Race Sims rFactor/iRacing how do they compare?

The Spec Racer is a great way to start iRacing ... firstly, it's tricky enough to peddle so as to put many newbs off (they go with the MX5 very often) and so there's a reasonable standard of driving for an (advanced) Rookie series ... secondly, it also has a good few aliens who race it (they love it!) and so you have a yardstick to gauge progress and a great wealth of knowledge to pull on ... thirdly, it's a mixed-class series so you gain more experience in passing and coping with slower cars and other racers' behaviour.

There's only one downside (though it's an upside for some) ... it only uses free tracks this season ... a shame, coz it would be a lot of fun on some other circuits.

I don't disagree with your assessment of the oversteer either, KoAStR, but for me, the lift-off oversteer in the SRF was a primary method of steering ... in the Skippy, it's almost always 'unwanted'. In both cases though, it's quite manageable with smooth inputs (wheel and feet). Maybe the Skip was different with the OTM, too, but I didn't run it last season

C u ontrack soon

They ran a hosted multi-class enduro at Spa (which included the Spec-ster) a while back -- I didn't run as the sessions were at stupid-o'clock, but I did run a few practice laps at that track in the SRF ... brilliant

Will keep an eye out for you in official Skippy practices, mate, but I've shelved the Spec Racer for now ... I'm a one-trick-pony, in a bid to maximise my learning/competitiveness ... that's the theory anyway

Not a bad idea sticking with one series. I'm currently competing in the Grand Prix Series (going for a pro license) and the V8 Supercar Online Series on Monday nights. So they are my focuses (different much haha)

Here is the replay of the broadcast from last night's V8 Supercar Race (top split, SOF of 3800). Epic race up the front and awesome job by Terry Nightingale and Corey Slade on the Commentary.

http://www.livestream.com/mondaynightv8 ... 8d24a44010

Thxs for sharing mad that was good to watch. Felt abit sorry for that Peter dude he got roughed up abit, giz probably could of shown a little more patience. Thought Peter was going to take it out on you, he got pretty close on the hairpin.

Slighlty OT... am I missing out on much by not having a clutch in iracing? I use a standard DFGT set of pedals.

Cause when I watch Gizs MX5 replay theres no way I can pull up like he can. Can you use the engine to slow with a clutch in iracing? I dont know the techincal term as Im not a racer but you know like you do in real life.

Yeah, was a good race. SVG had a massive dive and left him no room so I do feel sorry for Peter. Peter harrassed the back of me though, gave me a bump at the hairpin as you say then had a drive underneath me at the same place Giz did on him. He spun in the process, finished 5th. But I was happy with 2nd.

As for DFGT, that probably is a bit of a disadvantage. I use the clutch in cars like the MX5 and Mustang for the up changes but not the down changes. You can LFB and slam it in gear using the H pattern blipping the throttle on each change. That is the way most people do it. However, you can go faster with the up changes if you have a clutch (you can always button clutch for that though).

Joe80 or someone dropped your name on the TTR forum Or I'm just stalking you. Btw you are pretty quick in the skip!

As Mad said, use a button for the clutch. I use the square on the DFGT, helps speed up the gear changes on the mx5 and other cars with slow auto clutch gear changes (skip barber). In the v8sc I use no clutch going up gears, then pop the button clutch on down changes and blip the throttle. It doesn't take too long for it to be second nature. Now I just have to work on my lines.

Err ... as in, I'm only 1.0-2.0 secs slower than the green-bloods ... I know iRacing is a big pond, but I barely qualify as a fish in it ... should change my name to stoneshrimp :lol:

28.2 at Suzuka so far ... and there are a gazillion replays of 26.x on show in the forum already ... and by the time I get comfy in the 27s, there will be a couple of 25s to marvel at :shock:

Who is heck is Chris Munday ... is he quicker than me !?

Stonemonkey - Christopher Rigby

And Carn ... I did a search for Trent Whelan and came up with sweet chuff all ..!

I did a quick test last night trying a button clutch in the MX-5, its great on the upshifts but i have to use the button clutch to down shift. If I dont it wont down shift, what am I doing wrong? Do you need a H pattern to be able to down shift with out clutch, I use the DFGT button paddles.

Paul ... I don't have the answer ... and I don't mean put say anything that might be perceived as putting you off your quest ... this is just an alternative outlook ...

... Running without a clutch isn't a massive factor for speed. If you want to 'clutch' for more realism, more power to ya brother, but if you are looking for speed, imho, you'd be better concentrating mastering the art of smooth inputs, hands & feet (inc. how you go 'off' both peddles, as well as 'on') and trail-braking ... this is where the real speed is at.

All accounts indicate that manual clutching is a fraction quicker, but it's not massive. With the OTM, someone did a telemetry test, and N > 5 with clutch was 0.1 faster than without clutch. Now sure ... the 0.1s add up ... and at the pointy-end of the pointy-end it all comes into play, but there are other skills to master which are far more telling.

I myself still run 'auto blip' ... despite have a G25 (i.e. I have a clutch if I want). I 'auto blip' so I can focus more on my car control, which is by far the biggest factor (again, imo) in increasing one's speed & consistency with iRacing.

If you are counter-steering, you are in recovery mode ... got off the brakes too fast ... turned in too abruptly ... etc. If you are looking for speed & consistency, personally, I would stay in your gear-changing comfort zone for the mo, and work on your hands and feet ... and then when you get as smooth as a bucket of snot ... think about how you might get even smoother

I recommend you view this video comparing button clutching vs auto clutch in the skip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4jkr8ChEs4

Still not convinced the difference is monumental ... it only goes to 0.2 because he can run all the way to max speed and can carry the advantage to it's limit ... that will almost never happen in a road race ... where it's much more stop/start. Also, the vid gives no hint at the increased difficulty in rev-matching on the way down ... it's very easy to spin out if you dump your gears too fast, and much more difficult to utilise engine braking.

Auto blip gives a lot of security while you master other things (handling characteristics/tracks/etc) ... but, I totally understand why folks might wanna go with a clutch ... for me though, I'm trying to approach iRacing with iddy-biddy baby steps

Edit:

I just realised that I missed the point, and you're talking about BUTTON clutch ... i.e. no need to heel & toe down, and you still have lefty for (trail) braking. Apologies. But still no good to me ... the G25 only has two wheel buttons -- I've got 'push-to-talk' and 'black-box cycle' mapped to them ... I need that G27 and those CST peddles

Hehe yeah button clutching for us poor dfgt guys. I only have 26 buttons to use
You make a good point though. 95% of speed is found by taking the right lines and knowing when to brake and accelerate. The other 4.5% is car setup and maybe .5% is gained by using a clutch.

My name is Nathan Evans

Havent got in yet but willing to have a look at doing something up. I hear you can do the skins in photo shop and i do a bit of that. Need to have gtleaguOz and TTR on it somewhere. PC is not far away check up on progress today.