rec.autos.simulators

I've been concentrating on Monza for the last couple weeks, and have
gotten down to a 1:30.12 in a Lotus, which for me is respectable, but
not close to what I know I can do.  The problem is, when I go online
to race, EVERY car in the race absolutely walks away from me on the
straights!!! I get a solid drive off the corner, but as soon as we hit
third, everyone's gone! I'm geared right (I've used every combination
possible), used every suggested clutch and ramp combo, lowered the car
to 2.5 inches (although I've read of 1" settings-how can this be
done?-is it a utility that allows non-factory settings?), and every
other thing I can think of, but I still get stomped!!!  What's up???

Any suggestions would be appreciated...

thanks,

Wally

To find out, get some brilliant utilities available on the net. I haven't
got any URL's since I recently had an issue of ripping out all the guts from
my ATX cabinet and thereby a format c:, but look for two apps called GPLDump
and GPL Spy Girl. Using them you can pintpoint exactly why you are losing
speed.
If it's not your driving (always is mine! <g>), you may just have a
controller problem.
Graphs on every parameter, easily readable, plus you can merge some hotshoe
madman's hotlap replay with your best, and see the cars doing the lap at the
same time. The truth is out there.....!

I think they can be found at www.theuspits.com

Good luck!

Matt
Get them! They're priceless :-D

if everything's ok with your joystick/wheel/pedals (i.e. calibration),
it is probably the exit speed of the other drivers. compare their laps
to yours using GPL SpyGirl and GPL Track Computer and maybe you can
improve your exit speed.

Lio

This is a long-shot, but a while ago I suffered the same thing because
of a dirty brake pedal pot, which meant that the brake was "fouling" a
little, i.e I still had a little bit of brake on even when I wasn't
touching the pedal.

I cleaned the pot, no problems since...

--
Cheers!
Graeme Nash

THX all for giving me the tips on setup - I've since gotten into the
1:29's without a problem!  Now if I can just make it through the first
lap Lesmos online w/o getting punted!

:- )

About performance....do you use any aids? Like auto gear change?
This will cause some performance loss...

Further, the Lotus is not the best choice for starting drivers. When
driven on the edge, the Lotus will bite back. Start with the Ferrari (
bad car for Monza because it has no topend,  but it has a great
handling), and once you can do 1:29 laps with it (consistent), then go
to the Lotus...just an hint...

Remco

I know that the Ferarri is undergeared out of the box for Monza.   You
spend 50% of that straight sitting at redline...

Regards,
Brett C. Cammack
That's Racing! Motorsports
Pompano Beach, FL

: I've been concentrating on Monza for the last couple weeks, and have
: gotten down to a 1:30.12 in a Lotus, which for me is respectable, but
: not close to what I know I can do.  The problem is, when I go online
: to race, EVERY car in the race absolutely walks away from me on the
: straights!!! I get a solid drive off the corner, but as soon as we hit
: third, everyone's gone! I'm geared right (I've used every combination
: possible), used every suggested clutch and ramp combo, lowered the car
: to 2.5 inches (although I've read of 1" settings-how can this be
: done?-is it a utility that allows non-factory settings?), and every
: other thing I can think of, but I still get stomped!!!  What's up???

  Hmm... it could be that old "optical illusion" thing.  Say the driver
is 2 seconds ahead of you.  That means that rounding parabolica you're
within close sight of him/her but down the main straight he's a dot in
the distance.  

  The 1" ride-heights were in GPL 1.0 - this was removed in 1.2 (which
everyone races on line) so are no longer possible.

  If you're racing at 1:30.12 in a lotus then remember there are other
guys online who are doing 1:27s - they're taking 3 seconds a lap from
you - it's only 1 lap to go from being on their gear-box to them being a
spot in the distance.

  I simply can't understand how people can be so fast at Monza.  It's
amazing to me that there exists another 2 seconds that I can find from
my best ever time there.  Monaco is even more depressing where I think
I'm something like 8 seconds off the world record pace - I find that
simply unbelievable.

--
Richard G. Clegg       Only the mind is waving
    Networks and Non-Linear Dynamics Group
      Dept. of Mathematics, Uni. of York
    www:  http://manor.york.ac.uk/top.html

Somethings you might try, but maybe thought you had nailed:

With the recent talk about toe, I went back and cranked a notch or two more
front toe-out in setups where I tuned softer the fronts for better turn-in.
This let me stiffen it back up to find better overall balance. Rouen and
O'ring responded very well to this. This is assuming your setups weren't
perfect to begin with, of course.

Brake bias is one of the first gross adjustments that I make. After fine
tuning the rest of the car, a notch or two either way might prove be
necessary. This made the difference for me at Zandvoort and Kyalami.

Gearing makes a big difference in top speed on big straights. It wasn't
until I matched my shift points to Gurney's Eagle at Spa that I could even
approach the bigboyz on the straights. OTOH, their gearing doesn't work for
me at all at Rouen.

And, of course, the best line for you might not be the groove painted on the
track. The slow lefts after Bosch at O'ring were the most glaring. A deep
inside line got me on the gas way sooner, and the brakes way later.
Similarly, track out and hugging the outside rail exiting Blanchimont on the
way to La Source is good for about 20 mph better than even J. Clark. Cottage
can be taken almost flat out if you turn in sooner and drive right down to
the dirt at apex. At other places, Burnenville comes to mind, I've
experimented running offline, felt faster, but ended up slower.

Regardless of how it looks, I don't think the AI is cheating. :-) I keep
finding little and big things that help, and hurt, lap times. Just keep
digging for them when your laptimes plateau.

Michael.

Dumb question - how do you improve your exit speed?  I've compared my replays
to others.  First, I have to start slowing earlier.  Second, my slowest speed
in the corner is much less than theirs.  Third, how do I improve 1 and 2?<g>

Eldred
--
Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999
Own Grand Prix Legends?  Goto  http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

You can do consistent 1:29's with the Ferrari???  Rats, I just figured it was
too SLOW...  I can only do consistent 1:31's... <g>

Eldred
--
Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999
Own Grand Prix Legends?  Goto  http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

As the saying goes: "Sometimes you have to go slow to be fast."  You
must concentrate on entering a corner so that you get the best line
and, subsequently, exit speed from the corner.  On a combination of
close-coupled corners you look for the line that gives you the best
exit speed from the last corner.  Oft times this envolves turning in
later and entering slower.  The GPL replay analyzer is excellent for
recognizing this sort of thing.

Regards,
Brett C. Cammack
That's Racing! Motorsports
Pompano Beach, FL

Eldred
--
Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999
Own Grand Prix Legends?  Goto  http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.