iRacing Chat

[Duke]

Since when? The BES was meant to return to normal this season, meaning you can do it solo & still place if you choose to...
I'll be pissed if they have changed it as I plan to race it tomorrow morning.

[NeilPearson]

well I read something on the forum, but I cant find it now. I tried last night to run it myself, got taken out on lap 9 by a french fuck who decided he didnt want to be patient when some cars got out of shape and tried to drive through everyone.

[Sarsippius]

I had a pretty good debut weekend in the Porsche, a 6th, a 4th and then a flag to flag win

I think I'm getting a handle on the car, I seem to qual well but then at least in the first two races my race pace was about 1s off qual pace. Relatively speaking I'm not sure if I'm a good qualifier or I struggle more once the tyres are up to temp.

[DarrenM]

The minimum pressures are too high now, so it's normal for your pace to drop off after the first couple laps. In the race I did last night it looked like most were 3/4 to 1 second off their lap 2 pace. Qual laps were about 4-5 10ths faster than lap 2 times.

I could have done a 3.8 on a good qual lap, did a 4.2 on lap 2, but from lap 4 onwards I could only manage 4.9's.

[Sarsippius]

That's pretty much the exact same times I was doing, given your pace I assume you must have been on a hotter track. In my second race I had a few guys closing me down from behind so they must have just not qualified so well.

[renesis37]

So I just worked out minimum pressures are too low in the Porsche now, it seems they did something right. I was off pace last week and that was why. Found that half a second I was behind.

Good to see you are starting to enjoy the car.

Dirt next week!!

[Duke]

[renesis37]

Bent

[Sarsippius]

So I just worked out minimum pressures are too low in the Porsche now, it seems they did something right. I was off pace last week and that was why. Found that half a second I was behind.

Good to see you are starting to enjoy the car.

Dirt next week!!

So what hot pressures are you aiming for now? Min cold pressures seem to give hot pressures around 165.

I have come around to this car for sure, Bathurst practice this week is feeling good

[renesis37]

Darren said minimum is working better for him still. I find it less bouncey and able to load up better mid corner at around 175 hot.. that is qual set anyway. I think just experiment, maybe try more pressure with a touch less camber.. It could be my driving style doing it though so YMMV

I will post my findings after this weekends CCA race

[Duke]

BOOM!!! Forums have got bigger in anticipation...

iR Dirt Forum.JPG

[Duke]

Good morning,

We just wanted to provide an update in regard to the “dirt” software build. It is still on track for next Wednesday, March 29th. Everything is looking good for the release on that day and we are very excited about it. A lot went into the development and we hope you enjoy it. In the meantime, we are working on another video today showing race footage of the winged sprint cars.

We are planning on putting the dirt content for “pre-sale” this coming Monday. If you have any interest you are welcome to purchase early. There will be 5 pieces of dirt content for sale. All the content will be priced at the standard price of $11.95. (We are using the lower tier pricing for the tracks.) Don’t forget, add a 6th piece of content and you will get 15% off. If you buy 3-5 pieces of content you will receive 10% off. The reason for the pre-sale is with that much content, it will help spread the traffic AND you will be able to test the new content in our offline Test Drive feature during the update. Within the first couple hours of the maintenance period, we'll provide members with early access to pre-ordered and free included dirt content via the Test Drive feature. Follow us on social media for notification for example at @iRacing on twitter. You will still have to download the new content during the maintenance period. The update will likely take several hours. It will be good chance to get some test laps in with Dirt before you get on track with others. That said, we sure wouldn’t mind if not everyone jumps on to update all at once. Take your time, it will help everyone!

Speaking of that (updates/downloading), we often receive messages that we need to buy more servers or upgrade to fiber and things along those lines. I assure you we have plenty of high-end servers, fiber and state of the art networking and none of that is a bottleneck. We wish it was that easy to just buy more/better. It is typically the distribution of the massive data/content that is the bottleneck. We contract with the same high-end data distribution network (Akamai) as iTunes, Microsoft, ESPN, NBC Sports, Adobe, etc. It just takes some time unfortunately for the data to get distributed and downloaded globally.

