Is it a matter of me using a clutch now? The changes at Blackwood? Differences in the tires? Is anyone else finding the changes at Blackwood so suttle as to be nearly unnoticeable, yet the way you drive is so extremely different?

I just ran some at Blackwood in the GTi. I'm now using the clutch pedal for the 4th evening, and my heel-toe work is atrocious. But I also tried with autoclutch as well. I found myself skidding into the sand constantly after the long straight. My old GTi Blackwood set seems to extremely understeer compared to last week in patch X10. I'm not particularly fast (low 1:35s), but I barely managed 1:39 laps tonight. This was all non-racing.

What is the difference here? Would you hazard a guess that it is the fact that I'm getting use to the clutch? Or is the input memory so fused into my mind that I'm simply not coping with the suttle changes around the Blackwood track?

I know the tires changed a bit for the racing compounds, but has anything changed with the road tires too? What are you all doing in GTi at Blackwood in comparison to patch X10? Or are you all flogging over the FBM? (I'm guessing you are all flogging over the FBM )

Engine inertia, clutch and locked diff will change XFG characteristic dramatically with old type sets. It will require a complete change in setup behaviour I believe. thats the car

Then the track has changed more than is easy to see. It's narrower so alot of the corners can't be taken quite as fast as previous and then there is the major change after the end of straight leading into the second chicane. At least a second to two seconds difference there now I think. I've only tried about a dozen laps there and used to do 133xx was getting 137-138 so wouldn't feel that bad about 139xx

I've only done about 20 laps in FBM mostly LX6 for me still love that car. Bettered my previous pb on SO Classic with LX6 last night after fiddling with the new RaceS set. SO tracks and LX cars are truely heaven now

Just tried a few laps and my laptimes are 4 secs. off as well. I think it´s because of the changed track layout.

I drove a couple of laps last night, mid 1:34's... though i use auto clutch. It's different that you have to lift off the throttle and it's more rewarding and feels better.. The changes are great although i'm not sure about that high curb after the long straight, where was the large green area, not sure if it feels better now with that high curb or that flat like it was before..

XFG and BL1 was the first combo I tried as always and wasn't yet at one with the clutch. Yeah the end of striaght punnishes alot if you go abit too wide its less flowing like that but more techincal.

I liked the old one cause I could drive it in my sleep bit like watching TV I could turn off and just relax.

The new track layout will just take time too get used too and then it will be the same no dought, just got to break all those old electrical connections in my brain and rewire them for the new layout overall I like it and think it will be good for more fun races.

Quote from Glenn67 :

Then the track has changed more than is easy to see. It's narrower so alot of the corners can't be taken quite as fast as previous and then there is the major change after the end of straight leading into the second chicane. At least a second to two seconds difference there now I think. I've only tried about a dozen laps there and used to do 133xx was getting 137-138 so wouldn't feel that bad about 139xx

Yes indeed, I was feeling bad about 1:39.x Tis why I was posting this

Thanks for the confirmation. I just needed to figure out if it was me, my new clutch, the track, setup, or tires. The changes are very suttle visually. I found myself plowing through into the sand VERY often. Weird how it can be so small of a change visually, yet so large in driving. I'm not saying it is unnoticeable visually, just very suttle.

When I switched back to auto clutch, there wasn't much of a difference, so I was guessing it wasn't my heel-toe skills with the clutch. I am a bit of a slow learner with new tracks or changed tracks, so I'm sure it will take me a while. I never did get back to the equivalent of my fast pre-tire physics patch after the major physics changes a year + ago.

That corner after long straight has nothing same to old one, you need to drive it very different way, also all other corners are bit tightened it seems, they did cut loose parts away so to say

Quote from mrodgers :

Weird how it can be so small of a change visually, yet so large in driving. I'm not saying it is unnoticeable visually, just very suttle.

And in that you have just hit upon one of the keys of going faster even very subtle changes in racing line can make a significant difference which is why you so often hear "but I'm doing the exact same lines as you and...."

