IHRA DRAG RACING 2: GETTING STARTED GUIDE
by
Wolf Feather/Jamie Stafford
[email protected]
Initial Version Completed: July 26, 2003
Version 1.0 Completed: July 26, 2003
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CONTENTS
Spacing and Length
Permissions
Introduction
IHRA Drag Racing Vs. IHRA Drag Racing 2
Tuning
Racing
Contact
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SPACING AND LENGTH
For optimum readability, this driving guide should be
viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier.
Check for appropriate font setting by making sure the numbers
and letters below line up:
1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
This guide is now nearly 40 pages in length using single-
spaced Courier 12 font in the Macintosh version of Microsoft
Word 98. Therefore, it may not be a good idea to print this
guide in its entirety.
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PERMISSIONS
This guide may ONLY be posted on FeatherGuides and
GameFAQs.com.
Permission is granted to download and print one copy for
personal use.
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INTRODUCTION
IHRA Drag Racing 2 is the first appearance of this game
series on the PlayStation2, and it certainly makes use of the
PS2's power... but only in terms of the physics engine. The
graphics barely look better than they did on the original
PlayStation with the original IHRA Drag Racing. However, for
those players who are diehard simulation racing fans in
general, and diehard drag racing fans in particular, the
physics engine is definitely reason enough to buy IHRA Drag
Racing 2.
The importance of the physics engine is noted in the insane
number of tunable parts of each vehicle. There are SEVENTY
tuning options available, although not all vehicles can
support all options (for example, some vehicles are not
designed to accommodate a front wing).
Because of the enhanced physics engine and the massive number
of tuning options available, simply getting off the line at
the beginning of a race is much trickier than in the original
IHRA Drag Racing. In the original, even a casual player of
racing games could have a moderate success rate simply by
pressing the accelerator button as quickly as possible when
the lights on the Christmas Tree went out. With IHRA Drag
Racing 2, however, the multitude of tuning options must be
'calibrated' or 'aligned' in such a way as to achieve a
strong vehicle balance. This may sound rather 'New Age,' but
without proper vehicle balance, the player is predestined to
almost ALWAYS lose.
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IHRA DRAG RACING VS. IHRA DRAG RACING 2
Other than the massive upgrade to the physics engine and the
number of tuning options, there are some other significant
changes between IHRA Drag Racing and IHRA Drag Racing 2.
Most notable is that in this newer game, there is NO money
involved. In IHRA Drag Racing, the player started the game
with $10,000, and was required to buy a vehicle and use what
little money remained to acquire the parts which would
hopefully lead to a progressively-higher winning rate as the
game progressed. On the other hand, IHRA Drag Racing 2 does
not use money in any way, so the player can quickly jump into
a favorite vehicle class, spend time tuning the vehicle, and
take it to the track to practice or race.
The other major change between the two games concerns
controller layout. IHRA Drag Racing 2 uses EVERY button of
the standard PlayStation2 (DualShock2) controller. It is
extremely rare that a racing game requires the use of so many
buttons, so the player should expect a significant adjustment
period to become intimately familiar with this massive button
layout. Fortunately, the controller's button settings are
highly adjustable, but this can still lead to confusion on
the part of the player once on the track. Therefore, before
participating in an actual race, it is best to go to Practice
and simply make one test run after another until the
controller layout is as instinctual as breathing. During
this time, the player may as well also work on properly
tuning the chosen vehicle.
Gameplay customization is also much better implemented in
IHRA Drag Racing 2 than in its predecessor. Rules, tracks,
weather, on-screen displays, vehicle tuning, damage, number
of competitors, audio, and much more are all highly
configurable to the player's whims and desires. Within an
event or season, the weather can even be set to change as the
event or season progresses; elements such as air temperature
can have a tremendous effect upon vehicle performance should
the weather be permitted to change.
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TUNING
IHRA Drag Racing 2 is a VERY tuning-heavy game. This is what
makes this game so heavily simulation-based. Many consider
Gran Turismo 3 to be extremely simulation-based with its many
tuning options, but IHRA Drag Racing 2 FAR exceeds Gran
Turismo 3 in the tuning area.
All tuning is done (appropriately) in the Shop. Again,
unlike IHRA Drag Racing, there is no money involved here, so
the player has full access to all parts and tunable items
which can mean the difference between winning and losing,
especially when measured in thousandths of a second.
Chassis
The player can select a vehicle. From here, the wheels
can be customized, with any changes immediately noted in
the image of the vehicle at the top of the screen. (This
does not affect the tires themselves; only the rims are
affected for aesthetic purposes.) The vertical center of
gravity is also adjustable. As changes are made, the
vehicle's statistics are noted at the bottom of the
screen.
