Sim Racing, how to start?

I couldn't find a specific thread on this, nor a sticky, so I am dare to put this question up.
I was always on the verge of taking sim racing seriously, but now i have the mood to give it a try.
(Started with Revs on C64, F1GP2 took a lot of time from me, my favourite NFS is the Porsche, played Colin McRea and GP4 in and out, but all with keyboard.)
Main questions I have:
- what is the cheapest wheel I should by, which can give me proper taste of simracing?
I assume force feedback is a must, so this should be somewhere around logitech formula force gp or something. (Older ones are tend to be cheap). The reason I am looking for a cheap one, (apart from the economical crisis + my wonderful government) is that I am still not sure if I will be a serious racer or not, but I want to give it a try.
Wouldn't be a wise idea to by a G27 just to sell it 2 months later cause I cannot find the fun I am looking for.

- Which Sim should I go for? Rfactor 1? (I do not really like formula 1, but I love NASCAR racing and touring cars.)
Is there any old gem I should try out?

Thanks in advance and sorry for bad English.

I'm glad someone bit the bullet and asked this, I've been hunting for the gold for a couple of days now!

I, however was a bit more careless, and just ordered a G27, and now I'm trying to find the sim to go with it!

So far I've tested rFactor 1, and GTR Evolution.
I'll give you my experiences with the two in the couple of hours I've spent on the demos!

rFactor is available as a demo from the rFactor website, its a full installer with limited features for demo.
GTR Evo is available as a standalone demo on Steam. Note that GTR Evo is an add on for Race 07, although the demo is standalone, you'll have to buy Race and the DLC (Both sims are very affordable though!)

Onto the sims! Note I've only played both with a keyboard so far! rFactor immediately felt a bit dated when I launched it, the menus are low res and the music is a bit ropey! I've only driven the trainer car. The cockpit is pretty well textured, but the trees etc look like they're from Doom or something! Of course graphics aren't the sales pitch for racing sims, but they're a huge help for immersion! As all the critics will tell you however, the physics are amazing! You can really feel how the car needs to be driven into the corners etc, even on a keyboard, so with a wheel it'll be awesome. The mod community for rFactor is HUGE, so it's well worth a look, even if the vanilla game is a little long in the tooth!

GTR Evo, I was blown away by. Menus are much more up to date, and setting up controls was a breeze. The demo is one car on my local track, Brands Hatch, so automatically I was smitten! The demo comes with multiplayer, and immediately I coersed a friend to get the demo. We probably sunk 3 hours ito that demo last night, and I will 100% be buying it. Graphics are as good as they could be for the games age, there is great DLC, the sounds are amazing and from my very limited feel with a keyboard, the physics felt very good.

All in all, I can see myself spending more time in GTR, because I feel like I'll need to do less work to get it to where I can enjoy myself, but I'm going to delve deeper into rFactor too and see what I can get out of it!

Hope this helps!

Hi, good questions!

I can't recommend a wheel because I tend to buy expensive hardware for myself (though the G25 I have was actually quite reasonable). All I can say is that a G27 would sell well on eBay if you decide you don't like it, and you will have minimized your losses in case you don't like it.

I don't like rFactor 1 so I can't really recommend it either, but certainly a lot of people find it good so this is probably worth checking as Ragtop said.
The simbin titles mentioned by Ragtop are really not bad if you like Touring/GT racing. I think Simbin just recently released a package with Race07 and all its extensions. There sure is quite a bit of content there.

rFactor 2 is in beta and you can buy it since a couple of days, however there is still much work to be done (beta) and it's lacking content for now.

iRacing is the best in my opinion, in all respects: graphics, physics, clean racing, web service experience with series and leagues. If you like Nascar, there are not many other decent games out there anyway. 3 months of service will cost you 12 USD, full year 99USD supposedly though there are always discounts to be had and I haven't paid more than 75.

Maybe a Driving Force GT at half the price of a G27 would be interesting. It has force feedback, a sequential stick shifter and a decent number of buttons and dials that will let you adjust and control many parameters from the wheel. I'm pretty sure this wheel also supports PC.

For simulations, a copy of the original rFactor will provide a nice basis for any mod you'd like to try out: Free mods, Touring cars, Nascar, Open wheelers, just about anything you can wish for is available from http://www.rfactorcentral.com/, including lots of tracks.

