thorne Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 It's a online racing sim that apparently many real racers actually race in. I was curious if anyone from CR raced here. Last year they partnered with the scca for a big racing event and gave out 20k in prizes. If you have a GT ps3 wheel it works really well with this simulator. But make sure you install the windows drivers for the wheel or the shifter won't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 I've been doing iRacing the past few winters. It's a blast and the best Sim I've ever used. Only downside is unlike a video game you really need to devote lots and lots of time to it to practice and be competative. The Mustang's are by far the best series on there if you ask me. There are more fun cars to drive but Mustang's are the most competative, always have big fields which means someone your pace to race with, etc. Miata's are much like they are in real life spec racing..crash fest. I managed to loose my regional points champtionship in the Mustang's by like 3 points last year...pissed me off to no end but it was great fun. Been having computer problems this winter that I haven't had time to look into so I haven't been on there much. I don't have the most elaborite setup but I use a game seat for seating, Logitech G27 for controls and play off of a relatively small monitor setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 I played a good amount last winter but haven't re-upped my subscription for this year. I would like to, but as Andy pointed out it takes a good amount of time commitment that I'm not sure I have this year. The tracks are great and the racing is competitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 I tried it a year or two ago. It's really good and rewarding for getting things right. I only dabbled in some Miata races but it was fun. (Hint: When exiting the pits, do NOT go over the white line on exit.. Took me a couple laps to figure out what happened.) I quit because I was more interested in RallyX and low-traciton driving. Also, at that level of simulation, not being able to *feel* the car or the g-forces is kind of handicapping. Everybody has the same handicap, but I kept thinking I could do better if I were actually piloting the car. Now though, I may re-up. I'm thinking of changing my focus (racing-wise) and I need all the grip racing practice I can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 Also, at that level of simulation, not being able to *feel* the car or the g-forces is kind of handicapping. Everybody has the same handicap, but I kept thinking I could do better if I were actually piloting the car. Now though, I may re-up. I'm thinking of changing my focus (racing-wise) and I need all the grip racing practice I can get. You're correct, the only way you get these sensations are through the wheel. Maybe try playing around a little bit with the feedback settings in your wheel to get these characteristics to stand out a little more. I played with a cheap Momo Force Feedback wheel for quite some time, did pretty well with it but my performance is def. better with my G27 setup as it's a good bit better. There are also modifications out there for the G27 pedals all the way up to a real hydraulic loaded cylinder (load cell) for the brake pedal to get the feel as close to real as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorne Posted January 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 I've been doing iRacing the past few winters. It's a blast and the best Sim I've ever used. Only downside is unlike a video game you really need to devote lots and lots of time to it to practice and be competative. The Mustang's are by far the best series on there if you ask me. There are more fun cars to drive but Mustang's are the most competative, always have big fields which means someone your pace to race with, etc. Miata's are much like they are in real life spec racing..crash fest. I managed to loose my regional points champtionship in the Mustang's by like 3 points last year...pissed me off to no end but it was great fun. Been having computer problems this winter that I haven't had time to look into so I haven't been on there much. I don't have the most elaborite setup but I use a game seat for seating, Logitech G27 for controls and play off of a relatively small monitor setup. If you need help with your pc let me know, I could use some detail love of my wifes car we can trade. I really want a clutch pedal for my setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorne Posted January 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 Woot got a clutch pedal now. Plugged in my Guitar Hero Drum set and the kick pedal works as a clutch now. Sadly its not analog but its better than nothing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeesammy Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 Assuming one's PC is up to par, are the graphics on their site representative of actual in game footage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted January 8, 2013 Report Share Posted January 8, 2013 Assuming one's PC is up to par, are the graphics on their site representative of actual in game footage? Yes. That's my issue is that I am really trying to run the game on a machine that's just barely within spec and I'm trying to run the highest graphics settings that I can. When you get out there in a race setting with say 18-20 cars in a race it can get pretty taxing on your machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TURBOED Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 I have been contemplating getting into iRacing. I've had a G25 for a while and have played a decent amount of rFactor, and recently started playing Simraceway. It's a great way to keep the rust away during the off season... just not sure if it is worth $50/year. Simraceway is in Beta and is free right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 I played rFactor for a couple of years and though it was the shit...until I made the mistake of spending $12 for a 3 month trial of iRacing and now that's all