You know other sims have side-by-side videos of real laps and replays of a car/track pair, I was curious how LFS performed under such a comparison now that we have a real track.

On this page there are several lap times of Rockingham National layout. Since none of our real cars are on the list, I decided to give a go with #52, Caterham 7 1.4 Classic (1:27.87). Checking with the specs on this page, I've added 25 KG to LX4 and added some intake restriction to get 105 HP from the actual 140. I'm guessing it should be close enough to the real thing.

On my 3rd or 4th lap, I was able to post 1:23 something. (RACE_S, cold tires, racing line on) and trust me I'm not that good with it. I'm pretty sure someone experienced with LX's can crush that easily, I'm guessing 1:19 or 1:18.

What do you guys think about this? I'd like to see similar tests. Maybe someone who actually raced on Rockingham with similar cars of LFS would provide valuable information.

Note: There's also Opel Speedster Turbo on the list (200 BHP, 930 kg), so maybe RAC would be another good candidate after setting power and weight (245 BHP, 800 kg).

I dont have s3,but i like restriction and balast experiments
evrething in search for real feeling
all cars is open we must to find good balast and restrct for real fun race
try fzr with 200 kg + 15% restrict and see real brake point just like with real car
without restrict u have good braking on 270 km for 1 second 170...this is not real

btw give me your experiment set for lx4

Formula BMW UK/Intersteps used to race at Rockingham a few years ago. Maybe there's a place where you could get the times, I don't know. James Peace used to race there, though I'm not sure if he's still around on LFS.

Though I'm not sure real life/sim times comparison will tell you a lot, there are a lot of factors coming into play, like tyres, grip, driver, etc.


Found this after a quick search on YouTube:

James Peace is active again, he even has a WR on this combo

James did a 1:18.11 while the driver in the video did about 1:22. But as you say, there are many variables that can affect the lap in real life, including the car setup.

Do you guys remember that this track was what caused Scawen's quest in search of a better physics equation? He already did these test and saw that it did not match.

The page lists "C 63 AMG Performance Package" but time is only 1:39.10?
I think side-by-side videos only makes sense to compare graphics or how exact the track was replicated. For physics/laptimes it depends too much on track condition at the time and on who is driving.

Here the main difference/problem might be to find an onboard video where the driver is really trying hard and has enough practice to make it work.
For formula bmw videos the descriptions often say something like "second day driving this car" or "was great learning experience" or "test season" so it does not seem like they really use full potential.

unfortunately I cant test it by myself( waiting my s3). but i found interesting video on youtube. start watching at 14.40 min, looks good to compare real life and LFS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8uM2XiqMgs

I made this video to compare LFS vs reality on ISSC Long configuration with LX4 (5% intake restriction + 20kg)

Nice video Kozel Pivko

I would like to get sound model from the Reality side, that metal note is missing in LFS.

Quote from VicaNo :

btw give me your experiment set for lx4

It's just RACE_S with +25 kg and %19 intake restriction, to get 105 HP. (says on the page)

Quote from Whiskey :

Do you guys remember that this track was what caused Scawen's quest in search of a better physics equation? He already did these test and saw that it did not match.

I definitely do. I'm actually dying to see Scirocco with the new tyre model, that page has Scirocco laptimes of Tiff Needell (on wet though).

You've also got to bear in mind that torque curves *will* be different for the real cars vs the LFS approximations which will effect acceleration, so a Formula BMW is probably the only thing we'll be able to decently compare. I assume Scawen got a decent amount of data from the real car.

Tyre tread/compounds can make a significant difference in lap times as well, and who knows how they compare.

Still, it's mighty close in that video, despite the gearing being way off

Quote from Whiskey :

Do you guys remember that this track was what caused Scawen's quest in search of a better physics equation? He already did these test and saw that it did not match.

It was actually the fact that the ESC in the Scirocco made the handling worse instead of better that tipped him off. The VWS had been delayed several months already before we even heard about Rockingham.

yeah, the tyres can do a lot. If you would compare two compounds, designed for the same type of car and speeds, but for different purpose (pro-like expensive short race vs cheap amateur tyre for track days), it can go probably well over +-10s. Especially if you can switch the tyre "on" by proper setup and driving style.

The video looks good, everything is of correct size and position, even bumpiness looks quite close (hard to compare from video of course, just a "feel")... probably the least real thing on LFS side is the lighting now? And second is sound? And the car looks a bit too low poly when compared to the real thing. I mean, none of these really bother me, when I want to have some race simulation, LFS looks "good enough" for me already. But there's still plenty of room for improvements.

lol fzr with 200 kg balast and 40% restriction
is faster than real porsche 911 gt2 on Rockingham ISSC
wtf

Quote from VicaNo :

lol fzr with 200 kg balast and 40% restriction
is faster than real porsche 911 gt2 on Rockingham ISSC
wtf

That gt2 has slicks tyres?.

http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/rockingham-international-super-sportscar
fzr with 200+ hp is faster than
porsche with 600+hp
try to make restriction for driving just like real
impossible

Read again

Quote from naranjopino :

That gt2 has slicks tyres?.

Quote from Flame CZE :

Read again

no man this gt2 drive fast lap with offroad tyre

seeing the laptime of other supercars mentionned on the site, it is a road car driven with road tires (most probably not even semislick tires knowing the production date, as opposed to lots of very modern supercars that are delivered with semislicks in aim to make competitive laptime when driven by journalists/testers). Compare it with a tuned FZ50 turbo, but not with a race car with penalties : it still not compete in the same class at all.

When I read here about Formula BMW times at Rockingham I thought it would be a nice challenge to test myself at ISSC And well.. James Peace is not a WR holder there anymore
Last section was not good, especially last corners, even though I decided to upload a hotlap.

...Surely he, or someone else will beat me soon but... that's the point of competitiveness


EDIT: Okay, I'm 0,5s off...