We all have our favorite track and car combo. For me its either the FZR at AS NAT, UF1 at FB1 and FOX at SO1. So here is a challenge: Fire up LFS, start a new online game, make it private, start at Blackwood and pick the one car or cars you would NEVER drive there. Race 5 laps, see how you like it. Then do reversed, rallycross and rallycross reversed, then move on to another track.

We all like to get in the groove of familiarity, and I think that just doing this will really open your eyes to how expansive LFS is.
For example, I took the XRT out on Blackwood tonight. Until that time, I had never done one lap with it. It was a blast! I never knew how fun the XRT really is.

I've been discovering new car / track combos on the STCC servers lately. I just wish there were more players online at night in the North American timezones as the STCC scoring system makes it difficult score points and progress when the fields you're racing against are small.

Quote from jayhawk :

Fire up LFS, start a new online game, make it private

are you aware that lfs does have a singleplayer mode ?

anyway i love racing unfamiliar combos ... and i find it saddening that the whole odd compo idea just crashed and burned before it ever even took off

Quote from Shotglass :

are you aware that lfs does have a singleplayer mode ?

Yes, but if you go online LFSW will log your times so you can see your progress.

I've driven just about every combination out there, apart from silly ones like UF1 at Aston GP.

I would but i want my silver STTC licence

Maybe at the weekend

I'm still trying to get my STCC bronze lisence. there are too many XRGs and there's too fast for us XFGs. I tried the UF1s but they are too slow for me

Quote from Zachary Zoomy :

I'm still trying to get my STCC bronze lisence. there are too many XRGs and there's too fast for us XFGs. I tried the UF1s but they are too slow for me

UF1 is much more fun because the races are generally tighter. You can also cave in the front and run on three wheels and still be somewhat competitive.

I got my Bronze running the UF1 ~90% of the time. Still doing it while working on my Silver.

Quote from Zachary Zoomy :

I'm still trying to get my STCC bronze lisence. there are too many XRGs and there's too fast for us XFGs. I tried the UF1s but they are too slow for me

I'm guessing you haven't tried the UF1's at SO Classic

My favorite car track combo (im S1 only) is the XRT at Fern Bay Black.


I used to hate the FXR (if thats the name of the FF you start with), but the STCC has grown it on me, a little bit. I also used to never like the LX's, but after driving them, i realized how much of a blast they are. Especialy the LX6.

Funny story about the LX6, my friend (not a car freak, like i am) came over today, and i let him try LFS. I started him off with the FXR (or whatever the little understeer monster is called), and he could barley drive it. He though it was really impossible to controll, but he atleast has SOME sim driving experience, because hes played GT4 with the DFP at my house a couple times.

He thought it was really hard to control, so i said. Here, ill give you an easyer car. I stuck him with the LX6, and sat back and enjoyed the show

My problem is I can't stand the TBO class. I pretty much spent the last 2 years (since S2 was released) in the FZR. I try to drive TBO and the cars are just sooooo unresponsive. It's like I turn the wheel and... and... and... there, now the car turns.

I just jumped on the STCC servers a week ago or so. Sketchy, I think we were racing a few nights. Anyways, with the lack of active S2 racers, I jumped back to the demo servers but just couldn't put up with the wrecking. I was looking for some XFG fun though, so I joined the STCC server. I could care less about the license points as I'm just looking to race the XFG right now. And I don't plan on moving up to that dreaded TBO server either (dreaded as in the cars, not the racers or the STCC system).

So.... with the STCC, I find myself running on tracks I never really did before, especially the Rally tracks. Two years with LFS and I never really did any rally. FE Green Rally was fantastic. Only problem I had lately is the last 4 nights of racing STCC was either SO Classic or SO Classic reverse. Forwards it's not too bad, but the reverse I wasn't fond of at all. Nor am I fond of racing the same circuit that is one of my least favorite for 4 nights straight.

Oh well, hopefully there's something different tonight since there's no hockey game for me to watch....

Quote from BuddhaBing :

I've been discovering new car / track combos on the STCC servers lately. I just wish there were more players online at night in the North American timezones as the STCC scoring system makes it difficult score points and progress when the fields you're racing against are small.

In what time do you play (GMT +1)?

Inspired by the LX4 is sublime thread, I've been doing laps at Blackwood Rev, until now I hadn't tried either. In the case of the LX4, I thought it was about setup, or the fact that I'm a mouse driver (throttle control) which put me off- but it really is just about practice. So I'm starting to get a little better.