If desired, the player can add a wheelie bar. This is
designed to prevent the vehicle from flipping over
backward during the weight shift as power is applied,
especially in vehicles with a massive horsepower output.
The wheelie bar can come in single or double formation,
with the double formation (having two contact points to
the ground) being the stronger of the two configurations.
The wheelie bar is adjustable by inches; a shorter
wheelie bar will allow the vehicle to tip backward more at
the beginning of a race, while a longer wheelie bar will
permit less vehicle rearing. The wheelie bar's height is
also measured in inches, as in how high off the pavement
the end of the wheelie bar is when the vehicle is not in
motion (as when properly staged and ready to race). The
wheelie bar's stiffness acts essentially as a spring, with
a softer wheelie bar causing the vehicle to essentially
'bounce' back forward when the wheelie bar makes contact
with the ground.
If a vehicle can accommodate wings, these are used to
help keep the vehicle on the ground, to lessen the chance
that the vehicle will go airborne. Depending on the
vehicle, combinations of front and rear wings are
available. A wing can have several elements; more
elements provide more downforce, which is what keeps the
vehicle on the ground. A wing with no elements means that
there is no wing in place. Endplates help to funnel the
flow of air over the wing, thus providing maximum airflow
benefit to the vehicle. The wing's angle can be adjusted,
to regulate the amount of downforce generated by the wing
when the vehicle is in motion.
The Weights section is where the latitudinal and
longitudinal center of gravity is adjusted. Moving the
center of gravity toward the front of the vehicle will
reduce the amount of vehicle rearing, whereas moving the
center of gravity toward the rear of the vehicle will
almost certainly ensure that the vehicle will tip backward
as power is applied at the beginning of a race. Corner
weight can also be applied, so that one corner of the
vehicle (i.e., the tire/wheel area) is heavier than the
rest of the vehicle; this can have extreme handling
implications, however, and should not really be used
unless absolutely necessary.
Transmission
Whether using manual transmission or automatic
transmission, this is a very important aspect of tuning.
Using the top drop-down box, the vehicle's gear ratios
can be changed in one fell swoop; the gear ratios can then
be more finely adjusted in the boxes below. The vehicle
can have a maximum of six gears; '0.00' means that a gear
is not currently used in that vehicle.
In general, raising gear ratios provides better top-end
speed but slower acceleration, while lowering gear ratios
provides stronger and faster acceleration at the sacrifice
of top-end speed. This principle applies to individual
gears, as well as to Final Gear (which affects all other
gears in conjunction with their individual settings).
Engine
The player can select the engine block, the induction
method (how the engine receives air and fuel), the choice
of fuel and (if applicable) fuel additives, the cam shaft,
and the boost. Most notable in terms of choices is the
boost (turbochargers and superchargers), for which there
are an amazing SEVENTY total choices available... plus
the choice to not use any boost.
Suspension
The rollbar is sometimes called the 'anti-roll bar' in
other games. As its alternate name suggests, its function
is to (ideally) prevent the vehicle from rolling over when
cornering at high speeds. Since drag racing is a truly
linear sport, there should (in theory) never be a need for
cornering.
Steering is also adjustable. In IHRA Drag Racing 2, the
player can adjust both the steering input (how fast the
game reacts to the player's turning commands) and the
maximum turning angle of the front wheels. Since
cornering in drag racing is theoretically useless, a high
steering radius may be counterproductive.
The springs are adjustable for each wheel of the vehicle.
Spring rate indicates how fast weight transfer occurs to
each wheel. The damper (also called the 'shock absorber'
in other games) dictates how much weight transfer can be
contained within the spring. For ride height, a lower
ride height slightly raises top-end speed via reduced
airflow underneath the vehicle, but increases the change
of the vehicle bottoming out should the vehicle rear
under acceleration at the start of a race; raising ride
height will slightly slow the vehicle due to increased
aerodynamic friction underneath the vehicle.
Tires
Other than perhaps the wheelie bar, the tires are the
only parts of the vehicle which actually touch the
pavement, so they are extremely important. This game
contains forty pre-set tires, but the player can also
'create' tires by adjusting the specific parameters as
desired.
Tire choice is done PER WHEEL, meaning that the player
could potentially have a completely different type of tire
on each wheel of the vehicle... but that would likely lead
to very disastrous consequences in terms of vehicle
handling. Usually, tire choice is the same on both
wheels of an axle.
Devices
Shift lights are really only useful if using manual
transmission. The shift points can be preset so that
a light will indicate when the player should upshift.
The rev limiter will prevent the engine from overrevving,
thus preventing engine overheating and - if the player
does not immediately back off the accelerator - explosion.
