This text will teach you about oval driving.
As all other tracks you can pass basically where ever you want, but in oval not. You have to time your passing by looking the cars ahead of you and lift your gas pedal. That is most important thing there is. sure you can pass where ever you want in oval too, but then you are lowbrain noob and everybody hates you. and eventually you get ban all servers there is.


WHY THERE IS LOW POPULATION AT OVAL SERVERS?

Noobs doesnt join if they see there are only 2-3 drivers at server. When they see server is growded bit more then the rush is quaranteed, and soon there is 6 - 10 drivers to make live misserable. And if car is BF1 then noob rush is huge.
I have joined many servers with fake racername past 4 years and witnessed this happen its always fun to watch, i recomend. There is always shouting and namecalling & plenty of crashing expecially when unskilled player loose, they just start to ram everyone out.

WHY THEY JOIN?

Well because they think it gives you easy win and racing with high speed. It is circle track, win the race is easyest thing you can do there just block like hell or crash others out?. One reason is allso that they are not cabable of driving a real cirguit, often these kinds of fellas has very low intelligent or some handicap but thats ok.
Racing with high speed sounds nice and easy maybe fun too, but its not, it might be fun if you own brains. Oval racing in lfs is a bit like chess game, you have to think 1 step forward than opponent or even more.
There is surten thing you should have and that is patience, you have to all the time estimate what happens on track, expecially if you are stupid enough to join some kind of league.

One important thing is smooth steering. Very often oval noobs use bad wheel settings so they set up wheel degree to 200 or lower instead of 720. 540 etc or they use Keyboard, mixing Ks driver and lag and crash is quaranteed. Wheel setup making to arcade is very common in circuit racing too, it has many benefits... But then u only cheat urself and thats other story.


HOW TO DRIVE OVAL?

Driving solo is most stupiest thing you can do, always cooperate with someone, 2 cars are faster than 1 and 3 cars even faster. if you join server and there is 2-3 people spectatin, plis dont go alone the track and start driving empty circle alone like a douche, those people who spectate are laughing their ass off. Instead of driving, join spectators and wait until server get populate of pros (FM).

The thing is to make 3-5 car train/pattern which will chance by passing order depending the turn they are going, eventually the pack will go faster and faster and makes better lap times.
If you are noob you dont just join and try to race there, that only makes you imbesil. (which you allready are) racing in oval is huge mistake. I have seen many noobs trying to race, sooner or later they will loose the pack and then they go side of the track waiting when cars comes and then they will crash the whole pack out.
It is not a race, no point to race in a circle, the point is to make fast time by cooperate with others. it can be race if server has 20+ drivers who can drive (draft) with others and thats not gonna happen in lfs sadly...


WHEN TO PASS? AND WHERE?

When doing 2 car draft, you pass every 3 turns, not at the bend (except owr). If it looks like you gonna make pass in bend, lift off and wait until you can do it at t1, this is called long pass. If you pass in bend then you do double pass. Doobie pass is faster than normal pass if you have timing skills. Double pass allso needs to go at hotlap line before t1.

For make good pass you have to look cars speed in front of you and estimate the pass. Make the pass only if you think you are 1st car of the group in next straight. if you think you can not manage, stay back
However if you made the pass then you propably end up left side of the train and you are looser, or you made french pass and you can survive if you are lucky.
Pass have to happen before turn, near turn in point, so you will reach maximum speed at upcomming turn. you will not pass if the car ahead of you wont make pass or you are late. Late pass can destroy pattern.

When cars get more than 2 the faster the pattern goes, therefore you have to react much faster and loosing the pack is more and more likely. experienced drivers can improvise the pack so they example
let car behind pass early if there is high chance that 1 car is gonna loose the pack. ( usually t1 when late 4-5 car pass)

Sometimes cars get timing so perfect there is good chance for drop pass, basically it is late pass but in drop pass cars are outside a lot, and last car will get not only huge speed but best turn in point and therefore great
apex. Get behind draft is more easier in drop pass than normal pass...