I think this is a very affordable entry as a way of testing your interest, and also giving you equipment that will let you get a proper taste of simracing, and capabale of doing a good job with other sims you might wish to add later.

Okay well first of all good choice in joining us over here in the motorsport section

Okay cheap wheels, gonna be something Logitech, i myself couldnt afford a G27 and have a Logitech Formula Force EX which is just as sturdy a piece of kit and has all the forcefeedback etc

Sims, well rFactor 1 grab that, tons of mods ranging from everything so you will always find something for you ! and you can join us here at simhq for the SCES Endurance racing, where you can drive a tintop or a prototype (dont worry there is always alot of us about who will spend time in the server with you to get you up to speed) and thats all fixed setups so its all down to the drivers

We also run Skoda's which is pretty much like touring cars and is a great bit of fun! and there is also a Daytona Nascar race coming up!

that is all for rfactor.

GTR/GTR2 - both great games in my opinion but the online side of things is very lacking these days, i have GTR2 and because i could only ge a pre-owned copy it didnt have a working online code for me to access online side of things, but both are amazing single player games thats for sure.

GTR Evolution/Race07 - Still another good game though i do not rate these as highly as rFactor and the GTR1/GTR2 games, though both are still enjoyable, both also have a decent following online but i dont think we run anything on them here so you would be looking at competing with complete strangers over at other sites or race2play.com

rFactor 2 beta - Amazing, i reccomend signing up and getting the lifetime membership for the online side of things, a one off payment which is so worth it! will be a beast of a game when released!

GTR3 - thats out later in the year as far as we know no beta yet though but sure to be amazing

So grab yourself a copy of rfactor, or a copy of all the above :P and get on the simhq server with us guys, i'm usually about so i'm willing to spend some time in server with you to help you get into the swing of things

If you are thinking of becoming a sim racer something to consider is that it very much depends on whether you want to race online or offline which sim you should buy. If online is your thing then I can recommend rFactor. The netcode is superb and on the SIMHQ servers you can race without too much obligation to have to turn up to every session. The skoda races that are run regularly on the SIMHQ servers are not meant to be taken seriously and as such offer a great intro into the sim and the online racing here at SIMHQ. There is also the VHR mod for rFactor which will give you your nascar fix if that is your thing. As far as Iracing is concerned I would be a bit wary off going down that road unless you are sure you will commit to simracing as a serious hobby as it can get very expensive. This is another plus for rFactor as it is cheap as chips, the mods are free and the online racing is good.

If you would rather be racing offline then one of the simbin titles would be a good bet as they tend to have pretty good AI for you to race against. Personaly I would recommend you get online as soon as you feel comfortable though as no AI will ever compete with racing against other human drivers.

As far as the wheel goes you should get the best that you can afford. You dont want to be put off your new found passion by a ropey wheel and pedals that dont perform as they should. Since the introduction of the Logitech G27, you might be able to find a reasonably priced G25 on ebay. If you do go down the Logitech G27 route you wont have any trouble selling if you decide racing is not your thing.

Finally if you want to try Simracing,dont be too intimidated to join us online. I would recommend you first buy rFactor1 then download the Skoda mod from the forum thread, get on teamspeak and join us online for the time of your life. You will find a wide spread of ages and talent in the SIMHQ servers so you wont need to feel embarrassed about not being up to speed at the outset. Heck I am 61 years old and can regularly be found trundling round at the back of the field and if I can do it, anybody can. So, to anyone contemplating becoming a sim racer, I hope to see you on track soon.

Thanks for all the answers, looks like you have a nice community here, which will make things easier for me.
I decided to give simracing a try, see you on the track!

Excellent welcome to the family! Let us know what you invest in and im more than happy to spend time in server with you mate, especially in the Skoda's as Stewart said a nice easy way to break into simracing, also any practice we do on server/practice races arent taken too seriously especially the Skoda's they are a nice bit of fun so, spins crashes etc we usually end up having a great laugh about lol

Hi all.
Short status report:
- Bought an almost unused Logitech formula force ex (was 30 euros).
- Downloaded R factor, re-installed Grid.
Spent a lot of time with configuring, but its getting better every time.

