iRacing Motorsport Simulations

[SteveJH]

What are the computer requirements for iRacing and what steering wheels do you guys use?

[FgNewbie]

Originally Posted by SteveJH

What are the computer requirements for iRacing and what steering wheels do you guys use?

Preface: I'm not a gamer. I only play two things on the computer, iracing (2nd week) and poker.

http://www.iracing.com/membership/system-requirements/

I asked about the steering wheels too without reply. Looking at the above sys requirements page the G27 looked good so without doing any research a friend and I bought Logitech G27. Click on image gallery, it also has shifter and pedals. Paid roughly $800 for 2 sets.

While looking for mods, I've since watched a lot of reviews on YouTube. Next time I'll consider other brands that I didn't know existed.

I like the G27 very much. Two things I want the G27 doesn't offer...

1: Sequential shift option on the gear shift instead of using the wheel paddles. Some guys use rubber bands (this is one of many on youtube) to convert their 6 speed H pattern into sequential. I assume it can damage the boot if not careful. The only other option I've found is a "hi converter by ximu". The first clip on simgadgets page show's the piece at 0:58

2: From what I've watched recently, I think but don't know that pedals with load-sensor instead of a potentiometer may be more realistic. Alternatively there appear to be a heap of mods for the G27 on YouTube. This one was interesting. Towards the end I particulary like the way the pedals had been disassembled then inverted for a realistic mount. I've watched clips on how do to that and other mods. Some guys add a handbrake. The scope appears endless.

Good luck and get on iracing asap, the game itself is awesome. Learning the ropes and finding relevant information has driven me nuts. At the moment I'm trying to work out which cars and tracks I want / need to buy.

[Rodp]

PC requirements aren't too steep. Seen plenty of guys running 920's and GTX2xx series cards and turning down options to get more than adequate frames. If you were to list your machine, we'd probably have a better idea if you're good to go.

I use a G25. Nice wheel but my H pattern doesn't like slotting into 5th after a few laps. Also due to sitting at a desk and not in a car, heel-toe becomes very uncomfortable very quickly. Does affect lap times by a few tenths but what can you do..

FgNewbie, my G25 has sequential shift/H pattern toggle, the G27 doesn't?

There are a bunch of springs that you can purchase aftermarket for the pedals that do stiffen them up a little. I also frig with the ingame settings for each individual car to modify brake pressure vs ingame brakes.

I've raced close to nearly every sim out there starting with Indianapolis 500 back in 89. This one is by far the best feeling I've had of actual racing a decently simulated car on impeccable tracks. Be aware there is no AI.

[SteveJH]

Computer is a 1.5 year old cheapy.

i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz
4GB RAM
NVIDIA Ge Force GT 220

Running two screens off it at the moment if that matters.

Finish university at the end of the year, so wouldn't be getting it until finishing up probably. Don't need more distractions at the moment. :P

[FgNewbie]

Originally Posted by Rodp

... Also due to sitting at a desk and not in a car, heel-toe becomes very uncomfortable very quickly. Does affect lap times by a few tenths but what can you do..

Some times I use an auto clutch then I configure the clutch to act as a brake. (Gives me comfortable spacing). If I stay addicted, I'll remount the pedals into a comfortable position.

FgNewbie, my G25 has sequential shift/H pattern toggle, the G27 doesn't?

Correct. The G27 doesn't. I've read a lot of posts with people complaining about it, not a post explaining why they changed it. It's frustrating the hell out of me trying to think of a good conversion that can be changed back in a minute.

After an incident today, I need to learn how to stay calm in the real world. A malicious mongrel deliberately ruined my race then disappeared. It could have been my 2nd podium finish. 6 hrs later I'm still wanting to do unspeakable things to him... over a game!

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by SteveJH

Computer is a 1.5 year old cheapy.

i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz
4GB RAM
NVIDIA Ge Force GT 220

Video card will probably let you down but for a couple of hundred bucks you could throw a GTX560Ti (or the equivalent ATI card) in and it should hum along.

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by FgNewbie

After an incident today, I need to learn how to stay calm in the real world. A malicious mongrel deliberately ruined my race then disappeared. It could have been my 2nd podium finish. 6 hrs later I'm still wanting to do unspeakable things to him... over a game!

I've yet to be intentionally wrecked (that I can tell) but the last 3 Saturday morning races (that I've practiced for and tweaked my setup for the whole week) I've essentially had my race ended on the first corner.

Nudge at Mosport to send me into the tyre barrier at 110kph.

Tap in the front which bent my steering at Road America (kept on the track for a 6th) which caused almost uncontrollable fishtailing when braking after the long straights.

