Project Cars 2

Snetterton looks like a ps2 game when you race at dusk.

OK seems the night before was a mirage, I am back to where i started. i could rant all day but let's take a lap of the Nurburgring GP with me in the car i am most comfortable with, the Z4 GT3.

As a reference, on PCARS1 I was doing very solid 1.57's, so figure 1.59 or 2.00 is where i needed to be as PC2 is slower I am told. Fastest guy online crossed the line at 2.00 so i was on the money. My best time was 2.08. 8 freaking seconds a lap slower than i should be.

T1: Braking well before my reference point of the second brake marker from PC1. The car still locks up/understeers, when i release the brake i get snap oversteer. Exit oversteer. 

T2: Chronic understeer, cannot get it pointed in, takes forever to get on the power into T3

T3/4: Always struggled here in PC1 but even worse now, unbelievable understeer

T5: I was a beast here in PC1, now i get initial understeer then chronic oversteer mid corner, car is all over the place

T6: Not bad, a little loose but not bad

T7: Again, loose and horrible braking but not too bad on exit and mid corner

T8/9: OMG. I always took this flat or a slight lift. Just HORRIBLE now, i cannot hit the apex to save my life (a consistent theme) I either wildly oversteer to the left or under off to the right. Nightmare. 

T10: Massive understeer, always a tricky corner but i used to tap the brake to loosen the car a little to help turn in, if i do that now i spin, if i don't ... understeer

T11: Slightly better than PC1, i can get on it pretty early whereas i used to understeer

T13/14: So uncertain under brakes as per T1, NFI what is going to happen

T15: Better than PC1, i can get on it earlier

Looking at that it appears, on paper, that the car is too loose (see turns 11, 15, 6 and 7). BUT I am still understeering like crazy in slow corners and more importantly i cannot hit apexes at all, i almost always run wide or turn in too early. Braking is a nightmare, cannot describe how bad it is. 

I haven't played PC1 or PC2, but that sounds primarily like issues from the car setup.  Maybe start with the differential settings?  I've always heard the default setups in the PC games aren't great and that adjustments are really important.  

It's a combination of car and controller and just the new model that has less tolerance than it used to. It's basically too damn hard now. 

Understeer is usually a cause of snap oversteer. Fix the turn-in understeer first and then you might still have oversteer but it should be controllable and you can start to work tuning that out.

I just did few laps around Le Mans with Funpack racing Ford Mustang 66 with Logitech's shifter and all manual gears (stick, clutch, no driving aid) and eventually managed one decent lap of 4:44.2

Default car settings though I set steering rack bit faster for my liking. After that I drove few laps around same track with Ferrari F40 LM. disqualified laps were bit over 4 minutes since I cut by accident at few places and failed to downshift well from 5th to 4th (went neutral (6th), or directly at 2nd). Failings are due my tiny wheel table has not much space for gear stick device, so location of it not very ideal yet.

I can try next time on next week since I shall soon travel away for week due work.

Getting absolutely nowhere. 

I have no idea what is so off but there's a guy I used to race on PC1, I was slightly quicker, he's doing 2.07's at Road America (BMW Z4 GT3) and i can't do better than 2.16s. 

Braking is my number one issue, I have no idea what is going to happen when I hit the brakes and when i release them. I brake, nowhere near as deep as i used to, she locks up, understeers. I release the brake and the car will either continue on it's merry way understeering off or i'll get snap oversteer. 

Tried playing with every braking setting, a few of the diff settings too but something is FUNDAMENTALLY wrong. I have absolutely zero confidence at each corner, no idea what to expect.

Wearing me a bit thin TBH. 

Sounds like controller, or controller settings. If it happens with every car, every track, then something is wrong with your system.

Had my first night where i could push, a little at least. The NSX is quite stable, ran it around the RBR for a qualy and race and was doing 1.35's, slow but at least thereabouts. 

I loaded stable set up and just reduced the decel lock to loosen it mid corner, increased ABS to near 100 and braking power to 75%, I think the latter was important.

