Hello all,
Probably a stupid question but;
How do you go about getting a good start? Mine tend to be garbage, every single time.
When you first get into a lobby you will usually start towards the back. Let everyone go so you can get a good CLEAN lap. You should now be starting towards the front for the following races if you keep your lap times decent. Starting towards the front is key. From this point on do whatever you can to get around the first turn (inside line is usually safest) then proceed with your race while everyone behind you gets tangled in the first turn mayhem. If you are a decent driver you should stay out of most of the BS. Once you’re in the top 5 or so, the drivers are usually pretty decent in my experience, at least better then the bottom half of the pack who just bounce off each other constantly.
Once you get pretty decent then the next thing you have to worry about is lapped cars, that’s a whole 'nother topic.
Good start as in playing the game for the first time?
Launching the car off the line?
Beginning grid position?
2 Likes
As in launching the car off the line.
What class and what cars are you using?
What assists are you using?
There are many reasons why but some general possible issues are:
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Using automatic instead of manual or manual with clutch. This response is also class dependent, but in the majority of classes if you are using automatic shifting assist you will not accelerate well due to long shift times. Whereas with manual and even more so with manual with clutch the shift times drop dramatically giving what appears as an acceleration boost.
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In the highest classes that are issues with stalling for race cars due to using clutch instead of manual. This also happens in other cars at times.
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other assists like assisted braking and traction control may hurt launch however as cars become more powerful traction can actually help with launch.
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Car build/gearing has a huge impact as well. Sometimes a sluggish start is ok when it’s something like a high grip car on a high grip track. Using low powered cars on faster tracks however will result in bad launches compared to others
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mashing the gas with reckless abandon can also be an issue with some cars. If you’re spinning tires excessively you’ll go nowhere fast. 75% throttle works wonders for those cars.
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knowing when to shift is also a potential issue depending on car. Some cars need you to shift early to tap into the low end torque whereas others need to be shifted at last second to not be stuck in the lower power band.
Specifics on questions above and cars being used will facilitate in solving the problem.
That’s usually my strategy but it doesn’t always work at least in regular random public hoppers. You have better luck in Modern GT Endurance. I’ve had races where I post the only clean lap, then on the next race I start on the pole and half the field uses me as a brake on the first turn. Cannot wait for abjuction and penalties in FM7!
-k
Starting off the line: in leagues they tend to be rolling starts, so it’s not that hard to get speed from the off. In lobbies or career they are static starts. Each car will have a sweet spot. You need to learn it through experience. Build your revs up in line with the 3 second countdown . Time it so you hit that spot on ‘Go.’ Be careful if using manual with clutch on higher classes, P or X. These have a tendency to stall if you don’t catch it right. There’s a whole other discussion about using manual only to be faster in these classes, but I find it essential to use manual only for starts in higher classes. For the E and D I’ve found it doesn’t matter if you mash the throttle on the start. Building to the sweet spot is important for A and S
TC only hurts launch.
Nope. In high class race cars it helps.
My response provided several solutions that may have given the player insight if he is assuming bad launches are why everyone is beating him. It may be the launch is fine but because of assist, gearing, or upgrades he is losing a ton of time and thinks it’s because of launching. The player however failed to give specifics so no telling.
The trigger rumble is your friend. Assists are not.
Keep them off, and practice feathering the throttle in first and second gear and then squeeze gently as you start to hear the tire squealing sound fade away.
It takes practice but immensely satisfying once you nail it. I’ve practiced it down to the point that I even prefer no TCS on the Lotus E23.
Cars are especially faster with TCS off. You might also want to set the first and second gear ratios taller for the higher HP cars. Keep the accel LSD relatively low.
Thanks for all the help everybody.