Tips for driving a MR care

[JohnA]

So I have been searching around and can't seem to find what I am looking for.

Are there any tips for driving an MR car? I seems, for me, that no matter what model MR car I drive I can't seem to be able to corner well with it.

So what I am looking for is what I need to do before going into the corner, while in the corner and exiting the corner. Every time I try something the car(s) either goes straight, or I spins out.

So if you got some driving tips or know of a thread please pass them my way.

 

[ceiling_fan]

It's interesting that you can't handle MR's very well. They handle the most predictable for me. Try looking up various setting for them.

 

[Wolfe]

Every time I try something the car(s) either goes straight, or I spins out.

Welcome to the world of GT4....

 

[Fizio]

So what I am looking for is what I need to do before going into the corner

Try braking on time... 👍 or just lift off throtle pedal for high speed corners...

 

[Dougboy]

traction control?

 

[hispeed]

Frankly, I can't reproduce your difficulty with turning in MR cars.
They are well balanced and stable, usually I just ease a little on throttle pressure before turning, and then aplly more pressure again during the turn.
Befor sharper turns I usually break in a straight line before the turn, and wait until I'm past the apex before hitting rock bottom on the accelerator. This isn't something I just do in MR cars.

I guess you enter the turns too fast and/or brake while cornering. Do you tune all your cars to the max? If you do, keep in mind what tires you need.

 

[the Interceptor]

Here are some hints:

- don't "throw" the car into the corner, break early and hard enough (you should avoid that with all cars actually, though it works with some)
- avoid taking your foot (or thumb) off the gas while cornering. It will give you lift off-oversteer else, and you'll spin out. Instead, try to feather the gas, or, even better, keep it at a steady level.
- don't accelerate out of corners too early, or you'll understeer off the track

With most MR cars, you should try to drive as clean as possible. Try to work in cooperation with the car, instead of fighting with it. If you want to get used to a specific MR car, do some practice laps. Start slowly, then raise the speed. You'll notice the point when the car will start understeering or spinning out. Take it a tad easier, and there you go.

Regards
the Interceptor

 

[Mr. Boy]

Dunno if this will help, but I've taken the following from the GT2 Reference Manual:

"MR" means mid-engine/rear-wheel drive. Most competition cars use this drivetrain design, and so do many high-performance sports cars.

The MR layout was first widely used in single-seat racing cars. In a narrow, rear-wheel drive single seater, the driveshaft of a front-mounted engine must pass underneath or beside the driver. This means that the body will be higher or wider than otherwise. For a single-seat racing car, decreased frontal area for less aerodynamic drag is an advantage of the mid-engine design. When mid-engined single-seaters gained acceptance in the late 1950s, two-seat sports-racers were developed from them. Mid-engined high-performance road cars followed.

The MR design can also decrease the frontal area of a two-seat sports car, and allow other aerodynamic advantages. But perhaps the most important advantage of the design for a high-performance vehicle is that it concentrates the vehicle's mass near its centre of gravity. This decreases its inertial resistance to quick changes of direction, increasing its maneuverability. Because of this maneuverability, a mid-engined car can be set up to make full use of its tires and corner faster by having just a small amount of oversteer designed in. That can make it very nervous and tricky to drive at the limit. It takes skill and fast reactions to be able to drive such a car well, but a skilled driver can take full advantage of a mid-engined car's cornering abilities.

 

[Alfaholic]

There's such a vast difference in handling amongst the MR class that I think it's more a case of you haven't found one that suits you. Try the Lancia Stratos, Lotus Europa, MGF, early Toyota MR2, Protomotors Spirra, Hommell, or Renault Clio V6 if you prefer an oversteer balance that's easy to turn but requires careful management of rear traction. Try the Jag XJR220, Pagani Zonda, or Tommy Kaira ZZ if you want an understeer balance that gives excellent traction but requires care to avoid running wide. Try a Lotus Esprit V8 or Honda NSX if you want neutral handling, and try a Lotus Elise if you want something extra special

Of all those I would probably recommend the Elise or Clio V6 as the ones least likely to toss you into the scenery.

