rec.autos.simulators

rob.

So that is my great story!

My best setup advice is start off by putting brake bias to 54%.  Then move the
roll bars up to 100 and 80.  And adjust fuel accordingly.  not much, but it
helps.

Sean

  Yeah - what's the "under 1:10" secret?

--
Richard G. Clegg     Only the mind is waving
Dept. of Mathematics (Network Control group) Uni. of York.

www: http://manor.york.ac.uk/top.html

-_dave

Secret? Its (LOTS OF) practice! I have downloaded 100s of setups, read
tip and hints, tried setting up a car from scratch, modifying other
fast lapper setups, raced the "gentler" cars, etc. All that did one
thing for me. It immersed me in the sim even more and trying all those
things kept me on the track (90% at Watkins Glen, at least I stayed
consistent with that! LOL). My triumph came driving a Ferrari as I
have been wrestling with the red beast of late. I had hit 1:10 in the
Honda but seemed stuck there, and the Ferrari "felt" quicker to me.
Heres the rub. After I broke the 1:10 "barrier" with the Ferrari and
was consistently running 1:08s I hopped in a Lotus. Guess what. After
a few laps I had the Lotus at 1:08. Then the Honda, same thing! So
what I am getting at is IMHO it ISN'T the car (at the 1:08 range
anyway). For me, to go faster I "think" it will require some tweaking
(of whatever car) for my particular style of driving as I am pushing
the edge of control now.

One thing I can say with confidence (that you have probably already
found out). Just because someone has a setup that can hot lap around
the Glen at 1:03xx doesn't mean its ANY good for you.

Yup, this is very true.  I hit 1:08s w/o too much of a problem...but my car
still feels like its on ice through the 2nd and 3rd corners.

That is a good point. When I first got GPL, something I read convinced
me that setups didn't matter... but they do, and finding something
that suits your personal style is essential. I don't think the setup
makes the fast lap, but I think some fast laps are only available to
appropriate setups (i.e., some setups *can't* do a 1:04 at the glen)

I used to just use W. Woeger's setups, because they were fast. There
is something nice about being sure such-and-such setup is *capable* of
such a time, but in the end, my setups are now completely different,
and whereas I did strictly one 1:04 at the glen with his setup and
unlimited practice time, I can do two 1:04s per race with the ones I
eventually evolved..

Another thing- I think as a beginner it is a mixed bessing to to start
out with someone else's fast-lap setup. The pros: that you learn to
drive unstable cars, and develop a taste for on-the-edge setups that
will eventually make for fast (if at first unreliable) racing. The
cons: if the setup is way over your head, you might not "catch up"
with it in any reasonable time, and waste a lot of time fighting it.
In the latter case, it is a good idea to pull the brake-bias back a
bit, loosen the shocks and roll bars a notch, and get rid of a notch
or two of toe-out on the front, if there is any. At least at a place
like the Glen.

I love the glen- someone blows your hot lap, so what- it's only
another minute around! Unlike Rouen, Spa, or the Ring.

Remco

There is *NO* secret to sub 1:10 laptimes. It just requires lots, and
lots, and lots of practice, perseverance, determination and patience,
and maybe a little luck?

I found that I was hovering around 1:10 for ages and ages, I knew I
could go quicker as the replay of my faster laps showed lots of
errors?

Then I just seemed to *click* one day, and managed a sub 1:10 lap.
When you have done it once, then you *know* you can do it again. That
gives you confidence. And checking the replay I made errors again so I
knew I could go faster.

Gradually with practice I came down to 1:08 on a fairly consistent
basis, but again got stuck at that time. Then in the last few days I
have made a couple of sub 1:08 laps. I find that you need to be in the
mood for racing/hotlapping, Some people call it getting into the
*groove* and I think this is right. Sometimes you just *feel* right
when you are driving the car, at other times its not right?

So relax, settle down to a nice GPL session, and gradually the times
will come.

I just *KNOW* I have a 1:06 in me somewhere.......

8-)

*Peter*   #:-)

-_dave

-_Dave

Also, does it make that much difference shich car you use, other than
personal preference? I find the Eagle much easier to drive than the
other cars. Will car choice slow me down much?

Joe

And yes, the cars are different.

I don't think it's too much of an issue. If you are more comfortable in
a Brabham than in a Lotus, the chances are you'll be faster with it in
the end. The car you feel most comfortable with is the car you can gain
that extra little bit out of per lap.
I have found this with the Lotus and the Ferrari. I drove the Ferrari
for about 4 months and last week returned to the Lotus. I still don't
feel as confident with it as I did with the Ferrari, and as a result I'm
still struggling to beat my red car laptimes even though the Lotus is
inherently quicker!

--
Cheers!
Graeme Nash

http://www.karisma1.demon.co.uk
ICQ# 11257824
________________________________________________________________________________
                "I liked things better when I didn't understand them"

                                (Calvin & Hobbes)

Too right Peter!

There's definitely something to be said for overcoming psychological
barriers in GPL. Several times I have struggled to "break into the next
second" at a particular track, but once I did it I knew that I could
push hard without the fear of spinning causing me to back off slightly.

In fact tonight I beat one of the barriers - I finally ran a 1m18 at
Kyalami :-) Woohoooooo!

--
Cheers!
Graeme Nash

http://www.karisma1.demon.co.uk
ICQ# 11257824
________________________________________________________________________________
                "I liked things better when I didn't understand them"

                                (Calvin & Hobbes)