Further questions:
- Any maintenance I should do to the wheel? (apart from the usual dust removal)
- So far I hate if force feedback (especially the centering) is strong, so I decreased strength. I assume its not a big deal, right?
- Should I go for Rfactor2? I am still on low budget, so cannot buy everything.
- If I (sooner or later) go for online racing, are there events in my European time? My time window is quite fixed, only after my daughter went to sleep. Anyway, I will explain my wife somehow, if there is something important. I understand its not like joining Rise of Flight session.
Thanks for all the help so far, I am progressing slowly, and enjoying every single step.

In the Logitech Profiler, you can turn down the centering spring strength....you can even turn it off, too if you want. For rFactor, there's a couple of plug-ins called RealFeel or Leo's FFB....both are good and more a personal preference. The latest version of RealFeel incorporates some of Leo's settings into it.

rFactor Central is a good site for all things rFactor. A link to RealFeel is there, as well as many other additions.

If you're just starting out, and on a low budget, wait a while before making the big plunge would be my thinking. Make sure you like it overall, and you can tweak your wheel and gear to your liking. Then, go from there.

Also in game in the forcefeedback settings on rfactor i have set it to -65 on the slider and medium strength also make sure its set to Wheel on the middle one.

As for races in your time zone we have races in an endurance series (all fixed setup so no need to worry about guys who have the perfect setup) which run at 5pm GMT UK time, which is slightly different for you i think, and there is the Skoda's which we run which are also around the same time.

Also Race2Play is a decent enough place but be warned you do get alot of randomers and you have to develop your own setup too. check out the Skoda thread above they are a good starting ground for online play, we have skoda races tomorrow if you would like to join in?

Dear all,
(I do not want to make this into a blog, but until I get into speed, I think I will need some handholding, and its also good to share the fun.)

Uninstalled GRID, its not what I am looking for (had enough fun with it with keyboard when it came out).
Checked my old games, installed nascar 2003 and GPL, enjoying both. Loved the new installer of GPL, I am always surprised how much work some individuals can do for a community, respect to them!
So GPL is real fun, but I suck in it big time.
Since I am an old flightsim junkie, I tend to switch everything on realistic, and I do not mind the steep learning curve.
Never thought that a steering wheel can make this huge difference!
As a next step, I'll by Rfactor 1 this week maybe one simbin title, and he rest... who knows.
Will contact you when I will try out the things online..:)
Thanks again, hope to see you soon in the rear view mirror!

I would think twice about buying rFactor 1, with rFactor 2 in beta. But that's me.

I'd say it's still a great buy, people aren't all going to jump to rF2 when it comes out, so there's still going to be a great community to play with.

It's true what they all say though, it's really a modding base. I've downloaded a few mods for rFactor now, and I'm fast seeing why it's so popular. Since I downloaded Brands Hatch (My local) for it, along with a couple of other tracks, and the FSOne mod, I'm in love! I'm going to grab a couple of hillclimb tracks and a few classic cars to play with now.

I'm still a big fan of GTR Evo, but the huge online community for rFactor takes the cake in my books. Just gotta wait for my G27 to arrive and I can get online!

I'm also a flight simmer from the beginning, but I'm starting out with some assists on, and working my way out of them. With a keyboard there's a few you can't get away without, for instance traction control, you just can't get the power down smoothly on a keyboard because the gas is on or off!

good choice in wheel, Logitech always the way to go, i have the same wheel as you and it has taken a beating and still holds on! love it and wouldnt change it unless for a more expensive logitech wheel!

Hi everyone,
Just another short update.
I managed to buy race07 (was on sale in a local shop), the next day I bought Race on and Evo too.
This pushed my Rfactor purchase to next month (I do not even try to explain these things to my wife, for her food and bills are still more important, but being patient usually pays off).
I am having fun, and improving slowly.
Trying to drive the same car, and mainly online (currently Honda).
I am not brave enough to touch the car setup yet (apart from the fuel ammount), hell, I do not even understand half of the things I can find on that screen. Is there any manual for dummies out there?
Got used to the wheel and pedals, still changing the chair position in every 5 mins... but will be there slowly.
If they do not fix Cliffs of Dover in the next weeks, I am afraid I will be lost in this world.
Already afraid of Rfactor...

