Does GT Sport make you drive better in real life?

[DGXR]

This might seem a silly notion considering many of the online races become demolition derbies. Just hear me out. GT Sport encourages drivers to avoid contact, be patient, wait for the opportunity to pass (rather than bullying your way through the pack), etc... we should "be sportsmanlike" and "avoid doing things that make you look bad." Many times I have calmly accepted another driver's mistake (or even deliberate contact), got back onto the track and proceeded to cleanly race my way back to a podium finish. Patience and consistency are often rewarded. This is immensely satisfying!

So for those who embrace this new vibe and new direction for Gran Turismo: when you get behind the wheel of a real car, in real life, how many of you have noticed yourselves being more patient? More respectful and tolerant of other drivers? Or another positive effect that Gran Turismo has had on your real world driving? Maybe you started using turn indicator? Haahahaaheee

Myself, I am more less irritated by individual slights from other drivers. I focus more on getting to my destination safely and in a calm and happy state of mind.

 

[Georgeagea]

For me the answer is NO, not at all.

 

[BigDawg_1281]

For me, it's the other way around. I drive for a living, a 40 ton vehicle at that. Over the years I have learned to be very patient. It translates into GTS and helps keep me from getting upset over things others do.

 

[Stotty]

No.

I do think RL racing experience helps though... anyone who’d done even a bit of karting wouldn’t attempt some of the frankly suicidal passes I see on line.

 

[GTWelsh]

I think its mainly the other way around, even my motorcycle track experience definitely helps.

 

[SHGTP]

Road car driving is very different to track work.

GT Sport, like all sims, improves you track driving. The repetition, driving without safety worries, and comparisons to others, all encourages you to find the best lines and techniques.

As a kid I always braked as late as possible, was too impatient in corners (missing apex's, on & off throttle), but with experience you learn cornering speed is key. Likewise, it's through sims you gain confidence to throw cars around, learn about momentum, the need to turn earlier into a corner at speed, as the forces push you out wide.

On the road I don't think there's much translation, other than awareness of braking distances, and how a rough back road could unsettle a car at speed. Sometimes I think kids in their first car think it's glued to the road.

 

[ghostrider135]

No.

I do think RL racing experience helps though... anyone who’d done even a bit of karting wouldn’t attempt some of the frankly suicidal passes I see on line.

I concur with this, I have some previous karting experience, Last time I did it I came away with very brown pants from an attempted overtake gone badly wrong

 

[Tillbeast]

I was doing ok until a policeman pulled me over. Apparently practicing for the dailies is no excuse for doing 145mph down the motorway.

 

[lombardo]

I can't comment, I'm too busy riding my push bike and annoying other road users to drive my car and cannonball people!

 

[FerrellJ]

Absolutely not.
The kind of patience you need to exhibit in the game versus the kind of patience you need on the road are completely different. It's no different than any other video game in that respect.

 

[Sven Jurgens]

No, optimizing corner exits in RL isn't advised. Just can't help it with those 270 degree on ramps.

 

[Oizon21]

GTS not making me better driver in RL as I'm not going against the law on the roads
Same like GTAV racing not making me worse driver. LOL

 

[Skeletor27]

Yes, actually. I think it can help.

Mostly if you drive in low-traction situations (snow, ice, etc.). Understanding under/over-steer, weight transfer, brake control, throttle control, smooth steering, etc. call all be applied in real life situations especially on slippery road surfaces.

 

[cleanLX]

My daily driver is a 1/2ton with the companies logo and phone number plastered all over...
That makes you a pretty polite/cautious/courteous driver. When I finally put my real life driving style into the game instead of my "Mr. Fast-game boy style"... things got a lot better in game.
So, I would say the opposite, being an alert/aware driver in real life helps in the game... once you get over thinking the game is going to foster a real life racing contract if you are Mr. Fast.

Yes, actually. I think it can help.
Mostly if you drive in low-traction situations (snow, ice, etc.). Understanding under/over-steer, weight transfer, brake control, throttle control, smooth steering, etc. call all be applied in real life situations especially on slippery road surfaces.

