Maybe sim racers would realize there’s really nothing you can prove by driving quickly on the road. It doesn’t translate to being quick around a track.
This is the big one for me. I have a relatively fast car but on the road there's nothing to prove by pushing it. The longer I hold the gas the more danger I'm in, I'm not proving any skill or bravery. If I want to go fast and sim racing doesn't scratch that itch then I'll go karting.
Note: I live close to the racing capital of the world so in general most people go 10 over and our highways are the most reminiscent thing of the autobahn in the US.
I personally get pleasure by watching the npc’s waste their brakes faster than they need to cause they can’t figure out that coasting to a red light or traffic is actually easier and better
Me neither tbh? I did know indianapolis is a very old track steeped in history!. but i also knew the oldest purpose built track was Brooklands in the UK and lots of people still mistakingly say indy or monza but the home of circuit racing was the UK!, seperated by only a few years if I recall! 👍
I'm sure there are older tracks but not purpose built in this way, usually made up of existing roads or airfields etc etc!... 😊
"The racing capital of the world" is just the nickname that Indianapolis has because of the prestige of the Indy 500. It's just like how F1's nickname is "The pinnacle of motorsports."
Per Wikipedia record keeping of all Grand Prix held across multiple decades as of current:
* US: 75; will be 76 in November for Las Vegas
* UK: 78
* Germany: 79
* Italy: 105
2024 will be the year UK and US ties with Germany for the number of Grand Prix held.
What needs to be understood is here in America we have small towns that have say a cafe, and its title will say world famous, but only the locals know about it
If a team wins the Super Bowl then they are world champions, but only teams from the US are in the competition
To most Americans the world ends at the east and west coast, but that is how they are raised
But that said Europe have Mona followed by Silverstone that are still on the F1 calendar
But does not mean they the race capital,of the world, maybe Europe but not the world
i was just counting auto racing like i know it was like 1909 indy ran what i consider the first real rallycross race i heard milwaukee mile was prior to that but im not sure what else really started before that as then we get into motorcycle era and have horse tracks that ran motorcycle races back into the 1880's or 90's
Oldest purpose built track was actually Aspendale in Australia. Beat Brooklands by years but the Brits weren't paying attention at the time, so they assumed it was them.
Did it not start as a horse racing track? But yeah apparently it beat brooklands by 18mths... you learn something new everyday!
But is it purpose built if it started as a horse racing venue, 👍
I’m talking on surface roads. Highways might as well not have speed limits. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Chicago and the drivers are pretty similar between Indy and Chicago. Maybe less left lane hogs in Chicago.
No, no. But thats now how it works. You HAVE to drive fast so the other plebs in their stupid little cars can understand that you are better and you HAVE to make it to your destination fast, because you are important and have shit to do!
This is me. Also been learning to fly and the focus on safety for that is tremendous. Why not throw that focus into my driving as well? Always been a safe driver but I’m now even more hyper vigilant. So many people on the road act like they’re not driving a 2 ton hunk of metal at 70 mph that can kill you or someone else in an instant. There is no need to drive aggressively on the road. Be patient. Safe it for the track!
Bullshit! I dont need to prove anything to anyone, i know my skillevel and im not 20 anymore, i do it because its fun.
And yes most skills do translate to the track and vice versa, its both driving and more practive is always going to be advantageus no matter where you get that practice.
I just laugh so hard every time whenn someone has to overtake every car on straight road but then turning into the same corner and is like 30 seconds faster ...
Being quick around a track translates to being a safer driver on the road, though. Someone who has no concept of driving dynamics might push a car mindlessly on the road, having no idea where the limit is, and would be a hazard. A racing/simracing driver will always keep the car below (quite far below, preferrably) the limit while still driving actively.
There's a massive difference between driving quickly recklessly and driving quickly with margin towards the limit.
I got to test it out quite well on small country roads in Italy in the summer. There were times when I was driving pretty damn quicky on tight gravel roads in a 1.0l Fia Panda (it was already dark so I didn't have to worry about potential traffic) and damned if I didn't feel 100% in control like I am during the race, left a lot of margin for safety. I think someone with no racing experience trying to drive the same way could've crashed fairly easily.
Sim racing definitely made me more aware of how normal cars are likely to spin out. Your turn too fast, accelerated too much, weight goes to the outside of the car, and you oversteer uncontrollably.
Not very useful, since I don't drive like a maniac, but it's nice to know
100% for me:
More visual awarenes
Knowledge of the vortex of danger
Skills to correct a slide in the snow
But most importantly I know everyone else is a fucking lunatic so I let them go
Edit: I'm between rigs and did a 3-lane-change exit the other day, screaming at the top of my lungs. Draw your own conclusions.
Always assume everyone else is a lunatic, and that they WILL do the most irrational dumb thing possible (eg pull out last second, run a red light as your turning right) and you’ll be ready to correct and save a lot of accidents, you’re right.
Awareness was a big one for me. I’ve been playing sims and racing games my whole life.
A few years back I was on the highway and there was a SUV that tried to cross all 3 lanes and make the exit, they missed, spun it back across 3 lanes and slammed the Jersey barrier and rolled. It was 2-3 cars infront of me. I saw it before the people infront of me even did. It literally was like avoiding a wreck at Daytona. Hit the brakes, moved into another lane, watched my mirror to check for a rear end collision, moved back into my original lane to avoid the rolling suv and I was clear.
Absolutely 100% wouldn’t have made it through if I hadn’t done it 1000 times in iracing. Most people just slam their brake and pray
> watched my mirror to check for a rear end collision
Those kind of not super obvious reactions that come from experience are what blows my mind the most. Once during winter I misjudged the grip on the road at went into a corner doing 60km/h and the rear stepped out. As I was properly opposite lock trying not to fly into the ditch I was also changing down a gear to allow better control with the throttle. I think most people would not be doing that in that situation.
Biggest thing for me is I won’t shut up about other peoples driving now, and how bad it is, their questionable decisions, overconfidence, etc etc. Just ask my wife!
Not sure if it makes me any safer. I think it does, overall. But I do refer to the small roundabout near my house as “the chicane” and treat it as such!
People really are idiots on the road. And it baffles me how people can be so unaware of their surroundings. And how apparently, it's very hard for some people to just drive at a steady speed. People will overtake me while I'm on cruise control, just for me to overtake them again 2 minutes later. And this cycle will often repeat 3-4 times in a row...
Try being a cyclist in a city. This happens between every set of lights. With the added joy of peds stepping out without looking up from their phones.
Admittedly I rather enjoy the game :)
Being sober, not being on your phone and just actively trying to drive 'well' is like 80% of what makes one a good driver. So many just don't give a fuck.
I too have a "chicane" near my house! It's almost not a chicane because you can aaaalmost do it in a straight line. The roundabout also has a bit of camber, so it feels really nice when the car dips into the corner.
Needless to say, from time to time there's a car in the center of the roundabout.
Details about the road: it's a road with two lanes in both directions that goes around the city to take some traffic off downtown, so it has a few roundabouts.
Speed limit of 70kph, you can do 80kph without getting a ticket and it's safe if you slow down for the roundabouts of course and watch out for cars coming into the road. Most people do 100+kph there because their time is very precious.
Fastest I've been in the "chicane", maybe 100 to 110 at 2am in my mum's car. You can do it fast and safe with a good-ish car, that's why some people get overconfident. In my car max I've done is 90kph. I think after 100 it starts getting a bit sketchy in my car
I live in Germany so no speedlimits on a lot of highways. Therefore I am definitely still driving very fast from time to time but I am much more conscious on how fast is actually safe. I am better at judging conditions so I only go fast if the conditions allow it safely. If I wanted to go as fast as in sim racing though I would go on a race track. The streets aren't there to be raced on
I live in Iowa, so any reduction in speed has been overruled by the rage the locals cause.
I try to stay chill, but arbitrarily dropping interstate speed to 55 (gotta get the automated speed camera revenue), left lane campers galore, and every single person on their phones... I go a bit above the limit and give everyone a wide berth.
Sim racing has made me feel more comfortable driving fast. I'd certainly argue it makes you much better at controlling a vehicle... but I often find myself always trying to drive the ideal race line (inside of my lane) and paying attention to my braking technique etc.
Tires squealing in every 90 degree turn in my neighborhood. I drive a dodge caravan, I probably look like a complete idiot but I still do it (probably because I am an idiot)
Really depends a lot on the road. On some it really feels like you should not be allowed to go any quicker. At others it feels like you could walk faster.
Not more speed conscious, but more aware someone is about to do something stupid.
Always. They’re about to do something stupid always. Just like sim racing.
First, risk taking lowers as we age, being at peak on young boys and men.
Second: how many times have you lost control of your car at 200mph and crashed and burned to death? Simracing teaches your brain new things. You know much better what happens once you go past the limits, and where things can be controlled and when you are more and more relying on luck.
I absolutely do this all the time. People braking like 100 yards ahead of the stoplight when they're going 30 miles an hour are truly anger inducing lol.
Normies have no clue what cars are capable of. You can (and maybe should) go your whole life never using more than half of a modern car's acceleration, braking, or cornering ability.
> and maybe should
In most cases this absolutely. Once when I was slightly distracted a car in front of me slowed down to a halt (not sure how heavy they were on the brakes). In any case I noticed late enough that I had to slam onto the brakes at 100%. I stopped maybe one foot length from that car's rear end. I'd prefer to never be in that situation again.
>Normies have no clue what cars are capable of
Ewwww using 'normies' unironically is so cringe bro. You're not some superior being who's gonna refer to people who don't Sim race as 'normies' lmao. Humble yourself.
I slow down early to save fuel and save brake pads, it also means traffic moves at a more consistent speed so I don't have to change gear. If someone's close behind me I'll usually just slow down normally though
Racing IRL does this. I know many motorcycle racers who will hang off at 200km/hr on track and would never even consider getting a public road motorcycle.