over. The physics, car modeling, and accuracy of tracks (more in elevation and grip vs GPS plots) is un-matched in my opinion. Also I enjoy the fact that you get f'd if you mess up. Car contact, dropping wheels etc all of it will hurt your license and safety ratings. You have to learn the tracks, learn to hit your marks and learn the car behavior well before you can actually get out there and set the world on fire with pace. Otherwise you'll be stuck racing Miata's, Solstice and Spec Racer fords for all of your days. I will warn you, if you're like me you'll easily spend $200+ on iRacing in your first 6 months if you really get into it. Start running a full series for a points championship and you can only take 4 weeks off of the 12 week season, the points are based on your best 8 weeks and you won't have enough tracks to participate in 8 of the 12 weeks out there. Also I'm a sucker for a new car...the new McLaren FIA GT1 car is badass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Well I re-upped iRacing last night and gave SimRaceway a try. I didn't get all my updates with iRacing installed so I couldn't do a back-to-back comparison. SRW is pretty good, but I don't think it's where it needs to be just yet. They have an outstanding track collection (Circuit of the Americas, anyone?) and tons more street cars than iRacing. The physics are good, but have there are a couple issues. Cars seem to want to swap ends under heavy braking, even nose-heavy ones. The upshot to this is that I was taking the downhill esses on COTA in full-on 4-wheel drift mode with the Evo X. But that's not the way it's supposed to be done. The cars also feel very heavy. But that might be due to an inconsistency between the game's "wheel" and my steering wheel (Driving Force GT). SRW only accounts for 360 degrees of rotation and the DFGT does 900 degrees so even with the sensitivity cranked there still was a discrepency in how much I turned vs how much the game turned. I also question giving them money for a product clearly marked as Beta. But that's another discussion. So, in my opinion, SimeRaceway is more like Forza than a hardcore racing sim. You don't get Forza's modification system, but you can win actual stuff in the organized racing seasons. It's definitely worth a look for anyone who likes the iRacing concept, but felt deterred by the full-sim nature of it. Since it doesn't have a monthly subscription, I'll keep it installed for fun and maybe pick up a couple cars I think are interesting. But the whole push at getting back into these games, for me, is to give me some seat-time in the winter and tame my "hoonigan" driving style somewhat, so iRacing will get most of my attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Das Borgen Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 pro race drivers almost exclusively use iRacing here in the USA, even other parts of the world. the guys at my job that race pro (Grand Am) use it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 I got some seat time last night. THe controls are tighter than SRW, but I'm still dialing them in. I'm fighting with a loose steering wheel at center, but I think there might not be a solution for my wheel. Did lots of laps in a Miata at Lime Rock, and got to within a few seconds of what looks like a fast time. So I'm feeling good. But I haven't dared actually race yet. iSpeed is pretty cool. The telemetry functions will be invaluable, I'm sure. The Phone/Tablet functionality is pretty cool too. Though I wish I could set up a shift light on the display. ShiftTone would work, but I haven't got that set up yet. I'm going to try a race soon and see how that goes. I'll try for not-last. If it goes well, I think I'll start upgrading my wheel/seat combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 I got some seat time last night. THe controls are tighter than SRW, but I'm still dialing them in. I'm fighting with a loose steering wheel at center, but I think there might not be a solution for my wheel. Did lots of laps in a Miata at Lime Rock, and got to within a few seconds of what looks like a fast time. So I'm feeling good. But I haven't dared actually race yet. iSpeed is pretty cool. The telemetry functions will be invaluable, I'm sure. The Phone/Tablet functionality is pretty cool too. Though I wish I could set up a shift light on the display. ShiftTone would work, but I haven't got that set up yet. I'm going to try a race soon and see how that goes. I'll try for not-last. If it goes well, I think I'll start upgrading my wheel/seat combo. Best advise I can give for your first few Miata races while you're trying to build license points and safety rating (so you can get the hell out of the Miata's) is hang back for the first few laps...maybe even start from the pits (just don't join the grid on time). Let the carnage of the first couple of laps work itself out THEN establish your pace and as you catch people it'll be much easier to pass and move forward. Once you're comfortable in the crowd, qualify to get the best starting position possible (only have to qualify once a week) and race for wins. It's rewarding to win a Miata race, it's frustrating to start 10th and get wiped out on the first lap by some asshat. When I have an off that creates car damage I don't try go re-join the race, I just stay in the pits the remainder of the time. As soon as the car is hurt you'll just go out there and run a reduced pace and likely get quite a few more penalty points for dropping wheels and subsequent off's because the car is not right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Best advise I can give for your first few Miata races while you're trying to build license points and safety rating (so you can get the hell out of the Miata's) is hang back for the first few laps...maybe even start from the pits (just don't join the grid on time). Let the carnage of the first couple of laps work itself out THEN establish your pace and as you catch people it'll be much easier to pass and move forward. Once you're comfortable in the crowd, qualify to get the best starting position