First month in iRacing. How have I done?

[apex11]

So 1 month in Road.
Class B
SR 4.69
iRating 1780

Races 59 wins 3 / total laps 685 / ave incs 2.76 / ave start 8th / ave finish 8th / top 5 finishes 20.

Loving it so far, not moved up to class A yet as felt i was going to fast so holding back and just blasting in Mazda MX5's and Skippys. MX5 is my favorite.

But yeah, am i taking it too safe? Is my SR too high am i too careful?

 

[James Nance]

Id say your doing very very well, not bad at all. Yeah, just take your time moving up. Race what you enjoy and don't worry too much about SR and iRating honestly, unless you want to go pro one day, then I wouldn't focus too much on that, be careful of course, but also enjoy the racing. SR can never be too high, just a good buffer for when you mess up I guess, anyway a few good clean races and its back up again. Keep it up, your doing good for sure.

 

[snyperal]

As long as you are enjoying yourself the stats are largely irrelevant. If you practice a ton and enjoy the races and battles, that is iracing at its best!

 

[apex11]

As long as you are enjoying yourself the stats are largely irrelevant. If you practice a ton and enjoy the races and battles, that is iracing at its best!

True, i'm loving it best decision i ever made, in a gaming context, was to 'invest' into this, the Mazda MX5's at Road America was incredible.

 

[snyperal]

The new mx5 is one of the best cars on iracing. The porsche, Ferrari and new Ford are also damn good. The merc and Audi are pretty sweet too. I'm not a big fan of the mustang or jetta though. Shame because I had hopes for them.

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

looking very good indeed. like the other chaps said: do what you love doing, only keep an eye on the stats from time to time. That high SR is sweet, once you get into a new series, e.g. IMSA, you are liable to have more incidents at first, so it's a nice buffer of sorts. Mine is moving between 2.3 and 2.8 and has been doing so for ages, it just helps you focus on being clean in certain situations. Last week saw my favourite combo, GT3 at Sebring night, nothing quite like it in my book, while R.America is up there as my least liked track, lol. We all differ.

 

[apex11]

Must admit I think i was obsessing over my SR, but now having sadly come across some of the toxic side of iRacing when you go check these peoples SR it's like 1.xx , so clearly I have to accept idiotts still are allowed to run wild even on iRacing...

Just today I've had someone under yellow flags on oval race ram me from behind then tell me they are reporting me! WTF?

I have found skippys to have some horrendous driving standards IMO.

Not been a good week on iRacing this week.

 

[Lorenzo Bonder]

skippy's are worth on the medium - high irating Races. Lots of races with good drivers, but I'm more of a Formula Renault guy, note how "low" iRating races can go:

Started 9th out of 11th races (I was one of the fastests in practice), just screwed at quali and moved up the field just with everyone else screwing up. Caught up 1st and 2nd and mid race they managed to crash themselves at the Nurbs Arena section. Ended with the win.

SR recovered (lost a crap ton because of the 24hs of Spa and I don't race regularly lately), so I can't complain.

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

... when you go check these peoples SR it's like 1.xx ,

one of the beauties of the system: one can actually check on the people and draw one's own conclusion

Just today I've had someone under yellow flags on oval race ram me from behind then tell me they are reporting me! WTF?

you racing from Europe, I suppose. My guess is some of the oval racing at prime european time (e.g. 21.00) is so toxic because it's teens coming back from school in the States at that time and doing a couple of games to vent their frustration. Only explanation I have for some of the odd behaviour there.

I have found skippys to have some horrendous driving standards IMO.

not my observation in the long run, however, I've had "interesting" events as well (this season it's actually me who was to blame twice when I misjudged my ability to late-break downhill ...) Maybe doing only one event each week, I get to run that little extra careful, so I don't find myself in tight situations in the first place? dunno.

 

[apex11]

Well I'm done, will let my sub run out in October then walk away from iRacing. Reasons?

Feel the WFG is a kick in the teeth for current subscribers, massive discount for any new people no hand shake for the people already invested.
Also i can't now get any discounted sign up offers and have to pay full whack.
I finally dialed in RF2 which cost me £11.99, same as one car in iRacing.
Also I don't really have to time to commit to iRacing.
Don't like the way SR works, it favors the bad drivers as the good one lose out also.
Class A's on 1.xx SR?? a joke.
I've had some great moments, but on reflection I found i started to play RF2 and wasn't touching iRacing so whats the point?
Really disappointed at some series and lack of people ever in them.
Oh and the tax added, not iRacing fault but with the current UK pound value its just a pain....

So i'm done. At least i can say I've done it so have played all major sims, it has massive pros but the cons v's out lay just better to quit whilst i'm not knee deep in content i can't even use and £400 of stuff that i don't own.
I can always come back though as they keep all my content etc i think?
Meh...bit disappointed but hey ho.

Put £100 into it for 3 months of play so feel i'll get my worth out of it, so yeah it brilliant, i loved it, but just niggling me the 'rent' thing and the SR and the long term investment v's other sims that offer so much for so little.

 

[sectachrome]

Your assessment isn't wrong. I played iRacing for a bit a while back and had a love/hate relationship with it too. The actual multiplayer racing is pretty hard to beat but you have to commit a lot of time in order for it to be really worthwhile. I've just bought a new PC and am able to play again, but I'm already turned off again by iRacing's pricing model. Thinking of just waiting until the annual Black Friday discount they usually have.

 

[apex11]

Your assessment isn't wrong. I played iRacing for a bit a while back and had a love/hate relationship with it too. The actual multiplayer racing is pretty hard to beat but you have to commit a lot of time in order for it to be really worthwhile. I've just bought a new PC and am able to play again, but I'm already turned off again by iRacing's pricing model. Thinking of just waiting until the annual Black Friday discount they usually have.

