Forcednduckshn's CLEAN, FAST, SPEC RACING LOBBY - "SPA TUESDAY 25TH!"

Sounds familiar. I'm a few years behind you though. Didn't finish college and find money that exceeds my food+shelter needs until 30 (just turned 32).
I tried solo2 several times, and you're right the value and talent are second to none... but I could never get used to the field of cones. By the time I get the hang of where the hell I'm supposed to be going my runs are over. My mind is a problem solver, not a memorization machine, so I never felt like I was getting enough seat time. Was more like camping in a hot parking lot with the occasional 30 second blast of fun.

But... Got the mx5 this year. Next year will be the racing license and hopefully on to Solo1 and I want to do the Targa Newfoundland. (I mean it's so close and so awesome)
So I'm finally on my way. 👍

Well congrats man! I think you're feeling me on this :) And haha, yeah, learning to memorize the course is difficult, that and developing a course attack strategy is large part of the skill set. Also, the autocross experience can vary dramatically from region to region. If you autocross with a non-scca club, or a site that is small and wicked low speed, that can be a major turnoff. But I am lucky to be in a part of the country that has a great autocross foundation, with high speed, open and flowing courses, both SCCA sanctioned and independent clubs. (Honestly have reached about 90mph in to a few braking zones in the non-SCCA sanctioned sites.) But if you're messing around in 30 second, 40 mph sandboxes, the experience is enough to leave enthusiasts with a poor taste in their mouth. In the end, the SCCA is where it's at, with fast, wicked technical courses and some siiicckkk drivers that result in epic battles. Honestly, call me if you are ever in Connecticut/MA/NJ. I'll take you to a few auto crosses that you'll have a lot of fun at. I once did an autocross where I got 30 75 second runs in a course that was about 65-70mph "average" speed. My hands were literally blistered by the end of the day. And we destroyed a good set of V710's in the process. :)
 
But... Got the mx5 this year. Next year will be the racing license and hopefully on to Solo1 and I want to do the Targa Newfoundland. (I mean it's so close and so awesome)
So I'm finally on my way. 👍

Nice, can't meet the miata bang for buck! Solo 1 huh??? Nice!!!! Looks like a blast!!!

Good luck brother! Take video :)
 
I must be going to the wrong ones. The couple I checked out were SCCA run but we must have small parking lots. Courses were around 35-50 second short and tight. College campus lots were all I saw and are generally bad surfaces with lots of obstacles to design around.
Probably need to be in better population.
Racing isn't very big here in hockey town. Closest track is Watkins Glenn which is good, but I've never heard of them doing track days. So the closest thing you can actually drive on is Mid-Ohio. (Which i'm sure you know of being the home of the SCCA run-offs.)
hell, we just got our first kart racing maybe two years ago (little indoor joint).

Lemme know when you start playing games again. Was lots of fun last year 👍 (just need new cars).
 
Dr_Watson
I must be going to the wrong ones. The couple I checked out were SCCA run but we must have small parking lots. Courses were around 35-50 second short and tight. College campus lots were all I saw and are generally bad surfaces with lots of obstacles to design around.
Probably need to be in better population.
Racing isn't very big here in hockey town. Closest track is Watkins Glenn which is good, but I've never heard of them doing track days. So the closest thing you can actually drive on is Mid-Ohio. (Which i'm sure you know of being the home of the SCCA run-offs.)
hell, we just got our first kart racing maybe two years ago (little indoor joint).

Lemme know when you start playing games again. Was lots of fun last year 👍 (just need new cars).

According to several locals, and the racing museum curator(I've been to Watkins Glen a few times) they have track days almost every day, I even met a few people when I was there a couple weeks ago who said they went to tracks days at The Glen a lot. Watkins Glen is a sweet course! Oh I also noticed your from Buffalo, I'm just over the border in Fort Erie Canada.
 