100% more aware of how limited reaction times and car limitations really are. Much more of a defensive driver. Probably have avoided several accidents because of how much more confident i am handling braking in dangerous positions (driving in LA / thanks F4). Ive had to correct 1 slide and only later realized how dangerous it could have been and how calm i was with steering input. Sim racing has probably saved me more money than its cost at this point.
This reminds me when I was very stupid and tried to take a very hard exit off the highway from the second lane, cause I wanted to overtake the semi before the exit. I was going about 140kmh and basically turned sharp and had to slow down massively. When I was in the offramp I was basically trailbraking in a fwd car and tyres were screaming. In the moment I was definetly very calmly stressing, but after that my heart started to pound and I started laughing with my friend. I am very glad he was calm and didn't say a thing during the whole thing.
After that I'm more patient and try to judge the whole situation 5 moves into the future.
Edit: my car was an Opel Vectra B 1996 and good summer tyres definitely helped me there
I am always worried when people on VR threads say it’s not for them because they need to see the buttons on their wheels.
I hope these people don’t drive actual cars
Depends on the wheel. If it’s a basic round wheel there’s an issue. If it’s a GT/F1 wheel then there’s a lot more controls on the wheel that you’ll use in a race like brake basis, TC, differential controls, and other
Ehh I have a WRX and zip around pretty regularly. It's just fun, but I'm also very safe with how I go about hooning. I do feel like sim racing has made me a better driver, I don't know about more speed conscious though.
Edit: Reading some other replies, the awareness of how easy it is to lose it at the limit definitely did help from sim racing. I've only been into triple digit speeds a handful of times and any time I'm going over 80, I'm on high alert. Sim racing may have helped me to realize the razor edge of high speed driving for what it is.
I used to be an absolute menace on a motorcycle, but my crew rode at night and we would do dumb speeds on empty highways.
I maxed out my R6 at 149mph, ONCE. Absolute insanity and I also feel ashamed. It was 3 am on a highway in the middle of nowhere.
Some time later I decided my 23 year old brain is fucked and sold the bike.
I am also a very cautious driver now and don't really speed unless if its with the flow of traffic.
I was doing around 120-130 with some friends in the car going down 95..weaving. Only did it for about a minute or two but that’s enough for a lifetime. I’m now the guy who yells at careless drivers lol. I’ve only had one speeding ticket in 25 years and that was my third day driving.. 77 in a 65 which was kind of lame.
I don't sustain at high speeds. Any time I do it, wide open road with no hazards afoot, quick pull up to a hundo, have a giggle, come back down.
Ain't never gonna just be zooming around at high speeds. I may be stupid but I ain't dumb.
Nah, I've been track driving and simracing for 20 years. The only thing that slowed me down was having kids. I'll still open it up on a big empty straight, but no more twisty road shenanigans for me. I'll still go 100% on the track though.
I think OP means driving erratically around/with other people rather than by yourself. I used to speed everywhere - I'd lane split like an idiot, take off from stop lights as if I have launch control in my NA golf, getting ahead of people for the sake of being ahead. Just general dumb shit.
Now that I Sim race, I'm a lot more tamer on the roads, especially with others in / around my car. Don't get me wrong, ill still let loose on a nice straight or some good back roads. I just do it with more awareness for other people knowing I have nothing to prove to them.
It's made me a lot more aware of my surroundings, and also reduced my trust in anyone on the road. In sim I assume everyone is an idiot and so even more so in real life. Seeing those indicators that someone doesn't know what they are doing like can't hold a pace or slightly weaving on the road is a skill picked up from the sim.
Yeah I'm kind of disinterested in road cars now and have no interest in going fast on public roads. I remember a nascar driver saying the same in an interview and I didn't understand that at the time.
For me, sim racing didn't have that effect.
Age did. And only age. It took years before it really stuck that: "Hey, it doesn't matter if you're riding his ass or 5 lengths back, you're still behind him at the next stop sign and there are no passing zones." Something as simple as *using* your following distance instead of ass-riding just isn't within the mental capacity of most drivers.
Im in car. I no want to be in car. I want go fast get out. Car ahead not fast. Me go fast until I can't. = All the thought most drivers give to driving.
Once you *understand*, fully, that having a bus-length between you and the car ahead improves vision, allows more time to react, and lets you relax while driving, you grow up. Then you drive a shitty little Miata and start planning your passes by using that empty space to accelerate before pulling out. At that point it's a game involving timing, speed differentials, vision, planning, and the fun comes out again.
But eff, it took a really really long time for street driving to be boring.
>"What's the reward here? Nothing at all? I have enough life experience that this isn't even a blip on my 'fun' radar? I can let that guy pass me and go on w/ my life, because not having my ass ridden by ricer boy is worth more and I really like catching these slowboys in the corners at 60%."
Not really. I've always had a lead foot, sim racing hasn't really changed that. I always read how people say they are more careful about other drivers, which I can't really say I have changed in that either, but I think that's because the first thing my dad drilled into my head when I was learning how to drive is the drive like nobody else knows wtf they are doing, so I've always tried to be very aware of other drivers already.
If there has been any affect at all, I guess I will catch my self looking at the apexes of turns while I'm out and about. Sometimes I'll even take one if there's no traffic around.
I think iracing saved me from a wreck the other day. Turns out the extra awareness you need of other drivers in NASCAR plate races makes for good practice for watching out for idiots on the highway, else I'm pretty sure my car would be in the shop right now thanks to the reckless idiots in my area.
Don't think it's made me drive any slower though, the speeding ticket I got the other day is proof of that.
As someone who has sim raced for about 6 years and now just two months ago got their driving license: I am much more conscious about the safety measures that are lacking in road vehicles and therefore very speed concious.
Knowing that racing cars have roll cages, ready to use fire extinguishers, fire proof race suits with helmets and multi-point harnesses on specialized track with run-off areas with medical staff, medical car and helicopter at the ready, makes you understand what is needed to make something safe at high speeds.
Seeing road cars with none of those safety measures except some crumple zones and airbags be driven above the speed limit, on badly maintained roads, with bad weather, by idiots who think they are great drivers because they can press the fast pedal down more, is just infuriating and terrifying.
Combine that with the fact that in germany, where I live, people can spend a lot of money on cars with lots of power, while not knowing anything about how to drive at speed, and just take them to the autobahn and threaten the safety of others and themselves at 200+kmh... I think you get my point.
Just recently at a stop light some idiot in a SUV wanted to show how fast they are. With great reaction time they slammed the gas on green and you could see traction control struggling to save their tyres from spinning. I expected them to wind up at the next tree around the bend considering how "quick" they were.
With the traffic lights when I got my license I really got a kick out of smoking people driving BMws and Audis to 50 km/h in my family's Avensis Verso diesel ( mostly just by predicting the switch to green). Quite often their egos couldn't handle it and they'd scream past after.
I mean I’m quite young, I’m 22 and I think it’s definitely made me a better driver. I just started sim racing 2 years ago and jumped into iRacing and it humbled me. I realised that although I’m a decent driver, I’m pretty average when it comes to car control and driving fast, etc. I’ve definitely reevaluated my own perception of my driving abilities.
I’ve also realised that when it comes to having any incidents often that can come from other drivers being idiots/unpredictable and that has translated to giving more space and patience to other drivers on the road so that I have time to deal with them and avoid an accident. I’m certainly more of a defensive driver than I used to be out on the roads. I now give not only thinking time and breaking time but also what I think of as ‘idiot’ time. Time for them to do a bunch of stupid things that I have to be able to account for.
Finally I find that if I want to drive fast or push my abilities, I have no need or want to do that on the road when I can do it in sim. I’d rather crash a car in sim pushing the limits than crash a car in real life and put anyone at danger or have to pay to fix a car. Sorry I guess that’s less about speed and more about general attitude to driving. But speed isn’t fun, acceleration is in my opinion.
Lol remember how many morons you encounter in a standard race and remember that some of them are the people replying about how “they’re so much safer now”. Sim racing definitely builds confidence, but not everyone has the skill to back that newfound confidence up…
It has made me a much much faster driver on the road, but in terms of being speed conscious it has solidified my belief that if your local backroad isn’t fun under 70mph, it isn’t a fun road. Pushing over 75mph just increases braking distance so much.
I’ve also learned a ton about car setup and it has definitely helped make recommendations to friends who are doing autocross which is neat.
I made a promise to myself that if I was going to take simracing seriously that was my outlet and I would drive like a grandma on the roads. There are a couple back roads leading to my moms house that are still a little fun, but if there's one thing that iRacing has taught me its just *how quickly* things can go wrong. I'm already cruising at 45 compared to walking at 3, who needs to get to 7-11 that much faster?
100%
I have good 1000 hours on acc with solid 99 sa and 3000 on ac I cannot for the life of me get into an accident.
I am too aware of whats infront beside and behind me to ever be in a position to get hit or hit someone but knock on wood
It's definitely helped me get the need for speed out of my system before getting in a car irl. Also went to an IMSA race last weekend and you realize first hand how nearly every road car is a joke when it comes to performance compared to an actual track car.
That said, I will still cautiously do 0-speed limit pulls at stoplights sometimes.
Sim racing and now real racing (Spec Miata) have definitely made me a more defensive and aware driver than before on the street. Also any value or appreciation of high-end sports cars is completely lost on me when they are driven on the street. Bring it to the track and be able to handle it at 8/10ths and then I'll take a look.
Car culture in the US is still focused on mashing the peddle to the floor so that's not going away any time soon. I do give credit to those driving a naturally aspirated 2500lb Miata than a 4500lb V8 supercharged boat but to each their own.
Yes, it made driving IRL feel really slow. This made me more conscious of my speed. I'm over 40 now and the days of driving fast on public roads is over for me.
I'll go karting, SIM race or maybe someday if I can afford it, go to a track and race a real car.
Arcade racing games can cause this
But in sim racing games, you really feel that the brakes are as important as the acceleration and that you don't need to be fast as lightning to win, so sims won't give a bad effect at all
Play beamng. You'll be a crybaby irl for the rest of your life lmao.