3-6 car draft passin is very simple. Cars are line up in straight and when turn comes the 1st car have to look mirrors and let as much room as there are cars gonna pass, iex. if 3 cars passes then make room for 3 cars...
If you are 3rd car or 4th car you dont pass untill car ahead of you make pass, otherwise you will loose draft and you destroy pattern. Often noob idiots will do this because they dont have brains or temptation to lift off
this is very common mistake, they think its fun to crash others, its not






Oval terminology:


Short pass= turning inside of car very fast so you pass very early, and therefore make good laptime ( often made at t3)
Long pass= Lift off to gain maximum speed behind car (very common at t1)
Normal pass = 2 or more cars pass others
Double pass/Doobie = 2 cars passing at bend / Kink so they pass others twice in finish straight (OWRL ONLY)
Drop pass = 4-5 car draft when pass happends at green line. for work need to be perfect timing.
French pass = when a car behind dives whole group and messes up whole thing (frogs). usually oval noobs do this.(or french people)
But whatsoever its named by a driver (frogs) who gained good times by doing this, its effective only by drivers who can see whole track and cars and can adapt chancing situation
Safe = When 2nd car is next to 1st car (left side) usually caused by french pass then 3rd car have to pass due to save pattern.
Hotlap line = line what wr holders use when hotlap, outside lane of track to gain maximum speed, its not fastest line but it is the most speedy one. Allso 3rd lane before t1 when using OWR
Doobie= cigar?

t1= turn number 1 longest tyrn. can reach huge speed
t2= turn number 2 the fastest turn. cars behind have to react quickly to get behind.
t3= turn number 3 most difficult turn. have to be good timing to make this turn perfect.
Kink / Bend = Not a turn, small curve before finish line. Very often noobs crash here (xyx)

Draft= Abusing a suction which is caused by a car ahead of you.
windsurfing =see Draft
Side draft= doesnt exists
Bumbdraft= driving a cars ahead of yours bumber so you gain huge speed

OWRL= open wheelers ( fox, fbm, bf1, fo8)
GTR= GTR cars (FXR, XRR, FZR)
1st car= car number 1 leader car. goes to last place when pattern passes (3rd,4th,5th,6th)
2nd car= car number 2 aka a middle car ( brains and master of pattern)
3rd car= car number 3 goes middle car when 4 car draft (if 4 wide)
4th car= car number 4 this car job is to make pattern go faster, driver of 4th car need to have good timing skilss
5th car= car number 5 the last car. can only make pass in t1. have to be good timing and pace to make it. allso this car doesnt pass if 4th car doesnt
6th car= car number 6 sees very rarely... Basically this car never pass, but once it happend by FM^Benni, graz

Pack= group of drafting cars
pattern/train= Mandadory for make oval enjouable/fast. without this it is just chaos
chaos/chaos draft/oval hell= drivers without skills trying to be pro and crashes themself out allready t1 lap 1, passing cars at right side, under,behind,through? always pedal to metal
then blaming others and raging like mad kids.

3 wide= 3 cars pass
4 wide= 4 cars pass (skilled drivers make it every turn)
5 wide= 5 cars pass (t1 only)
6 wide= very rare (happened only once)

510N3D= Oval driver, had almost all wr's at one point
Hnebil= FZR setup maker
xyx= oval driver
Froggy/frogs/= legend
=36= = Oval clan. LFS crypt number.
Noob= you

Been waiting for this for some time, nice guide, hopefully no one will take anything of this personally and rather learn from that

omg juti GREAT JOB

true words and good advices

great guide

and great humor

You just forgot one thing... They can not take this advice to reversed configuration, please make a new one ( we know... we know... )

how about Rockingham oval?

Well i havent test that in online yet, but AI players are bit slow there just like S2 so hard to tell..

Maybe this fits here too:
https://www.lfs.net/attachment/130360
some observations about speeds and effect of slipstream in oval

Great guide thanks Jati.
i come back some day hopely.

