General driving tips for new players

So that you know where I'm coming from, by no means am I saying I'm the fastest guy out there, I'm far from it. However, I can hit the top 8% to 1% on most leaderboards. That's not because I'm awesome, its because 1% to 8% is about the amount of people that put a bit of time in to practise and care about their times. So here are some tips. I'll update as I think of more.

1) Turn off all assists. Seriously. TCS and ABS teach you to NOT control the car. Driving lines teach you NOT to drive your car. Learn how to use the clutch. You can change the settings so all you have to do is press A and up/down at the same time. This can knock a second off your time straight away.

2) Pick a track and a low class car

3) Slow down. The reason you went off into the grass is you approached the corner too fast. Brake early, focus on the apex, then hit the gas when...

4) Look ahead. When your driving a real car you don't stare at the corners. Hit the gas when you see the straight opening up.

5) Don't fight the car, you will never win. If you hit the gas too early and your going to run wide, back off. If you do, you might lose a few tenths of a seconds. If you hit the grass, you've lost a whole second.

6) Go for a cruise. Imagine your in the cockpit of the car. Have fun with it. It's good if your braking too early. Next time you'll be a bit braver and brake a tad later.

7) Small changes make a huge difference. Don't plow into a turn, brake early. If your going to come short, ease the brake. Don't touch the gas until the apex. Next time you will know you can brake a tenth of a second later.

Oh S**T!! Your in the grass again. Go back to step 3.

9) DO NOT AIM TO TAKE TIME OFF YOUR LAP. If you aim to be within 0.5 seconds of the lap you just ran, over several laps you will have ended up improving by several seconds. Why? because you've taken your time and learn't step by step.

10) This is the fun step. Get in the club races. Pressure that guy with your new found driving skills. Chances are they will be surprised and do the opposite of everything in this thread. If they don't, don't sweat. There's always next time.




If anyone wants some 'Tutor Sessions' I'd be more than happy to. Just catch me when I'm on. I'll put a couple of clearly marked 'leaner' cars in the club garage and we can run some sessions. I'm sure some other members would be happy to help out too, if they volunteer I'll add their name here.

From what I've tested, BiggLou55 's tunes are very stable and fantastic to learn in. That's not to say other guy's tunes are inferior in any way, just I know Lou's are very stable handling wise. Just remember that tunes take a second off a perfect lap, not minutes off a poor one.






On a side note, what kind of fool puts an emoticon as something thats obvioisuly going to be used in general use at some point?

I must be tired cuz that last line makes no sense to me.

I'd be willing to teach. To an extent. I'm just an average driver here. But like others (not here), quick to criticize, but can't seem to improve on my own.

Why is using the clutch better than not using it? is it just because you have control over it or something else? I dont think science is the right word but what is the science behind it that makes it quicker? I have no doubt that is is i just dont know why ha

because it gives you two more things to control

I'll add a few things...

Start small... Turn one assist off at a time and drive..

Some of us still use the braking line (I do). I have zero depth perception in the game. BUT... Turing off the full line will take 1-3 seconds off your laps. It's amazing how much it actually distracts you and lowers your situational awareness. not to mention that suggested line is usually not the best line!

To get rid of ABS, make it a game. here's what I did.. I'd get into a rivals session or just hotlap, and try to brake w/o triggering ABS. Once I got good at braking hard w/o triggering it, I was amazed at the results.. Another 1 second off my lap times... By playing the game with ABS, I learned trigger control.

Steering... Normal steering is not an assist. If you use normal steering, don't change it, unless simulation feels better.

Traction and Stability Control... TURN THEM OFF ASAP.. Learn how to control the car with the throttle. You will drop your lap times 1-2 seconds or more with them off. With that said, I still use TCS on most of the R3, and all of the R2, R1 and X class cars.... they are just too much for me...

Manual versus Manual w/clutch - It comes down to preference here. I still use Manual simply because I like the rev matching on downshift. I use the engine to brake in concert with the brakes. In RWD cars, Manual w/clutch causes me to lose control at corner entry. I'm working on heel/toe manual rev match, but it's a hard skill to master. In AWD and FWD cars and all cars drag racing and drifting I use Manual w/clutch. In RWD cars I use Manual. I also use manual in 100% stock cars to get the shift speed up. Since most stock vehicles don't have a limited slip, the downshift isn't an issue..