Thanks for all the suggestions and help so far!

there is a setup tool over at Race2Play.com, just use the following link: http://www.race2play.com/special/setup_tool

Really handy, i wasn't much good at doing setups either, but this even though its not perfect it helps get a good solid base of a setup

Hi,
thanks for the setup program.
I spent the last days on the same track alone in the same car (never thought that this can be exciting).
I am trying to put together a stable neutral car, which I can keep on the road even with minor errors I make sometimes.
The only problem I am facing is, that I cannot tell if my car is bottoming out or not.
Am I supposed to feel it or notice it somehow in Race07?

While tools like that are handy to get started with, especially with the main components such as springs, ride height and differential settings, for example...they can also steer you wrong in some areas of fine tuning, such as dampers. You'll find a lot of the time it takes into consideration that you've got everything else spot-on perfect, which is not the case sometimes.

It is a good starting point, though and something everyone that's just starting out can really use...it's just no exchange for attempting to learn the physics of just what a car's setup settings actually do. There are tons of RL racing sitesand car physics theory sites that go into great detail about such things. Then, it takes time to try them out in whatever sim you're playing at the time....a lot of time. Hours of trial and error. That can be fun and a learning experience at the same time.

Now, having said all that....in every racing sims, you'll find people "gaming the game". Meaning, they will try every extreme setup tweak in that pursuit of those extra tenths to reach the top of a leaderboard. Running a front roll bar at 243lbs of force, with 41lbs of front spring rate, isn't something you would do in a RL 60's racecar at Spa...at least not do it and live too long, but you'll find those setups posted all over and accompanying 3:19 lap times from them in the hands of people that know how to use them.

That's just a part of sim racing.

Hi all. I'm new here and was reading this thread. I am going to try getting into racing some as well. I have an S1 SRW wheel coming tomorrow.

I have played GPL and Papyrus Nascar and an F1 simulation, but this was a long time ago and never online. I'm unsure if I would like Nascar online but I think I'd like F1 and other similar type racing on road courses.

About how long did it take everyone to get "up to speed" where they don't spin out so much and don't crash so much?

I downloaded Raceroom2 and I played that some - it's free. I kind of like it. I'm thinking of trying iRacing as well. I guess I'm just looking for a good group of people who are mature and are also patient with someone who might not be as good as they are at first.

Well for starters you've come to the right place here.... These guys are some of the best and most mature (while still having fun) on the online racing community...

I've been racing here for around 2.5 years and haven't found a better group yet... There's plenty of helpful people here who'll help with lines and getting the most out of yourself, as that is the main thing in everyone's eyes here...

There's plenty of different levels of racing abilities and not everyone has the ability to do perfect laps lap after lap, but some of us find that groove from race to race....

As for getting up to speed, that's different for everyone, as rigs are that varied and the set up of the wheel affects a lot as well, and then there's the driver abilities and driving style to take into account as well...

As far as sims go I can't speak for Iracing, because I don't like paying for a subscription for any game... But with other options out there now is the best time to get into Sim racing online with so many titles in development stages that are open to the public it's a good cheap starting point to get used to things and get up to speed...

Hello and welcome mate! We have a damn good bunch of racers here as Pumbaa has said above, and again you won't meet a more patient bunch of guys around, theres literally guys of all abilities racing with us on rFactor in the SCES Endurance series, and its a great laugh aswell as sort of serious at the same time

As usual if you have rfactor, head to the SCES section get the downloads from the downloads thread and head on into the server and jump on teamspeak too! post up a shout aswell as i am usually around and more than happy to jump in a server and help out and help get you to speed i'm not the fastest guy around but i can help get you up to some form of speed and get some consistancy going

Hi and let me join Pumbaa and Steve in welcoming you to SimHQ. What they were to polite to mention when they were talking about all abilities was the fact that I am probably one of the slowest on course, but at the age of 61 (we did say some of the most mature racers around lol) I dont worry to much about that. Although I am not quite as fast as some of the guys here I have never found that to be an impedement to some great racing. this is trully the best bunch of guys to race against that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I would echo Steve's advice and get downloading the SCES downloads and join us online. the best way to learn is to do so see you on track soon.

