with how far forward).

Do the above, and put in some practice at being really aggressive. Trying to get in front of the AI Car as early as possible always helps, as in all rally races (low gearing and lots of power helps here). Get enough power and you may find you can sneak in front right off the line.
 
Are you a left-foot braker? If so, you shouldn't have too many problems if you can get on the brakes while accelerating. Trying to drive a rally car on ice using only the throttle is extremely difficult. In rallying you just have to left foot brake, to be honest.

If you don't left-foot brake, I would recommend simply coasting while you take the corners, barely pressing the throttle at all (if at all). I often coasted while golding the rally license tests on ice. Simply getting sideways and sliding round the corner whilst using the throttle to create inward impetus is not always faster. Sometimes you just have to be very gently with the throttle, or even use none at all. Just remember not to downshift while coasting.

I say again too, if you are an expert left-foot braker the rallying should be easy.
 
Try the Peugeot 206, I found it has a LOT more grip/less understeer than the other rally cars I tried (RSC, Accent, Impreza prototype, RS200 etc), and I was actually able to win the hard ice arena first try with it. The run was relatively clean too, I just had to be a bit aggressive when overtaking in the first corner (I set myself up sideways and managed to bump him a little off course while sliding through the corner). If you get the lead, it's all about taking the corners slow and sideways to block the CPU from overtaking you. There are some parts of this track (the lower angle 'chicanes') where you have to slow down a lot to make it clean. Just watch your mirror and go wide when it looks like you'll be overtaken.

I found that I could maintain a speed of about 60-80 kmh on the twisty bits. I just ran the demo run in replay theater and watched his speeds, then did a free run to see how my speeds compared. I ended up taking the first lap in the puge about 4 secs faster than the demo replay, so I just thought I'd enter :)

The key to winning for me was the car though. 206 owns 👍

..Or you could get in the fully beefed up RSC and just floor it :dopey: Just remember to spin your car at leas 90 degrees before corners so that you ram the walls tail first..
 
On hard level I used 206 Rally Car, dropped the suspension low and used MT. I took most corners a gear too high, braked early and was always easy on the throttle until after hitting the apex. Also, I made sure I was in first place at the first corner or very soon after, it is easier to block than to overtake.

Steven
 
The 206 Rally car you buy for 750k. I used it 100% stock, and it turned like a dream. I had no problems getting sideways and initiating drifts with that car, as opposed to the other rally cars I tried... which insisted on going straight :yuck:
 
Ax Battler
I've bronzed the Ice Arena S-license test so it's not like I can't drive on snow

I'm trying to do Ice Arena normal, it says its a 5pt race and I fly past the AI car at the start. I'm using an Impreza rally car and tried the Toyota RAID before that.

Every corner he goes straight past me. I've watched the replays show the buttons the AI driver is pressing and the same thing doesn't work for me, he brakes to start a skid then accelerates slowly then to maximum, I do exactly the same thing yet he zooms past as if his car is the better one. If I try to go any faster I go sideways.

I get in front at the start and sometimes manage to maintain a small lead only for him to catch up to me and nudge me from behind causing me to get a five second penalty.

I am completely lost as to why my more powerful car is getting so soundly beaten given that I was of sufficient 'skill' to do the track on s-license.

There must be some sort of technique I don't know about please somebody help me out here :indiff:
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Its simply, go really quick, drift round the bends and allways hit the side with the back of your car, it doesn't give you a penalty that way. Its great.
 
I've completed all the snow races in one agonizing weekend: After continuously losing to the other car, I came up with a reasonably easy solution: Take a outlandishly overpowered car, start the race in second gear, and ride the wall around the turns. You'll fall behind at first, but will easily overtake him soon. Just make the turn about a second before reaching the turn, causing the car to turn and hit the wall at just the right angle so you won't get the 5 second penalty. Won all the Medium and Hard races in one try with this method after losing each race at least 4 times each trying everything else.
 
Assuming that you're not going to wall ride, here's my $0.02 (I just completed the Ice Arena - Hard, and wrote it up).

1. Don't take too much power. A stock rally car is plenty (about 300hp). I'd highly recommend the Evo IV '97 (but I don't remember where you win it). I used the Evo VII Super Rally Car for Ice Arena - Normal. Turbo lag kills higher powered cars on such a tight track.

2. Turn waaay ahead of where you would on tarmac, and use the gas to push the car wider if you're going to touch on the inside.

3. Make really sure to stay tight to the apex, especially on the hairpins. Touching the inside is the lesser of two evils compared to going wide.

4. Left-foot braking helps a lot.

5. Easy on the gas, of course.
 
You know, I had a problem this weekend with Grand Canyon (hard) where I kept getting bumped and suffering from the 5 second penalty. I realize this is on dirt but it's relevant on snow, too. I played by the rules and just kept getting bumped. The AI guy just keep nudging me and everytime he did it I was stuck for 5 seconds. Then, when I made a clean pass he came up from behind at the next slow corner and did the same thing.

Finally, I just started slamming the wall to get through it. The 5 second penalty, if applied to the AI driver would have been OK, but he seems to have carte blanche to just bang into you and then continue on his way without any penalty at all.

Luxy
Assuming that you're not going to wall ride, here's my $0.02 (I just completed the Ice Arena - Hard, and wrote it up).

1. Don't take too much power. A stock rally car is plenty (about 300hp). I'd highly recommend the Evo IV '97 (but I don't remember where you win it). I used the Evo VII Super Rally Car for Ice Arena - Normal. Turbo lag kills higher powered cars on such a tight track.

2. Turn waaay ahead of where you would on tarmac, and use the gas to push the car wider if you're going to touch on the inside.

3. Make really sure to stay tight to the apex, especially on the hairpins. Touching the inside is the lesser of two evils compared to going wide.

4. Left-foot braking helps a lot.

5. Easy on the gas, of course.
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@Luxy Good points here and an excellent write-up in the other thread on the same subject 👍

I would echo the recommendation for the Evo Super Rally car for those who are struggling with this race... (you buy it for 1,350,000 from Mitsu dealer) Car is waaaaay more stable out of the box on the snow and ice 👍

I would add that whatever car you are using, tighten up your gears so you end up running 2/3/4 gears instead of 1/2/3. You need to start in 2nd gear and if you set your gears right, you will hole shot the competition (especially the corolla) and get the pass right off the line. (Which, by the way is where I found the most effective place to pass in the Ice Arena... either right at the start (hole shot) or going by it later in the race- both directions.)

I have since gone back and won this race with several other rally cars... tightening up the gears so when you are at speed you comfortably run 2/3/4 and never get back down to first gear did the most for me.

phattboy
 
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