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Jaz Rignall, gamesplayer extrodinare, lends his tips to the Gran Turismo experience.
THE GRAN TURISMO ULTIMATE GUIDE
Part 4. TADA!!
HOW TO DRIVE THE CARS
ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS
Big beginner tip: when cornering, remember the racing adage, "slow in, fast out". It's the key to success. Learn to brake early and get on the power as early as possible so you accelerate out of a bend. Don't brake late -- you'll still be out of control and decelerating deep into the corner, and you'll end up coming out of the corner slowly and quite possibly still not under full control of the car.
WHEELSPIN
While it's great fun sliding cars through corners with their wheels spinning, it's actually totally inefficient for racing. Think about it - every revolution of the car's wheel while spinning is a wasted one - if that wheel was gripping the car would be moving forward at a much quicker rate. To drive a car efficiently, you have to brake early so you can get on the power through the corner and accelerate out of the corner at the limit of the car's grip.
BRAKING
Braking for corners correctly is extremely important. Do it too early and you lose an awful lot of time; too late and you come off the track and lose even more time (particularly if there's a sandy runoff area). So how do you get it right? The trick is to remember to look for braking markers - trackside objects that help you identify exactly when to slam on the brakes for a corner. You don't have to do it for every corner - sweeping ones can easily be gotten right. But for severe corners - particularly those at the end of long straights when you're going absolutely flat out - it's absolutely crucial. Several practice laps will quickly enable you to hunt these out. Look for signposts, trees, overhead gantries, fence posts, kerbs - anything that is clearly recognizable that you can easily remember. Basically, as you're approaching the corner, quickly look around and as you start to brake and observe what recognizable objects are nearby and choose one of those as your braking point. If you've braked too late or too early, change your braking accordingly on the next lap (using your originally selected braking point as reference) this time looking for another marker as you do so. Keep repeating this process until you have the perfect braking point.
Once you have a braking point, you can then use it every time you race, modifying it depending on the car you're using by using the strategy outlined above. It sounds quite complex, but if you're prepared to put a little time into this, you'll find your lap times will improve immensely.
FRONT WHEEL DRIVE CARS
A front wheel drive cars displays a heavy understating behavior while cornering - that means it wants to go straight ahead instead of going around the corner. Cars of this type have to be driven hard in order to obtain fast cornering. You have to brake late, very late, to successfully negotiate the corner. Basically, at the very last moment into the corner, turn in and blip the brake to change the car's attitude through the corner, tucking in the front tires and making the back want to slide around. The faster the approach to a corner, the more you have to brake, but don't forget - the later you brake, the faster you navigate the bend.
If it looks like the car is about to go off the road, you can "gas it" - punching the accelerator while steering into the corner actually helps it grip and get around the bend. However, doing this is inefficient since it spins the tires, and it's best to use this tactic only in an emergency.
REAR WHEEL DRIVE CARS
Rear wheel drive cars are the most fun to drive since you can slide them around the corners. Cars of this type have a natural tendency to oversteer - that means that the back of the car wants to break loose and slide around into the corner, essentially spinning the car out. Whenever a car slides in this way, you should steer into the slide until the car begins to straighten out.
The best way to drive a rear wheel powered car is with respect. Brake in a straight line, get off the brakes and turn into the corner, get the car balanced and then when the car is settled, get on the gas and power out of the corner under acceleration, using the full width of the road.
Getting the power on too early overexaggerates the oversteer and the car simply spins out of control. Doing it too late results in a loss of acceleration out of the corner.
FOUR WHEEL DRIVE CARS
The road holding characteristics of these cars are a bit more complex. They are a combination of both of the above. A four wheel drive car has a tendency to understeer when entering the corner and oversteer when exiting. Like with front wheel drive cars, the driver has to brake late when entering the corner, turning in at the last moment of braking. The car leans into the corner, and then as it bounces back on its suspension, get back on the gas to slide the car through the corner. It takes some practice to learn the timing of the "bounce". Do it too early and the car simply understeers in a straight line and won't make the corner. Do it too late and you lose considerable speed. Also, the heavier the car, the more prone to understeering it is - with a car that carries a lot of weight, you really have to heave it into the corner, virtually sending it sideways before you get back on the gas to wrestle it through the bend.
CORNERING IN PRACTICE
FRONT WHEEL DRIVE
Approach the corner at speed.
Turn into the corner and blip the brakes to avoid understeer - don't forget to keep those front wheels turned into the corner at all times.
Keep turning in and as soon as car has stopped understeering and is turning into the bend.
Try to keep the wheels straight at this point, which allows maximum acceleration.
Keep the power on and blast out of the corner at top speed - use the full width of the road if necessary to ensure maximum exit speed.
REAR WHEEL DRIVE
Approach the corner at speed.
Brake in a straight line - don't break while turning or the car will spin.
When you've finished braking, turn the car into the corner. Don't power on at this point or the car will spin.
When the car is settled and sliding neutrally (or simply driving around the bend with all wheels gripping), power on and steer into the slide if the back end starts to break away.
Use the full width of the road to ensure maximum acceleration and exit speed.
FOUR WHEEL DRIVE
Approach the corner at speed.
Brake in a straight line, turn in and blip the brakes - watch for understeer at this point. If the car is doing this, turn in and blip the brakes again.
Power on when the car has bounced on its suspension and has settled into a neutral slide.
Keep the power on and the car will four wheel drift through the bend, cornering flat.
Use the full width of the road to maximize exit speed.
CHEATING BASTARD TACTICS
Like most licensed games, Gran Turismo's cars don't suffer any damage as a result of collisions with other racers or trackside objects. This can be used to your advantage. On circuits with walls, particularly the High Speed Ring, Special Stages and Clubman circuit, you can use some corners' walls to your advantage by sliding into them and running along their length while accelerating around the bend. There is a little loss of speed when you hit the wall, but since by using this tactic, you don't really need to brake into the corner, there is an overall gain in speed, since you can bounce your way through a bend at a far greater speed than you would under normal conditions. This does require a good degree of skill to get right - a full-on frontal collision results in a huge loss of speed. To do it right, you have to hit the wall with the car parallel to it to ensure minimum loss of momentum.
The other thing that can help is other cars. If there's a car in front of you, you can slide into it and bounce off it, safely negotiating the bend at speed in similar way that you can use a wall. The added bonus is that it sends the other car careening off the track - very useful if that car happens to be one of the leaders.
accesses to this page since the 10th of December, 1998, according to Geocities
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