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How to drive the FoX?
(53 posts, started )
#1 - Rikje
How to drive the FoX?
Hello,


I've been racing in the CTRA Singleseater servers and I just can't keep that pesky Fox on the road. everytime i get into a corner it's always a question wether I make it through without spinning or not. Usually I spin when I hit the throttle again. even when I feed it in I spin.I've used the setupfield setups most of the time and it's a pain in the ass driving'em. Now I would like to have some advice on a couple of things : How can I create quick setups for the Fox and how can I actually keep it on the road ? I prefer Neutral setups with a bit of oversteer if that makes any difference

The strange thing is I have no problem keeping things such as the Fo8 on track but the Fox is just one big nightmare.

Regards
When I was learning to drive the FOX I binned it and started doing HL's in the LX6. Get to a point where you are consitant with the LX6 around a certain circuit (I did BL1) then when you have improved alot and can do good laps repeatedly move back to the FOX.

If you are spinning when getting on the power coming out of a corner then you are trying to put too much weight onto the tyre. Try, slower in, faster out. When you are applying the power the steering should be slowly released, if this makes you go wide, then turn in earlier.

Chris
you wanna know how to drive the fox? Ahh ok. Well you put it in first, then press the accelerator (dont worry about getting a biting point. LFS automatically puts the auto clutch on if your using sequential) then drive and steer.......

Seriously though, look around for a good set, and maybe go offline for half an hour so you can get a quick feel of it. After that, try having a race against some people, but dont set your ambitions too high. The fox has a tendency to wheelspin if you accelerate hard while going round a slow corner, so, while your exiting a corner be progressive with the throttle, starting of with quarter of a throttle and then going upto full throtlle. If you have warm tyres, you can usually just exit these corners early with full throttle. Braking, on nearly all of my sets, i have 60% brake bias on the front. This gives a good amount at the front, but also abit to the rear so you can bring the rear out just a little when you have to. also, put the brake power on about 900-1100, this is enough for alot of the tracks. Hope this helped
#4 - PaulH
The FOX is a great car.
Maybe you are applying too much throttle while cornering?
I've found that you have to get the car back in a straight line before applying throttle otherwise you just spin out.

Just apply extremely light throttle while going round the corner - just enough to keep you moving steadily around the bend, and then when your wheels are straight, floor it and all should be good. Too much throttle around the corners and you'll just spin out.

Keep practicing and eventually you'll get a feel of how to control the car and the way it handles.
Could you attach a replay of your driving? Nobody can tell you what you're doing wrong without seeing you drive the car.
come join me on the GFC servers and I'll give you a few pointers. I've got plenty of top quality sets too. Ones that are driveable and able to run WRE pace.

Should be in there tonight at some point. If I'm not there I'm sure some other GFC community members will be about to help you.

GF
#7 - Rikje
Okay I'm gonna try some of the things you guys have said and then put the replay here

Edit: here it is http://www.megaupload.com/nl/?d=58TL5W7D sorry for using megaupload but I couldn't think of any other upload place :-/
#8 - PaulH
Your as good as me. My best time (though I haven't practiced much anymore on that track) is 1.12, so the only advice I can really offer after watching your reply is "practice".
I haven't had S2 for long (about a month), and had my wheel set for about 2 weeks, so haven't had much time to practice. I normally race on the Aston Club track, and my best time is 1.03, and can't seem to budge it up - average is 1.05.

I'd be interested to see advice myself because you drive like me
#9 - DeKo
Quote from Rikje :Okay I'm gonna try some of the things you guys have said and then put the replay here

Edit: here it is http://www.megaupload.com/nl/?d=58TL5W7D sorry for using megaupload but I couldn't think of any other upload place :-/

From doing a quick test drive, the setup is absolutely horrible. I like my FOX's setup on the oversteery side of things but that is just ridiculous. What you could try is go on the redline server running bl1 and ask somebody for a decent setup, chances are youll get one.
Quote from Rikje :Okay I'm gonna try some of the things you guys have said and then put the replay here

Edit: here it is http://www.megaupload.com/nl/?d=58TL5W7D sorry for using megaupload but I couldn't think of any other upload place :-/

You can upload attachments to the forum if they're not too big.