Punted off in Mid Ohio requiring a tow.

Annoying but as they say, that's racing. It would appear that reporting your incident probably won't achieve much.. and I'd be peeved too if my race was ended intentionally given the time I invest in it.

[g220ba]

Well i've managed to string a few good races together both on ovals and road. The last 2 iracing legends races have been a win and a very close second.

Racing around Limerock with 19 other mustangs was an interesting experience as well. It was a matter of avoiding the wrecks and without a slight error whilst letting the leader through i would've finished top 5 but still managed a top 10.

[Rodp]

Well done on the win!

I skipped the last two Mustang weeks. Suzuka East is probably the worst track they could have picked for the Stang and Lime Rock probably not a whole lot better. Turned a couple of laps and managed a high 58 but wasn't game enough to try that track in traffic. I'd have thought the only passing opportunity would be a dive bomb on the 1st corner or wait until the car infront makes a major mistake..?

[g220ba]

Thanks mate i did a few time trials and managed to get my lap times down into the 17.5's pretty consistantly with a best of 17.513 on south boston.

Unless you're an overly aggressive driver turn 1 on limerock is the only passing opportunity and only then if the other driver has some awareness about them. I've managed some mid 58's in practice but unless you're out the front or on your own it's a struggle to get into the 59's in a race. Even then with so many cars on track you don't get much time alone to turns some good laps.

[BA GT-HO]

Is that 59s in the Mustang at Lime Rock? I have seen high 58s in the mx5s! I was considering getting the Stang but if it's that slow I won't.

I don't bother practicing and tweaking for hours on end, what's the point? It makes getting taken out more painful. ESP on ovals, they are all the same. Just need to work out brakes or no brakes.

I jumped into a race at Iowa in the Silverado with only 2 laps of experience and was running top 5 all race somehow. Then i got punted and finished 8th or 9th!

[FgNewbie]

I managed a 59 at Lime Rock in a Mustang with default setup, after that I tried a race. A couple of guys ran a few 58s. My race ended in the wall after I got tapped. I saw later in the stats I was totally outclassed by the majority of the field. Wasn't impressed to have been there. It's a learning curve.

[BA GT-HO]

Sweet Jebus!

It is Talladega this week for the trucks, really cool racing at 300km/h nose to tail!! Once wrong move and you wreck the field, I actually get slightly nervous. Great fun!

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by BA GT-HO

Is that 59s in the Mustang at Lime Rock? I have seen high 58s in the mx5s! I was considering getting the Stang but if it's that slow I won't.

I don't bother practicing and tweaking for hours on end, what's the point? It makes getting taken out more painful. ESP on ovals, they are all the same. Just need to work out brakes or no brakes.

It's not slow slow.. it's just a lumbering oaf that doesn't want to turn and Lime Rock is a pretty tight circuit and definitely not suited to the Stang. I can punt the MX5 around Lime Rock one handed while doing my tax with the other, it's a handful in the Stang. The faster drivers can get into the 56's, I'm about mid 58's. The suggestion is trying to tame the Stang is good training for the V8SC's in C class.

I don't tweak much myself, in the forums one of the faster guys shares his setup and lap replay weekly. I run practice sessions to try and get consistency in traffic (and depending on who's in there I've run several mock races over a few laps which is always a good learning experience). I'm about a mid pack racer in the Mustang which I'm fine with.

I want to get into the Silverado's but damn I hate grinding in the Legends to at least get to my D. Already bought and painted my truck. ;)

[Hally]

iRacing sounds fantastic! I have been looking for a new toy to kill some time and this looks to tick the boxes.

Can anyone recomend stores in Melbourne that sell the (not sure of correct name) dedicated seat/frame for racing sims? I have a spare room and always wanted something like this.

Cheers,

Hally

[FgNewbie]

Is there a product that will make my seat rumble? (without using a subwoofer)

[BA GT-HO]

I think there is, they are called shock packs or something like that?

Youtube some "iracing rigs" some people go way over board. Some even wear real fire proof gloves ahahahaha!!!

[Revolver]

I know that this an old thread, but I stumbled across a G27 in Cash Converters today in good nick. A Bargain at $139. Couldnt get the money out of my wallet fast enough! My concern was the fact that as said previously in this thread that the 25 has a sequential shift function, & the 27 doesnt. I found out why. To answer your question FG:

Originally Posted by FgNewbie

Correct. The G27 doesn't. I've read a lot of posts with people complaining about it, not a post explaining why they changed it. It's frustrating the hell out of me trying to think of a good conversion that can be changed back in a minute.