Hi new racers,
The appeal of rFactor is really with the community of drivers here at SimHQ. rFactor is looking pretty old-time - when was it released - 2006?

Most all of the hosted races have fixed setups for most of the adjustments, so there are just a few dials that are left for you to manage. And the guys and gals here are ready to help.

Looking forward to seeing you on the track - hopefully in my mirrors!


Oh, one thing about rFactor - you may well have to unplug other game controller devices so rFactor can see the wheel and pedals. I cannot have a Warthog plugged in at the same time. I expect rFactor2 will fix that...

Wrecking Crew

Hi all. I have my SRW-S1 wheel. I have rFactor. I downloaded ILMS v2.78. In game it says I don't own any cars. Do I need to buy cars? I'm not against it, just not too sure of what to do at this point.

I'm also set up on teamspeak.

Thanks,
Kurt

Yes, you will need to buy a car...the series has personal cars, so to get started you need to buy one of the "mules"...generic paint scheme.

After you decide what car in which class you want to drive, you can paint a scheme for it or there's a few enterprising painters here that aren't too bad with a virtual spray gun and they're usually happy to paint cars for people.

Yeah you'll need to buy cars in the vehicle section of the top tab (can't remember the label) and then you'll be able to load a track... The cars cost in game credits that can only be earned through racing, you cannot buy them with real world money at all... From memory the ILMS mod will take a certain amount of credits to buy the Protos... But someone know the .PLR file cheat, I can't remember it off the top of my head but someone else will be able to remember it...

Ok, thanks!! I started out with 2,500,000 credits or so, but I guess that doesn't mean that much. Actually, the Aston Martins are at no cost. I just have to click and buy them. The others have prices.

I am going to have to play around with this wheel and set it up, though, it appears. But, I wasn't thinking about doing any racing immediately. I was planning on practicing a lot.

sadly the Astons wont be usable in game as we are only running LMP2 and GT2,

LMP2 cars eligible: Lola and Dome
GT2 cars eligible: Porsche and Ferrari

Make sure you have downloaded the addon pack with our cars in so you can get in the server to plus ingame credits, meh they mean nothing and you dont pay with real money so dont worry about that!

When you have downloaded and installed our skin pack etc, load up the game, go to LMP2 or GT2 and buy the car titled as "Mule" in the lola section, Dome section and the Porsche and Ferrari section in GT2, this way you have the base car to compete, IF you want to test out one of my cars feel free to buy the Porsche car titled as Ozjet Racing, as im running the ferrari this race and probably the rest of the season you can run my Porsche if you would like t have something with a design on

here is a guide:

1: Download this track: http://simhq.net/downloads/motorsports/rfactor/SimHQ_2012_SCES/VLM_Sebring_rFactor_V100.exe
install it to your rfactor file in the C Drive.

2: make sure you have the mod: http://simhq.net/downloads/motorsports/rfactor/_addons/ILMS_v2.78_PUBLIC.rar

extract and cut and paste to your game folder "rfactor" in the C Drive.

3: Download this RFM file http://simhq.net/downloads/motorsports/rfactor/SimHQ_2011_SCES/downloads/rFm_ILMS.zip
And place this in the RFM file in the game folder in the C Drive

4: download our carset: http://simhq.net/downloads/motorsports/rfactor/SimHQ_2012_SCES/carset5.zip extract it and cut and paste into the game folder in the C Drive.

OPTIONAL IF YOU NEED THEM: (it is advised to put these in just in case)

5: the hydraulic gun fix, if you can hear a constant drill type sound whilst driving download and install this http://simhq.net/downloads/motorsports/rfactor/fans_normal_1.zip

again it is in the game folder somewhere

6: incase of graphical glitches download this tweaked cam setting: http://simhq.net/downloads/motorsports/rfactor/SimHQ_2011_SCES/downloads/TweakedCockpitCams.rar


IMPORTANT: Only our cars are able to be run, aswell as the MULE cars (which are our cars too) so make sure you have the MULES ingame, as i said though you have my permission to run my OZJET RACING PORSCHE

If you don't have enough money to buy a car, edit your ILMS.cch file - the two lines in red -

here's what is in mine these days -
//[[gMa1.002f (c)2007 ]] [[ ]]
[CAREER]
Experience=2002503787
Money=1774703787
CurSeasIndex=0
...

