I really need some advice on my driving. I just downloaded the game and had a go on that powerful RWD car, XRT i believe. And it feels really good. But i can't seem to understand how to get it below the 1:26 mark. Maybe it's my faulty setup, but i don't think it's really that bad.

Ok here's a replay of my driving, these certainly wasn't the first laps, i had a go online before that. What's with the immense number of drift servers in the demo?

Want to help mate but am at work. Will have a look tonight if I have time. Feel sorry for you that all these miserable buggers don't reply to you.

GF

Use this setups:

setupfield.teaminferno.hu

2nd:
drive clean, soft with the acceleator, etc.
And watch the faster guys/ WRs for the best racing line
and foremost: PATIENCE,PRACTICE,PATIENCE,PRACTICE


I don´t really know what goes on in demo nowadays,
but really good racing you will most likely find on licensed (s2) servers.
Anyways, there should be also good demo servers

I'd just keep practicing more than anything. How many laps have you done? I've done almost 600 laps on BL with the FOX and I'm still picking up time here and there. Are you using a mouse/keyboard? Buy a wheel, that'll help.

There are a couple things that do stick out to me. Turn 3 (second turn after the straight) could be a bit faster. Try starting the turn a bit wider -- get as close to the grass as you're comfortable with, and then trust the car a bit more through the turn.

Also, on most of the turns you can see a darker part of the track, "the line." It's grippier. Aim there and you'll be faster. In that replay, sometimes you're on it, sometimes you're not. You'll find that if you're on the line, you can take the turns faster than you thought before.

Edit: Oh yeah, +1 on the setups, which I forgot to mention. Laptimes are very dependent on setups (moreso that real life, I think) and if you're using a default or other bad setup, you'll never get a fast time.

Quote from qoncept :

on most of the turns you can see a darker part of the track, "the line." It's grippier. Aim there and you'll be faster.

Is it really? I didn't think this was implemented in LFS.

To the original poster: Download some hotlap replays from http://www.lfsworld.com/ and see how the fast guys do it. 1:26 is pretty quick, but the really quick guys manage around 5mph more in each corner than you do. Partly by using more of the road / having a more optimal line, partly by being smoother, partly by managing a small amount of oversteer on the way in, etc.

And you should probably brake a little bit earlier for the right-hander after the second split. You seem to miss that corner each time.

Oh, and don't be afraid of just flooring it over the kerbs (although not in the middle of the first chicane - that never works). Practice compensating for the oversteer it gives you with the steering wheel, rather than avoiding the oversteer by lifting off the throttle. If you time it right you can correct it as soon as it happens.

Seems I was beaten to it. Here is some advice I wrote previously. There are also some track guides on my site you might find useful even if you don't drive the combos.

Improving Your Laptimes:
http://gentlefoot.com/LFS/footwork.html?cmdRead1=Read

Track Guides Page:
http://gentlefoot.com/LFS/trackguides.html

Many thanks guys, i will look into the instructions when i find time to play the game again. This the first game ever to interest me more than just one day. Might even find a wheel for this. Mouse makes my wrist cry.

I'll report back in when i have improved my time significantly.

Nice to see you getting into LFS, it really is a great driving/racing sim.

I would recommend getting a wheel though it greatly improves the immersion factor & it is money well spent. (a midrange FF wheel would be ideal for a new driver)

Finally got around to buying a wheel for this game, and damn does it make this just 200% better to play. So now my pb is 1:24:89. But the lap record is 1:23:04, that just seems impossible. Well, i think i still need some advice from you pros.

Quote from Race_UK :

Finally got around to buying a wheel for this game, and damn does it make this just 200% better to play. So now my pb is 1:24:89. But the lap record is 1:23:04, that just seems impossible. Well, i think i still need some advice from you pros.

Simple, practice practice practice. And get a setup. I tried the setup from the replay and I couldn't take any corner without barreling straight through the turn. There's no brakes on that set. For the corners that I started braking really early, the front end pushed me straight out into the grass. I'm not an XRT driver (hate that car) but you really need a decent set for that thing. Would help tremendously I think. (I'd attach one, but like I said, I hate that car and don't have a setup).

Edit: Awe heck, you're 2 seconds faster than me and I've been racing LFS for 2.5 years.... I wouldn't complain about being less than seconds away from the WR though. The closer you get to the WR, the harder it is to improve. Just remember that... I should have looked at the entire thread. You've been here a month and you're running 2 seconds off the WR.... You're asking for help with that after only a month? Practice, next month you'll have all the WR's...

To be honest there's nothing really wrong with your driving, you have good car control, so it's really just a case of practice. Only thing I'd comment on is that you are carrying a little too much speed into the corners, meaning that you are often still slowing the car down when you have passed the apex. Try and get your braking done before the corner and accelerate through it, so you carry as much speed as possible onto the straights. Aside from that, you're doing great!

Quote from DarkTimes :

Aside from that, you're doing great!

Is the contrast of players really that big? I thought that anyone with at least some real racing (track driving) experience will be able to run at least half a second from the lap record. And without that experience, maybe a sec off the pace. And if you can't do it, why do you even play the game?

Depends on the car and track, I'd say the average is between one and two seconds off the world record, for most decent drivers. Plus WR's are done with hotlap setups, which tend to suck for the sort of racing most of us do. Hotlappers are a kind of weird sub-culture I'd don't fully understand.

Why play if you're anything more than half a second from a WR? Well, because it's a game that people play to have fun. You don't need to be Lewis Hamilton to enjoy racing and not everyone has either real driving experience or real skill.

Anyway I said I thought you were doing great because I was trying to give you encouragement, you seem unhappy with your performance, when your speed is absolutely fine for someone who hasn't put in a few months or years worth of practice.

Quote from Race_UK :

Is the contrast of players really that big? I thought that anyone with at least some real racing (track driving) experience will be able to run at least half a second from the lap record. And without that experience, maybe a sec off the pace. And if you can't do it, why do you even play the game?

I'm not even close to any WRs, but I play the game because its fun. In my better combos I'm relatively competetive in races, but very rarely the best.

One thing, like I said before, is how drastically minor setup changes can change your lap times. Its frustrating, because I don't like messing with the setup when I know my driving is the biggest problem. (Unlike real life, where I always blame the car ) Don't have the best setup, your laptimes aren't going to be that good, no matter how good you drive.

Quote from qoncept :

Don't have the best setup, your laptimes aren't going to be that good, no matter how good you drive.

Yeah right.

Quote from qoncept :

Don't have the best setup, your laptimes aren't going to be that good, no matter how good you drive.

Yes, what Race_UK said up there ^. There is no "best setup". Setups are a subjective thing and just because you have the WR setup, doesn't mean you will run WR times. The "best setups" are simply undrivable in racing form with others on the track for many.

We are not professional racers here. We are simply "gamers". We do this for fun and enjoyment. Why do your children go out and play sports together in the backyard if they can't hit homeruns every time, or kick fieldgoals every time, or score goals in hockey every time.... It's because this is for fun, not professional.