Does sim racing make you a better driver?

I'm a bit disappointed. When I clicked the link from the main forum I thought this thread was about sim racing turning people into snakes.

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It definatelly helped me. It makes me feel comfortable in slidey real world situations (doesn't matter if RWD, AWD or FWD).
Also, when I have fun with a real car, I feel I have plenty of time to react, compared to simracing.
 
Araripe said:
Sure it does. That's why professional drivers use simulators to practice :)
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Or perhaps they use simulators because most series have taken to limiting on-track practice. Plus with a simulator, you don't have to wait for the rainy season to end, or the local mafiaso exacting a transport fee.
There are more reasons than just track familiarization, but, I should note, that would be very high on my list.(agreeing with your point in a backwards manner) :)
 
Speaking of street safety, it made me worse driver. I became more "throttle happy" to get to allowed speed, and I am more aggressive in passing people who go below speed limit. But, I'll deal with it. On a positive side, I became much more careful in rain. There's a nice thing though. Thanks to sim racing, I now see F1 races in a different light - every corner, every bump is familiar. Basically, I know tracks. And if I get a chance to drive Hockenheim or Spa, I'll do that without hesitation :)
 
Absolutely it does....I insist I drive everywhere! After all, I've driven on every imaginable race surface in the sim world. OK, so that doesn't make it foolproof, but we all know the reactions you have on a simulation will help you in a real life situation. Like some other posters, the situations I've encountered don't panic me so much and I can drive out of a precarious situation. Of course, I'm always hoping I don't get that one that I wish I could hit "escape"!!!!!
 
No doubt about it, sim translates in many respects. Not only have they found it an indispensable tool for traditional race drivers, who use it extensively to determine their race lines, suspension settings and more, they have taken people who have only driven sim (some not even a street car much or at all, like Greger Huttu), and found that they were able to run race cars better and faster than non-sim drivers, and fairly on-par with a race driver. It is somewhat analogous to how dry firing is used extensively by pro rifle and pistol shooters in everything from competitive shooting to police and military.
This is not to say that it is a replacement for track time, but the fact that you have to be more attentive to visual input (e.g. parallax and sweep) and tactile feedback through the wheel makes it a lot easier when you get to the track and have g-force loading and associated dynamics to help determine driving reactions. Some top F1 drivers have asserted that they find the competition in sim racing more competitive than they sometimes find on the track. Although I was a bit surprise when I first read this, given the fact that some sim drivers spend more time behind a sim wheel than many racers can afford behind a real one.
I believe that once things like rear traction loss sim becomes more affordable and easier to integrate, many will find the transition even more fluid and useful.
 
Yes.
A couple of months ago I took my racing driver exams at Brands Hatch.
It felt very natural and similar.
Only afterwards I realised that it was 9 years since I had been in track in a real car. Just recent years in RF1 and RF2.

A good sim allows you to practice the same skills and awareness.
 
Not for me when driving on the street. I end up yanking the wheel to hard or too much from getting used to a smaller FFB wheel. I also forget my car is not a race car and I end up taking corners a little too fast. Scared myself once getting off the highway in a circular off ramp. Also, having to focus on visual cues from the game leads me to overreact when I actaully "feel" my car on the street. I don't drive every day and sometimes can go a week without sitting in my car. If I put a couple of hours in rF2 then get in my car after a week long break, I'm a little off for the first 5-10 minutes on the street. Keep your distance from me. Especially if I used Frenky's F1 mod.

I haven't been to the track in a long time so I don't know what that would be like? Maybe a better experience than street driving.
 
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I have only one situation where sim racing helped me being a better driver in rl... There was an off-ramp from the Autobahn and it was raining. My first car was very light at the rear and the dampers were very stiff. The car was FWD and the rear of the car came around into a legit oversteer. I floored the gaspedal, the car pulled straight and I avoided a big crash. I would have never figured out that flooring the gas would help me in such a situation. So,... there you go. It helps.
 
Flaux said:
I have only one situation where sim racing helped me being a better driver in rl... There was an off-ramp from the Autobahn and it was raining. My first car was very light at the rear and the dampers were very stiff. The car was FWD and the rear of the car came around into a legit oversteer. I floored the gaspedal, the car pulled straight and I avoided a big crash. I would have never figured out that flooring the gas would help me in such a situation. So,... there you go. It helps.
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Same situation I had, an old BMW FWD, slippery right hander on a country lane the backend came round I applied just the right amount of opposite lock & throttle and came out alive the other side. If it wasn't for Sim Racing I would've been in the field having a chat with the sheep!
 
Better on a track. Nothing in a racing sim applies to standard road driving
I disagree too. I've found that in hairy situations I've automatically done things I learnt in the sims, for example, countering a slide in the rain after avoiding an idiot.
I've always been a fast, but defensive driver, trying to expect the unexpected, and granted a sim won't teach you defenesive driving, but it can teach some advanced skills and awareness.
 
patchedupdemon said:
That moment when you have been sim racing,jump onto to real car and left foot brake,nearly head butting the wheel lol.
That’s the only trouble I have.remembering not to left foot brake at slow speeds
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For some reason left foot seems to be digital when using it for braking in a real car while it sims so natural in the sim. On the other hand, I cannot properly control clutch with the same foot in the sim and it seems natural in real life.

I understand it is just practice until it turns out automatically.
 
SPASKIS said:
For some reason left foot seems to be digital when using it for braking in a real car while it sims so natural in the sim. On the other hand, I cannot properly control clutch with the same foot in the sim and it seems natural in real life.
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I've experienced the same, and I wonder if this is different for people who never drove with a clutch? When I first used the brake to 'hill start' in reverse to leave a parking spot, I hit the brake so hard when coming to a stop I nearly gave myself whiplash. I hadn't driven a manual for at least a year, but a definite habit kicked in there. (despite never once going for the pedal with my left foot when driving an auto at other times - something I'd heard people talk about, though I think they drove manual much longer than I did)
 
One issue I have had in real life which has happend to me twice now is automatically going for a heel and toe during an emergency braking situation. Basically I heel and toe in the sim and also IRL most of the time for a bit of funny (plus it's smoother), but in the emergence situations when I hit the brake hard I found that my toes were on the brake and my heel was on the accelerator (not a good thing!). I have to kind of remind myself not to go for the automatic heel toe when braking hard.

Edit 'heel' not 'heal' lololol
 
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green serpent said:
One issue I have had in real life which has happend to me twice now is automatically going for a heal and toe during an emergency braking situation. Basically I heal and toe in the sim and also IRL most of the time for a bit of funny (plus it's smoother), but in the emergence situations when I hit the brake hard I found that my toes were on the brake and my heal was on the accelerator (not a good thing!). I have to kind of remind myself not to go for the automatic heal toe when braking hard.
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I’m the same ( heel and toe ) but only in my roadster , my Ute just doesn’t feel right mostly due to pedal spacings
 
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