Tips for Circuit Racing?

[justchyllan]

So essentially all my Forza career (beginning of FM3) I have been drifting almost exclusively. Not to seem full of my self but I'd like to think I'm better than average at it now. So a couple of months ago I decided to start circuit racing, and drifting on the side to keep it alive in me. Anyway I was banned from all online services except for private custom games, so I am not able to look at others times.

So my question to all you veterans is any tips other than practice? And are there any tracks you particularly like to practice on, a benchmark of sorts.

Also because of my new living situation for the past 6 months I have not been able to use mywheel so I am playing on a pad.

 

[Im_Lukas]

I'll just list a few I can up with, although you'll probably be looking for different kinds of tips, I don't really have any for actual racing against others, I'm useless at this overtaking and defending position stuff.

Check the telemetry (down on d-pad) and watch the power number on the right and try to time your shifts so that you get the maximum amount of power for the longest time, so if the power drops to say 340 and you shift up and it goes to 380 you may want to shift a little earlier so you aren't losing as much power, and could maybe shift up when it has dropped to 360 and then when you've shifted it will be at 360 and increasing. (This probably doesn't make much sense but I can't really explain things well, you might already know this anyway)

Once again go to the telemetry and look at the friction tab (RB a few times) and see if you are using more grip than you actually have, or you might not be using all the available grip.

One for hot lappers, tuners and I guess could be applied to racers, once again on the telemetry look at the tyre temperatures, the best temperature in this game seems to be between 190 and 210 degrees F (well I think it's Fahrenheit, I think 200 Celsius would melt the tyres).

Also get familiar with the car, when you start out it may seem like it gets unsettled at the smallest of bumps but after driving the car a lot you should be able to settle the car again before it's really started getting messy.

 

[Wolfe]

As a fellow drifter, I'd say corner entry will probably be a big thing to work on, considering drifting is all about maximizing entry momentum. I'm sure you know the racing mantra "slow in fast out." The ideal racing line isn't actually a "balanced" curve apexing through the exact halfway point; it's often better to apex a bit later so you can spend more time accelerating out. Depending on the shape of the curve, this may involve hanging a bit wider than you'd expect on corner entry.

Multiple corners in a row can skew things, since it's best to maximize exit speed on the last corner. Exit speed is everything. For example, let's say you had a pair of turns like: Z
Rather than positioning yourself on the outside coming out of the first turn (as you might do when drifting, to set up for a weight transfer flick into the second turn), it would be better to hang on the inside so that you're in position to take the second turn. Make sense?

As far as tracks, Tsukuba is a personal favorite of mine because it's got a diversity of corner types in a tight, 1-1.5 minute package. It's a good bite-sized benchmark. Tsukuba is easy to learn but difficult to master, providing multiple opportunities for trail-braking practice, quick successive corners, and a wide-radius carousel. Diving on the inside of the AI at one of the hairpins and hugging the rumble strip while you squeeze through without a bump or scratch can make you feel like a Best Motoring hero. And if you get bored while hotlapping, it's a great drift track.

The closer you can get to 1:00 flat, the better you're doing. Faster cars can break the 1:00 mark; the real-life record is 51.8 seconds in the ARTA GT500 NSX, driven by the Drift King himself, of all people.

 

[Speedster911]

^^Whatever he said.

Work on these aspects first, then get back to us. Also, like 2121 pointed out, get to know a car first, and then see how it reacts on different circuits. Don't dive into suspension tuning just yet.

 

[justchyllan]

The closer you can get to 1:00 flat, the better you're doing. Faster cars can break the 1:00 mark; the real-life record is 51.8 seconds in the ARTA GT500 NSX, driven by the Drift King himself, of all people.

If you resubscribe to gold I'd like to drive with you, drifting and lapping.

Trust me I know the NSX is a fun track car (See signature)

When you say getting closer to 1:00 flat what PI are you talking about. I did some lapping last night in a couple of S cars. In my MR2 (682) and NSX (699) I was able to consistently get 1:00.7xx with my best being 1:00.4xx using no assists other than normal steering and manual without clutch... Not a fan of clutch on a pad and obviously not sim steering.

2121

I'm pretty familiar with telemetry due to tuning drift cars but thanks for the tips nothing hurts.

 

[Wolfe]

If you resubscribe to gold I'd like to drive with you, drifting and lapping.

I'm staying at a house with satellite internet now, which is why I'm allowing my sub to expire (in four days). Hopefully my fiancée and I will be settling into a new place in the next month or two, and we should be able to get real internet there. Once that's done, Gold will be a possibility.

How does that work with being banned from public stuff but not private lobbies? You can still be invited to a lobby?