It still feels weird, the transition from braking to release is still very clunky imho. 

Alfisti, what platform are you on mate?

I have spent the last hour in obsessed mode trying and failing to break the TT record in the Formula Renault 3.5 around Spa (PC). Happy to get into the 1:59s, but will have to settle for P2 and console myself that at least I'm not running assists. That's a tough combo in PC2. 

P2?? How far off are you from P1? It's harder now since the patch to do crazy good times. 

LL, I am on PS4.

Alfisti,

I help to run a community called On The Limit Community Racing on Xbox and PS4 (hoping to add pc to that this year), and we have leagues, TT's casual races etc going all the time, but more importantly all of the guys are willing to help each other out with problems, setups, tips, that sort of thing.

If you (or anybody else for that matter) is interested I can send you a Discord link as that is where most of our stuff is organised.

We run PCars2, AC and F1 2017

Cheers

A friend got me pointed the right way with the ABS and brake pressure settings (lots ABS, less pressure), I have also found the other absolute key is engine braking. In PC1 I ran it at 0 to rotate the car on lift, in PC2 this is a big mistake. I need to set it around the mid point and this has all but cured the viscous unpredictability when i lift off the brake. Tyres were also important, at 24+ PSI they feel a lot better. 

 

I have also found that all settings are a LOT more sensitive, sometimes in PC1 you'd change things and barely feel it but now, one click of downforce or especially the anti roll bars make a big difference, you can definitely feel it. 

Yes, getting the tyres in the right zone is very important in PC2, there's some good info on this over on Race Department, where Ian Bell has chimed in on the subject. The tyre model is pretty sophisticated, so it's also very sensitive. 

I also find that small setup changes can make pretty big differences. I found the FR 3.5 too tail happy at first so I found softening the rear suspension a few clicks and lowering the front wing levels to induce more understeer made about 8 tenths difference at most tracks.

P2?? How far off are you from P1? It's harder now since the patch to do crazy good times.

Quite a way still, 7 tenths I think. P1 had a whopping 1.3 second gap over the other 120 of us on the TT board for that track! Crazy gap. I've halved it now but I'm struggling to think how I'll find any more time. 

WHat a shitty night, brutal.

I join races and qualify ok then get nerfed off or I feel good in qualy but the car is looser than a Kardashian in the race. Twice last night I felt OK in qualy, did a top 4 time but come the race I spun 4 times on the first lap.

The game is starting to take itself too seriously, it's ****ing impossible to just relax and drive. 

Edited by JamesC64, 15 January 2018 - 09:46.

Try the following for one last shot at it. 

- Brake pressure 75%

- ABS 94%

- Clutch decel 75% (to enable coast turning in slow corners)

- Increase engine braking to almost maximum

Still it's a bit of a **** show and the "car is loose in the race aFTER A FINE QUIALIFYING" IS now a known bug.

****ing caps. 

Try the following for one last shot at it.

- Brake pressure 75%
- ABS 94%
- Clutch decel 75% (to enable coast turning in slow corners)
- Increase engine braking to almost maximum

Still it's a bit of a **** show and the "car is loose in the race aFTER A FINE QUIALIFYING" IS now a known bug.

****ing caps.

When I drove on snow (wheel and stickshift) I was wondering that the hell was wrong I was not able to turn and car felt very lazy. It seems like I had driving aiding gizmos set on factory mode so some of them was still on. Removing driving aids fully made it more fun and precise to drive. Therefore I'ms quite surprised somebody wants to drive even abs set around 95%.

Without ABS I am locking up at the slightest touch of the brake, NFI why but massive, massive lock ups. 

All off?? Without stability control, seriously, i cannot keep the cars on the road at all. 

All off?? Without stability control, seriously, i cannot keep the cars on the road at all.

OK so on modern cars with big power you have the assists. 

OK so on modern cars with big power you have the assists.

