Racing Sim Thread, Part II

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Sat Apr 24, 2010 7:33 pm

A quick bump to shift the no posts glitch, and because I've just discovered the iPhone can upload videos directly to YouTube.

It's because of that and not, as you may have originally thought, the ongoing world tripod shortage, that the following video was shot in Unsteadycolor. It's a quick illustration of how the power comes in with the F1 1985 mod - notice the huge difference between the engine note in the twisty bits and the sound when I can use the available power down the longer straights. To do that, you'll have to turn your volume up, because I think I had my finger over the microphone...

While you're noticing that, and the short shifting through the tighter chutes and the wheelspin all the way up the gearbox exiting the hairpin, try your very best to ignore the acres of Australia between me and every other apex:

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4hrMC9Yj3jc&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed>

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:19 am

I tried the F1 1985 mod and the framerate is atrocious with cars on the track, based on the comments it appears i'm not the only one. When doing hotlaps it's fine. OTOH the 1988 mod by Carrera is sheer bliss.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Apr 27, 2010 2:29 pm

Very impressive list of improvements coming with the new build of iRacing this week:

http://www.virtualr.net/iracing-com-201 ... ment-39079

My two biggies: Multi-class racing and split times!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Apr 27, 2010 5:00 pm

A few more additions to the new build that I really like:

- Fixed a bug that had caused all fuel tanks to add their fuel at the center of mass of every car. Some cars will now have a much greater change in balance between full to low fuel.

- The wing has been replaced with the new spoiler on the Impala A.

- Torque distributed into the live axle is more correct for the Silver Crown. This makes the car more stable on throttle in left turns.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Wed Apr 28, 2010 1:11 pm

I'm gonna love the multi-class racing!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 28, 2010 1:48 pm

Gurantsu wrote:I'm gonna love the multi-class racing!

I can imagine something like SRF's, Solstice's and Jetta's all on the same track for a DSP Poker Night.

Or how about the 79 Lotus against the Dallara IndyCar on a road course?

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Wed Apr 28, 2010 2:14 pm

V8s and Philip Island available to download now, chaps.

Having given both car and track a thorough Tjunging, my advice to you is this: get them.

My further advice to you, after reading this back, is to spell Phillip Island properly.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Wed Apr 28, 2010 2:58 pm

Ok. 10 laps in the books at Phillip Island, so not much more than a Tjunging even now, but enough time to give a couple of impressions for those of you sat on the fence.

First off, after conducting a little solo test, it appears more than possible to emulate this accident from the V8 Supercar event there last year, so I wonder how long it'll be before we learn of people having their races ruined by people careening into the side of them:

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nm4CuWYarOE&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed>

The track itself is a riot, full of high speed stuff to get stuck into. Herr Tilke may be interested to note that the track features an awful lot of elevation change, that a reasonable amount of this elevation change occurs on the way into a corner or a braking zone or both, and that as a consequence there isn't a single corner on the entire racetrack that you could call 'easy'. One particular right-hander midway around the lap is this close to being flat in 5th in the Falcon if you hook everything up, though if you're an inch away from hooking everything up you're going to catch the world's most inconvenient bump, in which case it's all the way to a flat spin across a field.

The Falcon is glorious. It has enough grip to be getting on with and it does corner well, but there's a real sense that you've got over 600 horsepower on tap, and that if you apply that power a little keenly, there's nothing like enough downforce to keep you safe. Same deal on the brakes, which work very well when you're using them right and then lock up in protest the instant you aren't. There's a balance to be struck between brute force and finesse, because you can drive the car on the throttle and you can trail the brakes on corner entry, but only to a point. Once you've worked out roughly how far you can push your luck, you'll start hanging the back end out and letting the car twitch about mid-corner, and then the fun really starts...

Go get 'em, boys.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 28, 2010 3:53 pm

Pre-purchased two weeks ago; I'm getting them tonight! Thanks for your detailed impressions, as always.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 28, 2010 5:16 pm

The good news just keeps coming for iRacing. It looks like iRacing may offer Whelen Tour modifieds as a 2-for-1 deal with the SK Modified. From iRacing's Tony Gardner at the iRacing forum:

"I know some people will like it at least, we should have a touring modified car available very soon I think we may just include it with SK modified so if you own the SK you will get that as well of if you buy one you get the other for free. Just need to make sure our delivery system can handle that two for the price of one thing."

