SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - GTR2 vs rFactor Shootout #1: The Porsches

We've seen the arguments in several threads on various sim racing boards. GTR2 is better than rFactor. rFactor is better than GTR2. Live for Speed has the best tire-model. netKar PRO owns them all. You can slide too much in this sim or that sim. You can or cannot lock up the brakes. This sim feels "wrong" while the other sim feels "right".

Not all the arguments are put foward with facts, numbers or other forms of evidence or analysis to back up those claims. Like it or not, a great part of the equation still rests entirely on subjective opinion because ultimately it rests with each driver to decide for him or herself whether a sim feels right or not. In some instances it is not possible to get the facts, the numbers, the objective evidence.

This is why aircraft manufactureres still employ test pilots. This is why auto manufacturers still employ test drivers. To obtain that crucial information about flight or handling characteristics, and idiosyncracies that somehow slipped undetected through all the math and the computer modeling.

So SimHQ Motorsports came up with the idea to put very popular, recent and perhaps some not-so-recent sims head-to-head in a shootout to determine, if possible, and based on science, facts, figures and direct comparison, what exactly are the differences and similarities between the most recent sims out there: GTR2, GT Legends, RACE, rFactor, LFS and netKar PRO.

What better way than to put similar cars on similar tracks in different simulations, fire up the available data acquisition tools and interpreters, and start a series of articles that will focus on track testing.

Let the Challenge Begin!

We'll kick off our series with a direct comparison between the Porsche Carreras of GTR2 and rFactor. First, let's have a close look at the cars we'll be using. Our contestants should be evenly matched!

Specifications	GTR2 v1.1.0.0	rFactor v1.250

Car	Porsche GT3 Cup	Porsche Carrera Cup
Power	390 bhp @7.300 rpm	388 bhp @ 7.200 rpm
Torque	380 Nm @ 6.250 rpm	390 Nm @ 6.500 rpm
Weight	1150 kg	1100
Drive-train and engine displacement	Rear-wheel drive and engine in rear	Rear-wheel drive and engine in rear
Author	Simbin Development	Carrera Cup v1.2 by German Sim Mod Foundation (GSMF)

Table 1: The Contestants

We'll be using Spa-Francorchamps for our test track. It's native to GTR2 while several add-on versions exist for rFactor. We want to use one that is not a straight conversion of Simbin's GTL or GTR2. This leaves two versions of Spa for rFactor; EMG's rendition of Spa, and a conversion from F1C representing the 1988 layout.

Since using the Spa which came with GTR2 could be seen as an unfair home-turf advantage, we'll mention briefly that A1-Ring, Laguna Seca, Barbagallo and a host of other 3rd party tracks exist for both sims, and that while conversions from GTL or GTR to rFactor is not allowed due to licensing issues, conversions from rFactor tracks like Mills, Toban, and Essington exist for GTR2, and they prove that a good track is a good track, no matter the legalese and no matter it's source.

Specifications	GTR2 v1.1.0.0	rFactor v1.250
Trackmap
Location	Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium	Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Length	6.969 Km	6.940 Km
Layout (Year)	2004	1988
Author	Simbin Development	F1C Conversion
Real-life laptime	Approx. 2 min 28 s	Approx. 2 min 28 s
My best	2.33.230	2.39.179

Table 2: Our Test Track

Go To Page 2

Click here to go to top of this page.