You certainly weren't spinning at every corner, so you seem to be doing OK really. Lap 1, at the chicane, you spin because you touched the kerb with your left wheels, so your right wheels had more grip and pushed the car around. If you'd lifted off the throttle a bit or countersteered as you touched the kerb you might have been OK, but avoiding that kerb would be even better. It doesn't gain you any time to drive over that kerb.

Not sure why you spun at the end of the lap, but you had a bad line through the corner and should've braked lightly once you realised you were going to miss the apex, rather than trying to steer your way out of it.

Overall I would say your steering could be smoother, but your throttle application looks OK. Try to relax a bit more - jerking the wheel around quickly will unsettle the car and cause slides when the tyres give up.

I don't know the Blackwood / FOX combo very well but you don't seem to use the brake pedal much. It looks like you're relying on friction from the front tyres to slow the car down on the way into corners, but this means you have to turn the steering wheel too much so that the front tyres slide. If you braked enough before the corner you could steer less during the corner, and be ready to apply the throttle earlier on the exit - and that is the key to fast lap times.
Here is a good setup, courtesy of one of our team members, danny (leifde)
Attached files
FORMULA XR_Grip Setup.set - 132 B - 330 views
thanks nathan for the setup. I'll try it out tonight. Also I found out that I only have problems with the oversteer setups. Like I said I prefer neutral setups. When I have the proper setup I can be really quick and often get into great fights. Too bad I don't have those fighs that often. Anyone able to point me out how to create a neutral quick setup btw ? Or a guide whateer ?
ok... well If I was you, I'd take Gentlefoots offer. He's very very good driver in fox on as2 best place to learn it.

Basically, first corner, brake at 75m, min speed 85 or so, be gentle with throttle till u learn to use it (bit of counter steering as u add power does wonders), chicane is flat out. Final corner is brake 2nd sign on left, again min speed 85-90 or so, n gentle with power till u learn to use it.
When I first stepped into the FOX, I hated it as I had the same problems as you, now its my favorite car

Like everyone has suggested, go to one of the Redline Racing servers, and ask for a set up. If you are still having problems controlling it out of the corners, try increasing the downforce, that will help keep it glued to the track.

Are you using a keyboard or wheel?
Quote from Rikje :thanks nathan for the setup. I'll try it out tonight. Also I found out that I only have problems with the oversteer setups. Like I said I prefer neutral setups. When I have the proper setup I can be really quick and often get into great fights. Too bad I don't have those fighs that often. Anyone able to point me out how to create a neutral quick setup btw ? Or a guide whateer ?

Had a look at your laps mate. Not surprised you made a few mistakes. When I tried your set it felt to me as though there was a little bit too much mid corner understeer and way to much power oversteer.

I have attached a very fast setup for you. Don't change anything in it . Just try and get used to it and the lap times will fall. I have also uploaded a hotlap (although not that hot) to the Hotlap ranking. Its ranked 153 and is a 1:08.63. I haven't driven this track for a long time so those laps you see are really me just warming up. I'm sure my PB will drop into the 7s with some effort on my part.

Watch the hotlap and try the set. Try and copy what I do.

This is how I approach the lap:

T1 - Brake 75m out and turn in late aiming to apex right between the 2nd and 3rd drain covers. Don't let the car drift out wide, stay tight and point the car towards the first apex of T2.

T2 - You need to have it fully floored as soon as you have the car pointed in the right direction nice and straight after leaving T1. Take a tiny bit of each kurb and be ready to release a bit of steering lock if the back goes light.

1st split time needs to be low 23s.

T3 after the long straight - brake at the start of the kerbing on the left, turn in late aiming to apex at the second set of barrels. Use all the exit width you can, right across onto the green fake grass stuff.

T4 S - Try and straight line this as much as possible. Take all of the second kerb on the left that you can and use all the width on exit.

2nd split time needs to be low 49s

T5 - 4th Gear, nice late turn in and all the width on exit. Very straight forward corner this apart from the fact you have to get back across the track as quickly as possible for the final turn.

