No what I propose is not really similar to iracing where you can get out of rookie in two hours if you like (which is ridiculous of course).
What I propose is what a real racer can live in real live. He race in one car the entire year (season). And in this manner he has the time to really know and appreciate his car.
But this is not really the subject of this thread. I should not have mentioned it anyway.
I said that the LFS cars are outdated but there is a more serious problem: the LFS engine is very old.
And here is a good question for Scawen:
Is the LFS engine (even if updated) capable of reproducing correctly the handling and the behavior of a modern TCR car (a Honda civic TCR or a Hyundai Elantra TCR for example).
If we think about it a moment, we have enough cars of quality to race with.
A real racer can spend several seasons (years) with the same car. And if he is a beginner with a low powered car.
So I dream for a simulator which contain only three cars for the first year. A formula vee (for open wheelers), a mazda miata (for street cars) and a late model (for ovals). It can evolve after that with more powerful cars.
The cars have to be build by a solid team of developers not by a user lambda (problem of trust and competence).
The problem is that LFS cars are all outdated (being developed twenty years ago).
I really think that it will be difficult to find a modder with the skills of Scawen for making cars or the skills of Eric for making tracks.
As lfsrm said this is a small team of developers.
But a new car or new (laser scanned) track from time to time should be possible.
Personally I refuse to use any mod because I think that a user can not develop a car for another user (It does not have the technical knowledge to do so).
I tried the versions of blackwood in assetto corsa and rfactor 2. The feeling that I had is that I am driving in a racing game.
With the original Blackwood in LFS, I am racing for real. As I mentionned earlier I am using some tweakings to the FFB. The standard FFB in LFS needs to be updated. The simulator in all needs some updates too.
With all the "simulations" available today I am mostly using NR2003 for ovals and LFS for road. Period.
LFS is a great simulator. It lacks some things here and there but I think it's the best right now.
I am using it as a training tool and as a racing environement with a lot of practice sessions (and sometimes I want to stay alone on the track with my "christine").
The driving is perhaps virtual but the sensations are real with LFS.
And don't forget that a real racer has only one car for the entire season (with five or six tracks as a schedule). I think LFS users must do the same thing (stay with one car to learn it and find its limits).
At the same time for us Scawen is the Messie. And if, from time to time, he don't change the water in wine we are all lost.
In corners lfs ffb doesn't need any enhancer. It is already very good. I can feel the weight of the car very well. The problem is on the staights. For example in the long straight of blackwood it is someway annoying to not feel anything.
As I said the right thing is to disable completely the ffb in our wheels and use bass shakers instead.
I am curious to hear how it is by some guys that use them.