• Home
    • About OnlineRaceDriver
  • Racing Game Car Lists
  • History of Racing Games
  • Wheels & Pedals
  • Esports
  • Trackipedia Race Sim Track Lists

OnlineRaceDriver

Sim Racing News, Tips and Guides

  • Forza
    • Forza Motorsport 7
    • Forza Motorsport
    • Forza Horizon 4
  • gran turismo
    • Gran Turismo Sport
    • Gran Turismo 7
  • iracing
  • rFactor
    • rFactor 2
  • GRID
  • RaceRoom
  • Assetto Corsa
    • Assetto Corsa Competizione
  • DiRT
    • DiRT 5
    • DiRT Rally 2.0
  • Wreckfest
  • Automobilista
    • Automobilista 2
  • ATS
  • ETS 2
  • F1 2020
    • F1 2019
  • KartKraft
  • Project CARS 3
    • Project CARS 2
  • Test Drive Unlimited
    • Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown
  • More Driving Games
    • Overpass
    • MotoGP 20
    • SnowRunner
    • RIDE 4
    • Spintires

Tuning your mind

April 3, 2011 By GTDon Leave a Comment

As sim-racing technology expands, widens, and deepens the experience of what it is like to build, tune, and compete in a simulated car, issues of real world application begin to surface.  A cross reference from one world to the other starts to take shape allowing certain questions to be asked, and repeatable tests to take place that can validate or invalidate our assumptions in both worlds.

Take for example the area of tuning.  In the real world of racing, tuning is an endless array of always changing fine variables.  The perfect setup is the goal, but in real racing is never truly achieved.  Tuning is a long list of compromises and error corrections that is part engineering and part feeling.  No two car tunes (or track conditions) are exactly alike, even when carefully prepared to be exactly alike.  In the sim-racing world however, cars can be carbon copied as perfect clones of one another.  Tuning can be identical. And conditions can be exactly the same each test.  Because of this non-varied precision, simulated cars lack a certain animated inconsistency that real cars have in spades.  Due to their consistency, simulated cars are easier to come to grips with as a somewhat static model.

‘The Tune-Up’ by Mike Mertz on Flickr (CC Licence)

For some, tuning a simulated car has only marginal positive affects, while others are convinced that their hours of careful tuning is a massive help they couldn’t possibly do without.  Console simulators like Forza and Gran Turismo are never going to have the fanatic attention to tuning detail of PC based sims like iRacing, but, they will continue to step closer with each new version.  Yes, it’s true that console sim makers have gone to great lengths to avoid making their games “too hardcore” and in favor of lasting broader appeal, but, as they improve, technical details sharpen.  No matter how much you try to dumb things down, eventually technology will necessarily free up more options for you to play with.

Each year simulations become more detailed and accessible to the average person to the point that comparisons can be legitimately drawn between real and the unreal. As these lines are blurred, they are blurred more for some, and less for others, especially on the console side.  An often over heard phrase is, “If I had a good tune for this car, I’d be just as fast as [fill name in here].” Those with experience know this is seldom ever the case.  They know that driving skill is more important than having the perfect tune.  Skill set trumps all, and if you can add a nice tune that fits the driver, you’ve maximized his potential.  Compared to the real world, it’s very much the opposite. Tuning is everything, because the talent of the driver pool is so close, and the tuning variables unlimited.

NASCAR has perhaps the most restricted and limited set of rules for their cars as any in racing, resulting in a format that is basically a high-end spec series.  The idea is to make the cars equal, and place the burden of the win on the driver’s shoulders.  Instead, it has turned out to be a battle of tuning and teamwork.  How can this be?  Because tuning a real race car is where the most variables exist for improvement.  This is entirely unlike simulation racing.  In sim-racing, it is the driver that is the most inconsistent and not the tune of the car.

We’ve discovered in the sim-racing world that drivers tend to adapt to cars more, –and in real racing, cars are made to fit the drivers.   This is why we see some sim-drivers who are extremely good at driving untuned cars.  These are drivers who have honed their skills driving a certain type of tune known as a stock setup.  Stock setups have little to no adjustments made to them and are as is.  Stock tuned drivers are not helped all that much from tuning springs, shocks, sway bars, camber, and the like.  They are used to driving cars the way they come, and don’t need many adjustments outside of a final drive gear ratio.