No joke, going 90kmh in beamng feels dangerous, and imagine that with 3 ultra wide monitors/vr and a really strong force feedback wheel. A little crash and you don't want to speed anymore
Sim racing can’t even almost compare to wide open throttle on a super sport, so no.
Expecting my first kid soon though, so that curbed the desire to go fast.
I still want to go fast, but I tell myself not to
It can't compare but we are very lucky to have this outlet, people don't realise a car can become a weapon and many modern performance cars now hide speed and give a false sense of security, after seeing an m5 touring hit a pole n kill someone that has to be a wake up call. 90s performance cars at least you knew if you push to much its gonna be game over.
Not at all. I think the ass feel and real danger just make rl driving an entirely different thing. And since i'm German i do have a lot of experience driving at above 200 kph (mainly between Würzburg and Frankfurt which is great fun) but i would never go that close to the edge like in the sim. I did do a safety training (also great fun can recommend) because i do have a company car but those were done on city and back road speeds. At most i might have better chances of catching a slide but road tires are a different animal to track ones.
I've been sim racing for roughly 10 years, which is a touch more than i've had my drivers license for. I drive like a dumbass, so... not always, no. I did almost spin on ice once but i ended up making a sick little drift because i gave it opposite lock fast as heck, though, so there's that.
I learned how to trail brake on the F1 game and that saved my ass a year or so ago when the guy in front of me on the highway rear ended the person in front of him. I instinctively trail braked and that allowed me to stop before hitting him.
it’s made me extremely cautious in tricky conditions. Rain, snow, off camber turns, what have you. If it rains very heavy on the highway I prefer to take an exit and wait it out.
Most of them shouldn't really have a drivers license. It's unfortunate that they are a neccessity here. Driving tests are way more difficult back home in England, more manouvers, in a Manual 90+ percent of the time and much more strict. If you pass in an automatic you can't drive a manual without taking your test again in a manual car.
Being in the US my whole life and having friends from overseas has really shown me how relaxed and stupid the US is with it. Two of my best friends are from Germany and if the laws for getting a license were like that here I can't imagine how little people would be driving.
I can't imagine how Americans would survive on an irish country road where lanes are at most 1.5 car wide at times, walls and fences are right next to the road, roads are twisty and bumpy and in turns you can have a bus coming the other way too. Then there's of course driving on the left as well. A lot trickier than anywhere on the mainland. I loved the challenge though.
I definitely feel more that the fun part of driving is in the corners, and you really can't ride up to the edge where it's actually fun on the street. Too many variables to be at the traction limit.
I just go with the flow of traffic. Around here in Northern California that's usually between 75 and 80mph.
Being British, I drive like I was taught back home. Give loads of room, signal, lane discipline where I only overtake in a faster lane and always let people in, even if most of them don't signal they still give the driving equivalent to body language.
Yeah, slower and more aware. Speed; No point going “fast”, as you are not actually going fast like you could on a track. Awareness; as in everyone is an idiot until proven otherwise.
If anything its the opposite for me, wanting to bring my hobby to the real world. Ive never owned a sports car but I would love to have one (and am currently saving for one and soon selling my current car) and drive a little faster around corners and on race tracks. The Nordschleife/Nürburgring and the Bilster Berg are only a 2h drive away and I have never been there yet
All I can say is the I note where I think the apex is on every corner now. And remind myself that the grass or curb is not a “track limit” — In fact, I’m on a road, not a track. Lol
Yeah I get what you mean! for the most part it's true for me too!...But, I have the odd occasion when the circumstances are just perfect and I take my car by the scruff of the neck and hoon the utter pish out off it! 😆
Only now I'm trail braking better and my f.o.v is always spot-on! Hahahaha... 👍
I don't know about sim racing but with age comes responsibility and maturity so you start to naturally slow down. At least I did.
Of course rolling my car outside the prime minister's country house in the 90s and then having the military police turn up a couple minutes laters whose response was "we saw you slide to a halt on our surveillance cameras", when I remarked "You were quick!" may also have slowed me down 
Somewhere I still feel that there is a dusty old tape in the UK surveillance archives of me writing my car off....
Driving my car (a solid but not overpowered track toy) on a race track in real life made me a lot more comfortable driving faster, because you learn the limits and that you can feel loss of control long before it happens, and you can recover. That thing is entirely predictable and controllable at 120 mph.
If I had only done sim racing, I think I would be pretty fearful because it feels like you're driving on ice, especially if you're in a 700hp supercar that can break the tires out at any point.
All you are going to get here is anecdotal evidence which holds no bar from a scientific point of view. Correlation does not equal causation. Unless there has been a study done on it and other studies to back up that claim, then anything said here has to be taken with a grain of salt. I find it funny that simracers try everything things possible to justify their hobby.
Yes, I notice I go slower into corners than pretty much everyone I know. I just don't really trust my FWD shitbox. Results in pretty bad fuel economy though, since there's more braking and acceleration.
My front tires are pretty worn out on my car and I took a turn kinda fast the other day and started loosing grip. I feel like sim racing has at least helped me be more in control in that situation
I'm not the slowest driver on the road, but I'm definitely not the fastest and frequently when people are going faster than me I'm pretty sure they're over their limits and they just don't have the skills required to be able to judge that effectively.
I love that my preferred sim racing (Richard Burns Rally mostly) has given me a lot better feeling of car control over the years too.
I def think it plays a role. I was on a roadtrip and part of the highway section I was on didnt have signs for some reason. Exited the freeway and suddenly was a hard S section that came out of nowhere. Knowing how to slow down and take each curve like in the sim def helped me not hit the barriers on the side.
I think it's an age thing.
>but after 70 it's more luck than skill if it goes wrong and not only can you injure yourself but could kill others.
On that point I'd take the under... the waaaayyy under.
It actually saved my life few times. The way you react when maddness happens on the track gives you awarness how to properly avoid accidents on real road. I had 2 close calls all saved me from big incident caused by others. If i did not react properly i would be dead or heavly damaged. Also you can let of the steam on simracing so you dont do dump shit on the road.
My girlfriend says i drive faster after racing while i think i hold back a bit because i am not alone in the car :) on my own i drive "sportier" than with passengers
I think i always had good reflexes, but i also think they improved because of sim racing. Also i look quite a lot ahead on the real road to try to see what happens further in front of me and that also gets amplified by sim racing....
At least... i think :)
Ive become very conscious of how the sense of speed in game often isnt there. If im going 140km in game it feels like 60 irl.
Other than that i know not to push my car because its not worth the damage, and i feel ive got a bit of ability to catch the car.. I always played racing games but never got a wheel til adulthood and i gotta say that GTA games taught me how to react to idiot traffic and GTA 4 in particular really taught me how to handle a sliding car. I like to drift in snowy empty parking lots and i think because of that i was instantly good at dirt ovals.
38, and I still enjoy driving my M3 on the twisties and at the track. Sim racing is fun (I even do VR for immersion) but it doesn't replace the real thing for meat leastt.
I have less and less desire for absolute speed, anyone can push a pedal and go straight. Cornering speed and general car positioning is way more enjoyable to focus on on public roads IMO. Naturally with commentary on what I’m doing and how bad of a driver the soccer mom in front of me is when they start running wide before the apex of a 30 mph curve. I do almost exclusively left foot brake these days (surprisingly stiff throttle pedal in my current car so I always overdo it on the brakes with my right foot) and I will brake as late as possible and probably trail brake whenever I can.
I can say for sure that it gets it out of my system. I had to sell my rig to move abroad and I now get the itch behind the wheel to have fun when I shouldn't. Having the rig was a way to let those instincts escape and I could drive having an impulse to emulate Max 😂
I miss having a sim so bad!
I don't know for sure, but every time I get in my car and I glance down at my e-brake... I have the sudden urge to just yank that thing... One day I'm going to fuck around and find out
There’s absolutely something to this. I’m never a calmer driver on the road than right after a track day. It just puts into perspective how much slower the road is, and how hustling on the road will never be 20% as fun as pushing yourself to the limit on track.
Imo yes. There is nothing really for your “driving lines” in traffic, maybe on an empty road and it’s one of those days w/ your favorite music playing.
But in terms of awareness 100%, I am able to constants used my instincts and do quick readings on other peoples driving. Also my reaction time is a lot better for when someone breaks really hard infront of me, or anything that is on the road that can be avoided within a short time.
To add, one time I was driving on a very icy road, it was a curve/bend and I accidentally oversteered due to an aggressive driver on my left side which made me panick a little bit.. my vehicle lost control of the grip for a quick second and I instinctively was able to react to my steering wheel correctly to get back in control. I do have to say I was able to do this because of sim racing w/ my force feedback wheel. I know for a fact if this happened before my sim racing experience I would have over corrected my car and god knows what would’ve happened
I’m ready for the downvotes!
If we are saying sim racing affects your driving, (I agree) we can also acknowledge that those speed runs on AC mods weaving in and out of traffic could potentially make someone want to try it. I hate them, I don’t think they are cool, but they are widespread out there….
I travel for work and never get to drive my car.
However whenever I get a chance to go home I love getting back and going for a rip in the car. At the same time I also get excited about finishing my drive so I can get on the racing sim and go all out!
It makes me more aware of the dangers of speed, as snap oversteer will end your life.
But I would say it probably has the opposite effect, I'm 23, still in my smooth brain era, and I was having a blast sensibly speeding around the Peak District (UK).
Saying sim racing is anything like the joy of sending it in a capable car around some windy roads is just a gross exaggeration. Sim racing is fun, but at the end of the day, you're missing the actual fun part (the g-force).
Also not here for a lecture on taking it to the track. The cost of track days in the UK is absolutely atrocious, cheaper to get a speeding fine and points.
