Translating Forza to real life

Just curious what your impressions are on how cars handle in Forza relative to in the real world. By "handle", I'm referring to how the car reacts to inputs and it's behaviors once traction limits are exceeded.

I ask because I'm enamored of picking up an AW11, but the more I play Forza (and other sim-style racing games), the more I hate the way mid-engine cars handle. In the real world, I've driven exactly 1 MR car twice, and neither time in anger ('88 Fiero GT).

Not sure if that's just the lack of inertial feedback in the game, or if I really would hate the way a mid-engine car handles and just end up selling it in 6 months. Or maybe it's just not understanding some key difference on how to drive an MR to keep from spinning out.

Now on the other hand, I really like the way rear-engine cars handle in-game (right 'til the point where you cross the line), and I even prefer FFs to MRs (and I'm not a fan of FWD).

I just think you have to be realistic, even if 20% steering input resulted in loss of traction in the game and real life, what you feel with a controlleri n your hands VS. you butt in a seat with a steering wheel in your hands are completely different... one of my favorite cars in the game i know i would hate in real life, but 500 HP in a 1500rpm power band is fun, in a video game, prolly not as much in real life (assuming this is not a dedicated track only car that is)

I just would say even if the result is the same the sensation cannot be conveyed adequately through a controller.

ive found the e30 m3 in forza3 is really hard to drive fast. the game feels that leaning into the throttle on the way out of a turn should result in snap oversteer.... my actual e30 m3 isnt quite like that. i'd say my car is actually really easy to drive near the limit.

a lot of it has to do with the way forza deals with weight transfer, i've noticed that in a lot of games, more throttle with the tail out somehow shifts weight to the rear and brings it back in line. sometimes its just too much power regardless and it loops no matter what.

also, not sure if the latest forza does this, but the original would limit your steering input based on speed, so the faster you went, the less the max steering input was. this means that you can't give full opposite lock to recover from a slide. frustrating, but probably helps make the cars less twitchy

Strizzo wrote: a lot of it has to do with the way forza deals with weight transfer, i've noticed that in a lot of games, more throttle with the tail out somehow shifts weight to the rear and brings it back in line.

I wonder if that's why I like the Porsches in-game. I just get lined up right mid-corner, lay into it, and they grab and go.

I think some models are better than others.

High point: Subarus in the game (and in real life) respond really well to left foot (finger) braking.

Low point: Stock Mustangs (at least the 05 model) don't turn in for crap in Forza, but are pretty responsive IRL.

One thing is for sure; I wish it were as easy to save a spin in real life as it is in Forza. I can overcook any turn in the game and only spin 1 in 10 times, but in real life I can spin at any corner on Road Atlanta.

Tom Heath wrote: Low point: Stock Mustangs (at least the 05 model) don't turn in for crap in Forza, but are pretty responsive IRL.

yea i expected to like the 05 in game. after we found its digital version was awful we picked up a 3rd gen transam and were very surprised to find it awesome with lots of potential for cheap points too. ive only driven an auto 2.8 v6 camaro of that vintage... are they actually nice driving cars?

In reply to ReverendDexter:

yeah, you also can't do burnouts with any of the mr cars, no matter how much power, they'll shove the front tires along

ReverendDexter wrote: I ask because I'm enamored of picking up an AW11, but the more I play Forza (and other sim-style racing games), the more I hate the way mid-engine cars handle. In the real world, I've driven exactly 1 MR car twice, and neither time in anger ('88 Fiero GT).

I had an sw20 that I auto-xed several times and I've raced my brother's aw11 (w/blacktop 20v) as well. I can say that they tend to understeer if you don't lift throttle or tap the brakes going into a corner and that can take a little getting used to. As far as getting the rear end loose, I found that the sw20 was pretty easy to control there, I couldn't say about the aw11 and I hear they are more snap-oversteer-ish. I'm sure you could make some minor changes to the suspension to set it up to suit your preferences though (sway bays would probably be sufficient).

The forza 73 porsche 911 "feels"/drives a lot like my RL 85 - good in pretty much the same places and will bite you in the same places - other than the forza shifter works a bunch better than an out of adjustment 911 shifter. I think forza gives you a sense of what a car might be like, but there are definite tuning discrepancies. The game pretty much turned me off of subies. I can run them pretty fast, but find I just don't care for driving them. Maybe a real world one will turn me back some day.

Honestly, the issue I have with in-game MRs is that they seem to be very prone to spinning out. MR2s, NSXs, Ford GTs, doesn't matter, I get in an MR, start cooking along, and all-of-a-sudden I'm facing the wrong damn way.

Meanwhile, I can grab my slightly tweaked NA Miata and drift down the backside of Fujimi Kaido (not enough to get the bigger drift acheivment, though), so I don't think it's a gaming skill issue as much as a driving skill issue.

Try the M1 - really stable/progressive

I'll try that out this weekend with the wife/kid out of the house :)

Personally, I've found Forza to be somewhat unkind to MR cars, at least compared to GT3 & 4, and my own aw11. From daily driving in the rain, to autocrossing, I've never found my car to be nearly as unstable as what I experience in the game. However, I haven't done an HPDE in the car yet, so it's hard to draw conclusions away from the track.

That said, they do require a different approach to braking and throttle input. Mid-corner "corrections" can be a problem, to say the least.

I know this doesn't apply to you, but with the wheel, I find that it mimics the 350z fairly well.

The NSX's in the game tend to be some of the fastest cars, no matter what class you have them built to.

I put my Real life setup for my ITA Civic to the Civic I built on Forza and Forza vs. RL is pretty close, until the car gets sideways- Forza sucks at weight transfer stuff. Some cars seem like you have to drive them differently than you would in real life in order to get them to work well, but that could just be me.

Steven (IslandRacer19)