23 Real life vs Forza Motorsport 4

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Do you recall that TopGear episode where Clarkson was racing around Laguna Seca in a Honda NSX, desperately trying to beat laptime he previously set on a PlayStation?

How about taking this to next level - more cars, better computer game and less fearful driver? Seems like a good idea?

As it is often with good ideas, someone on the Internet has already done it!

A racing sim enthusiast from Spain has a blog - racing-marotosports.com dedicated to virtual car testing. In latest post he compares 12 very different cars from Forza Motorsport 4 against real life laptimes in Hockenheim short track from fastestlaps.com listing.

The post is very detailed - illustrated with countless screenshots and a video capture of each car's laptime in Forza 4.

The article itself is in Spanish, but author kindly translated his conclusions in English:

  • FWD: as you can see the results are quite different. The Mini is very easy to drive and anyone can drive it very fast. It's totally opposite to the little Abarth 500 - this car has an unpredictable behavior in the rear axle when you push the brakes hard. Once you pass lap by lap, you start to enjoying the "Italian Mini".

  • RWD with front engine: These are the only cases where I've been slower than the real time. The physics model of Forza in "Simulation Mode" is very accurate in general, but when you lose the grip the drift is bigger than it must be to feel real. So in this kind of layout and for cars with big torque engines, it's very easy to drift an lose time. It's curious that I ve lost 1 second in both times.

  • RWD with rear or mid-mounted engine: Apart from the Lotus (I'll explain later), the times with Porsche and Ferrari were very close to the real times. Here the drift is more difficult to get, so the driving is quite comfortable. I love both cars because the sound and behavior make the experience very addictive.

  • AWD: The situation is very similar, but here, I think, the cars have a little more grip than they do in real life. In any case, the difference is not dramatic.

  • Lotus 2-Eleven: In this case there was quite a difference in time. At first, I couldn't understand why. After checking the first photo, I concluded that, maybe, the problem was that 2-Eleven version in game is the "track version" and the real one was the "road version".

So finally, the average result is that Forza 4 is 1.4% faster than real times. I think is a very good result for the Forza Motorsport, even more so when you take into account that the physics model has to be calculated by a console (XBox 360) rather than much more powerful modern gaming PC.

I am a big racing sim fan myself, I have spent countless hours playing titles like rFactor, GTR or RBR.

I must admit, after seeing this comparison I am wanting, more the ever, to get my hands on Forza 4.

Physics model seems realistic enough for my taste, selection of street cars is so wide it's only comparable to Gran Turismo (another great game only available on consoles), and the sound effects are, frankly, amazing.

For some reason I find it essential for a racing game to have realistic engine sounds, and Forza has the most authentic engine sounds across all racing games on all platforms.

12y ago by FastestLaps
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Jarek Klejc  7y ago

1:08,194 in Murcielago is much worse then mine 1:07,945


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saxy  9y ago

As in the launches are always absolutely perfect and are the same as factory claims, making German cars slower in a straight line and Ferraris faster than real ones?

I love simulators but every corner, every inch of Tarmac is considered perfect, and in the real world, it isn't.


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uptownfunker  9y ago

I've played Forza 4 before, and I noticed that the straight-line numbers (especially the 1/4 and full mile #'s) in the game are very similar to those estimated in this site's carpages. Arguably, though, the ZR1 Corvette does high 29's/low 30's at 17x mph on average (in the video game), but in this site it's estimated to do 28.7 at 177 mph. I bet Forza almost owned - bought, I mean - this site ;)

In this site's simulator sibling, aka Acceleration Times, the 2004 Ford GT is estimated by the 0-100 and 0-200 kph times (3.9 and 12.0) to do 12.0 @ 124 in the 1/4, which is exactly the numbers I got in the game when racing my GT.


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Randall  12y ago

You guys say its more realistic, but you provide no arguments as to why you think that.

What proof, evidence, or anything do you have to backup your claims. Do you even know how the tire model works in any of these sims? My guess is no.


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simracerboy  12y ago

LFS only 0.95%. LFS is closest to the reality.


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zna se  12y ago

Grand Prix Legends (1998), only 2,361%, based on video proofs.


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Matt  12y ago

Comparing sims to real life is like reading a recipe to eating actual food! The details are correct but the results are very different. Also you tend not to drive flat out because you may die but that fear makes it more exciting. This is coming from someone who loved Forza 4, etc. My advice? Go karting on a well run track. It's just about the most fun you can have without taking silly risks or spending a fortune.