On Windows7 my file is here -
C:\Users\(name)\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\rFactor\UserData\Wrecking Crew

WC

OR select a car and load up just an offline testing day thingy and in the chat box when loaded simply type

ISI_BABYFACTORY click enter and then exit back to the menu and it will inject a shedload of cash

Ok. I have done everything I saw in that list. But, the problem is I do not see the Lolas in game. When I browse in the folder browser in Windows 7, I see the Porsche 997 folder and the MGlola folder under Vehicles/IMLS. But, in game I do not see the vehicles.

Seems like I must have done something wrong.

I did the edit to the file and have plenty of cash and experience now.

hm interesting are you able to take a screenshot in game of what it looks like matey?

Here is a SS of the car select screen.

hmmm interesting, GT2 cars are also missing, okay try installing the mod again, it might of been caused by the file edit im not sure, i've not had this happen to me personally before, try installing the mod again and add in our car pack again, and instead of editing the file to get the cars select one u can afford go into a "Test" from the middle menu, then type ISI_BABYMAKER into the chat box, exit to menu this will give you loads of money and buy all the cars automatically, see if it works matey

I'm going to re-download the files, too.

okay matey let me know how it goes and we will try and figure something out if it doesnt work

I redid it and it it looks exactly the same.

The ILMS mod has a readme that says 5 folders but I only saw 3 folders when I extracted it.

That's a very strange fault there... I haven't seen that before....

Are there any other files inside the MGlola or Porsche997 folders like cockpitinfo.ini or any other .ini, .gen, .hdv, .mas, .sfx, .cam, .pm or .tbc?

Here's what it should look like... the folder "ILMS 2012" should read "rFactor" in your install... I use multiple installs because some of the mods add things to the UI and sounds that don't fit with other mods...




If they are there try deleting the folders inside the MGLola, Ferrari430GT, Dome and Porsche997 folders, but leave the files, put in the SCES car pack and see if that cures it...

If the files aren't there then there's a problem that I can't describe, as they should be there unless they get deleted post install or you have had a corrupted download... But you've downloaded it twice now so that shouldn't be the problem...

I think we have the culprit. There are no files. Just folders in the subfolder of porsche 997. INSIDE the subfolders are files, but those files labeled "Porsche997.gen" and below are not there. I must have misread the directions - it said delete the folders, but I bet they meant the folders inside the main Porsche Folder and not the Porsche folder itself.

Let me try this once more armed with this knowledge.

Perfect. I'm up and running - I have the cars in the module now.

Thank you to all.

excellent, if you can jump on TeamSpeak with us, theres some practice races today anyones welcome so pop along standard mod cars wont work but if you can drive a mule or my porsche car number 26, then jump on in there is a few of us in server right now

I tried to race on Sebring last night, just testing. I have an issue that might take some time to overcome. When I'm pulling out of the garage, my car seems to take on a life of its own. It's revs up very high, pulls out on its own, and immediately drives right into the fence.

It sounds comical, but it is happening.

Figured it out: Autopit was on and not working correctly.

I had better not race with all of you today. My best lap on Sebring was 2:23. I'd just be in the way.

dont be afraid to come on with us mate, practice races have finished im still about if you want to hit the server just post here and let me know

Hey fella here is that video i said i would do for you, it should help a few of you get to grips with the track, just keep doing the laps and hopefully this will help a little

That is great. That will help a lot. I already have watched it twice and will watch it many more times.

glad i could help, good to see us shave some time off your lap in server too, keep going mate and you will soon be well into the field! i have faith in you dude, going from 2:23's to 2:14's with me is a hell of an improvement and im damn sure you will find the rest of the time matey

I probably will not race in the big race on Sunday. I don't want to take people out before I get a little more experienced. As you saw, the car sometimes gets a little squirrely for me in some turns.

I appreciate the time that you are putting in though, so it is not wasted. I'm racing practice and testing on the track to get better.

I think after a few more test runs, it will be time to play a little with the racing wheel controls to see if I can get a little more comfortable and in that way get better times.

