Which set of cars are good for starters in Assetto Corsa?

Chiqui1234ok · Mar 3, 2021

Hi to all! Yesterday I registered here because I was searching some free cars for my Assetto Corsa, so finding this forum too (and some free championships omg) are a pleasure.

In my first post I need some advice. I have a Logitech G27 which I has one sujetion broken but is still ok. Since yesterday I've trying some cars in Assetto Corsa and configured 900 degrees on my steering wheel.

The problem is I tried a RX-7 (tuned) and Toyota AE86 '80 (tuned) with different adjustements in tyres, suspension, etc; but completing one lap without crash is difficult.

This is normal or I'm not born for simulators? haha.

Which car do you recommend for newbies like me? I don't want FWD cars. Thanks

Interslice · Mar 3, 2021

You could progress through these.

Mx5 cup. Escort rs 1600.

Gt4

Taatus

Gt3

Chiqui1234ok · Mar 3, 2021

Interslice said:
You could progress through these.

Mx5 cup. Escort rs 1600.

Gt4

Taatus

Gt3

Thanks! The MX-5 sounds more friendly.

Just for curiosity: the AE86 aren't easy enough for newbies?

BrightCandle · Mar 3, 2021

I would argue it is not just about the car but also the track. You want a track with long corners (low and high speed) to get a good feel for what the car feels like in FFB and how to handle limit handling.

But it sounds like you are a bit before all that and mostly what you need to know is drive at 70% of what you think you can do, just well below peak pace and find a rythm. It is much faster to learn a track with the car on the track, then you can try offline braking and cornering too and get a feel for all the aspects of a race at 70% your peak, the pace will come what you need to do first is drive around slowly and work upwards as if crashing could kill you.

Chiqui1234ok · Mar 4, 2021

BrightCandle said:
I would argue it is not just about the car but also the track. You want a track with long corners (low and high speed) to get a good feel for what the car feels like in FFB and how to handle limit handling.

But it sounds like you are a bit before all that and mostly what you need to know is drive at 70% of what you think you can do, just well below peak pace and find a rythm. It is much faster to learn a track with the car on the track, then you can try offline braking and cornering too and get a feel for all the aspects of a race at 70% your peak, the pace will come what you need to do first is drive around slowly and work upwards as if crashing could kill you.

Yeah, that is the thing I will try a more couple of times because today I just lost my patience and then full throttle xD.

Another question: In competitive online sessions a "map display" of the track is allowed?

PD: Can you recommend any youtuber for noobs like me?

BrightCandle · Mar 4, 2021

Chiqui1234ok said:
Yeah, that is the thing I will try a more couple of times because today I just lost my patience and then full throttle xD.

Another question: In competitive online sessions a "map display" of the track is allowed?

You definitely want to know the track well enough that such a thing is useless. Get rid of that and the racing line and the other assists. You don't start learning to drive until they are gone. Just drive around the track at 50MPH and stop at each corner and look for markers and points you might use for braking and then gradually work up the speed. 20-40 laps and you'll be on the racing line.

Please Stop This · Mar 4, 2021

"lost my patience and then full throttle"

Thats the thing: you dont do full throttle all the time in a race car, not even in a real life road car, do you? Once you got that in your mind you will get better.

R8pilot · Mar 4, 2021

I think it's normal to crash a lot at the beginning. I sure have and still am! Getting good takes practice, and more-so in sims than in arcade games.

Generally speaking, more modern cars are easier to drive than older ones. Totally logical.

My favorite of the moment in AC is the Ferrari F2004. Stable, powerful, good mechanical grip, tons of down-force, and crazy fast.

Anyway, pick a favorite track and a favorite car, and relax. The goal should be to get through the track smoothly and safely, over and over. Do that, and the speed will come seemingly all on its own with time.

Lizard Of Bodom · Mar 4, 2021

Stick to one track to learn it perfectly and gradually increase difficulty of cars you are driving. For beginners, any car without "helpers" will be hard to deal with as you are dealing with "new feeling" of car sim, artificial feedback from controller and in general your brain need to adjust to 2d perspective and all. Lots of people I know that are great in driving in real life are sitting in front of my setup and just crash from barrier to barrier, it just take time so dont worry! MX5 or Escort or M3 group A are good start, or maybe some newer RWD cars with TC on before you get the grips and gradually start getting better. I remeber last year thinking that its physically impossible to drive Hyuara without TC on but now I can control it just with right foot and enjoy that. Same thing goes to RUF yellowbird with 100% turbo, once you control that - you will tame anything

Patience, and have fun, thats whats important.

BrightCandle · Mar 4, 2021

I really didn't start to click and get it until I started practicing for endurance races. Before that I was mostly targeting sprint racing and so I only had to stay on track for 20-30 minutes. Peak performance for short stints was what I needed, the best possible pace would determine almost everything, there was never any time for much of anything else to happen. When I started training for endurance races however I had to race for 2-3 hours at a time and 4-6 hours within a day, without crashing. I also had a team I could not let down. It changed my perspective completely and it was those long driving sessions that really cemented the right way to learn to drive a track.

enduroracer · Mar 4, 2021

Think biggest for me when starting and introducing friends to sim 'driving' of race cars, was the need to actually use the brakes properly. Not just touching them, but hard on them and staying on them long enough for the cars to slow down sufficiently to take corners, etc. That for me was probably the biggest fundamental change from either normal driving of road cars or driving from arcade games, that and of course steering and getting that sweet spot of FOV that suits you best.
With regards to learning the tracks, again, take them slowly at first and build speed gradually and corners are best taken slow in, fast out, just like I tell my wife

Chiqui1234ok · Mar 4, 2021

Thanks to all! Yesterday I was a little sad because all of this haha (plus, the steering wheel isn't cheap), but today I selected the AE86 (tuned edition) because I supposed the MX-5 Cup Edition is slower than the Toyota

And... the sound of that Toyota is beatiful to me and remember me the NFS U2 days hehe.

So, I took one more lap (plus the other laps I take yesterday) to learn Highlands with my AE86. I messed up a little bit in some curves but nothing impossible to improve

Look at the curve while driving give me a better dimension of the track and lap after lap I was pissin' the gas a little more. Not bad.
Plus, the technique of "drive like you can kill yourself in crash" is ok for me haha, because "drive at 70%" technique is like wtf, I don't even know what is my 70% XD

Thanks to all!

PD: of course, no assist at all and ABS set to "Factory" (anyway AE86 hasn't ABS).

Just a video of today: