VR Driving Simulators are INSANE, Pikes Peak Hillclimb: Audi Vs Tesla

[ADDvanced]

So.... Pikes Peak Hillclimb was last weekend, and one of the things that blew me away was that modified Tesla Model 3s were getting really close to breaking the 10 minute barrier. For hill climbs, EVs seem ideal. Instant torque out of corners, low CG, and no power loss at altitude, etc.

Anyway... I have a driving simulator seat/wheel/pedals/shifter thing, and one of the 'games' (it's a sim) I have is Dirt Rally VR. When you combine VR with a driving rig... it's just so so so compelling and immersive. In rally racing, your car slides a lot, so you want to keep your eyes on where you WANT to go, and steer accordingly. On a flat screen that's locked to the front of the car, you can't do that, but in VR, you can get the car completely sideways and look out the side window, just like real life.

The haptics are nuts. Not only will the wheel fight you with force feedback, it also transmits haptics, so you can feel when you're on smooth asphalt vs gravel vs ice. When it's mounted to a rigid simulator frame, those same haptics vibrate through the seat itself. Once you're in VR, you'll swear you can literally feel the gravel hitting the bottom of your car.

Sooooo.... I wanted to see if I could beat a Tesla up Pike's Peak. Weapon of Choice? As a rally connoisseur there was no choice, I picked a 1986 Audi Sport Quattro SWB S1, as it is the greatest rally car of all time. I filmed the experience from my perspective in VR, filmed it again in the replay cam, and filmed my hands/feet on the wheel/shifter/pedals, and spliced everything together in iMovie.

If you have not experienced something like this... YOU NEED TO. Every time a gearhead friend comes over, I show them this and their blown away by how good it is.

Here's the link for my Pike's Peak run:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPjx6fPtpL0

[Geronimo '74]

Very very cool!!
Worth the watch!

[flipper35]

I use a similar rig for PC, including Dirt Rally, but I use triple curved screens instead of VR. I do use TrackIR for flight sims.

The three screen wrap around and it works great for Dirt Works Design on rFactor driving the sprint cars.

[berettafan]

Setting up an iRacing rig shortly. What is the best VR equipment?

[ADDvanced]

Originally Posted by berettafan

Setting up an iRacing rig shortly. What is the best VR equipment?

Very good question.

There are 3 main systems that I'm aware of:

PSVR: Limited to playstation, but very cheap (under 500 with ps4) , headset is awesome, motion tracking is okay, controllers are really bad

Vive: Great tracking, , moderate screen door effect, heavy headset, expensive for whole setup ($1500+ complete)

Occulus: Will soon require a facebook sign in whenever you use it. Very weird. Moderate screen door effect, I find the headset uncomfortable, expensive for whole setup ($1500+ complete)

Given that the latter 2 are 3X the price of PSVR, I personally don't feel they are worth it yet, and I think their headsets are inferior. That said, you get way more flexibility in what games/apps you can run, and the tracking is far superior to PSVR.

Right now tho, I am happy with Dirt Rally. It's just... everything I've ever wanted in a driving simulator.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by ADDvanced

Right now tho, I am happy with Dirt Rally. It's just... everything I've ever wanted in a driving simulator.

That was fun to watch.

On the corners where you "drifted" there was still a shimmy at track out before the car corrected fully. Is this something that can be handled flawlessly with practice on a particular turn or is it a function of luck given you can't really feel the weight and movement? Or something else? Not criticizing in the slightest. Just curious.

I could see many several hundreds of hours of practice needed for a noob to get to your level. Fair assumption?

I suspect two beers aid your driving then it goes straight downhill from there.

[ADDvanced]

Thanks! Any shimmy was probably just me not correcting properly. The force feedback of the wheel is pretty strong, so if you're mid shift it's actually kind of a challenge to keep it straight with one hand. Also, this is asphalt, and the car has a lot of grip. On the snowy/gravel/sandy stages, it's a LOT easier to do nice graceful drifts.

I have no idea how many hours I have in... I played it a LOT a few winters ago when I was upgrading the turbo/fixing the headgasket on the Audi 5 cylinder in my old S6 Avant. Since the real life car didn't work, driving the virtual one with the same engine kept me motivated :P

[dan79brooklyn]

Cool! I just started sim racing this summer. I built a basic rig with the g29 wheel and PS4.
I have been playing Granturismo and Assetto Corso. The Sony VR looks awesome. I want to try it out.