How do you practice on the mountain?

As the tittle suggests, how to you go about your practice runs/hotlaps?

I will start of first obviously.

When hotlapping, I will always take a few laps out to hoon around and drift. I do this to stop myself getting bored and run down while hotlapping, and to relax for a little bit. I have noticed however, that after I have finished messing around like that that I gain the biggest boost to my Fujimi times. My AE86 (B class NDH) best time was 4:44, but the other day after doing this in my hotlap runs, I was immediately able to knock 4 seconds off, making my fastest AE86 time a 4:40.

I think some of it is down to the fact I will only try to inertia drift an AE86, so very rarely use the handbrake at all. I am guessing that is allowing to better find the balance of the car, and allowing me to control the throttle and brake better when I return to a grip run.

Intriguing. I just run hotlaps until I get bored or pissed off. Sometimes, I'll head off to multiplayer races first to get warmed up, and then I start hitting 4:53-4:51 after getting warmed up.

I always do a test drive "run" before I hop into a multiplayer lobby, once I get a few of those in I do about 3-5 hot laps in my fastest car, and I'll switch to a car I'm trying to get faster in and usually I PR in the slower car every time I do that. When it comes to specific training runs I'll change the specs on a car after a few runs to see if anything changes (like if in turns in more/less, oversteers vs understeers, etc). That usually works for me. I haven't been online much lately and nowadays when I hop in my b500 supra I can't get any lower than a 4:43, last night I bought another supra and just changed the specs and I got a 4:40.8**.

Clutch927 wrote:

I always do a test drive "run" before I hop into a multiplayer lobby, once I get a few of those in I do about 3-5 hot laps in my fastest car, and I'll switch to a car I'm trying to get faster in and usually I PR in the slower car every time I do that. When it comes to specific training runs I'll change the specs on a car after a few runs to see if anything changes (like if in turns in more/less, oversteers vs understeers, etc). That usually works for me. I haven't been online much lately and nowadays when I hop in my b500 supra I can't get any lower than a 4:43, last night I bought another supra and just changed the specs and I got a 4:40.8**.

That is something I also do a lot.

I race against other peoples ghosts if there is no one else online but if there is I always try and find faster opponents and if im out in front to start with I will give them an opportunity to overtake and then I will try and chase them down

I constantly drive either of my RX-7's and record the times I make to determine how fast my average is. To improve I usually race a ghost of someone slightly faster than me.

Also Obelisk, if you know your file is too big then you should also know what i'm about to tell you.

StrawberryGL wrote:

I constantly drive either of my RX-7's and record the times I make to determine how fast my average is. To improve I usually race a ghost of someone slightly faster than me.

Also Obelisk, if you know your file is too big then you should also know what i'm about to tell you.

Got it fixed, S'berry.

Obelisk wrote:

StrawberryGL wrote:

I constantly drive either of my RX-7's and record the times I make to determine how fast my average is. To improve I usually race a ghost of someone slightly faster than me.

Also Obelisk, if you know your file is too big then you should also know what i'm about to tell you.

Got it fixed, S'berry.

5 seconds in photoshop is all it takes to do a clean resize of an image.

I don't have a photo editor that cooperates with me on my Android.
(steals lalyrn's edit)

I guess what I do is similar to Clutch. I do a run or two in the tuning shop to check that I still remember how to drive the car, then I hotlap til I get pissed off.
If I'm trying to set a good time or tune my car perfectly I do run after run in hotlap, making very small changes to the tune every two runs if the car doesn't behave how I'd like. I stop when my mind starts wandering mid run.
If it's just practising for online racing it's simpler. Hotlap until I get within a second of my best time.

Obelisk wrote:

I don't have a photo editor that cooperates with me on my Android.
(steals lalyrn's edit)

Adobe Photoshop express

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.psmobile&hl=en_GB

Adobe Photoshop Touch

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.adobe.pstouch&hl=en_GB

Both excellent apps, first one is 100% free.

Ialyrn wrote:

Obelisk wrote:

I don't have a photo editor that cooperates with me on my Android.
(steals lalyrn's edit)

Adobe Photoshop express

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.psmobile&hl=en_GB

Adobe Photoshop Touch

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.adobe.pstouch&hl=en_GB

Both excellent apps, first one is 100% free.

This is OT, but I just found an editor. Thanks for the links, though.

I always race my own ghosts, watching someone else's ghost irritates me I hate following their lines it's just much easier for me to race myself instead.  Plus racing your own ghost immediately tells you if you've improved or worsened.  I usually lap NHC as much as I do NDH, occasionally some OHC and ODH is fun to do every now and then.

Protip: NEVER change your tune if it happens to feel wrong one day. If you spent hours getting the perfect tune and managed to set a new record with it, don't change the settings just because "it didn't feel right today". With that kind of thinking it's impossible to get used to your car. I only change my tune when I'm absolutely positive that it's faster than my old one. I've changed the tunes on my cars less than six times since I started playing FM4.

I do 50 finger push ups everyday which helps me with precise throttle control and braking.

Obelisk wrote:

Got it fixed, S'berry.

Radical

StrawberryGL wrote:

Obelisk wrote:

Got it fixed, S'berry.

Radical

...SR8

I just switch between my D330 86 and my B500 86, the D class 86 has the parts that I would want on a real 86. It seems to help me warm up before I get into my B class one.

Well I keep on chasing my ghost in hot lap.
It gets really boring after 5 runs but if that's a way to get a B500 4:38 in an 86
I have no choice.

Either that or I join public lobbies against VALUABLE opponents
The difference is crucial if you want to become faster.