Ahhh, I remember the 1 hour RAC race on FE we had at dMr a while ago. Quite a handful, and most of us were knackered afterwards, but it was a great race It takes a lot of practise and a good setup, but once you get a feel for it the RAC can really be loads of fun. Smoothness is the key

After many more laps in singleplayer against AI drivers (don't laugh!) I started to understand how to correctly handle RAC.
Many more Kms are required, anyway I came to this thread's conclusions by myself (Road going setup, plus softer transitions, softer brakings, smoother accelerations, in fact nearly everything with it must be smooth), which makes me think I'm on the right way, even if I'll never be a patented RAC driver.

Quote from ussbeethoven :

Just because you can't drive it doesn't makes RAC a rubbish car. RMR layout and the lack of a rear ARB makes it tricky on the limit, but you don't have to have alien-like skills - at least in my experience the key for a stable learning curve is to achieve a smooth transition between the initial understeer and snap oversteer, so the setup should reflect this: soft suspension (car responses less aggressively), low front ARB (ditto) plus low rear chamber and a differential kept as open as possible (Viscous LSD is worth trying) on the power side. In terms of driving style, use the throttle smoothly, avoid abrupt release and keep a 'stabilizing' amount of 10-20% especially in fast bends; don't bother with trail braking on your first laps. Existing LRF experience was also very helpful in my case.

Don't be frustrated by incipiently trouble and throwbacks, it takes one or two weeks to get a basic feel of confidence and control - and this car is certainly worth the try.

Well, I have almost exactly the opposite experience, and setup. We had a league race with the RAC on FE Green, which I didn't take part in, but I've done a few laps. You do need stiff suspension, to make it react fast and more agile. Really low front ARB is ok, but you need huge rear camber to stabilize the rear in corners, and also high coast on the diff, to make it as stable as possible under braking. +0.9 toe out on the rear is a must have cause of the lack of rear ARB, and really high rebound damping. With these values RAC is a really sharp car, it's just hard to master. You really gotta think and act before the corners, curbs, otherwise it punishes you like no other car. With the stiff suspension it's easy to do fast weight transfers before the corners. It's quite like XRG in mid-corner, cause all you gotta do is a smart weight transfer to the rear (big camber, and high rebound helps here a lot) and make the corner with minimal steering input.

Quote from ussbeethoven :

It depends a lot on handling preferences and personal skill - I certainly wouldn't be happy with a setup including values you described. Once one is somewhat familiar with the car, more aggressive settings might be useful, but at least from my point of view I don't think WR-style setups are a good point to start with.

I wouldn't describe a stiff, aggressive set a WR set. They are not WR sets until a WR is set with them. Also, the current WR at let's say, FE2 RAC can easily be beaten by any kind of set :P No offense, I just wanted to clarify.

You just have to find what the car wants, and not reversed, at least with the RAC. The lack of rear ARB can only be compensated with a stiff, sharp setup.
It's not a must, but if you really want to drive it fast, that's how you have to do it.

I love the RAC. It's so different and very difficult to control, that's why I like it so much. What's the point in racing if you're going to complain about a car being a handful to drive? A lot of racing cars are not easy to handle and are a real handful. No reason to complain, just practice and get better.

I love the RAC too, but there are noe servers running it except the cruisers and drifters. So you sometimes find me hotlapping on a empty drift server with it, or even between the drifters if they let me

To find a setup is quite hard, I combined a set I found somewhere with a 30% / 50% clutchpack diff and quite strong toe settings. Its quite fast and controlable now, but once you lose it its almost impossible to correct and the rear tires wear out too fast

The rac is'nt a hard car to handle. Providing you have a good setup, it can grip quit well. Compared to the FZ5, i prefer the way the RAC handles. The FZ5 has a nice weighty feel, but the RAC is able to power all the way through nice, long corners. As for the FZ5, it either tends to understeer, or put on long slides.

can i just ask what ARB is?

Anti-Roll Bar.

I drove the RAC almost exclusively for half a year in the beginning of my LFS career. In my opinion it's the most rewarding car to drive once you get comfy with it. Also it feels a lot more real than the FZ5, which just slides around like crazy. The RAC's understeer makes it feel more "grounded" in a way, which I think is good.

So: give it time, have some patience, and I assure you the RAC can be a load of fun!

Tried Rac in slalom and though You have to drive carefully it trully drives great. Feels very nible and light. Might give it some more love in the future

I never thought there was any way the real car was anything like the LFS version and that video above demonstrates that pretty comprehensively I think.

A lack of ARB does not make that much difference. I've driven my car for several weeks without an ARB and I didn't have any insane handling issues.

I'm not fast by any means, but I don't understand what's the trouble of RAC. Doesn't seem that poisoness to me infact, I have more trouble with the mrt, bf1 without TC, etc. Just go smooth, brake early, get on the power early and keep it balanced. The turbo makes it more complicated as you need to get on the power earlier and so it will step out frequently, but so do the LX6, FZ5, F08 etc. so I'm not sure what makes the RAC any different there.

I get the impression that those who have trouble tend to go in too hot/fast so they have to lift, causing the huge RAC understeer. Don't drive so agressively, but plan your corners in advance, in slow, out fast.

Anyway, on the road (and likely on a track in RL) you'd likely drive much more carefully then you would in LFS, and driving the RAC in similair fashion in LFS even with the default setup is as hard as driving my sister's Daihatsu.

it's a crap car, fun, but crap


end of.

