At the last SCDA track day at NHMS on May 21, iRacing set up a trailer with several stations for people at the track to try. I did, and I am definitely hooked.

How Real is it?
So the key question of course is how realistic is iRacing? The short answer: EXTREMELY!!

There are 3 major parts of any driving simulator: 1) graphics, 2) car dynamics, and 3) feedback. All 3 components were outstanding.

Graphics
Visually, iRacing is very impressive. I’m not sure whether the setups they had were standard graphics or full blown HD, but I do know that their version of Watkins Glen was about as close as I could get to my actual experience at The Glen given the limitations of looking at a computer screen and not out of an actual windshield. Even the off-track components (things in the background) were very realistic, so there is no visual surprise or adjustment period going back and forth between iRacing and actually driving on the track.

Car Dynamics
I was driving a Formula Mazda, which I don’t have any actual experience with. That said, vehicle dynamics were exactly how I would expect an open wheel car to behave.

iRacing also includes damage, which is a HUGE step up from older driving simulators like Gran Turismo 4. In iRacing, there is no cheating by slingshotting around a corner by riding the outside wall or guardrail - that will anger your car greatly, and the rest of your driving session will be decidedly different from before your off-track venture.

Feedback
This is where iRacing really shines for me. All of the stations they had setup included the new Logitech G25 racing wheel and pedals. This pedal and wheel set is beyond phenomenal - the quality of the wheel (down to the hand stitched leather of the wheel) is better than some aftermarket wheels I have considered for my Miata. The force feedback system is also phenomenal. The wheel does exactly what you would expect, and so do the pedals! I was actually able to threshold brake! This is HUGE, and something I simply cannot with my current GT4 setup.

The only thing missing for feedback is, of course, the lack of g forces. But, I really don’t anticipate any affordable take-home technology on this front anytime in the near future, so iRacing is about as good as it gets short of a NASA anti-gravity chamber in your living room. There is also the aspect of fear that is absent, as you personally will not be injured if you mess up in the game. I guess you could hire someone to break your arms or legs depending on the severity of the crash, but that will probably occur about the same time you have your own anti-gravity chambered delivered.

Chassis
As with any simulator, the more realistic the controls, the more realistic the simulation. iRacing had 2 “normal” computer station setups with the wheel attached basically to a computer desk. They also had 2 “chassis,” which were literally a metal frame onto which you would bolt your racing seat (with sliders in this case), the pedals, the shifter, the wheel, and the monitor. Pricing on a full chassis setup was between $5k-$10k, depending on what pedals, computer, and tv you ended up getting. Make no mistake, the chassis was VERY nice. I’m just not sure it is $10k nicer than the pretty rudimentary but nonetheless functional setup I have jerry-rigged with a couple of cinder blocks.

Is it Racing?
As you may recall, Henry was not too enthused with the iRacing business model when it was first announced last April. His main gripe was that iRacing states that they are exactly like actual racing, and are NOT a computer game. So of course the question now is, is this actual racing or not?

To me, this is just a matter of semantics. Really we are starting to get into Matrix-like philosophies of whether your “dream world” (the simulator) can become so real that it is completely indistinguishable from the real world, to the point that the simulation is your entire existence, if you will. To push the Matrix analogy, iRacing is NOT fully immersive as The Matrix if for no other reason than the lack of g forces. As I have mentioned previously, g forces are HUGE when it comes to driving. And, consequently, so is their conspicuous absence. Nor is there any risk of harm to you, which of course removes you further from the “reality” of actual racing.

That said, the car dynamics are pretty much spot on, as is the feedback. The line you take, the corrections you must make, and the alterations and adjustment you must make when taking racing lines in an actual race are all pretty much indistinguishable from being in a real, live race car on the track. Put it this way: if you drive in iRacing and get good at it, those skills WILL carry over into actual on-track driving once you have ironed out and adjusted to the new medium.

And that really is what the difference is between iRacing (or any driving simulator) and actual driving: it is simply a different medium. Much as you must adjust to karting or autocross if your background is road courses, so too must you adjust to iRacing from road course driving and vice versa. The “adjustment” needed is simply shrinking more and more as technology improves.

Bottom line? I’m subscribing!