possible (only have to qualify once a week) and race for wins. It's rewarding to win a Miata race, it's frustrating to start 10th and get wiped out on the first lap by some asshat. When I have an off that creates car damage I don't try go re-join the race, I just stay in the pits the remainder of the time. As soon as the car is hurt you'll just go out there and run a reduced pace and likely get quite a few more penalty points for dropping wheels and subsequent off's because the car is not right. Oh yeah. Turn 1 survival is top of my list. I read a few threads about rejoining after a crash. It seems the consensus, especially for newbies, is to rejoin if you can and concentrate on racing clean because you can work off your penalty and even get a respectable finishing position as other people crash out / ragequit/ etc. The Nvidia Cup looks like the races to do for newbs. Though someone mentioned regional series. And another thread centered around the Spec Racer Ford for newbs. But I'm not finding anything that matches. iRacing has a learning curve like an Armco barrier. Not a bad thing, I used to play EVE, but it takes a bit longer to get comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AudiOn19s Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Oh yeah. Turn 1 survival is top of my list. I read a few threads about rejoining after a crash. It seems the consensus, especially for newbies, is to rejoin if you can and concentrate on racing clean because you can work off your penalty and even get a respectable finishing position as other people crash out / ragequit/ etc. The Nvidia Cup looks like the races to do for newbs. Though someone mentioned regional series. And another thread centered around the Spec Racer Ford for newbs. But I'm not finding anything that matches. iRacing has a learning curve like an Armco barrier. Not a bad thing, I used to play EVE, but it takes a bit longer to get comfortable. I hated spec racer ford, could never get the car setup to my liking and when I got it setup to where I wanted it I was slow compared to the others. The solstice isn't a bad car I think there are some things you can do as a beginner in the solstice but you'll find very quickly that it's really very soft and boring to drive compared to the Miata. Miata's are great fun once you've built up some experience and don't mind getting out there and rubbing fenders with people, but they're frustrating if you're trying to be clean and get experience under your belt. As soon as you get Class D and can run Mustang's that's where it's at in my opinion. I've tried all the rest of the series, bought all the cars, to this day I don't care for any of the open wheel stuff except for the fixed setup indy cars and do most of my racing in the Mustang's. I guess part of that alure is that it's also basically the same lap pace as my real world track car so it makes for excellent practice as far as timing goes, it obviously drive quite a bit different but everything is coming at you at the same pace as in real life at least for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorne Posted January 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 I have been contemplating getting into iRacing. I've had a G25 for a while and have played a decent amount of rFactor, and recently started playing Simraceway. It's a great way to keep the rust away during the off season... just not sure if it is worth $50/year. Simraceway is in Beta and is free right now. I'll have to check out Sim Raceway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorne Posted January 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 Well I re-upped iRacing last night and gave SimRaceway a try. I didn't get all my updates with iRacing installed so I couldn't do a back-to-back comparison. SRW is pretty good, but I don't think it's where it needs to be just yet. They have an outstanding track collection (Circuit of the Americas, anyone?) and tons more street cars than iRacing. The physics are good, but have there are a couple issues. Cars seem to want to swap ends under heavy braking, even nose-heavy ones. The upshot to this is that I was taking the downhill esses on COTA in full-on 4-wheel drift mode with the Evo X. But that's not the way it's supposed to be done. The cars also feel very heavy. But that might be due to an inconsistency between the game's "wheel" and my steering wheel (Driving Force GT). SRW only accounts for 360 degrees of rotation and the DFGT does 900 degrees so even with the sensitivity cranked there still was a discrepency in how much I turned vs how much the game turned. I also question giving them money for a product clearly marked as Beta. But that's another discussion. So, in my opinion, SimeRaceway is more like Forza than a hardcore racing sim. You don't get Forza's modification system, but you can win actual stuff in the organized racing seasons. It's definitely worth a look for anyone who likes the iRacing concept, but felt deterred by the full-sim nature of it. Since it doesn't have a monthly subscription, I'll keep it installed for fun and maybe pick up a couple cars I think are interesting. But the whole push at getting back into these games, for me, is to give me some seat-time in the winter and tame my "hoonigan" driving style somewhat, so iRacing will get most of my attention. Draco, Did you install the Logitech drivers? I could not get my wheel to recognize all 900 degrees until I installed the drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draco-REX Posted January 10, 2013 Report Share Posted January 10, 2013 I'll have to check out Sim Raceway. It's a free subscription, but you have to pay for the cars. To be fair, you also have to buy cars and tracks in iRacing too. Draco, Did you install the Logitech drivers? I could not get my wheel to recognize all 900 degrees until I installed the drivers. Yes. Gear drive FF wheels sometimes have an unavoidable vagueness at center. The DFGT might be one. I have a couple more things I can try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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