iRacing catch-all

Jeff, maybe edit the initial post in this thread to include the names of any GWJ drivers who don't mind posting their racing names so we can add them to our friends lists.

kyrieee wrote:

I don't know much about this game. Is the simulation on a different level compared to the console driving "sims"?

I would equate iRacing to Starcraft tournaments, that's the closest gaming parallel I can think of. You can head over to PSRTV.com to watch or download the money races, they just had a 17K total prize money championship race last Friday I believe that's up there. These shows seem to include a "network" like intro and recap before going to the track for coverage, it's very NASCAR radio live coverage in the way they commentate.

In the most recent blog entry they talk about how they used to have to explain the sim and beg for access to tracks and cars where as now they have more track owners calling and asking them to be included than iRacing can handle. They also are getting more and more backing from the real world series they emulate. I followed this back in it's early concept days and even when it went live but I didn't think they could pull it off and grow but they have, when my 3 months are up I'll be signing up for another year for sure.

/shilling over

garion333 wrote:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/4uXET.jpg)

Glee!

Well?!? We require feedback!

For anyone who's currently an iRacing member, please post if it's ok to list your iRacing user name in the OP.

And speaking of 'out for delivery', my pedals are almost here

Newest horsey in the stable:

Ford V8 Supercar: 638 HP, 999 Awesomes

IMAGE(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/ziffel66/FordV8-02.jpg)

IMAGE(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/ziffel66/FordV8-01.jpg)

And these are my new pedals:

IMAGE(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/ziffel66/clubsport.jpg)

How did you get that sweet paint job? Is it one offered via the site, or did you customize it somehow?

Oh, and that is one awesome ride to pilot around a track. I love throwing it around their Phillip Island course.

Nyxs Optare wrote:

How did you get that sweet paint job? Is it one offered via the site, or did you customize it somehow?

I just snagged those pics off the web. However, it is possible to fully customize and paint your car now, though I'm not sure others can see it or not.

edit: here's mine :

IMAGE(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/ziffel66/ford-v8-04.jpg)
IMAGE(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/ziffel66/ford-v8-03.jpg)
IMAGE(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/ziffel66/ford-v8-05.jpg)

Jeff-66 wrote:
garion333 wrote:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/4uXET.jpg)

Glee!

Well?!? We require feedback!

Well, I only used them on Shift last night on the PS3. My current pc setup isn't conducive to having a wheel right now, so I'm looking into that. I wasn't prepared for the wheel to ship so soon.

That said, the wheel is a TON stronger than when I last used a wheel. So much so I turned down the FF in Shift a little. Part of my problem with the FF is that I'm overcorrecting a bit and I blame that on the deadzone. The deadzone does annoy me, but it's certainly something I can get use to.

Overall, the wheel feels nice. It's not belt driven and you can tell, but it's definitely not noisy, which is great. The pedals are good enough for me for the forseeable future. And I only used the shifter as a controller as I used the paddle shifters, so I can't speak to that.

It's a good product overall and feels less gamey than any other wheel I've ever used even if there's more plastic than I'd like to see for the price. Can't wait to get this thing setup on the pc and fiddle around with the settings to get it to feel like I want it to.

The force feedback settings must be adjusted to your comfort level for sure. I forget what game I was playing, but the FF set to 100% would jerk my arms off. Glad you're enjoying the new wheel.

And I wouldn't judge the wheel too much by NFS Shift either, it's not really that great with it's wheel support in my experience. I think you'll find the G27 much more impressive in a simulator, especially after it's been properly setup and tuned.

You can post my name in the OP.

My wheel is slated for delivery tomorrow.

Question: is it worth getting out on the track and posting some time trial times even if they aren't quick? Is there a downside to doing so? I have a whole week to get my races in..but should I wait until I feel like I'm as good as I'm going to get on a track? Same question for actual races. As long as I'm clean, is that good enough to get out there?

Time trial and clean races, even finishing last, will do wonders for your promotions. You can fast track your way to a higher license level, and thereby cost you $$ for new cars/tracks (see how they do that?). If you look at my race history, you'll see there's not a lot of seat time there for me to be a B licensed racer. I'm not fast, but I race cleanly; starting from the pits very often. It wouldn't take much for me to jump to an A in road course, but the B class cars are the ones that are most fun to me so I'm happy where I'm at.

The down side I guess would be that if you finish last, it will start placing you with slower drivers, but it hasn't affected the thrill of the races in my case. Whatever you do, be it time trial or race, do it clean. Safe driving in this sim gets you much further than 1st place.

You can post my name if you want- Mike Melelis. Thanks.

DonD wrote:

You can post my name in the OP.

My wheel is slated for delivery tomorrow.

Question: is it worth getting out on the track and posting some time trial times even if they aren't quick? Is there a downside to doing so? I have a whole week to get my races in..but should I wait until I feel like I'm as good as I'm going to get on a track? Same question for actual races. As long as I'm clean, is that good enough to get out there?