When you say getting closer to 1:00 flat what PI are you talking about. I did some lapping last night in a couple of S cars. In my MR2 (682) and NSX (699) I was able to consistently get 1:00.7xx with my best being 1:00.4xx using no assists other than normal steering and manual without clutch... Not a fan of clutch on a pad and obviously not sim steering.

Even with a pad, using the clutch is magically faster, but I'm not a fan of it either. Normal steering is definitely the way to go with the joystick.

I didn't specify PI because Tsukuba is so small and twisty that if you can manage 1:00.xxx in any car, I'd say you're doing pretty well. 👍 Faster cars just make the turns hairier. Also...I hadn't really played FM4 in almost nine months, so I dusted it off and had a go with an S700 NSX-R.

For your reference:

• 455hp / 320lb.ft / 2267lbs.
• Race Air Filter, Race Intake, Sport Fuel System, Race Exhaust, Race Camshaft, Race Valves, Race Pistons, Race Cooling, Race Flywheel, Sport Brakes, Sport Springs, Sport ARBs, Race Weight Reduction, Race Clutch, Sport Transmission, Street Driveline, Race Tires (max width), BBS REs.

I needed about a dozen laps to shake off 130 hours' worth of Horizon playtime -- I forgot how badly FM4 refuses to rotate the car off-throttle -- but I wanted to provide a worthy benchmark for you. I managed a 58.562.

Here's my perspective on it:
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In this game, you really have to push the apex late on Tsukuba's hairpins; with the hair-trigger power oversteer, you'd be surprised how much ground you can gain by coming in wide, cutting in late, and straightening out early. Short-shifting to avert wheelspin on the exit can also help, particularly on turn #1.

The second hairpin is an easy place to lose or gain time, because the braking zone bleeds into the soft chicane; trail-braking is key. The next angled right-hander is a tricky one; attack it early or you'll fall wide. After that, feel free to brush the outer rumble strip as you round the left-hand bend, but get back over to the left in time to brake hard for the final hairpin. That corner is where I make the most mistakes. With the back straight following it, exit speed is absolutely critical, so be careful with wheelspin.

The braking spot for the last wide turn can be difficult to find, but you'll know you're getting it if you're on the limit of traction the whole way through. Be sure not to clip the inside too early, or you'll lose speed before the start/finish. Just before you cross the line, don't be afraid to push into that off-track area on the left. It's not always the best setup for the next lap, but as long as you don't get the (!) it'll make the most of the lap you've just done.
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I hope my description is clear enough.

 

[RacerX1]

http://www.drivingfast.net/

Pretty cool website that breaks things down. Check out the car control section on the front page.

 

[justchyllan]

I needed about a dozen laps to shake off 130 hours' worth of Horizon playtime -- I forgot how badly FM4 refuses to rotate the car off-throttle -- but I wanted to provide a worthy benchmark for you. I managed a 58.562.

I absorbed the rest and will reply later... Currently on my phone I was able to pull a 59.7xxx in the Lotus Exige (699) I found to be very comfortable in it. Consistently doing about 1:00 flat. Just for fun I ran it in my Rossion Q1 (R3 799) and ran 58's... Got some work to do but S is so much fun so lapping just flys by.

P.S. Tskuba is an excellent lapping track! Thanks for the suggestion! It has the same fundamental practice feel like Maple Valley does for me drifting.

 

[wrapture]

Just a question I had about your first post, You said you were banned? Do you know what for or was it random? The reason I'm asking is because I was randomly banned the second day that I had the game. I didn't even have enough time to do anything I would get banned for.

 

[Wolfe]

I absorbed the rest and will reply later... Currently on my phone I was able to pull a 59.7xxx in the Lotus Exige (699) I found to be very comfortable in it. Consistently doing about 1:00 flat.

As they say, consistency is key. 👍

P.S. Tskuba is an excellent lapping track! Thanks for the suggestion! It has the same fundamental practice feel like Maple Valley does for me drifting.

Glad it works for you. I think it's a rather well-designed little track; if there's one thing the Japanese are good at, it's making things space-efficient. FM4's version isn't the most accurate in the world, but if you want to gauge yourself on some other PI classes, lap records are easy to come by. You're already lapping as quickly as a Radical SR4, which illustrates what I meant about the 1-minute target.

 

[justchyllan]

As they say, consistency is key. 👍


Glad it works for you. I think it's a rather well-designed little track; if there's one thing the Japanese are good at, it's making things space-efficient.

That it is! I played around with the NSX and Lotus I've been using, concluded that I prefer the Lotus and stuck with it. Since then I've been lapping in down time and still seeing improvement. Record is 58.8xx and 9/10 laps are under the minute mark. Gotta say its a gratifying feeling