So I've been around the Sim world for a while, and I'm rather experienced when it comes to flight, but I've really been wanting to get into racing.

I've been wondering what are the best, current sims for driving and racing, and what are the best hardware configurations to control the software.

I've always been able to glean great knowledge from the SimHQ crowd, so I would really appreciate any guidance you all can give me.

Feel free to address me as a complete and total noob, because I mostly am when it comes to racing.

LOL NOOB GTFO AND GO BACK TO YOUR TOY AIRPLAINS LOLOL


Oh, wait. You didn't mean it like that.

ANYWAY...I'll put in my recommendations.


You may have noticed that the two sims we primarily race here are rFactor and iRacing.

rFactor is old, but still has some life in it because rFactor 2 is still in active development. Many of the members here have already purchased rF2 and are playing the beta, but I've ultimately decided to wait for the finished product myself. I have plenty going on in rF1 between races here and a NASCAR-style league I run at another site.

iRacing is newer, much more advanced, but more costly. You pay monthly fees for access on top of having to pay for each type of car and each track. It adds up quick, but those who enjoy it say it is well worth the money...and for their part, the guys who run the company say they don't consider iRacing to be a traditional sim-racing title anyway. They consider it to be a hardcore simulation service aimed at real-life racers who want more track time, and hobbyist racers who want a less expensive way to enjoy themselves.



As for hardware, you'll find that varies as well...I use a Logitech Driving Force Pro steering wheel. It's a few years old but it's well built and other than having to fix the pedals a few times over the years it has been quite reliable. Can't go wrong with a basic Logitech wheel.

I was in exactly your position a few months ago; Flight sim history, and looking for something closer to home!

I got the Logitech G27 and a good headset for multiplayer, and that was all I needed. Keyboard is easily enough for all the controls you need, and a button box is a luxury if you really get into it. The G27 was a solid purchase, reliable and a thoroughly enjoyable toy to play with.

I got rFactor to start with as I had heard glowing reviews all over the place. SimHQ run some great series for it, and I don't expect it to be phased out anytime soon. First thing I found was that it felt very spongy, but I soon realised that all the driving assists like braking and steering are on by default. Turn off all of those and wow! rFactor feels great, despite its age!

I jumped onto the Skoda Touring Car Championship and made some great friends doing it. Everyone is incredibly courteous and helpful. It felt like there was a huge amount to take in at first, but it's really quite easy when you get into it.

There are of course a huge amount of games out there, and I've done a LOT of research in my short time sim racing, and my quick run down is as follows;


The oldies:

rFactor - Old but still excellent. Huge modding community and still very much alive for MP. Definitely buy this.
GTR Series - Old again, and not used a huge amount. GTR2 has a huge following, so if you're going to try any of them I'd say make it this one. GTR Evo is newer and prettier, but doesn't seem to have as much going on as rFactor.
iRacing - For the elite. Quite costly, but seems to have a very professional air about it, maybe just because of the prohibitive price. Haven't tried this one. It looks good, but I don't see the point in paying all the money when I have just as much fun for free in rFactor.


The new guys: (These games are both in development right now, but have options for buying in and playing now)

Project CARS - My favourite by far. Stunning graphics, physics are astounding, and the overall development process is a fantastic thing to be a part of. Currently no multiplayer but it's in solid progress and should be within a few months. You can buy in at various price points, each getting you different benefits. Team member is a good, well rounded package. €25 gets you a €25 discount from the finished game, weekly updates to play and the ability to post threads in the forums, allowing you to have your say on how the game goes forward, directly in communication with the whole development team. If you feel like you're going to be simming for a while, it's definitely one to buy. Based on how the game sells, you also have the potential to make back what you paid, or even more if it does well.

rFactor 2 - Similar story to pCARS, but IMO doesn't look nearly as good, from both a graphical or physics standpoint. It does already have multiplayer however. Personally I'm probably a bit biased because I'm only going off of videos and reviews, but pCARS is a clear winner to me. Single open beta price.