But if i let my sub run out then it comes up in black fri sale for example, how do i get the offer? I will never be a new subscriber ever again as i already am signed up to iRacing, so i'll forever be charged full price as i see others getting it for massive discounts..i just don't want to be apart of that as it will really get on my nerves. In hind sight i should of signed up for the 1 year discounted offer but it never made clear the offers end once you are signed up... I don't want to feel that my hobby of choice, sim racing and iRacing is basically like doing business with my Gas and Electricity provider where the best deals go to the new customers whilst the old ones pay for there discount!
Nope, i'm out...

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

Black Friday deal used to be for subscribers: you got two years for the price of one. Ever since last year when - i think - you got one year for 25% off as a subscriber. Most of us who had gotten used to the nice 2 for 1 deal were a little peeved. Let's see what's up this year, usually there's also a: "buy 50 dollars get 75 dollars worth" offer in autumn, so i got that last year and the 25% off on Black Friday, in effect paying 50 dollar for this year. But all those xy% off are of course just sand in the eye as this is not an open market at all, just one supplier who sets the price and one either accepts it (as do I) or doesn't (as you do) which i totally understand. Enjoy rF2, i did the lifetime pass thingy when it came out and never spent more then 1.5 hours on it, which makes it quite an expensive game for me, lol.
As for the SR system: I suppose we all had our "how can innocent me get 4SR for being pushed off by this ...?" moments, but I find that in the long run it provides for the best non-league online racing. I recently tried RRE again, loved the sound, the colours, the cars on offer, the varied grids, but both racing the AI and racing online on open servers were quite a long shot from what iRacing provides.

 

[apex11]

Black Friday deal used to be for subscribers: you got two years for the price of one. Ever since last year when - i think - you got one year for 25% off as a subscriber. Most of us who had gotten used to the nice 2 for 1 deal were a little peeved. Let's see what's up this year, usually there's also a: "buy 50 dollars get 75 dollars worth" offer in autumn, so i got that last year and the 25% off on Black Friday, in effect paying 50 dollar for this year. But all those xy% off are of course just sand in the eye as this is not an open market at all, just one supplier who sets the price and one either accepts it (as do I) or doesn't (as you do) which i totally understand. Enjoy rF2, i did the lifetime pass thingy when it came out and never spent more then 1.5 hours on it, which makes it quite an expensive game for me, lol.
As for the SR system: I suppose we all had our "how can innocent me get 4SR for being pushed off by this ...?" moments, but I find that in the long run it provides for the best non-league online racing. I recently tried RRE again, loved the sound, the colours, the cars on offer, the varied grids, but both racing the AI and racing online on open servers were quite a long shot from what iRacing provides.

Thanks for this reply, you're a nice guy, was half expecting a barage of hate from people, i'm sure if i'd put this under a you tube video or iRacing forum i would of!
But yes glad you can see it from my point of view, i love iRacing and its been a blast and i've got some great experiences in just 2 months but realistically If i play say RF2 more than AC in a month its no bother, i still own AC and its all paid for... if i suddenly realize i've not touched iRacing in 3 weeks then its a waste of money in that respect....
Also another point which again isn't iRacings fault, i think it pushes the wrong buttons with my wife when she calls me mid race and i can't pause the game...i know immersion killer, but if my wife calls then its hard to explain that i ignored her because i'd loose my iRating!
lol.

I do like how i can at least come back to it and anyway i still have a month left to run on my current sub so i'll make the most of it.

As for RF2 it took me 17 hours to finally 'get it', its not user friendly, but with DX11 beta and setting up better graphic settings over the default it is great. RF2 chucks you into it but unless you know the track is green and tyres are cold you just assume its like driving on ice, but once you work out the track is alive and needs rubber lay down first it really is top draw..

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

but if my wife calls then its hard to explain that i ignored her because i'd loose my iRating!

been there, done that, lol

 

[sectachrome]

Yes, me recently becoming single again and also getting back into iRacing/sim racing is not a coincidence...

 

[Troy Eddy]

I can completely understand your frustration Gasoline, iRacing isn't for everyone. It takes a big time commitment if you want to be competitive. There is also a fairly substantial financial commitment as well.

I feel that iRacing has 2 types of subscribers.
1. Those who very competitive and only want to race other people and will find a way to pay for iRacing.
2. Those who have plenty of disposable income and don't care how much it costs.

I'm lucky to be number 2. When I first got iRacing, I signed up immediately for 2 years and had all content within my first 2 months. I also got my A license in both Road and Oval in my first month. I don't race quite as much anymore, but I usually do enough races to get the $10 season credits. Mainly to justify having the subscription.

I have a friend who has had iRacing for 6 years and only does maybe 25 official races a year. He does mostly practice sessions to see how fast he can qualify even though he rarely races.

Watch your email after your subscription runs out. Sometimes iRacing will send you an email offering you a discount to come back. If you do ever come back, all your content will still be there. My suggestion if you come back is get a least a years subscription at a time when they have discounts. There is usually one around black Friday. It used to be 50% off, but last year it was only 25%. It is still much better than getting 1 month or 3 months at a time.

 

[apex11]

I'll take a break and would come back to it, sim racing is my track day replacement so it'll always be cheaper than that even iRacing is cheaper than that!
For me it's simply that RF2 is now my go to game or sim. No comment of the difference in physics etc as frankly both drive how i would expect anyway and i can play both back to back with no issues. But i'll be honest I get why SR works as it does, but i dislike it.
If they did offer me a discount to come back then i would as i never want to pay more than i have to for anything regardless of what money i have, if someone is paying £100 for a year and others £50 for a year i want to be the others, thats just the way i'm wired and the WFG was the point where i had a bad taste in my mouth with that offer for new customers but stuff the old ones.