Band of Others iRacing Team

[Noodleguitar]

I tried the Ford GT3 today at Bathurst. I had no issues with braking; used close to the default brake bias and increased the rake quite a bit.

After adding some wing (ended up at 8) I finally got it a bit more stable on turn in, but I still had a lot of problems with height changes. There are two left-handed dips on top of the mountain that I couldn't deal with at all, the car would just slide into oversteer every time. With the BMW I can floor it through most of that section. In the end I couldn't do more than my outlap without crashing. It could of course be my setup that is wrong, but I doubt it's the only reason for the instability.

I've also tried the Ford at Zandvoort. That was a bit better, however when I hit the brakes on the high speed right-hander I would again go into an nasty slide.

Didn't experience a lot of changes with the BMW after a couple of laps except for the ABS improvement. That works a lot better now indeed, but I don't think it would change my braking points significantly, I would need more testing in the same weather to be sure.

 

[Noodleguitar]

About the 3 hours, if I'm consistent enough to not crash it should be no problem for me, my legs/feet would probably complain a bit though which is what I noticed during the Zolder 2.4 hours.

There's no way I could pee in under 40 seconds Even with a toilet next door to me. But I can sometimes go for 8 hours without needing a pee so I wouldn't need to, maybe I drink too little? Or you guys drink too much

 

[Daunt]

I stand corrected it seems. Peeble was right. The normal (Classic?) GT3 series will be a B class race. The driver swap race will be a D class race. That series just might be a mess, with no iRating losses and being a D class race.

 

[Noodleguitar]

I don't think the license requirement makes a lot of difference. I've driven the Mustang for two seasons which is drivable with a D-license and I've never seen better racing elsewhere. If there are enough participants, the higher splits should be cleaner and very doable.

However, since iRating is not affected I'm not sure how they will organize the splits. Anyway, as you said, iRating not being affected might make drivers do stupid and aggressive things, even in top splits.

 

[Peeble]

As for bathroom breaks, as the older drivers may worry ...

Have an empty water bottle nearby, problem solved!

I'm up for anything, I can schedule 24 hours, 12 hours, etc of my time, just need notice in advance. If you guys want to be doing the team racing GT3, or the caddy, or the regular GT3, I'm up for all of it. I'm C class right now but in a week or two I should be up to B.

 

[Kenadian]

I don't think the license requirement makes a lot of difference. I've driven the Mustang for two seasons which is drivable with a D-license and I've never seen better racing elsewhere. If there are enough participants, the higher splits should be cleaner and very doable.

However, since iRating is not affected I'm not sure how they will organize the splits. Anyway, as you said, iRating not being affected might make drivers do stupid and aggressive things, even in top splits.

The Mustang is a much more challenging car to drive as is the Ruf which is why those numbers are always quite small. For proof of this you need look no further than Global Challenge as the Open Setup is impossible to drive unless you get a decent set that matches your driving style.

...hence much lower participation numbers and more capable drivers.

The GT3 Cars on the other hand are actually drivable even with the default setup (for the most part) and in the hands of a Rookie 4+ could spell chaos.

The difference being The Mustang is slow, the C-Spec is slow and the GT3 Cars are very fast.

...

As far as GT3 Cars go, my guess is that everyone has the Ruf followed by most having the McLaren with the BMW and Ford GT being tied for the least in ownership (Noodle and myself owning both).

Does this mean we'll be driving the MP4 or the Ruf?

I'm fine with either however I'd like some insight as I'd like to focus my efforts on one of these cars this season in GT3.

 

[Daunt]

The Mustang is a much more challenging car to drive as is the Ruf which is why those numbers are always quite small. For proof of this you need look no further than Global Challenge as the Open Setup is impossible to drive unless you get a decent set that matches your driving style.

...hence much lower participation numbers and more capable drivers.

The GT3 Cars on the other hand are actually drivable even with the default setup (for the most part) and in the hands of a Rookie 4+ could spell chaos.

The difference being The Mustang is slow, the C-Spec is slow and the GT3 Cars are very fast.

...

As far as GT3 Cars go, my guess is that everyone has the Ruf followed by most having the McLaren with the BMW and Ford GT being tied for the least in ownership (Noodle and myself owning both).

Does this mean we'll be driving the MP4 or the Ruf?

I'm fine with either however I'd like some insight as I'd like to focus my efforts on one of these cars this season in GT3.

I think the Ruf or the MP4 are the cars of choice. I'd prefer the McLaren (obviously). If everyone else is set on a beamer though I would be willing to purchase it. Last season I'd have recommended the Ruf considering that the MP4 was much more difficult to drive but I don't know about that anymore.

