F1 2012 The logic (or lack thereof) in F1 2012 car setup.

[ptroinks]

I need some help understanding how setup works in F1 2012. The way I see it, there is little logic behind the "help" text beneath several of the setup options. I have quite a lot of questions about this, so I hope someone will take some time to answer .

Aerodynamics and Braking:
The "user tip" text under these setup options are pretty straight-forward, and I don't really have any complaints about them.

Balance:

Front anti-roll bar: "A higher value generates turn-in, creating a more responsive car at the cost of actual cornering grip. This will also affect tyre wear".​

- I don't understand this at all. How can a race car be "more responsive" and at the same time have less grip? The way I understand physics, if any car has a lot of cornering grip, the car will also be responsive because of the cornering grip (I understand "grip" as meaning lateral friction between the tire and the track). To put it very simplified; What do I care if the front wheels respond incredibly fast to my inputs at a corner if the resulting lack of grip causes my car to continue straight into the gravel (or wall)? The goal should be to have the highest amount of grip possible in any racing situation. What am I missing?

Rear anti-roll bar: "A higher value results in less understeer, but increases oversteer, making the car less stable at the rear. This will also affect tyre wear".​

- Pretty straight-forward. Adjusting the rear ARB only controls oversteer/understeer, and as I understand it, a higher setting increases rear tire wear. The way the cars understeer in F1 2012, this should be set pretty high at every track, I presume.

Suspension:

Front ride height: "A higher value yields more understeer in fast corners, and allows for softer springs and a more aggressive use of the kerbs, but lowers overall downforce".​

Rear ride height: "A higher value yields more oversteer in fast corners, and allows for softer springs and a more aggressive use of the kerbs, but lowers overall downforce".​

- Does this work in-game? The downforce part is ok, but I haven't noticed any problems at all using both ride height and spring stiffness set to 1 at the front and the back, even on a bumpy track and when using lots of curbs. Do anyone have a different experience? I can't even remember having problems in the rain with ride height set to 1. If this is generally the case, why even have the option to increase the ride height?

Front spring stiffness: "A higher value generates more understeer, more responsive handling and higher traction, but reduces cornering grip. Tyre wear will also be affected".​

Rear spring stiffness: "A higher value generates more understeer and more responsive handling, but reduces traction and cornering grip. Tyre wear will also be affected".​

- Again the concept of more responsive handling and reduced grip. I don't get it!
- About the understeer; how does this work physically? I'm not criticising here, just wondering how it works. How does stronger springs generate understeer? The weight transfer to the wheels during cornering is the same, regardless of the spring settings, isn't it? Or does stiffer springs cause the inside wheels to lift slightly during cornering and thereby causing less total grip?

Gearbox:

The only thing I'm wondering about here, is this: When would we need to set gear 1 any lower than the highest setting? It says to set it for the slowest corner of the track, but no matter how slow the corner is, won't it help acceleration to have gear 1 at the highest setting so I don't have to change to gear 2 before exiting the corner?​

Alignment:

Camber front: "Decreasing the camber value improves front stability when turning but will lower straight line acceleration and increase front tyre wear".​

- How on earth can adjusting the front camber affect acceleration when F1 cars have rear wheel drive? Because camber causes less tire surface to be in contact with the track when going straight, I would think that front camber would improve acceleration (however slightly).
- Is there really any reason whatsoever to have the front camber at anything above -3.50? I haven't experienced any significantly increased tire wear with this setting either. What are your experiences?
- What is Codemasters' definition of "front stability"? Does it mean the same as cornering grip? It does seem so in the game, and from what I've read about how camber works, this would be the effect. If I'm wrong, please let me know!

Camber rear: "Decreasing the camber value improves rear stability when turning, but will lower traction and increase rear tyre wear".​

- I understand this better, and it seems logical. After all, the cars are all rear wheel drive.
- I have the same questions here regarding "rear stability" and tire wear.

Toe front: "A higher value makes the car responsive when turning but less stable on straights. A lower value has the reverse effect".​

Toe rear: Same as Toe front.​

- Does "higher value" mean moving the slider to the left? That's how I understand it, since the value gets higher that way ("A higher value makes the car responsive (...)" ). However, I remember reading that F1 cars get more responsive with less toe-in (I think it was Barrichello who commented that during his time at Ferrari, Schumacher used very little tow-in, and for Barrichello that would make the car too responsive). Correct me if I'm wrong.
- I have never experienced what I could call a lack of straight line stability, no matter what my toe settings were. Have you experienced otherwise? If there's no practical difference, shouldn't I just keep the toe-in at max?


OK, that was a lot of questions! I certainly hope (some of) you read it all and can answer me. Thanks in advance!

 

[John Grant]

maybe this will assist you, as i also have struggled with the setup thing due to the fact that i just dont understand all the confusion around setup.
Here is help, let me know if this puts some light up for you.