According to several locals, and the racing museum curator(I've been to Watkins Glen a few times) they have track days almost every day, I even met a few people when I was there a couple weeks ago who said they went to tracks days at The Glen a lot. Watkins Glen is a sweet course! Oh I also noticed your from Buffalo, I'm just over the border in Fort Erie Canada.

Hmm... I've always heard they don't do open track time. Clubs rent the track but they don't have anything on their web site about open track days.

btw, yeah... I can actually walk over the Peace Bridge. 👍
 
Efiv12 wishing to join, will purchase 370Z new car dealership and oil change, will send friend request
 
Forcednduckshn
14 huh man? Well, great job, very fast for your age!! Don't underestimate the value of karts, if you can drive a kart fast you can drive anything fast. But you really need to make sure you "master" a cart before you move on. The skills in learning smoothness, and tire feel with carts are invaluable. It's a great venue to fix bad habits. :)

Thanks! 4 years of practice before I can even enter GT Academy(if it's still going then :lol:). I live in Baltimore so there's not much of a "racing scene" that I know of. The only SCCA sponsored track is Summit Point and that's near VA! Also Forced, what's your YouTube channel?
 
Practice, practice, practice. That's really what it's all about.

Regarding living in Baltimore, there are a bunch of good SCCA Autocross clubs in that region. Delaware has a great site, and Washington DC region also is a blast. It's a drive, but the NJ region SCCA also has some great autocross. Do a google search and you'll find them without too much of a problem :)👍
 
^^^Sorry I missed you John-


All: I will be hosting the lobby tonight after I download the 2.0 patch. (Totally pysched.) Also, expect me to put together some sort of recomended garage endurance event at SPA once DLC is available (I rainbow orgasmed just like the rest of you when I heard Spa would be a track in DLC on the 18th.)

I believe there will be a setting available now where I can force people to use un-tuned/un-modified cars. Therefore expect me to be running the list of added cars we have right now (like the s2000, 370z etc.) Looking forward to a good night. Cheers,

Nick
 
I'll be there after the boy is in bed and the truck is washed.

Cheers!

PS: weak draft too!
 
Original Post has been updated with details guys, please read!

Benz, specJSW, Beef, good to have you!

TNJF, no worries, will be on soon!
 
And just give everyone a heads up -

1) Continue to be anal about being clean and minimizing contact.

Around the 3rd or 4th race last night when some more folks joined, I was the victim of a lot of contact that ruined my races on the opening lap. I don't get bent out of shape about it anymore. However, if you do it, and it knocks me off line, or you pass me because of it and don't give the spot back, I am just going to boot you. I won't even bother giving you a warning. Were all sharp adults for the most part, and you know when you mess someone up. Don't be naive. If you bump me out of the way to get by, I'll just back out there and boot you. Feel free to come back, but it's pretty much a 0 tolerance policy from here on out. Consider this a final warning. Getting kicked from a server stinks, and I think that if anything, it will force those people to think more intelligently about making "over ambitious" overtaking moves in the future.

On that note, contact is always going to happen, that is totally cool. Just make sure you make up for it by action immediately. Apologies at the end of a race just don't cut it if it screws someone else up. I always back off when I make contact and punt someone. A couple of guys did an awesome job last night when you got in to me and then backed off to let me back by. Fantastic. That is the model that everyone should follow.

2) If you have a crappy connection, and you know it, please do not come back until you improve your connection.

My framerate, related to lag or not, got really bad when a few members that either a) don't typically race in the room and b) are known for having a bad connection joined up. Note that not everyone was effected by this. It got really bad for me during the start of the races where I would get destroyed in the first series of corners, with very low framerate, other cars ghosting and an inability to "go fast." Guys, if you know your connection stinks (you know who you are) then please, don't bother showing up. It ruins it for everyone (or at least, a lot of people.)

Because of this I am going to limit the lobby to 10 people. There were also suggestions of Unchecking "Fixed Host Status." One step further, I may turn off the microphone capability. All of these things in the interest of having the best racing experience possible. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, great battles as usual, Gar529 at the front of every race! Well done. More to come this weekend.