Back to dirt. The 5 pieces content going on sale will be the tracks Williams Grove, Eldora and Volusia. All the dirt tracks have day and night lighting. The cars will be a Late Model which will include three versions for the price of one. A Limited, Pro and Super Late Model. The second car for purchase will be a Winged Sprint Car which also will include three different versions in the car package for the price of one including the 305, 360 and 410. Additionally we will be granting free dirt content including a dirt version of USA Speedway, a Dirt Street Stock, and a Dirt Legends Car. Last but not least dirt versions of the Camping World Trucks (Silverado and Tundra). If you already own those vehicles, you will have the dirt package for free. They are not separate dirt vehicles, it is just that when you are on Dirt, you will have the dirt package for example when the NASCAR series goes to Eldora on the schedule. You can see all the dirt content here: http://www.iracing.com/dirt/

A few more things to keep in mind on Dirt. We made a few adjustments to safety system. Because dirt cars are meant to be sideways in corners, we adjusted the out of control spin incident well pass 90 degrees for dirt, but you can still get the incident if you do a serious spin. Additionally, we moved heavy contact to 2 points instead of 4 points like it is on pavement since there is more natural contact in dirt racing. Everything else is the same for incidents and the math is the same in calculating safety rating and iRating. It is still our hope to create a separate license for Dirt and some preliminary work has started in that regard.

We will be putting up 5 series when we release. Three official series and two fun series. The official series will be at the lower license levels with the lower HP Cars to start off at least, for a reason. (The two fun series will the higher HP cars.) We strongly suggest you start with the lower HP cars no matter how experienced you are as a sim racer. Dirt racing is much different than pavement racing. There is much more to it than throwing the car in the corner. To be blunt, it is hard and takes hundreds of laps of practice to get it but it is very fun and rewarding as you progress. I’m not any good at any type of sim racing but I really have struggled not driving dirt like I do pavement. The pedal control overall is a bugger, keeping the pedal down (mostly) through the corners on a short track, the timing of the brakes and steering, the dynamically changing lines and conditions of the dirt is difficult to be proficient never mind master. Even going down the straights you have to concentrate, that car wants to go left big time. It is critical to practice. Watch the Chris Bell video if you get a chance on our YouTube Channel, it is excellent. We will be releasing much more in the coming days and weeks about dirt racing including tips and pointers from experienced real world drivers (and sim racers). Be patient and help each other out like you always do. That is what is great about this community. Most of all, have fun.

There will be several other nice little non-dirt additions that will be in the “dirt build” next week but this post is long enough. Additionally, we are pretty excited about our June Build. Contrary to popular belief we have been working on many other things beside Dirt.

We will be watching and listening to your feedback on dirt (and everything else) and looking for ways to improve as always. I also wanted to thank our testers, both our usual testers and the new folks that helped that have real world dirt experience. They were a huge help for Dirt and we simply could not have done it without them. Also a big thanks to our licensing partners across the board. It also would not be possible without them. Most of all, thanks to all of our members, we definitely would not be doing this without you!

Good racing and a Happy Early April Fools Day!

[Sarsippius]

Day/Night transitions for the June build???

[Duke]

[Sarsippius]

Is anyone interested in running the Nurburgring 24hr on the 22nd of April? We're looking to run two 4 driver teams but have only seven guys available atm. We'll use either the Porsche or Audi, it seems we're more leaning towards the Audi but will work it out more once we have the teams sorted out.

Jiminee and myself are the two aussies on the team, it would be handy to have another aussie for scheduling in our timezone but this can be a one off thing if that's all you want. We're pretty laid back, non of us are super quick and there's a decent spread of talent so anyone can fit in.

[renesis37]

Would love to but no time.

Hylas or Duke might be interested?

[hylas]

Yeah I could be interested. I haven't heard from the guys that I ran Daytona with earlier this year and honestly I'm not very keen to run with them again if I have other options, mainly because they crashed the car in the first stint before I could get in the car, which took quite a chuck out of the top end speed. I was in the team that finished 10th in this session http://members.iracing.com/membersite/m ... d=18622243

[Duke]

Along with the highly anticipated Dirt related release this Wednesday - March 29th, iRacing will also deploy the 2018 NASCAR Toyota Racing Camry.

[Dr. Pain]

Should this new stock car be free or a great discount for anyone already owning a lot of oval cars and tracks? Is this even considered?

I ask this as I'd be getting frustrated that they bring on new cars, replacing old cars but there doesn't seem to be any considerable compensation for old content you've purchased effectively becoming invalid. I know you don't need all the cars to run a comp but maybe a trade in system might do this game good. I have 2 older stock cars, I think they are 2011 and 2012. I'd trade one in to get the Camry.

