AC Caterham 420 R Race @ Zandvoort - Weds 29th July 2020

[dg222]

Can someboby please enlighten me ?

Completely new to (sim)racing so any advise would be welcome....

I've been doing 2 hours of practicing now on the practice server and it seems there is no way I can get faster laps, fastest now is 2,05,xx
There was another guy on track that did consistent 1,55,xx
That's a difference of 10s(!) per lap....

I've got the feeling I'm driving up to the limits, of the car and the driver.
Everytime I try to do a faster lap I end up off track somehow....

Where is the secret in improving laptimes? My goal is not to be on par with the 1,55,xx but to improve my own driving and laptimes

?

 

[HF2000]

Can someboby please enlighten me ?

Completely new to (sim)racing so any advise would be welcome....

I've been doing 2 hours of practicing now on the practice server and it seems there is no way I can get faster laps, fastest now is 2,05,xx
There was another guy on track that did consistent 1,55,xx
That's a difference of 10s(!) per lap....

I've got the feeling I'm driving up to the limits, of the car and the driver.
Everytime I try to do a faster lap I end up off track somehow....

Where is the secret in improving laptimes? My goal is not to be on par with the 1,55,xx but to improve my own driving and laptimes

?

The secret: practice, practice, practice.... but it might help to save a replay when a faster guy is also racing and then watch the replay from his car to see his racelines and brakepoints.

 

[Chris Down]

Where is the secret in improving laptimes? My goal is not to be on par with the 1,55,xx but to improve my own driving and laptimes

What @HF2000 said. The best thing to do is to watch that driver doing the lap. Don't try to emulate their every move, since a lot of driving style is personal, but for a 10 second difference, it should be pretty clear where you're losing it if you compare your lap with theirs.

After that, it's all just about practice. Use a lap delta app to show yourself real time where you're gaining or losing time, which will give you ideas about what helps and what doesn't.

 

[dg222]

The secret: practice, practice, practice.... but it might help to save a replay when a faster guy is also racing and then watch the replay from his car to see his racelines and brakepoints.

Thanks, first part sounds obvious.
Second part is a nice trick that I wasn't aware of, gonna try that

 

[GeekyDeaks]

@dg222 I'm a bit of a newbie too and still not quick by any means, but I made some seriously big improvements with the following:

1. looking ahead. I still struggle with this one, but it probably makes the biggest difference when I do it right. Try and make sure you are looking one step ahead. e.g. if you are approaching a braking point, start looking at the apex and use your peripheral vision to spot the braking marker. Once you are off the brakes and approaching the apex, start looking for the exit point before you reach the apex so you can judge when to get on the gas. I find everything seems a lot less rushed when I do this right
2. use the whole track. If you are near the middle of the track when you start turning in or at the exit of the corner, then you have made it a fair bit tighter than it needs to be and would not be carrying as much speed. Look at your replays to see how much space you are leaving (you might be surprised)
3. try not to compromise your exit. This seems especially important before a long straight. If you find yourself getting on the gas, then having to come off, you can lose a good chunk of time. Try braking a little earlier, or waiting a little bit more before getting on the gas
4. try and be smooth with inputs. Abrupt inputs tend to cause you to lose traction, even coming off the brake into the corner too quickly can cause the front to pop up fast and give you some understeer (i think looking ahead helps with this as everything seems a bit slower)

 

[Medilloni]

Thanks, first part sounds obvious.
Second part is a nice trick that I wasn't aware of, gonna try that

"If in doubt, slow in, fast out" As Scott has said, exit speed is crucial!

 

[dg222]

@dg222

1. looking ahead.
2. use the whole track.
3. try not to compromise your exit.
4. try and be smooth with inputs.

Great points, thanks a lot.
I'll be working on those

 

[dg222]

I've been doing some experimenting with setups and created a rather stable and predictive car by now, of course compromising on speed.
I'll use the setup tonight cause that way I can at least stay on track

Wondering if there is a fellow racer here who want to take a look at this setup to look if it is plausible at all ?

 

[pretend racer]

go ahead and post your setup. There's a setup you can download in the first post, and I have attached the setup that I have been using. My setup is just a few tweaks to get it to work better with my driving style.

Hopefully we can find you a setup that will let you concentrate on racing rather than surviving!




I have managed to clear my schedule so please sign me up for the race!

 

[Locoblade]

Trail braking into the apex would be another I'd suggest to think about, if you're doing all your braking in a straight line before turning in then you'll be losing quite a bit of time there whilst still feeling like you're somewhat at the limit.

Also if you're playing on a single monitor try and set it up so the perspective is as close to reality as possible even if that means quite a narrow field of view. Default settings are usually far too wide-angle zoomed out like you're driving whilst sitting in the boot and that can make judgement of speed and cornering a lot harder as your brain isn't used to driving from that perspective in real life.

 

[dg222]

as said, configured to survive

 

[Medilloni]

go ahead and post your setup. There's a setup you can download in the first post, and I have attached the setup that I have been using. My setup is just a few tweaks to get it to work better with my driving style.

Hopefully we can find you a setup that will let you concentrate on racing rather than surviving!
I have managed to clear my schedule so please sign me up for the race!

Welcome Jason, and thanks for the help you've given, really appreciated

 

[Monkified]

Can someboby please enlighten me ?

Completely new to (sim)racing so any advise would be welcome....

I've been doing 2 hours of practicing now on the practice server and it seems there is no way I can get faster laps, fastest now is 2,05,xx
There was another guy on track that did consistent 1,55,xx
That's a difference of 10s(!) per lap....

I've got the feeling I'm driving up to the limits, of the car and the driver.
Everytime I try to do a faster lap I end up off track somehow....

