Which Sims Offer the Best Car Physics?

Sim racing physics will always be a hot topic. Fanboys will proclaim car handling in their favourite sim trumps all others, and anyone who expresses an alternative opinion is either an idiot, too slow or doesn’t have their force feedback set up properly.

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Over the last 15 years, I’ve enjoyed significant seat time with every major sim and raced at the top level of sim racing esports. I’m not a racing driver though; I haven’t driven a GT3, an LMDh Hypercar or a touring car, so my opinion on which sim feels the best is based purely on my approximation of how a racecar should behave, derived from a lifetime of being immersed in motorsport.

Check out my thoughts on which of today’s major sims provide the best-feeling driving experience below. Remember, these are subjective views: you may have different opinions!

rFactor 2

Although released way back in 2013, rFactor 2 has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, with a bespoke online matchmaking system, overhauled graphics and additional BTCC, IndyCar and Formula E content.

Although development has now stalled thanks to Studio 397 switching focus to Le Mans Ultimate, rFactor 2 still offers visceral force feedback and a variety of driving experiences. Cars can be pushed to the limit and brought back from the brink, with flat spots a constant hazard. Some cars respond well to oversteer, however, which is unrealistic.

Despite a rather buggy packaging system for mods, the way rFactor 2 feels makes it perhaps the most satisfying sim on the market, with diverse content including road cars, supercars, sports cars, open-wheelers and historic racers.

There are plenty of third-party tracks available too, although nowhere near Assetto Corsa levels.

Its out-of-the-box feel is excellent, but frequent bugs in online play and a declining player base mean its best days are possibly behind it.

Le Mans Ultimate

Studio 397’s latest title is the official game of the World Endurance Championship, featuring authentically replicated Hypercars, LMP2s, GTEs and the recently released LMGT3 cars.

The authenticity extends to vehicle physics, with LMU simulating the complicated hybrid system of the top-class LMH and LMDh prototypes.

Being based on rFactor 2, LMU carries much of its DNA, but surprisingly has distinct characteristics. Its LMGT3 cars use a tactile ABS system you can feel working through your steering wheel, while the Hypercars are a stern challenge compared to Automobilista 2’s slightly more forgiving examples.

The cars feel more challenging to drive than rFactor 2’s as a result but are no less satisfying to master as a result. If you’re a prototype and sportscar fan it’s worth trying LMU, but do so quickly, as parent company Motorsport Games is currently in financial dire straits with the future looking uncertain.

iRacing

iRacing is quite divisive. Sure, it has great matchmaking abilities but is too often let down by its on-track offering. Expensive content, a monthly subscription and occasionally dodgy netcode add up to a compromised experience.

But it’s arguably its knife-edge handling model that takes the biscuit, as once your car starts sliding it’s difficult to prevent a spin, leaving your iRating at the mercy of the oversteer gods. Its off-road physics model needs a lot of work too.

However, iRacing’s wet weather model has been a revelation since its inception early in 2024, offering realistic puddle formation and dynamic weather for the very first time. It’s so immersive it’s probably the best in all of sim racing, with iRacing’s wet tyre model making more sense.

Some cars behave better than others, of course, with older models struggling to match the dynamics of its newer cars. However, IMSA’s Hypercars (and the LMH Ferrari) have a rudimentary hybrid model streets behind Le Mans Ultimate’s, which is massively disappointing considering iRacing’s frequent boasts about realism.

There’s fun to be had with the right car and track though, and thousands of iRacers can’t all be wrong, can they?

RaceRoom

Like rFactor 2, iRacing and Assetto Corsa, RaceRoom is over a decade old. Despite recent graphical improvements, it’s a sim that often underwhelms with its appearance (its audio is incredibly good, on the other hand).

It looks clean enough and performs well, but some of the finishing touches are a little disappointing. Backfire animations, sparks and track textures look a little basic compared to its competitors.

Its force feedback has also undergone big changes in recent times and it simulates the transition into understeer extremely well. Its feedback feels less detailed than rFactor 2 in my opinion though, which is surprising given they both use the ISImotor2 game engine.

Newer cars like the ‘95 DTM Alfa and Opel, plus the awesome Super Tourers, feel weighty and are a joy to push to the limits, with a huge range of classic touring car and sports car content available. The sim also performs excellently in VR, adding to the immersion of throwing a car around.

RaceRoom is ultimately very forgiving to drive, making it an ideal sim for beginners. It’s free-to-play too, so there’s no excuse not to try it yourself.

Automobilista 2

If I’d jotted down my thoughts on sim physics two weeks earlier, Automobilista 2 would’ve ranked as one of the weaker titles. However, its massive v1.6 update has changed my opinion almost completely, with vehicles handling more believably.

