Congrats Dom!
If you don’t like the iRacing ‘feel’ maybe check out the irFFB software:
I tried it briefly before I updated my wheel, and it did seem a bit better, but I’ve not used it since… but many seem to love it.
I have arrived! I have a friend! I’ll see if I can figure this out, thanks.
Will give that a shot. I have read that some make their own formulas for iracing for simhub. Have to see if someone has solved the tire feedback.
I’ve used irFFB and it really helps add some fidelity to the FFB, but it was always finicky for me and would turn off and on randomly, or just plain not work sometimes, so I got rid of it.
Part of what you’re feeling Dom, is probably down to driving things that have actual weight and suspension. Compared to a kart, most things will feel pretty numb.
I do think you are partially correct. That being said, it’s definitely mega numb in terms of what’s being provided to my shakers.
It is funny how loooooong slides are in cars. So much weight, relatively and when it breaks free, it takes a bit to get the mess under control (or in a wall).
Cars are fun. But, karts are better (so far).
IrFFB explained:
Not good news:
"27/11/2019 8:44 am
Hi !
This is indeed a limitation from Iracing. There is no detailed information about slip available so it’s roughly estimated based on groud speed/rpm ratio. Therefore, there is a lateral component available which makes the effect not exactly identical on 4 channels. On other games with the data (RF2, AC, ACC, PCars … ) you will get perfectly separated effects."
This is odd considering it’s the biggest sim. I knew I wasn’t crazy.
I think of it as:
Kart = energy moves/flows like water (my friend)
Formula Car = energy moves/flows like engine oil
GT Car = energy moves/flows like gear oil
NASCAR = energy moves/flows like molasses in a Minnesota winter. 
The “takes a bit to get the mess under control” part is why managing energy flow (and the energy cycle) is so important in cars; because of the latency between driver input (cause), tire loading/traction (effect), and the generated forces acting on the car (result).
I read somewhere that omitting ‘slip’ data from the telemetry was some kind of countermeasure against performance hacks, but who knows.
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Yes. So I was driving, keeping the formula car on line, within the tire. Sort of how you find that 99% grip/load and keep it there. Ok, fine. Normal.
Once you push, what you describe becomes obvious. There is effectively a weight lag to your actions, everything plays out with a longer tail. I don’t think speed has anything to do with it, but the transition from grip to none appears slower to reach, but once arrived, harder to reign in. I believe that is mass at work. Once the energy cycle has started, it must finish.
It is apparent to me that the general numbness of the car will require me to be very careful about deceleration. Since we don’t feel the mass acting on the tire, I am not sure yet how to think about braking.
My initial fail is to over slow on entry. Tonight we roll momentum and crash into many walls.
What car are you driving? There are about a dozen formula cars on iRacing, and each one is going to obviously handle pretty drastically differently.
I’ve been driving the IR-01 a lot lately, and it’s a blast. Unlike an F3 or FR3.5, it doesn’t snap, so you can powerslide it a little while still having big downforce in high-speed corners.
So far, at D, there’s a formula car that is new. I think it’s got a number for a name like 2000. It’s pretty quick. I’d say it’s kinda like the Renault 2.0 but maybe less powerful. I have less than one hour on it so no real thoughts yet.
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USF 2000 - First step on the ‘Road to Indy’
2.0 Liter 175 HP
The IR-01 TJ mentioned is 900 HP & no traction control or other woosie stuff.
As a sim snob I haven’t used an assist in years! Although with cars, I guess if they have TCS and ABS, you probably should use them. Do they allow any of these things IRL?
If it’s available on the car in iRacing, it’s what it is in real-life.
The GT cars all have some ABS and TCS for the most part. It’s usually adjustable on most cars.
Thanks! I will look into that as I go along.
Oh, Iracing
Day 2 advances with improvements. Still overdriving and pushing through corners like a pig rooting for truffles. Oink.
In the end, we are all savages.
I see why you guys told me to do this. I am so used to dominating the kart that I am having to adjust to the much less capable and heavier car.
My driving, unsurprisingly, sort of stinks. I am either under braking or braking too early. Finding the balance under braking is going to take some work.
I am starting to see what needs doing, though. The car seems to want to be driven like a rental kart. Just gotta force myself to stay within the dotted lines and let the car do the work.