When watching IndyCar Series races on television, for
example, it is easy to tell when an engine hits the
rev limiter (generally at the end of a straightaway,
just before the braking zone for a corner), as the engine
note generally fluctuates greatly within a specific range.
In Gran Turismo 3, however, the rev limiter acts by
suddenly dropping the engine revs so much that if using
automatic transmission, the vehicle inherently downshifts.
A throttle stop permits the vehicle to truly LURCH off the
Start Line. The throttle then backs off for a period of
time, then gradually returns to full usage. Part of the
reason for this is to prevent undue stress to the vehicle
itself, and especially to the driver inside.
If the player elects to use a delay box, it will hold the
vehicle in place for a desired amount of time before the
throttle is actually engaged. Theoretically, this is to
prevent overrevving the engine - which can result in the
overheating and (ultimately) explosion of the engine.
Finally, most vehicles will have at least one parachute.
In addition to actually braking, the parachute(s) can be
deployed to help slow the vehicle more quickly. A great
non-racing example of this is the Space Shuttle, which
deploys parachutes once it is on a runway on its return
from space, to slow the Space Shuttle more quickly; even
with the parachute, a runway must still be well more than
one mile in length due to the speed of the spacecraft when
it returns to the ground.
Inspection
Before being permitted to participate in a particular race
class, the player's chosen vehicle needs to pass the
inspection process. If the vehicle is in violation, the
player will be notified here.
Once again, IHRA Drag Racing 2 is a VERY tuning-heavy game.
In fact, the majority of the player's time will definitely be
spent in the Shop, adjusting and fine-tuning virtually every
aspect of the chosen vehicle. If a vehicle is properly
tuned, all this time in the Shop will pay off with race/event
wins and season championships. If a vehicle is not properly
tuned, the player is 'rewarded' with plenty of frustration.
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RACING
Once the tuning is done, it is time to head to the track.
Whether practicing or racing, the process is the same.
Racing begins with prestaging. Each vehicle begins in a box
well back from the Start Line. The vehicle's tires are cold,
so this is the chance to generate heat in the tires and warm
them up to their optimal racing temperature (which will then
provide maximum pavement grip). By engaging the Line Lock,
the front brakes are applied, but the rear wheels are free to
spin, thus generating heat in the tires. This can be a very
impressive sight; if the wheels spin fast enough, the tires
produce A LOT of smoke.
Next, the vehicle must approach the Start Line and be
properly positioned to begin the race. The distance from the
prestaging box to the Start Line is shorter than it appears,
so it is definitely best to creep forward slowly. On the top
of the Christmas Tree, there are two small yellow lights for
each lane; when the two small yellow lights for the player's
lane are both illuminated, then the vehicle is properly
staged, and the player must stand on the brakes and get ready
to race. Once both vehicles have been properly staged, the
race is ready to begin.
Note that prestaging can be handled by the CPU, or by the
player. If the CPU generally handles prestaging duties but
the player wants to try it, the player must press the brake
button, and the CPU will instantly relinquish prestaging
control to the player. The player may also make changes in
the Rules section so that the CPU will never handle
prestaging duties.
Once both vehicles are properly staged, it is simply a
waiting game. The delay and the style of lighting used for
the Christmas Tree will depend upon the rules in use for a
race/event/season. During the delay, the player must stand
on the brakes and start to rev the engine; this is when the
rev limiter can be very handy, to prevent overrevving the
engine and potentially causing the engine to overheat and
explode even before the race begins. When the green lights
near the base of the Christmas Tree are illuminated, the
vehicles should be in motion heading down the drag strip.
There is definitely reaction time involved, and a large part
of success on the track (independent of vehicle tuning) is
based upon the player's reaction time. Numerous runs in
Practice Mode can help the player to refine the reaction time
and to reduce it as much as is humanly possible. Of course,
reacting TOO fast or TOO soon results in a disqualification,
signaled by the big red light illuminating at the base of the
player's side of the Christmas Tree.
One must always remember, however, that a stationary vehicle
requires a given amount of time to truly launch into motion.
This amount of time varies by vehicle class, horsepower, etc.
This is where, again, numerous runs in Practice Mode can be
very handy to refine and reduce this time as much as humanly
possible.
Once the vehicle crosses the Finish Line, the player needs to
brake. If the vehicle has one or more parachutes and the CPU
is not handling parachute release, the player must release
the parachute(s) immediately to slow the vehicle even faster.
Most drag strips have a box of 'kitty litter' well beyond the
Finish Line to help to slow runaway vehicles (i.e., in case
the brakes fail), but even a simply moderate racer/gamer
should never need to use the kitty litter.
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CONTACT INFORMATION
For questions, rants, raves, comments of appreciation, etc.,
or to be added to my e-mail list for updates to this driving
guide, please contact me at:
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