It would be EFFING fantastic if iRacing laser-scanned Bowman-Gray Stadium and offered the Whelen Tour modified so we could have an iRacing version of "MADHOUSE." I'm hopelessly hooked on that show on The History Channel about weekly racing and rivalries on the quarter-mile bullring at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Fri May 07, 2010 3:37 pm

Apparently the Logitech G27 Wheel is back on sale at Best Buy for $149.99, as opposed to $300.00 - The web site is reporting sold out and online only, but I just walked into a Best Buy in Atlanta and it rang up with the sale price, so after almost 9 years, my MOMO Red will be retired this weekend, just in time for Indy!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri May 07, 2010 3:43 pm

DChaps wrote:Apparently the Logitech G27 Wheel is back on sale at Best Buy for $149.99, as opposed to $300.00 - The web site is reporting sold out and online only, but I just walked into a Best Buy in Atlanta and it rang up with the sale price, so after almost 9 years, my MOMO Red will be retired this weekend, just in time for Indy!

Way to go, The Donald! You'll be stunned at the smoothness of the wheels and the realistic stiffness of the pedals.

My new G25 is blowing me away.

Enjoy!

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Sat May 08, 2010 5:01 am

So after several hours with my new Logitech G27 wheel I am very frustrated and tired. However, not because the G27 is a bad wheel. In fact, I would say I have not even been able to use it enough to give it a fair review.

My frustration is all about change management issues. Let me explain: First, my racing PC is also the main home PC used by myself, wife, kids. Therefore, I have to have a wheel setup that can be easily removed from the desk.

My 9 year old Logitech MOMO Red has the power and the usb connections on the pedals, not on the wheel. There is a separate cable that goes from the pedals and attaches to the right side of the steering unit. Without boring you with the details, using the very nice keyboard tray of my desk and cable management, it allows me to keep the pedals stored under the desk and away when not in use. Power is connected, and usb cable is connected to the back of the PC. When I am ready to race, I just slide the pedals out a little, pull the keyboard tray out, attach the wheel and connect the end of the USB cable that I have sitting right next to it conveniently hidden away with some cable management.

Well, with the G27 I have now realized that getting ready to race and setting up the wheel/pedals is going to be a pain. The G27 has all the cables for power, pedals, additional shifter unit, and USB connecting into the steering hub. In fact, the USB cable is hard wired to it, so I can't even run it thought my cable management unless I am going to just make it permanent (currently not an option). Because of my desk configuration, it also has the power cable length and to the power brick setup in such a way that the brick will have to hang in the air when I have it connected. Basically, it is going to require me to pull out the PC every time I want to use the wheel. About a 10min total process to setup and then breakdown.

I mention this only as comedy, and a lesson to myself as a product manager to never lose sight of little things. Of course, these annoyances may only pertain to me and my setup, and the fact that I am used to the same wheel that I have used for 9 years.

The pedals are a huge improvement from the MOMO pedals, but they will take some re-learning and new functionality in my racing space as well. The brake pedal on the MOMO has no tension to it at all, it takes nothing to lock up the brakes. However, the new G27s require me to push so hard, that I am going to have to get a new chair. My office has hardwood floors and I have a rolling chair on wheels that do not lock. It was never a problem before, but now I have to apply so much pressure to the brakes, that it actually was pushing me away from my desk and making the chair roll backwards. Hilarious.

The new wheel feels great, and the FF is smooth and all so far, but it is much louder compared to the MOMO, especially when the FF kicks in. My office is right next to the master bedroom and when I race it is always pretty late at night after the wife and kids have gone to bed. Well, the noise of the FF wheel woke my wife up.

Vista will not recognize it as a G27, only a G25. Don't know if that causes a problem or not, but iRacing is doing some strange things when I try to calibrate. Even though there are 6 buttons on the wheel, it recognizes them all as 1 button, basically negating the usefullness of multiple buttons. I have followed iRacing's recommended settings for G25/G27 but it feels strange. However, I honestly think I am just so use to the other wheel and have learned to work around its deadzone, overly sensitive pedals, etc. I left foot brake and I kept using the clutch instead of the brake. Not to mention, I am going to have to re-learn braking altogether, but that is a good thing.

