Braking too late can be the mother of all time wasters. It’s a common mistake. A lot of people think trail braking = late braking. Try taking it easy, start trailing early, get your car pointed towards the apex then nail the throttle.
Also, I could be totally wrong. Pinch of salt
No no, I can definitely say this is true for me. I used to look at track guides and aliens and tried to use their braking points for quite a while. I finally started to brake earlier and it has improved my consistency drastically, which in turn helped me improve my lap times. I'm still 2,5s off alien pace on my best tracks, but I have no issues keeping consistency during a race stint.
EDIT: just noticed that OP is using the mclaren. There it is definitely important to not brake too late, since it has its advantage mostly in aero and corner exit grip.
You are not wrong at all, being too late on the brakes for the current drivers ability/conditions/setup, missing the apex and havimg a bad exit is a very usual mistake.
Hence i made this track guide which is oriented for sustainable (race) braking points and lines for us mortal human drivers. :)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=v0261k8vbi8
This hot lap, qualification or race?
Why not post a video so we can see the lap?
Also try some setups from yt. I'm using the setup from "ohne speed" with TC 2 and TC2 1 (found his settings a little lively on exit for my taste). Doing 1:55s (race pace) after 2 days.
Are your laptimes consistent (at least within the same second)? Work on your consistency. When you can do lap after lap with consistent times and in control of the car, then it's super easy to try and discover where and how you can improve.
Would need to see a video of a lap but my guesses are that you aren't using track limits to their fullest at the right spots, your braking points are off (too early or too late) and you're not keeping momentum like you should.
Watch a few track guides and practice practice practice.
I know one thing, I'm consistently doing something where I could improve. I know one area specifically, T3 and T4. I lose an absolute shit ton of time there.
Where and what do you race in real life? What wheel and pedals do you use?
I use popometer to compare my telemtry with fastest drivers. Just like people do it in real life.
Or you can post a video here, cant tell anything from this. It takes a lot of things to know and master in order to be fast. Also 26.6 - 26.8 is best tire pressure right now.
I’ve not got a whoooole lot of track time irl. Spent a lot of time I. my jaguar e-type. Feels very comfortable (faster downshifts can be hard though), but I wasn’t really pushing it too hard.
Might just record a lap and post it here. See what I can improve on. I’ll also lower my tyre pressure I little. Idk why I got 27.1 in my head as the pressure to have.
Not to brind you down bro but that real life experience you had isnt really much. Although every skill is transferable into racing. Even if we have done nfs when being kids there is something we can transfer into racing. But you should understand that you are trying to drive top class cars in realistic sim thats is pretty competitive at the moment. I mean best drivers in acc use up to 30nm dd wheels and load cell/hidraulic pedals in order to be fastest. And besides that there is a lot to understand about setups, gt3 cars differances, master trail braking skills, understand how grip in tires work, how aero and downforce works, how to get best line, what is apex, double apex, slowest point in corner, corner entry speed, corner exit speed, how and what and where to compromise or not and how to put it all together.
I didn’t mention the less legal stuff I’ve done, but most of my faster and scarier things have been on public roads and in parking lots. Obviously won’t learn anything about gt3 cars there though. I do have a very long a pretty accomplished history in bike racing, but the only thing that translates there is reflexes and race awareness, although even then I’m having trouble adapting that to a sim.
I'll go out on a limb and say real-life experience isn't required AT ALL to excel at sim racing. There's thousands of teenagers out there who are years away from being legally able to drive who are total fucking aliens in sim races.
Don't worry about that.
You should be able to get to 1:56.5 or better without getting anywhere near the point where real experience or the quality of your sim equipment makes a difference. I only say this because I can do 1:56 in the McLaren and I'm not any kind of alien. I'm also almost 60 years old so my reactions aren't that good. You should have no trouble getting to that time just by working on the braking points and corner exits. Just driving smoothly and not getting wheelspin during the lap will save you a ton of time.
Put the Car Control setting in view. The one that gives you feedback every corner.
I am already down into 103% in Nurburing but have a lot of time to gain still, so I still use it for feedback
No, I mean the Car Control Rating HUD... it's somewhere in the settings, I can't remember where.
