64 replies to this topic

[Danny Steyn]

I've spent the last few sessions on IRacing concentrating on trail braking. I drove the Acura at Mid O last night and realized that driving the MX-5 I might have been a little to "on-off switch" with the throttle. LOL

 

Many of us drive our SM's in real life with the throttle like and on-off switch, and because it only has 125HP you can get away with it. And we get to WOT generally before we get to the apex of a turn to lengthen the straight. ANd for several years when I first started racing, I would watch with from the reference of my Spec Miata experience, in semi-contempt to the other classes racing at the track wondering why the hell they were taking so long to get to WOT after the apex????

Then I drove some high HP cars in iRacing, and guess what, those drivers are at WOT as early as they can be. Driving a variety of cars in the sim gives you way more sensitivity to weight, HP, downforce and more, so instead of being a one dimensional racer, you hopefully can appreciate the subtleties of the other classes out there. 

[Steve Scheifler]

When you you are trying to approximate lapping in your SM and find that the MX5 cup car requires an extra up-shift before the next corner, do you always shift or do you ease up a bit to keep the rhythm more like your real car? I'm finding myself inclined to shift in some cases and not in others depending on how "busy" things are and how much trouble I'm having with the segment. My mind tells me that the added complexity of the extra up and down shifts at those busy sections will improve my driving overall, but it does make it more difficult to develop a rhythm that I can take to the real track. Probably a reflection of the steep learning curve to master the sim world and I need to focus more on that before worrying about the rest, but figured I would ask how others deal with it.

[Kevin B]

Steve,

I found a similar challenge with the MX-5 Cup.  Once my inner competitor started pressing for faster lap times, the relation to 4.3 ratio shift points was gone.  The MX-5 roadster version has a 5-speed.  Of course you're on the wrong side of the car but shift points are more normalized if you're just practicing.

[Tom Hampton]

I've always loved simulators...even when I was a teenager.  I started out in flight simulators (chuck yeager's advanced flight simulator or something, Falcon 1-4, etc).  But, moved to driving sims about 10 years ago.  I have an iRacing subscription, and I used it heavily for about a year.  But, since it doesn't include any of the current Texas Region tracks, I've moved away from it. 

 

I've moved to RFactor, and have all the regional tracks and the 1.6L SM car model.  As most know last year was my rookie year in SM.  So, I had ZERO knowledge of most of the local tracks.  Last year, I only half-heartedly used the Sim to become basically familiar with the tracks.  General visuals, lines, etc.  Essentially enough to know if the next turn was a left or right and have some idea where the brake points might be. 

 

After having been to all of these tracks now, I can attest to the general accuracy of the models.  They are visually very accurate, and the couple of times I tried to compare times, it seems like they were pretty close to my actual times. 

 

So this year, I'm taking a much more rigorous approach, and trying to treat it just like real track time.  I'm taking track notes, adjusting setups, etc...just like I was actually at the track.  I want to see how well this can translate from the Sim world to the real world.  I'm using the sim to help train my eyes where to look.  Like most less experienced drivers I find myself focusing to much on the next 100 feet and not on the entire turn.  it takes time and practice to learn to look through to the exit and let the car rotate around your eye point. 

 

First Data point

 

Last year at MSR-H (my first time there), I managed a best lap of 1:55.5.  I'd done much the same in the simulator the week prior. 

 

The NASA season started last weekend at MSR-Houston.  I spend the 3 weeks leading up to it, practicing for ~1-2 hrs per day in Rfactor.  My PR in Rfactor during this time was 1:52.9, and generally averaged a 1:53.5 in any given session during the week leading up to the race.  I would go for walks, and recite every inch of a MSR-H lap in my head visualizing everything about that lap.  I spent every Sim session trying to look as far through the turn as I could---trying not to even look at the center of the screen. 

 

Before my "brush" with the wall, I went out and did several 1:53.x laps in the first session.  I was struggling with wheelspin and a loose car with my open diff, so we dropped the rear bar before session 2.  I immediately managed several 1:53.1s in a row, and the car was much more manageable.  Two laps later I was -1.1 s (1:52 flat pace) exiting the keyhole until I caught a CMC car entering the bus-stop.  He didn't seem know what to do, and just PARKED on the entry turn until I went by.  Since I couldn't tell what he was doing I went by slowly.  So, the lap was toast.  then they flagged the session. 

 

We all know what happened in session 3.  Wall.

 

All that is to say, is that I dropped 2-3 seconds off my real PR time from last year, and when I arrived at MSR-H I managed times VERY similar to what I'd been practicing in the Sim.  I plan to continue to keep track of this data throughout the year at each track to see how well they correlate. 

 

Second Data point (work in progress)

 

I've already started on the next track (if for no other reason than to take my mind off the crash).  Next up is MSR Cresson.  Last year, I managed a single 1:26.5, but averaged more around 1:27.7 in real life.  Since Cresson is my "home" track, I didn't do any simulator time before Cresson last year.  

 

Last night (first session), I managed all 1:26.3 laps except for a single 1:25.9.  We will see what all this means in March when we go back. 

 

The biggest issue I had last night was the fact that I don't have a "real" pedal setup, so smooth downshifting is really tricky and artificial to the sim.  Downshifting to second while decelerating up the hill into Rattlesnake without unsettling the car was spotty.  Its a real world problem, but with my sim-pedal setup the solution is completely artificial and different than the real car. 

[Steve Scheifler]

Good stuff Tom.

[Steve Scheifler]

Any idea why my fastedt lap during a session is often not displayed as Best over on the left between Last and Opt, or saved for next session? It shows correctly in the Lap Timing box on the right for this session, but never updates the All-time value in the left box. Optimal is updating and saving, but Best has remained the same for several sessions even though I have knocked more than 4 seconds off.