Pretty much what the guys above have said, couldn't put it any better tbh, like them i hugely reccomend getting rFactor, loads of things going on in it here, and we are all more than happy to take a new racer under our wing like we have done recently

the group of racers here are not just awesome racers but they are patient and great to be around as well, and we dont mind lending a guiding hand when it is needed to get you up to speed All i can say is, don't feel like you are under an expectation to perform to amazing levels, just drive your race, get some finishes on the board regardless of errors you make in race (its racing errors happen) you'll find the more time you spend around the guys that you naturally start finding pace as you see their lines, but seriously there is no pressure on anyone to perform all that we want to see is people turning up, and just literally enjoying being on track, because after all if you arent having fun then whats the point?

So get rfactor, grab some mods and come join us on track, the mods required are always posted in each events thread so there isnt any problems getting started It'll be fun that much i can guarantee

It needs to be mentioned that with rFactor it's pretty much useless UNTIL you mod it. Out of the box it's horrible. You need the Real Feel FFB mod and then start gathering cars and tracks so you have something to do. It's more like a blank slate than a racing sim out of the box. I joined rfactorcentral when I got it, downloaded everything I could find for a couple of months and then dropped the membership. The one-click install was nice.

People mention GTR2, but it's almost impossible to find new, and when you do the price is ridiculous. Race 07/GTR Evo and other expansions make a very nice package. GTR2 was supposed to be re-released directly from Simbin, but for some reason still hasn't happened. Race 07/GTR Evo have an excellent selection of cars and tracks. FFB is very good, graphics on about the level of rFactor, maybe a bit better IMO.

GT Legends is another Simbin title that's a ton of fun for retro racing.

iRacing is one you'll hear a lot about, but I'd recommend going with these others first. It's MP only other than practicing. It's not just a race sim, it's a racing career sim. All races are with other human drivers. Before jumping into MP only, a monthly fee and paying for tracks and cars (car series only after you qualify for the license by rising through the ranks)...it's just not a great place to start.

On the lighter side, you can mod NFS Shift 1 & 2 for a very good experience and a lot of fun, but with no pit stops, they have a major shortcoming. For hotlapping, they're a blast to play.

For the wheel, I love my G27 and I still think it's the best package out there. Nice wheel, nice pedals AND the shifter all in one box. Any other wheel requires you to buy the shifter, and sometimes even the pedals, separately. If you really want to SIM race, you need to have a gated shifter and a clutch, IMO. Auto clutch and paddle shifters in a car with a clutch and gated shifter is not simulation, it's like a flight sim with auto landing and no flaps.
The Nixim mod for the pedals improves them if you don't like the original feel by replacing the springs on brake and clutch. Cheap effective mod.

If there's an Xbox 360 in the house and you might try some racing on there, then you'd want to look at the Fanatec line, which is better priced now than previously. $200 wheel, $60 shifter set, $80-150 for pedals depending on which you choose.

I would say to decide on the software means first deciding on what you want to race.

I do offline only, I want complete race experiences with championship seasons. That means I don't buy "moddable" titles like GTR or rFactor, I tend to buy "licensed" titles like F1 2010 and WRC 2010.

pCars seems to be the hottest item out there now, but is not complete for what I would be looking for in a title.

For serious MP, I guess rFactor2 is king of the hill now and for foreseeable future.

So really it all depends on the type of racing and the structure you want to have for it. And from the game then you also get to pick a set of hardware that matches.

Hardware is also a factor depending on the space you have to set up. I use a non-force feedback wheel since I don't want to continually mount and unmount a heavy FFB wheel with power adapter.

I would agree with most things above but I have never bothered with the real feel plugin I find the default force feedback works well enough for me. Looking forward to seeing you on track soon Renic.

There's some good discussion here. Well worth a read Renic.

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3493385/Sim_Racing_how_to_start.html#Post3493385

The OP (Staniol) is now a regular here at SimHQ and (i think) very happy with his choice of hardware and software.

You really need to give it a shot, it's a well done mod.

Renic, I'm kind of the new guy around here. Basically started at the same time Staniol did, but he's a better racer than I am. I started doing a lot better when I got my G27 racing wheel. So much so that I was really excited. Anyway, if you look at the calendar, you can see what the schedule is like if you want to race with courteous, very nice people online. And they don't get mad at you if you wreck them.

I'm signed up for the racing in August - I have limited experience with the Skoda cars, but I fell in love with them racing them. Very fun to "drive". Right now, I'm taking a little break as I study for the CPA exam. If you like racing and scrubbing fenders, the Skoda series is for you.