[NeilPearson]

Why they are building up new cars from scratch. There is no 2012 in cup. 2011 and current.

The Camry will probably be updated to the current Camry at no cost. As its just a body change. I would be very surprised if they charge a new car for that

[Duke]

#DIRTCONFIRMED... The long wait is over!

Tomorrow we'll start maintenance and test drive will be available. Don't be surprised when you don't find dirt content available or working.
During the maintenance period we'll make the new content available for download at http://members.iracing.com/download/member/home.jsp. You'll be able to download the included dirt content, and for those that have pre-ordered dirt content will be able to download that as well. Dirt content will not be available for optional download.
Your iRacing service will be updated after the downloads complete and are applied.
At this point, don't be surprised when your dirt content is still not working. We'll be making some changes to the test drive configuration to permit you to use your downloaded content.
Once all changes are made, check out @iRacing on Twitter and other social media to be sure that the required updates are done to allow access to dirt content via the test drive feature.
In summary, if you want to use dirt content tomorrow via test drive, then fully update your sim today, purchase content on pre-sale, and monitor iRacing's social media to learn when it is available on testdrive.iracing.com. At that time, download the updates, and enjoy!

Release Notes for 2017 Season 2 Patch 2 [2017.03.28.01]
CHANGE LOG:
Website
- Fixed the “Featured Answers” section of the Support page.

SIM
- Fixed a bug where newly created lap files for this season would not show up in the comparison lap file selection dialog.
- The "reduceFrameRateWhenFocusLost" and "muteWhenFocusLost" settings in the "app.ini" file have been renamed by placing an "_" before "WhenFocusLost" in their names, and both settings are now defaulted to 0. This means that when another program, or Windows itself, pops-up a notification while the Simulation is running, the Simulation will no longer reduce its drawing to a very low frame rate, or mute its sounds.

Dirt
- Dirt is finally here!
- Dirt race tracks are incredibly dynamic puzzles, changing their surfaces every lap as cars skid, scrape, and push dirt around. All these particles and the fluid nature of the track surface demanded a new particle code system, an artistic overhaul, and realistic audio to cover the vast range of variations these tracks present. We've implemented methods to cover the full range of wet to dry dirt, and the full spectrum of densities racing dirt presents including hardpan, loose, compact, and prepared racing surfaces. Finally, we've also designed the track surface itself to function like dirt racers can expect, whether it is pushing the cushion, gaining grip in certain areas, or forming a blue groove. Up and down the circuit, the vastly complex and seamlessly layered combination of track conditions creates an exhilarating experience.
- The particles, tires, and surface sounds are dynamically updated using hundreds of debris sounds and scores of tire rolling and skid sounds. These are dynamically adjusted to cover the full range of track conditions to reflect the wetness or dryness of the dirt, and to let you know when you’re driving on any combination of hardpan, compact, or loose dirt. We even hurled dirt at helmet visors to get the recordings we required!
- For the initial dirt release, it is best not to run non-dirt cars at the dirt tracks. This is for a couple of reasons. One, most of the non-dirt cars have slick tires, which do not work well at all on the dirt surface. Two, some of the cars are not yet updated to check for the new dirt track types and will fail to load at the dirt tracks. We'll work to rectify the failure of cars to load, but it is not likely that you will be wanting to drive cars with slicks at a dirt track anytime soon. Dirt tires are significantly softer and have much more tread pattern than even a normal passenger car tire. So even cars with treaded tires (e.g. the Skip Barber car) do not work well on dirt. Finally, most of the dirt cars allow much lower tire pressures than the pavement cars, which additionally helps them to work.
- - So if you would like to try dirt track oval racing, please try it in a dirt track car! The new Dirt Legends car and the Dirt Street Stock are available to all, as is USA Speedway, newly covered with dirt.
- A brand new Pace Truck has been built and hired to manage all races at dirt ovals to create a more authentic safety vehicle experience at these tracks.
- Due to the intense nature of the graphics needed for Dirt Racing, it is recommended that you keep “Render Dynamic Track Changes” enabled, and have your “Shader Quality” set to Medium or above, otherwise you will get a notification warning you about your experience.

Spotters
- Fixed an issue that would have left your computerized spotter disabled if a teammate left the server while they had indicated that they were acting as your live spotter.

GT3
- GT3 cars are now less sensitive to drafting - you will need to be closer to other cars to feel the effect.

