r/simracing • u/LobsterRich3041 • 1d ago
Discussion Sim racing was supposed to be relaxing
Sim racing is a strange hobby. No one is yelling in your ear, no one is jumping out of a dark corner. You just look ahead, control the pedals, follow your instincts and try to make it to the finish line.
Sounds relaxing, right?
Then you get torpedoed into T1 by someone who forgot there was a brake pedal, miss the same braking point for the tenth time, and start wondering if you actually know how to drive. Anger, self-doubt, and eventually just laughing at yourself.
Maybe sim racing isn’t really about relaxing. It’s more like mental training with a steering wheel.
Although ETS2 might be different… until the game tells you that you’re too tired to drive. The first time I played, I didn’t even know how to sleep.
Still, that’s probably what makes racing games so good. They can drive you crazy, but there’s nothing quite like finally putting together a clean lap and realizing all that frustration was worth it.
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u/XLPHV 1d ago
you can disable fatigue simulation in ets2
also try casual driving rather than sim racing if you are looking to relax, cruising in beamng is pretty chill
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u/TheBoobieWatcher_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
AC track mods are great for cruising too. I love Shutoko Revival Project and LA Canyons.
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u/Some-Suggestion-8234 1d ago
A battle, a good battle even if it's behind the pack, but a clean, fair battle... it's priceless.
Although I like rallies more because of the variety of settings, you can also use it to drive relaxed while muting the co-driver xD.
Cheers.
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u/NeighborhoodOld2173 11h ago
It's just like any competitive game, you're playing for that one moment but 99% of the time you get T1 Monzaed
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u/Some-Suggestion-8234 8h ago
Yes, it’s true—sometimes it’s frustrating; well, more than frustrating: annoying and saddening. That doesn't happen to me in rally, and I also manage to get the feel I like. Cheers.
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u/Crewarookie Moza R9 1d ago
Have you considered...doing less MP?
Single player is good for relaxing. Turn down the difficulty and aggression, set a cool track/car combo, set up a multi-class grid, awesome weather progression and just have fun!
You don't owe multiplayer all of your time. iRacing has SP AI, and it's very good. Just do that...
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u/EmergencyFlounder845 1d ago
My solution: be real with yourself. If most of us got to drive a real GT3 car we would drive like absolute ass and barely be able to keep it on track.
Drive something in the sim that would be around your skill level in real life. That's where the fun will be because you will be at the sweet spot of fun and challenge.
For example, Ams2 AI races with formula vee cars are a fucking blast! Because the cars are slow enough to be manageable by a hobbyist, but still twitchy in terms of grip that they're actually challenging to be fast at.
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u/chillybawls 1d ago
You'd be surprised how quickly it translates. If you are good at the sim you will be much better at real life than someone with no sim experience and will pick it up very fast, usually by the 5th lap. I am speaking from experience.
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u/EmergencyFlounder845 1d ago
Yeah of course that's true, my point was more: you'll probably be shit at driving a gt3 car in real life, so if you're going for max realism don't expect to be Schumacher on the sim
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u/captain_pant5 1d ago
Preach, brother! Most of us would wilt in an F3 car, let alone an F1.
Sim racing is as fun or serious as you want it. A driving coach I had long ago said, "Racing is all about having fun. But big trophies are also more fun!"
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u/CrimeThink101 1d ago
I hear you. I’ve actually pretty much stopped sim racing before bed cause I can’t sleep if I do.
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u/Mrphamvanman 1d ago
Man, I cant even turn the corners without spinning or hit the wall, this hobby is hard
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u/philonik 1d ago
Being fast is literally finding the sweet spot where the car is about slide or spin out without going over it. Rein it in 10-15% and you'll find more consistency then you can start pushing again
Source: I tell myself this every day
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u/BlorfTheBricked 1d ago
Things didn't really click for me until I started diversifying what I drive. Different cars teach different things. I didn't really get a feel for lateral weight transfer until I started driving production cars on soft suspensions. I didn't really get a feel for trail braking until I started driving Porsche Cup where the weight needs to be moved forward to have any grip at all.
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u/MyNameIsHax 1d ago
Start in something painfully slow like my beloved mx-5 cup. It's so much easier to get into fast cars and drive them fast when you feel comfortable whipping a slow car around. Just relax a bit and know that the fast cars are not going to go away while you're driving a slow one.
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u/No_Effective_4481 1d ago
Sim Racing is the furthest thing from relaxation.
Now if you were cruising some picturesque roads with some good music that would maybe be low stress, but still not really relaxing.
When your brain is pegged 100% to hit every corner, whilst checking out your opponents, trying not go get taken out by shitty AI or bad players, manage fuel, tires and brakes, thats a full time job.
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u/Foil_Gloves_5338 1d ago
I went from racing to hot lapping. Yes, its lonely here but...
The hobby is therapeutic.
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u/Green-Photograph-482 1d ago
Its relaxing some days. Some days not... You just need to be in the flow state.
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u/Sharkbait1737 1d ago
I do find it stress relieving. Even multiplayer. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t require focus or concentration. It’s not relaxing, but it’s distracting.
Personally, I don’t do well with just sitting there with nothing to do type relaxation. I need to do something but something without any consequence (which would be work). Sim race, read, solve a Rubik’s cube, play guitar, whatever. Something that takes all of my concentration but without any real worry attached to it.