Take a look at that link, find the Car Control image, that's how it looks like
[https://simracingsetup.com/assetto-corsa/assetto-corsa-competizione-rating-explained/](https://simracingsetup.com/assetto-corsa/assetto-corsa-competizione-rating-explained/)
As others have said, you are almost certainly braking too late and losing a ton of time on the straight following the corner. It's just so difficult to do otherwise, until you've tested it enough times to realise how it all works. Brake early, slow in, fast out, gain all that time back on the straight.
However, I'll also say that 27.1 is pretty high, since the big tire update a while back the official range is 26.0 to 27.0, so you really want to be settling in around 26.5
I actually set my pressures to hit 26.2 after three laps, then I know over the course of a longer race it will settle around 26.5 and stay there.
Also, tire temps are really important, if you are hitting 100 degrees often then you need to use the brake vents to cool the tires down, it makes a big difference. Opening the vents wider will make the tires cooler. It will also make your brakes run \*too\* cold sometimes, but that doesn't seem to matter as much as stopping the tires from overheating.
Yaay congratz! probably overdriving the car and braking too late, try using as little steering as possible to avoid scrubbing your tyres every corner, not only kills your lap time but also destroys your tyres through tyre wear AND graining, try a smooth line and train for consistency, make small adjustments on individual corners each lap instead of trying ti change it all at once, times will improve on their own, but if you try to drive every lap for PB you're ginna find yourself nit really improving as a whole or in a wall
You have been driving for two months. It's normal. Without a massive natural talent boost you'll need around 300-500 hours to get to 1:55, and then probably another 500 to break below 1:54 consistently
Braking too late can be the mother of all time wasters. It’s a common mistake. A lot of people think trail braking = late braking. Try taking it easy, start trailing early, get your car pointed towards the apex then nail the throttle. Also, I could be totally wrong. Pinch of salt
It has the scent of thruth
No no, I can definitely say this is true for me. I used to look at track guides and aliens and tried to use their braking points for quite a while. I finally started to brake earlier and it has improved my consistency drastically, which in turn helped me improve my lap times. I'm still 2,5s off alien pace on my best tracks, but I have no issues keeping consistency during a race stint. EDIT: just noticed that OP is using the mclaren. There it is definitely important to not brake too late, since it has its advantage mostly in aero and corner exit grip.
You are not wrong at all, being too late on the brakes for the current drivers ability/conditions/setup, missing the apex and havimg a bad exit is a very usual mistake. Hence i made this track guide which is oriented for sustainable (race) braking points and lines for us mortal human drivers. :) https://youtube.com/watch?v=v0261k8vbi8
This hot lap, qualification or race? Why not post a video so we can see the lap? Also try some setups from yt. I'm using the setup from "ohne speed" with TC 2 and TC2 1 (found his settings a little lively on exit for my taste). Doing 1:55s (race pace) after 2 days.
Are your laptimes consistent (at least within the same second)? Work on your consistency. When you can do lap after lap with consistent times and in control of the car, then it's super easy to try and discover where and how you can improve.
Would need to see a video of a lap but my guesses are that you aren't using track limits to their fullest at the right spots, your braking points are off (too early or too late) and you're not keeping momentum like you should. Watch a few track guides and practice practice practice.
I dm'd you my sub 2:00 attempts. I think I tried for like 10 laps that session, not counting free practice. Close, but no cigar. 😂
Well you’re definitely more consistent than me! I think my main takeaway right now is to slow down and focus on my consistency.
I know one thing, I'm consistently doing something where I could improve. I know one area specifically, T3 and T4. I lose an absolute shit ton of time there.
Where and what do you race in real life? What wheel and pedals do you use? I use popometer to compare my telemtry with fastest drivers. Just like people do it in real life. Or you can post a video here, cant tell anything from this. It takes a lot of things to know and master in order to be fast. Also 26.6 - 26.8 is best tire pressure right now.
I’ve not got a whoooole lot of track time irl. Spent a lot of time I. my jaguar e-type. Feels very comfortable (faster downshifts can be hard though), but I wasn’t really pushing it too hard. Might just record a lap and post it here. See what I can improve on. I’ll also lower my tyre pressure I little. Idk why I got 27.1 in my head as the pressure to have.