What’s interesting about all of this is the false perceptions it has created in the sim-racing console community.  Tuning a console sim-racing car does not have the same impact as tuning a real race car or even an iRacing car.

Another myth is that many people think that if they enter a limited tune or stock tune event they will have their best chances to compete because no tuning will be allowed and driver skill will prevail.  What they don’t understand is that stock unturned cars do have a tune on them all their own from the “factory”, and that this “stock tune” just happens to naturally fit the skill set of some very fast drivers who specialize in driving these stock tuned cars.  As a result drivers who are not used to driving un-tuned cars are at an extreme disadvantage and far from being on equal footing.

The false perception by a lot of drivers is that being in a series where tuning is allowed places them at a greater disadvantage.  They think this way because they place too much weight on the value of tuning and not enough on driver skill.  Average drivers often fear that the fast guys have a, special top secret “glitch tune” that makes their car so much better than theirs.  What they don’t see is that these same fast drivers would be just as superior if not more so in a stock tuned car.  They also don’t see that if they are allowed to tune the car to better suit their own driving style they will maximize their own performance, — rather than being hamstrung by a set tune they cannot change to suit them, while up against drivers who are experts at driving stock tuned cars.

So, the next time you want to blame your car (and we all do), or envy the fastest guys tune, don’t think about tuning your car, take a step back and tune your thinking instead.

Full Throttle,

GTDon

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Blog, FeaturedContent, Tips and Tuition Tagged With: driving, faster, onlineracedriver, psychology, successful racing, tuning

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Latest Videos

Official MotoGP Moto Trainer Simulator Announced

Official MotoGP Moto Trainer Simulator Announced

You'll need plenty of space and deep pockets, but the official MotoGP Moto … Watch now

Enduracers Release Their Alpine A110 Series Mod for rFactor 2

Enduracers Release Their Alpine A110 Series Mod for rFactor 2

The sim racing modding scene continues to evolve, as Enduracers release their … Watch now

New Voidspeed Outlaw Trailer Released

New Voidspeed Outlaw Trailer Released

The quickest way to sum up the forthcoming PC game from Estonian studio Cydonian … Watch now

Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 Announced

Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 Announced

The thrill of racing giant trucks and causing destruction has obviously proved … Watch now

What's The Best Series On iRacing?

What’s The Best Series On iRacing?

Like most sim racing titles, there's a wide range of virtual motorsport … Watch now

Automobilista 2 Update 1.1.0.4 Available Now

Automobilista 2 Update 1.1.0.4 Available Now

Reiza Studios have started the year with what they describe as a "substantive … Watch now

More Videos

Popular Posts

  • The rFactor 2 Car List
    The rFactor 2 Car List
  • How to perform stunts in MX vs ATV Alive
    How to perform stunts in MX vs ATV Alive
  • How To Install Mods For Assetto Corsa
    How To Install Mods For Assetto Corsa
  • Complete Official Wreckfest Car List
    Complete Official Wreckfest Car List
  • The rFactor 2 Track List
    The rFactor 2 Track List
  • The Automobilista 2 Track List
    The Automobilista 2 Track List
  • The Full Automobilista 2 Car List
    The Full Automobilista 2 Car List
  • The Full Assetto Corsa Competizione Track List
    The Full Assetto Corsa Competizione Track List
  • Cool Home-Made Porsche 911 GTE Sim Racing Wheel
    Cool Home-Made Porsche 911 GTE Sim Racing Wheel
  • The Drift21 Car List
    The Drift21 Car List

Useful Links

Sim Racing Game Car Lists
Sim Racing Game Track Lists
The Best Sim Racing Wheels For Beginners

Categories

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2021 Hot Mod Media · Design & Marketing TWOTW · Disposable Media · FPSPrestige · OnlineRaceDriver · Patchwork Kitchen · HotModGaming · The Guitar List · Rescars · Rescogs

Go to mobile version
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkRead more