Tips on Cornering?

[BMSTANG 181]

We can all go fast in a straight line. I'm curious if any of you faster drivers can offer some tips that can help out with cornering? Slow in, fast out? Brake, or handbrake? Front, rear or all wheel drive?

 

Any advice is appreciated!

[JustHatched 12,116]

I am not one to offer advise, timing is everything and knowing the cars traction limit. Both of which I can not get a grasp on.

[Dodge 7,253]

I would pay more attention to making a clean line when corning. Allow yourself to setup for the next corner upon exit from the previous. Proper cornering technique will drastically reduce your lap times. Desuno is the KING of cornering technique. DC89, Fido, Rev, and Ink are also very good at it.

[wraignbow 719]

does anyone watch Broughy1322 or GUN1T123 videos on youtube? I'm going thru their racing videos gradually and learning some stuff.

[furdog 525]

does anyone watch Broughy1322 or GUN1T123 videos on youtube? I'm going thru their racing videos gradually and learning some stuff.

 

I watch them, mostly to decide on cars, though. No amount of video watching is going to make me race better.

 

My problem with cornering is either slowing down too much and losing a lot of speed or not enough and not turning at all. There has to be a happy medium in there somewhere.

[G37 3,444]

I've watched GUNIT's videos on "car reviews" back when online first came out and decided he doesn't know what he's really talking about.

 

Broughy on the other hand is quite knowledgable and it's evident early on as he plays more than just GTA:O to back it up. As well as his in-depth discussion videos.

[DavidCore89 7,402]

Yeah Broughy has plenty of racing experience and knowledge to pass on from both a gaming and real life perspective.

 

However, that doesn't mean everyone will learn something from tips or advice, sometimes you can learn more from practice.

 

For what it's worth I can offer a few tips.

 

All of my braking is done in a straight line - I never brake and turn at the same time as that will reduce cornering ability and could cause you to lose control - brake first, turn in at the apex and power out.

 

Braking only in straight lines is something I did a lot in F1 as that motor racing depends heavily on the slightest time margins, less traction is lost but more specifically - the front wheels can be left to do what they do best and that is steer while the rear wheels do their job, if you ask the front wheels to brake very heavy and steer at the same time then you'll lose a lot of time and it is likely to end in tears as you'll encounter a lot of understeer.

 

This is why front wheel drive cars are known for heavy understeer - too much is being asked of the front wheels, especially when you consider they are also required to power the car, brake and steer. 

 

How much 'free time' do you spend between braking and accelerating during corners? A lot of time can be won and lost here - If you can follow the above tip then the time spent between braking and accelerating will decrease to almost no gap at all - as soon as you are ready to get off the accelerator you should be in the ideal braking point, then as soon as your braking is over you should be immediately on the accelerator, therefore you are either on the accelerator or on the brakes and you are maximizing your chances of making up time in the corners - that is the best place to make up time.

 

Sliding in or through corners due to excess speed is not gonna help - keep the car balanced and fully under control by trying to implement the above tips and building your experience, with every slide or wheel spin you are losing time - ragged is not good.

 

Try to keep steering movements nice and calm, if you're waving the steering back and forth repeatedly then you'll lose a lot of time there too.

 

The fastest car isn't always the best in a race unless it's a straight line - use the car which suits your driving style in terms of handling and braking as well as speed.

 

Knowledge of the track you are on is vitally important, just as much as skill - if you do not know the track then don't expect to be at your best, just focus on keeping the car on the road and then you'll soon learn each track more and more with each clean lap.

 

When you crash or spin out due to lack of knowledge it makes learning the track and every important thing about it a lot tougher.

 

Racing with only randoms can be beneficial, even more so with non contact and the on call feature - it can be frustrating to lose over and over and lets face it; with this crew there is always someone capable of beating anyone but racing with randoms can sometimes give a clearer insight of where you are with your racing and a chance to build confidence, you may lose against XDBX a lot but you may be a lot faster than randoms.