Time Trials
- Time Trial sessions will now use the same Time Of Day as is used in the other session types in a given series that uses Dynamic Weather, even though the rest of the Time Trial weather settings will be set to the iRacing default weather.

CARS:
Aston Martin DBR9 GT1
- Updated tires to have a faster response to steering inputs and lower slip angles for peak grip. This should achieve a combination of good responsiveness and the ability to identify peak grip without taking away too much over-the-limit forgiveness.
- Updated the LeMans aero package: Rearward shift in center of pressure that produces better balance in mid-to-high speed corners.

Audi R8 LMS GT3
- GT3 BoP Adjustment: This car now has less aerodynamic understeer, and the rear wing is more effective at tuning both downforce and aerodynamic balance.

BMW Z4 GT3
- GT3 BoP Adjustment: Increased engine torque by 1%.
- GT3 BoP Adjustment: Re-tuned straightline speed to match performance from before the tire construction and compound changes.

Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GT1
- Updated tires to have a faster response to steering inputs and lower slip angles for peak grip. This should achieve a combination of good responsiveness and the ability to identify peak grip without taking away too much over-the-limit forgiveness.
- Updated the LeMans aero package: Rearward shift in center of pressure that produces better balance in mid-to-high speed corners.

Dirt Late Model
- NEW CAR!
- - As with their pavement racing counterparts (with which they share little beyond their generic name), Late Models are among the most sophisticated and popular classes of race cars on the dirt tracks of North America and Australia. “Classes” is the key term, as there is a category of dirt Late Models – Limited, Pro, and Super – for nearly every level of experience and budget.
- - There are several classes of this vehicle available, all of which are included when purchasing this new vehicle. The classes are:
- - - Limited Dirt Late Model (350 C.I.D. engine)
- - - Pro Dirt Late Model (358 C.I.D. engine)
- - - Super Dirt Late Model (438 C.I.D. engine)

Dirt Legends Ford '34 Coupe
- NEW CAR! Free addition for all Members!
- - Our original Legends car, geared up for the dirt tracks!
- - This dirt version of the Legends car is included as part of the free Legends ’34 Ford Coupe package.

Dirt Sprint Car
- NEW CAR!
- - Nothing better epitomizes grassroots American racing than a Winged Sprint Car slinging dirt on one of the scores of 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, and mile dirt ovals dotting the countryside. The Sprint Car’s iconic roller skate shape hearkens to an era when the likes of Bill Vukovich, Jimmy Bryan, and Parnelli Jones scratched and clawed their ways from the short tracks of America to a front-row seat in the Indianapolis 500. More recently, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, and Kyle Larson have used Sprint Cars as a stepping stone to NASCAR even as the likes of Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Donnie Schatz, Joey Saldana, Bryan Clauson, and Levi Jones have fashioned good (if hard-earned) livings racing World of Outlaws and United States Auto Club Sprint Cars three, four, and five nights a week while their counterparts compete in Canada and South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
- - There are several classes of this vehicle available, all of which are included when purchasing this new vehicle. The classes are:
- - - Dirt Sprint Car - 305 C.I.D. engine
- - - Dirt Sprint Car - 360 C.I.D. engine
- - - Dirt Sprint Car - 410 C.I.D. engine

Dirt Street Stock
- NEW CAR! Free addition for all Members!
- - Our original Street Stock, geared up for the dirt tracks!
- - This dirt version of the Street Stock car is included as part of the free Street Stock package.

Ford Falcon FG V8
- The drivetrain stiffnesses and damping values have been reverted to those used before the 2017 Season 2 Patch 1 release. This adjustment is aimed at reducing rear axle tramp.

Ford GT GT3
- GT3 BoP Adjustment: Fuel consumption has been adjusted.

Holden Commodore VF V8
- The drivetrain stiffnesses and damping values have been reverted to those used before the 2017 Season 2 Patch 1 release. This adjustment is aimed at reducing rear axle tramp.

HPD ARX-01c
- Bug fix for Tech in the Garage: Ride heights are now displayed at the rear left and rear right corners instead of along the longitudinal centerline of the car. This ensures that if the car fails Tech because the rear left or rear right ride heights are illegal, it will be highlighted in the Garage screen.
- - All iRacing HPD setups now pass Tech.

