Looking for tips to tune brakes for No ABS. I had always driven with ABS and TCS but hit a plateau on lap times and figured its time to let that go. Only assist currently on is Shift W/O Clutch.
Normally I had set the brake pressure up to 130% or more and was able to apply them well into the turn but with no ABS I can only hit them in straight line and even a slight tap of the brakes in the turn trys to break contact.
Also watching my replays I might as well be drifting with all the smoke coming from the tires. I noticed some Rivals that looked similar and though they are currently competitive with me on time I just don’t see how that can be efficient unless you are driving a missile that will rocket down the straights but not corner.
Anyway, after numerous laps I ended up down around 90% pressure and not really moving the balance and I was able to pick up some time. I’m still smoking a bit coming in to the turn but a late tap near the apex helps to get the front down and is more comfortable than it was but not sure if it couldn’t be better.
My question is am I on the right track lessening pressure or should I suck it up and learn to work around the increased pressure? Also what to do with the balance as thats always been a mystery to me. I’m really interested in learning to “trail brake” but at the higher pressure settings I just don’t see that working.
On a side not with the assists removed I already have been able to pull off some moves that were rare for me before. I can really see the advantage of the no assists but after having done it with them its hard to relearn the proper technique and even harder when the car is setup for my old way of doing things.
Well done my friend and props for trying new thing, as for your brakes its more of a personal choice than anything else. If you trail brake then you need to move your bias to the rear of not then to the front but too much front bias will cause the rear to come around, the reason why you see some smoking the tiers is probably they’re late brakers, find the pressure that works best for you and maybe play with your controller dead zones also practice and more practice, im sure others will give you a more datail information, just my 2 cents. Good luck.
I run 150% on most of my cars. The more you drive without ABS, the more you train your trigger finger; it will eventually remember. Front and rear end movement during braking, will help determine your bias.
Keep at it dude. I’d rather fight with a car that is a handful, and be slower, than use assists.
Most importantly, do what makes your game time more enjoyable.
Use the trigger rumble to your advantage. You can feel when the car is about to lock up.
I was slower without ABS at first, but after a few months I was way quicker. The random lockups still happened but they eventually go away. You’ll also likely will start favoring higher pressures as you get more comfortable and wanting to brake later into the corners.
Just work on consistency in avoiding lock ups. Trail braking and overall getting the most out of your brakes will happen naturally. I just kinda learned from following faster ghosts in rivals.
I’m currently at 140%.
No abs will be a huge benefit in lobby racing. It’s a lot easier to adjust your braking for various scenerios. I hit a lot less people now. Lol.
I’m not very aggressive online as I don’t want to be “that guy” but losing the assists does give more control so I can see how its going to be a benefit.
Even with ABS I have learned to feather the brake instead of jamming it but after plowing off the circuit a few times I guess I got leery and started doing ALL the braking coming in and that was resulting in smoking the tires.
More attention paid to arriving at speed at the turn in point? I’ll bump back up to 100% and throw a slight bias towards the rear as my goal is to get the nose down in the turn. Currently I have only been running the Cayman setup at A class but tonight will try a BMW or something with weight up front. I tried a few laps in the Clio but I had it setup with WAY to much HP and I was unable to keep it gathered up enough but it was a good lesson in accelerator control. I reconfigured with more grip and less engine and did somewhat better but the Porsche seemed more forgiving and what I needed was time on the track instead of a constant state of recovering from mistakes.
Thanks for the tips. I can’t wait to get back on tonight and wring it out some more.
.
My personal preference is 140% pressure, and set the bias per car/track combo ranging from 52 down to 44%. As others have mentioned, it’s a matter of getting use to the trigger. Swerve also commented about the rumble which certainty helps.
Best of luck with the change! You’ll find your lap tines improving in a short period of time.
I’ve already managed to best a few of my own times at Hockenheim GP but it was a struggle especially to get a clean lap. I’ll probably take the advice to play with the lower dead zone on the brake trigger so I can get a little squeeze in before it goes off. Seems like even touching it now causes issues in the turn. At the lowered pressure its better but if you guys are all running higher pressures and getting away with it then I should too. I’ve tried some downloaded tunes that obviously had very low pressure that wouldnt stop the car for me and that was no fun.
It would be nice to have a calibration screen similar to the telemetry screens that showed what was happening when the button or stick gets moved instead of the trial and error.
You can always run the test drive from the tuning menu so you can adjust on the move.
The haptic triggers make running no abs a lot easier in this generation than previously. I’ve been running no assists since FM1 but only really started going up above 100% pressure on the Xbox one as it makes unlocking wheels without releasing the pressure entirely easy. I now run between 125% and 145% depending on the car. At this level you can still pull nearly 100% trigger initially on big stops but you need to release as the speed/Aero grip reduce to both allow some leeway in the grip for turning and not lock up as the Aero grip bleeds away.
