Driving Styles
Books and manuals will tell you all about racing theory. Theory is perfect, bound only by numbers and formulas, equations, and rational thought. How we
apply is different then what's in the books.
First things firsthow the human brain works. Don't fret! This is not a psychology lesson! Just a lesson on why humans do not have the accuracy of the computer and/or AI.
The human brain is said to be the greatest computer ever (which is joked about in the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). Why then can't it produce the same precision of a computer with the simple interface of the Dual Shock 2 controller or even a Driving Force Pro?
Computers do
only and I mean
only what they are told. If something screws up, it was told to do it. They are told to do a lot, or so it seems. In GT4, it controls the decisions, throttle, steering, brakes, and shifting of 5 cars or less. Humans control breathing, heart rate, process images and feelings, subconscious things (like whether you are hungry or have to use the restroom soon), emotions...and on top of that, you have steering, braking, acceleration and, for some, shifting. It's really more than you think. And on top of
that, your body has anxiety tremors all the time, little twitches in your fingers and hands. It's really not noticeable, but you'll notice that it is impossible to hold your hand perfectly steady in mid-air.
The PS2 has relatively few muscles to control compared to the human. It is focused solely on the race. It processes images (the other way around from humans), computes the simulation algorithm, the speed of the disc in the game, the laser to load the course and models, but all of this is perfetly controlled because computers are bound by commands. Humans are prone to anything. This is why theory will be applied differently between humans.
Before continuing, I suggest a break with which to prepare yourself for the rest of this informative thread.
Soda, junk food, whatever it takes. Just try to stay away from GT4 a moment, though. Lol
Now that you're done (I'm assuming you will be), there are two theories that we are primarily concerned with in the psuedo-realistic GT4. First is tires are the single most important factor in your cars ability to speed up, slow down, and turn. Second is that a wider approach will yield a faster time on every corner (which is not necessarily true which is why this is theory right now). This second fact also assumes that if you brake later and form a sharper corner in the line approaching that of an L shape, you will have a faster time out of the corner because you will have effectively created a longer straightway in between corners. It's safe to read on now.
Professional Styles
Pro racers, in general, look for cues when racing. They act carefully and methodically. Theory must be followed as closely as possible. Again, there are different ways to apply it:
Pro-hard:
Brake hard, late. Acclerate early.
This style tends to push the car hard as possible. Late, strong braking and easy steering is the way to get through corners quickly, earning an earlier point to begin accelerating. There is no such thing as cruising here. Shifting late is on-time and stiff suspension improves times for this style of driving. Strong brakes and equally strong tires are a must!
For easy turns, minimal steering input is used while careful throttle control gets through best and most comfortably. For 90-degree turns, late and hard braking with a high apex closer to the exit of the turn yields best results as does an ealry acceleration out of the corner. For moderate corners, light steering input with moderate breaking will generally see the best results in lap times. Esses are dealt with hard braking into the first corner and accleration so early it is often before the first corner is completely circumnavigated. Hairpins are completed in an almost textbook fashionthreshold braking fairly late which fades into trailing lightly into the corner.
Pro-cautious:
Brake easy, turn easy. Cruise or be light on the throttle before opening up wide.
This style has the same analytic eye. Trailing into turns with moderate breaking is coommon and with unexperienced drivers so is too-early acceleration. Understeer tends to be a problem here. The best way to combat this is with careful tuning with attention to suspension and especially spring rates.
For easy turns, cruising is easiest but not always fastest if an early acceleration point is not used. For 90-degree corners, trail smoothly as possible and acclerate at or before the apex; this should leave little cruising space in between braking and accelerating. For moderate corners, a mixture of light breaking and cruising should work well, but be careful to not let your revs drop below the powerband. For hairpins, brake normally and trail into the corner smoothly looking for an apex at the center of the corner.