I grew up in eastern Canada, learned to drive in ice/snow/gravel long before ABS/TC/SC and all that fancy jazz had been invented. In my experience, handling in the real world is much different than in game... the theory translates but the feel and inputs required are vastly different.
I'm glad it works for you, but, for me one is nothing like the other.

 

[stevenhiggster]

I personally believe that while it maybe doesn't make you a better driver it does (and this is just sims in general not GT) make you more aware of how to control a car properly.

 

[Skeletor27]

I grew up in eastern Canada, learned to drive in ice/snow/gravel long before ABS/TC/SC and all that fancy jazz had been invented. In my experience, handling in the real world is much different than in game... the theory translates but the feel and inputs required are vastly different.
I'm glad it works for you, but, for me one is nothing like the other.

I grew up in the upper mid-west and same thing as you. Obviously a car on a game feels completely different than IRL. I was more referring to the fundamentals of vehicle physics. Theories if you will can help. For those who are not as fortunate as you or I who learned to drive in a banged up old pickup truck in a frozen wasteland.

 

[Foxis]

I will be the contrarian.

I can think of a few aspects where it does help your RL driving skills. Also, RL driving can certainly mean RL track driving. So I will include that.

First, for regular public roads:
If you are inexperienced, I do think any realistic sim with a wheel can help you become better at handling a car gone over the limit. And becoming adept in a rally sim will certainly help you in low traction situations (ie. sketchy winter road). Mind you, GTS should not be considered a rally sim.
It may be different in other countries, but in Sweden the part of our driver education that focuses on skids and recovery is ludicrous. The main thing they want people to learn is that skids are extremely hard to recover from. So they do not actually teach recovery. (Again, in Sweden, with our winters).
Knowing that driver ed is certainly not better in a few other european countries where I have spent a lot of time, I think the above holds true for most.

Second, track driving:
Again, if you are inexperienced it is certainly a good thing to be able to practice identifying corner types and race lines in GTS. It will add speed and safety in RL. Also, in most sims you can actually practice recovery quite well, which again may help IRL.

From personal experience, one manoeuvre practiced in sims (mostly iRacing in this case) saved my ass on track once. It did not use to be muscle memory before i seriously started racing in iRacing, and I usually don't drive hard enough on track to get into really hairy situations. But when it happened I was quite happy that my iRacing muscle memory kicked in and saved the day.

So, yes, sims can certainly help!

Edit to add: With the above stated, I will definitely agree with those who have argued that RL feels different. It does, especially at/over the limit. But that said, the basics of what to do and how to do it actually translate quite well.
And for those who argue it does not translate I'll urge you to look up the videos on the Finnish iracing-alien that got a chance to drive RL race cars in the US. He did extremely well.

 

[Mr P]

I was doing ok until a policeman pulled me over. Apparently practicing for the dailies is no excuse for doing 145mph down the motorway.

I bet that's been heard by motorway cops a few times by some chancer hoping the cop has a sense of humour haha

 

[Deadheadbill]

My wife says no... no it does not.

 

[Vader86]

I tend to think its the other way around. I have sports cars of my own that I drive, knowing how they behave at speed clues me into how they behave in the game.

 

[cleanLX]

My wife says no... no it does not.

I believe that is the thread "ender".
No arguing with the missus.

 

[GT_Astroboy]

Does GT Sport make you drive better in real life?

This is a great question, and my answer is without hesitation YES -- GTS does help me be a better and a safer driver.


Here is my Why, but first I should tell you how I engage in driving in GT Sport. I set my Bar as high as possible: I drive with NO driving aids, except ABS = Weak; I drive as cleanly as possible, and I do not clip the apexes nor do I ride the curbs. This approach makes me a bit slower than other drivers, but this is the bar that I like to drive to. As it is, I am not the fastest driver in the online races, but I am well within the front pack.

I should also tell you that I am happily in the 'Senior' class, which means that I count my age in decades.. In my youth, I won some races and my personal odometer has probably a couple million kilometers. Was I a good driver? Heck NO. Just lucky, very very lucky, and also very very stupid, but with a very generous guardian angel.

