Forza/GT setups? Here's mine. (share yours too!)

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by Dylan86

I've had the CSR Elite, which was basically a V1, then went to V1, now V2.5 and honestly, the feedback quality has improved, 10 fold.. I can race far more consistantly for 1-2 hour races, as well, the feedback is incredible once it's dialed in, you really feel feel the difference in performance.

If I were to cut costs anywhere, I'd say hold off on the shifter, and get a set of v2.5 pedals or even used, they really don't go bad, just the load sensors.. But don't skimp out on the wheel base, it's everything, second to a monitor setup or VR.. Just my $.02 And if you were wanting Direct Drive, you should look at SimExperience, great company to deal with. I have their SimVibe setup and it works flawlessly.




Like you, I'm a track junkie. Full track build happening on my 2er this winter (KW clubsport 3 ways, F&R sways/adk links, full bushing replacement, 18x9sq., Megan Racing 4 link rear end, all that jazz)

Problem with those "games" is that they don't regulate points or have effective safety ratings to keep you in similar skill levels as your competitors, like how it's done in iRacing, so it gets very frustrating when you can't finish a race due to "those guys" who like to just try and win every race, thus making it hard to be keen to get back on and try again. If you were to get into Sim Racing, for the "simulation" factor, iRacing, AC (pc), Race Room and rFactor2 are the only REAL sims out there, in my opinion..

iRacing has license classes, real sanctioned Mazda Cup (rookie class and advanced), NASCAR, IMSA, Porsche Cup, TDI Jetta Cup, Blancpain Sprint/Endurance series, and of course, Formula 1 in the MP4-30. And the track detail is best in class, bumps/cracks etc.. I know it's an expensive route, but it has the best physics engine of any sim software, and is the only way to get into higher levels of competition racing, online. You'll find some real world race drivers in there quite often, which is pretty neat. And they lap FAST, wow.. I'm only "B" licensed and I've been chipping away at things on a very part time basis for 3+ years. It's difficult to become an "A" licensed driver, but I will soon be there and will be able to compete in the pro races, with really good (clean) racers who respect each other. Racing incidents will happen, still

Yea AC definitely isn't that great if you like competitive racing. I mainly hot lap street cars and practice car control (aka drifting) and the physics in AC are just better than anything else out there IMO. I suppose RFactor is up there too, but the graphics engine is just too old for me to enjoy spending time in it. AC has so many cars and enough tracks stay busy anyways. I want to love iRacing because of the wealth of laser scanned tracks, but I think the FFB is terrible and the tire model falls apart once the rear end of cars start to break loose. It's frustrating to no end when I spin a dozen times in a Miata, but can comfortably take cars sideways in real life no problem. AC drives exactly how I expect them to and it's just so natural to transition from real life and the game.

[Dylan86]

Originally Posted by cxp213

Dylan86 - Just curious, how much did your set up (minus PC, Rift, and displays) cost you?

I think somewhere in the neighborhood of $4k CDN? I got a particularly expensive rig & seat, but that includes it all, soup to nuts.

[Dylan86]

Originally Posted by radiantm3

Yea AC definitely isn't that great if you like competitive racing. I mainly hot lap street cars and practice car control (aka drifting) and the physics in AC are just better than anything else out there IMO. I suppose RFactor is up there too, but the graphics engine is just too old for me to enjoy spending time in it. AC has so many cars and enough tracks stay busy anyways. I want to love iRacing because of the wealth of laser scanned tracks, but I think the FFB is terrible and the tire model falls apart once the rear end of cars start to break loose. It's frustrating to no end when I spin a dozen times in a Miata, but can comfortably take cars sideways in real life no problem. AC drives exactly how I expect them to and it's just so natural to transition from real life and the game.

Yea I love hot lapping in the LaFerrari

When was the last time you used iRacing? I experienced what you did from the beginning, but since last year they did a huge leap forward with the tire model and I can quite honestly suggest, now, that it’s a more realistic track experience ban AC. I find AC to be a bit more forgiving, but iRacing is now ahead, imo. You can feel the tires compressing over rumble strips, they stick like f’in glue after 3-4 laps of warm up, you can actually power slide a GT3 car, properly, drift the Miata, and the brake feel is much more communicative. They now have things like road debris animation and tire build up on the tarmac as well which helps us get one step closer to realism.

All in all I probably spend equal amount of time between the the two, but growing really fond of Race Room Italia. Can’t wait to get into the VR club. If i do it, though, I’m going to beef up my graphics card and wait for the next version of Rift. I have my screens properly setup so field of depth is spot on, easy view of the apex’s. This took a lot of tweaking, though..

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by Dylan86

Yea I love hot lapping in the LaFerrari

When was the last time you used iRacing? I experienced what you did from the beginning, but since last year they did a huge leap forward with the tire model and I can quite honestly suggest, now, that it’s a more realistic track experience ban AC. I find AC to be a bit more forgiving, but iRacing is now ahead, imo. You can feel the tires compressing over rumble strips, they stick like f’in glue after 3-4 laps of warm up, you can actually power slide a GT3 car, properly, drift the Miata, and the brake feel is much more communicative. They now have things like road debris animation and tire build up on the tarmac as well which helps us get one step closer to realism.

All in all I probably spend equal amount of time between the the two, but growing really fond of Race Room Italia. Can’t wait to get into the VR club. If i do it, though, I’m going to beef up my graphics card and wait for the next version of Rift. I have my screens properly setup so field of depth is spot on, easy view of the apex’s. This took a lot of tweaking, though..

I still have an iracing subscription and did some hot laps about a month ago trying to learn COTA. I think the wheel setup make a huge difference in each sim. I’ve tried AC on a g27 wheel and felt like garbage. My clubsport v2 wheel feels utterly fantastic in AC, but lifeless in most other sims. It’s pretty bad in iracing and that could be the reason why I don’t like it. My next upgrade will be a direct drive wheel and I really hope that makes big improvements in other sims.

[cxp213]

Thanks for chiming in and for the reviews, guys! Good to hear some real life feedback from consumers.

[Dylan86]

Originally Posted by radiantm3

I still have an iracing subscription and did some hot laps about a month ago trying to learn COTA. I think the wheel setup make a huge difference in each sim. I’ve tried AC on a g27 wheel and felt like garbage. My clubsport v2 wheel feels utterly fantastic in AC, but lifeless in most other sims. It’s pretty bad in iracing and that could be the reason why I don’t like it. My next upgrade will be a direct drive wheel and I really hope that makes big improvements in other sims.

Yea, I used to run a lot of FFB through iRacing, somewhere from 12 to 18. I've dialed it down to 7-8, now, and 10 damping through the wheel menu. Some guys run as low as 4-5 but you'd be surprised how much more road feedback you get with the lower setting through iRacing. You want to be sure your wheel isn't "clipping". iRacing has an auto clipping detection feature, now, and you just hit the "auto" beside the FFB settings in F9, and it gets you to the ideal level. I usually tone it down 10-20% from its "auto" setting and is much better than the 12+ I used to run. I turn it up a bit in AC because it just seems to feel better, usually 110%