Logitech G25 vs Manual Car

[zaybxcwd12]

Originally Posted by Spectre

Actually, back in the 80s, Atari came out with a driving simulator for arcades that was actually adopted in a number of California schools with a couple of modifications.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Drivin%27

A whole bunch of kids learned to drive stick on that thing.

I am showing my age, I played Hard Drivin right after I passed my test, dunno how much cash I pumped into the thing. Ok the game iteslf wasn't very good but the novilty of using manual shift with a cluth made up for the lousy game. If I remember right you could still change gear without using the clutch pedal.

[idk]

Originally Posted by tigger

Get an old Celica, or Civic or idk

How can i help him???

[THGL]

Okay, I have to reply in a way a 19 yr. old will understand.



I hope that helps.

Seriously, I agree with everyone who said buy a beater and have fun with it.
I'm sure you can find a mid-80's Mustang with the 2.3L four and a manual.

[Hercules286]

Originally Posted by NooDle

offtopic

Did anyone else think the gears went like 1-2-3-4-5-R as a kid too? I always thought the R was for race or "really fast". or am I just daft?

/offtopic

When I was a kid our car only had 4 gears, you insensitive clod!

[MXM]

Originally Posted by MadCat360

You can't learn any of that in a racing game either.

I played sims for a long time before I went to racing school. Then I figured out I was doing it all wrong.

You can't learn anything from sims. All you can do with them is slow the rate of decay. Lewis Hamilton agrees with me. He says his McLaren simulator is useless.

Maybe YOU can't, my experience is quite contrary

In general the way people learn is very different. I can't say games are going to help everyone, but for me personally figuring out the physics behind something is a huge part of learning. I would still need to acquire the needed motor skills of course, but the underlying basics of the behavior of the car are already there.

And if you want to learn a particular track ('ring ) the games are priceless!

[MadCat360]

Originally Posted by MXM

And if you want to learn a particular track ('ring ) the games are priceless!

Well yeah. I suppose for a really long track it could help to learn it. But in my experience you won't get the really important information (braking points, braking zone stickyness, turn in points, apex speeds, etc) from a game. You can learn where the track goes but there is no way you'll ever be able to refine your lap to the point of going out for the first time in real life and setting a decent time.

Yes, if you don't know a single thing about driving race cars I guess you could learn something. But time spent on the actual track is about a thousand times more effective as a learning aid. When I first got on the track I learned twice as much in one lap as I learned in years and years of playing racing games.

For instance I can learn, in a video game, that a track goes left right left right right right after a few laps, and then refine my braking and apexes, but as soon as I hit the real track all that will go out the window because the track will be different (subtly), conditions will be different, etc. it only takes one lap to learn where the track goes.

Let me put it this way, if I had the choice of running around the new Thunderbolt raceway for 10 minutes in any car or take 10 hours of track time in GTR2 for an upcoming race, I'd choose the 10 minutes of track time.

[Twerp128]

Why do you need to know, and don't you have one friend or acquaintance with a manual?

If your ever in South Bend I could teach you, otherwise most private driving instruction schools can train you for a small fee. But don't you have friends?

[MadCat360]

Originally Posted by Twerp128

Why do you need to know, and don't you have one friend or acquaintance with a manual?

If your ever in South Bend I could teach you, otherwise most private driving instruction schools can train you for a small fee. But don't you have friends?

Haha, he's in the same situation I was a while ago.

Family had no manual, friends had no manual, driving schools don't offer manual training any more in my area (to expensive) and rental agencies don't do manuals any more in my area.

So I went to Skip Barber, not just to learn a manual though.

Trust me, just buy a cheap car and learn how to do it. Buy an old car that you won't care about for really cheap, and when it breaks, buy the car you really want.

Or maybe call some guys from classifieds and schedule to see that car, and ask them if they wouldn't mind teaching you to drive stick while you test drive the car. I swear it takes 5 minutes and you're in business. After that it's just about getting smoother. The only thing that you have to know is to be slow with the clutch. It's so easy once you understand what to do.

Most guys though probably won't let you do it. Just keep trying.

If all else fails just buy an auto and when you have more money later you can afford to learn by yourself.

[The_Finn]

Originally Posted by MadCat360

Well yeah. I suppose for a really long track it could help to learn it. But in my experience you won't get the really important information (braking points, braking zone stickyness, turn in points, apex speeds, etc) from a game. You can learn where the track goes but there is no way you'll ever be able to refine your lap to the point of going out for the first time in real life and setting a decent time.

Yes, if you don't know a single thing about driving race cars I guess you could learn something. But time spent on the actual track is about a thousand times more effective as a learning aid. When I first got on the track I learned twice as much in one lap as I learned in years and years of playing racing games.

For instance I can learn, in a video game, that a track goes left right left right right right after a few laps, and then refine my braking and apexes, but as soon as I hit the real track all that will go out the window because the track will be different (subtly), conditions will be different, etc. it only takes one lap to learn where the track goes.

Let me put it this way, if I had the choice of running around the new Thunderbolt raceway for 10 minutes in any car or take 10 hours of track time in GTR2 for an upcoming race, I'd choose the 10 minutes of track time.

Having spoken with a number or pro drivers while at limerock the past few years. I know ALOT of them use sims to get to know the track layout. You are right in that there will be subtle things that change based on day to day track conditions but with the to within inches accuracy of sims these days the fact that you get a chance to learn the layout before you show up and then can spend all your practice refining the setup of your car is definitly a huge plus. This is especially effective for the semi pro drivers that do fill in work when other drivers are double booked or sick/hurt and need to jump on a plane to get to a track they may not have driven before.

[MadCat360]

Originally Posted by The_Finn

Having spoken with a number or pro drivers while at limerock the past few years. I know ALOT of them use sims to get to know the track layout. You are right in that there will be subtle things that change based on day to day track conditions but with the to within inches accuracy of sims these days the fact that you get a chance to learn the layout before you show up and then can spend all your practice refining the setup of your car is definitly a huge plus. This is especially effective for the semi pro drivers that do fill in work when other drivers are double booked or sick/hurt and need to jump on a plane to get to a track they may not have driven before.

I've never raced in a track that was exactly the same as in real life. iRacing might be the exception there, what with the laser scanning.

Then there's also the fact that no car you drive will ever be the same as the car you're going to be driving in real life, and that's at least half the battle.

It's just better to learn by doing. You can't seriously say a simulator is any substitute. The only point that holds any relevance is learning which way the track goes, which should take all of a single lap in real life. I've never taken more than 5 laps to learn a track completely, even for long courses. After that it's all refinement which is exactly what you don't want to be doing on a simulator.

Yeh, there's no harm in playing racing games as a racing driver (I do, plenty. Especially now that the season's over). But there's not really anything to be gained, either. The most you can ever hope for is slowing the rate of decay.

[No Boss]

I drove a POS, 200k mile, ten year-old VW GTI that practically fell apart every week... I drove that for 5 years, but as I was dealing with that I was saving. Because of that, and a lucky dealing, I practically got the car of my college-affordability dreams.

[nouseferaname90]

I personally would go with the cheap car. Break the transmission, get a new one.

[sifu]

In here all driving schools teach with manuals. Plus transmissions in those cars last way way more than one student... so you really cant break the transmission while learning.

And yes, you can break it, but if you learn by respecting it.

[ahpadt]

Just buy something random with a manual box. Doesn't matter whether its FWD, RWD or AWD...

[THGL]

I found you a car!

'85 Celica GTS on ebay

5 speed, rear drive, and it's close to Chicago (I think).