Well, my driving is getting better but I am getting punted mercilessly in D class. I do not think I have had one race where I have not been sent off at least once.
I cant tell if its intentional or just “driving incidents”. If incidents, they are the result of dumb. I am inevitably punted by someone diving from a mile back, with no chance of taking apex.
So far, the driving in D is worse from a crash-iness perspective than Miata.
Admittedly, I am no great shakes, but its pretty much bumper cars out here.
I’ve found it’s usually not intentional, just idiocy. It’s tough going in those early licenses, but I will say I don’t think I’ve ever gotten DQ’d for incidents, even in the low ladders. If you’re having that many incidents consistently, probably should review what you’re doing and maybe pick a different class or start from the back and just try to log laps for safety rating. Maybe practice a lot and try to find a track that you know you can consistently run incident free on and then just race that week?
Personally if I don’t have at least an hour or so of practice before an event, I don’t even consider running it.
Well, I am always if there opinion that if I am getting run into, it must be something I am doing.
Let’s soul search for a moment: No, it’s not me. Seriously.
There appears to be an epidemic of getting rear ended by folks who blow their brake point or who chose to go for the apex when it’s not happening.
You need to tell all these guys about your window shopping rule. What typically happens is exactly what you trained out of me. Duds start tying to stick their nose in and I don’t let it happen. The better ones will go for the clean pass after I shut down the pushier attempts.
It is frustrating when other people running into you is what gets you disqualified. Maybe I should start clearing my own path, too.
This is what I’m talking about though. If you’re not giving the out-of-control guys any room to kill themselves, they are going to hit you. You need to drive much more defensively in the lower licenses, and I don’t mean defensively as in racecraft defending. I’m talking about how when I drive on the street, I look both ways even if I have the green light, because someone might be texting and blow the red light and t-bone me. You have to drive like everyone out there is a total newbie (which most of them are). They aren’t just a newbie to iRacing like you, with a bunch of racing experience in other things. Lots of these guys are newbies to driving in general. There are guys out there who are playing on wheels without FFB and janky broken pedals, or guys who have a total of like 2 hours of driving ANYTHING. And you have to plan for that and drive with eyes in the back of your head.
For example, in your “Just go around” video, you’ve got a guy behind you, you have the blue flag displayed, and you already have a bunch of incident points. The safe thing here would be to literally pull off-line and slow down and let this guy by. I know that sucks, but it’s the reality of racing the lower levels. Just survive.
And don’t feel like I’m blaming you for any of it. These guys driving over you is 100% their fault. But I’m just saying there are ways to avoid the chaos. On the iRacing subreddit, there are constantly threads asking “was this my fault?” with video of drivers’ wrecks. Most of the time, the common response is, “no it wasn’t your fault, but you could’ve avoided it.”
Listen to @tjkoyen! When you are dealing with splits that have a Strength of Field of less than 1000, there are bogies everywhere. The drivers in these races are either there because their racing IQ and/or skill set keeps them there, or they are passing through (like you), hopefully on their way to better, more fulfilling racing in the upper splits. We have all been there, we have all been bewildered by the ineptitude and idiocy. When I was in this phase of my iRacing journey, I always tried to remember my Dad telling me “Don’t argue with a fool, people won’t be able to tell who is who.”, and certainly the ‘indecent’ counter does not care who is who.
Also, consider the class you are driving, and the underlying motivations. F2000 (first step on the road to Indy)… for many that translates to "If I had $ I would be the next [insert you favorite young Indy Car star name here] and dominate the series… even though I’ve spent my whole iRacing career as a min-pack in the bottom split driver.
Maybe try a few races in the Radical v8 sports racer. It’s a cool/fast car (that’s free with your iRacing membership), and there seem to be less ‘legend in their own mind’ drivers in that class. It could be a relatively safe haven for building iRating, so you can jump up the split ladder for the car you ultimately want to actually be able to ‘race’.
Lastly, maybe practice with AI. I’m not sure the F2000 is an AI car, but maybe. Anyway, you have a lot of control over the AI competition, so you could dial up the stupidity/aggression level for the whole field and practice surviving (while enjoying the best seat in the house for all the carnage).
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