I read an in depth online review on the comparison between the 25 & 27. The writer has both of them & took side by side pictures of each of the units (wheel, pedal & shifter) showing the differences as he explained. Apparently there was quite a few failures for the 25's. This was from the sequential shifting function, something about the bushes wearing out. So to make it more durable, the had to ditch the Sequential option. He also second guessed me: No, a 25 shifter will not work with a 27 wheel unit. However, there are some other "stand alone" shifters available to use with it such as the Thrustmaster TH8 RS but at 250+ its pricey.

A small side note, one of the improvements over the 25 is the fact that the 27's pedals are slightly more spaced, are adjustable, & the throttle is positioned lower than the brake & clutch to allow for a better heel & toe feel. So there you go!

[buddy92]

I been a long time member of iRacing and always been in the V8 supercars, feel free to add me.

Andrew Russell2 <<< iRacing name.

I own everything on iRacing so I can race anything

[FgNewbie]

Originally Posted by Conundrum

... I stumbled across a G27 in Cash Converters today in good nick. A Bargain at $139. Couldnt get the money out of my wallet fast enough!

Good find and thanks for the info

logitechshop.com.au are selling the G27 for $245 at the moment, no idea how much freight is.

My G27 got replaced under warranty. Wheel calibration kept drifting off to the left about 10 or 20 degrees.

There are a few mods that I might buy or do if I ever get bored.

If you want to sign up a new account for 12 months, the leagues page has a discounted price of $49 USD for 12 months at the moment. If you do it, enter an iracing friend's address as referring you, I think they'll get a $10 credit.

[Revolver]

There was some news on this a few months back. They received the go ahead to add a very famous Australian Racetrack.

Yes you too can be putting the shut up into Greg Murphy with your own 2:06:7. Well that was eclipsed by lowndes, but you get it.

Bathurst has had the go-ahead to be scanned. Not too sure on the ETA.

http://www.iracing.com/bathurst-coming-to-iracing-com/

[DBourne]

Was meant to be mid to late 2013 last I heard.

[MercurySilver]

ive never even heard of this
and prob a good reason

im interested, tempted and could see myself maxing out a credit card

have a decent laptop but dunno if it would be any good
as tempting as it sounds im not going to go and look at the website...
...before xmas
lol

[Rodp]

Let my subscription lapse after purchasing a yearly one and spent about 10 minutes on the track that year. Oran Park had been scanned and I believe that was almost ready for release?

[FgNewbie]

Originally Posted by Rodp

Oran Park had been scanned and I believe that was almost ready for release?

They released Oran Park some time in the last month.

Curiosity has me wondering how many of the alien V8SC drivers are hiding on AFF

[Rodp]

Nice. Surprised none of the friends I used to race with told me. First track I'll buy when I get back into it.

[EDManual]

how much do the tracks cost?

Can you still do laps if your membership lapses?

Sounds good.

I still like rFactor, but RBR (richard burns rally) is still the best sim! These 2 really give you a sense of realistic speed which I havnt seen on anything else. I remember RBR was the only car game, sim, that used all 4 wheels in its calculations! Everything else used 1 point!

[XR6Runner]

Originally Posted by EDManual

Sounds good.

I still like rFactor, but RBR (richard burns rally) is still the best sim! These 2 really give you a sense of realistic speed which I havnt seen on anything else. I remember RBR was the only car game, sim, that used all 4 wheels in its calculations! Everything else used 1 point!

I still play RBR to this day. No other racing sim or video game for that matter has got me breathing so hard and my heart racing so much.

[FgNewbie]

Originally Posted by EDManual

how much do the tracks cost?

Afaik you connect via their server thus you need membership to drive.
If you don't renew membership you have nothing.
Content you buy is non-transferable.
Effectively you own nothing.

During maintenance / outtages, starting a "test" session before the outtage should keep you on a track by yourself.

from iracing.com...
All memberships include 6 cars and 10 tracks, our full premium service and racing all you want 24/7. Some special offers (including league offers) may contain more content.
■Additional cars cost a one-time fee of $11.95.
■Additional tracks cost a one-time fee of either $11.95 or $14.95 (depending on the track).
■If you buy 3 pieces of content (cars or tracks) at once you’ll receive a discount of 10%.
■If you buy 6 pieces of content at once you’ll receive a discount of 20%.
■If you own all the cars and tracks, every new car or track you buy gets discounted at 25%.

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by EDManual

I remember RBR was the only car game, sim, that used all 4 wheels in its calculations! Everything else used 1 point!

You'll then be happy to know that iRacing uses multiple points per tyre for its calculations.