Best RACING simulator? rFactor, iRacing and Live for Speed?

sWEat

Which one of the above is the best? I am buying a G25 this saturday, and I can't choose between those awesome racing simulators.
I am gonna do mainly drifting in it, since burning tires in real life turns out to be expensive :p

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If you want the best racing simulator, you should go for rFactor2 no doubt.

If you want to drift I'd say go for Assetto Corsa. It is immensely entertaining to drift in that game.

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The only current, proper game that has drifting accounted for is Assetto Corsa. iRacing is the worst option for that.
 
Guimengo said:
The only current, proper game that has drifting accounted for is Assetto Corsa. iRacing is the worst option for that.
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iRacing has random inexplicable drifting built into it though. So if you like it when a race car suddenly and without warming loses all rear traction, go for iR lol!

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Your posts are not helpful to the original poster, you are deliberately nitpicking and attacking other games for your own reasons. Although it makes no sense posting that question in a rF2 dedicated forum.
 
Assetto Corsa is great all round. Physics are one of the best if not the best on PC atm. Graphics are decent also and has the best mods. It has a larger community too.

Definitely recommend rF2 and AC. Stay away from iracing, to expensive and imo has the worst physics but the best for online racing :)
 
If you want to buy a game for drifting, clearly Live for Speed is the best choice.
 
Guimengo said:
Your posts are not helpful to the original poster, you are deliberately nitpicking and attacking other games for your own reasons. Although it makes no sense posting that question in a rF2 dedicated forum.
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Try looking six replies further up... The #2 post. Half a scroll should do it.
That isn't helpful..? Pfft.

And our points are almost exactly the same.
Drifting = go for AC.
Want drifting? = avoid iRacing.

Then I had some fun at iRacing's expense because certain aspects of that sim's physics are laughable at best.
I did that because I felt like it at the time.

But yeah, do attack blindly left and right.
That's helpful. :rolleyes:

Back to the topic then...
 
For drifting id say rf1 as theres so much drift related content for it.
 
For a packaged simulator I'd vote for rFactor 2 - It has the AI, changeable conditions, real road and needless to say the tyres are amazingly done, despite being unfinished. Although if one would crave more of a Motorsport structure that is primarily Online, with divisions and licensing systems to co-ordinate your path, iRacing would be the way to go.

It's a bit of a dead horse but also the car damage aspect in iRacing is a little better cosmetically but rF2 does have accurate mechanical damages which again, is another trade-off.

Personally, I can't take Assetto Corsa too seriously as a simulator. My track time IS limited but the communication between car and driver without the gravity perception is just, a lot better in iRacing and rF2. Infact, it's nearly even. Nearly.

Apologies, I forgot about Live For Speed - Fun for back in the day, pretty useful today but in comparison it is like buying an aged, light alcoholic beverage
 
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Rfactor 1: low price, thousands of free mods, millions of free tracks, best multiplayer, hundreds of private leagues to choose from.
IRacing: Nice. Good multiplayer. Nice progression system. Too expensive since you need to keep paying for this and that.
Assetto Corsa: Best graphics. Too many things to be implemented yet. One of the future top sims along with Rfactor 2.
Rfactor 2: Nice graphics if you have a top computer. Best physics around. Most things needed are implemented. Some leagues are already using it. One of the future top sims along with Assetto.
Game Stock Car: A bit of everything above. Nice physics. The best for a begginer in my opinion. Not the most popular one.
Live for Speed: A bit outdated. A very loyal fan base.
Richard Burns Rally: The option for rally type drivers.
PCars: Not released yet.
Simraceway: Never used.
Race series from Simbin: A good option like rfactor 1. Bit outdated but in overall they´re nice sims.
 
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All the above have their strengths and weaknesses, it just depends on what you're looking for. As some above posters have said, Assetto Corsa would be your best choice if you're mainly interested in drifting.

On a more general level; iRacing has the best physics and tyre model (the ntmv5 was a big improvement on prior iterations) of all the above, by far, but its very expensive, and particularly unforgiving of mistakes in even the lowest end cars available (of which there is nowhere near the amount compared to rf1/2 for example). RF2 has a more casual feel to it compared with iR in terms of physics, tyre model and what you can get away with in the cars, and you have a lot more leeway for mistakes, but overall I feel its more fun as a sim than iR is, and certainly much easier to improve at.

