tstafford

Rainy morning. So I thought I'd post a bit about my recent splurge on a Simcraft Simulator. The sim is an APEX 4 GTS with the standard components.

I had some defined goals in purchasing the sim:

• Learn the line at unfamiliar tracks (Road ATL and VIR to start)
• Get more seat time when I can't be in Atlanta at AMP or at another track (I live in Nashville)
• Introduce my twin girls to our sport in a way that momma would approve - one of them is already taking kart lessons too
• Fun for me and the family

All of my time so far has been running test laps either on Barber or Road ATL using iRacing in the Radical SR8. The SR8 is the closest approximation to my SR3 which is what I'm trying to improve in.

Simulators are hard - I've found that driving the simulator is harder than driving an actual car. While the motion is reasonably realistic there's still no "sense of speed". When in the actual race car you intuitively know how fast you're going and whether or not you're likely to make the upcoming corner. This is sort of lost in the simulator leading me to way more loss of control than I would ever experience IRL. But by the same token my lap times are insanely fast in the simulator - like 1:28.xx at Barber which is crazy by my standards.

Entertainment - It's pretty darn fun. The unit is very engaging. It's highly immersive. It has the same escapism factor that getting in a race car has for me. I like that a lot.

Kids - The kids love it. They have no problem reaching the controls. Because they're only six, they're learning the very basics - gas vs. brake, being smooth with the wheel, etc. Every session they make noticeable improvement but of course they are starting from nearly zero.

I think the most important part of the system for creating a good experience is the quality of the wheel but esp. the pedals. The pedals are made by Tilton and they are extremely realistic. You can hammer the brake like you do in a race car and it provides the same race car like experience - extremely firm and responsive. The Radical doesn't have ABS and the simulator does an amazing job of replicating what that is like w/ the brake pedal threshold.

Happy to answer any questions folks might have if they are thinking about a sim. So far I'm happy with the purchase and I'm looking forward to seeing if the investment of time in it translates to anything on the track.

venom51

Check out the Precision Racing League Thursday night events if you want some Radical competition. Pretty good group of guys and a good swath of varying driving skill.

http://precisionracingleague.com/home/

tstafford

Thank you! Once I have a little more seat time, I will jump in to that for sure.