[TrackClub]

Originally Posted by RamAir02

Reviving this older thread to share a bit of my journey into sim racing. I did a few HPDE events last year with the ZLE and got hooked. Wanted to try and (somewhat) replicate that fun and thrill in the offseason, so I built a sim rig over the winter.

I'm about a month into iRacing and it's been a blast. I did several Rookie races in the Global Mazda MX-5 Cup and was able to get my safety rating up high enough for promotion to Class D. Since then, I've been doing the Touring Car Challenge in Audi RS3 LMS. So much fun. I've found it's a good car for beginners, easy to drive and fairly forgiving. I was even able to pull off a Pole Position, P1 in the race and fastest lap in the race. I know I won't fair as well as I continue to move up

Here's a video of that P1 race:

And some pics of the rig...




Specs:

• GT Omega Prime w/ RS6 Seat
• Fanatec CSL DD Wheel Base
• Fanatec Clubsport RS Rim
• Fanatec McLaren GT3 Rim
• Fanatec CSL Pedals w/ Clutch Kit (waiting on load cell kit)
• SHH Shifter
• Samsung Odyssey G9 Super Ultrawide Monitor
• PC w/ Ryzen 5600X & NVIDIA 3080 Ti FE

Congrats on the win, the pole and a fab rig! Way to go!
I'd say that on many levels, slower cars are more difficult to drive fast, as their pace is less forgiving and requires very precise driving.

You're probably already there, but make sure your FOV is dialed properly as well as taking advantage of Camera functionality to move a driver around without affecting the FOV. For example, I prefer to sit closer to the dash, as that gives me a better view of the track ahead. But, it is all about personal preference.

You're right, that things get more difficult going forward. But, it doesn't mean success cannot be continued. All it means good results usually require more practice. Much more if one is an average talent like me lol! Or an Indycar pro (5-6 hrs daily to get ready for a sim race).

Lastly, check out VRS school. They offer phenomenal array of assistance for majority of the series, incl online tutorials - corner by corner. A wealth of knowledge from some of the best sim racers in the world. Top level membership costs about a third of an average Fanatec steering wheel. Plus, of course they also offer 1on1 and group coaching, etc.

Anyhow, it was good to see your post here and best of luck:
Happy racing!!!

[RamAir02]

Originally Posted by TrackClub

Congrats on the win, the pole and a fab rig! Way to go!
I'd say that on many levels, slower cars are more difficult to drive fast, as their pace is less forgiving and requires very precise driving.

You're probably already there, but make sure your FOV is dialed properly as well as taking advantage of Camera functionality to move a driver around without affecting the FOV. For example, I prefer to sit closer to the dash, as that gives me a better view of the track ahead. But, it is all about personal preference.

You're right, that things get more difficult going forward. But, it doesn't mean success cannot be continued. All it means good results usually require more practice. Much more if one is an average talent like me lol! Or an Indycar pro (5-6 hrs daily to get ready for a sim race).

Lastly, check out VRS school. They offer phenomenal array of assistance for majority of the series, incl online tutorials - corner by corner. A wealth of knowledge from some of the best sim racers in the world. Top level membership costs about a third of an average Fanatec steering wheel. Plus, of course they also offer 1on1 and group coaching, etc.

Anyhow, it was good to see your post here and best of luck:
Happy racing!!!

Thanks for the encouragement! Much appreciated.

I've spent a lot of time dialing in the FOV -- I know that's super important for immersion and realism. I've done some fiddling with the Camera Tool and then I mapped driver height to the rotary encoder part of the funky switch on the steering rim. That's typically my main adjustment from car to car -- ensuring my steering rim is the same height as the steering wheel in the sim. Not sure if that's the right way, but it works for me.

I haven't taken advantage of any of the pay stuff VRS offers, but I do use their app / site for telemetry analysis. Another good one I found is United Racing Data (I think they're pretty new and full functionality is free for now). And I have Motec installed too as another option, but I like VRS the best so far.

Other apps I'm using and really like:

• Racelab - for live overlays and a different set of overlays that display in OBS on recordings
• Trading Paints - for custom liveries
• Crew Chief - to replace the stock iRacing Spotter
• SimHub - to display custom dash on an old phone

I have parts on order to build a custom button box and I'm also considering doing a few bass shakers with Dayton transducers. Probably one under the seat and two smaller ones on the accelerator and brake.

If anyone wants to friend me on iRacing, I'm "Jonathan M Peters" :

[TrackClub]

Originally Posted by RamAir02

Thanks for the encouragement! Much appreciated.

I've spent a lot of time dialing in the FOV -- I know that's super important for immersion and realism. I've done some fiddling with the Camera Tool and then I mapped driver height to the rotary encoder part of the funky switch on the steering rim. That's typically my main adjustment from car to car -- ensuring my steering rim is the same height as the steering wheel in the sim. Not sure if that's the right way, but it works for me.

I haven't taken advantage of any of the pay stuff VRS offers, but I do use their app / site for telemetry analysis. Another good one I found is United Racing Data (I think they're pretty new and full functionality is free for now). And I have Motec installed too as another option, but I like VRS the best so far.

Other apps I'm using and really like:

• Racelab - for live overlays and a different set of overlays that display in OBS on recordings
• Trading Paints - for custom liveries
• Crew Chief - to replace the stock iRacing Spotter
• SimHub - to display custom dash on an old phone

I have parts on order to build a custom button box and I'm also considering doing a few bass shakers with Dayton transducers. Probably one under the seat and two smaller ones on the accelerator and brake.

