Becoming better at racing games.

[roost89]

I know a fair few of you are sim-racers, do you have any tips as to becoming consistently faster (without tuning)?

I ask because although I'm quite good...I think, my internet connection doesn't allow me to race against the rest of the world on Xbox Live as it's far too slow. I would like to be better off-line.

The racing games I play a fair bit at the moment are Race Pro & Forza 2. When I pound round tracks I can be anything up to 1s difference in lap time from one lap to another.

Any tips?

[Jersey Tom]

Tuning is a big part of it.

Other than that.. work on your line first. Line has to be perfect. Then, work on speed. How late can you brake? How much speed can you carry through the corner? How quickly can you get back into the gas?

Gotta be consistent as well.

[Scotracer]

Brake and turn-in markers. Instead of guessing "instinctively" where you will do that stuff, look at the track around you and find a point where you should be doing it - a brake marker (50/100m etc) or a sign or a post or whatever. Makes a big difference to consistency.

[roost89]

Thanks Scotracer and Jersey Tom. I'll concentrate on my line then work on braking and accel out of corners. At the end tuning.

[PNSD]

Following on from Jersey Tom, speed will come gradually as you gain more confidence.

Dont try to be the fastest out there on the first lap, once you do get the lines right and are able to be consistant then you can work on finding out how to improve the car.

[pjobmathew]

get a good controller

[wesley123]

make sure you drive relaxed, that helps alot, so no agressive driving, smooth and relaxed. I sometimes drive 30 laps non stop, the first laps i drive aggresive and then im pretty fast, until the tires start to wear and the tires overheat, then i have to drive more relaxed, like braking befor turn in, then my lap times stay constant and sometimes they are even faster.

[mep]

Ok, I am driving F1 Challenge with f1 mania 2009 mod.
I don't know how it is on your game but for this one I can say it is just the problem that almost every online racer seems to be either a noob or a cheater.

For some tracks I spent many hours for making a setup
until there is almost no improvement of lap time left.
Times vary in a few tents.

Then when I play online, the others are able to do lap times a few 3-4 seconds faster than me. For me this is just impossible and the only explanation is they managed to find some way to cheat.

[Belatti]

roost, practice makes the master.

Tunning "at the end" is not a the best idea. Try at least to work with wings and gear ratios if you dont want to change suspension and stuff.

Brake and turn-in markers. Instead of guessing "instinctively" where you will do that stuff, look at the track around you and find a point where you should be doing it - a brake marker (50/100m etc) or a sign or a post or whatever. Makes a big difference to consistency.

Till you have enough practice to return to your instincts.

@ mep, I dont know the world of on line simracing, Im only an offline master but every game has its secrets or anomalies in the programing or physics modelling. Im not saying that there are no cheaters, but sometimes you can do things, mainly by tunning, that would make you faster that you had previously thought.

[Giblet]

Ok, I am driving F1 Challenge with f1 mania 2009 mod.
I don't know how it is on your game but for this one I can say it is just the problem that almost every online racer seems to be either a noob or a cheater.

For some tracks I spent many hours for making a setup
until there is almost no improvement of lap time left.
Times vary in a few tents.

Then when I play online, the others are able to do lap times a few 3-4 seconds faster than me. For me this is just impossible and the only explanation is they managed to find some way to cheat.

PGR4 I picked a track one day, and went against the 60,000 or so people that have raced it and after about 30 laps, I managed to cork out one in the top 250. I could not for the life believe anyone could find another 10th, let alone the half second the leader had.

I downloaded his lap, and realized that he was "wall bouncing", hitting your car on the wall in the opposite direction of the turn, then using the bounce to turn in faster and throttle through the corner better.

I was so choked when I realized I would have to cheat to better my time or go for the #1 spot.

[RH1300S]

Once you have found a consistent line and braking markers - all great advice.

In fact your first step in speed will come from - LINE, LINE & LINE - learn to unlock the speed the track can give you, then work on driving faster.

The next step up will come from watching replays of the fastest drivers.

They will steal tiny advantages everywhere on the track - use the kerbs to their maximum, trim as much as you can from a chicane without getting a 'cut' warning. Those little lumps all add up and will usually give you extra speed onto the straight - which again adds up to culmulative advantages.

Learn to trail brake - this seems to work well in every sim I have tried. Just riding the throttle over the brakes stabilises the back end, so you can brake and get it turned more consistently.

The final few tenths will come from driving technique - some of the guys out there are doing clever stuff with the cars to get them back on the throttle earlier.

I haven't mentioned tuning (setup) yet....for me, I found that it helped to have a base setup I could be consistent with (at the very least you want to have the right gearing for the track). For some people, they leave the setup well alone and go plenty fast enough.

Controller - as mentioned above you will be amazed how much more speed and consitency comes from a quality controller (like the G25 pictured above).

Have a read of this... http://www.nogripracing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6061

Some of it is GTL specific, but most applies everywhere.

Pero is truly fast, the more powerful the car you give him the bigger the gap in time. I could (sort of ) race with him in some cars, but when you get the evil beasts like the Cobra or Pantera, forget it. His advice holds good and is backed up by the fact he has genuine 'alien' pace.

[pjobmathew]

* Quote RH1300S
Have a read of this... http://www.nogripracing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6061

nice one =D>
surprised to find that he uses Wingman Formula Force GP coz i always felt that the pedals were too soft .

[mep]

At F1 challenge my guess is that they manipulated the car weight or something like that. They are able to acclerate much quicker than I do and their cars fly away with the slightest hit. Where my car just slightly moves when they hit me.

[jddh1]

I just started with the racing sims after giving up a few years ago because they were so boring. But picked up a modern game and I love it. I find myself about 3-4 seconds off the pace (off-line, haven't tried online racing yet), but I've raced only twice so far and haven't played around with the settings. I've started with a low power car to learn the circuits. Do you think it's a good idea?

Oh yeah, I'm still using my keyboard....i know i know. I'm going to get a proper controller pretty soon. the keyboard keys suck at controlling the car.

[Belatti]

Oh yeah, I'm still using my keyboard....i know i know. I'm going to get a proper controller pretty soon. the keyboard keys suck at controlling the car.

Not in the 4 ol´ Microprose Grand Prix games. I can be pretty fast with the keys. Obviously, still slower than with the wheel.