Quote from N I K I :

In what time do you play (GMT +1)?

GMT-8, which means that I usually play LFS when everyone in Europe is either asleep or at work/school. Those of us in North America and Australia sometimes have a hard time finding online races; it's not unusual for there to be fewer than 20 licensed users online when I check the servers.

Doesn't shock me at all, LFS is definitely a Euro-focussed thing right now.
Until the legend spreads, recruit all your friends and family and anyone interested. And if they're not interested, beat them until they agree to play

As for the challenge - I don't think there's a sensible combo I've not already run (UF1/Aston GP/GT is just silly ), and it's just a shame we don't see more unusual ones online. Hopefully if a proper in-game rotation setup was possible we might, but then again who can tell? The cars I really love are the underdogs - XRT, RB4, FZ5, FXR - and no server runs them without the rest of the class in there as well, meaning it's nearly impossible to be competitive.

Still, we can dream

Quote from Dajmin :

The cars I really love are the underdogs - XRT, RB4, FZ5, FXR - and no server runs them without the rest of the class in there as well, meaning it's nearly impossible to be competitive.

All I can say is soon XRR only servers might start appearing

Quote from Zachary Zoomy :

I'm still trying to get my STCC bronze lisence. there are too many XRGs and there's too fast for us XFGs. I tried the UF1s but they are too slow for me

piffle - the XRG handles worse but has more power and is harder, its only faster at WE and AS, everywhere else its a little slower.

UF1 + SO1R =

Quote from Dajmin :

The cars I really love are the underdogs - XRT, RB4, FZ5, FXR - and no server runs them without the rest of the class in there as well, meaning it's nearly impossible to be competitive.

Dead Men Racing often run the XRT or FXR on their own. Haven't seen them using the FZ5 for a while but last time I think they had both RA and FZ5 running. Their server is a nice place to race too.

Quote from Jakg :

piffle - the XRG handles worse but has more power and is harder, its only faster at WE and AS, everywhere else its a little slower.

There's very little in it at most tracks IMO, except for the occasional circuit like BL2 where it's very hard to stay on the pace of the XFGs. XRG is a lot more fun too.

i drive the XRG because i LOVE it (although i suck in EVERY other RWD car!), i think people get confused because the people in the XRG just tend to have more skill

Quote from Jakg :

i drive the XRG because i LOVE it (although i suck in EVERY other RWD car!), i think people get confused because the people in the XRG just tend to have more skill

Exact opposite here. I hate FWD. Like I said (maybe in another thread), I pretty much drove exclusively the FZR since S2 was released. Yet I love the XFG over the XRG. I hate the FXO and would always choose XRT in that class because of RWD. Yet, I always choose the XFG over XRG. I do love that folks like to mix the servers up with these two now rather than when it was XFG all the time.

That has nothing to do with skill for me. I just have more fun with the high revving XF over the XR.

I'll need to look up the Dead Men Racing server the next time I'm online, then. It all sounds good to me (even if I don't have a decent FZ5 skin yet) - thanks for the heads up

[Edit: Ooh, when did I pass 800 posts? Yay me!]

Quote from Dajmin :

I'll need to look up the Dead Men Racing server the next time I'm online, then. It all sounds good to me (even if I don't have a decent FZ5 skin yet) - thanks for the heads up

Yeah I think the only car I haven't skinned yet is the FZ5/R. I might drive them more if they weren't grey...

They like the LX4 a lot at DMR too, and there's a good range of pace across the regulars so you should find at least a couple of people to race against.

I'm in school afternoon so I race in European morning
8:00 - 11:00 (GMT +1)
In this time there is usually max. 10 racers on STCC 2, and almost no one is fast . But I still race in that time, weekend is time when I can race when ever I won to

I do this kind of stuff with DaveWS on the Clownpaint server, we each select a random combo then move on after one race. I think this kind of racing will improve your car knowledge and control and what not ten fold, because you're always on a new combo and you've only got one race to get a good time.

Quote from Rooble :

I do this kind of stuff with DaveWS on the Clownpaint server, we each select a random combo then move on after one race. I think this kind of racing will improve your car knowledge and control and what not ten fold, because you're always on a new combo and you've only got one race to get a good time.

For a n00b like me who after 8000 miles still can't drive an XFG on BL GP under 1:35 a new combo every one race would result in my head exploding all over my wheel from information overload...!!!

:sheep: