Sorry to be that guy but.. (iracing)

Pros

tracks are excellent

great ffb and tire model 

best NASCAR game available

cons

uninterested in any of the track cars beside the caddy...once the btcc cars are added and maybe a Dtm model ill revisit it

no live telemetry which is vital cause all the base tunes are horrible

unrealistic physics, lack of grip and little to no warning when the car is about to break lose 

server issues and not worth the price imoa

it has potential to be great but at the moment it just needs too much work to justify the price 

I had a 3 month Trial.

Love it first few weeks but then I just stopped playing it.

Dont know why but just not intrested anymore?

I run it for GBR events only these days, I find it...sterile, I think is the word. I don't like the fact you spend a fortune to rent the content, or the lack of offline mode. The cost is over the top and the Lazar scanning that is the cause of it is over rated in my opinion. The tracks that have been scanned will not have the same bumps and lumps today, so it is just a snasphot of one day and time. A well done track in another sim will look and feel no different given real life driver input used by many top mod teams. In the case of LRP for example the rF2 version includes recent changes the iRacing does not have as iRacing cannot respond to changes at any speed.

The latest update does seem to be improved as far as feel goes, less ice skating from the small test I did today. But the racing model is horrible, I spent a month getting my C license and all I was doing was watching SR the whole time, not racing as such. I just burned out at the end of it and when I saw the cost of going further and the cars used I just stopped.

The things that are good are very good, the ease of set up, the controls for Multiscreen and graphics, some of the in car displays are very useful but the way you are punished for incidents not of your doing, the timmies and rednecks you often find yourself racing with are a pain and any kind of BTCC racing with it's bumping and leaning is impossible.

I want to like it...for a while I did...then I didn't.

Oh yeah. No dead zone option for my joypad

I'll throw a different viewpoint in that it all boils down to personal preference.

I thoroughly enjoy iRacing.  Its not perfect of course but overall I've been happy with the service.

From the physics aspect, I get good feedback from the cars that let me run them right to the edge of control (and beyond ;) ).  Some cars are more of a challenge to drive than others but I haven't found one yet that isn't a blast to rip around the track. The cars sound great.

I also find the pricing model to be ok. Before signing up I was feeling the same as Knight in that I couldn't fathom "renting" the content and felt that iRacing was a money pit.  In reality, at least for me, I've found the cost to be reasonable.  I purchase only the cars and tracks I want and I can purchase the cars as needed for series that I want to race in, and the same goes for the tracks.

While I have invested a fair amount purchasing the conten I want, its been totally manageable from a budget standpoint.  The cars and tracks receive updates (Laguna just got a major refresh and looks fantastic) so the ongoing support is there.

I love the fact that I can practice with other cars on the track pretty much any time of the day, as well as find multiple races all through the day and week for my chosen events.  I work shift work so the format works perfectly for me.

The SR freaked me out at first and I tip toed around the track my first several races so as not to incur too many incidents.  There are differing opinions as to how to "race" in iRacing.  Some start from the pits, some start at the back and let attrition take its toll on the field etc. I want to race so I make sure I qualify and I get in there and mix it up with the other cars.  I try to race as cleanly as possible but shit happens and if my SR takes a negative hit, I can rebuild it.

I do think the SR system itself could use tweaking as I, like many others, feel that you shouldn't be penalized if someone else takes you out or causes the contact etc.  In the long run however, a bad race or two can be wiped clean with other races, and time trials.

I don't participate in the forums all that much save for some tips and tweaking here and there.  For a large percentage of the people, iRacing IS there hobby so they take it very seriously.  More power to them but for me its another game, no more, no less.  I run with the crew at Gone Broke Racing in rFactor, iRacing and formerly Race2Play.  GBR gives me the social fun aspect of running with the same crew all the time.  The bulk of the GBR guys I know through my console time in 2Old4Forza.  I haven't raced with anyone in GBR in an official race but we have lots of fun races so its all good.

I have found one car that I think is complete crap and that is the Mustang FR500S.  The sound sucks, the handling sucks and its just overall not indicative of how a Mustang FR500S is in the real world.  In my opinion.  Yes I have driven one (at Miller in Utah) so I have experience behind the wheel.  Maybe I might feel the same about some of the other cars but until someone lets me drive a C6.R in anger around a circuit, I'm quite happy with the handling of that car.

So as I started off, it comes down to your personal preference.  For some iRacing is great, for others, not so muc.  Fortunately we have LOTS of sim choices out there so shouldn't be an issue to find something to your liking.

See you on the track.

Cheers!

Oh indeed Kirk for those that iRacing works, it works well and my opinion is just that, no more no less. I suppose it comes from the fact that the one kind of racing that really rocks my boat is impossible to do under the iRacing model, Can you imagine the hit your SR and iRating would get after a season of BTCC LOL

Indeed there is a Sim for everyone, and I will keep my subscription going as long as GBR run series there, As I have said there are things I like about the Sim, and things I don't like about my favorite one. I don't think there will ever be a perfect one Sim for all, so we just get the best we can out of the choises we have

This is my opinion and my opinion only.  I really like iRacing.  Ever since I signed up at the end of last year, I have played it almost daily.

At first I was really lost.  I had read about it and heard about it, but that really doesn't prepare you for when you get out on the track with a bunch of other rookies in the Mazda or Street Stock.  Absolute mayhem.  So I did some more research, asked around and found out very quickly that I didn't want to be a rookie any longer than necessary.

I took the approach of starting from the pits and avoiding contact or even getting near anyone else.  I didn't care about my iRating at all, I just wanted to get promoted.  I made it to C class fairly quickly, so I decided I should just keep on going and get my A license so I will be done with promotions and can start racing.  Not that I was really interested in racing the A class series, I just wanted to never worry about promotions again.  So I went from Rookie to A class in Road and Ovals in less than a month after joining.  Now I just race.

There are a few advantages to having an A license.

1. You have access to any series on iRacing except the Rookie Street Stocks and Pro series.

2. You have a blue stripe on the rear of your car which some (not all) recognize and may give you a little more respect on the track.

3. Most important.  A class licenses are not subject to end of season demotions.  C and B licenses will be demoted at the end of season if your SR is between 1.00 and 1.99.  You can only lose your A license if your SR goes below 1.00 and it will be immediate.  This is called a fast track demotion and happens to all license levels except D which can never be demoted.  So as long as you have an A license and keep your SR above 1.00 you will never lose it.

Now the reasons I like iRacing.  I like the ease of setup, especially for triple screens.  I like the graphics, physics and FFB.  Looks good and feels more realistic than any other sim I have tried.  I like to be able to race when I want.  I am in GBR and they have plenty of racing, but not always at the time I want to race.  They are based on the west coast so the races during the week usually go way past my bedtime.  With iRacing there is racing 24/7.  I have found a few series that I like and concentrate on.  Yes they have a few bad drivers and some timmies, but I have found that as I race the same series more and more, I start recognizing the guys who I'm comfortable racing around and those to avoid.

The main series I really like is the IndyCar fixed Oval series.  I just have a knack for driving those cars.  I just finished my first season there and ran 56 races with 11 wins.  I finished 1st in my division in the points standings.  It also helped to boost my Oval iRating to over 2900.  I expect to get it over 3000 soon.

A few other series I enjoy are the GT Challenge series, Grand Am Sports Car series, and Star Mazda series.  In all of those series, I am usually middle of the pack, but usually have some great racing.  I also have been given a lot of good setups which I can share with others.  I found most of the fast guys are more than willing to share their setups.

As for price, I agree that the startup price can be steep depending on what you are looking for.  To run in any series beyond Rookie you will have to buy a bunch of tracks at the minimum and usually the car also.  But once you buy them (or lease them as Knight pointed out), you can use them as long as you want.  Even if you let your subscription lapse, you can rejoin later and all the content will still be there for you to use.  I just went ahead and bought everything.  As for subscription fees, I consider them as free.  I paid $90 for 2 years when they had a sale for new subscribers which works out to $45 a year.  I get a $10 credit each season as long as I run enough races which I do.  There are 4 seasons per year so that is $40.  They also give a $5 yearly credit as long as you keep your subscription active for a year straight which I will so that will be $45 total in credits per year, subscription paid.

And that sums it up, for you Troy it works, me getting an A class licence just ain't going to happen, the cost alone is offputting, the cars run don't do it for me and I am not a good enough racer to do the practice for the series I run, and the grind to an A licence, and my testing commitments. I don't agree on it having the best physics and the graphics are for me no more than okay...2d trees? hardly cutting edge. But these things are subjective and the fact I don't agree doesn't change your experience or devalue your opinion in any way.

Unlike some others I don't want to say because it doesn't work for me it is rubbish, it's not. Some small changes would make all the difference. For me it's not a lost cause, and I have many months of membership left to run and every 13 weeks brings updates that could well alter my opinion one way or the other.

Come the Summer I am hopfully going to be hard pushed to make all the weekend series anyway because if I'm lucky I will be working, so maybe I too will be back to iRacing to get my fix

All and all it's a good solid game...a few added features and tweaks and it would be top notch!  I've gotten 90% of the road tracks and cars so iam past the initial set up cost.  ATM I haven't run it lately due to a lack of time and a non interest in any of the road cars.  Again once some new cars and the btcc tracks get added ill give it ago again.  I tried the latest build and a few of the cars unrealistic handling seem to be addressed and a lot better like the v8 :)

as a racer with every sim, I enjoy everyone of them for what they are and realize they all have there faults.  Wouldn't it be nice if they all worked together to make the ultimate sim rather than against and dividing the sim racing community.

at the end of the day it's what you enjoy running and works for you,  not what others think you should be running  :) 

Dark and Jarhead have summed it up nicely and I will not reiterate their points.  I will say that iRacing is hands down my favorite sim.  I also will add that the main attraction for me is the NASCAR, which is head and shoulders above anything out there.  I love being able to jump in a NASCAR event 24/7.  I am currently running series involving the Camping World Truck, Nationwide car and Sprint Cup car.  I also do a couple of road series, the Global Challenge series (I use the Cadillac) and the Star Mazda Championship.  The road racing is also good, although not as great for me as the oval racing.  

I run the GBR iRacing series.  We have two going right now and they both get good participation.  We are running a monthly road series featuring the Spec Racer Ford.  Our last race of that series is in June and then we move on to the Star Mazda.  We also do a monthly road series involving the GT cars.  Our race later this month has the Corvettes and Cadillacs at Lime Rock.  It should be very interesting.  We tried doing a GBR iRacing oval series, but that died for lack of participation.  GBR is primarily road racing folks, Dark being a good example.

Yeah It kinda makes sense as an oval sim, not at all for the kind of racing we like here, a certain amount of contact is whithin the rules of BTCC, and for that reason I find iRacing sterile, the sim is good, the rules and cost...not so good.

Shame you didn't get take up for ovals, I'd have had a go at that for the chuckles.