A new era: Hands-on with Le Mans Ultimate’s LMGT3 cars

It was an arduous journey to get to this point, but Le Mans Ultimate’s LMGT3 cars are finally here.

After a tumultuous period of development; featuring staff redundancies, financial difficulties and controversial DLC policies, Motorsport Games and Studio 397 are finally set to release the first of two LMGT3-themed content packs, adding the BMW M4 LMGT3, Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R and Ferrari 296 LMGT3 to LMU’s vehicle roster.

The 2024 Season Pack 3 DLC will also introduce the Autódromo José Carlos Pace (Interlagos) track when it’s released on the 10th of December, with the McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo concurrently available as a free download to all LMU players.

In addition to new content, LMU is also offering a hefty game update, adding much-requested features like hosted servers, an enhanced VR mode, improved game performance and tweaked Hypercar physics.

More controversially, however, is the introduction of a paid-for subscription model, allowing more specialised online features and access to every piece of content currently available for both LMU and S397’s previous sim, rFactor 2.

It’s a lot to take in, so read on for my thoughts on LMU’s intriguing new direction.

Farewell GTE, ye shall (not) be missed

LMGT3 cars replace WEC’s outgoing GTE cars. To put it succinctly, LMGT3 cars are heavier, have anti-lock braking systems, use more stock parts and have less aerodynamic grip than GTEs. 

However, the difference between LMGT3 and the more ubiquitous GT3 cars (as found abundantly in Assetto Corsa Competizione and Automobilista 2) is much more subtle. We’ve gone into more detail on this topic here, for those interested (car nerds welcome!).

The lack of ABS means real-world GTE cars are considered harder to drive than LMGT3 cars, and this assuredly translates to LMU.

The first thing you notice when driving LMU’s LMGT3 cars is the ABS: you can feel it judder through the wheel when activated. It’s disconcerting at first but the pulsing sensation gives you a haptic indicator of when the system kicks in, allowing you to adjust your brake pressure accordingly.

On a dry, rubbered-in track, you’ll want to aim for as little ABS intervention as possible, with higher settings required for green or wet track conditions (the same applies to the traction control setting).

If you don’t own pedals with haptic feedback, feeling the ABS clearly working through the wheel is extremely helpful and something I don’t feel as keenly in the likes of rFactor 2, iRacing or AMS 2.

On-track

Interlagos has already appeared in rFactor 2 under the guise of ‘SaoPaulo 2013’, and can be found in Studio 397’s Steam Workshop repository. Needless to say, LMU’s version is far superior in every conceivable way.

The Autódromo José Carlos Pace’s contours are convincingly rendered, and it looks great even in darkness, with the track’s signature yellow and green kerbs instantly recognisable. It’s a track you can attack, with most sections requiring a little caution due to its old-school grassy run-off areas. The surrounding São Paulo landscape provides an immersive backdrop, too.

However, at dawn and dusk, the circuit’s catch fencing shadows flicker manically. Similarly, car shadows can disappear and contort, but this appears to be a wider LMU issue rather than track-specific. Switching to an overcast weather preset mitigates the problem.

This doesn’t detract from the overall driving experience, however, which reveals a deceptively tricky layout where late apex hairpins abound.

Braking away

This turns out to be the ideal test for the LMGT3s’ ABS systems, with the haptic feedback informing your threshold braking. In each of the four LMGT3s, it’s possible to monster the aforementioned patriotic kerbs, with traction at low speeds surprisingly good even with lower TC settings.

Braking is fraught with less danger compared to the ABS-less GTE cars, but it needs to be mastered to avoid lap time-sapping electronic intervention. Compared to ACC, it’s a more nuanced system: where Kunos’ title rewards slamming on the anchors and gradually bleeding pressure off, LMU requires a more subtle initial application.

For me, the BMW is the most sure-footed of the new DLC collection. It’s the only car in Pack 3 featuring a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout (the rest are mid-engine, rear-drive), so physics dictates it should be the most predictable to drive. Each of the midship cars feels sturdy enough, however, with the differences in balance mostly exhibited while coasting.

I moved on to the Circuit de la Sarthe – it would be remiss not to in a sim with Le Mans in the title – where I found the Ferrari had a slight straight-line performance advantage over its competition, but each car felt accessible enough to be pushed to its limit almost immediately – barring a tyre warm-up phase, obviously (no tyre warmers are allowed in WEC).

Car audio is convincing, with the BMW’s smooth exhaust note being a favourite, but the cars sound a little muted and less raw than LMU’s Hypercars in my opinion. 

The real-world exhaust notes on the Ferrari and Corvette are a little disappointing, but LMU does a faithful job of replicating them regardless. For me, I think all the LMGT3 cars could do with a little more bass and volume externally but their audio runs ACC very close in terms of accuracy.

VR improvements

One of the biggest surprises from LMU’s accompanying game update (the full changelog is at the bottom of this article) is the vast improvement of its VR mode. No longer is a workaround required to start LMU in VR, with the game natively able to mirror the in-headset action.