Yeah i think i have had enough. I simply cannot brake with any consistency, nor get on the power with any consistency. Forget my pace i cannot even keep the car on the road. I have a three week trip home to OZ soon, when i come back i'll give GTS a try.

Honestly have no idea, wheel or no wheel, how other drivers look so stable, i am always on a knife edge.

Yeah i think i have had enough. I simply cannot brake with any consistency, nor get on the power with any consistency. Forget my pace i cannot even keep the car on the road. I have a three week trip home to OZ soon, when i come back i'll give GTS a try.

Honestly have no idea, wheel or no wheel, how other drivers look so stable, i am always on a knife edge.

Having a tough time with the Ginetta LMP3 in career mode, using realistic aids. Tons of grip but I still keep spinning under braking.

Tried some "RX" with a newly bought fanatec handbrake mounted to my "racing rig" today. It will take some time to get used to, and as a first try it was pretty hopeless... when i used the handbrake i forgot to gear down, and it really felt like i needed another arm to be able to do RX properly with steering, gearing and using the handbrake.... Adding the oculus rift to the mix, and not having perfected the muscle memory for where the handbrake is located probably didn't help matters much I will have to change placement of the handbrake anyway, as it got a bit too high, and got in the way of using the manual gear change for the cars with h-pattern boxes... but it did ad enjoyment and "feel" when you pulled the handbrake at turn-in getting the car completely sideways, and when i had managed to select the correct gear, a 4 wheel slide with spinning tyers felt soo good (shame i only nailed a couple of corners during the 25min session i had ) 

unfortunately the cable connecting it to the computer comes out at the "back" facing down, so i can't mount it much lower with the current setup, so perhaps it is better to mount it the way it is in a normal car, flat at the side of the seat...

Edited by mahelgel, 16 January 2018 - 21:06.

unfortunately the cable connecting it to the computer comes out at the "back" facing down, so i can't mount it much lower with the current setup, so perhaps it is better to mount it the way it is in a normal car, flat at the side of the seat...

Nice!  Proper handbrake sounds like a game-changer for rally and rx racing.  

FWIW, pro rally and rx cars usually have the handbrake lever way higher, about level with the steering wheel, and with shifter lever just a few inches away for a quick grab from one to the other

This guy and his 4x2's. 

Nice!  Proper handbrake sounds like a game-changer for rally and rx racing.  

 

FWIW, pro rally and rx cars usually have the handbrake lever way higher, about level with the steering wheel, and with shifter lever just a few inches away for a quick grab from one to the other

Thats what i am hoping for... gonna try it with the RX beetle in iRacing next

As for the placement, i know, thats why its placed where it is now (the angle of the picture makes it look further away than it is when im sitting there driving... and when using the manual gearshift my underarm touched the top of the handbrake a few times). If it wasn't for the h-shifter it could have been a bit higher, and it would have been perfect for the RX stuff...

Thats what i am hoping for... gonna try it with the RX beetle in iRacing next

 

As for the placement, i know, thats why its placed where it is now (the angle of the picture makes it look further away than it is when im sitting there driving... and when using the manual gearshift my underarm touched the top of the handbrake a few times). If it wasn't for the h-shifter it could have been a bit higher, and it would have been perfect for the RX stuff...

Cool!  That makes sense.  And it doesn't look like you have much room to mount it up on the right side of the shifter either

It was the assists, they turned themselves off. I had no TC or ABS or ESP. Yeah, yeah I shouldn't use it for the purists but i do, it's more about the racing than the driving for me. 

How they turned off I have NFI but they did. I turned them on, I was far more planted, entered a lobby race, was hit up the duff so went back to check my settings and yep .... they were off again!

Anyone else find this?

It can happen Alfisti, you aren't alone mate. Just have to keep checking them. Also, don't forget lobby settings can allow or ban them so that will be a factor

With assists on i was able to race last night which was great. I am a bit slow as I find the car bites and then gets loose on me so struggling at corner entry big time, but at least i am beginning to brake at the right points and tussle. Finished 4th from 10 drivers which lifted my rating to F1300 from U so some progress. 

