I have to be the worst sim racer in the history of sim-racing. If I put the settings on amateur I spin on every corner. I just got a wheel which has improved my driving a bit but not much. I an to used to oval tracks.
Just take it easy and don't get discouraged. When I started I couldn't finish a lap on RaceRoom Raceway to save my life. The longer I stuck with it however, I kept driving better and got faster and faster. Practice makes perfect (or in my case, passable )
Pick the right car for learning to drive. I would suggest something out of WTCC or DTM 1982. Cars from G5, ADAC or GTR are usually more difficult to drive. If you own wheel than I would suggest sticking to "get real" from the beginnig. Use the "leaderboard challenge" mode to see your raceline and breaking points from previous lap, they are good reference points.
When I started with r3e, I couldn't get one clean lap in Portimao for what seemed like forever. I specifically remember it feeling like I was driving on ice and I had it on amateur as well. It's taken me about a thousand laps total to finally progress to get real mode. While a tad frustrating at first, I'm starting to get the hang of it, which admittedly, for me is more fun. Stick with it, and don't let it frustrate you. There are good times ahead.
Hey, then you've come to the right place! Can I ask what cars and tracks you're using? Do you own any content or you're using the free stuff?
BMW 134 Judd V8 is the best car for the learning IMO. You can drive pretty wild. Another good candidates are Canhard R52 and Radical SR9. Use Apex to learn tracks. @Rodger Davies You can check his profile. He owns almost everything.
I learned to drive with the mclaren MP4-12c around mid Ohio- 50-50 brake ratio will almost make locking up nonexistant
I thought Apex Hunt was a brilliant innovation in this game; it`s a fantastic way to learn new tracks and to both test and improve your driving skills. Give it a try
WTCC? I don`t think they`re good cars for new players at all. Even in amateur mode those FWD cars are difficult to control. And also, when did we get DTM 1982? I want those cars. Now.
Ups, sorry you can't get them As for WTCC I usually drive BMW so it's RWD, and I think it's not that difficult do drive (comparing to other classes I mentioned, especially those with lots of power horses).
My bad. I thought it was FWD because for me it's much easier to drive than Civic or Leon, and because historically Lada cars were RWD.
Being an oval guy myself, I would say the biggest thing you have to overcome is driving into turns too hard. Brake early, exit fast till you get used to it.
I own almost everything. I have been using the wtcc cars a lot. I will try the Judd, FWD cars actually feel more "natural" to me. I can usually stop a spin when getting loose in those. My biggest problem thus far is learning the tracks. I am used to learning Martinsville not Hockenheim
Did not like the Lada, Seat was decent, Honds the shifting kickback is nutts, Chevy is heavyish, BMW actually was decent to drive
Good way of learning a track is to drive slower with 2/3 speed, brake gently, lift the brake, turn to the corner gently to hit the apex. After the apex increase throttle until you got a decent speed again. And repeat this for every corner on the track. This seems silly at first but you be surprised how much speed you gain if you do this many rounds. You can increase a little bit speed on the following lap but always feel the full control of the car. Driving at this point must feel natural, easy and with control. If your muscles remembers the braking point, the throttle control and steering input you can go full speed. Even at this point driving should be relative easy. Ohh and use all the width of the track. I started sim racing myself only a month ago, and got a decent speed now. Not top but good enough to feel the need to compete Start with a car which has a good traction ( Mclaren ADAC is a good one) PS: If you raced in arcade racers, then you need to forgot the bad habits of some of them: Full throttle always no matter what , no penalty over steering to correct lousy corners entry, etc...
I wouldn't recommend learning with very aero dependent cars. I've always had trouble feeling out the car, how it reacts when it generates a lot of downforce. If you have the DTM 92 pack I would start with one of those. The Audi is relatively easy; or the Mercedes - feels very planted. The FWD WTCC cars can teach you a lot about smoothness, more specifically steering input smoothness which is key; the modern DTM, GT cars you can wrestle around; not so much with these. However, the default settings aren't very friendly (stiffen up front ARB to get front-end feel)