I've never really driven the GTRs much and have tried them again today, using what seem like perfectly sensible sets to me I'm still finding the car is breaking away from me, it's not hard to control at all and the slides are easy to catch, but this is obviously not the quickest way round a track. Driving consistant 2.57 laps round Aston GP and I can't for the life of me work out where I'm loosing at least 11 seconds off everbody else, I guess these cars are really about throttle control and finding a balance between lift off oversteer and too much right foot syndrome

I normally drive fairly lightly on the cars, and I lift for shifting, but I'd of thought this is only about half a second difference, not 11 seconds

Replays are worth a bazillion words.

Quote from Forbin :

Replays are worth a bazillion words.

This is true!

But some quick fixes you could try out:

1. Lower tire pressure (<17 psi)
2. Make front anti-roll much stiffer than rear
3. Use viscous LSD set at 18 or so

Those are some general settings I use for the FZR which helped the handling ten fold...at least for my style of driving.

I use some toe in on the back wheels just to give me some control over slides and I actually run about equal anti roll from and back.A clutch pack set at around 40/80 and downforce at 4/11 degrees

I'm a mouser so my tyre pressure is high (200/F at least and slighty lower at the back) and my braking power low (1100NM I think. Probs lower still)

My suspension settings are something that I came up with myself and I think it runs like a dream, but you will have to find me on a server to get them as I can't remember them now.

As I do mouse my lower gear ratios are probs longer than other peoples but it does give you slighty more control through the bendy stuff.

Gives me a return of around 2.50 on Aston GP and can bring in low 1.44's on Aston Standard (On a very good day that is.)

If you catch me out there racing I would gladly give you my set.

Download a few replays from LFSW and focus on the 2nd sector of Aston GP. It's the part where people make or lose time.

Both the XRR and FZR can behave well (and be somewhat quick) on varying setups, so I'd say it's more about making the most of your current setup by learning to drive it fast than seeking the best setup.

FZR is easy to drive, especially if you have some rear toe in. Depending on the type of set it can almost be too understeering when accelerating. Experiment with clutch pack lsd to help mid-corner behaviour. Flatshifting doesn't damage the engine in FZR

XRR is a bit harder to drive, and hard to drive fast. The turbo lag makes it tricky and the rear really steps out quickly when you're accelerating out of a bumpy corner. I've always braked a bit early with XRR to get on the throttle well in time to have as much as boost (and speed, of course) as possible out of a corner. Your laptimes improve if you flatshift, but it damages the engine quite quickly.

Like all the cars, making the most of the available power requires very good throttle control. Smooth throttle regulation is good, weight transfer is less severe then.

A replay in the XRR with FF turned on and an FZR replay with FF turned off.

My wheel is Logitech FF GP, which is past it really, especially with FF turned on the wheel inputs will actually be moved slightly when the wheel is held still, which makes high speed car control pretty much impossible.

Quote from ajp71 :

I can't for the life of me work out where I'm loosing at least 11 seconds off everbody else

Well I looked at the XRR replay as that's what I'm driving at the moment - and you're very nervous on the throttle. Sometimes you apply gas then alternately countersteer when it didn't seem like you were going to need to, then apply gas again; other times you're on the throttle and the back end is beginning to slide but you don't correct it until too late. But that stuff will simply come with practice - the XRR is a tricky thing to drive.

As for the circuit, your lines are slightly off in some sections - especially the long outfield section which is unique to aston historic and gp. All the corners flow into each other so it's vital to carry speed from one to the next.

Try (*link now removed - cheers ajp*) this replay (please let me know once you've got it so I can remove it and save my limited webspace) - I'm afraid it's a .mpr rather than a perfectly smooth .spr, but IIRC I run 1:46s and 1:47s in it, in the XRR over 10 laps. Should hopefully help you identify where you're losing the time.

Learning the big GTRs takes time. In the beginning the XRR and ZFR feel very tailhappy and that can be only be taken out by practise. As to you I would advice to check the WRs for braking points and some target speeds these cars can handle through corner. The main thing is that in those slow corners a good line is essential. And always try to adjust your line and braking so that you can start accelerating early. Also remember that when you lift throttle the car starts braking

I didn't download your setup (fzr) but it feels very pushy (but stable) in those slow corners. Maybe bit too much. Oh, and I tried too to drive some hotlaps but after 7th time I quit. Guess the playing the GTA:San andreas has taken its toll

Thanks got the replay, will check it later

Trail braking is a goo done too, but thats something that will come with practice. I can achieve a small amount with the mouse but it has taken an age of practice and setup tweakage. Mid .45 in the first As sector. The top guys are getting low .45's. But trail braking is something I am just getting to grips with and with a mouse it's not too easy (But not impossible). But as a starter stick with the braking in a straight line ethos. Brake early and get the car settled into the corner and let the car take you through the corner, don't try and force it. It's only by letting the car do it's thing that you can 'feel' for suspension adjustments. Whether you need to counter for understeer or oversteer in corner entry and exit and mid corner balance.

Just don't try and be too fast to start with. If your racing let the good guys go, you will just piss em off if you are struggling for grip or speed.

Practice and learn about the setup of cars. And have frun doing it!!

Thanks for the replay, I had a look at it and it confirmed what I believed that the XRR/FZR/LX should be predictable and fastest when driven smoothly. I changed my FF settings again, to 30%, enough to give good feedback, but not so much it's a battle to drive the car in a straight line and all I can say is I now understand why people rate LFS so highly. The XRR is actually a very easy car to drive (when compared to GPL and so on) it's easy to catch when you push it over the limit and also easy to find the limit in it, did a few laps of Aston GP in the XRR, a second faster a lap till 2.55, and I can now see where I'm loosing time and can understand how a 2.45 a can be achieved, it's like driving a different car.

I then went to the LX6, which for me has always been a joke because being such a precise car with the grip on the wheel I had to use to fight the FF it was a nightmare trying to drive it in a straight line. Now it feels like I'd expect a small sports car with a lot of power to handle, very precise and controlable and easily picked up when you over do it, finally I can race LFS barely gripping the wheel just like a really car or kart feels like, whilst still actually getting feedback from the FF.

If anybody else is having these sorts of problems my advice would be don't turn FF off, but down to about 30%.

Glad it was of use - and bear in mind that (IIRC) that 10-lapper was run on the medium tyres because I didn't stop for fuel. So if you're running a shorter race then you'll be able to throw the car around a bit more and corner harder on the softer compund.

However you're very much right in saying that it's down to throttle control, the XRR especially is evil in tight corners and it's essential to feed the power in as smoothly and progressively as possible.

For me one thing that's essential to being quick(ish) in the XRR is the setup. Maybe I'm just more setup-dependent than others, or perhaps the car is, but if you're finding that you're losing time and unable to get the grip you need then it's just as likely to be a setup problem than your driving. I went through a few different sets for the XRR on the various Aston configs until i finally found one that worked for me on AS4/5, and from then on it was only case of finetuning the wings, brake balance, and tyre pressure to suit my driving.

It was definatley of use, more to demonstrate the fact that you weren't constantly having to make corrections to keep it pointing the right way around even simple corners. Now it feels balanced and predictable and I wouldn't rate it as a particuarly difficult car to drive, same goes for the LX and RA