The latest update to the GT3 tire model in iRacing has been, for many, a turning point. More than just a technical change, this update has altered the way we understand how racing works in the simulator. What used to be resolved with aggression and surgical precision now requires a different mindset: more calculated, more patient, more refined.
The Fast Lap Is No Longer Just About Technique
With cold tires playing a much bigger role, the first qualifying lap has gone from a formality to a critical opportunity. Drivers can no longer push at 100% from the very first meter; you have to feel the car, understand the grip level, and know when not to push too hard.
Personally, I’ve felt the pressure of going out for quali knowing there’s little room for error. Before, a mediocre lap could easily be corrected. Today, if you mess up your first lap while tires are still cold, it’s likely you won’t set a competitive time. And that completely changes your approach from turn one.
The Return of a Smooth Technique
One of the biggest lessons from this update is realizing that smooth doesn’t mean slow; it means efficient. The new GT3s punish rough movements, aggressive braking, and even impatience with the throttle on corner exit.
I’ve rediscovered the value of gentle transitions, of “dancing” with the car rather than fighting it. It’s a mental challenge: it asks for confidence without recklessness, and that makes each lap feel like a rhythm you fine-tune over time.
Traction and Control: Tools, Not Crutches
Many of us have rediscovered the true value of traction control (TC). Not as a passive aid, but as an active tool. In my first races after the change, bumping up TC a few clicks in the opening laps saved me from several avoidable mistakes.
But I also learned that it doesn’t replace attention to detail: true control still lies in your feet and hands.
This, for me, has been the most rewarding part of the change. It’s no longer just about having the fastest car, but about learning to live with its limits and read its behavior through each phase.
The Art of Starting Slow
Perhaps the biggest shift is how races begin. The first laps are no longer a sprint: they’re a lesson in self-control. With cold tires, the car behaves like it’s walking on thin ice. Accelerating too soon, braking too late, or steering abruptly are not just mistakes—they’re almost guaranteed position losses, or worse, a crash.
Ironically, I’ve begun to enjoy these early moments more. They feel like a ritual, a mental warm-up for what’s to come. If you can get through those first three laps with serenity, the car starts to “wake up”—and that’s when you can finally push.
The most interesting thing about this new model isn’t just the added realism. It’s the fact that it has put the spotlight back on the driver, on their decisions and driving style. More than ever, in iRacing’s GT3, speed is a consequence, not a starting point.
And in a world where lap times often overshadow everything else, that’s a refreshing change.
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Happy Racing!
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iRacing is the only company trying to replicate reality. LMU is somewhat there but backed down with the last patch. The others are GT7 clones.
Load up Bathurst in AC EVO, disable all assists, use the STO, disable TC in car and when in the mountain, in the series of high speed left turns, go from full throttle to none to full throttle quickly, even quickly tap the brakes. Nothing happens other than minor oversteer or understeer, as ACC and GT7 and others, impossible to unsettle the car, there is no weight and momentum. Using throttle to keep the rear planted doesn’t exist in their physics/tire model. Baked in on throttle oversteer and off throttle understeer.