Got a track related question? I'll try to answer.

[Prmspen]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Do you already have a rig, screens, seats, etc?

No. Starting from scratch. I have a couple of reasonably new laptops, and that's about it.

[Icecreamtruk]

Originally Posted by Prmspen

No. Starting from scratch. I have a couple of reasonably new laptops, and that's about it.

If you are starting from scatch, the cheapest yet still effective setup would be a used g27 (or new if you can still find them) for around $200 ($300 new), Assetto Corsa for PC and either build your own stand (around $100 worth of mats, maybe less) or buy a basic one for around $150-250.

If you are open to more sim-cades (arcade games that try to be simulation games), which can be a lot of fun, just dont expect it to feel close to the real deal, there are options on console if you already have one but dont have a good PC like Gran Turismo and Forza (playstation or xbox) and Project Cars (both). Assetto Corsa is also available on consoles but wheels supported by consoles run in the $500+ department.

[Apex_BRZ]

Originally Posted by Icecreamtruk

If you are starting from scatch, the cheapest yet still effective setup would be a used g27 (or new if you can still find them) for around $200 ($300 new), Assetto Corsa for PC and either build your own stand (around $100 worth of mats, maybe less) or buy a basic one for around $150-250.

If you are open to more sim-cades (arcade games that try to be simulation games), which can be a lot of fun, just dont expect it to feel close to the real deal, there are options on console if you already have one but dont have a good PC like Gran Turismo and Forza (playstation or xbox) and Project Cars (both). Assetto Corsa is also available on consoles but wheels supported by consoles run in the $500+ department.

Project Cars is not an arcade/sim blend. It's as pure simulation focused as Asetto Corsa and iRacing and the older games like RFactor.

The Logitech G27 is a great option for a starter and to get introduced to sim racing in general. You can just clamp that to nearly any desk, hook up all the wires, and good to go. If you want to take it a step further, getting a Playseat and mounting it to that in front of a monitor or TV is the next option (there are similar alternatives). That's where I'm at right now, but will be moving from the Playseat to a more simulation focused rig where it has mounting provisions for bass transducers used in tactile feedback.

[Icecreamtruk]

@Apex_BRZ agreed with you on everything but one thing. Project cars is not a sim. I have played all of the games I mentioned, and project cars is on the same level as GT and Forza.

[Apex_BRZ]

Originally Posted by Icecreamtruk

@Apex_BRZ agreed with you on everything but one thing. Project cars is not a sim. I have played all of the games I mentioned, and project cars is on the same level as GT and Forza.

We'll have to agree to disagree.

I have both games as well, including Forza/GT on consoles. While Asetto Corsa has arguably a much better tire physics model, it focuses more on street cars like Forca/GT (though Asetto is still hardcore sim) while PCARS focuses primarily on the actual race cars. Both are hardcore sims and directly comparable.

[Shark_Bait88]

It's all about DiRT, guys!

iRacing if it wasn't so damned expensive to get everything and pay the monthly fees. lol FM6 isn't too bad for a more arcade-y sim. It can be pretty fun with a wheel/pedal/shifter setup.

If you have an Xbox One get the Logitech G920 so you can use it with your PC and your Xbone. I got rid of my G27 for one.

[e1_griego]

Originally Posted by Shark_Bait88

It's all about DiRT, guys!

Richard Burns Rally, with the RSRBR mods > *.

The new DiRT is pretty good though, and obv 1000x as pretty.

I do like Assetto Corsa a lot, but I don't really play that much. I have had a fanatec gt3 rs for a few years now with the clubsport pedal. Pretty big fan.

[jjaisli]

Originally Posted by Apex_BRZ

Project Cars is not an arcade/sim blend. It's as pure simulation focused as Asetto Corsa and iRacing and the older games like RFactor.

I just have to add my $0.02 here and say that I agree with Icecreamtruk. As somebody who has been both simracing and doing real world track events for many years, I'm baffled how anybody could claim that Project Cars is pure simulation. It ABSOLUTELY is NOT. I was one of the original PC beta testers years ago when Simply Mad Studios was making promises, that free of the shackles that EA Games had put on them, PC would not turn out like NFS:Shift. I bought into it hook, line and sinker. But I quickly became disenchanted when it became obvious that there were serious, fundamental flaws in the basic physics model. When it became clear that they were more interested in making a fun simcade and weren't really interested in criticism, constructive or otherwise, I gave up. And this was about 2 years before the finished project. I still bought Project Cars when it was released and my opinion hasn't changed. It is not a serious simulation and it's full of inaccuracies. (Not to mention a lot of bugs). Dynamically, Assetto Corsa has it beat in many ways and AC is also what I would consider simcade.