If anyone wants to friend me on iRacing, I'm "Jonathan M Peters" :

I am a bit less techy with my approach, but it all works quote well. NB Did send out a friend request a while ago, based on your vid, just keep my as a Trackclub here pls

Two pieces of info i would offer for your consideration:

1) get rid of the "cheater line" except for when learning a new track very early in the process (if you must). Lest you will learn bad habits vision wise, which is a paramount skill to possess, bar none.

2) a lot of times, the "line" might be a bit helpful at an early stage when we don't know the track at all, but frankly i prefer to watch a VRS guy lap instead. The reason is the "line" is not really ideal. Safe yes. Ideal - not so much. Sort of like a "school line" vs a "race line" at HPDE events. Besides, when you progress thru license ranks, pretty sure this option will be "verbotten" and you will have to relearn a bunch of stuff. So best to drop the crutch asap.

Cheers and happy racing!

[RamAir02]

Originally Posted by TrackClub

I am a bit less techy with my approach, but it all works quote well. NB Did send out a friend request a while ago, based on your vid, just keep my as a Trackclub here pls

Two pieces of info i would offer for your consideration:

1) get rid of the "cheater line" except for when learning a new track very early in the process (if you must). Lest you will learn bad habits vision wise, which is a paramount skill to possess, bar none.

2) a lot of times, the "line" might be a bit helpful at an early stage when we don't know the track at all, but frankly i prefer to watch a VRS guy lap instead. The reason is the "line" is not really ideal. Safe yes. Ideal - not so much. Sort of like a "school line" vs a "race line" at HPDE events. Besides, when you progress thru license ranks, pretty sure this option will be "verbotten" and you will have to relearn a bunch of stuff. So best to drop the crutch asap.

Cheers and happy racing!

Ah, I totally hear you on the driving line. I don't know many tracks at all, so I have been using it for the first few races I do in a week and then I turn it off for the next few (I'm doing like 5-7 races per week). It's a bad habit that I need to drop and it's a side effect of not having enough practice time before jumping into a race at a new track.

[TrackClub]

Originally Posted by RamAir02

Ah, I totally hear you on the driving line. I don't know many tracks at all, so I have been using it for the first few races I do in a week and then I turn it off for the next few (I'm doing like 5-7 races per week). It's a bad habit that I need to drop and it's a side effect of not having enough practice time before jumping into a race at a new track.

Fair enough, but if ya qualify in P1 - sure as heck you do not need some fake reminder where the line goes lol! Especially at a track like Lime Rock, eh?

Keep in mind pretty soon - as your license goes up - the service will not allow you to use it during races.

And again, the real issue is, that while the "fake line" is nice for a few laps while learning a new venue, it completely screws up your vision training and allows you to learn very bad habits, which you will very likely have to unlearn.

You will know what I mean when the service turns it off for ya, especially after you run many races per week with this feature on and your brain will get used to it and then go: whoa! where do I brake? where do I turn in? etc.

Anyhow, this is just fyi and the main thing is to enjoy and have fun. So, happy racing!

[Christian1LE]

Sent out a friend request to Jonathan. If anyone wants to add me it's Christian Aranha. Been doing iracing on/off since 2008.

[TrackClub]

Originally Posted by Christian1LE

Sent out a friend request to Jonathan. If anyone wants to add me it's Christian Aranha. Been doing iracing on/off since 2008.

done. nice pooch and we like the same book btw

[Christian1LE]

Originally Posted by TrackClub

done. nice pooch and we like the same book btw

Nice! Great book, movie is not bad either. If you want to cry for like 2 hours that is. lol

[TrackClub]

Originally Posted by Christian1LE

Nice! Great book, movie is not bad either. If you want to cry for like 2 hours that is. lol

Yep, done it myself reading the book. Especially given the dog was an Airedale Lab cross and I have had a few Airedales myself...

[Kmeleon]

Originally Posted by Christian1LE

Sent out a friend request to Jonathan. If anyone wants to add me it's Christian Aranha. Been doing iracing on/off since 2008.

That's funny Christian, I remember your name from the star Mazda races back around that time. My name is Mark Muckey. I sold my simulator last summer after over a decade of building it. I think I just over did it at some point, it was more a PITA to get it fired up and keep up with software updates, etc. I remember having way more fun back in the day with just a G25 or T500 wheel then when getting into the DD and motion stuff. Anyway, good to see a familiar name on this forum from my iracing days👍

[Christian1LE]

Originally Posted by Kmeleon

That's funny Christian, I remember your name from the star Mazda races back around that time. My name is Mark Muckey. I sold my simulator last summer after over a decade of building it. I think I just over did it at some point, it was more a PITA to get it fired up and keep up with software updates, etc. I remember having way more fun back in the day with just a G25 or T500 wheel then when getting into the DD and motion stuff. Anyway, good to see a familiar name on this forum from my iracing days👍

Very cool, Star mazda was a blast. I don't race as often as I used to but I do have fun racing with people in endurance events. Jumping into a short race here and there is cool too. After the simulator is set up it's easy to have around, but you're right, it gets to be a handful when you start adding to it. Also takes up a considerable amount of room w/ 3 screens.