iRacing Oval Refresh REVIEW. Did iRacing Fix NASCAR?

[@ContrerasTV_PeDaz]

I don’t know if they fixed the oval racing buts it’s WAYYYY more fun. This weekend I put up a hosted with my friends at Vegas and saved the replay and compared it to a previous replay I did with them and let me tell you, they were very different. It’s not perfect yet and I feel like the tire model can be improved too but this is DEFINITELY a step forward!

[@rolux4853]

Can you explain how it got more fun? I’m still trying to understand it.

[@ZoneXV]

Next Gen at Michigan is weird, in our league race, everyone was up against the wall like it was Kansas, you really couldn't pass on the bottom. Not sure if it's partially the setup or the track changes.

[@ianhabiuk9848]

Same as the Gen 4 but it was like that before the update as well

[@CaptainTerps]

Isn’t that how Michigan is irl since the beginning of time?

[@rickyrowland9744]

Yes I'm pretty sure it is.

[@austinlallison]

I ran one of those Darlington races with you, and you pinpointed turn 1 and 2 perfectly. I was running slightly lower off the wall, and felt like there was a bit more grip there when y'all had moved up. Turns 3 and 4 were tougher for me for some reason. When I got close to you (or anyone I was trying to pass), the rear end would slip out on entry into 3. I would move back and get traction again.

[@LithFox]

One thing that's super important to take into account is that the time of day absolutely matters because each turn will drive differently depending on the time of day. And should also definitely change throughout the night. Coke 600 should be the most interesting

[@gung-hojihad679]

Does anybody even like you on the forums? LOL

[@rickyrowland9744]

That a dick thing to say to someone

[@dankfisch]

87's new Charlotte Night, you can run the wall in both turns after 30 laps on tires, will be a lot quicker vs people who saved on the bottom since it got really slick on the bottom.

[@TylerBonenfant]

I did a short gen 4 race at nhms and had an absolute blast. didn't want the race to end

[@Doug_Narby]

I did a Texas B open yesterday where a I found a lot of speed late in the run by concentrating on unwinding the wheel as early as possible on exit. Sounds like that matches with your diamond finding - straight exits.

[@westonwilson1999]

I haven't driven the new update yet, but from what you say it sounds like they took a page out of their dirt oval book and applied it to asphalt. Is there any visual cues that a given line is slicking up, similar to the dirt tracks looking glossy/muddy?

[@tbs66]

Another great video, thanks! I have a suggestion for a training video that I think would help a lot of us - Best practices for pushing the leader in DraftMaster Fixed to keep him in the lead and to keep your engine from blowing.

[@brandon42054]

The gen 4 at rockingham is throwing me a curveball never could get a decent Rhythm going makes it more fun that just running the bottom the whole time it’s just trying to figure it out

[@randynichols4691]

I was able to use the 2nd/3rd(?) lane of turn 1 and 2 at Texas to pass Garrett Smithley with the Xfinity cars. Was around lap 40 or just past that to make it work.

[@michaelrainwater4928]

I’m wondering if there is adjustments they made make the tracks drive more true to life? If so, how close do you feel it resembles The real scenarios

[@davanierodriguez]

Thanks for letting us know. I'm excited to see what iRacing does, especially for the 2025 game that's coming out. Hopefully this is a sign of greater things to come.

[@stephenhart1545]

Ran a Chicago race in the trucks for a league race last night. Was very surprised at how slick on a long run behind another it got. Searching for the sweet spot made it very enjoyable. The refresh is just that for oval racing. Wandering what Daytona will be like

[@ThiccRicc]

Trucks at legacy michigan this week gets slick surprisingly. It's still pretty fast but you do need to pedal it just a tad

[@jasonrizzo3106]

iR did something to the RF years ago, to make everyone more even. They also took a lot of long slip modeling out of the tire. Long slip is what a tire does when it slips in rotation. Lateral slip is what it does to the side. If they can find a way to keep people even without the RF thing, WITH more long slip modeling, the improvement will be massive.

[@bonzibuddy8423]

Nothing is going to matter until they finish the refresh. Season 2 i believe they have a new tire model and new physics. Dynamic tracks don't work well with a tire model not built for it.

[@bullandrew4922]

I'm pretty new to ovals, came from road racing like a month ago. I ran Xfinity on Texas legacy last night, and let me tell you, it was way more engaging to having to try to find the grippy parts of the track as the race goes on. Focusing on a straightened exit, with a very late apex after like 15-20 laps made a huge difference in laptimes vs the guys who tried to run the same line the whole time.

