Now that sim-racing has grown up enough to become successful as an esport (I can watch a half-dozen full-blown virtual races a week, streaming, on cable and even network TV), a cottage industry has grown up around it: self-styled driving 'coaches'. For upwards of a hundred bucks an hour, these Internet entrepreneurs will give you lessons in driving virtual (or 'pretend' as my friend Oggy used to say) race cars. And for up to ten bucks a pop, these selfsame experts will sell you their magic setups, all but guaranteed to net you a podium finish.
Save your money. As someone who has posted over a thousand setups online (which have been downloaded over 75,000 times), I can say with some confidence that setups don't mean diddly-squat. Okay, they are useful for anybody who doesn't know anything at all about real-world physics (start with Bill Milliken's classic "Race Car Vehicle Dynamics," still in print--and relevant--after a half century) or is so insentive to digital physics that they can't tell if the car is loose or tight, then, sure, d/l a couple of free setups and see if you can tell the difference.
But 'Aliens' don't need setups. They could be driving a car with cast-iron wheels and wooden suspensions and still beat us normal carbon-based chauffeurs. In the early days of sim racing, the default setups were iffy (Alison Hine and I posted hundreds of better setups for "Grand Prix Legends" online), but nowadays, with the most popular online simulations (iRacing and Assetto Corsa Competizione), the default setups have been vetted by better and more experienced experts than the online wheeler-dealers who are asking for your money.
So start with what came with the game, and if that doesn't satisfy, learn what happens when you run into the bump stops or run out of revs or lose the air on the front end or lose the car on the curbs. There are no 'magic' setups. If you can't figure out how to make the car your own, maybe you should consider a career as a driving 'coach'. It's not that difficult.
Save your money. As someone who has posted over a thousand setups online (which have been downloaded over 75,000 times), I can say with some confidence that setups don't mean diddly-squat. Okay, they are useful for anybody who doesn't know anything at all about real-world physics (start with Bill Milliken's classic "Race Car Vehicle Dynamics," still in print--and relevant--after a half century) or is so insentive to digital physics that they can't tell if the car is loose or tight, then, sure, d/l a couple of free setups and see if you can tell the difference.
But 'Aliens' don't need setups. They could be driving a car with cast-iron wheels and wooden suspensions and still beat us normal carbon-based chauffeurs. In the early days of sim racing, the default setups were iffy (Alison Hine and I posted hundreds of better setups for "Grand Prix Legends" online), but nowadays, with the most popular online simulations (iRacing and Assetto Corsa Competizione), the default setups have been vetted by better and more experienced experts than the online wheeler-dealers who are asking for your money.
So start with what came with the game, and if that doesn't satisfy, learn what happens when you run into the bump stops or run out of revs or lose the air on the front end or lose the car on the curbs. There are no 'magic' setups. If you can't figure out how to make the car your own, maybe you should consider a career as a driving 'coach'. It's not that difficult.