 

[SjefGielen]

MR cars are THE cars that need some serious getting used to. Try a high powered RR car first, like say a RUF yellowbird , straight line breaking and throttle control are even more important than with a mr car. Once you can handle a RR car and you're able to control power drifts, a drive in a MR car is like a walk in the park.

 

[Dave_George]

We have encountered two MR cars so far in the Nurburgring race series, the Toyota MR2 V edition and this weeks Lotus Motorsport Elise and both displayed similar characteristics...

Feel free to have a look at the threads for Week 2 and week 8 over in the long race series forum as there might be some info thats helpfull to you.

My own advice would just be as smooth as possible with you steering and throttle inputs, brake in straight line and avoid getting a rear wheel on the grass unless you fancy going for a quick spin!!

Great cars when you do get it right though...

regards

Dave

 

[Appie]

i love MR Cars

 

[RICHARDO]

My advice is drive a MR thats easily mantuplated to do any type of driving that you do, for example Early generation MR2. (supercharged or non-supercharged) This is a great cheap MR to practice on. Then move up to the more heavy-hitting MRs such as the Ford GT and Nissan R390 and the NSX. Just keep practicing and you should be fine.

 

[Gabkicks]

practice seems to be what you need

the latest nsx has amazing handling. very fast even though it isnt very powerfull compared to other supercars.
it hurts my head everytime someone mentions something about cars being hard to control in gt4

 

[gibus]

start with a non-tuned MR and improve on the power, I don't see how simple MR's without being tuned a bit would completely spin out.

 

[rsmithdrift]

straight line braking. The car will always get loose as balls when your decelerating so try to remove all steering input while on brakes or coasting. Then ease into the throttle at turn in. With an MR getting on the gas will almost always straighten it out if not make understeer, therefore any time it feels loose just feather the throttle and it'll come back. Once you get used to drift control in GT4, then you can start pushing a little harder and start braking later and trail braking and drifting into the corner effectively. (it's called speed drifting) but the best laps with an MR will be when you are slightly sideways at every corner entry and using the trottle to straighten it out and drive you forward into the turn and out of it. Untill then use the slow in, fast out technique to the extreme.

 

[zondahelmet]

they do require more skill than any other drivetrain in the game, especially on bumpy tracks

if anyone can do a ~7:45 lap on the nurburgring in a zonda on road tires with all traction controls off without going off the track, youre my hero

 

[luftrofl]

Zonda- I disagree, they require the same skill level as all other drivetrains.

BUT they require a TOTALLY DIFFERENT APPROACH to driving on some tracks.

 

[niky]

@JohnA: Start practicing with a ProtoMotors Spirra on road tires. It has almost no downforce in stock form, slides quite easily, and is easy to catch. This car will teach you a lot about weight balance, braking and setting up for turns.

Like others have said, don't muscle the car around. Nothing is as fast on-song as an MR car, but you can't just throw them into a corner like a stock, understeering, road car (yes, FFs, 4WDs and even FRs understeer quite a bit). Use smooth throttle and brake inputs in turns, and use A LOT LESS steering, also.

 

[PARAGON GT]

I love and hate MR cars.

Some of them are so enjoyable to drive. They flow in and out of the corners making you feel like you are riding a rail around the track. Others are as tempermental as the women that I have met in my life.

As an example my 190 Elise and my Esprit SE. I can jump into the Elise at any point, go to any track and feel perfectly comfortable driving it. Its perdictable. I know when it will start to slide, and when it will not. It dosn't take a lap or two to get use to it.

My Esprit has earned the affectionate nicknamed of Sybil. On many occasions I will take her out for a test lap, spend a couple hours tweeking and tuneing her to make things "just right". Take a couple more laps just to make sure that the car is performing the way I like. Race a couple races. Etc. The following day I will take her out again, and its like I never drove or set up the car before. Uncontrollable sliding around the track, spinning out when I touch the brakes before a corner.

