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just finished reading the latest car and driver magazine 02/07. had a good chuckle over larry webster's column: how to blow tons of money and time--the agony, expense and rewards of do-it-yourself racing. for less than an 1/8th of the cost of his 'cheap' endeavor, he could've had a screaming sim racing rig and multiple seasons in a variety of cars under his belt. wahh! mazda mx-5 racing sounds appealing to me too, but he relates only a handful of memorable on-track experiences vs. many forays into despair over off-track costs and hassles. these journos need an education on rf and gtr2 multiplayer experiences. i understand that the bread and butter for these guys is real life petro burners, but sims have never been better. add real life competitors with these advanced sims and.. |
I was actually seriously considering exploring entering amateur race leagues, such as the leagues Skip Barber runs or whatever. But I concluded it's a rich man's adventure. No way I could afford it on my military budget. I'd be able to do one weekend, and that'd be it for the year. :P | ||
I did some TSD rallies and Solo II stuff back in the 70s and it's amazing how quickly things add up. I hate to think what it would cost today and that's why I appreciate being able to have all the fun on a computer without the outrageous expense. | ||
The cost of actually racing an actual car burns the greenbacks at an alarming rate, for entry fees, tires, fuel, travel expenses, and repairs. Last year's One Lap of America probably cost my co-driver and I about $2000 for 8 days of track time. But I don't agree that sim racing can compare at all. I have yet to find a sim racing game or event that comes close to the adrenaline rush and experience of having your bu** in a real car in even the simplest "real world" event. There are many inexpensive ways to get your real car on a real course -- without actually "racing". All of these cost less than what an average guy blows on golf or a day of fishing. Autocross is a great way to start. $25-$40 gets you a day of cone crushing action. Stepping up from there are "advanced skills schools" -- usually less than $100. I'll never get enough wet skid pad and figure-8 time at those. Double that for a "high performance driving event" and you can find yourself out on a world class, real world race track. All of these events offer a day of comradery with like minded car nuts. On-line sim racing with Teamspeak sometimes comes close to that, but still not quite the same level. I'm also afraid that good sim racing action is still the bastion of the geek, and not the average person. Sites like Race2Play are a step in the right direction. But to even be remotely competitive, you have to actually like twiddling with computers, high speed internet connections, calibrating wheel wheels and pedals, setting graphic cards, audio gear and more. And that's not to mention a never ending mathematical cranking on car setup files to be even remotely competitive Sim racing places way too much emphasis on that -- rather than actual driving skill. | ||
just to add a bit to an already interesting topic... i got a buddy tryin to get into sim racing and its just a struggle for em right now... i whudnt wish him on track with anyone at this point but funny thing is he oval races for real at a local track... so id say sim racing is not for everyone and i will say my buddies picked it up much quicker than most whud... but just pickin up a sim game and hardware can be huge jump for some people in some cases id say its tuffer to learn to sim race than to just go out doing a couple low intensity real life driving "lessons" around some cones or something ... thats always some of the first things hes starts fumblin about when he gets pissed man this shit is harder than the real thing heheh... just makes me lol tho and he gets more upset :)... just another way to look at it.
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