Just drove a couple of laps more, again mid/high 1:34's... I drove it flatshifting this time to see if the clutch will heat and it didn't, it was about 1/8 of the bar, so i don't know how that influences my speed and lap times, it seems that it didn't influence it at all..
I don't know if the engine gets damaged with flatshifting, but it seems that those 5 laps public Demo races will not be influenced by clutch heat and that it can continue to be like before, flatshifting..

So far I can drive a XFG in BL1 with X30 patch in 1:35:36, which is about half a second slower than my PB on LFS World. I think it's possible to do high 29 seconds for first split since the first chichane is so much flatter now (no more flips there, that's a nice thing). The right hander plus the chichane after the long straight is tricky since you can't take it the way we used to, which will make you slower than you were. The last chichane now is less prone to flips. The shift point on the XFG is about slightly before 8250rpm, so minor gear ratio adjustment may be needed. Best of all, it's alot less prone to lock the wheels in the new BL1.

I wonder if there's a need to change the XFG setups now.

Driving Blackwood with cars like GTT now is really hard. You have to brake earlier, and be more gentle in mid-turn to not give too much and end up spinning on the grass. The corners after the straight has been reduced A LOT and specially the exit of it. You can still go pretty fast it it, but you have to be more gentle over it. Also, the chicane next after it has been changed some, it seems imo. It is more narrow and it`s harder to drive it. The 2 last corners seems to be pretty much the same as before, so canot complain about those My lap times is pretty much +2 seconds on it, but with some training I might come back to old speeds, since it`s a lot shorter than before, but again - more narrow and therfor slower speed in the corners.

The bottom line is that it's harder to drive now, so people are going to complain that they can't drive it the same way they did before.

For instance, after the long straight you can't now use the corner momentum into the following 'S'. You have to actually stay on the track now! The addition of the slight left-hander means a slightly different attitude to the uphill esses there. The changes were subtle, but the way you drive it has to change noticably or you'll spend every race on the gravel

I love it!

I actually find it easier than the old one, which I never really got along with. The only way you'll go off track more frequently is if you try to drive round corners as if they're still as fast and open as they were before. The middle sector is great now, tighter and more tricky than before, but as with any corner if you brake at the right time, seems to be a good 10metres earlier to me, then it's not difficult, and the kerb on the outside of that corner is great. The profile of it is interesting, it does protect the sandpit quite well, and the way it just ends and then the road kinks to the left a tiny bit before you brake for the tighter esses is excellent. I think the gfx at Blackwood are about 25% better too. The lighting is really nice now. A triumph then

Quote from Dajmin :

The bottom line is that it's harder to drive now, so people are going to complain that they can't drive it the same way they did before.

I don't so far see any complaints here. It's a discussion. I opened it as a discussion, as well as for some understanding and some thoughts from the community. I haven't had the chance to run non-FBM with anyone else around Blackwood yet, so haven't seen how others are taking the differences.

Quote :

I love it!

Certainly, same here . It takes me a while to get the muscle memory inputs out of an old design and into a newly updated design, that's all. If we can't run Blackwood around in the GTi with hardly a touch to the brakes as we could before, then it is a massive improvement .

My car outside is a solid block of ice. No work today for me . I just hope I can get on LFS for a bit so I can run with some of you guys at a time X31 is much more populated . Hope to see ya all around!.

Hmmm, that's a lot of 'thumbs up' smileys in there.....

Just one thing about new blackwood, sorry for going off topic but anyway - is there more tress on the track now?
I was wondering since I yesterday was in spec mode, and noticed new camera veiws on the track, and on the straight it looked like there was added some trees.

Quote from The Very End :

Just one thing about new blackwood, sorry for going off topic but anyway - is there more tress on the track now?
I was wondering since I yesterday was in spec mode, and noticed new camera veiws on the track, and on the straight it looked like there was added some trees.

Yes I think the detail has been increased, theres now grass growth on the track too, just look on the PIT track just leaving it on Blackwood