Like I said, I love and hate MR cars.

 

[Leonidae]

small, nimble MR cars like Elise or first gen MR2 are perfect for practice, especially MR2 NA or SC '86. mine NA model did outhandle and OUTRUN NSX's and Esprit turbo's on beginner leagues MR cup with mere 150 bhp, racing flywheel, triple plate clutch and racing suspension. everything else ( except the muffler and engine tune-ups) were stock. MR's are easy to drive, even fun, when you know what you're doing. I can easily drift any MR2's thru corners with DS2( slow but looks cool ) or blast thru the bends like dart with correctly done braking. sadly, I haven't learned how to drift the MR's with my DFP yet, but I'll get there soon..

yes, Braking is The Key when driving an MR car. you need to shift the weight to the front of the car before you start to turn, or it'll plow like any american musclecar, no matter how light your car is etc.

cheers.

 

[Small_Fryz]

drifting, well i cant help to much here......

Grip: aye I can offer some advice here.....

Be SMOOTH!!!, very smooth. No sudden weight shifting, also be careful braking while turning, if you have to use a little bit of gas (5 - 10%) to stabilise it, (once you get good you wont have to). When starting off try to overlap the gas with brake, so you you brake then let off the gas, this will eliminate any spin out tendency and as you get used to the car you can end up not needing to do this anymore or very rarely. If you need to stablise the car in any situation, instead of lifting off the gas (which will cause the rear to step out) instead tap the brake (with full throttle) this will settle the car amazingly and as you learn to be smoother and smoother you wont need to do this much either. It all comes down to gentle weight shifting, and being smooth and precise, just cant chuck it around unless you are smooth while doing it . If you really want to learn i can probably link you to a vid of hOt6o4bOi (One of the fastest GT racers on the net) doing a race at deep forest Reverse (very tricky in MR) in a Espirit on S1's. you can see how smooth and nice he is.

It all comes down to practise really, the more you get an idea of the car the more you can throw it around and the smoother you become.

Bottom line!

Be smooth, and use the gas and brake at the same time to stablise the car.

 

[Uncle Harry]

I love and hate MR cars.

Some of them are so enjoyable to drive. They flow in and out of the corners making you feel like you are riding a rail around the track. Others are as tempermental as the women that I have met in my life.

As an example my 190 Elise and my Esprit SE. I can jump into the Elise at any point, go to any track and feel perfectly comfortable driving it. Its perdictable. I know when it will start to slide, and when it will not. It dosn't take a lap or two to get use to it.

My Esprit has earned the affectionate nicknamed of Sybil. On many occasions I will take her out for a test lap, spend a couple hours tweeking and tuneing her to make things "just right". Take a couple more laps just to make sure that the car is performing the way I like. Race a couple races. Etc. The following day I will take her out again, and its like I never drove or set up the car before. Uncontrollable sliding around the track, spinning out when I touch the brakes before a corner.

Like I said, I love and hate MR cars.

It is almost like the physic model changes from one restart to the next. Problems with the PS2 having enough power to handle all the information? Do grip levels change from day to day on a random basis to reflect differing track temperatures?.

 

[PARAGON GT]

It is almost like the physic model changes from one restart to the next. Problems with the PS2 having enough power to handle all the information? Do grip levels change from day to day on a random basis to reflect differing track temperatures?.

Na, that's to technical.

I just prefer possessed or skitzo.

Don't get me wrong, I love those cars. (I own 6 or 8 se's in diffrent colors, a couple GT's too)

Its just those times when you think that everything is going your way, then you blink and find yourself facing the wrong way on the track. I find those moments little bothersome.

 

[zPhoenix]

My 2cents:

- Brake before the turn, while still going straight.
- Even speed, or accelerate during the turn.
- Practice first on Toyota MR2 Spider.
- Then move up to the Lotus Elise.