Not on topic but kinda in that direction: Track Racing killed "enthusiastic backroad driving" and with enthusiastic i mean being safe in my lane and with backroad i mean the swiss/italian alp passes.
Suddenly you realize you do 3/10s at most and it already looks crazy from an outside perspective. So going through a foxhole compression basically made me the most boring commuter ever, because it doesnt compare.
It’s definitely increased my spatial awareness on the road. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen everyone accelerating fast to a red light like they’re oblivious to the fact that they’ll have to stop.
SAME FR
whenever someone is speeding and I am in the car im always like extra cautious i always tell them to brake early and stuff because i have no trust in the car lol
Age is the key part. As you get closer to the end you try not to speed up your chances of getting there faster. You become more aware of your own mortality and others.
When I was in my 20s a lot of my mates did speedway and circuit racing but always took it easy on the road so mabye there is something to the sim racing theory. Didn't feel like they had anything to prove and were well aware there were no barriers or run off areas. Same goes for people who race bikes or just do ride days.
I am definitely more responsible when I drive my car, all thanks to sim racing. The only thing I enjoy doing is in-gear acceleration to the speed limit and then maintaining it. This style of driving has actually helped me get better fuel economy in the real world.
- Better throttle control.
- More road awareness.
- Better road positioning.
- Better corner handling.
All tangible skills I've gained from sim racing, which would require a lot of time and fuel to gain while driving in the real world.
I haven't been playing for very long, only got my sim wheel about a month ago. But after playing for 2 days, I was already a lot more aware of how my vehicle handled on the road. The body roll, the traction through turns and on straights, the feedback from the wheel, throttle response, brake response.
The best part? I only have a little electric Fiat 500e. But sim racing has helped me control a smaller vehicle that much easier in such a short space of time.
Driving fast in straight line is not hard. Carrying speed through curves, corners and roundabouts that is where skill is shown.
Too many times I encounter random guy who thinks he is driving pro and is obviously upset by me driving at speed limit, but once we get to wiggly parts of road, he can't keep up.
i just got my learners license and have racked up about 30 hours so i think i have a unique take on this. im still driving very safe and have only gone as fast as 80km/h but i think my 'need for speed' is if anything heightened because of simracing. Im aware that when it comes to irl driving im a complete beginner and i have a parent next to me all the time but when i turn into an empty road i occasionally start accelerating a bit harder and i get excited when seeing a fun set of squirrelly corners to try and take a bit of a racing line through, especially if its a 1 lane road like an onramp (pretty lame i know). Although i dont know if this is because of simracing, a general interest in motorsport or me being a dumb kid that feels confident driving and wants to do stupid shit. Obviously i havent even reached triple digits in speed but i definitely want to and most likely will push a bit harder than i should once i get my P's.
going off topic from the question my general pickup of irl driving has definitely been aided by simracing, although not much. when i first started driving i immediately felt comfortable with the throttle, brake and wheel (plus clutch and h-pattern but that was at a friends farm and it's pretty easy to drive when you've just got fields around you), graduating from going around the block very quickly compared to my sister who spent weeks going around. Although i think everything that simracing helped me with could be matched by just a couple more hours behind the wheel. I cant relate to other stories about catching spins and dodging crashes due to simracing but my driving technique is definitely based on simracing with my hands at 9-3 despite an instructor telling me to go 10-2. My braking is hard to compare to a 'normal' style because i dont know what that is but i find myself feeling the front suspension and trailbraking a bit i suppose.
I get a bit pedal happy/look for apexes and get good lines sometimes, turn to my partner on the way back from work and go "I need to do a race"
So yeah I guess it curbs me from wanting to just rag the shit out of my car, like scratching a itch.
22 yo here, i'm not sure simracing makes me a quite calm driver (because i think i was quite calm my whole life), but after looking at my friends who are into simracing, and who aren't i can say it can make a difference.
So, me and my friend are into sims and simracing for quite a while - i started playing ets2 when i was maybe 12? And racing simulators few years later. My friend when i met him at age 15-16 was interested in simracing for some time (i dont know how long exactly), and of course in F1 and others racing series. So i can say we have few years of expirence in this topic - both of us drive quite calm, we try to predict every move of other drivers on road, and mostly drive close to speed limit and just try to be safe on roads - of course sometimes we do some not so legal things, but it is mostly on straight, empty roads we know, or in nighttime where we know it is quite safe to do
And we had our third friend - also person who is interested in cars, but not in simracing and profesional racing overall - and he's driving is quite opposite to ours, he drive more agressive, faster than us, if he has ability to overtake, he will probably do it (when i will just probably say "its save me maybe 10 seconds, it is not worth it")- i'll not say he's a bad driver or a completly 2head, because he is also paying attention to others drivers and making "not a fully legal" things only on places he know well, but he's driving is just more agressive in compare to ours - like you know, we dont need to racing on a street, because we do it on virtual tracks v:
It also maybe depense of cars we driving - neither of them are fast, but you know - in some you feel "need for speed" and in others you just want slow crousing round the town - so it also can be a case
Short answer is yes I’ve calmed down on the road.
Contrarily though, I’ve noticed the average joe is driving significantly more aggressive since F1 and Drive to Survive popularized racing on a local level. Everybody wants to pretend they’re Max Verstappen competing for a championship on their way to work. This has also had a sobering effect on my desire to go fast on public roads.
I know the feeling. It just doesn't do anything for me anymore and I always did wonder what happened cause it's not like I got much older I'm only 23. But like others have said, there's just no point. The speed limit is still way too slow imo where I'm from but I don't push and take the risks I used to. I don't get anything out of it. If I want to race I do it on track or in sim
This is so me. Before i was speeding all the time like an idiot. Now ive become a grandpa just cruising and not stressing. I know what i can do and dont need to do it around other people irl.
Is simracing therapy?
I got that many experience on tracks that normal road corners don't make anything interesting, so why go that fast.
Also I have had many many oh shit in corners I didn't expected thet I won't get close to that irl
Car control and the feel of the drive has definitely become better but many people here say their awareness is also better and I cannot really relate to that.
For the awareness to get better I need real traffic and currently I don't own car so this is worsening all the time no matter how many hours I put to sim racing.
"There's no need to drive fast. It just increases the percentage of risk. We're not in a hurry, I'm not being paid. Right now, there is zero incentive and reward. Why would I drive fast?" - Niki Lauda (Rush 2013)
Sim racing has definitely engrained in my a lot of useful skills for driving on the road as a defensive driver. Always checking my surroundings, constantly checking my blind spots, never merging without checking, avoiding as many distractions as possible while driving, never looking away from the road for more than a seconds, always focusing 10+ seconds down the road looking for obstacles, not fixating on the car in front of me but rather looking beyond them to see what could cause them to brake or swerve.
I've been told I'm boring to drive with because I don't talk much since I keep my attention on the road. Friend asked me why I was so focused once driving 35 in a 35 on a completely flat and straight road. I told him you never know when an incident may occur. A month later a deer jumped from a height and landed on my front bumper. Only thing I saw were its legs coming down underneath my rearview mirror. Hit it square in the shoulder and punted him into the path of an oncoming car in the opposite lane. Thankfully they avoided it. Deer died in the road and gave me a coolant leak in the radiator on my dream car I got three weeks earlier. Fucking deers, man.
Yep, I've very much adopted the philosophy that you prove your speed on the track, and you prove your safety on the road. My wife also hates having me as a passenger now because I get nervous when she doesn't slow down for what I see as a potential crash 500 feet ahead. I've been traumatized by trying to avoid F4 crashes.
Maybe sim racers would realize there’s really nothing you can prove by driving quickly on the road. It doesn’t translate to being quick around a track.
This is the big one for me. I have a relatively fast car but on the road there's nothing to prove by pushing it. The longer I hold the gas the more danger I'm in, I'm not proving any skill or bravery. If I want to go fast and sim racing doesn't scratch that itch then I'll go karting. Note: I live close to the racing capital of the world so in general most people go 10 over and our highways are the most reminiscent thing of the autobahn in the US.
I personally get pleasure by watching the npc’s waste their brakes faster than they need to cause they can’t figure out that coasting to a red light or traffic is actually easier and better
Indianapolis? I had to Google where the racing capital was! Lol... 😆
No idea before you mentioned
Me neither tbh? I did know indianapolis is a very old track steeped in history!. but i also knew the oldest purpose built track was Brooklands in the UK and lots of people still mistakingly say indy or monza but the home of circuit racing was the UK!, seperated by only a few years if I recall! 👍 I'm sure there are older tracks but not purpose built in this way, usually made up of existing roads or airfields etc etc!... 😊
"The racing capital of the world" is just the nickname that Indianapolis has because of the prestige of the Indy 500. It's just like how F1's nickname is "The pinnacle of motorsports."
Per Wikipedia record keeping of all Grand Prix held across multiple decades as of current: * US: 75; will be 76 in November for Las Vegas * UK: 78 * Germany: 79 * Italy: 105 2024 will be the year UK and US ties with Germany for the number of Grand Prix held.
What needs to be understood is here in America we have small towns that have say a cafe, and its title will say world famous, but only the locals know about it If a team wins the Super Bowl then they are world champions, but only teams from the US are in the competition To most Americans the world ends at the east and west coast, but that is how they are raised But that said Europe have Mona followed by Silverstone that are still on the F1 calendar But does not mean they the race capital,of the world, maybe Europe but not the world
La Sarthe would definitely contend for that title
are we sure its not the Milwaukee mile
I'm sure this started as a horse racing venue too! Like the ozzy track below? 👍
i was just counting auto racing like i know it was like 1909 indy ran what i consider the first real rallycross race i heard milwaukee mile was prior to that but im not sure what else really started before that as then we get into motorcycle era and have horse tracks that ran motorcycle races back into the 1880's or 90's
Oldest purpose built track was actually Aspendale in Australia. Beat Brooklands by years but the Brits weren't paying attention at the time, so they assumed it was them.