McLaren MP4-12C GT3
- GT3 BoP Adjustment: Anti-roll bars are stiffer at both ends in an effort to make handling more benign.
- GT3 BoP Adjustment: This car now has less aerodynamic understeer, and the rear wing is more effective at tuning both downforce and aerodynamic balance.
- GT3 BoP Adjustment: Re-tuned straightline speed to match performance from before the tire construction and compound changes.

Mercedes-AMG GT3
- GT3 BoP Adjustment: Re-tuned straightline speed to match performance from before the tire construction and compound changes.
- GT3 BoP Adjustment: Fuel consumption has been adjusted.

NASCAR Camping World Chevrolet Silverado
- NEW DIRT MODEL! Free addition for all Members who already own this vehicle!
- - Our original Silverado truck, geared up for the dirt tracks!
- - The dirt model of this vehicle will now be automatically used whenever paired with a dirt track. The dirt version of the Silverado is included in the Silverado truck package.

NASCAR Camping World Toyota Tundra
- NEW DIRT MODEL! Free addition for all Members who already own this vehicle!
- - Our original Tundra truck, geared up for the dirt tracks!
- - The dirt model of this vehicle will now be automatically used whenever paired with a dirt track. The dirt version of the Tundra is included in the Tundra truck package.

NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Chevrolet SS
- Updated aero, suspension, and garage setup ranges for the 2017 season.
- Track-specific vehicle setups have been updated.

NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Ford Fusion
- Updated aero, suspension, and garage setup ranges for the 2017 season.
- Track-specific vehicle setups have been updated.

NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Toyota Camry
- This vehicle has been updated with a brand new 3D model.
- Updated aero, suspension, and garage setup ranges for the 2017 season.
- Track-specific vehicle setups have been updated.

TRACKS:
Eldora Speedway
- NEW TRACK!
- - Both by geography and history, Eldora Speedway stands at the epicenter of dirt track racing. Situated in what was once an Ohio cornfield near the Indiana state line, the half-mile clay oval lies in the very heart of the Midwest's roaring racing scene. And as host to some of the biggest events on the short track racing calendar annually - events that have attracted the top names in American racing for more than half a century - Eldora can rightly bill itself as 'The World's Greatest Dirt Track.'

USA International Speedway
- A NEW DIRT CONFIGURATION HAS BEEN ADDED! Free addition for all Members!
- - While the real USA International was a super quick, three-quarter mile paved oval, thanks to iRacing’s talented artists and software engineers, iRacers (and only iRacers) can now race on a virtual dirt version of the Lakeland, FL track. With its long straights and tight but steeply banked turns, USA International requires both a strong engine and a finely-tuned chassis, and poses a stern test of Sim racers’ ability to wheel their dirt cars around a lightning quick oval.

Volusia Speedway Park
- NEW TRACK!
- - Known as 'The Fastest Half Mile in the World,' Volusia Speedway Park is a favorite stop on both the World of Outlaws and Super DIRTcar Series calendars, as well as home to the Annual Powell Memorial for Late Models and The Iron Man 100 for V8 Thunderstocks.

Williams Grove Speedway
- NEW TRACK!
- - Hearkening back to an era when America's dirt tracks were as much a part of county fairs and amusement parks as peanuts and cotton candy, Williams Grove Speedway is located in south central Pennsylvania adjacent to the amusement park established by the Williams family in the 1850s. It was not until the late 1930s, however, that Emmett Shelley convinced the owners of Williams Grove Park to build a speedway across the street, a half mile dirt track that has since become inextricably woven into the DNA of American racing.

[Righteous]

Purchased and ready. Can't wait to try it once and then not have time to play it again for ages!!

[Righteous]

Well, I don't know what to say, it's really an amazing accomplishment.

I've spend way too much time today playing it.

I've spent a lot of time at the Speedway and can't believe how well they've nailed the way the track develops over a race. I've never driven anything like these cars IRL so can't really account for how accurate the handling is, but if body language and visual behavior of the car is anything to go by, it's really impressive stuff.

I sat with the rift on just watching replays and marveling at it.

The sprint cars are my favorite and I can't wait till they let us run the more powerful variants. The current one feels a bit under powered until that track goes black at which point there's a lot of throttle control required and hunting for the grip up high.

Very impressed, I think it's going to be massive for iRacing even if it isn't everyone's cup of tea.

[nutty]

Sweet, looking forward to it. I want to find out what car/track combos is going to be raced in the offical series before I buy them, I always end up dropping bulk cash on cars/tracks to never race them

[Dr. Pain]

I'm very tempted to have a go at this.