I need help to improve my time at FE2 with the UFR. I will be doing an online race there soon and I seem to way behind the pace of the other guys. Being new I am happy to take it easy and just focus on a clean race rather than gunning for a top 3 position but I have been practising the track with a setup someone was nice enough to give me and seem stuck on a high 1:14

Can someone have a look at my replay and tell me where I'm going wrong?

Yes, you go through slowly at most corners. Maybe a WR replay can help you study the lines.

For example, at the first turn/chicane you gotta enter and exit at about 160-165km/h, you do this at 135-140.

You also miss the apex by far at the second corner at the end of the straight, and at the corner after. That slows you down.

Next at 1.04 (video time, not lap time) you must go full throttle, do not let off.

That next fast right hander is good, you must exit at about 160 and you do at 150+, not bad.

Also you take a too wide line through the last chicane before the end of the lap, try to stay tight close to the apex.

Generally you miss the apexes and power up late. Try aiming the apexes and step on the throttle early, you lose much time on acceleration. Consider watching a WR replay on LFSWorld.

Quote from truepiece :

Generally you miss the apexes and power up late. Try aiming the apexes and step on the throttle early, you lose much time on acceleration. Consider watching a WR replay on LFSWorld.

+1

Try to be more aggressive and find your limits. Replay analyser is your friend. Here's also a wr setup, it should be better than your current one.

Thanks but honestly I find the WR ones far too hard to drive. I'll try em out once I get a bit better.

I followed true pieces advice and just knocked .6 of a second off my time and I feel I could easily do better with practice so thanks heaps for that. I'll post another replay when I get to low 1:13's if you guys are interested.

At first I found going into that chicane at 160km/h was far too hard, but then I remembered your advice about the apexes and aimed for the apexes in the chicane and pulled it off. Im still at mid 150km/h but getting there.

Yeah the limits are a bit hard to know at first, you think you drive at the limit when you actually don't.

Also remember keeping as a straight line as possible through chicanes. This, of course, keeps your momentum but also keeps you safe from rolling over when going over a kerb. You'll be safe even if your car goes fully over a kerb, as long as you're driving straight (unrealistic, because of lack of strict suspension damage but anyway). But if your steer while just touching one, it's a possibility that you're gonna roll.

Actually this straight line thingy is the most important rule of corner entering. Find the line that "bends" the least, and gives you the best "shortcut" from the enter to the exit point, while keeping two wheels on asphalt. Part of this, is the apex-aiming thing I said before.

Finally, the enter and exit points, must use the whole road width. Most of the time, you have to brake -before a corner- while two wheels touch the outside kerb, and accelerate after a corner while also the same wheels touch the kerb. If these don't happen, and you keep driving in a middle-ish position, then you didn't drive fast enough.

Just general advice I thought can help you

Some very good tips from truepiece etc on finding better lines.

But while hotlapping will certainly help gauge your progress, it will only help so much for achieving race consistency - especially with combos like this one where there are so many ways to die.

So a few words about race practice and pace may also be helpful since you are looking to race the combo:

First, a couple of questions. Are you using R2 front and rear in your replay? Any how many laps are you expecting for the upcoming race?

Reason I ask is - clearly your tires won't last for even a short race using the setup, tire type and/or driving technique you show in the replay. If you have R3 in front, then you will need a different setup or more importantly, better technique. The R3 should last indefinitely if your lines are smooth (which they aren't in the replay). For that matter, R2 fronts should also last with this combo with proper technique/setup (see below).

To get your tires to last, truepiece's advice on hitting the apex should help .... Another way to put it - "slow in, fast out". In your replay, your right front tire is over-heating from late braking and then having to overpower the exit (car slides more - heats outside tires). More on this below.

So - some tips on practicing for a race:

1) I rarely do hot laps when practicing for a race. Especially when the hot lap setup is using a softer tire combo. Better to find a "groove" with your race setup/tires.

2) I practice starting with tires at the cooler starting temp that you will be faced with during a race. This way you will be familiar with the changes in feel as the tires warm during the race. If you drive smooth consistent lines, you should be able to see some improvement in each lap as the tires warm.

3) As you practice (with cool tires at the start) - find a pace that allows you to go many laps without major damage. In this case - at least 10 lap sessions. No point in being fast for a lap or 2 if you don't survive laps 3, 4, etc. As you find a "groove" in a session try increasing your pace somewhat - not by braking later, but by carrying a little more speed into a given turn.

4) Practicing with cool tires at the start also allows you to judge both how your setup and driving technique handle the tire heat over the duration of a race - so that you can adjust as necessary.

5) Be aware that your race pace will be well off your hotlap pace - especially if the race and hotlap setups use different tires. Do NOT try to match your hotlap pace in any case. Brake earlier - this emphasizes the "slow in, fast out" approach.

I'm no "alien" - but you may learn something from the replay attached. It's a 10 lap race in single player mode (with a pit stop). All 7 flying laps are between 1:10.50 and 1:10.70. That is most of a second off my hotlap time. I could thus turn faster laps but that would probably lead to sudden death or overheated tires :-/

I have also included the set (R2/R2) that I used in the replay. Like you, I generally don't like "hotlap" setups for race use - both because they are more ticklish to control and they general have more tire heat issues. You should find that this set is pretty "stable". "Aliens" will be able to turn even faster laps without overheating the front - I'm still working on that as a general thing for all combos - it's one way you know you're improving: faster times with less tire heating.

Hope you find this helpful

Thanks for the advice. I should mention that I ran the race a couple of nights ago.

I had to laugh when you mentioned so many ways to die. It was absolute carnage for everyone that night haha. Including some really good racers.

I was using R2 in that hotlap, but I used R3 in the race as the right front would overheat far too much after 3 laps or so. R2 was always used for the rear.

I like your advice on the consistency as while I was soundly beaten by very good drivers on the night, I managed to set my best time ever that night. I had no chance of catching up to anyone so just calmed down and got in a groove. I promptly ended up on my roof not long after that, that was my fault as I was actually coming up to moving up a position so went harder and cut the corner too much.

Thanks for the update ..... not surprised about the carnage - it is a dangerous combo :hyper: which is why I ran on about consistency and groove.

Sorry I didn't get to post sooner - but the tips on practice apply to any of the many dangerous combos (and even the non-dangerous). In a nutshell - for race preparation -> practice racing not hotlapping. This will increase your chances of survival.

You might consider revisiting the combo from time to time - when you do get your lines down smooth you really should be able to get R2 tires in front to last a long time (1 hour) at this track. Like I said - good way to judge your progress is to see your times get faster but your tires stay cooler.

See ya on the track