I don't think its fair currently to compare either of the above to Assetto Corsa, given the fact that its still very much a work in progress. All in all though it has the potential to be as good if not better, eventually, than either of the above, given enough time.
 
I don't think its fair currently to compare either of the above to Assetto Corsa, given the fact that its still very much a work in progress. All in all though it has the potential to be as good if not better, eventually, than either of the above, given enough time.
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Probably is fair to compare AC with RF2 as both are still updating their core. RF2 released beta a lot earlier than AC and this had the advantage of using the community to give input and have thousands of hours of track time tested by users.. The result is RF2 has a much more refined physics feel , time will tell to see if AC can match RF2 in that department over time .. ISI it seems are much more concerned with getting the cars to feel REAL than draw in numbers with glitz and glamour.. Pcars on the other hand is the polar opposite to both. (all about glitz ..so far)
 
bwana said:
Probably is fair to compare AC with RF2 as both are still updating their core. RF2 released beta a lot earlier than AC and this had the advantage of using the community to give input and have thousands of hours of track time tested by users.. The result is RF2 has a much more refined physics feel , time will tell to see if AC can match RF2 in that department over time .. ISI it seems are much more concerned with getting the cars to feel REAL than draw in numbers with glitz and glamour.. Pcars on the other hand is the polar opposite to both. (all about glitz ..so far)
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Hmm... I was under the impression that RF2 had pushed into the polish and refinement phase, but being relatively new to RF2 compared to iR etc, I'm sure you would know better than I would. Good news tbh, as there are a few things that I find can be slightly iffy about RF2 currently, and I assume they will be addressed if they're still making core changes. Pcars I couldn't comment on as I've really no experience with it at all, but it certainly does seem from what I've seen to be all about the visuals as you say - though I do find it pretty impressive on that score if nothing else.
 
I guess the definition of finished and beta is a bit grey really, both are getting better and that's a plus for all users.
 
tinroofer said:
All the above have their strengths and weaknesses, it just depends on what you're looking for. As some above posters have said, Assetto Corsa would be your best choice if you're mainly interested in drifting.

On a more general level; iRacing has the best physics and tyre model (the ntmv5 was a big improvement on prior iterations) of all the above, by far, but its very expensive, and particularly unforgiving of mistakes in even the lowest end cars available (of which there is nowhere near the amount compared to rf1/2 for example). RF2 has a more casual feel to it compared with iR in terms of physics, tyre model and what you can get away with in the cars, and you have a lot more leeway for mistakes, but overall I feel its more fun as a sim than iR is, and certainly much easier to improve at.

I don't think its fair currently to compare either of the above to Assetto Corsa, given the fact that its still very much a work in progress. All in all though it has the potential to be as good if not better, eventually, than either of the above, given enough time.
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rF2 feels casual compared to iRacing? Haven't heard that one before. ;)
 
rf2 doesnt on occasion 'casually' kick your car into a wall; and yeah this is still happening in iracing. so if that makes it more casual, id agree it is.
 
hexagramme said:
rF2 feels casual compared to iRacing? Haven't heard that one before. ;)
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Lets remember that everything above is of course my subjective opinion :)

What I found was that with iRacing I had to be extremely careful constantly, in every car, and can only build a tenth here and there, the same way when you're actually out on a track in a real car, and for me, the physics match real life closer than any other sim. Now when it came to rFactor 2 (and I'll admit right off the bat I'm fairly new to Rf2) I could just chuck the cars around, carrying speed through bends that you just couldn't carry on a real track without either binning the car or putting it into a barrier/gravel pit, and even when violently shifting the weight I found it pretty controllable in comparison to iR. Then add in the fact that I could pick up full seconds on laps with very little practice time on a track or in a specific car and it just felt less accurate, realism wise, than iR.

Im not trying to big up iR or anything, because I have much more fun in rF2 and I'm putting far more hours into it nowadays, I'm just laying out how each sim feels to me, as per the OP's question.
 
If all you want to do is drift then get rFactor 1 or Assetto Corsa. There are a TON of good drift car and track mods for rFactor 1.

