iRacing is an excellent platform for on-demand, high-speed sim racing. On top of that, there are so many extra services that can make the experience even better. While some of these are paid services, some excellent services are available for free! In this article, we’ll discuss some of the must-have apps that can make iRacing just that bit more awesome for you.
What Are iRacing Apps?
Apps for iRacing are essentially mods. They do a variety of things, however, each has a common goal: to improve your iRacing experience. The way that they do this varies from app to app; some will be cosmetic, some will be aural, and some will be in the feeling of the car on the track. You’ll find these listed on a variety of websites. However, the main question that comes from this bit is “How do I install them?”
Most of the apps on this list don’t require much in the way of installation. It’s typically just a matter of downloading them and opening them. Most apps can also be set to open when starting up your computer, meaning you can get up and go racing with ease.
This is the same in iRacing itself. Some of these tools use the Telemetry feature in iRacing to get the data they need to run, others just run within themselves. Either way, you’ll want to go through the iRacing folder in your PC’s Documents folder every once in a while as some of these apps will eat up your storage.
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Trading Paints
Everybody loves a custom livery and paint scheme. If you are one of those people there is only one thing you need and it’s Trading Paints. iRacing’s in-engine system for paints is a good starting point when it comes to making something that feels personalised, however, Trading Paints is that next step up. You can access it through their website, where you can also set up which paints you wish to run on your cars. It also, importantly, allows you to download the paint schemes of all of your rivals while you race. Want to race your McLaren MP4-30 in Papaya Orange against someone in a Ferrari F2004 livery? With Trading Paints, that’s a very real possibility!
irFFB
irFFB is a must-have app for iRacers who want to transform their FFB. It’s a great add-on that makes the transition to iRacing from another sim like Assetto Corsa Competizione even smoother. irFFB is a way to customise your Force Feedback even more than you can with the in-engine settings, with the biggest reason for getting irFFB being its “SoP” factor. This means “Seat of Pants”, it uses the same Telemetry feature in iRacing to add extra forces that you would usually feel through the seat to the feedback you get through the wheel. Not only is it something a bit more familiar to those coming into iRacing from other sims, but it’s also a great way to feel the limits of the car without splashing out on running something like a Buttkicker. We show you how to set up your irFFB with this very helpful guide.
Crew Chief
Okay, technically we’re cheating with this one. Crew Chief is a must-have for all sim racers, not just in iRacing. The way it works is simple: it looks at the information in your current session and feeds it back to you in place of your normal crew chief. The information it gives is incredibly comprehensive, telling you not only that somebody’s spun but also who has spun and where. Many people also use Crew Chief for its work in Assetto Corsa Competizione, which is also exemplary, but today we’re talking about its use in iRacing. And, as you can see from the rest of this list, this app is very simply a must-have to improve your knowledge of the information happening around you.
Soundshift
Is shifting gears the big issue for you? The Soundshift app allows you to hear a beeping noise when you reach the upshift point in your car, so you no longer need to look down at your rev counters. You might not get the clearest hints in your car, with different cars having different displays that each means a different thing. But soundshift can be tailored to each car and, on top of that, be adjusted even more to meet specific gear ratios and engine tunes. Some drivers in the real world use it to help them finesse their skills too, so it’s not as if this is something just from video games! An app that is probably underappreciated.
Jimmie Johnson Spotter Pack
Released some years ago now, but still more relevant than ever is the Jimmie Johnson spotter pack. Especially if you are an iRacing Oval fanatic. Get Earl, Chad and Jimmie in your ear as if it’s 2018 all over again and relive those NASCAR glory days with the best in the business.
Its goal is to significantly heighten the immersion factor of sim-racing by replacing the default in-sim spotter/crew chief with authentic audio from crew chief Chad Knaus and spotter Earl Barban. Even though the dialogue came from stock car oval racing, the pack is purposely designed to be used for any vehicle in iRacing.
If you love some real animated chatter with your spotter look no further than here, they have several options for download including a ‘cuss-pack’ and a ‘clean-pack’.
RaceLabApps
iRacing’s “black boxes” are incredibly useful, but they’re also a bit limiting. With the one that comes with the engine, you can only have one of the many features on-screen at any given time such as your relative standing to other cars, overall standings, car info, and session info. The RaceLab app allows you to have several of these on-screen at once, as well as adding little extra pieces of info that can prove incredibly helpful. One such example is on the relative and standings, where you can find the iRating for your rivals as well as calculations for what your iRating might be after the session. If you’re having any problems constantly flicking through the boxes and getting the right information on the screen, this solution will fix that once and for all.
iOverlay Companion App
If you need an iRacing companion app which does the heavy lifting so you can focus on the racing itself. iOverlay has got your back! With customizable relative, standing, spotter, multiclass traffic indicator, track map, flat map and a simple Twitch chat integration, it ticks a lot of boxes.
iOverlay has come a long way in recent years after lagging behind RaceLabs for a period of time, but this is a fantastic alternative. Offering a paid and free version the choice is yours and it works flawlessly with iRacing.
SIMRacingApps
What is SIMRacingApps? Put short, it’s a way to be able to get a HUD running on other devices over the internet. Available on its website, you can use SIMRacingApps to put your HUD on a tablet or a smartphone. If you’ve got your view set up so you can’t see the car’s dashboard, or you want something a little bit more uniform than trying to figure out every different dashboard, then this is the app for you. Also very handy for those people who can’t afford multiple screens, or that extra screen to display data but have a spare iPad around the house.
Kutu’s iRacing Browser Apps
Okay, technically this isn’t one app but rather a collection of them. Available on Kutu’s website, you have a variety of tools at your disposal that rival the best that you can find in other programs such as RaceLabApps. An extensive fuel calculator allows you to see the ins and outs of the gas in the tank, whereas a setup comparison tool allows you to see which setup is better where, and the helmet overlay feature gives that extra touch of realism to those racing in VR by giving them a full-face helmet that comes up in front of their face.
These 10 apps are the absolute best if you’re looking to take the next step with your iRacing experience. If you’re looking for more hints or tips for iRacing, make sure to stay tuned or look through our articles on Coach Dave Academy.
Gain seconds in lap time with our incredible iRacing setups developed by professional sim racers and qualified engineers.
