Time Trial Discussion

[GT_Tuga]

Can't wait to reach those hights then 😅

But not today...

Today I found out that the gold at LM was down to 1:07.336 and my best lap is 1:07.379 😑

So I went back and did another 10 laps stint at LM, invalidated a 1:07.147 by driving 1 pixel too much to the right in the esses (the right one with red paint)

Opimal 2:06.831...

I can do it, but it is frustrating.

View attachment 1413320

I feel your pain.

I was also struggling at Maggiore until last Friday, couldn't even get past the Gold bracket with the Huracan (was "only" a tenth and a half away).

After watching Chafe's replay (I believe he's 2nd or something in the top 10 by now) and using his ghost I pulled off a 1:06.9xx which still feels like a miracle to me, almost feels like the hand of God himself grabbed the controller and made the lap for me 😅

I just hope it holds, because I have no intentions of going back there...

 

[Lomic]

I am following a very fast cow (@Pesselles in 1:05) and I am quite close most of the lap but there are still lot of places where I lose a tiny bit here and there (or a good bit if I make a mistake of course).

Tomorrow, probably, did not try this TT since last tuesday and I am very close in 1 stint so I am confident.

 

[Chris30]

Why did none of you tell me this week was Goodwood in an easy to drive road car!?

Also.. its Christmas so guess what? I made a video for you guys! First time in 10 months! Let's just say toddlers are time consuming 😳

Always run well at goodwood so currently 40th after maybe 70 miles. I might come back to this one and push for a sub 1:24.5... nah can't see me getting chance 🤣

Thank you for this guide, I'll use it as a reference. Also, I got a ps5 last week for an early Christmas gift, it's been a long month and a half but I persevered. My aim is for a silver time, I'm not even going to touch gold. I'll just have to miss out on the extra 1 million credits.

 

[NAXEHT]

Genuinely the stuff of nightmares.

 

[TumeK5]

I am following a very fast cow (@Pesselles in 1:05)

That is a very fast cow indeed 👀

 

[linksracer]

Gave the 2 trials a quick run last night. Not particularly interested in either of these so I won't be spending that much time with them.

First off we have Gr4 around Maggiore, managed a 2:06.009 in around 50km of driving using the Lambo. Feels like I'm no where near the limit of this car, which is obviously the case since I'm 2.4 seconds off the top time. Gr4 cars feel a bit weird to drive, they have so much grip for the power that they have, you can be extremely aggressive on the brakes and the throttle compared to road cars, almost like its driving on rails. Might come back to this for one more session tomorrow, but otherwise I think that's a safe gold.

Onto the Megane around Goodwood, time was a 1:24.948 with at least another tenth in the optimum. This track is extremely difficult to maximise everything as almost every corner is followed by a massive flat out section, so small mistakes add up over the course of a lap. Then there's the chicane of death right at the end just to add to the pressure. Something about the Megane feels off, the rear end is extremely floaty under braking which is particularly troublesome through the final chicane with the direction change. Not sure I'll bother coming back here, the chicane of death is too scary for me

 

[luv2drive]

Finished work a little early, so decided to run a 2nd stint on Goodwood with the Megane. Starting to get the hang of the chicane. There's still a few more tenths to be found out here I think.

And to what @half_sourly said earlier about this thread making people faster, I totally agree. It's all psychology. Since I've been participating in this thread, it's motivated me to put in more time on the TTs and try to improve, and many of you have helped. Thank you!

When I started doing it earlier this year, getting gold was always an objective and "usually" achievable, often after much suffering and I had never cracked the top 1000. Now, I find gold almost always achievable (except in cases like the 'Ring a few TTs ago when all the aliens came out and blew up the top time), and I can aim for other goals, like catching up to some of you super fast guys on my friends' leaderboard.

 

[Dolph Drago]

Well, I improved at Goodwood. From 1:25.074 to...drum roll...1:25.065. Wow. What a gain.

