I'll see your Fairlane video and raise you a Porsche. In the wet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aI9JAgllIoI have a pc based car racing simulator here in the garage and one in my sons room. Our setups are pretty basic. Although we use a wheel, shifter and pedals, mine is not the $20,000. + setup. I got going for around $1000. The Porsche is the car I typically run around with. Has nice power, fair balance and I like the sound of the engine. With hundreds of cars to choose from, we always bounce around. My son likes the paddle shift versions, Ferrari's, Lambo's heck even the new Vette's run wheel mounted paddle shifters I believe. Aside from the correct engine sounds, the simulator does a fair job of doing just that. Each car has a different feel as in the real world. Acceleration, braking, sliding and the way it feels when you hit the curbs. Not sure how it works, but there are two motors in the wheel itself that provide the Force Feedback you feel in the steering wheel. You feel the bumps, wheelspin, the back end sliding out from you as well as over and under steering. It's as close as you can get without actually being in a real car. The visual graphics have dramatically improved over the years. The feeling of going over a hill into a blind turn is brought on by the wheels feedback and your own eyes. Your brain fills in the blanks and makes it an addictive sensation. My daughter just acquired a learners permit and cruises around on the simulator at different tracks in a Mini Cooper. It certainly helped her and the power is much more subtle for her to control.
The tracks are endless. It would cost a small fortune to drag your car around the world and run at some of the tracks we have all seen and loved the racing at. With this simulator and a couple of mouse clicks, you can be in a variety of cars and tracks, that quickly. Nordschliefe, Spa, Monaco, Bathurst, Laguna Seca, Daytona, Interlagos, Mugello, Silverstone.........they are all there. The simulator community, like this Triple home, has brainiacs that reproduce these tracks within a 1/4 inch of the real world versions. The trees, the tire rubber in the groove, heck the graffiti on the track at Nordschliefe is there! With GPS, photos and video, they can recreate tracks that have been torn down years ago. One of those favorites of mine is Riverside.
Anyway, when I watched Moo's video post, I had to run a few laps in the Fairlane at Nordschliefe. I didn't do too well as the brakes were a far cry from the Porsche. But the engine sure sounded sweet! I've spent many hours learning how to race with this thing. What sold me was the fun I had at the arcades with the kids. This, is on another level. Just thought I'd pass that along.
Interested in a deeper look...........
http://www.virtual-gt.com/ or YouTube Sim Racing.
Login
FAQ
