Ok I do know that I am a noob and many may consider me incompetent in road course racing (I'm an oval racer for those who dont know me). So I decided to get better on the road course
The setup I used is the default setup: [hardtrack]
Track is South City Classic
I used the cars XRT (twice cause currently it's my fav), FXO, and the RB4
I'll have to thank the STCC broadcasts for helping me find the racing line.
Hey Lizard, this is Captain if you remember from Junkies =]. My advice is to learn on the most common combo available. Blackwood GP with an XRT. Once you get you're times to at least 1:26, you'll be confident in the line and it will be easier and quicker to learn the lines of other tracks. Practice Practice, no different from the oval =] (which, might i add, people don't give enough credit to)
Learn this lesson once. The easy/hard setups are rubbish. Don't even bother with them. Download the complete WR setups from Setup Field (links on lfs site), and use one of those. After that, its all practise. Oval is great, but really its wind in, wind out the wheel, nail the apex's, and keep it flat. The skill most ppl have the most trouble learning is learning to use the least turn on the wheel (to minimise drag from steering tyres). After that, its nail the braking point so you always nail the apex, that equals fast exit speed. Remember the axiom, slow in, fast out. The exit is much more important than the entry, particularly on important corners (onto straights). Last skill u have to learn is throttle control, and getting on the throttle earlier and earlier.
Practise those skills, and your times will tumble very fast Also, download Analyse for Speed (LFS site), and do some hotlaps, output the data of ur most average lap, and compare it to the output data of a WR hotlap. You'll learn alot how fast guys get fast, much more than u can from replay.
Ok, heres my STCC Setups (Jack Green, you might remember me from the SO Classic race where I overtook lots of people, including my team mate under a safety car, netting me a nice DQ :S) from the SO Classic Race, not sure if they are the best with the new patch (Preload et al), but they were good enough for me to set a 50.98 in Quali using the STCC forced aids
The setup names are fairly obvious, with the HL one lasting about 2 laps, but being the quickest when the tyres are hot.
Firstly, it's always a best idea to stuff like practice runs in hotlap mode, so that then later on you could use AnalyseForSpeed to compare the lap to the WR lap to see where your loosing out.
Your replay (the FXO one at least, i'm an FXO whore!):
Firstly, if you don't mind the annoying sound, flatshift - that is to DISable "Throttle Cut On Upshift" In LFS, which means it won't cut the throttle when upshifting, keeping up turbo boost, good for about 0.2 "free" seconds when on the limit, but makes a weird noise.
I only watched lap 3 carefully as it was your fastest (no offence, but "fastest" is a subject term when your 6 seconds of the WR)
Turn 1 (ish) is, with VERY sticky tyres, full throttle (although do NOT try that consistently, you WILL crash, i've got 700 laps in the FXO here and even i have trouble doing it without VERY toasty tyres and my lovely setup), however just a little let of the throttle does wonders, maybe even some brakes to stabilize the car - it's amazing what the right turn in point/line will get you round this corner. (Plus it should be in 5th :P) You get on the throttle too late (when i do lift the throttle there, i'm pretty much always back on full by the apex to keep the boost up).
Turn 1 (proper turn) you brake WAY to early, then "coast" into the corner, apexing too early and getting the power down too late, and as you put the power down the wheels spin, due to your line you understeer and clip the wall.
Chicane - You should be braking just before the first apex iirc, going from the right side of the track to the left past the apex, clipping apex #2, you will then need to be applying the power at apex #2, gently, drifting the car towards the middle of the track, giving it more power, and using the power to get the car to go in a straight line to apex #3 and #4. You need to get the throttle down earlier, and you need to realise the throttle (in moderation) can help keep the car stable, by keeping the front going faster than the rear (if you know what i mean).
Use the red bus lane, run parallel to the wall for a lot of the way down into the last turn, use ALL of the track.
Last turn - Turn in a little later, use all the track on the entry, apex a little later and get the throttle down earlier, although it woulda been a good corner if your setup wasn't so crap.
If i were you i'd try some engine braking, too (although i am an Engine Braking whore, which in a real car turns into Engine Breaking :P)
Hope this helps, Jakg.
PS - Are you using auto gears? If so turn it off NOW!