Before, AMS 2’s cars had to be driven in a certain way to improve your lap times, with power-oversteer frequently rewarded. Now, however, this driving style is punished, with cars feeling much less flighty as a result.

There’s still a slight feeling of nervousness overall, though, similar to iRacing, but the cars are much more pliant at the edge of grip. Most cars still require constant inputs to maintain their line but it feels much more natural than before.

Reiza Studios has transformed AMS 2’s handling model into something that is both forgiving for newcomers but tricky to master for experienced sim racers. Add this to the game’s huge variety of motorsport disciplines and gorgeousness in VR, and AMS 2 is one of the most immersive sim experiences out there.

Assetto Corsa

Assetto Corsa is perhaps the most popular pure PC racing sim on the market. Although it’s more than 10 years old, it has a solid handling model that makes it an excellent basis for modding, something that keeps AC relevant today.

Its modded graphics, sounds and user interface are far better than developer Kunos Simulazioni originally envisaged, with almost every conceivable race car and track combination possible to drive thanks to its modding community.

Its physics don’t feel as revolutionary as they once did, however, with braking and steering forces feeling less granular than in other sims, but with enough seat time it begins to make sense.

Cars tend towards understeer, which isn’t unrealistic per se, but unless the track is fully rubbered in, it sometimes makes for a frustrating experience in managing numb-feeling tyre scrub. The lack of general pliancy from the suspension model also takes some time to get used to, but with the multitude of cars, tracks and utilities available there’s something for everyone in AC.

Assetto Corsa Competizione

The follow-up to AC, Assetto Corsa Competizione was initially released as a GT3-exclusive simulator, later receiving GT4, GT2, GTC and TCX cars. Kunos moved away from its proprietary game engine to use Unreal Engine 4, one of only two sims on this list to do so.

As a result, the driving feel is different, with the sim rewarding players who stamp on the brakes heading into turns. There’s still nuance to be learned in how to bleed off the ABS-assisted brake pressure in most of its cars, but the handling is less direct than the likes of rFactor 2, iRacing or Automobilista 2.

ACC does replicate the heft of a GT car quite well, however, with authentic sounds (including realistic ambient in-car audio) making it the de facto GT3 simulator of choice in sim racing.

Well, perhaps until Assetto Corsa EVO emerges onto the scene in 2025…

Richard Burns Rally

Despite being 20 years old, Richard Burns Rally is still the finest rally sim around, purely based on its physics. No other rally game has come close to the feeling RBR provides on the limit, with camber changes, jumps and Scandinavian flicks replicated so, so well.

Developer Warthog Games created an unbelievably complicated suspension model way back in 2004 – perhaps too complicated, given how tough people found it to play – but modders have updated the game to contain hundreds of stages and cars, all with physics based on real-world data.

Modders have also given the game online functionality, pacenote editing and FMOD sounds, adding extra realism to complement its superlative physics. Watching replays, you can see your car dancing on the limit of adhesion unlike in any other rally title: it looks glorious in motion and feels even better in the cockpit.

The way steering goes light over compressions or tightens up in bermed turns is truly magnificent. It may not possess huge force feedback detail but it doesn’t need to when it gets the basics in feel so right.

Kart Racing Pro

There are other kart sims out there – KartKraft and rFactor 2’s KartSim content spring to mind – but Kart Racing Pro provides a purer package.

Made by one-man dev team PiBoSo, KRP realistically simulates chassis flex, with players able to cover their virtual air filters and duck their heads for in-game aero gains (the only title of the three mentioned that adds these realistic flourishes).

Although the public lobbies are mostly empty, KRP has a vibrant community of real-world karters who use the sim to train, with hundreds of mod tracks and karts represented by an enthusiastic community.

The handling model of its karts is simple yet effective, pushing you to learn its intricacies lap after lap. Again, force feedback is clean with very few canned effects to distract you, with the game coming into its own in VR.

Rennsport

Competition Company’s nascent sim is powered by Unreal Engine 5, sharing a lot of game code with rFactor 2 to deliver its driving model (but that’s a whole other story). Yet, the two titles couldn’t be any more different in terms of feel.

Rennsport is still in Early Access, but compared to Le Mans Ultimate, which is at a similar stage, it’s nowhere near as intuitive to drive.

Its force feedback feels a little disconnected, making it extremely difficult to gel with any of its cars. It’s not terrible, but it does have a floaty feeling for me, with cars lacking a certain weightiness.

With the likes of Porsche, BMW, Audi and Mercedes-AMG onboard as partners, Rennsport has a solid launch pad for the future, so hopefully, it can improve heading to its full release date in 2025.

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Topic: Sim Racing Games