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Flabernat  12y ago

I really don't like the GT series.
It may be "realistic" when it come to the numbers.. but there's no sense of speed, or driving, and the engine/exhaust notes are horrid...
Forza4, is very accurate, and like this guy said, the sounds and sensations make you feel like your racing, that's why I like Forza more.


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Anon  12y ago

@FastestLaps Firstly, nice visuals doesn't mean realistic tyre model (unfortunately). Secondly, LFS had a tyre flex and flat spot simulation like in 2002 (10 years ago!). And check out netkar-pro - it's not only simulates tyre the best, the visuals are also superb (you can see dust on tyres). And it's done by one man.


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BR2,  12y ago

It could be the Best Simulator in the world, But it will still get BLOWN AWAY in sales by GranTurismo, ForzaMotorSport, NeedForSpeed games, if the games wont sell, its already a fail, I dont think theres a single game that can capture actual realness to the "Degree" But saying that, if a game was actual real, i think its buyers would be a little turned down buy it.

I loved the fact that GranTurismo 4 could have a car with 240bhp hitting 240mph, and 500bhp and doing 7s 1/4 mils, i Loved that! it would still be fun if it were real, question is, would it be Less or More fun?..


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stephanos82  12y ago

LFS FTW! Both Gt5 and Forza 4 should not dare call themselves sims just because this game (LFS) exists! Guys above are right, f u doubt , dl demo and prepare to be blown away by the tire physics! And once u r deeply into it u'll discover dozens of real life racers who practice in LFS (especially drifters) !
P.S i own both forza 4 & Gt5 and play with Fanatec CSR ELITE!
starter drifter in real life, most hands on experience with time attacks


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FastestLaps  12y ago

@Anon

rFactor 2 definitely has the best tyre model. Just look at their demos, where you can see things like tyres flexing and stretching, tread wearing out, flatspots developing under hard braking with wheel locking etc...

Thigs that I haven't seen in any previous racing sim.


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So wrong.  12y ago

No, they go to the one that has the most aggressive marketing because the average joe is a sheep who will buy any lies as long as he has heard them enough times.

Also some simulations are used by professionnal racing teams as training and engineering tools. Ever heard of rFactor Pro? Anyone with a little knowledge of the sim racing world knows Red Bull uses ISI's software for their drivers.

.youtube.com/watch?v=rE-Fge3gN9w

rFactor 2? Unlike most pro drivers promoting random games Luciano Bacheta isn't paid and doesn't earn a single penny from helping the development of the F2 mod:
.youtube.com/watch?v=UZyljEMyI74

Also there's many many professional drivers who play simulations like rFactor and iRacing(and some others), that includes some formula one drivers.

Now please back to Forza.


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BR2,  12y ago

I suppose you never heard of Digital Combat Simulator.

Nope, and often every game that isnt real are the BEST ones, or selling ones, with the exception of a few Name Brands. people usually go to games to get away from the real.


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E  12y ago

who plays VideoGames to be realistic?

I suppose you never heard of Digital Combat Simulator. Personally, its usually realism that will draw me to a game. Especially in this case. It's hard to own 600 cars at the same time in real life. It would still be nice to be able to, and something like Forza is probably the closest you can get besides winning the lotto.


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BR2,  12y ago

Yes another good point, GT5 Tuned cars sound like shite, an 800Bhp Corvette sounding like a Civic? Cmonnnnnn, However, online, i think i prefer the feel of PS3 vs Xbox, or GT5 Vs FM4...atleast we dont have to PAY for it...


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MondayBlues  12y ago

Only really like SimBin games graphics suck but I prefer the more realistic driving to great graphics.

F1 2012 looks good.


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phavyarden  12y ago

Also Forza cars sounds much better than GT5. I've played both, and i think GT5 phsysics are better IMO(lap times are pretty similar to the real ones). Online gameplay GT5 is light years behind forza.


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BR2,  12y ago

...Dunno bout you, but the Times seem a good deal off, I agree Forzas tuning is better and more realistic, and the modifications are better, but i contess, GranTurismo 5 Is the better game, More cars, more tracks(I Think) Just a better packaged "OverAll" game.

As to which ones more realistic, id prolly have to say Forza 4s got a bit of an edge, But cmon...who plays VideoGames to be realistic?

"Think PlayStation...Blow Shit Up"


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Anon  12y ago

@QA51M
LFS had the best tyre model like a million years ago (but still much better than Forza). For example, netkar-pro suppresses LFS. But still even the best simulators can only replicate a narrow area of real tyre behavior, so all of them are very far from real life