rec.autos.simulators

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

Duke

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

by Duke » Sat, 10 Feb 2001 22:59:21

I have tried the default setups and downloaded one for Michigan.
All of these have the car pulling to the left on the straights, there is no
"neutral" to steering.
This cannot be right - I could not see how someone could drive a three hour
race w the corrections I have to make on the straights.
I have a Thomas TSW, works without a hitch on N3, F1GP3 and GPL.
Any thoughts or advice would we welcome.

Thanks,
Duke

Glockenspie

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

by Glockenspie » Sat, 10 Feb 2001 23:35:52


>I have tried the default setups and downloaded one for Michigan.
>All of these have the car pulling to the left on the straights, there is no
>"neutral" to steering.
>This cannot be right - I could not see how someone could drive a three hour
>race w the corrections I have to make on the straights.
>I have a Thomas TSW, works without a hitch on N3, F1GP3 and GPL.
>Any thoughts or advice would we welcome.

>Thanks,
>Duke

Duke,

Take your personal vehicle (Whatever it may be) to the alignment shop.
Ask the nice man who does the alignments to set your LF camber at +2.0
degs., your RF camber at -2.0 degs., your LF caster at 0 degs. and
your RF caster at +6.0 degs.

Now, take that vehicle for a drive down the straightest stretch of
road you know of in your neighborhood, and tell me what it does.

If you said "Todd, it pulls left so hard it rips the wheel right out
of me hands", you would be correct.

You see, Duke, a vehicle will always pull..................

1. to the side with the least amount of positive caster
        OR
2. if caster is equal, to the side with the most positive camber.

Well, in an oval track car, you have both working for you. Positive
camber on the left, and least amount of positive caster on the left.
Believe me...........It's right!!!!!!

Todd

Andre Warrin

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

by Andre Warrin » Sat, 10 Feb 2001 23:38:47


>NASCAR RACING 4 VS. REAL LIFE RACING

>"For all you fellas out there gettin geared up for the sequel
>N4 from Papyrus be warned. This aint your typical sim.
<snip>
>straight. With all things considered, this is the sim we
>have been waiting for."

>Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It's nice to read comments from someone who actually knows what he's
talking about for a change :)

Andre

Jack Smas

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

by Jack Smas » Sun, 11 Feb 2001 00:29:12

When you are calibrating your wheel, hold it to the left when you hit the ok
button. This will make it the car go straight when the wheel is straight. On
mine I pull it to the left until the calibration reading says about -.200
but yours might be different.

Jack Smash33


Dog-Le

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

by Dog-Le » Sun, 11 Feb 2001 02:43:20

**** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com ****

It's 'realism' and it's caused by Stagger, Caster and a few other items...

I won't say anything further less I be tarred and feathered :)

-Larry


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Jan Verschuere

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

by Jan Verschuere » Sun, 11 Feb 2001 03:01:04

Duke, it's 'cos you don't use an FF wheel. With and FF wheel, you're
applying right lock, but it *feels* centered, whereas the centering
mechanism on a non-ff wheel pushes back.

And yes, the real drivers apply right lock on the straights to keep the car
heading in a straight line for 3 hours on end, in***pit temperaturs in
excess of 110 degrees fahrenheit. They got "natural" FF, incredible FPS and
the other cars don't warp though. ;-)

Jan.
=---

Mike Grand

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

by Mike Grand » Sun, 11 Feb 2001 04:58:32

Make sure when you do this it is just a touch to the left. Too much and
you'll be turning into the outside wall. You can experiment a little til it
feels right.


> When you are calibrating your wheel, hold it to the left when you hit the
ok
> button. This will make it the car go straight when the wheel is straight.
On
> mine I pull it to the left until the calibration reading says about -.200
> but yours might be different.

> Jack Smash33



> > I have tried the default setups and downloaded one for Michigan.
> > All of these have the car pulling to the left on the straights, there is
> no
> > "neutral" to steering.
> > This cannot be right - I could not see how someone could drive a three
> hour
> > race w the corrections I have to make on the straights.
> > I have a Thomas TSW, works without a hitch on N3, F1GP3 and GPL.
> > Any thoughts or advice would we welcome.

> > Thanks,
> > Duke

Rodney Arnd

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

by Rodney Arnd » Sun, 11 Feb 2001 06:11:34

I'll say this again <g>

The pull to the left IS in the sim using the default fast setup, it is not
as noticable using the easy setup. The pull can be eliminated with a few
chassis adjustments or simply calibrating your wheel off center.