Cheers,

FI
 
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Anyone want to float me a tuned Z? I never got one before... just substituted the goofball infinity G

Oh and 👍 on the new N24 Skyline. Tested it last night at its home turf in the Eiffel mountains and it's easily the best default GTR I've come across.

also... are you sure the wheels do anything?
I know in reality they do, but I'd be shocked if GT was that hardcore about its simulation model.
 
Anyone want to float me a tuned Z? I never got one before... just substituted the goofball infinity G

Oh and 👍 on the new N24 Skyline. Tested it last night at its home turf in the Eiffel mountains and it's easily the best default GTR I've come across.

also... are you sure the wheels do anything?
I know in reality they do, but I'd be shocked if GT was that hardcore about its simulation model.

:) Nice! I'll check out the skyline tonight.

Regarding the wheels, it is fact that it increases the PP number on a car by a point or two. Also, we tested it a while back on Indy Road Course, one guy in stock Z with stock wheels, another with a stock Z and aftermarket wheels. We did 4 or 5 runs, and the higher PP z (because of the aftermarket wheels) accelerated slightly faster every time. That being said, we should test it again to observe the impact. Maybe it is only a few tenths on 60 seconds course, but that is a big deal in a lobby like this. So let's plan on testing it at the next lobby. 👍

Nick
 
Forced, thanks for hosting the lobby last night. It was really fun to run with you guys and I look forward to the next race. Unfortunately I had to leave early to get into work on time, but count me in next time. I struggled a bit at first managing the tyres and shuffling through the pack, but once I got into a groove I settled into a couple of decent laps.

There shouldn't be any lag on my end. It would be a first for me. My ping tends to be between 10 and 20ms. Never seen higher than 25ms. Just testing right now I have 15ms.
 
Forced, thanks for hosting the lobby last night. It was really fun to run with you guys and I look forward to the next race. Unfortunately I had to leave early to get into work on time, but count me in next time. I struggled a bit at first managing the tyres and shuffling through the pack, but once I got into a groove I settled into a couple of decent laps.

There shouldn't be any lag on my end. It would be a first for me. My ping tends to be between 10 and 20ms. Never seen higher than 25ms. Just testing right now I have 15ms.

Very Welcome, thanks for coming and I'm glad you had fun.

Are you playing from Jamaica, or here in the United States?

I only ask because I only seem to have issues when people join from outside the United States or Canada. It's not neccesarily a deal breaker, so don't get too worried at this point. I am going to take measures to make the connection as good as possible. We'll try again next time around and see how it goes.

Great driving by the way, you had some great pace!

Nick
 
Very Welcome, thanks for coming and I'm glad you had fun.

Are you playing from Jamaica, or here in the United States?

I only ask because I only seem to have issues when people join from outside the United States or Canada. It's not neccesarily a deal breaker, so don't get too worried at this point. I am going to take measures to make the connection as good as possible. We'll try again next time around and see how it goes.

Great driving by the way, you had some great pace!

Nick


I am actually playing in Jamaica, yes. The only race I ran last night was the Mini Cooper at London. If you are online sometime fooling around I'd be glad to hop in a room with you and you can check if you experience any lag with me to make a judgement on that.

I do know that the voice quality can effect the lag, as well as people popping in and out of the room during a race.

Thanks for comment. You guys are a quick bunch and I hope to be able to keep up with you. I'm still learning a lot and I think this group is a great opportunity for that.
 
:) Nice! I'll check out the skyline tonight.

Regarding the wheels, it is fact that it increases the PP number on a car by a point or two. Also, we tested it a while back on Indy Road Course, one guy in stock Z with stock wheels, another with a stock Z and aftermarket wheels. We did 4 or 5 runs, and the higher PP z (because of the aftermarket wheels) accelerated slightly faster every time. That being said, we should test it again to observe the impact. Maybe it is only a few tenths on 60 seconds course, but that is a big deal in a lobby like this. So let's plan on testing it at the next lobby. 👍

Nick

Good to know. Now I'll have to strip the wheels off the cars I keep default (unfortunate though as some factory wheels are god awful and you can't give the same performance boost to the standard cars).

