Sim racing is a broad concept with numerous facets and a lengthy lexicon that must study to comprehend completely. If you have the necessary tools for an immersive experience, sim racing can feel incredibly authentic. You could drive on a real lap if you have enough experience playing simulative racing games.
You can experience the adrenaline and feel of racing on a real track through simulation, but you will need pricey equipment. Additionally, you can simply strap on your Oculus and grip your accelerator to control your virtual automobiles like real cars using a real steering wheel.
It will give you a fundamental overview of the tools and knowledge required to begin your journey into the sim racing world. Whether a professional or amateur driver, there is always space for development.
You can do this by honing your driving techniques, learning to race on various tracks, or trying out new vehicles and upgrades. Participating in sim racing games that allow you to practice your talents without endangering your life is one approach to achieving this. Let’s explore tips for sim racing and iRacing tips for beginners.
What is Sim Racing?
Simulating real racing cars in the virtual world is a feature of the simulator game genre. The goals are the simulators’ most accurate simulation and the experience of being on a real racetrack in a real racecar. In contrast, they use arcade racers and simulators to highlight the variables that affect how an automobile handle.
It indicates that many settings are available for modifying and altering every aspect of driving cars. All elements affect how a vehicle handles the racetrack. Simulators that seek to replicate traditional racing can refer to as sim racing. In this context tips for sim racing will going to help you.
How To Get Better at Sim Racing?
Sim racing is amazing, and nothing in virtual racing is more satisfying than making a turn faster than previously. But sometimes, all you want to do is get better and defeat your pals. Here are some great tips for sim racing.
1) Set Realistic Expectations
It can be simple to lose motivation when playing online racing games and seeing other competitors outpace you while you are stuck in the middle or even at the rear. Depending on your age, it’s improbable that you’ll be as quick as Michael Schumacher or Lewis Hamilton. Some methods they employ must install in you very young.
Setting realistic goals is hence my first piece of advice. Never look at other players when playing any game. Try to improve your times rather than those of others. Thanks to this, you’ll have an achievable objective, which will keep you motivated. You can achieve the short goals you set by evaluating your capabilities.
2) Maintain Only a Few Variables
Today’s racers don’t spend much time competing in all types of racing. They were extremely focused on their goals and maintained that discipline. For instance, most F1 drivers began driving go-karts before switching to single-seaters. Few of them were going anything else.
It requires you to choose the discipline on which you want to concentrate. Whatever the vehicle type, whether it be a single-seater, GT, LMP, or truck, you must pay close attention to driving it. For me, Assetto Corsa Competizione is all about GT cars.
Take the next track one at a time. Race only one way with your attention. Continue traveling around the path until you reach a point where you can no longer get better. It brings me to my next piece of advice.
3) Observe Others
Once you have the car and the track. You’ve also completed a few laps. It’s time to check on those who have completed the course in the same circumstances as you. These details are available from a variety of sources. If your game has a good AI, watch them as they round the track. Check out their telemetry. You’ll need to pay much more attention if your game lacks telemetry data.
4) Reduce Distractions
Avoid distractions unless you are streaming or recording a let’s play. Your situation will determine how to proceed. If possible, wear headphones to block out any noise and allow you to concentrate on the sounds the car creates.
The discomfort itself is a distraction. Suppose your seating arrangement does not properly support you. Your pain-related thoughts will take up half of your mental space.
5) Keep Well-Fed & Hydrated
If you are working for a while, let’s say, several hours. You won’t be able to leave your rig to obtain a drink or a snack. Therefore, be sure to keep these on hand. In a previous post, I talked about how to stay hydrated, including what liquids to drink. But if you are only consuming water, food may be just as significant.
And if you forget, I hope someone who can do it for you will be playing. It is not a problem if you are playing offline. I won’t give you advice on how to eat a balanced diet. But most healthy foods will make you feel fuller and gradually release energy.
To help you feel fuller for longer and experience fewer digestive issues, which may be quite annoying when trying to concentrate on racing. You might prepare healthy foods or buy pre-made snacks, depending on your budget.
