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How to Change Time of Day in Iracing

Answers how to change time of day in iRacing for drivers. Clear, step-by-step guide to set sessions, replays, and UI options so you can fix this issue fast.

If you want to know how to change time of day in iracing, the short answer is: it’s set before a session (hosted or test) or in the replay — you can’t change official race times mid-event. You’re in the right place to fix this quickly.

Quick Answer: how to change time of day in iracing

For official iRacing events the time is fixed by the series organizer. For your own practice or hosted sessions, open Hosted Sessions → Create New (or Edit), find the “Start Time/Time of Day” control and pick the hour you want. For replays, open the saved replay and use the time-of-day slider in the replay controls.

What’s really going on

iRacing separates official seasons/events from user-controlled sessions:

Official races and most sanctioned series lock the session start time so everyone races under the same lighting.
Hosted sessions and private practice let you pick the start time and therefore the sun/moon position.
Replays include a time-of-day control so you can review the same lap under different light without changing the original session.

This is why people get confused: you can change time freely for hosted/testing and replay, but not for official races once they’re scheduled or running.

Step-by-step fix

Open iRacing and go to Hosted Sessions.
(If you just need solo practice, create a short hosted session — that’s the simplest method.)
Click Create New (or Edit an existing hosted session).
You’ll see Session Settings on the right side of the host panel.
Find the “Start Time” or “Time of Day” setting.
It’s usually a slider or drop-down showing hour/minute — pick the light you want (day, sunset, night).
Save and Start the hosted session.
The track lighting and shadows update when the session loads.
To change time in a replay, open the replay from the Session tab, then use the replay’s time-of-day slider or control panel.
Drag it to test dawn, noon, or night instantly.
If you’re in an official session and need a different time, you must end the session and host a new one or wait for a different scheduled event — you can’t alter it live.

Extra tips / checklist

Official races: check the series schedule — the start time is part of event setup and can’t be overridden.
Performance: changing to night may increase GPU load; test visuals before long runs.
Dynamic Track: this affects grip over time but not the lighting; set both if you want realistic sessions.
Reconnect issues: if lighting looks wrong after changing time, restart the session or reload the replay.
All drivers in a multiplayer hosted session will share the same lighting — you can’t give players different sun positions.

FAQs

Q: Can I change the time of day during an online race?
A: No. Official races lock the session start time. In hosted sessions you must end and restart with a new setting.

Q: Where is the time-of-day control in replays?
A: Open the replay, then use the replay toolbar’s time-of-day slider (usually top-right or in the replay controls).

Q: Why does my hosted session still look like daytime after I change time?
A: Try reloading the session or exiting and restarting; some graphics settings and cached assets need a reload to update lighting.

Q: Will changing time affect grip or physics?
A: Time-of-day changes lighting only. Track temperature and grip are controlled by weather and Dynamic Track settings.

Wrap-up

Changing the time of day in iRacing is quick for hosted sessions and replays but not allowed for official events. If you want practice under different lighting, create a hosted session or use the replay slider and you’ll be testing dusk, night, or noon in seconds.