Is there any documentation on the general way to approach a specific track? I realize I can just watch a WR and see what they do but sometimes I have a hard time telling exactly what they are doing.
For example, I'm trying to get faster at Kyoto GP long but for the life of me I enter the first turn (quick right then left) about 10 kph behind the WR, and exit about 15 kph behind. If I go any faster I either don't make the turn or skid so bad I lose way too much speed.
What types of things should I be looking for as I try and improve my overall lap times?
I wouldn't loose sleep over being slightly slower than the WR through critical corners. Remember, you never know how many times the WR holder tried before he finally got it right. He might have skidded out in that corner nine times in a row before making it on the tenth attempt for all you know. A better indicator would be to see what kind of average laptimes the best people on online servers have. (For example in CTRA or other "serious" servers)
In that specific corner on GP Long, "entry stability" is key. For example in cars like FZ5 you can really feel it when you're about to cross that boundary and start skidding and loosing control. (That's why I tend to stick to FZ5, XRT or even XRG when learning new tracks, because they give such excellent feedback IMO) Remember, controlled corner entry --> high exit speed. You have to attack the root of the problem.
Thanks for the response. I'm driving the FOX in the OWRL (had a blast last race). I'm a full 6 seconds behind the WR at Kyoto GP Long. I'm guessing to be competitive I need to be within 3.
That track is very fast and has three tricky corners before and after each long fast stretch so not taking any of them well really hurts. I'm about 2 seconds slower in each sector so I know its not one specific corner its pretty much all of them.
One thing I noticed while watching the WR is how many curbs he hops. The curb at that first turn he hits very hard but has no control issues. If I try and hit that curb I either spin or get airborne.
...Exactly why i wouldn't take much notice of the WR at KYGP.
If you try taking those curbs like they do in WR runs during a league race your going to ruin your suspension in 2 laps, even if you can get across them in a stable manner.
In the CTRA layouts those big green curbs have tire barriers so you cant cut them anyway.
I haven't driven it in a FOX, so i cant really help with specifics.
Unfortunately for qualification I'm sure people will be cutting them so if I want to compete I will too. I'll definitely make note that I don't want to do that in the actual race though. Thanks for the information.
oh btw when trying to know how good is your time i think its better for you to think in % instead of seconds. For instance, a second more than WR could be a lot in a small track like SO sprint, but on a long one like KY Long its nothing.
For instance, if WR is 45s and you do 47s you're doing 104,4% which is +-, but if WR is 2:00 and you're doing 2:02 thats 101,6% which is very good.
Generally the benchmark value is 103% of the WR, though depending on the server this can be competitive or laughably slow. If you're running unusual combos, you might have good chances at winning, if you try to go on a 24/7 AS3 GTR server with 103% WR times then you're pretty much a joke.
Try to improve your time up to 103% - such a time is not really fast but there are lots of much slower racers in LFS, so it should be good for a few wins especially if you manage to simply not crash
I've done that but the data isn't very useful to me. The WR enters turn 1 10 KPH faster than me and exits 15 KPH faster. Since he's faster at turn in his breaking points and turn in point are different. Where did that extra 10 KPH come from? The straight before the turn of course. It seems too cyclic for me to find just one place to start analysing. I'm about 2 seconds off in each segment so I can't really say this corner or that corner is the one that needs work. It seems to be the whole track in general. Its kind of the can't see the trees in the forest type of thing.
my advice - dont get TOO obcessed with ONE corner. Fill yer car up for a race-stint and just GO.
At the end of that huge sting, you'll know the track. Try to do some hotlaps now, be more agressive, and youll see the times drop. Then back to a race-stint. Then back to more hotlapping
If if you are exiting too slow, try entering slower / braking earlier- youll find that you will be getting on the power earlier, and exit even faster.
Good point. Strangely enough I often seem to break pbs on laps where I'm battling it out with someone that's a bit faster than me, (either trying to hold them off or follow them).