I had a handful laps I could have been quicker had I made it through the chicane. The struggle is real. I'm lucky if I can even get through the first two sectors with a decent time. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had a split under 1:03 at the end of sector 2 (my best were high .9's). Which makes the lap where I had a .767 split so confounding (blew the chicane of course).

Turn 1 is a lottery. Either I turn in (read: slide in) too early and lose time in the inside grass, understeer off track, or keep it on track but lose a ton drifting sideways. IF I get it right, I have a knack for messing up the left hander in sector 2. I seem to get on well with the double rights in that sector for some reason. The sector 3 double rights are another story. Coin flip whether I make it through them cleanly or not. Finally, I get through the chicane cleanly maybe 1 out of 10 times. Actually, more like 1 out of 20.

 

[Aspen Kendric]

Looks like with a controller/ flat screen/ AT/ no aids/ weak ABS.. I'm a 2.53% kind of guy if I try really hard.
I'll need to jump in sim rig w/ VR to be faster.

View attachment 1413160

View attachment 1413161

You’ll soon realize that using a wheel doesn’t make you faster, as controllers offer a lot of built-in assistance. That’s been my experience when switching from a controller to a wheel.

 

[Gomario JSP]

Why did none of you tell me this week was Goodwood in an easy to drive road car!?

Also.. its Christmas so guess what? I made a video for you guys! First time in 10 months! Let's just say toddlers are time consuming 😳

Always run well at goodwood so currently 40th after maybe 70 miles. I might come back to this one and push for a sub 1:24.5... nah can't see me getting chance 🤣

We didn't told you for this exact reason, we like to have a chance in the top 100
Good to see another video from you, been a long time!

I kind of gave up this morning, i had multiple ( 4x ) a 1:02.6xx after S1+S2 this session early mornings but never made it trough the chicane....., the chicane fun is gone.....

Genuinely the stuff of nightmares.

View attachment 1413345

True, and not realy that good for the duelsense in my hands pressing the h*ll out of it trying to rotate it

Well, I improved at Goodwood. From 1:25.074 to...drum roll...1:25.065. Wow. What a gain.

I had a handful laps I could have been quicker had I made it through the chicane. The struggle is real. I'm lucky if I can even get through the first two sectors with a decent time. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had a split under 1:03 at the end of sector 2 (my best were high .9's). Which makes the lap where I had a .767 split so confounding (blew the chicane of course).

Turn 1 is a lottery. Either I turn in (read: slide in) too early and lose time in the inside grass, understeer off track, or keep it on track but lose a ton drifting sideways. IF I get it right, I have a knack for messing up the left hander in sector 2. I seem to get on well with the double rights in that sector for some reason. The sector 3 double rights are another story. Coin flip whether I make it through them cleanly or not. Finally, I get through the chicane cleanly maybe 1 out of 10 times. Actually, more like 1 out of 20.

Yeah it's a weird corner for sure, i found out this morning that quickly going to 4th after the initial rotation gets me a little closer to the right which means i can throttle up more early, that made me follow Metal way closer and had more 1:02.6xx in the end.... not that does matter with that chicane

 

[Lomic]

Big stint this morning, big frustration too... Again my best lap invalidated with one pixel too much on the right, I don't get why sometimes it is ok and other times not, and the ghost in front seems much more on the right than me but...

Managed to get a 2:07.302 so I am back with a very fragile gold.

Optimal went down again but I'd need to win the lottery in each turn where I struggle to be consistent right now : 4, 5, 11 and 17, especially 17.

Medium is not good because of a few very bad laps.

Reaching the 07s is really hard (for me). Only 10/20 laps in the 07s including 3 red laps. 7 laps in the 08s and 3 in the 10s and 11s 😑

Of course I forgot to save the replay to maybe get advices, and I forgot to go back to watch those 1 pixel invalidated laps. Not all laps where invalidated in turn 7, at least 3 by oversteering after turn 11 and 1 invalidated in turn 16 but I have no idea how.

Feeling like I am banging on a wall right now.

I may go back to try improving but it is a bit discouraging.

 

[Gorefast]

Big stint this morning, big frustration too... Again my best lap invalidated with one pixel too much on the right, I don't get why sometimes it is ok and other times not, and the ghost in front seems much more on the right than me but...