Any idea?

[Danny Steyn]

Any idea why my fastedt lap during a session is often not displayed as Best over on the left between Last and Opt, or saved for next session? It shows correctly in the Lap Timing box on the right for this session, but never updates the All-time value in the left box. Optimal is updating and saving, but Best has remained the same for several sessions even though I have knocked more than 4 seconds off.

Any idea?

Post in the iRacing forums, sure you will get a rapid response

[JRHille]

If you have any off-tracks it will not show your best lap in the box on the left, it will only show up as your "last" and will also count on your optimal

[Steve Scheifler]

Looked at the replay this last time, no off or warnings

[deyan]

If you went off in the last sector before the start of your lap, it won't count it either.

[Steve Scheifler]

Well, I certainly have had a LOT of offs, so that's possible I guess even though I have had at least dozen quicker laps since the one shown, one nearly 7 seconds faster. Not particularly important at the moment but peculiar.

[DrDomm]

Well, it's good to see some interest in iRacing.  I got into all of this doing sim racing back in the day (college).  A friend of mine and I started with Papyrus's NASCAR racing and IndyCar Racing 2.  We did a bunch of the initial graphics mods on ICR2.  We did some of the early online stuff.  I continued doing it thru medical school.  I got back into it even after I started practicing (medicine).  

 

I hope the interest in iRacing continues, as I've never been able to actually race with it.  I just practice, and have run into all the same challenges as everyone else.  I do believe it's very helpful to use prior to going to an unknown track.  I've experimented with setups, but it takes a lot of time.  Since I didn't race last year, I'm using it now as a refresher.

[Steve Scheifler]

Still not sure the exact conditions to trigger a non-lap but it doesn't require 4 wheels off. I've just barely touched dirt and seen the asterisk come on for the segment but I suspect it is penalizing at 2 wheels even slightly beyond the track and curbs. I know they need to push people to maintain control during races, but DE rules seems ridiculous. Nobody actually races that way.

[Dave Cox]

Although I agree it seems maybe a little too tight on judging an off track (1x) I was reading up on how the safety rating is calculated (which determines the license class) and in that tutorial it states any time the centerline of the car passes over the track boundaries. I have found that boundary is defined differently. For example there is a higher speed left hander at Okayama that to me appears that should be more forgiving and allow the right side tires another foot or so over the curbs and with out fail if I have a good run going and I think I can give a little on that outside I get hit with a penalty, but even on the same track I can run the right side tires almost up to the curbs of the turn 1 right hander without a penalty. Lime Rock is another example with some more forgiving areas than others.

 

One thing I think play into it is the risk of going off, in the left hander I described the walls are very close and if you get loose there you are most certainly going to ball it, but in the turn 1 right hander it is a little slower and there is more room to go off and even spin without hitting anything. So it seems like they maybe trying to  use it as a deterrent to balling up yours and other cars around you if the risk is higher in a certain corner.

 

I wish I had the opportunity even soon to prove that my working with iRacing has helped a couple of issues with my driving (and I believe it has based on certain factors I have seen since I started), but it's not looking like that is in the cards right now.

 

Dave

[Steve Scheifler]

Hi Dave! We were hoping to catch up with you this season. Perhaps we'll have to do it online instead, maybe some lead-follow to get us more comfortable with the controls? We seem to plateau at dismal and then I backslide from there. Tom thinks I should try it in the morning rather than late night when I have no focus. Worth a try.

[Dave Cox]

I think Tom is right on the focus thing, but I just can't get away in the morning (I am more of a morning person typically). Next time I am on (probably tonight around 8:30) I will try and find you so at least we will be able to see when we are each online. I have only been running for a short period of time and can be inconsistent at times mainly due to the laptop I am running it on being suboptimal.

 

This past summer was challenging, and now that we have Sydney there's 1 more variable in the mix. will be around this season at some of the closer CenDiv races, but the motor in the car needs to be replaced and there have been some financial challenges for the family so I may have to sit this year out although somethings are changing so we will see if something comes up at the end of the year.

[JRHille]

Had a chance to run with a pretty cool league on the simulator, stuff like this is great practice for races.  The broadcast is pretty legitimate, pretty cool what they're doing in the sim world. 

 

Skip to about 13 minutes for the race start

 

[Bench Racer]

Per the announcer, Yies, I kno des gys, Hill ferm da UK.

[Jim Drago]

That was really cool. The announcers were actually very good. I wish I wasnt completely unable to use that dam thing as it looks like fun

[Amy M]

 

iRacing – Getting Started

You will need to purchase an iRacing subscription. Note that you never own the software and you never own the tracks or cars. You subscribe to the service and it comes with several cars and tracks as part of the deal. Sign up and start driving. There is a forum to help you get started and just like racing, lots of people willingly share their setup and approach and genuinely want to see you get faster.

 

Start with the Rookie cars and get yourself acquainted with your wheel and pedal setup. Initially you will need to dedicate time to getting familiar with the feeling of the wheels and the pedals, and since there is no seat-of-the-pants-feedback, you will need to be very comfortable with both the pedals and especially the wheel.

 

Initially I was hopeless and would over drive the car, spin out, crash everywhere, and pretty much suck! However as I kept investing time, I have become very comfortable with the setup and for me, I get the sense of under-steer from the increase in tire noise, and I can immediately feel over-steer happening in the wheel through the change in force feedback. Once you develop the feel for this, the car control improves rapidly and your lap times drop accordingly.

 

Once you start enjoying yourself, it might be time to lease additional cars and tracks, based on what you are looking for from your sim experience. These are one time lease purchases.

 

Danny, are there any older Miatas or just the MX-5 ?