If you want to experience the depth and scope of what is involved in pushing a car around corners connected by straightaways then get rFactor 2 and Game Stock Car. I cwnnot recommend iRacing due to the ridiculous price (subscription AND payed content?? It should, at the most, just be one or the other, not both). AC is good too, but just continues on and on of having too many "funny"/weird moments for me.
 
yusupov said:
rf2 doesnt on occasion 'casually' kick your car into a wall; and yeah this is still happening in iracing. so if that makes it more casual, id agree it is.
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This is sort of my point. I hate, loathe and despise that unpredictable Hell-born tendency in iRacing where the cars just suddenly get a life of their own.
That thing you describe, where you've driven consistent laps, lap after lap, for nearly a whole race, and suddenly the rear tires just decide to give up without warning.
You risk being thrown off the track anywhere at any time, with no indication that it's about to happen.
At least that never happens in rF2. Which is also porbably why I'm an rF2 guy... ;)
 
Does iRacing allow you to sample content before buying? If not, why not?
 
iRacing allows new subscriptions to try thier software for 3 months at the price of one.
To own all the content on iRacing you're looking at $1000.00 roughly.
But you're likely not going to buy all the content. Most people do road racing or oval racing, and a few do both.

To me iRacing has value on a whole. It truly is a service not just software. What I have noticed is that iRacing and RF2 feel different in two major ways. FFB and braking. IMO accomplished drivers of either title have trouble adjusting to these differences and thier egos convince thier brains the other SIM sucks.

Neither is perfect, but they're both pretty awesome. Learn to adapt your driving style and tweak setups and essentially you don't notice a lot of the difference in the end. Haters always gonna hate. I don't have time for that.

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I don't think it is a serious question just another BS compare thread. :p


Like why in your right mind would you consider iracing for drifting ffs !@! you would be banned wouldn't you ?

You purposely left out AC and pCARS from question

Get Shift :rolleyes:
 
It really depends on what you want to drive. For modern GT and formula cars, rF2 is the best I have ever tried. Realroad changes the way you race and the tire model is awesome in rF2. For historics, rF2 is not a very good sim but AC is shaping up to be great (mostly due to the clutch and drivetrain). However AC is still a while away from having weather, it doesn't look like it'll have realroad and the online right now is not very well implemented. I have heard that iRacing has great drivetrain and we know it is the ultimate for oval racing and pubby racing. iRacing has great online, it is not moddable and it's expensive.
 
tinroofer said:
Lets remember that everything above is of course my subjective opinion :)

What I found was that with iRacing I had to be extremely careful constantly, in every car, and can only build a tenth here and there, the same way when you're actually out on a track in a real car, and for me, the physics match real life closer than any other sim. Now when it came to rFactor 2 (and I'll admit right off the bat I'm fairly new to Rf2) I could just chuck the cars around, carrying speed through bends that you just couldn't carry on a real track without either binning the car or putting it into a barrier/gravel pit, and even when violently shifting the weight I found it pretty controllable in comparison to iR. Then add in the fact that I could pick up full seconds on laps with very little practice time on a track or in a specific car and it just felt less accurate, realism wise, than iR.

Im not trying to big up iR or anything, because I have much more fun in rF2 and I'm putting far more hours into it nowadays, I'm just laying out how each sim feels to me, as per the OP's question.
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I haven't tried IRacing but I do understand what you describe about trying to find tenths in real life. In comparison to Rfactor 2 where if you come out of the corner before the longest straight just right you gain 4 tenths on that alone. In Rfactor 2 You tend to get it just right maybe 1 in 5 laps where in real life its more consistent and less extreme effect on lap times/sector gains.
 
Squeeekmo said:
I haven't tried IRacing but I do understand what you describe about trying to find tenths in real life. In comparison to Rfactor 2 where if you come out of the corner before the longest straight just right you gain 4 tenths on that alone. In Rfactor 2 You tend to get it just right maybe 1 in 5 laps where in real life its more consistent and less extreme effect on lap times/sector gains.
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I have put on full body armor and will try and share my experience here:

I have kinda the opposite experience when talking iRacing and rF2.

I find that in rF2 I have an easier time putting in consistent laps over a long period of time.
This is mainly due to all the little subtleties in the ffb. It allows to feel when I'm close to overheating the tires etc.
I can then back off a bit on certain corners until the tires are more sorted, and start pushing again.

The complexity of the ffb in rF2 allows me to avoid disasters before they happen, whereas in iRacing the disasters just happen without warning in most cars.
This is what I find so off-putting about that sim. The lack of "feel" that makes me feel more like a passenger than a driver.