View attachment 1413392

Managed to get a 2:07.302 some I am back with a very fragile gold.

Optimal went down again but I'd need to win the lottery in each turn where I struggle to be consistent right now : 4, 5, 11 and 17, especially 17.

Medium is not good because of a few very bad laps.

Reaching the 07s is really hard (for me). Only 10/20 laps in the 07s including 3 red laps. 7 laps in the 08s and 3 in the 10s and 11s 😑

Of course I forgot to save the replay to maybe get advices, and I forgot to go back to watch those 1 pixel invalidated laps. Not all laps where invalidated in turn 7, at least 3 by oversteering after turn 11 and 1 invalidated in turn 16 but I have no idea how.

Feeling like I am banging on a wall right now.

I may go back to try improving but it is a bit discouraging.

Are you going with the Lambo? I remember you started with the Genesis... Looking at my friend's board you should go with the Lamborghini. (or the Cayman that can be found also!)

 

[Lomic]

Are you going with the Lambo? I remember you started with the Genesis... Looking at my friend's board you should go with the Lamborghini. (or the Cayman that can be found also!)

Yes I relented to use the cow, not sure if it is better for me than the Genesis but this way I at least feel that I put all chances on my side.

No assists except CSA and ABS weak.

 

[GT_Tuga]

Yes I relented to use the cow, not sure if it is better for me than the Genesis but this way I at least feel that I put all chances on my side.

No assists except CSA and ABS weak.

I'm not sure if CSA is needed here, the Gr.4 cars already have plenty of grip so, unless you're driving a "tail-happy" car (not really the case of the Huracan IMO unless you're trying really hard to make it oversteer) then probably you should try to avoid using CSA for this TT.

However, I have absolutely zero proof whether it makes you faster or slower here, maybe others can clarify this according to their personal experience.

All I know is this: I didn't use it and I've made it into Gold, so maybe you should try to learn how to drive the Lambo without CSA, get the feeling of when to press the throttle, and how much.
It's not a hard car to drive, trust me. You can be aggressive with it, up to a certain level of course...

 

[feral and bad]

Well, I improved at Goodwood. From 1:25.074 to...drum roll...1:25.065. Wow. What a gain.

I had a handful laps I could have been quicker had I made it through the chicane. The struggle is real. I'm lucky if I can even get through the first two sectors with a decent time. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had a split under 1:03 at the end of sector 2 (my best were high .9's). Which makes the lap where I had a .767 split so confounding (blew the chicane of course).

Turn 1 is a lottery. Either I turn in (read: slide in) too early and lose time in the inside grass, understeer off track, or keep it on track but lose a ton drifting sideways. IF I get it right, I have a knack for messing up the left hander in sector 2. I seem to get on well with the double rights in that sector for some reason. The sector 3 double rights are another story. Coin flip whether I make it through them cleanly or not. Finally, I get through the chicane cleanly maybe 1 out of 10 times. Actually, more like 1 out of 20.

I don't know if this helps. On Turn 1, I edge into it just a little sooner than I think I should and follow the crown of the curve until just before the end. I seem to be able to consistently run .8's and the occasional .7 that way. Of course the rest of the lap is a disaster, but maybe this will spark an idea for you. The key appears to me to be to use the camber of the road to maintain the correct trajectory.

 

[crome]

I'm not sure if CSA is needed here, the Gr.4 cars already have plenty of grip so, unless you're driving a "tail-happy" car (not really the case of the Huracan IMO unless you're trying really hard to make it oversteer) then probably you should try to avoid using CSA for this TT.

However, I have absolutely zero proof whether it makes you faster or slower here, maybe others can clarify this according to their personal experience.

In my humble opinion, once you're used to driving with CSA on, it doesn't really make sense to toggle between time trials. I personally always have it on more or less, and I don't think it makes me any slower on the TTs that do NOT benefit from it (such as this Gr. 4 one), but it does help me on others (like the Megane one).