[@jordanberube7305]

Yes the oval refresh has shined this week at legacy Texas with B class, especially in the open. Saw a couple guys making the high line work

[@MarkMoughamian]

My main experience was in the WNiS at Charlotte last week. There were pros and cons to the refresh. The pro was that you were forced to search around the track to find better grip as the run went on. The con was that after like 50 laps everyone just moved to the high side and basically wrapping the top of the track while the bottom lane had such little grip you couldn't really make any good passes. I think there's a good middle ground to aspire to, but having the track go from multi-groove racing to just one groove wasn't as enjoyable as wanted. Did Indy last night in the 87s and didn't really notice much of a difference there at all from previous seasons. Will be interesting to see how it progresses when going to more tracks over the season.

[@insertcoinracing1582]

I was saying throughout last week that the Xfinity Challenge, with the loose setups and forced long runs was trying to show off SOMETHING about the oval refresh... But I could never quite figure out what it was.

[@runofthemillz]

Disappointing to hear about Iowa. The Indycar races there the last couple years have been awesome with multiple grooves

[@parkerwalsh3340]

I think this is definitely a step in the right direction, but I’d like to see your tires not just shred up top. In theory, it should be similar on tires because your turning the wheel less.

[@PazLeBon]

more banking tho

[@parkerwalsh3340]

@@PazLeBon not always. Not every track has progressive banking. Also your tires are technically rolling more than the bottom, so it should be similar wear like irl.

[@ihateracin]

Higher entry and mid corner speeds contribute much of that wear, the wheel might not need be turned quite as much but the tire still gets more worn

[@parkerwalsh3340]

@@ihateracin the weight is more evenly distributed on entry so the affects are smaller than you’d think. If you ever watch a cup race or xfinity or trucks you see people running every lane. Part of this is because of the tires in real life are much harder than on Iracing, but tire wear still plays a big role. Even at a track like Richmond, you can see drivers running a groove higher not only because it’s faster at times, but it’s easier on tires.

[@MrSanJose420]

O yeah ..this week we have Kentucky and Michigan..Can you give us a how too..pro tips please? I run class A cup and the Class C trucks.. thx oneluv

[@TobiasMathesonRacing]

The gen 4 at rockingham after the refresh is so good

[@robertmerlino2312]

The way you are playing the wheel makes me feel very few people will survive racing the track and car combo

[@TheFelloMello]

Hell yeah, good info man. I've been watching Jimmer do the sim racing stewards videos from reddit and they are always entertaining, and to see if I agree with him in the moment. He mostly does road courses, which is cool and all racing is racing, but when there is an oval he's always like "Well, I'm no oval guy but...", and I was thinking well I do know one guy. 😂😂 Maybe consider "borrowing" his format but doing oval based who-dun-its?

[@DJYeeJay]

I’ve done 2-3 of those vids already! Probably will do more in the near future when I’m away from my rig

[@waterfelon]

idk but in the xfinity at old texas I tried running the upper middle line and it didnt work until a few more people started running it then it was faster

[@strovich]

Nice to see more complexity in oval

[@simracinsam]

My testing on the short tracks its really good!

[@billynolanjr2266]

New is more realistic , but they need to tweak it more so there are multiple racing lanes , I think they went to far with it

[@robbyc408]

If im test driving and do active reset 50 times on a corner i wonder if that makes a difference in handling.

[@f1sherman52]

Tbh i feel really crappy every time i race at Texas as well

[@falconeye577]

Texas is a Poor Track, but that is just as it should be, it will happen much faster with 30 cars on the track in a race Darlington, Great Track, as I expected Iowa, stay out of the bumps, lol What about the Concrete at Dover, the update was to be BIG for this type Also, Las Vagus should have been tested

[@OldguyChris]

I was in a couple of those races with u....trail breaking has become more needed then before..

[@marksutherlandjr.2121]

How do I know the quickest line at these tracks? Just have to put the time in and make notes and figure these things out? Or are there track guides? Also, is there a place where I can get some settup training? I don't just wanna copy someone's, ide like to learn how to do it myself. So that I can play with setups amd find something that feels good to my driving specifically. Even if it's not necessarily the "Best" or Quickest, it would be for ME. If you have some videos I'm your library or know where I can find what I'm LF. I appreciate it in advance DJ. Be blessed bro.