BIG disclaimer: the above is my, personal, subjective opinion.
I know this is a forum which should have room for such things, but a few people are getting extremely high strung these days for some reason.
Kinda get the feeling of being trapped in a pit full of yipping little lap-dogs. Very tiresome and not good for my ankles :rolleyes:
I am not talking on behalf of anyone else but myself. So there's no need to get all emotional. :)
 
Best bang for the buck, great physics, and possessing that elusive intangible - it's FUN!

And criminally overlooked....

Game Stock Car Extreme aka Game Stock Car 2013.
 
hexagramme said:
I have put on full body armor and will try and share my experience here:

I have kinda the opposite experience when talking iRacing and rF2.

I find that in rF2 I have an easier time putting in consistent laps over a long period of time.
This is mainly due to all the little subtleties in the ffb. It allows to feel when I'm close to overheating the tires etc.
I can then back off a bit on certain corners until the tires are more sorted, and start pushing again.

The complexity of the ffb in rF2 allows me to avoid disasters before they happen, whereas in iRacing the disasters just happen without warning in most cars.
This is what I find so off-putting about that sim. The lack of "feel" that makes me feel more like a passenger than a driver.

BIG disclaimer: the above is my, personal, subjective opinion.
I know this is a forum which should have room for such things, but a few people are getting extremely high strung these days for some reason.
Kinda get the feeling of being trapped in a pit full of yipping little lap-dogs. Very tiresome and not good for my ankles :rolleyes:
I am not talking on behalf of anyone else but myself. So there's no need to get all emotional. :)
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Absolutely Rfactor 2 gives amazing feedback which assists in making the cars more drivable. Strictly stating the differences in sim racing and real life racing to my experience. Thinking about it more, it's probably got more to do with the risks we are willing to take in a sim vs real life.

For example. Lime rock park with the Megane. The last corner I can average about 195 kph but on occasion if I get it right I can go 205-210 kph which takes a huge chunk out of lap times for that lap and the next. But there is too much risk because 1/2 the time when you attempt to go round at that speed you get on the grass and hit the wall. This would nearly kill you in real life so such risks aren't taken (except for the testically blessed drivers like Senna and Jackie Stewart)

I haven't tried Iracing and probably never will due to pricing structure. Not that I cant afford it...I can, but out of principle I won't. I do not believe we should pay that amount of money to rent a game.
 
Iracing -great sim, excellent ffb/physics best for complete series of quality tracks & an online structure , pricing structure expensive when compared

rfactor 2 -great sim about the best physics/ffb , fragmented track quality & series, private online league is recommended

LFS -ground breaking in 2005 & still can pretty fun, needing serious updates to be at the same level as above two

( not much out there for me apart from Iracing & ISI /&based titles, -LFS for now due to dk2 support )

(Pcars / AC / codemasters titles of not much interest to me although I try to be now & again lol )
 
If ISI would release a dedicated drift car/track for rFactor 2, I am sure it would be on par with AC. Besides, like others said, AC and rFactor 1 are probably the best choice for drifting at the moment, with rFactor 1 being a more complete sim than AC because the latter lacks almost everything which is needed for a proper RACING sim like the OP wrote: No damage, no pitstops, no stalling, no clutch torque, no jump starts/proper manual starts and pretty bad multiplayer quality so far.

So yeah, if I had to recommend a title for drifting for a beginner, I'd recommend rFactor 1 I think because it is a complete package and offers you a lot more. This is an rFactor 1 example for drifting:

 
Do yourself a favor and decide for yourself. They all use a different approach to achieve the same thing. Don't take what this person or that person said as the holy grail. Everyone has there own opinion on which one is the "best". I belive there isn't one. You'll find flaws in all of them, some you'll notice right away, someone you'll notice with time.

You being an inexperienced sim racer the only thing your going to notice regardless of which sim you purchase is the first corner you hit your going to go off track in a completely straight line no matter how hard you turn the wheel.

I will tell you what sims I use. Asseto corsa, rfactor 2, Game stock car, Race 07 series, and Live4Speed have one time fees, if you don't like them. You still at least have a product and you don't have to renew anything to keep playing them. GTR 2 is an older sim but worth having in your library, cheap too. Rfactor 1 as well.

Not sure on Pcars if it is subscription based or not but also worth looking at. Myself I haven't tried it, have enough on my plate already.