Need to get everyone's opinion on that. Not just what they have but what they're comfortable driving.

 

[Kenadian]

I can drive any of the GT3 Cars and my guess is Noel feels the same way.

This would leave you Daunt, Peeble and Sam to decide on what we ultimately race.

 

[Noodleguitar]

Yep, I can drive any of them. I don't really like the RUF but then again I haven't tried it in a long time so I don't have good grounds to avoid it.

There was a balance of performance update to the GT3 cars today. It looks like the Ford GT3 and the McLaren were made slightly faster and the RUF nerfed a bit (I think). I'm not sure what they mean with reduced downforce while at the same time more drag from the wing. Does that mean it has less weight pushing down but more weight from friction pulling it back?

 

[Kenadian]

I can't speak for the McLaren but I do believe the Ford GT needed a buff.

I wonder how they did it with the Macca though because it's a heavier car (35 kg I think) than it was in Season 3.

As for the changes I'd assume they mean:

• Reduced downforce front: understeer, less forward bite particularly on turn in, potentially hotter tires due to sliding on turn in.
• Reduced downforce rear: oversteer/power on oversteer; careful throttle input required.
• More drag: lower top speed, perhaps more aero push?

Reduced downforce just means reduced downforce which should equate to a more floaty feel on track, personally I hope not.

I was playing Assetto Corsa on the weekend and that's my one biggest gripe about that title, it feels like there's no weight to the cars.

Not only that but I raced two sessions (10 laps and 15 laps) around Spa in the Benz SLS gridding both times in 24th place., running default setup and I won both times.

I was racing Pro Settings with penalties on, auto clutch (I don't have a clutch but that shouldn't matter in GT3 anyway); track set to Green, AI set to 100% strength (the highest it goes).

Assetto Corsa is fun but iRacing is way better.

...however, Assetto Corsa has much better sounds although they start clipping after a few laps with anything more than a few AI cars.

 

[Daunt]

I can drive any of the GT3 Cars and my guess is Noel feels the same way.

This would leave you Daunt, Peeble and Sam to decide on what we ultimately race.

Well listen to the aliens. hahaha. Well as long as it isn't the mazda I'm fine. My vote is McLaren obviously. But I'm not DEAD SET against anything else except the Ford GT, which I have no interest in / desire to drive.

 

[Peeble]

I just got to Class C so I only own the RUF, not against going for the Mclaren though

 

[Daunt]

I just got to Class C so I only own the RUF, not against going for the Mclaren though

That's the first car I bought as well, but after driving it and gazing upon the interior, I quickly bought the McLaren. Haha no but really they need to spruce that thing up. Still its drivable for sure.

 

[Peeble]

That's the first car I bought as well, but after driving it and gazing upon the interior, I quickly bought the McLaren. Haha no but really they need to spruce that thing up. Still its drivable for sure.

Hah, the terrible interior was my first thought as well.

 

[Noodleguitar]

Does anybody know the minimum amount of drivers for the team GT3 races?

I doubt it will be 1 because you could avoid any pit stop and do the race with only 1 driver (the 60 minute ones at least).

I'm guessing it's 2, but then you would hurt yourself if you split the race up into 3x 20 minutes or more because you would be doing more pit stops than the competition. I guess having at least 2 teams of 2 drivers is going to be necessary.

I don't have both Twin Ring Motegi and Sonoma, but I'll probably buy Sonoma.

 

[Kenadian]

How long do these cars run on a full tank of gas?

My guess is we'd want to perform driver swaps everytime we pull in for fuel and tires.

 

[Noodleguitar]

Update the GT3 cars to equalize green flag range to about 65 minutes on a full tank of fuel.

Yeah, I don't think we want to go into the pits for up to a minute if it's not required, that would just eliminate all progress you make while racing.

 

[Daunt]

Pit changes to GT3 from last season:

- Update the GT3 cars to equalize green flag range to about 65 minutes on a full tank of fuel.
- Update the GT3 cars to equalize fuel fill times - a full fill should take 40 seconds.
- Changed re-fueling increments from 5 liters to 1 liter.
- Set the minimum fuel level to 5 liters.
- Reduced variability in fuel fill rates.
- Pit crew now waits to change tires until fueling finishes.
- Pit crew now use tire warmers set to 80 deg C.

I agree for a 60 minute race, anymore than 2 drivers is unecessary. The Series page rules says it is open to 2 or more drivers.

Keep in mind Road Atlanta I think is a 2 hour race.

I don't have sonoma or twin ring either, but I plan to buy twin ring. Sonoma I will be skipping.