r/simracing • u/Cultural_Tune_8142 • 1d ago

Question Do I have to learn every track?

I’ve bought a wheel around 2-3 weeks ago and been playing forza motorsport but every online lobby I enter I am off pace by 10-15 seconds

I assume this is because I’m not familiar with the tracks (and several other reasons).

My questions are, do you guys know all the tracks and breaking points? (or gain that at some point?)

The track changes every hour also, can I just keep playing online and will I gain speed over time? Or will I have to go through each track practicing individually?

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5

u/calixis 1d ago

Yes. Getting better is part of the hobby and practicing and improving bring their own joy.

2

u/Cultural_Tune_8142 1d ago

Does that mean hotlapping in rivals or just playing online?

3

u/Onecton 1d ago

Hotlap the living ..... Out of the tracks

1

u/calixis 1d ago

Hotlapping. With other players around you'd find it hard to concentrate. You need to learn the breaking points, the trajectories and make them automatic. It takes time for the brain to learn that. Then you can race, which is a different skill.

Some good advice in the thread already. Watch some track guides and some guides on the fundamentals of racing. Dont expect to succeed imediately. It's like learning a musical instrument.

The sense of flow and enjoyment when you nail a race afterwards will be worth it, promise.

1

u/Cultural_Tune_8142 1d ago

Thanks for the explanation, should I start with shorter or longer tracks? Or does that matter?

Also I like gt 3 cars are they good for learning? Does the car I pick matter? If so why?

1

u/calixis 1d ago

Shorter would be easier to memorize at first, but pick one you like so that you stay motivated.

GT3s are very popular, many people start with them but you'd have to ask someone that drives them for specific cars (I'm into other stuff).

Just be sure to pick one car and learn on it, because they do have different characteristics.

1

u/Cultural_Tune_8142 1d ago

Thanks again, one final question is how do I know when to move to the next track?

1

u/calixis 1d ago

I'd set a goal how fast you want to be. Look at times online and see if you can stay with the pack.

3

u/Onecton 1d ago

You will have to learn every track. Watch it videos and guides. And practice practice practice. Go round the tracks till you know them in your sleep. Push the car. Fly of the track. Multiple times. Repeat. I'm just doing rounds and rounds till I get the feeling. For ACC I watched videos explaining which gears to take in which corner. Where to break etc. And I'm still slow, and I have the time of my life. It comes with repetition and practice and lots of it. LOTS. And I mean LOTS. Simracing is serious business. Prepare to invest hours if you want to have a competitive pace. Regardless of game.

2

u/MassLuca007 1d ago

Honestly I just do hot laps alot in every game. The thing about racing games, is that all the games have the same tracks, so if you take a bunch of time to learn Laguna Seca for example, then that will vaguely translate into any other games that also feature that track. I will say Forza has the most tracks that aren't featured in other games

2

u/Naikrobak 1d ago

Yes. But you will find that once you do learn a car first, the braking points become more natural/automatic.

Also I tend to use gear numbers instead of speed. For example: I know on a turn on a track I’m learning now, I can’t run at full speed in 2nd gear, but I can in first. That means I need to alway be in 2nd coming into the corner, and I can’t accelerate much until the apex.

1

u/wobblydee 21h ago

Also once you get used to a car and driving in a sim in general, learning a track becomes much easier than when youre also focusing on learning to drive

1

u/One8Bravo Fanatec 1d ago edited 1d ago

One is track familiarity, use the braking line and turn off the other assists. Try rivals and follow faster racers. If you want a challenge, add my GT (same name) Id like to think Im one of the fastest guys on a wheel in FM. Ive only found 1 other guy faster than me and I got up to his pace chasing him in leagues.

The braking line should only be used as a brake reference, dont follow the color too much. Most corners can be taken while completely red, atleast while trail braking into the apex.

The other is you being on a wheel. Its a disadvantage at first, especially if your settings are bad and you can't feel the edge of tire grip. It takes months if not years to actually be fast and consistent on a wheel. Imo, the player base in public lobbies on forza is pretty low. There's sometimes 1 person that's fast but most of us moved to league racing. Stick with it, dont give up cuz you're slow. Watch sim racing videos, racing techniques and do what the fast racers do

1

u/Cultural_Tune_8142 1d ago

Thanks for the encouragement, just added you will train with your ghosts