Good

Saving this for when i'm in bad mood. OP = post of the decade material.
Shame on me for not finding this sooner.

Gets too technical after "WHEN TO PASS? AND WHERE?" for me but that's only because i'm an imbesil.

From now on, Jati writes every guide.

hyva xmas, nayta tissit

I sir, am not a Noob. I just brag about having S3 on Demo servers...

(Joke Intended)

The draft in LFS is too strong, and as a result LFS has developed a style of oval racing, and time trialing that is very difficult to learn. Few people try to race on the ovals in LFS, and most of the time is spent basically trying to turn in the best laps possible while drafting with others.

Many have began learning how to really turn up the speed on the oval, and they love doing it, but if anybody joins and they don't know the rules exactly, or execute them exactly, they will mess it up.

Also, drafting is made too localized in LFS. The draft is non-existent unless one is directly behind the other. In reality, the draft is a lot stronger there, but even following a car by an entire straightaway will, in reality, lend an advantage. As it is today, there is no advantage to this. Having 29 cars on the track in the same straight should lend a huge advantage to their speed, but in LFS it prevents building of the correct formation, and more often then not, leads to only crashes a terrible lap times.

29 cars out of formation should generally be quicker than 2 cars in formation, but the current model doesn't allow that to be even close to the case.

I don't think that LFS was built with ovals in mind. The drafting effect is sufficient with road course racing in mind, albeit a little strong.

I'd be careful, I don't think NASCAR simulators are entirely an effective guide to drafting. If you watch the Indy 500 for example, when a car is behind another, it doesn't increase the speed of the one in front as it does in a stock car. Each car will handle drafting differently, but stock cars that are used in NASCAR do handle it that way.

I think with oval racing in mind, NASCAR simulators are decent, and probably pretty effective for what they are simulating, but we shouldn't exact all types of cars to perform the same way as others in the draft

It would be awesome if ovals in LFS raced more like a race and less like a speed exhibition

I completely agree I'm more excited by the accuracy of the driving physics in every other category, and I'm glad attention was paid in areas other than drafting, but we are in full agreement. The drafting and aerodynamic physics are lacking, and we would both have a much greater appreciation of the simulator if it was fixed to be more realistic

Edit: I should have been more clear in my earlier post. I think the most attention was paid in regards to the driving physics most relevant to road racing. However, as you've pointed out, it's not sufficient or realistic for road racing even.

Quote :

As a result, oval races turn into an excercise of making sure you're 2nd or 3rd coming out of T3 on the last lap. Qualifying makes no sense, strategy has no place in these races, even driving as such is not overly important - just keep your car straight, stay with the pack, cruise for 399 laps and then make your first and only move.

Hm, sounds bit like real life
Although there is strategy involved, staying on the lead lap and such. I think in oval there is lots of tiny details that games do not simulate, especially (but not only) when oval is not their focus.

Compared to other games LFS is not really an oval sim, it is more that you can also drive oval.
(Similiar to how there is also a drag-strip.)
There is no true oval-car, so everything oval-related is already a compromise. Some stuff basically only relevant for oval is missing, for example radiator tape or options to build all kinds of stuff asymetric. But setups are always hugely simplified in games, and it shifts the focus compared to how it is done in real life.
Virtual cars do not need wrenches and it makes trying a new gearbox or wing setting a matter of seconds. So some things that in reality require lots of testing over whole race weekend are in game done in short time. And other way around some things that in reality are result of months of research are in games simplified. Real teams might complety design a part from scratch, in games you get maybe 1,2 slider options.
For road it does not matter so much, but on oval the rules leave less freedome and it comes down to tiny details in design. Or finding solutions that are borderline-legal within the rules etc.

NASCAR/Indycar have all sorts of aero tweaks forced on them by te rules to shape draft in excactly the way organizers think is good. Like how good side-drafting works or if it works at all depends on small details. If something is too boring or unsafe or otherwise not wanted the rules for the cars get adjusted or driving style gets banned. (like how bump-drafting is banned in some series) The point is race/road cars can only get so close to simulate special oval cars.