Edit: I know you mentioned a little about your wheel setup but I didn't hear it that clearly. But, I was racing and couldn't reach over and press the talk key to ask what you had said.

Thanks for all the help!

Cheers!

I don't know if the SimRaceway wheel has it's own software that will allow you to set the sensitivity and the rotation... It's much better to set it through the wheel software than the in game settings, as it's best to leave them at default, especially for steering...

Good to see you're getting your times down, and no need to rush, There's some racing here next week as well... Gotta make sure you are comfortable with your set up first... But don't feel bad about making mistakes on track... We all do that, and it's a big part of racing, just look at last years F1 season, the guy who made the least mistakes won...

I think you should just bite the bullet and come race with us today Kurt. If you are worried about the car being a bit squirelly at first, remember you can turn on traction control and stability till you get used to running in traffic and feel a bit more comfortable in the car. The best way to learn is to do and you will learn much more racing against real people than you will racing offline against AI. As long as you don't suddenly change your line without warning to allow a faster car past then you will be ok. The guys in the P2 cars are usually pretty good at getting past us slower guys in the GT2 cars as long as we hold our line and don't weave around in the hope of helping them to pass.

^^ seconded, Yeah Kurt the wheel setting i was on about as it seemed you were struggling a little with turn in angle, just notch up the "Steering Lock" in game a few degree's it's in the setup screen on the general tab, i boosted mine, i know lower steering lock means less tyre wear, but i much prefer a more responsive steering input to one where i feel i have no input might help a little with your turning lock through a couple of tighter corners too just keep at it mate you will get there

I'll agree the folks around here are quite kind to n00bs as long as you're trying. I did one road race (Road America) and 1 Indy race (also did some nascar practice runs) with the crew here and had a blast...I just didn't have time to stick with it and improve. Part of it was I never felt like my wheel "felt right" in rfactor. Not sure what combination it was of the game, the wheel settings, and me.

Now, don't get me wrong...I'm not claiming I know how a stocker or indy car or any other full-on race car "should" feel, but I have taken my 400hp Camaro around about 4 different tracks (2 autox and 2 road courses) so I'm not entirely unfamiliar with high speed driving. A lot of times, my wheel would feel better if I simply flipped it from game-controlled force feedback to dumb centering tension mode. And no it wasn't any "dumb" mistake like having the FF acting in reverse...that I would've recognized.

Right out of the gate, the MX5 in iracing feels closer to driving an actual car than anything I was ever able to get out of rfactor.

Just to inform everyone, I bought Rfactor in this very moment.
I'll start practicing now...
Any mods I should try out as a noob?

Any of the "Hall of Fame" mods and tracks at rFactor Central are good places to start. Also the DRM Revival 1.1 mod (challenging physics, but one of the best mods ever, IMO). Personally I also like the latest NAGT mod (v1.6), VHR stock cars (from their own website, install the mod as "stand-alone") and the iDT Grand Slam Daytona Prototypes.

rF Central also has a hall of fame for tracks. But of course, any of the Virtua Le Mans (Virtua LM or VLM) tracks are the top tier of add-on tracks.

+1...wouldn't mind seeing an event or two with this mod myself. Good selection of cars and very challenging.

Staniol, you should come race on the server. Everyone is very friendly and helpful. Stewart was guiding me around Monza last night. He was yelling LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT!!! At me lol. But, guess what, it helped a lot.

And anyway, this Monza race is just a friendly, go out and have fun race with relaxed settings. So, it should be a lot of fun.

Agreed, I'd also love to see a few races for the NAGT mod, some really stunning cars in that one...

Completely agree and a few GT3 races at some point to! NAGT and GT3 are both fantastic mods! im headin in server for a wee while

Will try, although I have a limited time frame for racing. I am available between 22:00 CET- 01:00 CET.
You know how it is with family.

Hey Staniol, come when you can. I stunk it up out there but everyone was nice and said I did great. I didn't have any race stopping crashes, though. I was always still running when the checkered flag went up, but usually lapped.

I think I REALLY need a real wheel instead of this SRW-S1 handheld wheel.

if budget is a problem for a logitech G27 im using their cheaper Formula Force Ex and its still a great great wheel i completely forgot about the practice races lol

That SRW wheel is really neat...it's probably best suited for someone that travels a lot and could take it with them for some racing relaxation, taking up a minimum of space.