 

Not sure what else to add without it becoming repetitive but if there's anything more specific just ask and I'll help if I can but if you're looking to improve then try to race as often as possible using a variety of tracks, classes and opponents - it's hard to remember all tips and stuff during a race and that's why racing frequently is so important, you can't be fast without doing that - I have done over 2000 races in GTAO and in F1 I completed over 20,000 laps (most races at full length of around 70 laps / over 2 hours each race).

Edited September 6, 2014 by DavidCore89

[DavidCore89 7,402]

Oh and another thing - avoid the handbrake at all costs if you are trying to save time.

 

The handbrake in GTA isn't great and in a race situation it is certain to make you lose time - that's if you're not on your roof  .

 

I do use the handbrake in other games such as GT6 but not GTA.

[BMSTANG 181]

Very insightful, DC! All braking in a straight line, I may have never figured that one out. It just seems natural to wanna slide around a corner, all Dukes of Hazard style. Gonna work on that and my timing.

[PapOiteE 465]

"A race car driver will position the vehicle on track toward the outside edge of the corner before entering the corner. Depending on timing and speed of turn in, as well as steering input, the driver attempts to guide the vehicle through the chosen apex, often on the innermost edge of the corner. After hitting the apex, and upon exit of the corner, the driver lets the vehicle move back to the outside edge of the track, allowing the car to follow the widest, straightest path through the corner."

This info is on Wikipedia.

That's what Gran Turismo taught me and that's what I do when i'm racing.

If my english was better i could explain using my own words but i can't. But hey, you can go to wiki, you write Racing Line and there's a lot of info that may help you.

[G37 3,444]

Good points by DC and Pap.

 

And what Pap mentioned is something Desu suggested to me as well, to try and keep the car on as straight a line as possible throughout a race as the more you turn the more speed you will lose.

[alchemist3321 169]

This makes me want to race.

My problem is track knowledge, especially since everyone is always making new tracks.

But what DC wrote makes absolute sense and is very helpful. I've always understood and shoot for the apex and mainly use my map to set up for turns ahead of time, but never really considered the aspect of front tires and braking. I know to reduce spin and slides, but never considered braking in a linear manner. I have to practice this.

[JustHatched 12,116]

I tried this thing of braking as you speak of DC in practicing a bit on the H2H tracks, I think it will take some getting use to as it is a total rethink my driving. I know I have an different problem now doing it, rather than going way hot an sliding across the road, now way to slow and over turning.

[DavidCore89 7,402]

Yeah there is a very fine line between to slow, too fast or just right.

 

At least with starting too slow in the corners you can build on that until you can get quicker cornering speeds, too slow is always better than too fast and going off the track and losing 10+ seconds - that's how you got some decent positions in the H2H, they were crashing a lot.

[juve 192]

i didn't use brakes too often. i usually decelerate then gradually accelerate through the corner. it does feel slower coming in, but i like it cause i can control it so i didn't crash / overshoot the corner.

 

i would like to know, i heard this somewhere.. that decelerating in the game also acts as an engine break. is this true?

[The Rikster 53]

Yeah Broughy has plenty of racing experience and knowledge to pass on from both a gaming and real life perspective.

 

However, that doesn't mean everyone will learn something from tips or advice, sometimes you can learn more from practice.

 

For what it's worth I can offer a few tips.

 

All of my braking is done in a straight line - I never brake and turn at the same time as that will reduce cornering ability and could cause you to lose control - brake first, turn in at the apex and power out.

 

Braking only in straight lines is something I did a lot in F1 as that motor racing depends heavily on the slightest time margins, less traction is lost but more specifically - the front wheels can be left to do what they do best and that is steer while the rear wheels do their job, if you ask the front wheels to brake very heavy and steer at the same time then you'll lose a lot of time and it is likely to end in tears as you'll encounter a lot of understeer.

 

This is why front wheel drive cars are known for heavy understeer - too much is being asked of the front wheels, especially when you consider they are also required to power the car, brake and steer. 

