Sim racing is designed to provide a realistic representation of actual on-the-track racing. Men and women of all ages have designated sim racing areas in their homes. It is where they get the latest technology to have an enjoyable and real-life experience. But is sim racing realistic?
When comparing simulated racing with the real thing, many things need to be considered. Common questions about how it improves your real-life racing highly depend on the games you choose to play. It also depends on how realistic your setup is and how professional the rig is.
Is sim racing realistic? Let’s get right into it!
The Setup
When you talk about how realistic sim racing is, the overall setup is the first thing to consider. If you’re still playing with a controller, it won’t give you a realistic feel. The thing is, the more you invest in your setup, the more you get a feeling of realism.
On the other hand, a professional rig is a far more realistic option to consider. Professional sim racers who have a passion for learning and are front runners use steering wheels. In addition, they use pedals, and some even go above and beyond to use handbrakes and gear shifters. It allows them to get as much of a real-life car racing feel as they can. It also helps them gain more control over what’s happening in the game.
However, all this depends on the quality – sound quality will ensure a great experience. A well-made racing seat will allow the racer to feel like they’re sitting in the car. Most racers go overboard and make their setup completely like actual cars.
The Game/Sim
The second most important factor when deciding is sim racing realistic is the game that you choose to play. Your game/sim says so much about you. There are various games out there, some that will give you a real-life feel, others not so much. If you’re into games that allow you to have fun and enjoy basic racing, then you’re not much about realism anyways.
Games like iRacing and Assetto Corsa will give you an intense and utterly all-inclusive sim racing experience. They aim to provide you with top-quality graphics. It will have you glued to your screen for hours.
Once you pair these games with a well-built or well-assembled racing rig, you get the ultimate racing experience. Together, the game and the racing rig will help you learn and practice to the best of your abilities. It will also ensure that you get the maximum knowledge and prepare you for the real deal.
Simulated Tracks Vs. Real Tracks
Is sim racing realistic? Back in the day, the sim racing tracks were aimed to be the best real-life versions of the tracks on the screen. However, even with the best layouts and imagery, they were fake and would not allow you to get an accurate track view.
Gradually, technology advanced, and laser-scanned versions started coming in where realism took a step forward, and the detail of the track surface made it feel more natural.
After getting immense sim racing practice, most sim racers claim to be highly confident in driving on a real-life track. The ability to lock your view and virtual reality support in sim racing has changed the game completely. Thanks to the accuracy of the laser scans used today, you get along with the realistic immersion of VR.
The majority of the sims available today offer the best natural settings possible, along with built-in calculators to set your field of view depending on your monitor size and view distance.
Cars & Tire Models
Regardless of how real sim racing experts can try to make their layout by recreating a real-life car, it still cannot prepare anyone for the actual drive. Is sim racing realistic when it comes to tires? Unfortunately, no.
The race in the monitor is far different than what the driving situation in reality is. A tire is crucial in a race. It impacts the overall car performance and how a car feels to drive. This feel is only possible in the literal drive and not a simulator one. Almost all aspects have been modeled accurately, but tires are the hardest to simulate.
When going for your first sim, you must choose the car, tires, and track of your choice to get good training. You will differentiate between the varying tire models and learn how to work them all as you practice. However, even when the simulated tires don’t match the real ones, they still fulfill the primary duty with the techniques you’ve applied.
Simulating Movement
Since physics is applied to the real world, once you perfect your game on sim racing, you are more likely to carry all your learning to the tracks.
There is no surprise that the front runners of the sim racing make it to the front of the tracks in real life, applying everything they learned from their training and hours of practice. One of the main reasons they succeed in real life is that they react to primarily visual cues as they drive, which they have been doing for the past days/months.
Most drivers claim that their g-force cues make everything so much easier. The g-force and visual cues help provide almost the same movement information. It is only up to the racer to track its movements and see which direction those forces move you.
Is Sim Racing Realistic: The Verdict
You should do better on the tracks when you have full access to regular visual cue training. Sim training allows you to prepare your mind and body for actual real-life racing.
You start slow, but when you reach a certain skill level, it will enable you to learn more techniques and adapt your mind to how things work on the real track. It is one of the best ways to prepare yourself before getting on the actual tracks.
So, is sim racing realistic?
It is to a significant level. The level depends on the game, racing rig, equipment (steering wheel, pedals, gears, etc.), quality of the seat, and the overall setup.
Featured Image Source Rico Shen, 2007TaipeiITMonth PS3 GT DrivingArea, CC BY-SA 3.0