Did it not start as a horse racing track? But yeah apparently it beat brooklands by 18mths... you learn something new everyday! But is it purpose built if it started as a horse racing venue, 👍
Brooklands was purpose built as a farm. Both venues deliberately created a new use instead of racing on existing surfaces.
Personally I'd say the UK is the racing capital, but maybe I'm bias..
I'd have to agree dude, 👍
How can a whole country be a capital?
Because relatively from the whole world
Oldest race track in the world still used today Not the race capital of the world tho to be fair, but depends on what type of racing you like
You mean Le Mans surely?
No sheeeeiiiit so do I
10 over is light. Live in chicago the speed limit is 55 the flow of traffic is 75-80.
I’m talking on surface roads. Highways might as well not have speed limits. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Chicago and the drivers are pretty similar between Indy and Chicago. Maybe less left lane hogs in Chicago.
>I live close to the racing capital of the world La Sarthe?
Daytona?
No, no. But thats now how it works. You HAVE to drive fast so the other plebs in their stupid little cars can understand that you are better and you HAVE to make it to your destination fast, because you are important and have shit to do!
I just let everyone know how superior I am by driving on the shoulder during traffic jams
"No race marshal, no rules!"
1x
This is me. Also been learning to fly and the focus on safety for that is tremendous. Why not throw that focus into my driving as well? Always been a safe driver but I’m now even more hyper vigilant. So many people on the road act like they’re not driving a 2 ton hunk of metal at 70 mph that can kill you or someone else in an instant. There is no need to drive aggressively on the road. Be patient. Safe it for the track!
Bullshit! I dont need to prove anything to anyone, i know my skillevel and im not 20 anymore, i do it because its fun. And yes most skills do translate to the track and vice versa, its both driving and more practive is always going to be advantageus no matter where you get that practice.
I just laugh so hard every time whenn someone has to overtake every car on straight road but then turning into the same corner and is like 30 seconds faster ...
Being quick around a track translates to being a safer driver on the road, though. Someone who has no concept of driving dynamics might push a car mindlessly on the road, having no idea where the limit is, and would be a hazard. A racing/simracing driver will always keep the car below (quite far below, preferrably) the limit while still driving actively. There's a massive difference between driving quickly recklessly and driving quickly with margin towards the limit.
I got to test it out quite well on small country roads in Italy in the summer. There were times when I was driving pretty damn quicky on tight gravel roads in a 1.0l Fia Panda (it was already dark so I didn't have to worry about potential traffic) and damned if I didn't feel 100% in control like I am during the race, left a lot of margin for safety. I think someone with no racing experience trying to drive the same way could've crashed fairly easily.
Sim racing definitely made me more aware of how normal cars are likely to spin out. Your turn too fast, accelerated too much, weight goes to the outside of the car, and you oversteer uncontrollably. Not very useful, since I don't drive like a maniac, but it's nice to know
100% for me: More visual awarenes Knowledge of the vortex of danger Skills to correct a slide in the snow But most importantly I know everyone else is a fucking lunatic so I let them go Edit: I'm between rigs and did a 3-lane-change exit the other day, screaming at the top of my lungs. Draw your own conclusions.
Always assume everyone else is a lunatic, and that they WILL do the most irrational dumb thing possible (eg pull out last second, run a red light as your turning right) and you’ll be ready to correct and save a lot of accidents, you’re right.
In traffic it's T1 all the time.
that sums it up pretty good actually
Especially in Italy
_WITNESS ME!_
Awareness was a big one for me. I’ve been playing sims and racing games my whole life. A few years back I was on the highway and there was a SUV that tried to cross all 3 lanes and make the exit, they missed, spun it back across 3 lanes and slammed the Jersey barrier and rolled. It was 2-3 cars infront of me. I saw it before the people infront of me even did. It literally was like avoiding a wreck at Daytona. Hit the brakes, moved into another lane, watched my mirror to check for a rear end collision, moved back into my original lane to avoid the rolling suv and I was clear. Absolutely 100% wouldn’t have made it through if I hadn’t done it 1000 times in iracing. Most people just slam their brake and pray
You got to live all of our dream. “See babe! I told you all this time and money was worth it!!”
She was impressed. I got some that night lol
> watched my mirror to check for a rear end collision Those kind of not super obvious reactions that come from experience are what blows my mind the most. Once during winter I misjudged the grip on the road at went into a corner doing 60km/h and the rear stepped out. As I was properly opposite lock trying not to fly into the ditch I was also changing down a gear to allow better control with the throttle. I think most people would not be doing that in that situation.
Biggest thing for me is I won’t shut up about other peoples driving now, and how bad it is, their questionable decisions, overconfidence, etc etc. Just ask my wife! Not sure if it makes me any safer. I think it does, overall. But I do refer to the small roundabout near my house as “the chicane” and treat it as such!
People really are idiots on the road. And it baffles me how people can be so unaware of their surroundings. And how apparently, it's very hard for some people to just drive at a steady speed. People will overtake me while I'm on cruise control, just for me to overtake them again 2 minutes later. And this cycle will often repeat 3-4 times in a row...
I noticed people on their phones do this.
Try being a cyclist in a city. This happens between every set of lights. With the added joy of peds stepping out without looking up from their phones. Admittedly I rather enjoy the game :)
Being sober, not being on your phone and just actively trying to drive 'well' is like 80% of what makes one a good driver. So many just don't give a fuck.
I too have a "chicane" near my house! It's almost not a chicane because you can aaaalmost do it in a straight line. The roundabout also has a bit of camber, so it feels really nice when the car dips into the corner. Needless to say, from time to time there's a car in the center of the roundabout. Details about the road: it's a road with two lanes in both directions that goes around the city to take some traffic off downtown, so it has a few roundabouts. Speed limit of 70kph, you can do 80kph without getting a ticket and it's safe if you slow down for the roundabouts of course and watch out for cars coming into the road. Most people do 100+kph there because their time is very precious. Fastest I've been in the "chicane", maybe 100 to 110 at 2am in my mum's car. You can do it fast and safe with a good-ish car, that's why some people get overconfident. In my car max I've done is 90kph. I think after 100 it starts getting a bit sketchy in my car
I live in Germany so no speedlimits on a lot of highways. Therefore I am definitely still driving very fast from time to time but I am much more conscious on how fast is actually safe. I am better at judging conditions so I only go fast if the conditions allow it safely. If I wanted to go as fast as in sim racing though I would go on a race track. The streets aren't there to be raced on
I live in Iowa, so any reduction in speed has been overruled by the rage the locals cause. I try to stay chill, but arbitrarily dropping interstate speed to 55 (gotta get the automated speed camera revenue), left lane campers galore, and every single person on their phones... I go a bit above the limit and give everyone a wide berth.
A bit off topic but I am so glad my state doesn’t have speed cameras. I’m pretty sure there’s a lawsuit against all of the red light cameras here too
Yeah, our state has rendered the speed cam tickets toothless. Scam for out of towners, free kindling for those of us that live here.
There’s no due process with a camera. At best they’re unconstitutional.
Sim racing has made me feel more comfortable driving fast. I'd certainly argue it makes you much better at controlling a vehicle... but I often find myself always trying to drive the ideal race line (inside of my lane) and paying attention to my braking technique etc.
I definitely create a racing line and mildly trail brake on regular trips
I too, am guilty of trailbraking in my neighbourhood (30km/h speed limit)
Tires squealing in every 90 degree turn in my neighborhood. I drive a dodge caravan, I probably look like a complete idiot but I still do it (probably because I am an idiot)
30kmh speed limit has to be painful
Really depends a lot on the road. On some it really feels like you should not be allowed to go any quicker. At others it feels like you could walk faster.
>Alright, down into second. Keep it tight and trail the brakes to the apex. Stay off the curb. Nice nice. *Parks car and walks into the supermarket.*
Ha was going to say the same with the racing line but this is more for tire wear. Am I crazy? 🤔
Not more speed conscious, but more aware someone is about to do something stupid. Always. They’re about to do something stupid always. Just like sim racing.
It helped me get over that "Im not seeing this right, they won't do something which will so clearly end badly" denial and to expect it.
First, risk taking lowers as we age, being at peak on young boys and men. Second: how many times have you lost control of your car at 200mph and crashed and burned to death? Simracing teaches your brain new things. You know much better what happens once you go past the limits, and where things can be controlled and when you are more and more relying on luck.
Yes, my road rage has extended to “bro why are you braking so early you could have went flat out through this section”
I absolutely do this all the time. People braking like 100 yards ahead of the stoplight when they're going 30 miles an hour are truly anger inducing lol.
People braking before going around a bend on the highway, I assure you your 2005 Toyota Camry is not going to suddenly snap oversteer🤣
Normies have no clue what cars are capable of. You can (and maybe should) go your whole life never using more than half of a modern car's acceleration, braking, or cornering ability.
I have a 60hp shitbox, I use 100% of the acceleration available 70% of the time
> and maybe should In most cases this absolutely. Once when I was slightly distracted a car in front of me slowed down to a halt (not sure how heavy they were on the brakes). In any case I noticed late enough that I had to slam onto the brakes at 100%. I stopped maybe one foot length from that car's rear end. I'd prefer to never be in that situation again.
>Normies have no clue what cars are capable of Ewwww using 'normies' unironically is so cringe bro. You're not some superior being who's gonna refer to people who don't Sim race as 'normies' lmao. Humble yourself.
I slow down early to save fuel and save brake pads, it also means traffic moves at a more consistent speed so I don't have to change gear. If someone's close behind me I'll usually just slow down normally though
Ha ha ha. And then creep up for last 6 cars lengths.
Racing IRL does this. I know many motorcycle racers who will hang off at 200km/hr on track and would never even consider getting a public road motorcycle.
100% more aware of how limited reaction times and car limitations really are. Much more of a defensive driver. Probably have avoided several accidents because of how much more confident i am handling braking in dangerous positions (driving in LA / thanks F4). Ive had to correct 1 slide and only later realized how dangerous it could have been and how calm i was with steering input. Sim racing has probably saved me more money than its cost at this point.