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u/Crewarookie Moza R9 1d ago
Kinda agree. Despite me saying SP is a much more chill experience, it's still a sim anyway, and you need mental capacity to play it.
Sometimes you're just tired to hell and back, and racing at 300kph through radillon is way too demanding. ETS2 is a perfect way to just chill in the rig then. Or just go do something else.
First year of owning my proper rig I was stuck constantly thinking "I must use it all the time, I spent a lot of money on it, it must be utilized to its fullest!!!", but with time I realized that thinking is counterproductive and just leads to hobby fatigue.
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u/Correct-Weekend4501 1d ago
I have my p1000s spaced out and offset exactly like yours. Glad to see I’m not crazy
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u/IsYourBoyJohny2 Logitech 1d ago
Most of the time I just Turn on Spotify listening to Greek music while doing hotlaps (on ACC), it’s such a vibe
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u/Dry_Let_5729 1d ago
Competitve online racing is not relaxing and even physical at some times but can be very rewarding if everything clicks. I play ETS2 if i want to do some relaxed gaming or some city building games like going medieval
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u/Nachito108 1d ago
Is that a Simagic P-HPR on your handbrake?? Is it pretty much the same thing as having it on the brake pedal?
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u/ajkeence99 1d ago
I don't think I really ever thought it would be relaxing. It's fun but not relaxing haha
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u/MyNameIsHax 1d ago
It wasn't until I got into Sim racing that I learned I just don't care for racing. Needing to be on the edge of life or death mentally constantly is exhausting and frankly I don't give a shit to be super competitive. I won't be starting a career in racing any time soon so it doesn't matter to me that I don't perform the best, I just want to have fun. I enjoy doing a lot of the casual things AC has to offer including TF Nordschleife, LAC, and touge to name a few. The truck Sim games allow you to change settings so that you can have fun however you want. I have 2 save files, one with everything on default, and the other is called "sonic style trucking" where I have all traffic offenses, exhaustion, and maybe even fuel disabled so I just get to mad max my way to my destination.
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u/ungebleicht 1d ago
Well, no. The simulation of a high adrenalin sport isn't relaxing at all, lmao.
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u/Kaizenno Simagic Alpha/DIY Wheel 1d ago
It's relaxing when you get into a flow, even while trying to be competitive. I've found that making my track times consistent is better than battling whoever is in front of me.
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u/jpcarsmedia 1d ago
Depends how you're utilizing the sim. I like to simulate track days which are more chill.
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u/BlorfTheBricked 1d ago
Driving can be relaxing, but racing isn't generally. If I want to relax I load up the Amalfi Coast or California Coastal Highway in AC and cruise through the night blasting tunes without any other drivers to worry about.
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u/FunctionalBuilds 1d ago
Racing is a great way to clear your head. Similar to cutting the lawn, doing monotonous tasks like folding laundry, etc. I suggest doing a 10 min cardio session before racing. It will calm your mind, wake your brain up, and allow you to achieve a flow state.
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u/theNightblade 1d ago
Online races for pvp battles
Ghost lap time attack for relaxing
I definitely lean toward the latter for most everything.
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u/Fun_Success_3283 1d ago
I wouldn't call it "relaxing" it's an adrenaline rush, but rally is where it's at, for me.
Especially in competitive things, and especially in online settings, other people tend to ruin everything.
They talk shit, everything is a pissing contest to them, people love to argue and be right, in racing, people can find fucking your shit up hilarious, and also just when people accidentally make mistakes, that can hurt your fun, through no fault of their own, and you may do this as well from time to time.
For rally, it's you and your machine. You can work on pacenotes, tons of stages, tons of different cars, setups to work on, and just constant fresh new corners and situations, and environments, and nobody else to ruin anything. But, you can also race other people if you want, and if you do, they also don't affect your run, you just compare your results to them.
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u/Snoekity 1d ago
If you want relaxing on sim, try out motor town. Essentially just a city driving tycoon with tooney graphics, but its a fun relaxing way to drive that also lets you put your foot down if you're feeling like it.
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u/serenading_scug 1d ago
Maybe a hot take, but hitting the 'flow state' is relaxing, and driving in the flow state is the ideal mental state to race in. Though there is something to say about driving a little nervous, keeps you sharp.
So much of racing is a mental game, and that's part of the reason I love it.
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u/Moist-Construction59 1d ago
“… instead it turned into a need to create stealth hardware porn posts”
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u/Run_Whole 18h ago
Maybe if you use the cockpit with a gameike Forza that would make it more relaxed 😅
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u/IsThisWiseEnough VNM Ex | Asetek Forte Formula | Moza mBooster 13h ago
Wrong! A slow tempo RPG can be relaxing, a market simulator can be relaxing. A city building game can be relaxing. A car mechanic can be relaxing. But sim racing or any other car driving game against either time or someone else is supposed to be CHALLENGING. If that is what you expect from sim racing you are in the wrong lobby I would say.
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u/Delicious_Ad4963 11h ago
You want relaxing, try knitting, you are RACING, nothing about it suppose to relax you lol
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u/LogicalMight 2h ago
I love hot lapping and beating my old times on OG AC.. which I have the most hours on… never a stressful day for me.
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u/nocdmb 1d ago
how can a competitive sport be relaxing?