Should get a good list on the first page and scrap the whole tired "recommended" garage now that the tuning limiter is in place.

Oh and as far as lag goes. DONT use 'fixed host' unless you have a very good upload bandwidth. That takes it out of peer to peer and makes you a dedicated server. This puts heavy stress on your upload as you're sending data to everyone individually (lagging you and no one else).
So if you have 16 people in the room your console is doing 16x the work. RT was able to do it for spec miata but he had a fat pipe. Not recommended if you have < 2-5 megabit of upstream.

However in the normal p2p operation after much series racing we've determined that (unless spec2 changed the net-code) 14 people is the happy-max. You get scattered lag at 15 and 16 causes trouble for at least one person most of the time.
So set it to 14 max and uncheck fixed host unless you have a fat pipe.
 
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Good to know. Now I'll have to strip the wheels off the cars I keep default (unfortunate though as some factory wheels are god awful and you can't give the same performance boost to the standard cars).

Should get a good list on the first page and scrap the whole tired "recommended" garage now that the tuning limiter is in place.

I am not so sure. I just took my 2006 S2000 completely stock. 270 miles broken in was 247hp/1250kg/431PP and when I installed a set of Advan RGIIs none of those values changed. Maybe it varies from car to car? I don't know.
 
Great runs last night guys! I was able to get back to 100%, take a win and poles and have some great battles with Gar (Android Racer :) ) now that my connection issues seem to be taken care of. I have reduced the room size to 12, reduced the audio quality, and no longer set the room to "fixed host status." It worked great.

1st race was at London, Mini w/ SH's. Set pole, but made a huge mistake to allow Garvey to get by. I spent the whole race trying to get by and had some runs, but couldn't make any passes stick. Great pace and driving by Garvey to take the win.

2nd race had a great battle with Gar at Monaco in M3 w/ SH's. I took pole and was slightly quicker throughout the race, but I made an early mistake through the chicane that allowed him to squeak past. He then pulled a small gap. I hunkered down, and reeled him slightly through the final 2 laps, to finish glued to his bumper at the start finish. Gar is a rare driver in that he is insanely fast, but almost NEVER makes mistakes. Awesome.

3rd race was at Suzuka, Impul GTR/ RH's. Did a 59.8 to Gar's 59.6 pole lap. I had great pace, but killed any chance of challenging with big mistakes. Finished 2nd some 2.5 seconds adrift, with a strong race by Gator in 3rd. Gar is also silly fast there, dropping a 59.0 in the race...

Last race was trial mountain reverse, Rx7/ SH's. After having blinding pace in quali, only to have off's and kill my fast laps, I knew I had a shot at the win starting 2nd a tenth off pole, again behind gar. I got through and pulled a .7 gap in the lead, but again made another huge mistakes through the T1/T2 esses. Gar and GTPwrstDrvr battle it out in front while I claw my way back under pressure from SpecJSW. A well timed inside outside move saw me slingshot around Gar and Wrstdrvr to driver's left through the small tunnel and late brake in to the following left handed to claim the lead and pull 3 lengths through the start finish for an intense win! Great driving by Gar and WrstDrvr.

Sim racing sure is a blast when you have some great people in the room!

Lesson's learned: Don't make mistakes! :)
 
Great racing with everyone last night. What an awesome group of drivers.

Forced that was a lot of fun to race with you on London. That was quite a lovely selection. I was worried at first with the front tyres so easy to overrun, but the car handled better than I expected. That was some fine driving of yours and a pleasure to be a part of.

JSW you had a very consistent pace and you had the speed to get past me I think, but Monaco is tight and there is little room for passing and then the race ended.

As before it was a great drive and I am learning more and more each time I run with you guys. Hope to do it again.
 
There were some awesome speed unleashed on the track yesterday, good for us!! See you everyone on track soon!
 
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