Car SIM for better driving

: I'm looking for car SIM(s) that could help me to drive better at high : speed 100, 120 mph or above, also to gain a feeling for emergency : handling, braking at high speed, passing in between 2 cars at high speed. Absolutely NOTHING in the computer world will teach you this. When you can feel G forces and the heart beat pounding then you will know that you are in a REAL car doing 100mph FOR REAL! Take turn 1 at Indianapolis Raceway Park road course for example. When I was in a driving school down there I was told that turn one can be taken with a slight lift. Well, it took me a LONG time to get the balls to do it, but by the end of the first day I was taking it FLAT. When YOUR life is at stake you don't play around. Of course, doing two 360's in turn two at the Milwaukee Mile without hitting anything will wake you up too. : I'm willing to spend couple hundreds for SIMs and Steering wheels. Honestly, driving schools are not as expensive as you might think. I have the 1996 Skip Barber price list in front of me and the prices are as follows: introduction to racing - $475 one-day driving school - $495 car control clinic - $695 lapping session - $695 Well, if you figure that the T2 wheel is $110, GP-II is $50, ICR2 is $40, NASCAR is $40 and NFS SE is $50, well, right there is a pert near a one day course. Until you get into a REAL car and feel the REAL g-forces you will not learn squat from any computer game.

The cars you are talking about are in Need For Speed. You can choose any one of 8 *** cars on 6 different tracks (8 on NFSse). Car***pits mimick the real ones and the graphics and sound is great! As far as controls...T2! I guess there are better (much more expensive wheel/pedal controls--$400.00+) but for a good feel of realism at the price the T2 is tops. If you're into flying simms as well as driving simms, get the Joyswitch ($40 at Flight Sim Central) that allows you to ass up to 4 joystick/wheel/yoke devices as well as 2 foot pedal devices. No more fumbling behind the pc to change cables between games and you can actually change control devices in the middle of a game!! David

>> Someone else wrote (he didn't say): <snipped>

Quoted text (12 lines)

>> I'm looking for car SIM(s) that could help me to drive better at high >> speed 100, 120 mph or above, also to gain a feeling for emergency >> handling, braking at high speed, passing in between 2 cars at high >> speed. >> I'm willing to spend couple hundreds for SIMs and Steering wheels. > Absolutely NOTHING in the computer world will teach you this. When > you can feel G forces and the heart beat pounding then you will know > that you are in a REAL car doing 100mph FOR REAL! > Until you get into a REAL car and feel the REAL g-forces you will not > learn squat from any computer game. ><snipped>

Doug's right. It's quite a change from "feeling the car" in real life to using the visual and audio cues of the Sims. Papyrus has done an OUTSTANDING job with thier sims but until they can add G's it won't be like the real thing. Another way to get some high speed experience is to contact your local SCCA (Sports Car Club Of America). They go from parking lot races to big time pro racing. You may be interested in thier SOLOII amateur events. Bring your street car and a approved helmet. Cost's $10-$15 (Or used to) each event. you run alone on a closed course setup with traffic cones. Typically low speed (max 60-70 in street car). Turns are tight and you really learn just what a car CAN'T do. Your probably within an hour drive to at least one event per week if your in the U.S. (weather permitting). The SCCA also has a HIGH speed solo series, SOLO I. You run on real road courses (as fast as she'll go). More expensive, and your car must have racing safety equipment. You also must get a special License to drive SOLO I. Sorry, I haven't got thier number (wife made me quit racin a few years ago). I think thier nat'l office is in Englewood, Co. I apoligize to anyone who may have noticed that this post is not really about Sims (at least it's not about GP2 arriving). WARNING: If you get ***ed (to winning) you'll need alot more than a few hundred dollars. Mike Radler

Drivers, I'm looking for car SIM(s) that could help me to drive better at high speed 100, 120 mph or above, also to gain a feeling for emergency handling, braking at high speed, passing in between 2 cars at high speed. In general, to learn driving at high speed effectively and safely. Will apreciate all recommendations, especially SIMs for sport cars with characteristics similar to Porche, Toyota Supra, Viper or the likes. Also, which steering wheel is appropriate for these sims as well. Since I cannot afford a real high performance driving school right now due to time and location problem, I'm willing to spend couple hundreds for SIMs and Steering wheels. I've already have the CH pedals and the WCS MKII from Thrusmaster, I wonder whether I can use these for the car sims as well. All advices are aprreciated greatly. Regards, Flight

Quoted text (9 lines)

> Drivers, > I'm looking for car SIM(s) that could help me > to drive better at high speed 100, 120 mph > or above, also to gain a feeling for emergency > handling, braking at high speed, passing in > between 2 cars at high speed. In general, to > learn driving at high speed effectively and > safely.

Are you planning to rob a bank or something? Julian ;) _____________________________________________________________________ University of Oxford

Surprising then that F1 drivers have used F1GP to learn the circuits - not quite learning to drive, but they did learn something from it. _________________________________ __ _____| |_____ __ ________| |__| :| John Wallace | |__| |________ \ :| |::| :| Team WW Racing TSW | |::| | / > :| |::| :|_________________________________| |::| | < / :|__|::|____/ * Sim Racing News * \____|::|__| \ /______:/ \::/ http://sneezy.dcn.ed.ac.uk/simnews/index.htm \::/ \._____\ http://www.math.ohio-state.edu/~harmon/simnews

I know that some F1 drivers use GP2 to learn tracks, I don't know if they like the way the cars handle. I think GP2 is pretty accurate, I have driven a touring car around Silverstone and the sim feels right, turn in and clipping points are in the right places, traction levels seem to be correct (if you "boot" it coming out of a slow corner you will spin). The AI is good too, drivers shut the door, break too late etc. In all I recommend it.