Also discovered the McLaren GT1 around Bathurst, a handful but what a noise!

With assists on i was able to race last night which was great. I am a bit slow as I find the car bites and then gets loose on me so struggling at corner entry big time, but at least i am beginning to brake at the right points and tussle. Finished 4th from 10 drivers which lifted my rating to F1300 from U so some progress.


Also discovered the McLaren GT1 around Bathurst, a handful but what a noise!

I briefly jumped to a E1400 rating but hit a host (he came from NOWHERE in free practice on an oval and passed my on the inside as i was turning in) and he DQ'd me so back down to F1370. 

I am having real trouble in two areas;

1) Long turns, if I loosen the car she is hard to control in tighter turns but right now I am understeering horribly

2) Hard to explain but on corner entry I am struggling. I brake, release the brake and she seems to bite a little and understeer forward. So i try braking, and sort of flicking the car through the corners (get her a little loose) but the car will either a) understeer in the direction of the turn or worse still b) sort of get loose then bite then get loose then bite real hard and i have to slow down too much to take the turn.

2 is hard to explain but in PC1 I had a very simple style that work with a controller. Late braking, have the bias set back a little so she just wags her tail a bit, lift the brake, coast, straighten the car and power out with a hard exit. It work well except that was a recipe for understeer on really long corners. 

I cannot replicate that in this game, i get a weird bite, understeer, then loose then bite thing going. 

Tried some more "RX action" with the Fanatec handbrake (still in the same position), and my mind is slowly grasping some of the coordination that is needed. That said, i overdo the handbrake usage on purpose to get used to it, and more often than not i get a bit too excited and crash out

Tried some more "RX action" with the Fanatec handbrake (still in the same position), and my mind is slowly grasping some of the coordination that is needed. That said, i overdo the handbrake usage on purpose to get used to it, and more often than not i get a bit too excited and crash out

 

Looks like some good, wild fun!

Looks like some good, wild fun!

It is good fun, and just grabbing for the handbrake gives such an extra immersion (i think the oculus also helps, as it hides the crude "2x4" cockpit and mounting setup i have ). Also the Fanatec feels very solid and "proper", like it could be lifted straight from a driftcar or something

This game really is psycho, just feels so random.

I joined a lobby last night with no assists and i had so much grip, i mean looser than i am used to but the other 400 times I tried with no assists I could barely make a turn. Suddenly i was blasting around with no TC, no stabilty help etc, honestly i never know what to expect every time i race, so random. 

Did some more RX with the handbrake... Got a bit more used to the extra bit of coordination required for operating it, but still crashes out a bit too often, and not all the turns are what i would call "gracefully executed"

Looks like fun. 

Looks like fun. 

It is very much so...

That said, the purchase of the handbrake i would, to phrase a buddy of mine, call a "**** and giggles" purchase.

To clarify, i mostly enjoy driving older classic race cars/road cars on tracks (and the road segments in project cars). RX is purely for fun, and not intended to be "serious" racing. So its a bit expensive for the intended use. But simracing is a hobby, and if i didn't do any simracing i would probably spend money on a gokart (or a trackday car if a planned track near my home ever is build - been in the planing stage for several years now), and that would be loads more expensive... so in a sense i am actually saving money buying gadgets for my simracing hobby!

SMS are running an excellent community event at the moment, beat the Stig (Ben Edwards) in a Formula Renault 3.5 around Oulton Park. A thousand people have given it a go so far. It's a very fun car/track combo.

One day left to get your time in. Supposedly his lap-time will be released some time after the fact. 

Alright, tested online of Project Cars 2 first time.

Since I have just completed first carting championship in career mode I have quite pathetic ranking.

I suppose newbies begins from U1500 and I don't even know what that stands for. However, I drove few events clean (geen bar thingy) but I didn't notice any improvements of my U1500. How do you do that?

Ive done mostly offline racing and practise runs, so im not familiar with how the rating system works, but this site gives some information atleast :
https://www.projectc...se.html?lang=en