Where is the secret in improving laptimes? My goal is not to be on par with the 1,55,xx but to improve my own driving and laptimes

?

At last somone who i can race i,m in the same boat derek and doing around the same lap times, i.,m just trying to drive the race line and keep it on the track not trying to think about too much speed and hopefully that will come together eventually, defo keeping it on the track for the whole race race though is my aim, see you on track later
As cole trickle was told "you carnt win a race if you carnt finish the race " lol

 

[Locoblade]

Also another thought, check your wheel/pedal calibration to ensure you're getting a 1:1 relationship with the car's steering wheel rotation (i.e. it's not calibrated to just turn 90 degrees each way lock to lock making the steering hyper sensitive), plus on the pedal side make sure full travel on the throttle/brake pedals equate to 100% throttle/brake in the game (hopefully the right way round too! ), and even check your clutch pedal isn't glitching (sorry @Medilloni )

 

[pretend racer]

After having a peek at your setup, I see quite a few differences that might help you out.

1. you tire psi is wrong. You want the tires to be at the correct psi when on track and at operating temperatures. That's why my pressures are different for each tire.
Check out the table of ideal tire pressures, it has most cars in AC and will help you get to the correct psi quickly. Also, use the tire app so you know what the tires are doing on track. You don't have to worry about temperatures unless your psi is too high.

2. Lower your fuel to only the amount needed for the race - less weight = more speed.

3. up the rev limit to max

4. Try moving the brake bias towards the back if you are locking the fronts when braking.

5. I have more -camber to help lessen the understeer in the front, I also have a lot more +toe to aid with midturn grip.

6. I have a softer sprung front end and hard springs in the back to help the front end grip more.

7. I have the diff set to min in order to help the car rotate.

8. I have a shorter gearset to help keep it in the powerband.

Those are the differences I can see between our tunes.


I have attached a crib sheet that might be helpful when your tuning your cars so you can dial in the car to get the performance you want.

 

[Medilloni]

Also another thought, check your wheel/pedal calibration to ensure you're getting a 1:1 relationship with the car's steering wheel rotation (i.e. it's not calibrated to just turn 90 degrees each way lock to lock making the steering hyper sensitive), plus on the pedal side make sure full travel on the throttle/brake pedals equate to 100% throttle/brake in the game (hopefully the right way round too! ), and even check your clutch pedal isn't glitching (sorry @Medilloni )

haha, I deserved that Chris

 

[dg222]

Trail braking into the apex would be another I'd suggest to think about, if you're doing all your braking in a straight line before turning in then you'll be losing quite a bit of time there whilst still feeling like you're somewhat at the limit.

Also if you're playing on a single monitor try and set it up so the perspective is as close to reality as possible even if that means quite a narrow field of view. Default settings are usually far too wide-angle zoomed out like you're driving whilst sitting in the boot and that can make judgement of speed and cornering a lot harder as your brain isn't used to driving from that perspective in real life.

as said, configured to survive

After having a peek at your setup, I see quite a few differences that might help you out.

1. you tire psi is wrong. You want the tires to be at the correct psi when on track and at operating temperatures. That's why my pressures are different for each tire.
Check out the table of ideal tire pressures, it has most cars in AC and will help you get to the correct psi quickly. Also, use the tire app so you know what the tires are doing on track. You don't have to worry about temperatures unless your psi is too high.

2. Lower your fuel to only the amount needed for the race - less weight = more speed.

3. up the rev limit to max

4. Try moving the brake bias towards the back if you are locking the fronts when braking.

5. I have more -camber to help lessen the understeer in the front, I also have a lot more +toe to aid with midturn grip.

6. I have a softer sprung front end and hard springs in the back to help the front end grip more.

7. I have the diff set to min in order to help the car rotate.

8. I have a shorter gearset to help keep it in the powerband.

Those are the differences I can see between our tunes.


I have attached a crib sheet that might be helpful when your tuning your cars so you can dial in the car to get the performance you want.

Hahahaha, That's another way of saying "everything is wrong with that setup",
Goal was to get a very stable setup with this iceskating car, hence the amount of fuel. More weight is more traction? And when I light up myself againt a border it better be with a fireball

On a more serious note though, thanks for looking and the feedback. I'll certainly look into the things you've mentioned

 

[pretend racer]

That's another way of saying "everything is wrong with that setup",

lol, I didn't mean it that way! A lot of little changes can add up to quite a bit of time saved, is all. The wall of text might have been a little bit of information overload but I just wanted to highlight the things that I concentrate on when customizing my setup. I have the setup designed to work for me, which probably won't work as well for you because we probably have different driving styles. That's why I included the crib sheet so you can figure out how to adjust the setup to suit you.

And when I light up myself againt a border it better be with a fireball

I'll bring the marsmallows in case I see an impromptu bbq'd car crash in one of the corners!

 

[dg222]

lol, I didn't mean it that way! A lot of little changes can add up to quite a bit of time saved, is all. The wall of text might have been a little bit of information overload but I just wanted to highlight the things that I concentrate on when customizing my setup. I have the setup designed to work for me, which probably won't work as well for you because we probably have different driving styles. That's why I included the crib sheet so you can figure out how to adjust the setup to suit you.



I'll bring the marsmallows in case I see an impromptu bbq'd car crash in one of the corners!

Was joking of course, I really appreciate your reply and your suggestions. I'll have a close look at all of 'm.
Not tonight though, got used to the way the car drives now so I don't wanna risk driving "another" car when the **** hits the fan....

 

[Locoblade]

@Medilloni if you get a full house put me on the reserves list please, finishing work and eating in time to race is looking doubtful but will give it a go.