Asymmetrical setups will help the car turn left in order to get it through
the corners as quickly as possible, but they have the side effect of pulling
the car to the left on the straights. As a result, you may have to
countersteer to the right down the straightaway in order to keep the car
tracking straight ahead. This is NORMAL, and something all WC drivers have
to deal with in real life.

The difference in caster will change the amount of pull you may experience.
Although, caster stagger is NOT the only adjustment that will give you that
pull to the left. Many other factors must also be considered. Camber
settings, weight balance, tire stagger, tire psi, & track banking also plays
an important role. Many newcomers will be uncomfortable with the pull to the
left & many may even think that there wheel won't calibrate properly. This
pull to the left is normal & is the preferred setup to assist drivers when
entering the corners with ease.

Simulating the pull that a stock car gets in a game is going to yield
different results for different types of controllers. To add to this
variation, the Linearity setting you choose in setting up your controller,
in combination with the steering ratio you choose within the setup is going
to contribute in making the pull feel different from user to user. On any
given controller, setup the Linearity towards the Non Linear side (say 10%)
You will notice the need to use a lot more counter steering on the straight
than somebody using 90% Linearity with the exact same setup.

Do you see real drivers using counter steering down the straights? No.
Because they can center the wheel on the steering shaft. Is the pull still
there for them? Yes. You can get your controller to center on the straights
by how you calibrate it, get rid of it entirely if you like. Will you still
feel the pull? No. Why? Because the pull you're feeling is from the tension
on the springs, bungee, or what ever your controller uses to center itself.
Your controller isn't hooked up to the suspension of a stock car, so you're
not going to be able to feel the dynamic pull that the suspension creates.
Furthermore, your steering wheel doesn't have the range of motion as a real
car. At best you're probably getting from 240 to 270 degrees of motion, and
much less on a Joystick (maybe 90 degrees if you're lucky?) A real car has
what, maybe 3 to 4 full rotations from lock to lock? With this in mind the
game has to have Steering Ratio values that can compensate for the lack of
true lock to lock movement. The differences in degrees of lock to lock
motion between a joystick and a wheel is why the Linearity setting makes
such a big difference, it has to inorder to make all types of controllers
usable. You just need to find the setting that is comfortable to you.

--
www.sascar.com

Kai Fulle

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

by Kai Fulle » Sun, 11 Feb 2001 09:14:43

not to mention track banking, which when with strait up number would most
likely cause your car to slowly pull left.



> >I have tried the default setups and downloaded one for Michigan.
> >All of these have the car pulling to the left on the straights, there is
no
> >"neutral" to steering.
> >This cannot be right - I could not see how someone could drive a three
hour
> >race w the corrections I have to make on the straights.
> >I have a Thomas TSW, works without a hitch on N3, F1GP3 and GPL.
> >Any thoughts or advice would we welcome.

> >Thanks,
> >Duke

> Duke,

> Take your personal vehicle (Whatever it may be) to the alignment shop.
> Ask the nice man who does the alignments to set your LF camber at +2.0
> degs., your RF camber at -2.0 degs., your LF caster at 0 degs. and
> your RF caster at +6.0 degs.

> Now, take that vehicle for a drive down the straightest stretch of
> road you know of in your neighborhood, and tell me what it does.

> If you said "Todd, it pulls left so hard it rips the wheel right out
> of me hands", you would be correct.

> You see, Duke, a vehicle will always pull..................

> 1. to the side with the least amount of positive caster
>         OR
> 2. if caster is equal, to the side with the most positive camber.

> Well, in an oval track car, you have both working for you. Positive
> camber on the left, and least amount of positive caster on the left.
> Believe me...........It's right!!!!!!

> Todd

Marc Collin

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

by Marc Collin » Sun, 11 Feb 2001 10:37:44

Just keep that quote in your clipboard...we'll be needing it a lot in the
next few weeks :)

Marc.



> >I have tried the default setups and downloaded one for Michigan.
> >All of these have the car pulling to the left on the straights, there is
no
> >"neutral" to steering.
> >This cannot be right - I could not see how someone could drive a three
hour
> >race w the corrections I have to make on the straights.
> >I have a Thomas TSW, works without a hitch on N3, F1GP3 and GPL.
> >Any thoughts or advice would we welcome.

