Adventures in Sim Racing

Brave

2nd diary.

I realise it’s a long un, but there’s some amusement around 7- 8 mins in 😉

Brave

A quote from the book that illustrates what we’ve been talking about re: the pro drivers.

Fortunately, as I said earlier, when tires reach their traction limit and then go beyond, they don’t lose grip completely and immediately. They actually lose grip progressively. And even when they are beyond the limit, completely sliding they still have some traction. Think about it. Even when you have locked up the brakes and you are skidding, you still slow down, not as fast as when the tires are still rotating, slipping 3 to 10 percent, but you do slow down. The same thing applies during cornering. When the car starts to slide, the tires are still trying to grip the road. And, as they grip the road, they are scrubbing off speed down to the point where the tires can achieve maximum traction once again.

This is a reassuring fact to remember. It’s possible to go slightly beyond the limit without losing complete control and crashing. We’ll talk more about driving at and beyond the limit later.

Sidenote: I was able to rip this from the book with Google camera in about 5 seconds. Tech be crazy now.

Brave

So I basically spent this week not actually racing but shifting things around and getting my rig set up semi permanently in the bedroom.

This is it.

The telly is on a swing arm mounted on the wall. Normally it’s folded back into the corner, but I can just swing it out over my feet in the playseat when it’s out and get a really decent screen position.

There’s a fair bit of finagling still to do. I’ve got a difficult cable management job and will probably benefit from getting a smart plug bank thing at some point to control it all.

It’s gooood though. Spent the afternoon racing in it and it’s great not having to get my seat out of the cupboard etc. Quite pleased 🙂

Also I have an awesome wife for even considering this 😂

DrDamn

Brave Also I have an awesome wife for even considering this 😂

This is your main bedroom? I’d be killed 🤣

Brave

She is awesome 🙂

Alex

Steam Summer Sale is on. Pretty much all the sims are cheap as chips right now.

https://store.steampowered.com/search/?tags=1644,1100687

Brave

That Assetto Corsa Ultimate Edition is a bargain at circa £7.

Brave

Virtual Le Mans 24hrs qualifying is live.

Proper commentators too 🙂

Alex

I didn’t watch it but apparently it was marred by disconnects and other bugs. Max Verstappen got disconnected. Seems these are known problems with rF2. Max was not pleased.

Hopefully this encourages them to give the license back to iRacing.

Brave

Just been watching it and while it’s been ok for the last wee while apparently they also had a DoS attack as well.

I had high hopes for motorsport games based on the licences they had including touring cars, but they haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory so far.

Still hopeful that they get things sorted but I get the distinct feeling that the budget has gone on the licences with not enough left over to really do them justice.

Alex

Been reading about this troph.ai thing, a driver coaching app that’s meant to be really interesting and effective and works with iRacing and ACC. It’s made by the guy behind the Driver61 racing videos, who knows his stuff. It’s waitlist only for now and still in alpha, also will likely have a subscription model when it launches fully. Still, something to keep an eye on.

https://www.trophi.ai/

Brave

Alex yeah I really like the look of that. Now that I’m up any running again I might download this and give it a go.

Brave

I hadn’t realised fanatec were in trouble

https://www.eurogamer.net/digitalfoundry-2024-corsair-announces-plan-to-acquire-fanatec-the-troubled-sim-racing-brand

Corsair to buy them…

Alex

Brave Yeah I’d seen threads about a lot of Fanatec issues. This sounds like a good move then as Corsair are a pretty reputable company and it seemed most of Fanatec’s issues stemmed from them being unable to manage their huge growth over the last few years. As someone who is pretty invested in the Fanatec ecosystem I’m quite happy with this.

Brave

Yeah. I might get a DD this winter so if they sort it all out by then I might consider them. Although I’ve got a collection of Thrustmaster wheels now and their one is supposed to be decent too.

Alex

Now I actually have some space I’m seriously thinking about getting triples. 🤣

Alex

I’m off sick from work today, so spent the morning ~~convalescing~~ pricing sim racing cockpits.

I’m tempted just to go with the budget GT Omega cockpit setup, as you can get the ART Simulator Cockpit, seat and monitor stand all together for £540. It’s basic compared to a lot of setups but I think it would have everything I would need.

An alternative would be just to go with the Playseat Trophy and then get a separate monitor stand, but I have the space to get something more permanent now.

I would probably just start out using my old 32″ TV but looking at triples the LG Ultragear 27″ seems decent for £227. Obviously for the full set you’re looking at £681. Would probably start with one and then go from there.

I like the look of the ultrawide curved monitors, but they are on the expensive side. The favourite of sim racers is the Odyssey G9 which is about a grand on its own. Easier to set up though.

Anyway, not going to buy anything right now. 😅

Brave

Alex An alternative would be just to go with the Playseat Trophy and then get a separate monitor stand, but I have the space to get something more permanent now.

I can certainly vouch for the Trophy. It’s ridiculously light for how solid it is, and is absolutely the most comfortable rig I’ve ever had, and I went for the ART previously. I’ve got an ultra-wide on mine which works nicely, but honestly where VR is available I just use that.

Alex

Brave I’m trying to get away from VR, which is why I’m looking at triples. One of the things that puts me off doing any sim racing at the moment is having to faff about with VR.

Alex

Fanatec bought by Corsair.

https://www.pcgamesn.com/corsair/fanatec-purchase

Brave

Alex yeah that’s been in the offing since about May iirc. Actually quite glad it’s gone through, I’ve been quite happy with the Corsair gear I’ve bought.

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