Paul or Adam: if you guys have some settings in game, and out, I would be interested in knowing what you like. Also, I am not currently using the Logitech profiler. I never used it before, but maybe I need to install it as well. Could this be why the Rev Limiter LED's are not working?

Don't get me wrong. I think this is going to be a great wheel and definitely worth $150. I think I paid over $200 for the 9 year old MOMO Red.

Anyway, hopefully tomorrow night I will get to actually try to do some racing with it!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat May 08, 2010 10:27 am

That's a bummer, Don. But the cable routing also sucks with the G25 compared to the DFP.

With the DFP, the USB is hard-wired into the back of the wheel, and the power and pedal connections attached to the right side. The clamp also closed to almost flush with the bottom of the wheel. Easy to set up on any surface.

With the G25, the USB is hard-wired to a recessed area on the bottom of the wheel, and the power and pedal connections also attach there. The cables route through recessed notches in the bottom of the wheel, straight out of the back. The clamp only closes to about an inch of the bottom of the wheel. A major pain in the ass to set up, as I must put a board as a shim between my desk and the wheel, and the cables don't route straight to my power source, which is to the right of my desk.

It's clear the DFP was designed for console players, who rarely have permanent racing setups. It's a very portable wheel.

It's also clear the G25 was designed for PC gamers, who often have permanent racing rigs. It's not designed for portability or easy setup and tear-down.

But I can certainly live with it, as the G25 is a FANTASTIC wheel. It's superior to the DFP in every conceivable performance category.

It's also quieter than the DFP, which is nice. Windows Game Controllers recognizes it as a G25.

I don't think the G27 recognition as a G25 is a major issue, from what I recall reading in the iRacing and late, great RSC forums, Don. Do you have the latest Logitech drivers? The disc that shipped with your wheel may not be the latest and greatest.

I have the Logitech Profiler installed, as I think you need it for your wheel to be recognized properly. But I never run it when racing, as it's bloatware. Windows Game Controllers should recognize your wheel properly once you have run Logitech Profiler once to set up your wheel.

In Windows Game Controllers, I use 900 degrees of rotation, 103 percent force feedback and zero settings for everything else, with the centering spring box checked even though that setting also is 0. The return to center feels more torque-driven and natural with the box checked to me; don't ask me why!

In iRacing, I'm using the default FFB of 12. I calibrate the wheel with every car and let iRacing automatically adjust the wheel stops, which it does well, with no muss or fuss. I also calibrate the brake pedal pressure with each car, too, although the default of 1.80 works well with most cars.

Good luck! Let me know if you have any more questions.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Tue May 18, 2010 6:07 pm

Don, I'm afraid I'm a plug-and-play kind of guy. I know my centering spring box is unchecked but I don't recall why. Force feedback strength is at 100%, everything else at zero. I do all my controller management (that is to say, I change the degrees of rotation to match the sim I'm racing) through Windows.

I'm in the middle of acquiring an apartment at the minute, and facing up to the fact that, with a gigantic hole about to appear in what used to be my disposable income, I might come up a little bit short when iRacing renewal time rolls around in the next couple of months. In a bid to find something to tide me over while I round up the necessary readies, I reinstalled Richard Burns Rally tonight.

Oh, my.

I see no need to install anything else, and as I'm largely preaching to the converted, there's probably no need to say much more than 'oh, my' either. To the two of you reading this thread who don't own this game, I say this: change that, pronto.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 7:20 pm

To the handful that may still care

, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has been released today for iRacing. Looks like the Ford Mustang may be released later this week as well. This weekend the real-life Grand-Am series will be at Mid-Ohio along with the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, and the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge. So by this weekend, you will probably be able to race all 3 of those series on Mid-Ohio in iRacing as well.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 8:43 pm

I'm downloading this now!

Thanks.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Thu Jun 17, 2010 4:13 pm

Time for my monthly iRacing infomercial as there are some good iRacing deals going on right now.

Father's Day Special: For the first to PM me, I have a free one month of iRacing code to give out to someone who has not yet subscribed to iRacing.