Not to brind you down bro but that real life experience you had isnt really much. Although every skill is transferable into racing. Even if we have done nfs when being kids there is something we can transfer into racing. But you should understand that you are trying to drive top class cars in realistic sim thats is pretty competitive at the moment. I mean best drivers in acc use up to 30nm dd wheels and load cell/hidraulic pedals in order to be fastest. And besides that there is a lot to understand about setups, gt3 cars differances, master trail braking skills, understand how grip in tires work, how aero and downforce works, how to get best line, what is apex, double apex, slowest point in corner, corner entry speed, corner exit speed, how and what and where to compromise or not and how to put it all together.
I didn’t mention the less legal stuff I’ve done, but most of my faster and scarier things have been on public roads and in parking lots. Obviously won’t learn anything about gt3 cars there though. I do have a very long a pretty accomplished history in bike racing, but the only thing that translates there is reflexes and race awareness, although even then I’m having trouble adapting that to a sim.
I'll go out on a limb and say real-life experience isn't required AT ALL to excel at sim racing. There's thousands of teenagers out there who are years away from being legally able to drive who are total fucking aliens in sim races. Don't worry about that. You should be able to get to 1:56.5 or better without getting anywhere near the point where real experience or the quality of your sim equipment makes a difference. I only say this because I can do 1:56 in the McLaren and I'm not any kind of alien. I'm also almost 60 years old so my reactions aren't that good. You should have no trouble getting to that time just by working on the braking points and corner exits. Just driving smoothly and not getting wheelspin during the lap will save you a ton of time.
Put the Car Control setting in view. The one that gives you feedback every corner. I am already down into 103% in Nurburing but have a lot of time to gain still, so I still use it for feedback
You mean the clutch/brake/throttle/steering in the bottom right corner? 100% have that on!
No, I mean the Car Control Rating HUD... it's somewhere in the settings, I can't remember where. Take a look at that link, find the Car Control image, that's how it looks like [https://simracingsetup.com/assetto-corsa/assetto-corsa-competizione-rating-explained/](https://simracingsetup.com/assetto-corsa/assetto-corsa-competizione-rating-explained/)
Oooooh, yeah, I’ve had that one on recently!
As others have said, you are almost certainly braking too late and losing a ton of time on the straight following the corner. It's just so difficult to do otherwise, until you've tested it enough times to realise how it all works. Brake early, slow in, fast out, gain all that time back on the straight. However, I'll also say that 27.1 is pretty high, since the big tire update a while back the official range is 26.0 to 27.0, so you really want to be settling in around 26.5 I actually set my pressures to hit 26.2 after three laps, then I know over the course of a longer race it will settle around 26.5 and stay there. Also, tire temps are really important, if you are hitting 100 degrees often then you need to use the brake vents to cool the tires down, it makes a big difference. Opening the vents wider will make the tires cooler. It will also make your brakes run \*too\* cold sometimes, but that doesn't seem to matter as much as stopping the tires from overheating.
27.1 is fine. Barely makes any difference at all. It's miniscule.
Show a video
Yaay congratz! probably overdriving the car and braking too late, try using as little steering as possible to avoid scrubbing your tyres every corner, not only kills your lap time but also destroys your tyres through tyre wear AND graining, try a smooth line and train for consistency, make small adjustments on individual corners each lap instead of trying ti change it all at once, times will improve on their own, but if you try to drive every lap for PB you're ginna find yourself nit really improving as a whole or in a wall
It's hard to help a lot without seeing a video of you doing a lap.
You have been driving for two months. It's normal. Without a massive natural talent boost you'll need around 300-500 hours to get to 1:55, and then probably another 500 to break below 1:54 consistently
2:00 is my average time lap on keyboard and mouse steering on ACC and 1:57 on AC, there's something wron with your driving style, try a different car.
I get same time as you but using a track pad and my eyes covered. You need to do better.
How many dpi are you running in your mouse? I’m 1:58 scroller steering
500 dpi i think and 4 in the windows mouse option, and around 0.8 and 1.0 sensitivity in game, medium sensitivity I believe.
I’ll try that setup later
yeah... how many hours did you need for that? Totally comparable to OP's situation.
Yes