Iracing has a monthly fee but if your new you can get a few months deal which is plenty of time to try it out with the free cars, don't like them? Let your subscription lapse. You just can't use it offline.

RaceRoom is free but the content you purchase, it does come with free cars to try out.

Try them all if you can, you may find you like one better than the other, but they all aim towards the same thing, simulation. Asseto corsa does have cars and a drift track if that's the only thing your looking for but with a few setup changes you can achive the same effect in all the other sims as well. But you not being familier with racing simulations your going to find even that hard at first.

No offense to anyone but he being a new sim racer, he should experience them all and be able to differentiate them all. No sense on being bias. Sometimes the sim racing community can be cult like.
 
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if you are looking for a simulator, the first to seek a finished product, rfactor unfortunately is incomplete and will be unfinished for a long time. therefore currently only opt for iRacing is the only one that is actually finished, the rest still has many flaws.

the rest we only have very few promises and realities.
 
7xu5 said:
if you are looking for a simulator, the first to seek a finished product, rfactor unfortunately is incomplete and will be unfinished for a long time. therefore currently only opt for iRacing is the only one that is actually finished, the rest still has many flaws.

the rest we only have very few promises and realities.
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Oh, iRacing is finished, is it? Well, I guess they forgot to add in that driver swap feature they have had sitting there for years now. And the model updates. And the sound updates. Not to mention the content updates. Good to see their finished product includes weather and an actual dynamic day night cycle too.






You know those times where you write a post and then think "What's the point, really..." Yeah. :rolleyes:
 
Minibull said:
Oh, iRacing is finished, is it? Well, I guess they forgot to add in that driver swap feature they have had sitting there for years now. And the model updates. And the sound updates. Not to mention the content updates. Good to see their finished product includes weather and an actual dynamic day night cycle too.






You know those times where you write a post and then think "What's the point, really..." Yeah. :rolleyes:
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Ok, I think it is a reality too obvious to argue about it
 
Minibull said:
Oh, iRacing is finished, is it? Well, I guess they forgot to add in that driver swap feature they have had sitting there for years now. And the model updates. And the sound updates. Not to mention the content updates. Good to see their finished product includes weather and an actual dynamic day night cycle too.






You know those times where you write a post and then think "What's the point, really..." Yeah. :rolleyes:
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What New tire Model is iracing on now? 5? 6? 7?
 
Kunos claims the Assetto Corsa release candidate is nearing release, and it will have some interesting features
Assetto Corsa Release Candidate also includes damage to the car bodies, wings, suspensions, engine, gearbox and tyres. Tyres in particular can now simulate blistering, graining, flat spots and blow ups... We have implemented pitstops with animated cinematic pitcrew. Assetto Corsa v1.0 pitstops implementation will support only multiplayer races, but we’re working hard to include single player pitstops in one of our next free updates. The delay on the single player implementation, is caused by the need to define and balance the AI pitstop strategy during races.
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http://www.assettocorsa.net/assetto-corsa-release-candidate-news/
 
Tons of Iracing bagging in here......

For me, Iracing is probably the closest you will get to real racing. In terms of the physics of the cars and the tire model (although its not perfect and Rf2 has some things iracing doesnt in the tiremodel....which is why i like rf2.)

That said, Rf2 is pretty good from what I have played.


I guess the best thing i can say is that the karts feel really close to how they do in real life.

I actually race in the TaG series here in Aus and I run a 125cc Rotax.

Whilst the pickup from standstill seems wrong in Rf2 for the karts (wayyyyyy to long, my kart will take maybe 1 or 2 seconds to run off the clutch and start to hit band etc, in rf2 it takes forever for it to come onto some type of power etc) the rest feels pretty damn close. The way the karts bounce and skip if the rear has too much bite and just over bumps in general feels very realistic to me. Once you are where the power is it also slides and kicks out the rear end JUST like my kart can , which for almost every kart sim ive ever played, this never happens.......

So tbh they are both close in terms of best sim. Iracing you will generally always get good races (once you get your irating up and join races at the right time) + theres always a league / ladder etc, its just more....integrated....


As for drifting, you can actually drift the v8supercars in Iracing pretty damn well when you get used to them, but not like proper drift cars. For that stuff goto the other games like others suggested. (RF1 / RF2 with the drift mod things or LFS or something)
 
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