Quote from Gnomie :

I drove the RAC almost exclusively for half a year in the beginning of my LFS career. In my opinion it's the most rewarding car to drive once you get comfy with it. Also it feels a lot more real than the FZ5, which just slides around like crazy. The RAC's understeer makes it feel more "grounded" in a way, which I think is good.

So: give it time, have some patience, and I assure you the RAC can be a load of fun!

May i suggest that you take some of your own advice and give the FZ5 a proper go? Providing you don't have a button as your throttle, the FZ5's throttle is suprisingly easy to modulate if you actually try...

Both the FZ5 and the RAC are much loved to many, you just have to take a look at some replay's from Danowat's Roadsport Cups to see how great they are to race.

Quote from durbster :

I never thought there was any way the real car was anything like the LFS version and that video above demonstrates that pretty comprehensively I think.

A lack of ARB does not make that much difference. I've driven my car for several weeks without an ARB and I didn't have any insane handling issues.

LOL. First goto the valumet site the people that make the car and read about it.

"Handling has always been one of the most important features. Rear or middle engine cars with most of the weight on the rear axle, are more demanding for the driver near the critical speed. A lost of grip happens suddenly and momentum of inertia can be a big surprise for the driver. Usually these types of vehicles are understeer cars, because of the easier transient state handling properties for non-experienced drivers. But at the same time you will lose one of the most enjoyable part of mid-engine cars, the fast and accurate steering response."

so they even tell you its not for a inexperienced driver and if your not versed in mid engine/ rear engine cars then guess what? "A lost of grip happens suddenly and momentum of inertia can be a big surprise for the driver." i bet this is what is happening 2 u.

maybe you can drive your car without a rear anti roll but its not a raceabout lol is the engine behind you does the car have a 60/40 wieght ratio i think not.

Raceabout owns. ohh yeah here is the site http://www.raceabout.fi/content/3_3.html look under chassis development.

you must trailbrake this car very smoothly as to not lock up the tires(front) if not youll get horrid corner understeer why? becuase the front is light TB keeps the wieght up front until you wanna gas which when you hit the gas never lift off in a corner never. this should help i make alot of racebaout sets let me know waht track ill see if i can help.

PS i know my mates in team 400 the ones without a wheel with more than 200 degrees find it impossible to drive or very very hard. so if you have a wheel with only 200 rotation maybe stick to xfg xrg racing

Try to put Toe in +0.4 in front and +0.9 in rear. Most important rear toe in. With negative front toe in you will feel more and fast corner entry.

Quote from Napalm Candy :

Try to put Toe in +0.4 in front and +0.9 in rear. Most important rear toe in. With negative front toe in you will feel more and fast corner entry.

DO not do this . this is insane talk my raceabout sets have maybe +.1 to +.2 toe in back . some of my sets have none. you might run -.2 -.1 in front... maybe... but then braking gets more diffucult. DO not just slap huge amounts of toe because you dont have a proper set.

Quote from ANAMENOONEHAD :

LOL. First goto the valumet site the people that make the car and read about it.

...A lost of grip happens suddenly and momentum of inertia can be a big surprise for the driver. Usually these types of vehicles are understeer cars, because of the easier transient state handling properties for non-experienced drivers. But at the same time you will lose one of the most enjoyable part of mid-engine cars, the fast and accurate steering response."

There's nothing new there; that's the standard trait of any mid-engined car.

MR2, MGF, Elise etc. all share those traits and yet none of them drive like the RAC does in LFS.

The Raceabout ain't hard to drive. It's easy.

Quote from ANAMENOONEHAD :

DO not do this . this is insane talk my raceabout sets have maybe +.1 to +.2 toe in back . some of my sets have none. you might run -.2 -.1 in front... maybe... but then braking gets more diffucult. DO not just slap huge amounts of toe because you dont have a proper set.

You are wrong, more positive rear toe in, it is easy control rear in middle and exiting corner, only problem is high temp inside rear wheels, and a very little slower.

I have 2 WR's setups from 'pecholobo' with this config.

Quote from ANAMENOONEHAD :

DO not do this . this is insane talk my raceabout sets have maybe +.1 to +.2 toe in back . some of my sets have none. you might run -.2 -.1 in front... maybe... but then braking gets more diffucult. DO not just slap huge amounts of toe because you dont have a proper set.

most of my sets us +0.2 and +0.5, and I can get competitive times with it. so I don't think it's that insane...

Quote from ANAMENOONEHAD :

DO not do this . this is insane talk my raceabout sets have maybe +.1 to +.2 toe in back . some of my sets have none. you might run -.2 -.1 in front... maybe... but then braking gets more diffucult. DO not just slap huge amounts of toe because you dont have a proper set.

It doesn't mean he musn't use it if some of your sets have none. huge toe in at the rear does help.

Quote from durbster :

I never thought there was any way the real car was anything like the LFS version and that video above demonstrates that pretty comprehensively I think.

A lack of ARB does not make that much difference. I've driven my car for several weeks without an ARB and I didn't have any insane handling issues.

And the lack of ARB is really a kick in the nuts, since we are talking about a car that has 40/60 weight distribution. Trust me, it would be much easier to control with rear ARB, and it wouldn't be needed to compensate the lack of ARB with stiff springs, high coast and big toe values. At least we wouldn't use this high values.

Quote from Luke.S :

The Raceabout ain't hard to drive. It's easy.

your lfsw stats state otherwise..