Road racing cars can oval race so long as safety is not an issue (This is a Simulator. Nobody dies from simulator crashes. )

I think a better drafting model would be a great benefit, but I don't think it's required. If it was done, you'd probably just get more stupid Americans, and their money . iRacing has already figured this out.

Edit: Here's a good video of Aerodynamics at work in IndyCar. Look at 0:49 Notice how Ryan Briscoe (on board) is gaining on Rahal (#15) until he pulls out of line of the entire pack of cars on the front stretch. In LFS that pass would have been completed, and Rahal would have only got a small pull from car that dropped down in front of him.

Then at 1:22, notice how BIG of a run Ed Carpenter (on board) gets off of Helio (#3) from running the outside line in three and four coupled with drafting, but can't make the pass until he out corners Helio in turn 1 and 2 due to the other cars in front of them staying low on the front stretch while he does high. In LFS, that pass would have happened every time, and the other car would have gotten no advantage from the cars 5-10 car lengths in front.

Then, following this, notice how Charlie Kimble (on board) make the same pass a lot quicker and easier with the cars ahead in his lane and on the inside (but way ahead this time).

Quote from Cornys :

Road racing cars can oval race

Of course, any car can go around in circles on ovals. But if it is not made with that in mind then it might not feel like what one usually expects from oval racing. Maybe there would only be one viable line (boring) or air vortexes makes following cars too unstable or there is not enough slipstream to pass or there is too much slipstream and nobody ever tries to pass in fear of instantly being counterpassed etc.
The way draft works with Indycar or nascar does not happen by chance, it is by design of the technical rules.

Quote from Gutholz :

The way draft works with Indycar or nascar does not happen by chance, it is by design of the technical rules.

I can agree with that, but I think that some things would happen regardless. Example being, the effect that other cars have on each other when they are not directly near each other, but at greater distances.

Quote from R1hard :

Yes, It's a gentelman's cruising club. I used to race for victory, ended up being hated by everyone and banned. OP just copy-pasted here somebody else's work as an "oval bible" wich is just a guide for their cruising club how to drive pattern with FZR.

No no you got banned for using hack as you have been on several other servers using the R1hard username + the 3-4 other accounts you have, all banned np!

Quote from ymeshulin :

I guess this will not be a popular response, but I disagree with pretty much everything the author says about passing on an oval.

Sure, forcing a pass, trying silly 8-wide passes is a true sign of a noob (imbecile, crasher, etc.), however I personally believe in passing everywhere where you can complete the pass without forcing fellow drivers into a crash avoidance mode. In other words, if you are confident (IMPORTANT: AND have enough skills) you can pass 3 cars in T3 - go ahead, and do it.

The big problem of LFS is that the drafting effects of all cars are greatly exaggerated, making oval racing a joke. As a result, oval races turn into an excercise of making sure you're 2nd or 3rd coming out of T3 on the last lap. Qualifying makes no sense, strategy has no place in these races, even driving as such is not overly important - just keep your car straight, stay with the pack, cruise for 399 laps and then make your first and only move.

Some comments about the screenshots provided by the author:

01. I see nothing wrong in the "Example of bad driving", apart from driving on an apron. It has to be said, that this type of driving can only be acceptable when everybody around knows what they are doing. My rule is: even if you are racing against an idiot, never teach him lessons - let him get back onto the track, as this will lessen the chance of him wiping out the entire field. However, if everybody has skills, why not do something hardcore on the last lap? Or, is this a gentleman's cruising club?

02. I don't see a problem with what the author calls "Drop pass". Again, only true if you're confident you are racing against experienced drivers. Having raced on LFS servers for around a year, I figure the biggest issue is the noobs' inability to see / hear / know what's happening around them. For instance, if a car disappears from my mirror, I am sure it's now either on my left, or my right. Noobs completely ignore this idea, and continue to drive as if they do solo hotlapping - they turn into the corner like there's no tomorrow. Again, if you are racing against experienced folks who know what's going on, you can do more hard racing.