I’ve been setting up 8-10 lap races just for the stick time and then watching replays. I noticed on Spa that I went through nearly 50% of the tires in 10 laps. That can’t be good.
Thanks for the good advice and encouragement. Currently running at 110% brakes and the smoking is down to a minimum and the result of not paying attention and having to do last minute saves.
Making the switch has done several things. I definitely do feel more in touch and I’ve been setting up races differently. I had been doing the short ones and restricting to class so I could have the pole. I was obsessed with being first. Now it seems I can relax a little and take my time as its not so much a mad dash to the finish for credits. I don’t need the credits anyway.
I’ve since started doing longer unrestricted racing but set the AI difficulty down. I kind of like running in 5th or 6th and interacting with the AI. What I dont like is blowing a turn and going from 4th to 10th but if I have a few laps left and didn’t damage the mechanicals its fun getting the places back. Still crumpling the front bumper pretty good but getting the “love taps” under control.
Didn’t see any mention of it as i know its a bit off topic for the question you are posing however, it still seems relevant. You mentioned that you wanted to make the leap to no abs to go faster, but also mention that you shift manual no clutch. Manual with clutch will net you much more time than no abs ever will. Depending on the track manual with clutch can be worth 1+ seconds or so a lap. No abs may be good for a few tenths. Switch handbrake w/ clutch and hit the A+B or A+X at the same time for your shifts. Unless you have a physical handicap that doesnt allow you to do this it is definitely worth it and worth much more time than removing abs. look at EMW Simmo for example, i believe he uses abs and he is still always in the top 10 on the leaderboards.
Also, the brake pressure is pure preference, as long as you dont lower it so much that you arent getting 100% of the braking capabilities in the car keep it as low as you can handle. I prefer 150% but thats because i like to do all my braking in the shortest trigger pull i can without locking up. Depends on car, some are higher some are lower. I do this as it allows you to brake later because you only need to pull the trigger 50% of the total distance to get 100% braking. Cutting the trigger pull in half is time saved between throttle and braking.
I remapped my shift to A/B but adding a third button in there seems counterproductive to me. I already blow shifts and I only have 2 buttons. I was looking at maybe a combo of an A clutch with X/B where I could slide my thumb across as I believe I read that the clutch needs to be pressed before the gear change. I’ll probably look into the clutch at a later date as I am still
I’m over switching off ABS. My original thought to “suck it up and drive” was correct. I’m tuning most at 53% and 135 to 140 pressure and rarely notice any lockup anymore and when I do its usually panic induced. I watched a Raceboy video about brake technique and try to apply a similar style. I was pumping the brakes but doing it to 100% pull most of the time and confusing that with smooth and proper application. Raceboy technique got me to try running into the corner farther then a steady 50%ish pull as I turn in and try to trail off and throttle up as I head for the apex.
Also worth noting, it is not necessary to press the clutch first. Mash them at the same time and watch the speed of the shifts. Basically shifts as fast as you can press the button, and your not waiting on the game to simulate pressing a clutch for you.
I’ll eventually migrate to clutch just like I have done with shedding all the other assists. If I had known I was going to get this involved I would have started from the beginning rather than having to relearn. Would have been easier.
As many have pointed out it involves alot of trail and error, practice and perseverance in find what suits you best.
Some people like to have their brake bais more towards the rear and brake in straight lines, others like myself prefer braking in towards the apex with a forward brake bias allowing you to brake later into corners if you can hold it.
When it comes to pressure my personal preference is to be extream and max it to 200%, I do this on all of my tunes. This may seem crazy to some but I’m so used to it any other pressure just feels weak. At first it was easy to lock up but with time and practice I practically never lock up, very very rarely.
Just keep playing around with the settings until you find something that suits your style.
That does seem extreme. I’m just trying to slow down, not snap my neck. I have it sorted at about 140% now with 53% forward on most. I rarely see smoke and reviewing replay only see wheel lock occasionally.
More importantly I am back up to speed and have bested most of my LB times with the new settings. Its amazing to me how it went from freakishly odd to normal in such a short time and whatever the difference was is so subtle I don’t even know for sure what it actually is. I thought I was braking proper while using the ABS but it was just masking what I was doing wrong.
Tuning brake pressure and brake bias is a personal taste and it depends on the car. Most of my tunes are 90% pressure, some are 80%. The bias varies from 49 to 51%. Tire pressure plays into it too. I tune for corner entry under braking. Tuning to minimize push and maintain steering control. That’s what works for me.
The only assist I engage is traction control from time to time. It’s weird, I can control the 911 RSR and the Ultima with everything off. But the Nissan GTR of the same level spins out every time I get on it. I have to drive that one with the TCR.