3 weeks into sim racing: struggling to rotate the car and to drive it at the limit (Legends @ Tsukuba). Any feedback?

[u/joaodaviteles]

Hi! I'm from Brazil and I started sim racing about 3 weeks ago, on a Logitech G923.
I've been practicing car control and consistency with the Legends Ford '34 at Tsukuba.
My biggest struggle is getting the car to rotate, and I can't really feel whether I'm managing to drive the car at the limit.
I'm also having a hard time understanding what my main mistakes are, which makes it hard to be consistent, since I don't really understand what's happening.
Here's one of my laps (1:05.598), with the inputs overlay. Any feedback on what you see would help a lot. Thanks!

[u/xblackout_]

Consider your left and right front wheel when you turn- if you're going perfectly straight then they have 50/50 grip right? Now imagine you're in a corner- as that weight shifts to the outside, your rotation increases smoothly- literally the left and right tire are on different trajectories, as you transition the weight, the outside of the car has the traction. The rotation is not on/off like a light switch- go to Suzuka sector 1 and increasing the break without modifying steering as you enter the first few corners. If you set a ghost you'll begin whipping around him fast

[u/ApprehensiveItem4150]

Have you done trail braking?

[u/joaodaviteles → u/ApprehensiveItem4150]

I try to hold the brake and realese slowly, but im not sure if it is enough to make rotate how it’s supposed to

[u/More-Ad-9015]

dont get ahead of yourself. You are just getting started! Find the serie's you like and practice alot. what helps me alot is watching trackguides and other youtube videos of your car and track. what also helps me is going into chase camera after a couple of laps and see if the line you take actually makes sense. like are you taking all the apex's? how much of the track you are using? all those things are clearer in chase mode.

[u/GTHell]

I cannot simplyh advice you. It takes years or hours to do this right. Your throttle is very choppy. Trail braking is not as simple as "Just slowly release the brake the more you turn" that is the most shittiest advice ever.

[u/CladInShadows81]

If you're struggling to rotate the car, the answer is always Suellio Almeida. Look him up

[u/Lily3704 → u/CladInShadows81]

Pretty sure this clip is an Almeida Academy challenge lol

[u/iitstrue]

I assume you’re trying to get under 1:05 for ten laps in a row? I just did this yesterday finally, there was a clear point where it clicked. Ended up running about 30 laps at low 1:04s with relative ease. What helped me the most was remembering the lessons on inducing oversteer and understeer, and especially remembering keeping a soft grip on the wheel and letting the car tell you where it wants to go, with only minor steering adjustments while steering largely with the pedals.

From the specific things I saw that could use work though are mostly braking and when you get back on throttle. You brake too late, and thus brake a little too hard, which causes you to struggle to rotate, which then causes you to get on gas too slowly/late. There’s also a few sections where you don’t brake at all where you probably shoot a bit to induce rotation. Other main issue that probably slows you a bit is that you aren’t shifting the car correctly, you need to blip on downshift and let up on upshifts. Keep putting time in and focus specifically on different braking points/turn in points per corner

[u/hawoa1]

watch yuri kasdorp's video on throttle aplication, and while you are at that, watch his whole series on driving technique

[u/SnooKiwis9544]

You've got a solid foundation for only 3 weeks!

I haven't driven this specific car in iRacing, but it looks like you're turning in a bit too early. You can likely brake a little later while keeping the car straighter.

Also, in almost every corner, even if you have good turn-in rotation, picking up the throttle too slowly kills that rotation. As a general rule, you should aim to get back to 100% throttle within 0.5 to 1 second after your initial input. If you can't go full throttle that quickly without running wide, you can probably carry more mid-corner speed.

Remember that proper trail braking isn't just about releasing the pedal slowly it’s all about timing, which varies depending on tire temps, track conditions, etc. Don't be afraid to push past the limit and crash while trying different braking techniques! If you get stuck, live coaching is definitely worth looking into so someone can walk you through it step-by-step.

[u/Euphoric_Giraffe7904]

Gioca e divertiti.