Post by Larry Walters on Mar 26, 2007 2:31:04 GMT -5
I wrote this myself guys. Here's a quick guide SURVIVE TO WIN.
1. Qualify ahead of the Ai cars. Practice qualifying. Do it over and over until you're within a few tenths of the track record. To get there, you're going to need patience and the right chassis setup. If you need a setup, ask. Most of these old fools who race here are glad to brag about their setups and they'll give you one.
2. If you start the race ahead of the Ai cars, use the top groove to allow them to "DART" low if they need to. It's either that, or let them run you over (which they love to do).
3. Have you ever noticed there are 2 or 3 cautions within the first ten laps, and two of them happen before you get your tires warmed up? If the first caution comes on lap 1, don't pit (unless you're in the wreck). If the next caution comes out right away, stay out on that one too! And if you run 10 laps or so, and you finally feel like youre best bet is to pit, consider taking right-side tires on the first stop. All of this will hellp you stay ahead of the Ai cars, and ahead of the wrecks!
4. Don't race with a loose car! It's just not worth it, and you rarely NEED all that speed to win here. If it pulls to the left in practice... fix the chassis! If you're wearing out the right front, SLOW DOWN and save the car for the long runs. Racing out of control will get you a DNF. At least you'll beat the traffic leaving the track, but again our first goal should be to finish races.
5. Don't bump and run the Ai cars. Eventually, you'll be the one in the wall with the hood over the roof and the smoke bellowing around the A-pillars.
6. Pit early. Make your fuel calculations, and compare them to your notes on fuel consumption. If you don't need to stay out on them old tires, DON'T!!! You're getting behind with slow lap times and a car that won't turn (TIGHT)!
7. Learn to feather the throttle and use only as much gear as you need. At places like Dover, Bristol, and Darlington, usually the car is setup with a lot of gear. If you can't feather your throttle, take the gear out of the car and be safe. Getting sideways out of every corner exit wastes time and tires.
8. Practice. Practice starting from the front, starting in the back, and starting in the middle.
9. Learn to use the brake. It's there for you. Why won't you use it? Learn to feather, to jab, to stab, trailbraking, and steer with it. Steering on some ovals requires a fine tuned combination of wheel and brake... use them in unison... smooth onto the brake and smooth off while simultaneously applying throttle. Adjust your brake bias... normally a good setting is somewhere around 65. Using the right technique, the brake is as important to turning the car as setup and wheel movement.
10. Enter the turn under control. Your car should ideally enter the turns wide, and reaching the bottom of the track at the apex. The brake/throttle transition should be smoothly happening as you approach the apex. A car under control will accelerate faster off the turn.
11. Pass with care! Announce your intentions on the radio. If you're passing on the bottom, DON'T DIVEBOMB YOUR COMPETITOR. It takes LESS THROTTLE, and MORE BRAKE to keep the car on the bottom, and off your competitor's door! Don't be the guy who keeps pulling the slide-job to gain positions.
12. Lastly... and this one will be controversial.... use minimal force feedback. I know the manual says its cool, and your buddy told you it's the greatest thing ever... but force feedback can mess you up. Put just enough feedback into the wheel to feel what the car is doing. If it's hard to turn your car, you are using to much feedback. If the car gets wobbly under feedback, same story. I usually use between 12 to 25. Once you get enough feedback in there to "feel the tires", that's all you need. (And don't mess with linearity or steering ratios, that's a complete waste of time).
Hopefully there's some useful information in here... I'll add more to it later. Happy racing!
1. Qualify ahead of the Ai cars. Practice qualifying. Do it over and over until you're within a few tenths of the track record. To get there, you're going to need patience and the right chassis setup. If you need a setup, ask. Most of these old fools who race here are glad to brag about their setups and they'll give you one.
2. If you start the race ahead of the Ai cars, use the top groove to allow them to "DART" low if they need to. It's either that, or let them run you over (which they love to do).
3. Have you ever noticed there are 2 or 3 cautions within the first ten laps, and two of them happen before you get your tires warmed up? If the first caution comes on lap 1, don't pit (unless you're in the wreck). If the next caution comes out right away, stay out on that one too! And if you run 10 laps or so, and you finally feel like youre best bet is to pit, consider taking right-side tires on the first stop. All of this will hellp you stay ahead of the Ai cars, and ahead of the wrecks!
4. Don't race with a loose car! It's just not worth it, and you rarely NEED all that speed to win here. If it pulls to the left in practice... fix the chassis! If you're wearing out the right front, SLOW DOWN and save the car for the long runs. Racing out of control will get you a DNF. At least you'll beat the traffic leaving the track, but again our first goal should be to finish races.
5. Don't bump and run the Ai cars. Eventually, you'll be the one in the wall with the hood over the roof and the smoke bellowing around the A-pillars.
6. Pit early. Make your fuel calculations, and compare them to your notes on fuel consumption. If you don't need to stay out on them old tires, DON'T!!! You're getting behind with slow lap times and a car that won't turn (TIGHT)!
7. Learn to feather the throttle and use only as much gear as you need. At places like Dover, Bristol, and Darlington, usually the car is setup with a lot of gear. If you can't feather your throttle, take the gear out of the car and be safe. Getting sideways out of every corner exit wastes time and tires.
8. Practice. Practice starting from the front, starting in the back, and starting in the middle.
9. Learn to use the brake. It's there for you. Why won't you use it? Learn to feather, to jab, to stab, trailbraking, and steer with it. Steering on some ovals requires a fine tuned combination of wheel and brake... use them in unison... smooth onto the brake and smooth off while simultaneously applying throttle. Adjust your brake bias... normally a good setting is somewhere around 65. Using the right technique, the brake is as important to turning the car as setup and wheel movement.
10. Enter the turn under control. Your car should ideally enter the turns wide, and reaching the bottom of the track at the apex. The brake/throttle transition should be smoothly happening as you approach the apex. A car under control will accelerate faster off the turn.
11. Pass with care! Announce your intentions on the radio. If you're passing on the bottom, DON'T DIVEBOMB YOUR COMPETITOR. It takes LESS THROTTLE, and MORE BRAKE to keep the car on the bottom, and off your competitor's door! Don't be the guy who keeps pulling the slide-job to gain positions.
12. Lastly... and this one will be controversial.... use minimal force feedback. I know the manual says its cool, and your buddy told you it's the greatest thing ever... but force feedback can mess you up. Put just enough feedback into the wheel to feel what the car is doing. If it's hard to turn your car, you are using to much feedback. If the car gets wobbly under feedback, same story. I usually use between 12 to 25. Once you get enough feedback in there to "feel the tires", that's all you need. (And don't mess with linearity or steering ratios, that's a complete waste of time).
Hopefully there's some useful information in here... I'll add more to it later. Happy racing!
