Unlike some, I'm personally not opposed to the use of aids during the weeknight events. Like you said, it's they are just for fun/practice and aren't official like Sunday night. However, I'm a firm believer that people who use driving aids are doing themselves a HUGE disservice. Like many have said already, you are sooo much better off turning them off cold turkey. The rate you will learn and improve will be exponential faster when you aren't using those ego-protecting crutches.
Zero, I agree totally with what you said, personally for me, I feel like my behind has been out, when I've been racing here, and that gives me even more reason and drive to get better, but not everybody is like that, and I get that we can't hold every crybabies hand and help them along, but, to be rude to some guy who enters the room looking for fun was something I really wasn't fond of, you saw it too, people writing in all caps, "read the forum" was uncalled for in my opinion, it would have taken no more effort to just give the guy the answer he was looking for, was it annoying, of course, but we don't know his situation, maybe he came home from work, and jumped on the ps3 , looked in the room and saw people were in there, came in and was treated like a jerk. It just felt wrong to me, but I guess I'm a pushover, I don't know. Then the guys saying that if you don't know how to drive with them off, you need to practice more, well, good point Sherlock, but practicing in a room by yourself is much different than with 15 guys who are faster than you, my times are like fifteen seconds faster when I'm by myself, I think some people forget that different people progress in different ways, just because you did something one way, doesn't mean that's the best way for others. And about ego, it seems to me that every game I play there are guys who think they are better than whoever because they do it this way, or that way, I really never understood that logic, where does it end? Are people who drive faster cars better than slower cars? What about wheel vs controller, I mean who cares, let's race and have fun, that's all I'm saying. And by the way I'm lovin the GT academy, what fun it is, I've retried over 2300 times, lol. Talk about practicing, Sharkie accepted my friend request, and she beat me at all of them, and probably tried once, lol, if anybody else wants to friend me, please do, I really like seeing everybody's times, and trying all night to beat them