[@tamaslichtenberger8529]

done 2 races at Charlotte in Arca. and I enjoyed way more than before. what was interesting that at the end of the races I had ~55 / ~65 both times, but the whole car was still much more responsive in 1 and 3 than before even with higher RF/RR percentages. and therefor I was much faster. yes, I'm not competing against the quickest drivers (having 1,7K...), but the overall responsiveness and car stability is much better, at least to me. I ran the bottom during the whole race.

[@chadcoleman3658]

It's OK. But as a 1st release like the OG dynamic track, it needs alot of tweaking. Good start though.

[@Alesawr]

I don't know how to describe the ways it feels better, but it does and I enjoy it

[@connorbingel7134]

How was the new SR system on short ovals? That’s all I run and it’s frustrating that a 4x(which iracing gives for a bump and run on some tracks cause it can’t tell the difference between a square hit to move someone and wrecking some one) results in negative SR

[@connorbingel7134]

I haven’t been able to play cause a tornado took out our internet so I have not tried it yet

[@DJYeeJay]

i think its the same except a 4x now counts against you the same as a 2x used to

[@jasonoak4564]

Why do some say nothing changed and others say "it's so much better now"?

[@King1614]

I don’t think anything has changed.

[@josephpisciotta6022]

What I feel the most and this is the perspective of a 11 year vet of Iracing. The grip levels go away faster. Dirty air is massive but until the tire model changes it will not make a huge change like in real life. This tire model I’ve ever felt. I’ve been on here I think on the V2 but this tire model is the worst and still ruins the racing. Same with the aero model. This is a step forward but still needs more change.

[@BAYSINRACING]

I personally disagree with what you said about iowa, i felt better up top as my race went on, and the middle felt really good too. I have a recording of a lap i did mid run and the lines were completely different than before, i won by 5 seconds

[@DJYeeJay]

Skill issued. Idk i could not get run off the top for the life on me on a hot track

[@eclark9965]

Bruh I’m pretty sure you were in a race with me the other day during unranked. The b xfinity unranked. You blew by everyone going 3 wide in the middle and the got wiped by two guys colliding. I was like this dude truly doesn’t give a shit about this race. I hit the wall not long after so i didn’t do so hot either

[@DJYeeJay]

lmaoo i remember that race was trying to see how passing was

[@eclark9965]

@@DJYeeJay yeah you went full send bubba. I would have said hey but i didn’t have my mic routed to the correct channel at the time. I hope that’s not how you normally treat us lowly folk! Jk.

[@DJYeeJay]

@@eclark9965 heyyy i didnt touch anybody! 3 wide middle is kinda fun though lol

[@eclark9965]

@@DJYeeJay if i start on the inside i generally do the verstappen gas pedal. Keep stabbing it until green and then jump a couple spots. It’s a pretty tight move. Not hatin. Outside start you can’t do that so much.

[@LandenSwast]

First. Love you bro

[@lumaseed6490]

The oval racing is giving you a beard

[@DJYeeJay]

“I gotta shave today” -me every day the past week

[@PazLeBon]

i find it silly, there' just no way some of these lines should be getting slicker in most sessions (some maybe) it acts as tho the tyres get slippy at ceratin intervals rather than the line

[@toobrafter]

I think we know now why iRacing didn't hype this enhancement too much. It feels very low impact like they didn't want to apply any major change in one release.

[@arishakala]

10:44 hey who's that cutie in your mirror

[@DJYeeJay]

Someone whos about to get passed

[@arishakala]

@@DJYeeJay i can't believe you would say something so hurtful yet so true

[@JVCIstvan]

I dont know. Which is more realistic? New or old

[@DJYeeJay]

idk ive never raced irl

[@spdyspks]

Way too much grip now.

[@jamesharvy6552]

you cant diamond if you're side by side in a race so I think you approached this like a solo run too much

[@DJYeeJay]

I did races for every track just forgot replays for a few

[@dustypilgrimmedia8423]

IRP is the greatest track in the history of pavement racing.

[@billynolanjr2266]

Better have a good setup and learn how to tweak tires now in open races for aure or your going to hate it !

[@PazLeBon]

you're

[@thetruth1446]

Itll be fun until everyone figures out how to exploit it

[@C3rb3ruS_88]

Exactly. As long as there's a pattern, instead of being unpredictable and truly dynamic like in real life, everyone will figure it out and will do the same things. Which means, as long as their awful tyre model doesn't change and get closer to anything you'd call realistic, oval racing won't really improve. If and when that happens, I'll be more than happy to come back and give them my money.

[@justinosterman2436]

I mean whatever they did I'm fast now 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 so sure

[@ndgoliberty]

loose setups are for bottom line racing.