Question:
Do racing simulators impact real world track driving/racing?

The answer might be obvious, but I'd like to hear reasons on why or why not.

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The reason I ask this is because my girlfriend (as smart as she is) believes that racing simulators are "just video games" and is completely different than real life.
For years, I've been playing racing games. I've been practicing my racing lines, braking points, throttle control, controlling understeer/oversteer, heel-toe, etc, and I've gotten pretty good at it. I play Forza 2/3 on Xbox 360. LFS on PC with a G25 Racing Wheel. And I'd like to get iRacing.
I do drive and I know how to rev-match on my RSX-S and having been practicing heel-toeing for over a year.

Of course I completely disagree.
-David braham drove the Acura ARX-02a in a racing sim while the car was still in development.
-I've heard of newer race-car drivers learning/practicing on racing simulators before the actual race. (i.e. VW Jetta TDI Cup (with the aspiring teen drivers). Jeremy Clarkson learning the NSX on Laguna Seca on PS3/PS2 before he drove it in real life.
-i-Racing, I've heard of some drivers practicing on this (Grand-Am Rolex Series I believe).
-I believe that when you take a course to get your Pilot's License, you start with a Flight Sim.

And of course I know it's completely different than real-world racing due to the fact that you won't FEEL the G-force, the bumps, etc.
I feel for the most part, racing simulators really help.
When I purchase a Porsche in the future, I'd like to get a membership to a track nearby. (Like New Jersey Motorsports Park, etc)

My girlfriend has been driving for 2 years, plays no racing sims and just does normal driving.
My friend only has his permit and aspires to be a racecar driver one day. He hasn't had much experience behind the wheel at all and plays most of the racing sims for over a year and is pretty good at it.

If my girlfriend and my friend had the same car, and drove on a track like Laguna Seca, I'm willing to bet that he'd beat her in a race.

(sorry for the rant)

 

I hate to burst your bubble but I have to...racing similators (at least the common commercial ones available to the general public) are useful for learning track configurations, not making excessive control inputs and somewhat the proper line but because of a lack of realistic physics and actual "G" forces they are extremely limited in developing driver skills...I had to laugh at your example of Jeremy Clarkson learning Laguna Seca in an NSX on a simulator...I was there and he took all day to break 2 minutes in a track prepared NSX...he was much faster on the simulator....I'll give you another Laguna Seca real life example...I can run 1:43's in a Mini Cooper S on racing tires all day in Gran Turismo 4 but in real life I'm pushing hard to turn 1:45's in my GT3 on "r' compounds and I'm faster than a lot of others...so take it for what it's worth...track experience "there is no substitute"

 

Agreed, but I might not have been clear since I wrote so much.
Yes, there is no substitute for actual driving or karting.

Basically I meant that if there were two people driving on a popular track for the first time, the person who is experienced with racing simulators is almost always going to do better than someone who has zero knowledge about racing, because the former at least has the fundamentals/familiarity down.

 

I'll give you a maybe on that one...other than possibly having an idea of where to place the car when coming to a corner, which is one of the easiest things to learn a simulator won't help you to heel and toe or with track vision as all first time track drivers, whether a simulator junkie or not, will foreshorten their vision as they get faster (normal reaction) instead of extending it farther ahead as needed...situational awareness is also an acquired skill....I find it really depends on the individual and their natural aptitude and frankly I would just as soon have a student that has zero simulator time and no pre-conceived notions of being the next Michael Schumacher...JMHO

 

The typical simulators, can help grasp the line around an unfamiliar track and can speed up the initial learning curve. But it will not teach you how to drive a car quickly around a racetrack, IMHO.

Sharif@Forged

 

Chuck is right, the configurators are for only knowing the track, bends and getting use to the track witout wasting gas.

 

As someone that grew up with sims and still enjoys them, but also goes to HPDE and school events, I can safely say that there is no comparison. I can run awesome times in a simulator, and it does teach you car control "theory", but real life is much different. In a simulator, I never have to worry about using up the car, mechanical failures, hitting a wall, or balling up the car I need to drive to work on Monday. There are real consequences for mistakes and you just don't have that in a simulator.

Also, nothing beats the feeling of finally getting through a section of track ("madness" at Mid-Ohio for example) perfectly after working on it all day. You definitely don't get that in a sim.

 

My educated guess is that racing sims help folks who are already experienced on the track, and experienced like you are on sims.
For example, if two newbies to track driving show up the same day, and one has a ton of sim practice and the other has zero stick time on video games, I don't think there would be an appreciable difference in how they do on the track. As much as the sim experience would help, it also might hold that person back, as they might come in expecting to skip some of the basics.
Also, if someone has 5+ years of track experience and is also good on the sims, I think they would benefit from 'learning' a new track with the game.
However, if that track guy spent some time with a game, but was a newbie to gaming, I don't know how much the sim would really help. I suspect it would be better than nothing, and they could always learn via watching the sim cars in that mode, just as folks look for youtube videos prior to hitting a new venue.

 

Jacques Villeneuve drove Geoff Crammond's F1 GP race game Grand Prix II to get the feel for Spa in 1996.

A few days later, he took the pole on a track he had very little experience on.

 

who said that an experienced talented driver couldn't use one to learn the line...the point is that a track newbie will benefit very little from simulator time

 

LOL......I guess flight simulators aren't beneficial to flying too?

 

completely different skill set