6) Obtain Resources
It is very practical and contains a lot of advice that I still follow today. Watching Sim Racers on YouTube is one of the additional resources. You must observe the interviews of your preferred drivers and take driving instructions.
7) Employ 100% Grip
You will discover your tyres’ maximum grip potential as you drive around the track. You must use their potential, or almost all of it, to move quickly. However, depending on your car, you will either oversteer or understeer if you exceed that number.
Lift off the accelerator gradually when you begin to use the brakes as you approach a corner. Turn the steering wheel once you have stopped accelerating and have slowed down enough.
Your tyres’ traction will also deplete by steering wheel input. As a result, release the brake gradually while increasing your turning effort. Once you’ve reached the apex, you can start to accelerate and lower the steering angle. With this technique, you ought to maintain the tyres’ close-to-maximum grip.
8) Set Up a FOV
Most sim racing setup games have a parameter called FOV, or Field of View, that lets you control how much of the race track you can see. Unexpectedly, you don’t want a wide field of view because it makes it more difficult to coordinate turns and determine when to begin various cornering stages.
The monitor size, number of monitors (one or three), distance from the monitors, and the game itself all affect your ideal sim racing FOV. Utilizing internet generators that supply the proper FOV is the most effective way to find this number. Use this one because it’s very good.
You should now be able to achieve those apexes much more regularly by using the ideal FOV and feel more secure while making riskier actions. Additionally, it speeds up crucial lap times.
9) Consistency and Patience are Important
In the career mode of Assetto Corsa Competizione, consistency pounds into you from the moment you start the game. You only need to be consistent; you don’t need to be quick. If you progressively increase your speed and reach certain apexes at the fastest possible speed rate, you will probably advance up the places due to other racers’ mistakes.
10) Be A Decent Sport
People generally prefer slower but more ethical drivers than quick but dishonest ones. Cutting corners or colliding with other drivers will usually result in penalties in decent sim racing games. However, hitting another competitor can result in the termination of that competitor’s race and the imposition of penalties.
11) Sign Up for Racing Communities
You may join many communities depending on the sim racing game you play. The games subedit would be the first place I would look. The subedit will typically include links to other racing communities or their hosted discord.
You’ll be able to compete in more frequent races with other drivers by joining a community. It can boost your self-confidence even if you don’t do well.
Sim Racing Braking Tips
Here are some racing wheel tips and sim racing beginner tips:
- Learn for good driving games by using your left foot to brake is known as left foot braking. It may be the case when on the track if you’re driving an automatic or paddle-shift vehicle or for specific corners in a manual car where a downshift is not required.
- Continuing to brake as you steer into a corner is known as trail braking. The primary goal of trail braking is to alter the car’s balance rather than to slow it down.
- Heel and toe braking involves synchronizing the engine and wheel speeds of the vehicle to prevent driven wheels from locking up.
- Changing brake bias involves balancing the amount of braking applied to the front and rear tyres to have both ends lose traction simultaneously.
It’s challenging to master circuit driving’s many other characteristics, including braking. Even though executing perfectly on each curve and lap is challenging, you may get closer and closer to your car’s braking limit with practice and conscientious driving. And you’ll cut a ton of lap time when you do this.
How Long to Get Good at Sim Racing?
You might need to put in 2-3 weeks of serious practice or even months before you feel comfortable competing. You may learn considerably more quickly and make the learning experience lot more fun by practicing well.
Is iRacing Realistic?
With patented technology, including 3-D laser scanning and live weather effects, iRacing tracks must design meticulously so that your PC experience is identical to a real-world loop around your favorite way.
Does Driving Simulation Help Actual Driving?
You can get better at driving with sim racing. Numerous examples of sim racers today have succeeded after switching to real racing.
With a background in mechanical engineering and over a decade in competitive sim racing, Kenji serves as our lead Sim Racing Physics & Hardware Analyst. He deconstructs complex topics like force feedback and suspension geometry, helping readers understand the crucial engineering behind a perfect lap time. Kenji’s passion is to translate real-world motorsport principles into actionable knowledge for the sim racing community.