FWIW, I am currently #232 at Lago Maggiore, and #66 at Goodwood. I can't tell you how much potential I leave on the road with CSA on, but honestly it can't be much. TCS is a whole different story though.

 

[Lomic]

@GT_Tuga : about CSA I have no clue. I'll try without to see how it feels.

 

[SPDN Stefano]

In my humble opinion, once you're used to driving with CSA on, it doesn't really make sense to toggle between time trials. I personally always have it on more or less, and I don't think it makes me any slower on the TTs that do NOT benefit from it (such as this Gr. 4 one), but it does help me on others (like the Megane one).

FWIW, I am currently #232 at Lago Maggiore, and #66 at Goodwood. I can't tell you how much potential I leave on the road with CSA on, but honestly it can't be much. TCS is a whole different story though.

You play with a controller?

 

[crome]

You play with a controller?

No, see my signature. From what others have stated on the subject in the past I got the impression that CSA has less of an impact for controller users because CSA is kind of "built in" to the control scheme already to make the car manageable on controller at all. I might be very wrong on this however

 

[SPDN Stefano]

I feel more understeer with CSA on a controller but I haven't used it much.

 

[equalitus]

And as expected I'm nowhere near winning gold in any of the events, strangely enough I got silver by using the Lambo.

 

[Vule]

Regarding CSA on the Hurracan - I did many laps with and without, it's a small difference but there is a difference. For example, it makes the car more stable under hard braking, in case of this TT, only for turn 5, it just doesn't want to swap ends, but I found out that it also somehow makes the car less sharp in tight turns, I can do a much more consistent fast S1 without CSA, it doesn't mute it, if that's a good explanation.

Either way, you can do a very good time with and without, if you don't know how to regulate the braking for turn 5 and keep losing the rear, turn the CSA on strong, if you don't have this issue, you don't really need it for the rest of the lap.

In an ideal world, there would be a toggle for CSA same as for TC, you do the first sector without, turn it on quickly for turn 5 and then again turn it off, but... there isn't

 

[Lomic]

if you don't know how to regulate the braking for turn 5 and keep losing the rear, turn the CSA on strong

That turn is one of my pet peeves, curious to test without CSA (currently on low). Thanks for your input.

 

[Todt]

I have the same feeling as @Vule and it also helps me to re-accelerate sooner with certain vehicles, especially road ones.

 

[GT_Tuga]

Thanks @crome and @Vule for your insights 👍
Seems like this whole CSA subject probably depends on how it feels for every single one of us, even if we leave it on when it's not needed it probably won't hurt our lap times much, if at all.

Obviously our skills and experience, the gear (controller vs wheel) and the way we play may also affect the overall "feeling" of it.

I have used it quite a few times in the past and it definitely helped me when I was struggling with some "wild" beasts, or trying to deal with some questionable tire choices as well.

In this particular case, the Gr.4 TT, I get the feeling that using CSA might not be as essential as it was with other TTs in the past, but then again, this is just my feeling.

You guys can and should use whatever assists you want, hey if it works for you then stick with it! You guys seem to be doing great so "if it ain't broke don't fix it"

 

[Vule]

In this particular case, the Gr.4 TT, I get the feeling that using CSA might not be as essential as it was with other TTs in the past, but then again, this is just my feeling.

Definitely, it's much more useful on a tail happy road car with comfort/sport tires, also sometimes on the faster Gr1/2 cars if no TC is used, but on Gr4 it's probably the least useful, especially on a 4WD Gr4

 

[NicoGmbh]

@Lomic @GT_Tuga

This is more about the Mégane at Goodwood.

More than the CSA, the GSA seems to make a big difference.

I watched some replays, the GSA indicator flashes like a Christmas garland for almost the entire tour.
The car appears to be on rails at St Mary’s turn.
Braking appears to be very delayed at Woodcote (near the end of the tarmac on the left).
The COD also seems to be easier to negotiate.
Overall, much less oversteer.

Personally, I don’t use it and prefer to fight with the Mégane. More funny.
I have even more respect for aliens who perform super-time, without any assists.