 

How much 'free time' do you spend between braking and accelerating during corners? A lot of time can be won and lost here - If you can follow the above tip then the time spent between braking and accelerating will decrease to almost no gap at all - as soon as you are ready to get off the accelerator you should be in the ideal braking point, then as soon as your braking is over you should be immediately on the accelerator, therefore you are either on the accelerator or on the brakes and you are maximizing your chances of making up time in the corners - that is the best place to make up time.

 

Sliding in or through corners due to excess speed is not gonna help - keep the car balanced and fully under control by trying to implement the above tips and building your experience, with every slide or wheel spin you are losing time - ragged is not good.

 

Try to keep steering movements nice and calm, if you're waving the steering back and forth repeatedly then you'll lose a lot of time there too.

 

The fastest car isn't always the best in a race unless it's a straight line - use the car which suits your driving style in terms of handling and braking as well as speed.

 

Knowledge of the track you are on is vitally important, just as much as skill - if you do not know the track then don't expect to be at your best, just focus on keeping the car on the road and then you'll soon learn each track more and more with each clean lap.

 

When you crash or spin out due to lack of knowledge it makes learning the track and every important thing about it a lot tougher.

 

Racing with only randoms can be beneficial, even more so with non contact and the on call feature - it can be frustrating to lose over and over and lets face it; with this crew there is always someone capable of beating anyone but racing with randoms can sometimes give a clearer insight of where you are with your racing and a chance to build confidence, you may lose against XDBX a lot but you may be a lot faster than randoms.

 

Not sure what else to add without it becoming repetitive but if there's anything more specific just ask and I'll help if I can but if you're looking to improve then try to race as often as possible using a variety of tracks, classes and opponents - it's hard to remember all tips and stuff during a race and that's why racing frequently is so important, you can't be fast without doing that - I have done over 2000 races in GTAO and in F1 I completed over 20,000 laps (most races at full length of around 70 laps / over 2 hours each race).

 

some stellar advice here DC

[rumdig 957]

i didn't use brakes too often. i usually decelerate then gradually accelerate through the corner. it does feel slower coming in, but i like it cause i can control it so i didn't crash / overshoot the corner.

i would like to know, i heard this somewhere.. that decelerating in the game also acts as an engine break. is this true?

Yes, anytime you let off the gas you are decelerating (an engine brake is just letting off the gas anyhow). I, personally, only use the brakes on ~60% of turns, everything else I just let off the gas and turn (decelerating in this fashion seems to keep the car in a lower gear as well, making the take off quicker) though it seems anyways

[juve 192]

okay, thanks rumdig!

[Smurf 947]

does anyone watch Broughy1322 or GUN1T123 videos on youtube? I'm going thru their racing videos gradually and learning some stuff.

I'm a YouTube sub to that guy, a formative GTA v driver indeed.

[Casey 1,680]

Been following DC's tip of only braking in straight lines and it has definitely helped me.  The thing I struggle with is non-contact races, I absolutely hate them, my brain just can't cope with being inside 15 cars on the first corner.  I'd far rather have a few bumps and do it the old fashioned way.  

That said however, when compiling a PL, I do make races non-contact if the tracks are on the narrower side to please the masses, that's just the kind of gal I am! 

[juve 192]

same casey. i've been learning to brake on a straight line too.

[Pb76 3,951]

I still swerve to avoid the ghost cars in a non-contact race....

[Pr0fane 495]

Yes indeed, I have to agree.  That single tip has made a huge difference in my racing.  Now I just have to find that sweet spot because I find I'm going TOO slow on corners now.

[DavidCore89 7,402]

Be sure to use a spoiler if there is one available for your cars.

 

You will see the traction stat slightly increase and it makes quite a different during races.

[juve 192]

yeay! i got spoilers installed! but how about tyres? i ask DG, he said he use offroad tyres on some of his racing cars. what type to use? especially to take corners on asphalt.

Edited September 22, 2014 by juve