Look, no sim is perfect. iRacing has been working on and slowly improving their tire model for years. Years! Sometimes they move forward, sometimes they move backwards (sometimes sidewise). But after all this time, they still don't have it right. Project Cars may have had sim-like aspirations initially, but in execution, it's barely above Gran Turismo or Forza. And in some ways worse.

[MaximeT]

If you're serious, iRacing is the only option.

(I drove the first 2 seasons in iRacing Pro Series and was in the World top 50 back when I was racing.
I was the first LFS world champion in 2004 and 2 times french champion)

[Apex_BRZ]

Originally Posted by jjaisli

I just have to add my $0.02 here and say that I agree with Icecreamtruk. As somebody who has been both simracing and doing real world track events for many years, I'm baffled how anybody could claim that Project Cars is pure simulation. It ABSOLUTELY is NOT.

And an acquaintance of mine that has also been involved directly with testing and development since the beginning, who is also a chief instructor for NASA and has been racing competitively for many many years, says the exact opposite.

Sounds like everybody has an opinion. Let's all list our qualifications on why we can validate 100% why our pick is the ultimate sim.

iRacing is suppose to be the best of the bunch. Fact. Assetto Corsa and PCARS are your next best options. Saying otherwise is just picking favorites, which is understandable, we all have a bias. Saying PCARS is as watered down as GT or Forza is just absurd. Let's get real here. I think we've derailed the thread long enough, so I won't add anything else on it. Whoever originally asked about getting into sim racing, pick your poison and enjoy!

[jjaisli]

Originally Posted by Apex_BRZ

And an acquaintance of mine that has also been involved directly with testing and development since the beginning, who is also a chief instructor for NASA and has been racing competitively for many many years, says the exact opposite.

Originally Posted by Apex_BRZ

I think we've derailed the thread long enough, so I won't add anything else on it. Whoever originally asked about getting into sim racing, pick your poison and enjoy!

Fair enough. Everybody is entitled to their opinion. But in my case, I'm talking about real world data from actual tracks and actual cars that does not correspond to numbers SMS is putting out. To be fair, as I already stated, NO sim out there, iRacing included, can or should be used to simulate actual real world conditions. But in the case of Project Cars, 2+2 is sometimes 5. Speeds, distances, measurements and even simple physics are often 'upside down'. And after a few months in the beta, it became obvious that SMS decided it just wasn't worth the effort or they realized they had some very basic fundamental flaws that would mean starting from a clean slate.

In short, the point I'm making is, if you're looking to use PC to learn the layout and the basic line of a particular track, PC is a good tool. If you're looking to improve your real world lap times by going back to PC between real world sessions, one needn't bother.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by jjaisli

Fair enough. Everybody is entitled to their opinion. But in my case, I'm talking about real world data from actual tracks and actual cars that does not correspond to numbers SMS is putting out. To be fair, as I already stated, NO sim out there, iRacing included, can or should be used to simulate actual real world conditions. But in the case of Project Cars, 2+2 is sometimes 5. Speeds, distances, measurements and even simple physics are often 'upside down'. And after a few months in the beta, it became obvious that SMS decided it just wasn't worth the effort or they realized they had some very basic fundamental flaws that would mean starting from a clean slate.

In short, the point I'm making is, if you're looking to use PC to learn the layout and the basic line of a particular track, PC is a good tool. If you're looking to improve your real world lap times by going back to PC between real world sessions, one needn't bother.

I work with many pro drivers who are highly dependent on sims to improve their real world performance. I also know quite a few GT Academy guys, and I can guarantee that they can learn a track blindly using just a sim, and be putting down record pace laps their first session out in a well sorted car.

Don't underestimate sims.

Formula-E is recruiting drivers using sims right now; it has been proven to work.

[cjd]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

I work with many pro drivers who are highly dependent on sims to improve their real world performance. I also know quite a few GT Academy guys, and I can guarantee that they can learn a track blindly using just a sim, and be putting down record pace laps their first session out in a well sorted car.

Don't underestimate sims.

Formula-E is recruiting drivers using sims right now; it has been proven to work.

I've read that it can actually improve your response times because you can often see something about to happen before you feel it in the car... This does not surprise me in the least.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by cjd

I've read that it can actually improve your response times because you can often see something about to happen before you feel it in the car... This does not surprise me in the least.

The first time I ran into a GT Academy driver, he was making corrections based on visual input before I could feel it in the passenger seat. He couldn't feel what was going on in the car at all though.

Doesn't change the fact that he was absurdly fast regardless of using a single sensory input to drive.

It was pure chance that I ran into him; he was at the track attempting to get a crash course in actual track driving before flying to Silverstone. He now works for Porsche, who also happens to own many, many simulators.

Anyone who downplays sims at this point is just denying reality.