Jarmenia,
To be honest I think you're worrying too much about your raw speed. I think you are missing out on a lot of the fun of LFS by not getting involved in races and just picking stuff up as you go a long. You can learn a lot of other important skills that just trying to get to 103% of a WR can't teach you by racing other drivers. Like Android said there are plenty of slower drivers out there, (I should know I spend most of my time amongst them ), that you will need to learn how to pass. I'd even go as far as saying just learning how to be fast hot lap wise actually makes you a worse racer. There are far too many people out there who only know one way to drive a track as it is and can't adapt their lines so cause havock trying to get passed slower drivers. Do yourself and everyone else a favour, don't become just another one of those guys, (and I mean that in the nicest possible way).
I with the others here. WR laps are something far apart from normal everyday racing. Their setups are designed to be destroyed after just one lap, from one the suspension to the tyres . . . You might find that you do actually get close but when you try to race with that setup you die after two laps.
Better to get online and find a racing server with that combo. That way you will find out what the racing speed is, then you have an (almost) attainable target. You might find that the fastest guys on that track on on that session actually take that corner slower than you, but becuase of a quirk in the setup can take another corner 20k's faster . . .you just don't know. Best just to see what (as had been said) see where the majority of racers sit, at least that gives you something attainaible. And remember, just because your fast in qualy doesn't mean you can last the race. Play the long game.
Thanks for the replies guys. I have been driving online and have been enjoying it a lot. I'm just using the WR to try and find where I am losing time. My one big beef with online racing is that I can't use the analyzers on the replays so I can't study what other cars are doing compared to me so I have to use the hot laps to compare.
The rules for OWRL state that there should be no cutting and 2 wheels should remain on track at all times. The debate then moves onto what constitutes the track. OWRL sometimes has race specific rules about this in their pre-race server infos.
As The Moose said, cutting the chicane will shred the car in the race. If I had my way then any incidents in qualifying or the race where the yellow and black kerbs are used to gain an advantage would result in disqualification from the results, but I am only one Marshal and don't set policy on rules.
You have received a lot of valuable advice already in this post. I like the advice from stigpt (go for really long runs, try doing 30 laps without crashing) and make sure you heed the warnings about WR setups.
A possible strategy to shave off thenths (sometimes half seconds): Use the Replay Analyser (by Wsinda, I think), load the WR lap and also load your best lap. Make sure that on a long straight your top speed is near the WR top speed (within 2 or 3 km/h). This is just to ensure your wings settings are not wildly off. Then, in the Analyser graphs, use the time view, so that the WR time is flat, and yours is not, then find the first substantial loss of time (will probably be entry to first corner). Check how much time you lost by the time you exit that corner (lets say 2 seconds), now get back on the track and try to concentrate on that corner.
Fuel up for 3 or 4 laps then extract and load your fastest lap into the Analyser, compare again with WR. If you lost 2 secs in that corner you will want to be looking for a 0.2 to 0.4 sec improvement. If improvement doesn't happen, start checking out the WR braking and throttle points, and compare with yours. Look at the amount of breaking done as well, not just the point where breaking starts.
The aim is to loose less time on just that one corner. Analyse it to death. Make sure you succeed, don't give up. What you learn on this one corner you'll be able to transfer to all the others in much less time.
Also, make sure your setup is somewhat appropriate for the track. Maybe your breaking force is too much? Maybe your break balance is too far back?
All the performance indicators you see in the Analyser software show a picture of how a quick lap was done. You may not be able to transfer this to the way YOU drive a car, for example you can't necessarily match the breaking and throttle points if your setup parameters don't match sufficiently, but the aim really is to learn to understand how setup parameters and driver inputs inter depend and what effects they have on your performance (indicators).
Lastly, the Replay Analyser gives you a lot of setup details that you may like to compare with your own setup.
It takes a fair bit of practice and work to try to get close to a WR time. If this analytical method is not for you, give stigpt's advice a go.
As others say, try not to get hung up about WR times.... hmm, then again, you'd wanna be well inside the 103% bracket if you want to clock up regular wins on CTRA, for example...
Anyway, good luck
Hey, long rant, I know, just at work procrastinating over an unloved project... :sleep1:
You should put this post in a Wiki because now I understand how to use the analyzer. The one for graphs that you mention, is that Analyze for speed because that's the one I've got and didn't notice it had graphs.
This thread has been very helpful to me and I hope others that are trying to learn from all you vets.
A better indicator would be to see what kind of average laptimes the best people on online servers have. (For example in CTRA or other "serious" servers) 
What you learn on this one corner you'll be able to transfer to all the others in much less time.