There are separate standings for TT points, a good thing as not everyone does them and you can place quite high. Time Trials are also based on your fastest TT for the week in that series, last week I ran a ton of them for SR and it just counted my very best 10 lap segment in Legends and street stocks. Only downside I can tell is if you aren't running clean laps yet it can hurt your SR as incidents do count in TT's.

I originally planned to practice practice and practice some more but when you can run clean laps in testing and are even close to race pace jump in and race, maybe do a ghost run or two first.

I just tried a race after several weeks of no practice. I highly recommend NOT doing that. Looks like practice for me until I get my head above water. I can't handle the continued damage to my ratings.

I got my new Clubsport pedals today (thanks to MisterStatic for his tuning & setup help), and have set new personal best lap times at Lime Rock (MX5), Zandvoort in the Skip Barber, and Laguna Seca in the MX5. Beat my Zandvoort best by a full 2.2 seconds.

They definitely had me befuddled for the first few hours, adjusting to the pressure sensitivity braking (load cell) versus the normal style travel-distance braking that I was used to. Once you start to get the hang of it though, you can really feel the extra control you have in cornering. I have a feeling these things will lead to some really nice lap time improvements and generally better driving. They feel like real car pedals.

I count 6 of us on the service now, and if by some miracle we can all arrange a set 4-hour block, I would grab us a hosted session, and we could do some private racing for fun.

Jeff-66 wrote:

I count 6 of us on the service now, and if by some miracle we can all arrange a set 4-hour block, I would grab us a hosted session, and we could do some private racing for fun.

I'm online every night (gotta love the wife) - If an evening can be settled on, I'm happy to join in and even contribute to the rental of a server or two if it turns into a weekly thing. This could be a lot of fun, and we could race whatever vehicles we like, regardless of current license level.

Ok, genuine question here.

My budget is entirely too restricted to splurge on a wheel + pedal setup, but with all the activity here I'm very interested in giving iRacing a whirl for the heck of it. I love playing the Forza and Gran Turismo games, and have always played them with game controllers, getting pretty comfortable with careful, reasonably fine steering control using the analog stick (if you push forward on the analog stick, it makes it easier to make fine-tuned steering movements rather than just moving the stick straight right and left).

How approachable on a trial basis is iRacing with a 360 controller plugged into the pc? Would it give me a decent trial run to get my feet wet, or are the controllers truly far too imprecise to use with this sim?

I can't really speak to what it's like as I've never used a controller for this sim. I was reading yesterday in the iRacing forums where someone had asked the same question and the overwhelming response was "no controllers". I will, however, setup my controller tonight when I get home and do a few laps around a couple of tracks and report back with what I find. Perhaps it's something you can tolerate, perhaps not. I'll let ya's know.

Jeff started out on a controller ... and then spent close to $500 for a wheel setup. YMMV.

That would be cool to hear. It sounds endlessly fascinating, but there's no space in my life right now for a wheel and pedals.

MrDeVil909 wrote:

That would be cool to hear. It sounds endlessly fascinating, but there's no space in my life right now for a wheel and pedals.

I have the space, just not the money.

Farscry wrote:
MrDeVil909 wrote:

That would be cool to hear. It sounds endlessly fascinating, but there's no space in my life right now for a wheel and pedals.

I have the space, just not the money. :)

Then, some of us have all the gear and no space:) I think I might trade places with you and use a controller.

DeVil has the money - Farscry has the space. Sounds like a match made in heaven. Or, the red-light-district.

Nyxs Optare wrote:

DeVil has the money - Farscry has the space. Sounds like a match made in heaven. Or, the red-light-district.

But our star-crossed love is separated by the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean! I see the makings of a romantic drama here...

Farscry, iRacing is approachable with a 360 controller, but I don't recommend public racing with one. Maybe you're like Thin J and are just really good with a gamepad, but you'll know your limitations. The nice thing about iRacing is that you can run the tracks alone all you want, in "Test" mode. That's what I did for a week (with the 360 pad) before my wheel arrived. I didn't feel comfortable using it in any public racing though, YMMV.

And garion my setup was only about $340, not $500

Farscry wrote:
Nyxs Optare wrote:

DeVil has the money - Farscry has the space. Sounds like a match made in heaven. Or, the red-light-district.

But our star-crossed love is separated by the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean! I see the makings of a romantic drama here...

Giggidy!

I also don't have space in my wallet. Or should that be too much space?

It was a passion doomed from the start.

Jeff-66 wrote:

And garion my setup was only about $340, not $500 :)

I thought Clubsports were $250. Ahhhhh, they're $200. Even if they were $250, my math failed me. I should've said almost $400, but that would've been wrong anyway. Moving on.

I don't know why I missed that you can do solo test-runs, I thought practice was with other people.

Farscry wrote:

I don't know why I missed that you can do solo test-runs, I thought practice was with other people. :)

Technically, "practice", which is what it's called officially, is with other people. But "Test" is solo.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but to post official times to your profile it will have to be an official session. It won't keep track of your solo tests officially. However, I do think it records your best lap times in solo, at least when you get in to solo the next time. I think you can see it in the bottom right info panel in solo. Also, when setting times, hitting TAB a few times and using "Optimal Lap" or "Optimal Sector" can be helpful.