I can't remember the minimum number of events to qualify for the RunOffs but I think it's three? Even if someone could do a Majors for as cheap as I do a vintage weekend there is only a $600 difference between the two of us. So we're talking $1800 for the year, that isn't a lot. I could do things like cut the cable bill eat out less etc. to make up the difference.
Sim strategy
Hi Clint,
Just a few questions on how you're using the simulator with regard to mindset. I've driven quite a few different sim setups, from console/PC game stuff to full on hexapod or translational base professional OEM rigs, and while I agree there is a lot that can be gained from them I am curious if you, or others, have the same experience using them or if you and the rest of the sim community employ some technique I'm not familiar with.
For me the sim is most helpful if I've physically been to that track before. If I haven't, and I'm trying to learn a track before going there which I've done a few times, I don't pick up on the level of detail for reference points as I do in real life. The tracks we use on the OEM rigs are full on laser scanned maps similar to R-Factor and i-Racing, so much of the detail for cracks in the surface, curbs, paint, and all those other things that I use in real racing are there, but for some reason I don't pick up on them in the sim. Interestingly if a map is old, and a curb has been added, it doesn't bother me at all when going from the sim to real life. But if I go from the actual track to the simulator it's really annoying.
If I go to the simulator and I've been to that track physically I can immediately pick out my references and then improve/modify my line to try different things, many of which work when returning to the track later. For instance the downhill left hander right before Hog Pen at VIR is an interesting tradeoff corner in a Mustang that runs fastest if you come across it a certain way and bicycle the LH side over the absolute top of the curbing. This allows you to carry a lot of speed and puts you on a trajectory into Hogpen where you can get on the throttle relatively early and shallow for the best exit over the LH curbing on the way out (depends on power/grip whether this is the best line). I experimented a little with this in real life (which usually involves a lot of parts changes and other stuff so the focus isn't on lap optimization) and then refined the exact points in the sim later. Then the next time I was at VIR what I had done in the sim worked. However there is very little chance I would have gotten to the same place with the simulator only as I wouldn't have the internal resolution in my mental map that I get from the real track.
So after a super long description, I think what I'm asking is whether you, or anyone in the sim community, does anything like very slow scouting laps for establishing reference points or has the same issue I do? Do you have the same experience between tracks you know and ones you don't? For tracks I don't know the simulator is good for learning the sequence of turns, but that's about it. Maybe saves a session, if that. I pick up tracks pretty quickly in real life so maybe others' experiences are different.
Steve
For me it helps whether I've been there or not. At VIR I picked up a lot just by adjusting my lines and trying different things along the way. At INDY it was even more important simply because of track time. In both cases it helped me out more so than if I hadn't of simulated the track to say the least. INDY was the toughest competition the class has seen in my opinion. I knew going into it the two stroke cars would be tough in a turn and under braking simply because of the weight differential of the two cars and the the talent was at an all time high as well.Originally Posted by skt
I prepared myself for any scenario I could think of and had the SIM at 120% strength for countering purposes.
I've found the difference from sim to real is very little. By that I mean that my turn in points, brake points and shift points are within 6 inches. When I go to the track I do have to adjust my line if the payment has been distorted. That doesn't happen often,but it is reality.
In short, you (Steve) pick up tracks better than the average person. The tracks you know or don't know have little effect on the outcome of the race. The SIM will vary from person to person as to how much it helps and carries over to the real world. I can say that we put a driver in the car at road Atlanta that had only one real race in real life before (roebling road). He drove road Atlanta in a car he'd never set in, on a track he'd never stepped foot on and was close to the track record. This past year we put that same driver back in the same car at road Atlanta and for his third total real life race he didn't do bad. He broke the track record by 1second! Before that he'd only done SIM. The main thing that separates everything else is consistency. The sim helps me with that alot.
On another note, I wished you had been at VIR this past year. The only comparison from the two stroke side we had was less than adequate. I don't mind being brought down a restrictor size if the data is telling,but when you have a driver that barely broke the top ten under full competition conditions in 2017 and was only the 6th fastest two stroke driver we are being compared to it doesn't set right with me. (I feel if he would've had a SIM that he wouldn't have sucked as bad at VIR).
Thanks Clint, good to hear about your experiences and learn about how your team is incorporating the tools. I'm definitely pro-sim, just curious if there was anything specific you or anyone else was doing to get the most out of them. They are an asset to refining both cars and drivers when used properly.
You said you were using R-Factor 2? Have you tried other sim packages and have opinions? Just wondering as I'm probably going to install something and try it out. I've been playing a lot of Project Cars 2 lately but don't really care for their tire model or how they think a car is tuned.
Running at VIR last year would have been great but no way my work schedule would have allowed for me to run the season.
R-Factor 2 is the one I run. Matt,Sven and Ryan run all of the platforms most likely. As far as what's being done to get the most out of them, We're just taking an open wheel car and tuning it until it handles the same as our particular car. With you I don't need to go into specifics of what to do, but I will say that not every open wheel car on the platforms will fit the need for your specific car. I have one that I use for the scorpion. Matt has one he uses for the MK8 and Sven has one he uses for the Nova car. You'll have to play around with the different cars available and tune them until you find one that you can manipulate so that it handles like your car. After that its easy to make the rest work. Will you come out to Road America this year? It doesn't look like much qualifying is going to be needed.
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