I used to always use it and I still always use it in gt simulations. However, I think hood is way more realistic since it offers you much more information to base your decisions on. If I compare the amount of square centimetres on my 17" non-flat screen in cockpit view (where up to 50% of the screen gives me no visuals I can base any decisions on since they are basically static) to the amount of square centimetres I'd have available if you'd put a pane through areal car about 60cm from my face, the result is not "realistic" at all. So in Richard Burns Rally, where every bit of visual and tactile information counts, I put the FFB up high and play in hood view. That said, I am so much used to cockpit view because I used to do it exclusively for many years, don't care about forced or unforced. The "realsim" bit, though, needs to be discussed realistically: Unless you have three big screens and a tracking system, hood is more true to the amount of information your brain would have at its dispospal in a real car.