For me, racing's about rythym...finding a groove and staying there. While I rarely actually do find that elusive groove... ....I think it would be harder not having a constant reference point that a hard-mounted wheel might provide. Just my thinking anyway.

It's much, much better than the xBox controller I had at first. But, I think you are describing exactly what I'm having issues with. I find myself "swimming" with it. Turning right I have the controller swimming 6-8 inches to the right and the same when I turn left. So I get a movement back and forth like a swaying motion.

It has a lot of nice buttons, though, that I don't use, lol.

LOL I used to do that with a joypad, steer left/lean left, steer right/lean right, I just couldn't help it

Probably going to get a G27, but my times are starting to come down. I shaved 3 seconds from yesterday to today on this track. I told Steve "I'm almost 'respectable'", lol.

well you are certainly catching up to me i bet you will be faster than me come race day

Well, let's not get too ahead of ourselves. I can run a lap sub 1:40 but not often. I think I have done it three times so far.

well the practice is certainly bringing your times down, i would advise though do save up for G27 they are amazing bits of kit

Kurt, keep trying out different Digital Rates for the throttle and brake...even if you think one feels good, it might be a bit better with another tweak. You can always go back to the rate you had before the last tweak if you don't like it.

Hi, its me again.
Can someone help me with some settings for the Logitech Formula Force ex in Rfactor?
I have problem understanding the force feedback (especially why it has negative values), digital rates, sensitivity.
Everything is working, it just doesn't feel right compare to the SimBin games i played.

Mr Hill can help a bit further for he has that wheel, but the negative numbers have something to do with the drivers for the wheel itself... For some reason some wheel have reversed, and others have overly strong feedback...

My G27 runs in reverse... I run around -60 up to -90 to get a good strong FFB...

Digital rates are for controllers more so then wheels, so set them low to off... I could be wrong but that's what I've found comfortable...

Sensitivity is also mainly for control pads... And for a wheel it's best to leave them at the default settings...

The main thing is though, to play around and find out what works best for you... As feeling comfortable behind the wheel is the most important thing...

Negative value for negative force, that would explain some strange behavior, will give it a try, thanks for your help!

Okay my wheel settings are the same as DB's mostly.

on the slider bar i have that set at -65

set the thing below to wheel

and the effects to medium, it provides just enough for the right feeling, though i do use -70 on some mods if i feel its a bit washy by -65 and medium and wheel does the trick just fine

The Digital Rates are for controllers, they have no impact on an axis such as a steering wheel or pedals. However, if you set a button to be the clutch, for example...as the game is looking for an axis for a clutch control, it will have an impact on that. Lowering the rates will cause a more gradual release of the function. Increasing them will cause more of an on/off function of the function.

The Sensitivity settings affects whatever controller you are using, though.

Hi all,
any recommended addon/utility for Rfactor, which is not eyecandy, but really useful? (HUD, FFB and such?)

Realfeel FFB is a great mod, that will make the game feel a lot better, definitely recommend it!

I installed it, but I assume that I have to configure it correctly since it feels worse than it was before.
Any premade ini file for a formula force ex?

Three rfactor things that i couldn't live without....

1. XD Hud. Shows additional info about your car and player standings. Not as fancy as some but has everything you need and nothing you dont.

http://www.vitumo.de/

2. Hi res mirror. Extract mirror.bmp and drop into gamedata/vehicles

HiRes Mirror download

3. rFConnect. Handy little tool for instant connection to a sever (providing you know the IP address) SimHQ is 209.200.231.205:34297 If we have more than one sever running then additional servers will use subsequent port numbers ie. 209.200.231.205:34298, 209.200.231.205:34299 etc..

rFconnect download

Yes, it's completely configurable with the LCTRL and RCTRL + NumPad buttons.



It is also not compatible with every mod, and others will need you to reverse the force, so be careful with that.

Simbin games really are some of the best racing sims.

Thanks for this, Hi Res mirror and XD hud are really made my day!

GTR2 is still my favorite racing sim.

. Can't agree more. The best racing sim if you really want to make some right-hand turns. Heaven only knows how much quality, free add-on cars and tracks available for it. My installation has gone past 20GB mark now...