iRacing is different from the rest of the games we’ve looked at so far because the majority of its interface is accessed through the Internet. It requires a subscription fee (more on that later) and your race results, hotlap times and rating (we’ll cover this later as well) are permanently associated with your name, yup, your real name, you can’t hide behind a clever screen name here. iRacing can really be thought of more as the World of Warcraft of the racing sim world, it’s goal isn’t just to simulate the experience of the race itself but to simulate the entire world of club racing. This includes building rivalries and alliances with other racers, joining clubs, and a generating a reputation that will persistently follow you throughout your virtual racing career.

The web and in-game interfaces are very well thought out and simple to navigate and the game has the easiest control setup I have ever come across. The first time you run the sim it will have you turn your wheel this way and that, check your pedals, then ask you for some button assignments. I found that it had no trouble figuring out the best calibrations and settings for my wheel and the force feedback settings were dead on and easy enough to adjust to my tastes.

So I’m sure you’re wondering what this is going to cost you, sit down because I’m about to tell you. There are a number of subscription packages available for iRacing ranging from paying $19/mo. to $156/year. All together there are four subscription options , the biggest difference among them is that each option will grant you a different amount of “iRacing credit.” The monthly subscription gives you a measly $2.50/mo. in credit while a yearly subscription will grant you a hefty $60/year (doing the math, that’s double what you’d get paying monthly.)

That credit is going to be important and no, can’t be applied towards the next month/year’s dues. All subscription packages will give you access to three cars and seven tracks, additional cars and tracks must be purchased with either real currency or your iRacing credits. As of the writing of this article there are 13 additional tracks available, each with a number of different configurations and averaging about $20 each. As for cars there are 10 additional vehicles available for $15/ea. That’s a lot of dough to unlock the entire sim, but is it worth it?

Let’s start by discussing the rating system a bit. You start out with modest rating which allows you to race in any series involving the three cars you begin with but from there it’s up to you to increase your rating through clean, well-played wins until you reach a level where you can jump into a more advanced series. Rating can be, and often is negatively affected by going off track, cutting corners (you can actually get black flagged for this,) disobeying pit speed limits, ignoring blue and yellow flags and running into other racers or objects on the track. Thankfully these penalties only count if you’re in a race or qualifying session, you can practice to your heart’s content and not worry about ruining your rating.

With the base subscription you’re going to find yourself with three cars, a Pontiac Solstice, Legends Ford ’34 Coupe, and a SCCA Spec Racer from Ford. Each vehicle is beautifully modeled both inside and out (laser scanning was used to recreate them as perfectly as possible) and each one has a very distinct personality and vary vastly from each other. Each vehicle carries its own race series, standings, and tournaments. This fact alone means you could spend months building up your standings in the Solstice series before you even think of touching the Legends or Spec Racer. The cars aren’t very customizable, you can alter the livery markings to some extent by choosing a basic pattern and a few colors to throw on and each car has a different set of adjustable attributes for their suspensions, brakes, and other little tweaks.

If you’re not happy with those three vehicles you can opt to purchase any of the available add-on vehicles (currently 10) which include three Nascar entries, two open wheel options (Star Mazda and Skip Barber Formula 200,) the Radical SR8 V8, SK Modified, C&R Racing Silver Crown Car, a Chevrolet Silverado and a Riley Technologies Daytona Prototype. As mention earlier each car will run $15, what I didn’t explain is that you can’t just buy a car and start racing, you must have a high enough rating in order to even touch one of the higher class cars.

The tracks are one of the areas that iRacing really shines. Each of the tracks was created using highly precise laser scanning technology that scans down to the smallest pavement irregularities. This means every little bump, ridge, and pebble can be felt through the car and the track’s dimensions are as perfect as they get. The tracks are visibly stunning and look great, the base track list is very diverse and will keep you busy for awhile. As with the cars you can purchase additional tracks at your discretion, there are currently 13 available and the iRacing team has a very ambitious list of tracks they want to add in the near future.

iRacing’s graphics are fantastic, both interior and exterior views are very well rendered and vibrant. Watching the shadows play across the dash of your car is mesmerizing and the laser scanned tracks leave you with some excellent scenery while flying by. The game’s audio was also well done, engine sounds are good and all the little car sounds you’d expect to hear are there. Tire squeals are modeled well and will provide ample feedback when cornering and braking.

I was pretty impressed by iRacing’s simulation, the game provides excellent feedback to the player with a force feedback system I feel is second only to LFS and has ample audio and visual clues as well. The cars handle with the proper weight and balance they should and the entire simulation feels very well done. There’s no question though, iRacing’s simulation is calibrated for the hardcore sim racer and has the potential to frustrate the hell out of the novice. The sim is most unforgiving when you get anywhere near a rumble strip and one tire halfway in the dirt will usually end with you facing oncoming traffic. You’ll also need to nail your threshold braking techniques because the braking is pretty ruthless and getting out-braked by the car in front of you will result in a nasty rating penalty, you’ll get nailed from behind and possibly suffer race-altering damage, or you’ll be flung off the track (penalty!) While mastering it will take awhile it will reward you that first time you tear past the final rival on the inside of a nasty corner and go on to win the race.

iRacing also does a great job simulating damage and it won’t take much to ruin your race. Car models deform nicely and pieces such as bumpers and hoods will fly off and litter the track. Mechanical damage is also well simulated and it’s very possible to pop your engine, fry your clutch, or knock your suspension way out of whack. Damage is ruthlessly simulated so if someone whacks you in the rear quarter by no fault of your own they could easily cause race-changing damage, there is no handicap on damage because someone else caused it.

The online experience is very well executed and the interface for handling practices, qualifying, and races is very well thought out and functions perfectly. Online play was very smooth for me and I didn’t have any lag issues with a full grid of cars. You also have access to every little chunk of data you leave behind after a race and can easily track down and communicate with the racers you have had contact with through the sim.

That wraps it up for iRacing. I found it to be very enjoyable for the first few weeks but my interest steadily tapered off because of the dryness of the sim itself and the monthly costs. I appreciate the amount of effort they went through recreating the cars and tracks as well as all the work that went into the rating and racing systems but just can’t justify the cost. If you want a similar sim experience without the online experience and like the way iRacing feels I’d recommend a SimBin racer (like the GTR Evolution.) The sims feel pretty similar, iRacing will still look a lot nicer and features better force feedback but a title like GTR Evo will have a lot more track and car options as well as the ability to add features for free in the future.

Still, I’d recommend giving it a go at least once. There is no trial available, but for twenty bucks a month’s worth of play should leave you with some interesting sim racing experiences to talk about.