Impossible lap times?

[vmagics]

I have been driving almost exclusively the 2007 320si BMW e90 in time attack (pro mode/manual clutch and gears) for months now, and while I can win the odd race I am completely unable to come anywhere near other players lap times. For example:-
-Valencia i get a consistent 1:51:xx
-Zandvoort 07 a consistent 1:54:xx
I have tried downloading various shadow laps and if I attempt corners at ANYWHERE NEAR the same speed, using the same line I fly off the track. If I attempt it any slower, my lap times are slower. I can't move into corners as fast without understeering, I can't accelerate out as fast without oversteering, my straight line speed ... well that isn't even an issue - by the time I get to a straight my competitor has long since left me in a cloud of dust. It seems 'to me' as if my car is simply not as capable as anybody elses. I swear, (and I cannot stress this enough) I have tried absolutely every technique and approach possible. Driving smoothly, drifting, shifting early, shifting late, braking hard, braking early, fast corner approach, slow corner approach,fast corner exit, slow corner exit, automatic clutch/gears, various lines. I am using the supplied setups (not the default ones) but surely no ammount of tuning would allow me a better lap time of 10 seconds or more, which other people seem to be getting. Can anybody please suggest something... anything!!?? I am considering mario kart!!!

[Christopher Aponte]

hi there
have you tried softening the rear suspension? so you can do a much more aggressive acceleration out of corners

and maybe try smooth braking (and coasting the car more).....sometimes those are moves that tends to be forgotten

[Philip Antonia]

vmagics, I agree with you totally. I just can't work out where they get the cornering speed from. When I ran I-racing for a while I could tell where I was losing speed to others but in Race07 I feel I'm pushing the car as fast as it will allow.

Very frustrating!!

[James Yates]

Originally Posted by Philip Antonia

vmagics, I agree with you totally. I just can't work out where they get the cornering speed from. When I ran I-racing for a while I could tell where I was losing speed to others but in Race07 I feel I'm pushing the car as fast as it will allow.

Very frustrating!!

The best way to build up corner speed i found was to brake very early and make sure you think about the line you are taking, then while going around the corner trying to take it with quite a lot of throttle on. You want to get everything done before you enter the corner, so brake early enough to allow yourself to get a good line and to ensure you are in the right gear. You won't gain or lose much time on the brakes, but if you don't keep the corner speeds up you will lose out on the straights that follow aswell. Usually i use the simbin setups with the odd tweak and i find that they usually are enough to give a stable and quite quick car. What you really have to do is use every bit of the road you can to make sure the speed is high through the corner.

[pillowhead4000]

i found just small alterations to car setup made a big difference. a small tweak can find half a second or more if you grt it right. round zandvoort i managed to get a 1:48.3 second lap before tweaking my setup it was above 1:50

[Stuart Thomson]

vmagics, a friend and I are currently in a hotlap/time attack battle with each other.

4 tracks, 6 cars, laptimes counted on a direct comparison and in a "total ranking" method.

When we started doing that, we couldn't believe some of the times that were knocking about, but pretty soon, we found ourselves taking big lumps out of those "impossible" times and getting much closer if not exceeding them.

You will get there.

The other thing to take into account, assuming you want to try your hand at racing online, is that virtually all hotlaps are just that - hotlaps. They will, in all probability, be miles faster than a race pace. Virtually no fuel, no tyre considerations, no competitors, twitchy setups.

That's always been a bit of a bugbear of mine - a lot of the time, you've got no idea if you're going to be quick enough to race online and not be a liability, because no-one really posts their race laptimes. I've never really had a go online for fear of nause-ing up someone else's race, and it's not ideal to try and work out if your racing times are any good if you work from hotlaps.

I'm going to have a go though, one of these days.

[vmagics]

OK, I've just discovered something odd. I was racing against a downloaded shadow at Valencia in afore mentioned BMW. Again, trying the first couple of corners over and over and over again using different techniques etc. Anyway, like a big baby I decided to blame my crappy driving on my installation of Race07. So I copied the shadow I'd downloaded into my 'offline installation' folder. With all settings set identically to my online installation (pro, manual clutch/gears etc.) I tried again. On attempting those same few corners I actually overtook the shadow first time. Since this could obviously be a fluke I tried again and again swapping between online and offline installations. Every attempt in online I failed but (almost) every attempt in offline led to success. So far this is the only track and car combo I've tried but nonetheless the difference is considerable. You hear that Philip Antonia! If at first you don't succeed, it's obviously somebody elses fault. I knew it couldn't be me that's at fault, I'm a very handsome, talented little soldier. If you don't believe me, ask my mum.

[Attila Domján]

Originally Posted by vmagics

I'm a very handsome, talented little soldier. If you don't believe me, ask my mum.

thats a good one

[vmagics]

Stuart Thomson, thank you for your support, and in spite of my previous message I couldn't agree more. Once I get to the bottom of this thing I still have a lot of work to do... and... oh my god I thought I was alone in worrying about getting in everyones way.

[Andrew Evans]

Originally Posted by Stuart Thomson

I'm going to have a go though, one of these days.

do it, man... the fast guys are still fast in the race... but we have people of all levels of ability (i'm a definitive second half of the grid guy) - the most important thing is that people race clean and have the funs!

[vmagics]

Scratch what I said about online/offline differences. I forgot about a bug which forces auto clutch in offline version. Anyway, this seems to suggest that my problems are 'shifting' related. I have resolved this and now I can achieve lap times with auto clutch enabled which are just as awful as my 'manual clutch' lap times.
PS: Christopher and James, thank you for the advice. Although my lap times aren't really improving too much yet, I am driving much smoother thanks to your suggestions. This has allowed me a wider margin to take risks (I hope that makes sense).

[Stuart Thomson]

Originally Posted by Andrew Evans

do it, man... the fast guys are still fast in the race... but we have people of all levels of ability (i'm a definitive second half of the grid guy) - the most important thing is that people race clean and have the funs!

I will, deffo. I think it's a bit like standing on the top board. Sooner or later, you've got to close your eyes, hold your nose and just jump, I suppose.

I think it's probably vital to get the right sort of car and class to start off with, work out where your strengths are.

We'll see, I suppose.

[Carlos Moutinho]

In my opinion , the hard thing is not make a fast lap ... being consistent is hardest and demands much more practice . I´m saving a Veuve Cliquot to celebrate the race that i make not a single mistake .

[Grégory Cogotti]

I'm totally agree with you, the most hard is to be constent, and it's my great problem! I don't know the tip for being constent, probably training... But each one has a limit!

[Stuart Thomson]

I always strive for consistency in races and practice, probably more so than hotlaps if I'm honest.

As long as I'm consistently within 1 sec of my best hotlap time during pratice and 2 sec of my best hotlap time during a race, I'm pretty happy.