:'( I hope not, I've still got a long way to go with GTR.

I would appreciate someone explaining the basics of Starforce protection to me, purely as an academic exercise.

Now before you accuse me of wanting to find a way around it, let me explain. I have purchased a legal copy of GTR and have installed it on my PC without any attempt to circumvent the protection routine. However I am concerned that many people posting here seem to have found that Starforce has corrupted the basic functionality of their CD / DVD drives, even to the point that the drives are not recognised in Windows.

My concern is that if Starforce is as successful at protecting IP as it would appear, it will become more prevalent in other software releases.

Does Starforce install a low-level driver somewhere in the PC between the hardware and windows drivers? If so, this would seem to be a bit of a grey area with regards to the functionality of Windows. I'm not sure Microsoft would approve of a software manufacturer interfering with the driver layer of the PC. Wouldn't this make Microsoft's support program a helluva lot more difficult?

Glad to help, Rusty. It's the same wheel as I have.

Go to Control Panel / Game Controllers / Properties & look for the option to use separate axes for throttle & brakes. That will do it.

I've managed a 1:49.320 lap, which I think is pretty good going, but I still find it difficult to be consistent and stay on the road, so I'v got to work on developing a smoother rhythm in & out of the bends.

Not surprisingly, the fast lap looked slower than it was. I'm sure this is down to the lack of drama. I must make sure I'm slowing down enough and holding off the throttle until I'm settled on the exit of the corner.

Getting there..... 

I've done about 30 laps in the 360 with all the driving aids turned off, and it's been, erm, interesting.

The drop in power definitely makes general handling easier, especially if the back end gets a bit loose. My laptimes at Barcelona are down from about 1.41 in the 550 to about 1.52 in the 360. I expect you guys will be laughing at me behind my back with such slow laptimes, but I'm getting there....

The lack of TCS has meant I need to focus much more on power control through the corners, but I'm enjoying that. The car definitely feels more like I expect a track car to feel like. I had a few laps of fun just power drifting round some of the more forgiving corners, like the last one before the finish line, and Turn 3.

So I think with this car and setup I will have a good base to build on. I agree with PaulW when he says practice makes perfect, so I'm going to focus on getting things right. Small changes (if any) to the car setup, and many laps just learning the track, finding the grip in the turns etc, and monitoring my laptimes.

Guess what car I'm driving... 

I will try the 360 Modena, and follow your advice, Shark. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

PaulW I think my braking is pretty much okay. I can pick a braking point for a corner and pretty much nail it on each lap. Whether it's the best braking point is obviously another matter, but I don't find myself running wide very often. As I tried to explain in my first post, I think my line through the corners is okay (and it usually follows the rubber already down on the track), but I do have this oversteer problem on exit.

Maybe it is just the 550 Maranello is too powerful for me at the moment, so I'll try the 360 and let you all know how I get on. And I think it's time to turn off the TCS and ABS anyway, so I will have to just tickle those pedals.

FYI my wheel is a Logitech Formula Force GP wheel, properly calibrated in windows, and showing the correct lock-to-lock response within GT-R.

Fozzmeister, I get this when racing offline, so it's not your league race setups at fault. I guess it's just a case of practice makes perfect. I am reducing the aids required one by one (I only use low TCS and low ABS at the moment). I haven't progressed to racing online yet

Oh well, more practice needed. Shame.....

I often find I'm oversteering when I exit corners, i.e. when I'm hard on the power coming out of a right hander, the car drifts to the left & clips the rumble strips then continues to turn in to the right, and I end up on the right-hand side of the track. I've already straightened the wheel at the point where I'm on the left-hand rumble strip, and the car "feels" straight at that point, but it continues to turn.

This is not loss of traction, since it happens with full TCS and I can hear the TCS easing off as the grip increases at the exit of the corner. I expect it's something in the suspension setup, but I find all that a bit bewidering.

This is probably costing me a few tenths of a second per lap, so I'm keen to eliminate it.

I am if I come up against you in a race. Those are very good words of advice, and I think they demonstrate two things:

1.  I'm nowhere near skilled enough to go head to head against someone with your racing skills.

2.  You've spent far too long sitting in your virtual cockpit 

Cool, thanks Popabawa. I'll contact Testicle Support for a new online licence key. 

Thanks, Fozzmeister. I've been racing mainly at Barcelona and Donington. I understand that drafting requires a long straight and good speed to pick up a tow from the car in front, so maybe I've just not been in the right place at the right time.

Other sims sometimes seem to suck you up the exhaust of the car in front, and I'm sure it's not anything like that IRL, but I had a nagging suspicion that GT-R was not simulating the effect at all.  This would have been a serious omission from a sim which is selling itself as the closest to reality yet.

Looks like I need to get more practice in 

It's my understanding that GT-R comes with an Online Racing Licence. I believe this is a credit-card sized piece of plastic with a serial number used to connect to online servers. Am I right in thinking this?

When I bought GT-R from a high street shop, it didn't come with this serial number, just the one on the inside of the case for the installation / StarForce protection routine. Mind you, when I bought it, the box was completely empty and I had to return to the shop for the disks and manual 

So, can or will SimBin provide me with an online number if I contact them with this tale of woe, or am I basically screwed? 

Don't you think a more aggressive approach might help to improve that 6th into a podium place, or even a win? I realise it has to be a balance between ensuring you finish, and driving like Eddie Irvine 

What, your balls? 

Does drafting really work in GT-R? I haven't noticed it at all, but then my experiences of GP3, PGR2 & Forza are probably very unrealistic benchmarks when comparing drafting effect.