What is a Fixed Series in iRacing?

In iRacing, when choosing a series to participate in, you have a lot of choices. From oval racing to road racing, GT car to open-wheeled cars. On top of all of these choices, you’ll also notice that some series carry the tag “fixed”, while others are considered open series.

In this guide, I’ll look at exactly how a fixed series differs from an open series in iRacing. I’ll also look at which type of series is the most competitive, and recommend whether to opt for fixed or open series for the best racing.

In iRacing, what is a fixed series?

The term fixed series in iRacing means that you cannot use custom car setups in that particular series. Every driver who competes will be limited to using the fixed car setup. Fixed series are particularly popular in racing series such as the NASCAR C, B and A series.

This is designed to provide a more even platform where driver skill is the main contributing factor to your finishing position. Fixed series in iRacing allow for much closer racing by removing individual car setups and providing an even playing field.

Given the fact that every driver will be using the same car setup in an iRacing fixed series, driver skill is allowed to shine through. If you beat the competition in a fixed series race, it is because you are a faster sim racer.

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How do series work in iRacing?

In iRacing, series is the term given to an individual championship. iRacing runs a wide range of different series, which sim racers can look to join and compete in.

Each series has a fixed car and track list. For example, the GT Sprint VRS Series (which is one of the most popular series in iRacing) is a B class series that features GT3 cars racing around a variety of tracks across North America, Europe and Asia.

If you decided to enter the GT Sprint VRS Series, you would need to meet the entry requirements, which is currently a B class license. You’ll also need to own a GT3 car that is allowed to participate. And finally, you’ll need to own a selection of the tracks that feature in the series.

You don’t need to own all of the tracks in a specific series, as you can skip events if there is content you don’t own. However, it is beneficial to enter series where you do own the majority of content, so you can compete most weeks.

You can enter as many series as you like in each season, as there are no limitations. However, to really maximise your performance across a series, it is best to focus on only a few series at once. This will allow you to practice the upcoming track and compete in a few races each week.

Read our iRacing series guide for more information on how series in iRacing work.

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Are fixed or open series better?

Many series offer both fixed and open series. This allows sim racers to choose whether they want to focus more on perfecting their car setup in an open series, or focus entirely on their speed and racing in a fixed series.

While a fixed series restricts all drivers to using the same fixed car setup, open or non-fixed series allow drivers to use a custom car setup.

By allowing custom car setups, sim racers can gain a competitive advantage by optimising their car setup for each track. Creating a car setup in iRacing does take time, with a lot of tinkering and testing required, but many sim racers love this part of competitive online racing.

Other sim racers will use car setups that have been created by other setup creators. You can find a range of free and premium iRacing car setups from various places. Read our guide on the best place to find iRacing car setups for a breakdown of the best iRacing setup shops.

Fixed vs open series in iRacing

There can be some big differences between the racing experience across fixed and non-fixed series in iRacing.

Open series

Typically, open series have longer races, and the racing isn’t as close. Sim racers with a good setup and high skill level can create a larger gap to cars behind them, allowing for more open space on the race track.

This is a good thing if you don’t like running the risk of crashes and incidents that a close field can lead to. It allows you to run your own race, and focus on consistency, strategy and overall race pace.

Fixed series

Fixed series on the other hand have much closer wheel to wheel racing due to the limitation on individual car setups. With all competitors using the same car setup, the pack spread is much tighter. This can lead to some very exciting exchanges, but can also lead to more incident-packed races.

Also, fixed races are generally shorter, making it easier to fit in multiple fixed series races compared to multiple non-fixed series races.

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