Performance has improved dramatically. Before this update, I couldn’t use Steam VR’s mirroring software without huge frame drops. This is no longer the case, as I’ve been able to run LMU with most visual settings set to ‘ High’ or ‘Ultra’, achieving stable frame rates.

It still comes a cropper at Le Mans, however, especially at night, with LMU still proving to be rather resource-intensive. Driving solo, however, is an almost painless experience, and massively immersive.

Hypercar physics

LMU has received a tyre model update, which, on its Hypercars, should mean increased grip at high speeds. Anyone who’s misjudged their entry speed into the Porsche Curves will understand the pain of a spinning prototype.

The cars can sill bite you, especially on high fuel loads, but are a little more predictable than before, and are a lot more challenging to drive swiftly than LMGT3 cars. In comparison, high-speed oversteer in LMGT3s can be addressed with a quick ‘dab of oppo’.

Braking has also been revised in Hypercars, making lock-ups a less common occurrence. Again, it’s a subtle change, so if you bomb into a tight corner like a Billy you’ll still get flat spots.

Other improvements

Loading times have apparently been improved by ‘up to 30%’ in LMU’s latest build, according to MSG CEO Stephen Hood, but this wasn’t apparent during my testing. In fairness, the benefits will be felt most by those with lower-spec PCs, so it will be interesting to see community feedback on this claim.

One thing I did notice was that replays feel like they take even longer to load than they did before, with ‘Backup Saves’ failing to load. Bear in mind I did all my testing with a preview build so some bugs will be ironed out by the time of the update’s official release.

Reduced memory load should also contribute to a smoother gaming experience overall. Subjectively, I mostly had a glitch-free on-track experience, barring some funky shadows as noted previously.

However, I did have some sound issues – similar to what I’ve experienced previously in rFactor 2 – where ambient and engine audio is muted. I couldn’t find a solution for this, but a workaround was to ALT+TAB out of the game, de-select my audio device then re-select it. It’s not an issue I’ve experienced in other sims, so it feels like something is amiss.

A consummate host

Hosted servers will now be implemented in LMU, powered by its RaceControl multiplayer system and sim racing platform SimGrid. This crucially opens the sim up to private league racing, something its community has been crying out for.

This arrives alongside a WEC-inspired broadcast overlay, allowing race hosts to present their events as professionally as possible. We have been unable to test this feature ahead of release day but hosted servers, which can be rented from €0.38 per hour (excluding regional taxes), are key to LMU’s long-term appeal.

Like and subscribe?

Perhaps the biggest talking point of this update is LMU’s introduction of subscription services; namely, RaceControl Pro and RaceControl Pro+.

This will stick in the craw of people who believe releasing DLC in an Early Access title – let alone a subscription-based service – is poor form. However, with MSG still in financial dire straits, it’s almost understandable.

RaceControl Pro unlocks online championships, ‘enhanced reporting features’ and premium daily races unavailable to LMU’s general populace. The Pro+ tier also unlocks all content in LMU and rFactor 2 (while the subscription is active), which could represent good value in the short term.

These subscriptions will cost the equivalent of €3.50 and €6.50 per month respectively, but unless more benefits are announced they seem superfluous given the release of hosted servers.

Final thoughts

I was impressed by LMU’s LMGT3 cars. They feel much more engaging than rFactor 2’s GT3s and require subtler braking techniques than the GT cars in ACC. In rFactor 2, being super-aggressive on the brakes and throttle paid dividends, where a Tokyo Drift driving style garnered lap time.

The LMGT3s feel more intuitive in this regard, feeling even more connected to the road than the recently updated GT3 cars in AMS 2, which, despite huge improvements, still feel a little nervous in comparison.

LMU’s LMGT3 cars are forgiving but with enough nuances to reward those with a cultured left foot. Alongside hosted servers, these cars could well cement LMU’s longevity in the eyes of the sim racing community, with five more manufacturers arriving on or before Q1 2025’s Pack 4 DLC (one of which will be free to all players).

The biggest surprise in LMU’s accompanying update is perhaps its VR improvements, which now make it a viable sim for headset fans (although still some way off the often flawless experience presented by AMS 2). This feature will hopefully receive enough fettling to exit its beta phase soon.

In terms of subscription plans, at €42 and €78 per year, time will tell whether RaceControl Pro and Pro+ offer enough incentives to be value for money, but £13.99 / €16.99 / $17.99 for three high-quality LMGT3 cars, plus an official WEC track, seems like a bargain in comparison.

Le Mans Ultimate 2024 Season Pack 3 DLC release date and price

Le Mans Ultimate’s 2024 Season Pack 3 DLC will be released on the 10th of December, priced at £13.99 / €16.99 / $17.99. Le Mans Ultimate’s full 2024 DLC Season Pass, which includes all four of its DLC packs, is currently available for £39.99 / €45.99 / $48.99, offering around a 25% discount on the total cost of each separate pack.

Will you be picking up Le Mans Ultimate’s 2024 Season Pack 3 DLC? What do you make of the sim’s subscription services? Let us know in the comments below.