How well do video games reprosent real cars

I got GT 5 for the Xbox3 and the good folks in the GT5 racing series here at GRM have let me run with them (races every wed night)

I have a steering wheel, peddles and a gaming / driving seat.

Now I have had a couple of the cars that are in the game in real life. And I have driven others.

What got me thinking about this was in the game there is a 67 SS Camaro. I had a 67 RS SS 327 Camaro back in the 80's and the car in the game is a very good simulation of how I remember my car being.

This leads me to the BRZ / Toyota AE86. I actually really liked this car in the game. Now I am wondering if I would like the car in real life and if car simulations can be used to get a glimpse at what the real thing may actually be like.

On the flip side there are some cars in GT5 that I completely hate and would this carry over to real life?

Anyone have any opinions / experience with this?

Despite what iRacing promo materials would have you believe... not very well at all.

GT3 and GT4 did a very poor job of mimicking the behavior of my C3 and C4 Vette's. My cars were tail happy, the game had heavy understeer and low overall grip.

Without g-forces, they mean nothing. It's like watching a porn star compared to having sex with a porn star...the real thing is WAY different.
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And more enjoyable.

Physics wise, they're getting better(I personally believe fm4 has a slight edge over gt5), as they nailed my redline's driving persona, but they both still have a good way to go.

Visually, on the cars at least, FM4 might be the most accurate right now. With the speed variant pop up wings, brake flaps(pagani rings a bell there), interior gauges/lights, etc working. I don't remember gt5 doing that to the same extent(although now I understand they have cockpit views for all vehicles?) I got rid of the ps3/gt5 when only "premium" cars had that feature.

At the end of the day though, pinch is right.......although some might wonder if he is right about a porn star being more "Enjoyable"....

Not very. I have FM4, which is pretty well considered to be the "closest" so far, and nearly every car that I've owned in real life doesn't behave the same in the game. They get some things like the engine noise, body roll, and under/oversteer right, but a simulation just can't ever grasp so many of the tactile feelings of a real car, just due to basic physics/reality. You can't feel turn-in crispness, or the bolt-action precision of a Miata shifter, or the way a bias-ply slick "squirms" under power, or how a Watt's link in an FB RX-7 binds and unloads mid-corner.

FM4 is INSANELY true-to-life! I was winning the B-Spec race till my Fit puked tranny fluid all over the track!!!

time for a new pit crew...

poopshovel wrote: FM4 is INSANELY true-to-life! I was winning the B-Spec race till my Fit puked tranny fluid all over the track!!!

This made my LOL People are coming to my office wondering what is so funny.

Gearheadotaku wrote: time for a new pit crew...

The big question is. Did the game give you a used trans or a new one as a replacement?

dean1484 wrote:

Gearheadotaku wrote: time for a new pit crew...

The big question is. Did the game give you a used trans or a new one as a replacement?

It just froze and did nothing.

In reply to poopshovel:

They fixed that......at least it wasn't hacked.

In reply to poopshovel:

Snicker

In terms of the Toyobaru and GT5 specifically, the specs for the sim car were based on the concept, which for starters, weighed 700lbs less. So the FR-S 2 Concept in GT5 is not a good representation of the real Toyobaru.

I dunno. Death Track is an accurate representation of Chicago traffic and attitudes.

A lot of the problem with simracing is that if you want anything approaching realism, you have to be ready to drop some pretty serious cash on a setup. Bare minimum of like $300 for a decent wheel and pedals, and then a triple monitor setup if you really want to be able to use the same visual techniques as real racing. (Looking into the apexes etc.)

I have neither and it's meant that my sim experience has been pretty lackluster.

Max_Archer wrote: A lot of the problem with simracing is that if you want anything approaching realism, you have to be ready to drop some pretty serious cash on a setup. Bare minimum of like $300 for a decent wheel and pedals, and then a triple monitor setup if you really want to be able to use the same visual techniques as real racing. (Looking into the apexes etc.) I have neither and it's meant that my sim experience has been pretty lackluster.

You do need to spend about $300 on a wheel setup (which isn't huge money in PC gaming) but a workaround for the problem of not having a gigantic display to get realistic visibility is to enable the driving line indicator, it's much easier to see and will give you an idea of when you should turn in, rather than trying to look at the curbs in the distance that are 3 pixels tall until you're on top of them.

I think there are certian cars that the physics of Real life line up decently well with the physics of the game. Others it's woeful. The "Limit" seem narrower in the Game than it is in real life. In real life I can drive a car over the limit and not have it affect times as much as it does in the Game.

From a accurate representation standpoint the MR-S was particularly nice. I owned one when I got GT5 and the over/understeer balance and on/off throttle response was pretty good related to the real car. The Miata and Mini are good as well.

How the hell did you get GT5 for the Xbox 360?

In reply to Max_Archer:

You haven't used Kinect head tracking before then......you can look into apexes with it equipped on the 360.

i have a kinect and a 360 and I STILL have not tried that yet on Forza 4.

I finally saved up some cash last year to get a fanatec wheel/pedal/shifter setup. Its pretty berkeleying sweet. I like that I can use it on the PC and PS3 as well.

I just ordered a new power supply for my PC this week, to support the graphics card my brother gave me. Should be able to have the PC linked to the 60" plasma any day now, I am kind of excite that it may actually be able to run some games well now.

I get that racing sims are still lacking compared to real life. but relatively speaking they are free once you buy into them. No parts/fuel costs. No fees. Perhaps a bit antisocial but racing/driving sims/games suit my budget and generally satisfy my urge to screw around "in" a car.

Javelin wrote: Not very. I have FM4, which is pretty well considered to be the "closest" so far,

FM5 (for the XBOX one-eighty) and GT6 are a bit closer.

freestyle wrote:

Javelin wrote: Not very. I have FM4, which is pretty well considered to be the "closest" so far,

FM5 (for the XBOX one-eighty) and GT6 are a bit closer.

And can you buy any of that right now?

The prosecution rests.

freestyle wrote:

Javelin wrote: Not very. I have FM4, which is pretty well considered to be the "closest" so far,

FM5 (for the XBOX one-eighty) and GT6 are a bit closer.

Have you somehow magically played both already to compare?

Not really magic. They had demos of both at E3.