Virtual lap limitations
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Joined: May 2002
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From: Aurora, Colorado
Virtual lap limitations
In preparing for the 2025 SCCA Runoffs, I rented some commercial time on a driving simulator for Road America. With actual practice time no longer part of a Runoffs entry (crazy, right?) fee, and race fuel, brakes and tires always expensive, I figured it was worth a shot. With advances in technology, the $100K 3-axis simulator gave a reasonably accurate visual view of the track, but had no 350Z in its memory banks. I tried a MX-5 Cup and Mustang FR500 racecar since I wanted a manual transmission to practice with. Unfortunately, I found the simulation lacked in several key areas:
-Without any ability to simulate G-forces, the sim relies on rotating the front downwards to simulate heavy braking and up to represent acceleration. This made the sim feel floaty, with way too much dive and squat to accurately represent what I have experienced on the track.
-The pedals were not conducive to heel-and-toe downshifting shifting and the shifter way too loose to accurately feel where the gates were. While I ran multiple lapping sessions, this sloppiness proved most difficult to adapt to.
-The digital dash on both cars was difficult to see, so I relied on sounds (and bouncing off the rev limiter) to shift by. This worked OK, but I'd hate to think of how many engines I'd damage doing this in real life.
-This sim allowed a ghost-like car to catch up and pass if I was off-line from my fastest lap. While useful to a degree, it was somewhat distracting while I tried using slightly different brake and corner entry points for the first part of the 14-different corners.
-No overall feedback was available at the end of the sim, but lap times indicated I was still two seconds off the potentially ideal time the computer set for that particular car in ideal conditions. I hoped to gain some solid data on my line selection and driving parameters, but this was not available. What have others found in using driving sims? Are there any other commercial grade machines that can be used to gain useful experience?
-Without any ability to simulate G-forces, the sim relies on rotating the front downwards to simulate heavy braking and up to represent acceleration. This made the sim feel floaty, with way too much dive and squat to accurately represent what I have experienced on the track.
-The pedals were not conducive to heel-and-toe downshifting shifting and the shifter way too loose to accurately feel where the gates were. While I ran multiple lapping sessions, this sloppiness proved most difficult to adapt to.
-The digital dash on both cars was difficult to see, so I relied on sounds (and bouncing off the rev limiter) to shift by. This worked OK, but I'd hate to think of how many engines I'd damage doing this in real life.
-This sim allowed a ghost-like car to catch up and pass if I was off-line from my fastest lap. While useful to a degree, it was somewhat distracting while I tried using slightly different brake and corner entry points for the first part of the 14-different corners.
-No overall feedback was available at the end of the sim, but lap times indicated I was still two seconds off the potentially ideal time the computer set for that particular car in ideal conditions. I hoped to gain some solid data on my line selection and driving parameters, but this was not available. What have others found in using driving sims? Are there any other commercial grade machines that can be used to gain useful experience?
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DuMA_
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Aug 29, 2008 12:32 PM
