okaythen

Hi guys I am thinking about getting Gran Turismo and some of those racing simulation games, heard they are so realistic to the real thing and how they help improve racer's laptime in actual life. So my question is what should I pay attention/look for when I am playing the games? what element in the game will help me when it comes to the real thing? I have limited experence when it comes to real racing actually so I am not all that familiar with it, I am hoping to get a little help from the video game to prepare me when I join up SCCA, and also hope to get help from you guys too...thanks in advance

darrahc

I've got Forza on xBox and drove the Sebring course before I went down there last month. Never having driven the Sebring track before I think it was helpful the first session just in terms of familiarizing myself with the track and the initial learning curve certainly wasn't as steep. The Forza game was surprisingly accurate however, after the first couple of sessions it was a very different track than the game.

Get the game for the fun factor but don't expect it to be a substitute for driving the real thing!

68sixspeed

It can be a help especially if you want to learn the rythem and basic layouts of as mentioned above, and if you turn the physics to professional some of the slide recovery and trail braking handling lessons are good, but it's still a game... but fun. for the money a $200 xbox360 arcade and forza-2 is worth it just for entertainment.

Plus none of my darn cars seem to have that 'reset' button like on xbox/ps3 - hence why I stop playing these a couple weeks before any hpde's.

autoxer6

I try to play gran turismo the night before a race. It gets the hand eye coordination thing warmed up a little.

It is mostly accurate, but can teach some bad habits. For instance, you can brake at 100% mid corner and sometimes thats the fast way around... not so realistic.

racerbob4

I have one thing to say to that.........Andrew Aqualante

waktasz

Gran Turismo is a kid's toy compared to a real racing sim.

davidfarmer

GT sucks as a sim. In car video is better training.

Some of the newer PC games may help, but back in the day I enjoyed SportsCarGT, a PC game. You could download pretty much every course in the world, and while the graphics weren't great (by today's standards), the course layouts and the physics were very good. I honestly have to say that that game helped me achieved my World Challenge win at Mosport.

Aardwolf

I have GT5 prologue to get a fix of track driving when it's snowy outside. The only thing that I can say it's really helped with is managing traffic. I've really buckled down and learned some patience and strategy there.

tmak26b

Try something like GTR2 or IRacing.com.

L98Terror

It helped when I went to Road Atlanta, when I couldn't see the corners in the rain I always knew what direction the track was going.

BTW Forza2 FTW

okaythen

what are some of the more realistic sim games that you guys can recommend? thanks a lot

linutux

iRacing is by far the best driving sim I've tried so far.

rfactor is good because it has the most tracks and cars available since it is easily customizable. The physics and track accuracy doesn't compare to iracing though.

Gran Turismo 5 is pretty, but it's a toy; even compared to rfactor.

threewinmag

Someplace there's a video of Jeremy Clarkson testing his PS2 time at Laguna Seca in a Honda NSX with a real lap. He was faster on the game (shouldn't be a surprise) than in real life but it was an interesting experiment.

I really like "driving" Sears Point Infineon and was amazed at how the brake points and throttle pressure was nearly the same experientially for me the first time I visited in real life. It was amazing to have knowledge of the track and the line before actually driving there.

okaythen

which game is this?

threewinmag

Gran Turismo 4, Infineon Sports Cars Course

bawb

I've got GTR2 on my pc. Using the Logitech G25 racing wheel setup, has a 6 speed shifter, nice set of pedals (including a clutch pedal) and the force feedback is really good. Lots of additional cars and tracks to download, tracks that come with the game are pretty much all European. It's supposed to be a really good sim, but I've never raced in real life so I'm not sure. All I can say is it's not an easy game to play in silmulation mode Take a look at nogripracing.com, it's a forum dedicated to racing sims.

Racin Jason

Racing simulations help with being more aware, racing etiquette , and keeping your hand-eye coordination up. Of course it will never be like the real thing since you lack the seat of the pants feel/g forces, but it really helps.

You REALLY need to check out iRacing.com
iRacing is now in joint partnership with SCCA, and it has many good things to come.
On their website it will tell you the minimum specs that your computer needs to run, as well as all the stuff you need (wheel,pedals, etc.)
They are adding tracks/cars very often. Latest one being Road Atlanta. Each track is laser scanned down to every single bump.

It's a great training tool, as well as a really addicting online game with the licenses/online race series.

tmak26b

IRacing is pricey, but it is a canned software that requires no updates from different sites. It is pricey, but I like it because it saves me time. The racing setup is a little annoying sometimes, but it does the job. I have been to Summit Point, VIR, Lime Rock, the Glen and Laguna Seca in person and the sim. Let's just say they are very close. Sometimes even things like bumps and weird spots/marks are written into the track. This is one reason why I prefer Iracing over the rest of it is because of the accuracy of the track. If you really want to, you can try the novice setup and run at tracks like Summit Point and Laguna Seca. I do have to warn you that the Spec Ford and Solstice are terrible, you are not going to have fun until you hit Skip Barber. I am at the Mazda right now, I feel way more comfortable in it.

Oh yeah, use me as a reference if you like tmak26b@yahoo.com hehehe

Here is a test to see if you are using a game or sim.

Try to drive at speed for 10 laps the first time you get it. If you can do it without spinning or doing major off roadiing, you have a sim in your hand....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H33RUflkvVU

SouthernSon

Before my first trip to RA I played the Forza game. It is amazing how well the game depicts all the topography, landmarks, rumble strips and flag stations so accurately. I knew the course well before I got there. Also, the game does simulate trail braking fairly well. Of course, one needs to know what is expected with throttle and braking since the game is very limited in tactile feedback. Well worth the price of admission!!

Blocktrdr

There are no console games that will help you with car control that I'm aware of. I racing has the tracks done really well. The track feels about like it does in real life. The marks are all the same.

All of the serious games/sims can help you with race craft. Iracing moreso as you are always racing real people.

The only sim I have driven where I could directly compare to real life is iracing. I have driven both the Skip Barber car and the Riley Daytona prototype in real life and the sim. both cars are different to me in real life they do respond similarly though.

Interestingly I am actually faster in the Daytona Prototype at Daytona in real life than in Iracing. I could do 42's in the real car after maybe 40 laps. In the game I only did 44's. Of course me setting up the iracing car compared to Steve Challis in real life might have been some of the difference.