> >Thanks,
> >Duke

> http://www.bhmotorsports.com/dale.htm

> NASCAR RACING 4 VS. REAL LIFE RACING

> "For all you fellas out there gettin geared up for the sequel
> N4 from Papyrus be warned. This aint your typical sim.
> Welcome to big time autoracing. Ive been asked many times
> how close these games come to real life. N4 is all over it.
> My first wakeup call while playing the game was the effects
> changes to the setup had on my car. Someone did there
> homework here. You will experience much more body roll than
> in the past games of the Nascar series. Something else we
> havent seen in the past is the real to life at times
> aggrivating pull to the left caster setting. Yes, this is
> the way our cars drive every week. It is caused by the
> frontend settings, mainly caster. Closing the caster split
> will reduce this effect but tighten the car up on entrance
> of the corner. Everything in the game seems to have been
> beefed up, from the setup screen to the draft effects. With
> the two tracks in the demo, we can see some that some gains
> have been made on realism and geometry. Other than some
> enriched eyecandy, Dover and Michigan arent going to look
> much different to you than before. Why fix it if it aint
> broke. The enhanced experience you will enjoy is going to be
> due mostly to the fact that the car drives like a real 3400
> pound stock car, unforgiving at every inch of the track. The
> default setups leave little to get pumped up about, but
> after some tuning you will get more stable and comfortable.
> Untill then you will find yourself every which way but
> straight. With all things considered, this is the sim we
> have been waiting for."

> Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Marc Collin

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

by Marc Collin » Sun, 11 Feb 2001 10:47:09

Oh...and we all know DE Jr. is a better racer than he is a speller or
grammarian...

Marc.



> >I have tried the default setups and downloaded one for Michigan.
> >All of these have the car pulling to the left on the straights, there is
no
> >"neutral" to steering.
> >This cannot be right - I could not see how someone could drive a three
hour
> >race w the corrections I have to make on the straights.
> >I have a Thomas TSW, works without a hitch on N3, F1GP3 and GPL.
> >Any thoughts or advice would we welcome.

> >Thanks,
> >Duke

> http://www.bhmotorsports.com/dale.htm

> NASCAR RACING 4 VS. REAL LIFE RACING

> "For all you fellas out there gettin geared up for the sequel
> N4 from Papyrus be warned. This aint your typical sim.
> Welcome to big time autoracing. Ive been asked many times
> how close these games come to real life. N4 is all over it.
> My first wakeup call while playing the game was the effects
> changes to the setup had on my car. Someone did there
> homework here. You will experience much more body roll than
> in the past games of the Nascar series. Something else we
> havent seen in the past is the real to life at times
> aggrivating pull to the left caster setting. Yes, this is
> the way our cars drive every week. It is caused by the
> frontend settings, mainly caster. Closing the caster split
> will reduce this effect but tighten the car up on entrance
> of the corner. Everything in the game seems to have been
> beefed up, from the setup screen to the draft effects. With
> the two tracks in the demo, we can see some that some gains
> have been made on realism and geometry. Other than some
> enriched eyecandy, Dover and Michigan arent going to look
> much different to you than before. Why fix it if it aint
> broke. The enhanced experience you will enjoy is going to be
> due mostly to the fact that the car drives like a real 3400
> pound stock car, unforgiving at every inch of the track. The
> default setups leave little to get pumped up about, but
> after some tuning you will get more stable and comfortable.
> Untill then you will find yourself every which way but
> straight. With all things considered, this is the sim we
> have been waiting for."

> Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Mike Donnelly J

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

by Mike Donnelly J » Sun, 11 Feb 2001 13:15:26


> Oh...and we all know DE Jr. is a better racer than he is a speller or
> grammarian...

Funny you should mention that.  I did notice that no one attempted to call the
English major Nazis over that quote.  Just one more reason I envy him.
Marc Collin

N4 Steering Constant Pull Left

by Marc Collin » Mon, 12 Feb 2001 11:07:41

True...I just can't imagine Graham Hill spelling or speaking like that!!! :)

Marc




> > Oh...and we all know DE Jr. is a better racer than he is a speller or
> > grammarian...

> Funny you should mention that.  I did notice that no one attempted to call
the
> English major Nazis over that quote.  Just one more reason I envy him.


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