I fell so in love with small MR cars in GT3 that when my old real life car got old I bought an MR2 Spider. Handles just as nicely in real life as in the game and can turn on a dime without even squeeling the tires. Awesome car, cheaper than many SUVs, and has good gas mileage (no trunk though).

 

[LeadSlead#2]

the easy way? Increase rear camber to equal (or close) with front, try 3.0 Front 2.0-2.8 Rear And then set rear toe angle to plus 1-3, although plus 2 is generally best

 

[R5Turbo2]

Are there any tips for driving an MR car?

Practice on snow ! As it has already been said all is about :

1 Being smooth on the controls.

2 How grip can be lost or gained :
- more weight gives more grip.
- a wheel can't drive (or brake) and steer at its maximum at the same time.
- a wheel that is braked or gas'ed loses some lateral grip.

3 Keeping in mind how weight is distributed :
- weight is shifted forward when braking or getting off the gas.
- weight is shifted backward when accelerating.
- no need for heavy weight shifts to produce noticeable effects.

4 What end of the car has the more grip :
- if it's the rear you will understeer.
- if it's the front you will oversteer.
- and of course the car is neutral otherwise.

5 Steering is the lazy guy's job, the less you do the better.
- small angles on the wheel, at most 180 degrees left or right.
- you've got to be precise and quick. A car is heavy and once it has gained some momentum it takes time and space to get it back under control.

You have to remember that with rear wheels drive you can provide more grip to the rear by giving some gas and shifting weight, but if you get too far you'll lose grip by spinning the wheels too much. It has to be precisely controled.

By using smooth throttle control you can adjust weight shift and produce under or over steer to keep your car where you want it to be. A bit of steering provides the direction, a bit of weight shift provides the rotation.

On snow you absolutely have to be smooth, there is no other way unless you like wall riding. So once you can lap Ice Arena or Chamonix consistently you will feel much more comfortable on any other track.

PhM

 

[X-Othermic]

Driving on Snow is a SOB to master. I still can't do it.

 

[Azuremen]

Snow is hard, but fun and rewarding.

In regards to driving an MR car - I race a modified Mk1 MR2, so I can give some advice from real world and in game

Throttle management is KEY. If the car starts rotating, its generally lift off oversteer. GET ON THE GAS. Of course, if the spin starts from mashing the gas in a very high power MR car, you will have to feather it very carefully, for letting go = spin out, and staying on it can as well.

Entry - Do not trail brake unless you are very comfortable with going sideways. Make your turn in VERY SMOOTH. Small inputs are all that are needed on an MR car. I've gotten my MR2 overly sideways from just a 1/4 of a wheel turn on the track before =/

Exit - Be smooth on the gas. If the car cannot break the rear wheels lose with ease from power, then you will get understeer. The lightweight front end will lift, and the front wheels won't do a THING. Slowly get on the gas through the turn.

Take note - Many MR cars can be lapped very quickly with a small slip angle in the turns. This means going in a little sideways, like 3 degrees, and using miniscule amount of counter steer through the turn. Then you steer the car with the gas through the turn, not smoking the tires, and when you get the hang of that, you can fly.

I'll do one more thing - cars that I find more stable and less. Very shakey cars I've found are the AZ-1 at full tune, teh Mk1 and Mk2 MR2, the Lotus Elise and Europa. More stable ones are the Cizeta T16, the NSX, and the MR-S. Others exist, I'm sure.

Take note that if you ever get use to MR cars, most everything else seems kinda slow with turn in compared to an MR car

 

[Wolfe]

Take note - Many MR cars can be lapped very quickly with a small slip angle in the turns. This means going in a little sideways, like 3 degrees, and using miniscule amount of counter steer through the turn. Then you steer the car with the gas through the turn, not smoking the tires, and when you get the hang of that, you can fly.

The fastest way to drive on low-traction surfaces is by allowing oversteer. And that's with any car, not just MR's. Driving slow enough to maintain traction is often simply too slow.