Now, with this as background, I go back to saying that driving in the GT games has indeed made me a much better driver, not just urban driver, but sports driver. I take the game very seriously, and other drivers even more so. I have learned much from watching other drivers' replays; I have learned much about how the various settings affect not only car performance, but how my driving style is intricately tied to the set-up. I have also learned to drive many different tracks, with many different technical challenges. It would take a real fortune to be able to drive all those circuits in real life.

I have also learned which risks are worth taking, and which are not. The fact that GTS is a simulator allows me to play with, and expand, my own limits, and learn from my mistakes very easily, and at $0 cost.

And now that I am beginning to race online, I am learning how to be a sports driver around other individuals who are also striving to be better sports drivers themselves. Decades ago, the win was the only thing that mattered, and damn the torpedoes and everybody else.

So YES, GTS has helped me enormously to become a better driver; and it is a real blast to be engaged in this process.

And one last thing, but not less important. To have this Forum, GT Planet, to be able to have these exchanges of opinions and conversations with drivers of all ages, nationalities, skill levels and interests, all around our common experience of Gran Turismo, man, sports driving could not get much better than that.

But to repeat myself just once: the key for me has been to set a very high bar for myself, and my pursuit of it a serious endeavour. That is MY game.

My $0.02.

 

[Loopdreams]

I don't think it makes me a better driver on the road. All the things that I'm practicing in a racing game are just completely different from all those things that make me a safe driver on the road.

In fact I'd be willing to bet that if there was some way to measure these things then people who play lots of racing games have more accidents, not fewer. Somewhat relatedly if you list your occupation as racing driver on an insurance form then you'll likely get hit with a sky high premium.

 

[crdcz03]

No and I imagine all the bad drivers I see in real life are the same people that use Meganes and Beetles on the game.

 

[NommyNom]

i'll go out on a limb and say the game says a lot about how a person drives in real life. The crash happy are either kids without a license yet or those impatient lane weavers that are in such a hurry to get to the next red light (selfish poor planners that don't look ahead) then there are those people unaware of their surroundings, the inconsiderate (use your signal), the 'win at all costs' probably apply to people who block lanes due to poor planning (sitting in a right turn lane signaling left in stopped traffic holding everyone up behind them) because in their small minds, rules don't apply to them. Then there are the blockers in game who are also probably fast lane hogs on the highway. move over if you're not passing.

I may have gone a little off topic.

 

[sems4arsenal]

I reached the final of GTAcademy with no real life racing experience aside from half a dozen karting sessions. Racing games do teach you something, no doubt about it.

 

[John Crellin]

If you are talking about everyday road driving, then no. It doesn't simulate that in anyway (unless you typically take your McLaren out for a spin after the first freeze.)
However, it can be an invaluable source for learning Track driving. Not only do you get to drive real world circuits and memorize their corners, you get driving aids like driving line markers,and a reset function for practice, practice, practice at no cost at all. I have read numerous articles by real world enthusiasts who use GT or similar sims to mentally prep them for their once in a lifetime track day at a famous track. I for one have come from playing the previous GTs and other arcade racers and found that GTS was the first game that I have played that actually incentivizes staying on the track, holding your driving lines, using spatial awarness, and limiting contact. Those are all skills that are required of the most basic beginner on track day. So that must count for something (right?).

Where this game fails IMO, is in the complete lack of teaching things like clean overtaking, cornering etiquette, which lines to hold when side by side with another racer, etc. I have had to go online and research all these things myself and it has immensely improved my online play and brought my SR to S rating. This would be an easy fix with a few mission style tests explaining the flag system, overtaking behaviors, when to pull out of a pass, etc.

 

[Sloppy Shades]

GT Sport simulates extremely well how many dangerous lunatics there are on the road in real life. Both those with negligent driving skills and those with a complete lack of morality.
At least in GTA you expect to get rammed, in GT Sport it gets you every time, like it would in real life.
Be prepared wear a seatbelt at all times!