T6 S - This corner is flat out. Turn in from as far out right as possible and turn in just where the kerbing on the right finishes. Just keep trying it flat and eventually you will find the line.

Quite a tricky circuit this so be patient.
Attached files
FORMULA XR_BLGP1_08_40.set - 132 B - 326 views
Sorry for the late reaction. I've had a go with your setup Gentlefoot and it's just brilliant. it reminds me of a setup I used back in demo in the XRG. It consisted of sliding through the corners and it was really quick.

I've done a few laps just doing what you typed and I just pumped out a 1.09.02 without any problems. I know I can go a wholelot faster with this setup. Gonna have a look at your hotlap now and see where I can win more time
Quote from Rikje :Sorry for the late reaction. I've had a go with your setup Gentlefoot and it's just brilliant. it reminds me of a setup I used back in demo in the XRG. It consisted of sliding through the corners and it was really quick.

I've done a few laps just doing what you typed and I just pumped out a 1.09.02 without any problems. I know I can go a wholelot faster with this setup. Gonna have a look at your hotlap now and see where I can win more time

Glad to help my friend

btw - that hotlap was not a very good lap. I missed several apexes so don't copy it too well

Hey, have a look at my trackguides too at http://gentlefoot.com
Really nice site you have gentlefoot! Are you going to add more of those trackguides cause they are absolutly awesome
Quote from Rikje :Really nice site you have gentlefoot! Are you going to add more of those trackguides cause they are absolutly awesome

Thanks mate. Yes, the plan originally was to do one for each round of the GFC. Then I quit my job and started a business so am too busy to do them. I do intend to add more though. Its very satidfying creating them. Just need more hours in the day
I think the formula cars are unrealistic, i mean, your way out of the corner, yet the rears light up... that '****' didn't even happen in 1960's
except maybe the BRM when it was in the powerband to do so.
#21 - Jakg
Thats because even in the 60's they had a thing called throttle control.
Quote from Jakg :Thats because even in the 60's they had a thing called throttle control.

I don't understand what you mean mate
#23 - Jakg
Quote from BlueFlame :I don't understand what you mean mate

F1 drivers are top of their game, and GP2 drivers are also very good - LFS'ers? Most aren't quite as good...

A lot of people spin the FOX simply because they don't have the car control to re-act quick enough / modulate the throttle enough to stop themselves spinning. The quick guys at the front aren't continually spinning/sliding because if they were they would neither be quick nor at the front, they hold the car on the limit, and if they occasionally overstep it they can correct it before you notice it. To compare a group of people who want to be racing drivers, but aren't (while some are good enough, most LFS'ers aren't. Including me.) to a bunch of people who are is silly.

Also IRL a track doesn't have a uniform amount of grip everywhere, and with changing weather can change lap after lap, meaning they aren't as near the limit as we are in LFS, and while they are trying to get round as quick as the track allows them at 23.5° with damp, but drying, section in T1, T3 & T6, we are trying to get that extra MPH in each turn, we are pushing the limits of the car more and so we spin...
If you think i just slam the throttle on, when i think its safe, you would be wrong, i am progressivly improving in whatever i do.

but be warned, im on the alkies so just ignore what i say tbh
#25 - Jakg
Quote from BlueFlame :If you think i just slam the throttle on, when i think its safe, you would be wrong, i am progressivly improving in whatever i do.

I had about 4 hours racing the fox last night, and provided you dont jam the throttle (unless the nose is virtually straight) you can quite easily use the throttle, combined with the feedback from the wheel and some sound, work out how much to increase the throttle by and get good exits.

In the BL1 racing i was doing for 2 hours, i spun 3 times - first one was trying to gently apply the throttle and having to go on the grass to avoid someone suddenly - understanable - the second was having a loose setup, and drafting someone into a corner, loosing all front downforce and understeering wildly, and overcorrecting, the third was clipping a kerb, which at BL1 can grab the car violently and spin it round - more of an LFS bug than me.

I'm not a very good driver in the FOX either

No offence, but you've only done 2k miles, its no wonder your finding it hard to drive.

How to drive the FoX?
(53 posts, started )
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