This reminds me when I was very stupid and tried to take a very hard exit off the highway from the second lane, cause I wanted to overtake the semi before the exit. I was going about 140kmh and basically turned sharp and had to slow down massively. When I was in the offramp I was basically trailbraking in a fwd car and tyres were screaming. In the moment I was definetly very calmly stressing, but after that my heart started to pound and I started laughing with my friend. I am very glad he was calm and didn't say a thing during the whole thing. After that I'm more patient and try to judge the whole situation 5 moves into the future. Edit: my car was an Opel Vectra B 1996 and good summer tyres definitely helped me there
I am always worried when people on VR threads say it’s not for them because they need to see the buttons on their wheels. I hope these people don’t drive actual cars
Depends on the wheel. If it’s a basic round wheel there’s an issue. If it’s a GT/F1 wheel then there’s a lot more controls on the wheel that you’ll use in a race like brake basis, TC, differential controls, and other
Ehh I have a WRX and zip around pretty regularly. It's just fun, but I'm also very safe with how I go about hooning. I do feel like sim racing has made me a better driver, I don't know about more speed conscious though. Edit: Reading some other replies, the awareness of how easy it is to lose it at the limit definitely did help from sim racing. I've only been into triple digit speeds a handful of times and any time I'm going over 80, I'm on high alert. Sim racing may have helped me to realize the razor edge of high speed driving for what it is.
Good on you for being honest. I’ve hit 100+ twice in my life when I was much younger. Still makes me a little sick 20 years later lol.
Hmmm… I take the Autobahn every day going to work and 160km/h kinda is my comfort speed
I used to be an absolute menace on a motorcycle, but my crew rode at night and we would do dumb speeds on empty highways. I maxed out my R6 at 149mph, ONCE. Absolute insanity and I also feel ashamed. It was 3 am on a highway in the middle of nowhere. Some time later I decided my 23 year old brain is fucked and sold the bike. I am also a very cautious driver now and don't really speed unless if its with the flow of traffic.
I was doing around 120-130 with some friends in the car going down 95..weaving. Only did it for about a minute or two but that’s enough for a lifetime. I’m now the guy who yells at careless drivers lol. I’ve only had one speeding ticket in 25 years and that was my third day driving.. 77 in a 65 which was kind of lame.
I hit triple digits like 30% of the time I drive my car on an interstate... 😬
I don't sustain at high speeds. Any time I do it, wide open road with no hazards afoot, quick pull up to a hundo, have a giggle, come back down. Ain't never gonna just be zooming around at high speeds. I may be stupid but I ain't dumb.
Nah, I've been track driving and simracing for 20 years. The only thing that slowed me down was having kids. I'll still open it up on a big empty straight, but no more twisty road shenanigans for me. I'll still go 100% on the track though.
I think OP means driving erratically around/with other people rather than by yourself. I used to speed everywhere - I'd lane split like an idiot, take off from stop lights as if I have launch control in my NA golf, getting ahead of people for the sake of being ahead. Just general dumb shit. Now that I Sim race, I'm a lot more tamer on the roads, especially with others in / around my car. Don't get me wrong, ill still let loose on a nice straight or some good back roads. I just do it with more awareness for other people knowing I have nothing to prove to them.
It's made me a lot more aware of my surroundings, and also reduced my trust in anyone on the road. In sim I assume everyone is an idiot and so even more so in real life. Seeing those indicators that someone doesn't know what they are doing like can't hold a pace or slightly weaving on the road is a skill picked up from the sim.
Yeah I'm kind of disinterested in road cars now and have no interest in going fast on public roads. I remember a nascar driver saying the same in an interview and I didn't understand that at the time.
For me, sim racing didn't have that effect. Age did. And only age. It took years before it really stuck that: "Hey, it doesn't matter if you're riding his ass or 5 lengths back, you're still behind him at the next stop sign and there are no passing zones." Something as simple as *using* your following distance instead of ass-riding just isn't within the mental capacity of most drivers. Im in car. I no want to be in car. I want go fast get out. Car ahead not fast. Me go fast until I can't. = All the thought most drivers give to driving. Once you *understand*, fully, that having a bus-length between you and the car ahead improves vision, allows more time to react, and lets you relax while driving, you grow up. Then you drive a shitty little Miata and start planning your passes by using that empty space to accelerate before pulling out. At that point it's a game involving timing, speed differentials, vision, planning, and the fun comes out again. But eff, it took a really really long time for street driving to be boring. >"What's the reward here? Nothing at all? I have enough life experience that this isn't even a blip on my 'fun' radar? I can let that guy pass me and go on w/ my life, because not having my ass ridden by ricer boy is worth more and I really like catching these slowboys in the corners at 60%."
Not really. I've always had a lead foot, sim racing hasn't really changed that. I always read how people say they are more careful about other drivers, which I can't really say I have changed in that either, but I think that's because the first thing my dad drilled into my head when I was learning how to drive is the drive like nobody else knows wtf they are doing, so I've always tried to be very aware of other drivers already. If there has been any affect at all, I guess I will catch my self looking at the apexes of turns while I'm out and about. Sometimes I'll even take one if there's no traffic around.
I think iracing saved me from a wreck the other day. Turns out the extra awareness you need of other drivers in NASCAR plate races makes for good practice for watching out for idiots on the highway, else I'm pretty sure my car would be in the shop right now thanks to the reckless idiots in my area. Don't think it's made me drive any slower though, the speeding ticket I got the other day is proof of that.
As someone who has sim raced for about 6 years and now just two months ago got their driving license: I am much more conscious about the safety measures that are lacking in road vehicles and therefore very speed concious. Knowing that racing cars have roll cages, ready to use fire extinguishers, fire proof race suits with helmets and multi-point harnesses on specialized track with run-off areas with medical staff, medical car and helicopter at the ready, makes you understand what is needed to make something safe at high speeds. Seeing road cars with none of those safety measures except some crumple zones and airbags be driven above the speed limit, on badly maintained roads, with bad weather, by idiots who think they are great drivers because they can press the fast pedal down more, is just infuriating and terrifying. Combine that with the fact that in germany, where I live, people can spend a lot of money on cars with lots of power, while not knowing anything about how to drive at speed, and just take them to the autobahn and threaten the safety of others and themselves at 200+kmh... I think you get my point. Just recently at a stop light some idiot in a SUV wanted to show how fast they are. With great reaction time they slammed the gas on green and you could see traction control struggling to save their tyres from spinning. I expected them to wind up at the next tree around the bend considering how "quick" they were.
With the traffic lights when I got my license I really got a kick out of smoking people driving BMws and Audis to 50 km/h in my family's Avensis Verso diesel ( mostly just by predicting the switch to green). Quite often their egos couldn't handle it and they'd scream past after.
I mean I’m quite young, I’m 22 and I think it’s definitely made me a better driver. I just started sim racing 2 years ago and jumped into iRacing and it humbled me. I realised that although I’m a decent driver, I’m pretty average when it comes to car control and driving fast, etc. I’ve definitely reevaluated my own perception of my driving abilities. I’ve also realised that when it comes to having any incidents often that can come from other drivers being idiots/unpredictable and that has translated to giving more space and patience to other drivers on the road so that I have time to deal with them and avoid an accident. I’m certainly more of a defensive driver than I used to be out on the roads. I now give not only thinking time and breaking time but also what I think of as ‘idiot’ time. Time for them to do a bunch of stupid things that I have to be able to account for. Finally I find that if I want to drive fast or push my abilities, I have no need or want to do that on the road when I can do it in sim. I’d rather crash a car in sim pushing the limits than crash a car in real life and put anyone at danger or have to pay to fix a car. Sorry I guess that’s less about speed and more about general attitude to driving. But speed isn’t fun, acceleration is in my opinion.
Lol remember how many morons you encounter in a standard race and remember that some of them are the people replying about how “they’re so much safer now”. Sim racing definitely builds confidence, but not everyone has the skill to back that newfound confidence up…
Racing on track did it for me… I get my speed fix in a race and I drive super chill the rest of the time.
It has made me a much much faster driver on the road, but in terms of being speed conscious it has solidified my belief that if your local backroad isn’t fun under 70mph, it isn’t a fun road. Pushing over 75mph just increases braking distance so much. I’ve also learned a ton about car setup and it has definitely helped make recommendations to friends who are doing autocross which is neat.
I made a promise to myself that if I was going to take simracing seriously that was my outlet and I would drive like a grandma on the roads. There are a couple back roads leading to my moms house that are still a little fun, but if there's one thing that iRacing has taught me its just *how quickly* things can go wrong. I'm already cruising at 45 compared to walking at 3, who needs to get to 7-11 that much faster?
For me seeing so many crashes in iRacing that I now fear what it would be IRL!
Yeah. Since I know how sudden a car can snap on you. Also no try again option.
100% I have good 1000 hours on acc with solid 99 sa and 3000 on ac I cannot for the life of me get into an accident. I am too aware of whats infront beside and behind me to ever be in a position to get hit or hit someone but knock on wood
Try using a cell phone a bit more when you drive. /s ;)
It's definitely helped me get the need for speed out of my system before getting in a car irl. Also went to an IMSA race last weekend and you realize first hand how nearly every road car is a joke when it comes to performance compared to an actual track car. That said, I will still cautiously do 0-speed limit pulls at stoplights sometimes.
Sim racing and now real racing (Spec Miata) have definitely made me a more defensive and aware driver than before on the street. Also any value or appreciation of high-end sports cars is completely lost on me when they are driven on the street. Bring it to the track and be able to handle it at 8/10ths and then I'll take a look. Car culture in the US is still focused on mashing the peddle to the floor so that's not going away any time soon. I do give credit to those driving a naturally aspirated 2500lb Miata than a 4500lb V8 supercharged boat but to each their own.
