FE Green's first turn, which CTRA has modified with tire stacks, cones and haybales has a misplaced cone. As you can see, it's directly on the racing line. In most cars that cone can be clipped on every lap with no significant damage. This essentially means that the apex moves in to the corner of the haybale, it now being the outermost solid object at the first apex.

It should be removed, or the barrier reconfigured with differently-placed objects.

The cone is what dictates the racing line, not the fact that you can run the cone over. That is why the cone is there. The racing line should apex at the cone, but the fact that you can just run it over without damage causes the racing line to shift.

It is suppose to be there I'm guessing. It is there to tell you what the track is without heavy damage if you miss it.

Quote from mrodgers :

The cone is what dictates the racing line, not the fact that you can run the cone over. That is why the cone is there.

Cones never dictate the racing line. They aren't solid and heavy enough for it to make sense for drivers for avoid them during most online races. The haybale dictates the racing line in this situation.

Quote from mrodgers :

The racing line should apex at the cone, but the fact that you can just run it over without damage causes the racing line to shift.

That's what I just said.

Quote from mrodgers :

It is suppose to be there I'm guessing. It is there to tell you what the track is without heavy damage if you miss it.

Cones should never be on the racing surface; they are a only a guide to apexes, turn-in points, et cetera. I don't think CTRA intended for that cone to be hit repeatedly. But it does, because plowing right into it while just grazing the edge of the haybale is the fastest way through that chicane. If the cone were moved inward a little bit, it could still guide drivers to the apex but not be in the way.

The purpose of the cone is to provide something softer as a guideline before something harder. Remember we have more than just tin tips driven like steam rollers through any traffic calming on ours servers.


I'll consider moving it inward toward the haybale a little, this might make it harder to hit, but i'm not sure it would make any difference to a road car where the cone is, but on single seaters you respect Mr Cone, because he has very nasty things to say about you behind your back - which he can easily put you on.

Quote from Becky Rose :

The purpose of the cone is to provide something softer as a guideline before something harder.

I already said that. It should be a guideline, it shouldn't be on the racing line.

Quote from Becky Rose :

i'm not sure it would make any difference to a road car where the cone is

Nope, it sure doesn't. That was exactly my point. The haybale matters because it's heavy. Thus drivers hit the cone every lap and use the haybale as the apex. No real race track would ever put a cone on the racing line. They're only guides.

What I think would be far better would be to mark the chicane with cones and then somehow impliment a penalty system based on detecting contact with the cones, would be far safer and more realistic than the current system which causes more problems than it solves on a public server.

The cone is not on the racing line. We've covered this before. If the cone is there, then you can consider that the racing line is elsewhere. The cone is to our track layout what a chicane is to any track. You could argue that a chicane should not be there because it interferes with your racing line. This will not wash.

Quote from SamH :

The cone is not on the racing line.

The difficulty is when you take it away (like it often is) it sits right where the racing line goes. Most chicanes are marked by some kind of permanent marker that also makes it so they aren't on the racing line, usually a curb or less often a solid wall and cones and other movable objects simply are there to help stop cars taking what is obviously a cutting route. If you removed the cones or tires from 99% of the chicanes in other tracks in LFS or IRL the racing line would obviously not be through where they were, even if you can now get away without being seen.

Quote from SamH :

The cone is to our track layout what a chicane is to any track.

I'm not sure where the disconnect is here. Let me illustrate it another way. What if, hypothetically, we were discussing modifications to the first chicane on FE Club?

The blue line is the path which the outer edge of the left front tire should follow for the fastest way through the chicane (i.e. just barely off the grass). The cone on the right, as you can see, is directly on the racing line and shouldn't be there. The cone on the left is where I'm saying it should be - a guide to the apex, but not in the way. This is an analogue to the situation we're discussing on FE Green.

And just to make it clear, I'm not saying I dislike the chicane. In fact I think it could stand to be even tighter and slower to enhance passing even further. All I'm saying is that it should be assembled properly. Whichever object functions as the first apex should be heavy and should cause damage or a crash, forcing drivers to go around it rather than through it.

I follow what you're saying now. We'll have a look at it and see where changes should be made to shore up the chicane as we intend it

Thanks.