For current iRacing subscribers, renew for a year before June 30, 2010 and receive $30 iRacing credits.

Renew your membership for a year and we’ll send you $30 iRacing credits. Think of it as a little thank you for being a member of iRacing. You can use your free credits to purchase cars or tracks, extend your membership further or even some hosted sessions.

Whether your membership expires this month or next year, you can still take advantage of this great deal. When you purchase another year it will be added to the length of your subscription so don’t worry about losing time. Feel free to extend by two or three years as well, you’ll get $30 iRacing credits for each year you extend.

To take advantage of this offer simply extend your membership *by a year, we will do the rest. There is no code to enter or coupon to cut. We’ll email you a redemption code for the $30 iRacing credits the first week of July.

Offer is good for existing accounts only. Offer expires June 30, 2010.

For those who have never tried out iRacing there are a couple nice offers:

$5 Five Dollar One Month Trial Offer ($9 off the regular price)

http://www.iracing.com/pr/

Buy 1 month, get 2 free (3 months of racing for only $14)

http://www.iracing.com/buy-1-get-2/

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Jun 17, 2010 4:28 pm

I also have an iRacing Father's Day code for anyone interested. PM me.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 1:56 pm

Holy sh*t! iRacing is adding a TON of new content over the next few months:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/note ... 7699190479

The best PC sim of all time just continues to improve. iRacing is putting every other sim into the vanishing point of its rear-view mirror.

WPatrick · Post by **WPatrick** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 7:49 pm

And the price is right on a lot of it free! I have resubbed so whenever you guys are ready to race me for last place.

DChaps · Post by **DChaps** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 12:05 pm

WooHoo! The Ford Mustang FR500S is out now for iRacing as is the new iRacing Driver School (free for members):

iRacing is excited to announce the iRacing.com Driving School is now available -- free -- to all our members. Nearly two years in the making, the iRacing.com Driving School is designed to help new members grasp the fundamentals of racing while providing veteran iRacers with a timely refresher course.

“For the past 50 years novice racing drivers have learned basic race-driving skills in both informal and organized driving schools,” said Dave Kaemmer, iRacing.com’s CEO and a veteran real-world racer. “But in the virtual world for the most part beginners have just had to find their way by themselves. Many do develop the skills they need, though perhaps not too quickly. And many others, who have the native ability, have failed to learn the necessary skills, gotten discouraged and dropped out of the sport. With appropriate interactive instruction available, drivers will master racing skills much more quickly and have more fun racing.”

The syllabus for the iRacing.com Driving School was developed by veteran driving instructors who are also real-world championship-winning racers, including Adam Burrows, Rob Slonaker and Barry Waddell, and in collaboration with the Skip Barber Racing School. The 16 self-paced modules include instruction on topics ranging from braking and negotiating corners effectively to making car adjustments for maximum performance and developing racing techniques against other drivers. Each module is three to six minutes in length, and provides exercises iRacing members can then practice behind the wheel.

“iRacing’s aim has always been to duplicate in the virtual world all the significant aspects of racing in the real one,” said Kevin Bobbitt, iRacing.com’s director of marketing. “Developing a useful online driving school was always a part of our plan. A lot of resources – time and money – went into this project, and it’s great to see it now become available to all of our members, rookies and veterans alike.”

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:59 am

I took advantage of the $30 iRacing credit if you resubbed, so I'm good until 2011. I haven't played in a while, but have recently gotten back into it. Once I get the code for the credit I plan on grabbing at least 6 things (to get the 25% discount). I just need to decide what to get!

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 3:48 pm

Do any of you fine fellows have any experience of PC drag racing sims? I'd quite like to have a go at one and wondered if anyone had any recommendations for me.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 29, 2010 5:05 pm

GB_Simo wrote:Do any of you fine fellows have any experience of PC drag racing sims? I'd quite like to have a go at one and wondered if anyone had any recommendations for me.

Negative, sir. The only drag racing sim I ever tried was something called StripTune, which let you tune the clutch, engine, fuel mix and other parameters of nitro cars and produced you telemetry, ET's and speeds based on that setup and track and air temps you inputted.

It was more of a tuning tool than a game. It was fun back in my NHRA days.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/frenchinje ... wnload.htm