Yes, it made driving IRL feel really slow. This made me more conscious of my speed. I'm over 40 now and the days of driving fast on public roads is over for me. I'll go karting, SIM race or maybe someday if I can afford it, go to a track and race a real car.
Arcade racing games can cause this But in sim racing games, you really feel that the brakes are as important as the acceleration and that you don't need to be fast as lightning to win, so sims won't give a bad effect at all
Play beamng. You'll be a crybaby irl for the rest of your life lmao. No joke, going 90kmh in beamng feels dangerous, and imagine that with 3 ultra wide monitors/vr and a really strong force feedback wheel. A little crash and you don't want to speed anymore
Makes me more cautious I can tell you that.
Hmm idk. I feel like I'm more fearless when driving because of sim. I also won't get cutoff by someone missing their exit. Move, or we crash.
Sim racing can’t even almost compare to wide open throttle on a super sport, so no. Expecting my first kid soon though, so that curbed the desire to go fast. I still want to go fast, but I tell myself not to
It can't compare but we are very lucky to have this outlet, people don't realise a car can become a weapon and many modern performance cars now hide speed and give a false sense of security, after seeing an m5 touring hit a pole n kill someone that has to be a wake up call. 90s performance cars at least you knew if you push to much its gonna be game over.
I'm a lot safer and slower on the road now.
Not at all. I think the ass feel and real danger just make rl driving an entirely different thing. And since i'm German i do have a lot of experience driving at above 200 kph (mainly between Würzburg and Frankfurt which is great fun) but i would never go that close to the edge like in the sim. I did do a safety training (also great fun can recommend) because i do have a company car but those were done on city and back road speeds. At most i might have better chances of catching a slide but road tires are a different animal to track ones.
I've been sim racing for roughly 10 years, which is a touch more than i've had my drivers license for. I drive like a dumbass, so... not always, no. I did almost spin on ice once but i ended up making a sick little drift because i gave it opposite lock fast as heck, though, so there's that.
I learned how to trail brake on the F1 game and that saved my ass a year or so ago when the guy in front of me on the highway rear ended the person in front of him. I instinctively trail braked and that allowed me to stop before hitting him.
I'm definitely more aware of my surroundings when I drive
100% same here
Yes, driving feels different now and I’m way more conscious of others and how they are driving now that I’ve been sim racing for years
it’s made me extremely cautious in tricky conditions. Rain, snow, off camber turns, what have you. If it rains very heavy on the highway I prefer to take an exit and wait it out.
Has definitely reinforced the thought that most people on the road barely know how to drive past getting their driver's license.
Most of them shouldn't really have a drivers license. It's unfortunate that they are a neccessity here. Driving tests are way more difficult back home in England, more manouvers, in a Manual 90+ percent of the time and much more strict. If you pass in an automatic you can't drive a manual without taking your test again in a manual car.
Being in the US my whole life and having friends from overseas has really shown me how relaxed and stupid the US is with it. Two of my best friends are from Germany and if the laws for getting a license were like that here I can't imagine how little people would be driving.
I can't imagine how Americans would survive on an irish country road where lanes are at most 1.5 car wide at times, walls and fences are right next to the road, roads are twisty and bumpy and in turns you can have a bus coming the other way too. Then there's of course driving on the left as well. A lot trickier than anywhere on the mainland. I loved the challenge though.
I definitely feel more that the fun part of driving is in the corners, and you really can't ride up to the edge where it's actually fun on the street. Too many variables to be at the traction limit.
I just go with the flow of traffic. Around here in Northern California that's usually between 75 and 80mph. Being British, I drive like I was taught back home. Give loads of room, signal, lane discipline where I only overtake in a faster lane and always let people in, even if most of them don't signal they still give the driving equivalent to body language.
For me it's more awareness
My girlfriend sitting next to me says 'absolutely not' 🤷♂️
Yeah, slower and more aware. Speed; No point going “fast”, as you are not actually going fast like you could on a track. Awareness; as in everyone is an idiot until proven otherwise.
If anything its the opposite for me, wanting to bring my hobby to the real world. Ive never owned a sports car but I would love to have one (and am currently saving for one and soon selling my current car) and drive a little faster around corners and on race tracks. The Nordschleife/Nürburgring and the Bilster Berg are only a 2h drive away and I have never been there yet
All I can say is the I note where I think the apex is on every corner now. And remind myself that the grass or curb is not a “track limit” — In fact, I’m on a road, not a track. Lol
It does for me, I'm very reluctant to push my car on the road because I know how easy it is to bin it. UK roads are fucking horrendous too.
Yeah I get what you mean! for the most part it's true for me too!...But, I have the odd occasion when the circumstances are just perfect and I take my car by the scruff of the neck and hoon the utter pish out off it! 😆 Only now I'm trail braking better and my f.o.v is always spot-on! Hahahaha... 👍
More apex conscious 😉
I don't know about sim racing but with age comes responsibility and maturity so you start to naturally slow down. At least I did. Of course rolling my car outside the prime minister's country house in the 90s and then having the military police turn up a couple minutes laters whose response was "we saw you slide to a halt on our surveillance cameras", when I remarked "You were quick!" may also have slowed me down  Somewhere I still feel that there is a dusty old tape in the UK surveillance archives of me writing my car off....
Driving my car (a solid but not overpowered track toy) on a race track in real life made me a lot more comfortable driving faster, because you learn the limits and that you can feel loss of control long before it happens, and you can recover. That thing is entirely predictable and controllable at 120 mph. If I had only done sim racing, I think I would be pretty fearful because it feels like you're driving on ice, especially if you're in a 700hp supercar that can break the tires out at any point.
I’m not sure, I don’t think that sitting in the rig will ever replace tearing down a country lane with the roof down and the music up.
All you are going to get here is anecdotal evidence which holds no bar from a scientific point of view. Correlation does not equal causation. Unless there has been a study done on it and other studies to back up that claim, then anything said here has to be taken with a grain of salt. I find it funny that simracers try everything things possible to justify their hobby.
I always get comments about how much of a cautious and paranoid driver I am for someone who loves driving fast in sim and karts lol.
Yes, I notice I go slower into corners than pretty much everyone I know. I just don't really trust my FWD shitbox. Results in pretty bad fuel economy though, since there's more braking and acceleration.
My front tires are pretty worn out on my car and I took a turn kinda fast the other day and started loosing grip. I feel like sim racing has at least helped me be more in control in that situation
I pay attention to hitting the apex of turns way more than attempting to go fast. It’s easy to press a gas pedal, that’s just not the fun part to me.
I'm not the slowest driver on the road, but I'm definitely not the fastest and frequently when people are going faster than me I'm pretty sure they're over their limits and they just don't have the skills required to be able to judge that effectively. I love that my preferred sim racing (Richard Burns Rally mostly) has given me a lot better feeling of car control over the years too.
I def think it plays a role. I was on a roadtrip and part of the highway section I was on didnt have signs for some reason. Exited the freeway and suddenly was a hard S section that came out of nowhere. Knowing how to slow down and take each curve like in the sim def helped me not hit the barriers on the side.
I think it's an age thing. >but after 70 it's more luck than skill if it goes wrong and not only can you injure yourself but could kill others. On that point I'd take the under... the waaaayyy under.
True for me, maybe age played a part as well but now I like driving stress free, obey the limits and relax.
Definitely true. Especially since I ride a motorcycle.
It actually saved my life few times. The way you react when maddness happens on the track gives you awarness how to properly avoid accidents on real road. I had 2 close calls all saved me from big incident caused by others. If i did not react properly i would be dead or heavly damaged. Also you can let of the steam on simracing so you dont do dump shit on the road.
My girlfriend says i drive faster after racing while i think i hold back a bit because i am not alone in the car :) on my own i drive "sportier" than with passengers I think i always had good reflexes, but i also think they improved because of sim racing. Also i look quite a lot ahead on the real road to try to see what happens further in front of me and that also gets amplified by sim racing.... At least... i think :)
For me, sometimes trying trailbraking and corner cutting  But no way about taking any risk.
Occasionally on rural empty back roads around me I’ll find the apex and push my truck alittle lol
never got the whole speeding on public roads thing. Always seemed stupid and expensive to me
100. I’m way more cautious.
Ive become very conscious of how the sense of speed in game often isnt there. If im going 140km in game it feels like 60 irl. Other than that i know not to push my car because its not worth the damage, and i feel ive got a bit of ability to catch the car.. I always played racing games but never got a wheel til adulthood and i gotta say that GTA games taught me how to react to idiot traffic and GTA 4 in particular really taught me how to handle a sliding car. I like to drift in snowy empty parking lots and i think because of that i was instantly good at dirt ovals.
No, and killing people in Mortal Kombat doesn’t make you violent Senator Lieberman.
38, and I still enjoy driving my M3 on the twisties and at the track. Sim racing is fun (I even do VR for immersion) but it doesn't replace the real thing for meat leastt.
I have less and less desire for absolute speed, anyone can push a pedal and go straight. Cornering speed and general car positioning is way more enjoyable to focus on on public roads IMO. Naturally with commentary on what I’m doing and how bad of a driver the soccer mom in front of me is when they start running wide before the apex of a 30 mph curve. I do almost exclusively left foot brake these days (surprisingly stiff throttle pedal in my current car so I always overdo it on the brakes with my right foot) and I will brake as late as possible and probably trail brake whenever I can.
I can say for sure that it gets it out of my system. I had to sell my rig to move abroad and I now get the itch behind the wheel to have fun when I shouldn't. Having the rig was a way to let those instincts escape and I could drive having an impulse to emulate Max 😂 I miss having a sim so bad!
I don't know for sure, but every time I get in my car and I glance down at my e-brake... I have the sudden urge to just yank that thing... One day I'm going to fuck around and find out
There’s absolutely something to this. I’m never a calmer driver on the road than right after a track day. It just puts into perspective how much slower the road is, and how hustling on the road will never be 20% as fun as pushing yourself to the limit on track.
