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How to Get Out of Bad Splits in Iracing

Quick guide answering how to get out of bad splits in iRacing for drivers — fast, practical fixes: pick better sessions, improve placement, or join hosted races.

If you’re dealing with how to get out of bad splits in iRacing, the short answer is: you can’t usually pick a split, but you can change when and where you race, join hosted events, or improve your ratings so the system places you differently. This article shows exactly what to check and the fastest steps to try.

Quick Answer: how to get out of bad splits in iracing

You can’t manually select most official splits. Splits are assigned by iRating (skill) and the current player pool. Fix it fast by changing session time, switching series or hosted races, leaving and rejoining before the grid locks, or by improving your iRating/Safety Rating over time.

What’s really going on

iRacing groups drivers into splits so races are competitive. Two main things influence that grouping:

• iRating: a hidden number that represents your race skill. It’s the primary factor for split placement in many official series.
• Safety Rating (SR): a measure of how clean you drive. It affects license class and sometimes placement decisions.

“Bad split” usually means your split has drivers who are far slower or far faster than you, or the split is chaotic with wrecks. The system uses who is online at that time, so the same event can have very different splits at different times.

Step-by-step fix

1. Check the event page before joining. Look at the predicted split or how many people are signed up; if it looks stacked or empty, change plans.
2. Race at a different time. Join earlier/later in the day to get a different player pool — evenings and weekends differ.
3. Try hosted races or leagues. Hosted sessions allow manual split control or smaller, more consistent fields.
4. Leave and rejoin before the race starts. If the race hasn’t locked, leaving and re-entering sometimes places you in a different split (not guaranteed).
5. Pick a different series or car. Lower-profile series or lower-licensed classes have smaller or more even splits.
6. Improve your numbers over time. Drive clean in low-stakes events to raise SR and do targeted races to grow iRating so the matchmaking places you better.

Extra tips / checklist

• Don’t assume one bad race defines your placement — split quality varies by time and event.
• If you want consistent quality, join a club or league with scheduled sessions and enforced rules.
• Avoid risky moves just to “win” a split — incident-heavy races hurt your SR and make long-term placement worse.
• Use the iRacing forums or Discord for session recommendations and peak times for better splits.
• For official endurance races, check signups early — splits form as registration grows.

FAQs

Q: Can I change my split after I join a race?
A: Not normally. You can try leaving and rejoining before the grid locks, but there’s no guaranteed “change split” button in most official races.

Q: Do splits use iRating or Safety Rating?
A: Splits are primarily based on iRating (skill). Safety Rating (SR) affects license eligibility and can influence placement indirectly.

Q: Will improving SR immediately change my split?
A: Not immediately. SR helps long-term placement. For quick changes, try different session times or hosted races.

Q: Is joining a hosted race my best short-term option?
A: Yes. Hosted races and league events give you control over field quality and are the fastest way to avoid a bad official split.

Short wrap-up

You can’t always pick your split in iRacing, but you can control when and where you race, use hosted events, or work on your ratings to get better placements. Start by checking event signup, switching session times, and using hosted/league options next time you see a bad split.