Pro-soft:
Easy on the tires but fast on overall times. Tend to use as little input as possible and consequently will take corners as widely as possible whenever practical. Despite this technique, cruising is not qtuite so common; instead throttle will be used lightly during corners to make up for the general lack of heavy input. In this case feathering the throttle around 30 to 40 percent makes for smoother cornering In shorter races, this style will favor the softer, stickier tires while using the harder tires to compensate for somewhat slower lap times in endurance races.
For easy turns, full speed entering and exiting but be light on the throttle in betweenthis should leave you further towards the center of the track than with most other techniques. For 90-degree corners, take a wide approach braking softly; the apex should be somewhat late on the corner or right in the middle. For moderate corners, use cruising wherever it feels best. For hairpins, brake somewhat hard at first, then lighten the pressure until you can turn into the corner at which point you should release the brakes and finish the turn normally. No matter how you drive you, above all else, smooth technique is the key!
Professional styles have their pros and cons like anything. A good driver,
any competitor in fact, knows to play up strengths and play down weaknesses. Pro style drivers are generally better in technique and consistency. However, learning each course is critical and will take time. If you don't learn a course, it's as bad, if not worse, than taking say a Mini Cooper to a Formula 1 race. It's really bad. Think of it this way: in real life, if you take a Mini to an F 1 race, you'll stay on the track and they you may get in the way of the other vehicles, you'll finish the race intact. If you don't learn a course in a higher speed vehicle, you'll end up in the grass, gravel, or worse, in the wall and will have to either repair the vehicle or get another. You could also injure yourself. In GT4, you can't get hurt, but your times will take a pounding.
Your first lap should be learning the course. Trying to get a fastest lap on your first run is just asking to screw up. Your second and third laps should be tests for you to make sure you memorized the track correctly. Everything after that is improving on the previous lap's time. Don't forget to experiment with different angles and entrances to corners. You may find that the least expected is actually the best. Remember, whatever you do, just stay consistent and stay on the course during the actual race!
Instinctive styles
Instinctive drivers work in one of two similar ways: 1)the driver remembers a course and the inputs he or she used for the vehicle he or she is using on that course. 2) the driver looks at a corner and uses techniques he or she used in a similar corner to navigate this one. The first method is more or less a subconscious controlling of the vehicle, almost like a trance. The driver will just look at the screen and recognize the edge of the course, speed, other vehicles and revs and nothing else. Using these four things, the driver will subcounsciously control the vehicle, often hardly knowing that he or she is holding a controller or steering wheel! The second technique is sometimes inaccurate, but it is better (in my opinion) then being completely unprepared. Utilizing past knowledge, the driver will navigate a corner from memory of another corner. I'm not sure if that makes too much sense, but if you do it, you know what I'm talking about. I would say that I fall into this general category of utilizing both techniques at the same time myself but I have learned techniques from the above styles as well.
Istinctive hard:
Utilize the gas a lot, brake really hard into corners, almost 110% at all times!
This style has a distinct disadvantage on tarmac tracks and a distinct edge in drifting and rally racing. As this guide covers only tarmac racing, however, this does not matter so much. This style knows his or her vehicle front and back, inside and out, left to right, and then some! This driver reacts to races instead of planning ahead. Racing lines are known and sometimes followed but instead of using guide points, this type of racer follow the line to the best of his or her ability by reacting to it. This often utilizes a lot of tire and therefore tire wear is generally a problem. Tuning is often stiff because of the excellent responsiveness of stiff suspension.
To drive any instinctive method, you must be good at control and it must be presice control. This particular style isn't so good on controlling throttle on the DS2 usually. Brakes are easy to control since it is placed on the tip of your thumb (if you hold the controller like normal people lol) and the tip of your thumb is much easier to control than the center. Mashing the gas is normal and so is oversteer. Drifting is common, fun, and instinctive here. It's not the fastest way through a corner, but instincts have the advantage insofar has overtaking and drifting. This generally makes up for a lot of time lost by other types of drivers. Just be careful in hairpins.
Instinctive fun:
Drives whatever feels good.
This style is almost the style without a style. It's not like Bruce Lee's formless style, this style just incorporates whatever feels good to them. So...that basically means I can't offer much more information. Lol
