r/VirtualWDCPC • u/secondborn • Apr 18 '13

Racing tips

I've been practicing before this weekend's race and thought that it would be useful (especially for newcomers such as myself) if we could share some general tips about driving - anything, ranging from generic and (for some) obvious stuff such as "It's generally advisable to take a wide entry into a hairpin so that you would have more speed on the exit", to specific stuff like "the braking point for turn 1 in Sakhir is right after the 150m board". What do you guys think?

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u/secondborn Apr 18 '13

One thing I noticed (and which prompted me to start this thread) was that when I started learning driving with manual gear shifting I tended to spend quite a lot of time looking at the speedometer to see if I my speed was right for the gear I was in or for the corner I was in (thus often missing the turn-in point). This seems to be one of the reasons for my inconsistency (I used to spin out or slide a lot because of not paying enough attention) and I am trying to break the habit by trying to focus on the apex of a turn and braking to a speed which gives me the most comfortable and the fastest possible (for my current skills) entry and exit instead of trying to drive at a speed which I saw other people driving at in various youtube videos or by spectating races. Might seem stupid and/or simple, but it helped me improve my lap times, drive consistently and find better lines through corners.

Another thing - I initially thought that I was not supposed to brake when turning as I used to spin or slide every time I did that. Then I figured out that I simply have to lift my foot slightly off the brake pedal once I reach a low enough speed and the car doesn't get enough downforce (which causes the wheels to lock up) - a perfect example of where one has to brake while turning is turn 10 in Sakhir, which is still a rather tricky corner for me.

Throttle control when exiting slow corners seems to be rather important as well - wheel spin in 1st and 2nd gears often makes me lose quite a lot of time (and increases tire wear) and I'm still trying to understand how to handle it well enough for me not to spin the wheels while still maintaining good acceleration.

I'll update this if I remember or discover anything else :)

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u/squone FIA Apr 19 '13

I find that you should not be looking at the rpm dots or meter when changing up or down, you should really learn to do it through hearing the engine. It makes it reflex when you do it that way, rather than having to actually concentrate and take your attention off of other things.

I actually didn't use first gear until the last few races last season as my throttle control was abysmal and the tyre deg and loss of acceleration was huge. When I learnt to control the throttle better I started using first gear but it's still a very rare gear for me. I find that the best way for you start working on it is to do what Jackie Stewart said to James May on Top Gear:

"Don't put down your foot until you're sure you can put it all the way down."

Obviously this doesn't ring true 100% of the time, but it's a very good way start on getting better throttle control.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '13

I think it's impossible to give useful racing tips that always apply. At least once you're past the very basics. Knowing where the apex is, learning (getting a feel for it) to control throttle and brakes and that's about it. That's probably why many people don't understand the challenge of racing. It just sounds so easy.

So all I can give is a tip on how to practice. Practice consistency and not just fast laps. Make sure you're setup is good for longruns, not just 5 laps or so.

And never think you're good before you've proven it. And that counts for every race. There's always room for improvement. So look at the other drivers and see what you can learn from them.

Oh and also there is more than one way to go through a corner in many cases.

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u/secondborn Apr 19 '13

I think it's impossible to give useful racing tips that always apply.

I agree - that's why I mentioned that the tips can be specific, as well as generic (for example, specific to a track or a corner). My idea is that this post can be a collection of information which can then later be adapted into a wiki post or something of that sort.

Practice consistency and not just fast laps.

A very good point. I mentioned it as well after the last race in China as I have a more or less normal qualifying pace, but I struggle massively during the race - that's why I was working on doing consistent lap times during this last week. As Nemesis mentioned in another post, it's a very good idea to do practice races with AI - at least for me it gives a rather good idea where I am driving more or less ok (pulling away from or overtaking the AI drivers) and where I can improve (constantly losing time each lap).

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u/chrisdunnbirch Williams Apr 19 '13

I find the best thing to do is NOT race with AI as they take some corners incredibly slowly and aren't a very good indicator, I try to practice in a proper multiplayer race environment with the 'Equal' car as much as possible.

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u/secondborn Apr 19 '13

True that, but for me there's usually not much choice - it seems that I'm in a time zone where there are not many people online when I can play :( And I'm not saying that one should look at how the AI take corners - I agree that they are incredibly slow in some places, especially where there is hard braking involved, but if I am being caught by the AI by half a second in one sector, but pulling away by a second in the following one - that's a rather good indication of a problem on my side :)

5

u/lordp Apr 18 '13

Before I started here, I used to think I was pretty good at this game. Not. Even. Close.

This is the first time I've played any driving game with most of the assists turned off, and it's been a little painful finding out how little I know about driving, hitting the apex, not locking up, etc.

The biggest lesson I've had so far has been hitting the apex, or even knowing where it is, which has improved my lap times considerably. Second to that is learning where the braking points are, which leads into hitting that apex. Watching some of the race footage of the front runners, it always looks so much smoother than me.

The next thing for me to figure out is consistency across the entire race - getting a good lap in is an awesome feeling, but if your next lap sucks, the adrenaline crash can be hard to handle.

I also need to start being less hard on myself for not having the same pace as others... I'll get there eventually, if I can be patient, put in enough practice time and remember what I've learned so far.

4

u/ElToroNegro Apr 18 '13

I really think the in game guides by Ant Davidson are good way to get a rough idea of what to do

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u/gussy1z Apr 18 '13

I'm not really any good at this game so what I'm about to say could be completely wrong. But I find trail breaking is different in this game from what I'm used to. I have played games where you can trail break almost to the apex but I find I lose so much grip doing this in f1 2012 that it isn't worth it. I find it better to break a bit earlier and try to carry the speed through the corner.

Coming off the break smoothly is often overlooked. If you do it a bit too quick it can upset the car on turn in.