03. What's so wrong with T3? A great corner, which can create some unorthodox moves. Cars with less grip may want to take the outside, more banked part of the track to scrub less speed, where faster cars with more grip stick to the bottom. It's a double apex corner, and after you have learned how your competitors drive that turn, you can play around that and plan some moves.

That's my take on oval racing in general and this post in particular. Any opinions are warmly welcomed.

To make this very ultra short --> Go drive a few races on the oval against some fast drivers,,, You will quickly find yourself struggling!

And no you will most likely not pass anyone(fast drivers)around the outside of T3 unless we are talking about absolute beginners,,

As your lfsworld stats lists you as having done a total of 83 laps around the KY1 track which this guide refers to,

I can honestly say that you have little understanding(unless you have a 2nd lfs acc. with a lot of laps!) of how that track works and most of your assumptions are based on ignorance as to how it works at KY1 drafting multiple fast cars,

And I dont mean any offense by stating this,,

Last but not least
--> " just keep your car straight, stay with the pack, cruise for 399 laps and then make your first and only move"

Im lost for words here as to how you can even comtemplate crusing around for 399laps and then being in a position on the last lap to make a first and only move for win... Sounds yea realistic

About passing on the outside:

In many cases for me, passing on the outside is more fun, since you gain more speed while taking the longer path, so there is more side by side action going on. I had a lot of fun doing that e.g. with RAC and XRT on KY1, but I'm sure it can be done with most cars.

The problem is that it's not faster than drafting in proper formation, which means if you try passing on the outside and people ahead of you draft around the inside, there is a small chance you will keep up with them. That can lead to negative reactions from other drivers "because it's not effective", or worse, you get squeezed against the wall on the turn exit, if the other person isn't expecting you to be there. With the right people, it's great fun, however.

It also depends what the server rules are – if blocking is not allowed, there usually isn't any other way than passing on the inside, unless you start the pass in the middle of the corner.

Quote from R1hard :

You mean this? https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/1795919#post1795919
That's just how you formed it. And what is that anyway? All I see in 1st replay is I got bit laggy connection and other cars trying to crash me out. In the second replay clearly race is restarting. And the picture? just you and your buddies desperatly typing /w 1 for unknown period. And what exactly does it prove? You and your buddys are first to snitch others, meanwhile your "boss" uses nos mod/speedhack.

If some troll is using my nickname in game it definitely means that I'm the person with other account. Besides, last time I saw you online you were also using my nick. And that wasn't the first time.

No you were handed a chance to turn off your hacks( but when ignoring this consistently you were then banned!

(I honestly never had any issues with you at all (until abuse/hack)), I can respect a good fight on the last lap!

But you had some cheat enabled that day(it was not related to some lag)


I did not post any of the above mentioned pictures nor replays that you are refering to, so dont imply that I did,

Quote from R1hard :

You mean this? https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/1795919#post1795919
That's just how you formed it. And what is that anyway? All I see in 1st replay is I got bit laggy connection and other cars trying to crash me out. In the second replay clearly race is restarting. And the picture? just you and your buddies desperatly typing /w 1 for unknown period. And what exactly does it prove? You and your buddys are first to snitch others, meanwhile your "boss" uses nos mod/speedhack.

If some troll is using my nickname in game it definitely means that I'm the person with other account. Besides, last time I saw you online you were also using my nick. And that wasn't the first time.
Server host can track user IP, can't you just check it out before you start blaming? Or are you guys just a bunch of amateurs?

Normal lag doesnt thorw cars like that, that is clearly a hack what you are using. we kicked/banned you some period then u raged and put some cheats on and joined server. Too bad there is missing the replay where you went through that barrier at the end of race by using some wall hack or what ever it is...You been using hacks other servers as well.

typing /w 1 proves that u are a looser.

Go wine some other place.

Internet/online feuds.