PJTierney

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From Pad to Pro - Learning to use a wheel in DiRT Rally 2.0

Hello everyone, time to go on a journey 🙂    I've been a pad player in racing games ever since I started playing back in the 1990s, and I've gotten quite decent at it; never quite esports ready but good enough to set the occasionally solid Leaderboard time. In 2019 I decided to move away from a long-serving job in trading card games to pursue a career in motorsport. I'll never be a professional racing driver (I'm far too old to start) but I do want to get better at sim racing and, although I'm strong on a pad, take on a tougher challenge...     ...this is that tougher challenge.   Outside of a few 10 minute sessions on office rigs I have never used a wheel before.   In this thread I'll post updates as I play with the rig throughout 2020. A busy job plus other personal ambitions means I won't be playing every day, but over time I do plan to improve and get to a point where I am competitive.   In the interest of setting some goals for the year, here's where I'd like to end up: COMPLETE - Day 34 - Win a DiRT Rally 2.0 Career Rally Championship at Masters Difficulty NOT COMPLETE - Win a DiRT Rally 2.0 Career Rallycross Championship at Masters Difficulty* COMPLETE - Day 13 - Set a DiRT Rally 2.0 Time Trial rally time that I cannot beat on a pad.   * I abandoned this once the Colin McRae: FLAT OUT Pack was released, and instead focused on completing all of the Scenarios on Very Hard difficulty, which I managed to do.    Let's see how I get on.   -----   For those curious, this is the rig. It's pricey but I was fortunate enough to get a few discounts shortly after joining Codemasters. Playseat Sensation Pro Black / Cockpit Fanatec CSL Elite / Wheel Base Fanatec ClubSport Formula V2 / Wheel Rim Fanatec CSL Elite Pedals LC / Pedals Sparco Hypergrip / Gloves Logitech G433 / Headset Samsung UE43RU7100K / Monitor   I'm playing DiRT Rally 2.0 on Xbox One X though the rig is set up to be compatible on PlayStation 4 and PC as well, and I eventually plan to play various circuit racing games (hence why I opted for the Formula rim). I'm using a 2 pedal setup, having removed the clutch.  
Day 29: Explored multiple classes in Custom at 100% Difficulty, found H1 FWD to be my most competitive. Started Masters Career at Spain in the MINI Cooper S. Won Event, Poland next. Day 30: Won in Poland by a handy margin. The MINI felt real good there, perhaps Spain wasn't a fluke. Day 31: Won at USA, another relatively easy win. Day 32: Won at Australia. Day 33: Won at Wales, was second for most of the rally but AI issues allowed me to take the lead. 27 points ahead going into final Event. Day 34: 2nd at Monte Carlo, Championship win.   The thing I noticed in going back to H1 FWD was how much more confidence I had compared to when I first started. I was going "full send" through some of the faster sections (Poland especially) and making fewer mistakes. Some of the Career Leaderboard times were solid too; I recall finishing 15th on the global board in one of the Welsh ones.   That's the second of my 3 major goals now complete, Win a Career Rally Championship at Masters Difficulty. Rallycross next.