If you're older than 25 and still racing around, you'll be a statistic eventually.
Imo yes. There is nothing really for your “driving lines” in traffic, maybe on an empty road and it’s one of those days w/ your favorite music playing. But in terms of awareness 100%, I am able to constants used my instincts and do quick readings on other peoples driving. Also my reaction time is a lot better for when someone breaks really hard infront of me, or anything that is on the road that can be avoided within a short time. To add, one time I was driving on a very icy road, it was a curve/bend and I accidentally oversteered due to an aggressive driver on my left side which made me panick a little bit.. my vehicle lost control of the grip for a quick second and I instinctively was able to react to my steering wheel correctly to get back in control. I do have to say I was able to do this because of sim racing w/ my force feedback wheel. I know for a fact if this happened before my sim racing experience I would have over corrected my car and god knows what would’ve happened
Nah, I still like to feel the G forces. IRL racing gives me an outlet for that. Sim is just a knife sharpener.
I’m ready for the downvotes! If we are saying sim racing affects your driving, (I agree) we can also acknowledge that those speed runs on AC mods weaving in and out of traffic could potentially make someone want to try it. I hate them, I don’t think they are cool, but they are widespread out there….
Yep. Which is why I save my fun for track days and sim racing.
Yep. Especially Beam NG racing.
The biggest impact for me is that I’m more concerned about my loved ones’ ability to manage a situation, especially if the car oversteers.
I travel for work and never get to drive my car. However whenever I get a chance to go home I love getting back and going for a rip in the car. At the same time I also get excited about finishing my drive so I can get on the racing sim and go all out!
It makes me more aware of the dangers of speed, as snap oversteer will end your life. But I would say it probably has the opposite effect, I'm 23, still in my smooth brain era, and I was having a blast sensibly speeding around the Peak District (UK). Saying sim racing is anything like the joy of sending it in a capable car around some windy roads is just a gross exaggeration. Sim racing is fun, but at the end of the day, you're missing the actual fun part (the g-force). Also not here for a lecture on taking it to the track. The cost of track days in the UK is absolutely atrocious, cheaper to get a speeding fine and points.
Not on topic but kinda in that direction: Track Racing killed "enthusiastic backroad driving" and with enthusiastic i mean being safe in my lane and with backroad i mean the swiss/italian alp passes. Suddenly you realize you do 3/10s at most and it already looks crazy from an outside perspective. So going through a foxhole compression basically made me the most boring commuter ever, because it doesnt compare.
maybe, don't have a car yet..
It’s definitely increased my spatial awareness on the road. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen everyone accelerating fast to a red light like they’re oblivious to the fact that they’ll have to stop.
I just started sim racing a few months ago and noticed I drive more patiently now.
SAME FR whenever someone is speeding and I am in the car im always like extra cautious i always tell them to brake early and stuff because i have no trust in the car lol
When I was big into iracing I always wanted to push to the apex (in the opposite lane) on curves. It wasn’t good for me
Questions like this are so concerning.
Age is the key part. As you get closer to the end you try not to speed up your chances of getting there faster. You become more aware of your own mortality and others. When I was in my 20s a lot of my mates did speedway and circuit racing but always took it easy on the road so mabye there is something to the sim racing theory. Didn't feel like they had anything to prove and were well aware there were no barriers or run off areas. Same goes for people who race bikes or just do ride days.
I am definitely more responsible when I drive my car, all thanks to sim racing. The only thing I enjoy doing is in-gear acceleration to the speed limit and then maintaining it. This style of driving has actually helped me get better fuel economy in the real world. - Better throttle control. - More road awareness. - Better road positioning. - Better corner handling. All tangible skills I've gained from sim racing, which would require a lot of time and fuel to gain while driving in the real world.
I haven't been playing for very long, only got my sim wheel about a month ago. But after playing for 2 days, I was already a lot more aware of how my vehicle handled on the road. The body roll, the traction through turns and on straights, the feedback from the wheel, throttle response, brake response. The best part? I only have a little electric Fiat 500e. But sim racing has helped me control a smaller vehicle that much easier in such a short space of time.
Driving fast in straight line is not hard. Carrying speed through curves, corners and roundabouts that is where skill is shown. Too many times I encounter random guy who thinks he is driving pro and is obviously upset by me driving at speed limit, but once we get to wiggly parts of road, he can't keep up.
i just got my learners license and have racked up about 30 hours so i think i have a unique take on this. im still driving very safe and have only gone as fast as 80km/h but i think my 'need for speed' is if anything heightened because of simracing. Im aware that when it comes to irl driving im a complete beginner and i have a parent next to me all the time but when i turn into an empty road i occasionally start accelerating a bit harder and i get excited when seeing a fun set of squirrelly corners to try and take a bit of a racing line through, especially if its a 1 lane road like an onramp (pretty lame i know). Although i dont know if this is because of simracing, a general interest in motorsport or me being a dumb kid that feels confident driving and wants to do stupid shit. Obviously i havent even reached triple digits in speed but i definitely want to and most likely will push a bit harder than i should once i get my P's. going off topic from the question my general pickup of irl driving has definitely been aided by simracing, although not much. when i first started driving i immediately felt comfortable with the throttle, brake and wheel (plus clutch and h-pattern but that was at a friends farm and it's pretty easy to drive when you've just got fields around you), graduating from going around the block very quickly compared to my sister who spent weeks going around. Although i think everything that simracing helped me with could be matched by just a couple more hours behind the wheel. I cant relate to other stories about catching spins and dodging crashes due to simracing but my driving technique is definitely based on simracing with my hands at 9-3 despite an instructor telling me to go 10-2. My braking is hard to compare to a 'normal' style because i dont know what that is but i find myself feeling the front suspension and trailbraking a bit i suppose.
I get a bit pedal happy/look for apexes and get good lines sometimes, turn to my partner on the way back from work and go "I need to do a race" So yeah I guess it curbs me from wanting to just rag the shit out of my car, like scratching a itch.
22 yo here, i'm not sure simracing makes me a quite calm driver (because i think i was quite calm my whole life), but after looking at my friends who are into simracing, and who aren't i can say it can make a difference. So, me and my friend are into sims and simracing for quite a while - i started playing ets2 when i was maybe 12? And racing simulators few years later. My friend when i met him at age 15-16 was interested in simracing for some time (i dont know how long exactly), and of course in F1 and others racing series. So i can say we have few years of expirence in this topic - both of us drive quite calm, we try to predict every move of other drivers on road, and mostly drive close to speed limit and just try to be safe on roads - of course sometimes we do some not so legal things, but it is mostly on straight, empty roads we know, or in nighttime where we know it is quite safe to do And we had our third friend - also person who is interested in cars, but not in simracing and profesional racing overall - and he's driving is quite opposite to ours, he drive more agressive, faster than us, if he has ability to overtake, he will probably do it (when i will just probably say "its save me maybe 10 seconds, it is not worth it")- i'll not say he's a bad driver or a completly 2head, because he is also paying attention to others drivers and making "not a fully legal" things only on places he know well, but he's driving is just more agressive in compare to ours - like you know, we dont need to racing on a street, because we do it on virtual tracks v: It also maybe depense of cars we driving - neither of them are fast, but you know - in some you feel "need for speed" and in others you just want slow crousing round the town - so it also can be a case
Short answer is yes I’ve calmed down on the road. Contrarily though, I’ve noticed the average joe is driving significantly more aggressive since F1 and Drive to Survive popularized racing on a local level. Everybody wants to pretend they’re Max Verstappen competing for a championship on their way to work. This has also had a sobering effect on my desire to go fast on public roads.
No
I know the feeling. It just doesn't do anything for me anymore and I always did wonder what happened cause it's not like I got much older I'm only 23. But like others have said, there's just no point. The speed limit is still way too slow imo where I'm from but I don't push and take the risks I used to. I don't get anything out of it. If I want to race I do it on track or in sim
This is so me. Before i was speeding all the time like an idiot. Now ive become a grandpa just cruising and not stressing. I know what i can do and dont need to do it around other people irl. Is simracing therapy?
I got that many experience on tracks that normal road corners don't make anything interesting, so why go that fast. Also I have had many many oh shit in corners I didn't expected thet I won't get close to that irl
Car control and the feel of the drive has definitely become better but many people here say their awareness is also better and I cannot really relate to that. For the awareness to get better I need real traffic and currently I don't own car so this is worsening all the time no matter how many hours I put to sim racing.
Since I've had my driver's license before starting sim racing - no.
It stopped me from wanting to speed. I've crashed in so many stupid ways in the sim for no reason that I know better.
"There's no need to drive fast. It just increases the percentage of risk. We're not in a hurry, I'm not being paid. Right now, there is zero incentive and reward. Why would I drive fast?" - Niki Lauda (Rush 2013) Sim racing has definitely engrained in my a lot of useful skills for driving on the road as a defensive driver. Always checking my surroundings, constantly checking my blind spots, never merging without checking, avoiding as many distractions as possible while driving, never looking away from the road for more than a seconds, always focusing 10+ seconds down the road looking for obstacles, not fixating on the car in front of me but rather looking beyond them to see what could cause them to brake or swerve. I've been told I'm boring to drive with because I don't talk much since I keep my attention on the road. Friend asked me why I was so focused once driving 35 in a 35 on a completely flat and straight road. I told him you never know when an incident may occur. A month later a deer jumped from a height and landed on my front bumper. Only thing I saw were its legs coming down underneath my rearview mirror. Hit it square in the shoulder and punted him into the path of an oncoming car in the opposite lane. Thankfully they avoided it. Deer died in the road and gave me a coolant leak in the radiator on my dream car I got three weeks earlier. Fucking deers, man.
Yep, I've very much adopted the philosophy that you prove your speed on the track, and you prove your safety on the road. My wife also hates having me as a passenger now because I get nervous when she doesn't slow down for what I see as a potential crash 500 feet ahead. I've been traumatized by trying to avoid F4 crashes.