I've just got LFS, and I'm far from a pro racer, but I'm amazed at just how far off the pace I am. Racing at Aston Cadet in a UF1000, the winners are lapping in 1:07, but the best I can do is 1:11.5, no matter how I tweak my setup. I'm using a joystick to drive with.

My question for anyone better than me (which is everyone at the moment, lol!) is what am I doing wrong? Any hints gratefully received!

Thanks

If you just got LFS, you're VERY good to be only 4s off the pace of the winners. Grats and welcome. Just continue practicing

I would recommend leaving the setup as it is (unless it's absolutely horrible!) and concentrate on putting the laps in. Every time you adjust the setup, you'll knock your progress back a little as it takes time to get used to it. I'm still using the default race_1 setups for a lot of the cars and can just about keep up with the pack

I agree with Durbster about getting the laps in, don't get hung up on setups, practice the line and brake/accelerating first... That said I would say to not use the race_1 setup but grab a decent setup from a relatively fast racer online and practice with that. At least one person on a server will always give you a setup if you ask nicely.

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. I guess I just need to keep plugging away then

To be quick in the UF1000 is actually quite difficult, it's very easy to drive but every little mistake punishes your laptime badly.

Yup, the UF-1000 is a one trick pony. That trick is called momentum. You lose it, you lose the race. It does not have the other ponies (horsepower) to compensate.

Like Bob says, it is a difficult car to drive quickly. 4 seconds off the pace at Cadet is quite a bit since it is such a short course. Don't get discouraged. Download some hotlap replays. Watch the lines and brake points. See how they maintain speed through the corner. Watch for where and how much they get back on the gas. Drive as smoothly as possible. Try to find Bob's easy race setups listed here on the forum. They are quite good. Don't change anything on the sets, just drive them. Figure them out, see how they behave. You will get faster.

When I want to get a track in mind with a particular car, I'll hop in single player and do ten or so laps. Then I go online, hop on a server, and watch one of the race leaders from the in-car view. I get a good idea of what lines to follow, braking points, curve speeds. Then, I return offline and try to duplicate that. Of course, I still suck, but that's a pretty good way to learn cars/tracks.

attach a reply now, and in a few days time too and we can say what your doing right/wrong and give you tips a bit better .

like go a few mph/kph quicker

Nice idea Rich. Here it is, any help appreciated! The second lap is better than the first.

Quote from MarkMBT :

Nice idea Rich. Here it is, any help appreciated! The second lap is better than the first.

Even though it's not as fast as other drivers, you're a very smooth driver

Why thankyou I figured smooth was the way to go with a low powered car, but there must be another level of smooth or something out there...

I just watched your replay, and it really isn't that bad. You're not jerky, you're not locking up, and you're in control of your car very well. Too well, actually. You need to drive more like a maniac to be on par with the leaders.

Quite simply, you need more speed. Your apex speeds were 20-25% off the WR speeds (try watching a few replays; compare the speedometers). Losing that much momentum hurts your straight-line speeds in such a slow car, and that's where most of the time is lost.

So how do you get better corner velocity? You need oversteer. Brake later, and continue later into the corner. With a rearward-enough brake bias, your rear end should start to go out a bit. Sliding loses a lot of speed, however, so you have to be very smooth. But losing some speed is a good thing, as long as you enter the corner with a big enough head of steam. The idea is to scrub off just enough speed by the point you hit the apex that you can go full throttle again the whole way out (if you can go full throttle before the apex, you weren't fast enough on the entry). And be sure to use the whole curbing on the exit; there's no reason to jump back into the middle of the road so quickly. (Try to turn as slowly as possible on the straights; any lateral movement scrubs off speed.)

Just a few other notes. You had a full tank of gas, which is not what the leaders use. I don't know how much time that costs, though, but it is probably over a second (maybe two) for that car/track. Also, if you really want to challenge the leaders, having your tires at 50 degrees all around is worth a few tenths, at least (good luck getting the rears up there, though). Finally, I really don't know much about setups for that track. I have had the most success using a very stiff rear and a soft front, in order to maximize oversteer. But I'm still a second off the WR (although I am only using a mouse), so what do I know?

Good luck. You will get better.

Thanks for the hints, last night I got a 1:10.34 in an online race, so I'm improving. I like that LFS seems to give a sense of achievement in getting the times down.

Another question that occurs to me though - how clean is clean? How much contact is ok, and how much is not on? I'm trying to avoid contact, but occasionally get a bit over enthusiastic and end up with some BTCC style paint rubbing. Others seem happy with different levels of contact, but are there any community guide thoughts on that at all?

Thanks for that Schooner