Run Rivals..... If you beat your rivial, end the session and start a new one with another rival... You'll get to see the different lines and speed your rivals have. Also watch the replays in the rivals with telemetry up. that will help you see where they brake, turn in, and accelerate!

TUNE YOUR CARS - I cannot stress enough that a tune will be the difference between spinning out every 5 seconds to driving like the car is on rails.... If you are not a tuner, then grab some from the storefront. OR.... Ask one of the club turners for help. You can find them in the Club Garage here on the forums. We all tune free of charge for all club members...

I'm not the best driver in the world, but I'm a pretty good teacher. the key to getting better at anything is practice practice practice. I'd be more than happy to help with tunes and 1:1 sessions!

To add to that tutor session thing hotdog. I came up with an idea.. If someone needed like a visual aid of what's being done in terms of steering, brakes and gas you could start a lobby and then have the "students" spectate with the telemetry up, while you drive to see how you apply the brakes, gas and steering...just something I thought of earlier!

wolfman115 wrote:Why is using the clutch better than not using it? is it just because you have control over it or something else? I dont think science is the right word but what is the science behind it that makes it quicker? I have no doubt that is is i just dont know why ha

With an automatic when you shift up, your speed will actually drop 2-3 mph during the transition. This is reduced with manual, and eliminated with the clutch. It can cause a little extra work in higher power cars, but that's why I said start with low powered cars. By low powered, I mean C and below, preferably FWD.

The reason I said turn off ABS and TCS is because it forces you to gain more control, which is what a lot of new players have problems with. It wont necessarily make you faster, but it will teach you discipline.

The braking line, I'm sorry but I do not like. I'm sorry, maybe its more preference. I'm against using stabilizers on kids bikes too, I think it hinders the learning process. Not to mention 9 times out out 10 in a race situation, it will be impossible to use that line for what ever reason. If you learn your car, you will always know around the time to brake.

Markve91 wrote:

To add to that tutor session thing hotdog. I came up with an idea.. If someone needed like a visual aid of what's being done in terms of steering, brakes and gas you could start a lobby and then have the "students" spectate with the telemetry up, while you drive to see how you apply the brakes, gas and steering...just something I thought of earlier!

That's a good idea, or if anyone wants a replay for a certain car and track feel free to message me over xbox live and I'll get on it.

Practice practice practice practice. The key to improving is practice.

When I started, I was in the top portion of the midfielders. (Not meant as an insult to anybody). I typically don't put much time into games. Apparently (based on other opinions), I have moved up in class.

I can only attribute this to the amount of time I've put into this game.

Go and race in the rivals section. You will race ghosts of others and you will learn how to drive if you follow other ghosts. I'm sorry for the shortness of this. This is how I think I've improved the fastest.

I agree that the less assists you use, the better you can become.

To use members as an example, I remember xraydash and fisch were a good time off of my times (not saying I waz that great). In the 5 months we've all been here, those 2 have improved immensely. They are consistently sitting at the top of the leaderboards. I am always happy to see their improvement.

One more story. New member ragnarock. When he first joined up, he was wayyyy at the back. He stuck with it. In fact, he participated in all the races. In that short time, he's improved that he's now hanging with the pack. It doesn't take much to improve.

So this is how I use the braking line..... Wait... First let me explain something... I've tried and tried to run without any lines what-so-ever, and it ends with me in the grass, gravel or wall! Every time... I have serious issues judging distance in this game. I don't know why, I just do.... Now that you know why I use it, here is how I use it....

I don't use it as my line through the turn, or even to tell me how much to brake. I typically am blasting through corners off the line and while it's glowing red or amber (the line in the game is great for a beginner to learn when to break, when to turn, etc., but it ends up hindering performance at a certain point). I use the line as a braking reference and to fine tune breaking points on the track... Since I cannot seem to judge distances in the game, it serves as a marker for me. Am I lost without it? No.. Well at least not on the tracks that I know pretty well... Am I faster with it? Yes..

Assists I'd classify as "Nannies" (meaning they keep you out of trouble and others safe):
Traction Control
Stability Control
Assisted Braking and ABS
Assisted Steering
Full and Braking Line
Automatic (unless you have a disability that prevents you from being able to shift)

Assists that are more preference than nanny:
Manual shifting (it all comes down to feel)
Normal Steering (this is actually the better setting for Wheels)
Rewind (for rivals, it's a must)

I turned off everything except for manual without clutch and some of my times are improving depending on what track/ car im using. im still getting used to no ABS and i had traction and stability off before so thats not too bad anymore.