Hey all,
First off I just want to say if you're reading this and you've already given up on the sidecars I really recommend you go back and give them another try, as unrealistic as the physics are they can actually be really fun and rewarding to ride once you understand their physics!
Before you start I would say lowering your sensitivity settings are essential, I run with brake and throttle at 0% and steering at 45%. The sidecars are all about being smooth and gentle, the dreaded rightwards spin usually results from asking too much from the tyres in a corner, lowering your sensitivity means you have a much higher control range to play with before you start pushing the tyres too much.
At the start take the sidecar with the highest handling, set semi-auto passenger, pick your favourite non-TT circuit and just do some laps, my advice is as follows:
- Left-hand Corners: Going left is the easier of the two directions, don't use too much input and you should be able to get through the corner ok. If the sidecar starts to lift it is really hard to recover so you have to be really smooth, use all the road and be gentle and you're good. Sometimes the AI passenger will be stupid and not lean around a corner, if this happens just manually move them for that corner to avoid a crash.
- Right-hand Corners: This is probably the hardest element of the sidecars, too much steering input will spear the sidecar right and is basically instant death when it happens. Be smooth with your inputs, gradually move the stick to the side and look and listen as you go through the corner, you will over time be able to see and feel when it is about to slide and thus recover. Again using all the road is very important. Most of the spins I see are from people steering waaay too much and instantly losing traction coming through the corner.
- Braking: It is less common but sometimes the sidecar will spin on the brakes, this happens because of lock-ups, listen to the engine as you brake and don't let it bog down because it is starting to lock and will probably spin if you carry on like that. Use tiny brake inputs at first, the brakes are quite strong and don't need anywhere near full input to slow down properly.
Summary:
- Be smooth
- TINY steering inputs
- Use ALL the road
- Learn from your crashes; Too much steering input? Locked a wheel? What did you do to cause the crash?
So I hope this guide helps a few people to enjoy the sidecars and maybe even brings some of you back who have abandoned them, as I said before they can be really rewarding and satisfying to get right, you just have to get your head round them first.
FJBH10