Shift 2: So, your cars drive like boats. (How to fix, global steering and car settings)

[LeDechaine 51]

First, you won't "feel the grip loss" in your steering wheel in this game. You will feel everything else, but rely on your ears (the tires screeching) to know your car's limits.

Second, if you want a rear view mirror, you won't have one in this game (there's one with the hood view, but in cockpit, you see half of the rear view mirror in half of the cars unless you push a button to look left or right).
Third, if you want good AI, look elsewhere. The AI has its good moments, but most of the time they got a "kill or be killed" mentality.
And finally, if you want to drift, look elsewhere. You CANNOT drift with a steering wheel in drift mode with Shift 2, the drift mode is broken. Same with a controller (Got stuck at 97% with a controller, it's impossible to finish the drift mode.)

I play with a PS3 and a Logitech G27, 540 degrees, Hard/Elite mode, no TCS/ABS/etc (paddle shifting or 6-speed shifter + clutch works).
With that said, after messing with this game for months with two different steering wheels, here are the most useful settings:

So, your car drives like a boat. Just these changes will make an ENORMOUS difference.

 

(Global steering settings)
-Steering sensitivity: 50%, mandatory (Gives you 1/1 real wheel - game wheel rotation)
-Speed sensitivity: Why the hell does this even exist. This is your handicap level, from 0 to 100% molasses in your steering.
Set it to 0%, mandatory, before everything, otherwise you'll spend hours setting up your car and your Porsche will still drive like a bus.
-Degrees of rotation: 540 or more. If you want 360, add molasses.

 

Also, one small thing: If you didn't notice it, the HUD moves, a lot. Remove the HUD, or set it to minimal, and every car you drive will feel a lot more stiff.

After this, all cars in your garage should drive fine (yes, that's it!).

 

But if it's not enough, here are some car settings, mostly useful for cars with high (often excessive) power:

 

(Car modifications)
-Tires: Use semi-slick or slicks only. Otherwise, you'll drift every corner, or the car will seem to sway in a strange way in every corner.
(In Advanced car settings)
-Caster angle: Translation, "how much slack do you want with your steering". Set it to more than 50% for more precision. Set it higher if needed.
-Front sway bar: Set it to maximum stiffness and you will be able to point the car everywhere you want it.
-Spring rates, dampers, etc: Setting them to 2.0 is a good choice if all the rest isn't sufficient (or if the car still feels floaty).

That's ALL you need, everything else only does minor changes.

Bonus:
You still feel like you're driving with Traction Control, etc.?
-There's another problem called "visco-electronic lock" on some AWD cars (Lambos, etc) set to 50% by default. Set it to 25% and it will drive okay. Set it to 0% and say hello to oversteer, 100km/h rubber burning and frequent tire squealing.
Now, you feel like you're driving an arcade game because your tires don't even squeal, so you don't even feel the limits of your car?
-Set the rear sway bar to 50% stiffness or even less.
You lose the rear at the end of corners?
-Set the rear sway bar to 50% stiffness or even less.

 

I hope this helps. It sure helped me, I've just done the Nordschleife in 6:26 with the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 "Works" (Technically, it's now a 1032-4).

[LeDechaine 51]

Here are the results:

Racing at the Nürburgring Nordschleife with manual transmission:

Aaaand with paddle shifting. I could do time trials with the Pagani Zonda R around the Nordschleife all day! Really fun to drive. Planted, agile beast, I love it!