There aren't a whole lot of people asking or discussing the inner workings of why their car setups do what they do.. in fact, people in the setup discussions are pretty much talking about preference and simple statistics... but the obvious thing to me is that these are all time trial setups and numbers, and a setup that works for a car with fixed tire and fuel variables simply doesn't work for the same car when fuel and tires are being simulated.
Why doesn't anyone post setup's for practice and qualy modes?
Additionally, this is one question i've yet to see asked, so i'll be first.
When driving this game, how can I tell what is causing handling problems?
It could be any one of spring stiffness, roll bar stiffness, aero, ballast or ride height. Everyone's time trial setup seems to be very similar, but I find that they simply don't work in races.
I'm also not a race driver so I do no instinctively know the best line to take, and I do not use the distracting racing line because I've gotten no benefit from it.
I've gotten some feedback here that suggests braking early enough to be able to set my car up for the exit of the turn will allow me to get on the throttle sooner, and carry more speed - great advice, and that's exactly how I am approaching these tracks, but I still have significant issues that I can't seem to pinpoint.
Examples:
Bahrain, Turn 4 - I brake just before the 50m mark and hit the apex at 3rd gear, just barely on the kerb, but its very dicey as it can cause you to spin off, often I have a slow exit because i'm trying to be careful to not spin the car, but have no other problems like that. For this track I run a 3 ride height and 5, 6 spring stiffness, with 80% front ballast and 1,8 front,rear roll bar.
however this is where I am confused. For the slow part of the circuit, I need a responsive car because the turns are very dramatic and it seems with a soft anti-roll, i could actually lose traction in that slow complex.. so I could go stiff roll bars and soft springs since there's quite a bit of kerb usage.. not sure, what i do know is the default "Fast" setup doesn't work.. height is too low, springs too stiff, etc.
Another example, melbourne:
The chicanes are a *****. It's difficult to brake for them, then turn into the chicane and exit cleanly because the difference between braking miles early, and overshooting it is tiny, so you need a car that can turn on command, get up on a kerb and not lose traction, so similar settings may apply. You also need downforce because there are a few high speed corners, and the high speed chicane.. so I may use my wing adjustment in the + position for the track, and in the - position for the straights, but I don't understand how much that setting is actually changing the wing angle/grip.
Anyhow, I've gone back and watched some onboard videos from bahrain and melbourne this year and noted some usage of the corners, and that has helped me a bit, but over all, in bahrain i'm real slow in sector 2 and in melbourne, I'm slow in sector 3 and that's where I've made the most of my improvement.
Dispite all of that, I can manage no better than a 2:00 at bahrain and no better than 1:30 at melbourne..I struggle to qualify mid field and I suppose that's realistic, but it's all pointless because after 5 laps of the race, the cars suddenly hulk up and speed up, whether or not the catchup.xml is present, whether or not fuel sim is on..
If my car is braking poorly, understeering or losing traction as a result of the suspension, how can I recognize it? it all seems the same unless i'm getting spun out from a kerb.
Thanks!
Why doesn't anyone post setup's for practice and qualy modes?
Additionally, this is one question i've yet to see asked, so i'll be first.
When driving this game, how can I tell what is causing handling problems?
It could be any one of spring stiffness, roll bar stiffness, aero, ballast or ride height. Everyone's time trial setup seems to be very similar, but I find that they simply don't work in races.
I'm also not a race driver so I do no instinctively know the best line to take, and I do not use the distracting racing line because I've gotten no benefit from it.
I've gotten some feedback here that suggests braking early enough to be able to set my car up for the exit of the turn will allow me to get on the throttle sooner, and carry more speed - great advice, and that's exactly how I am approaching these tracks, but I still have significant issues that I can't seem to pinpoint.
Examples:
Bahrain, Turn 4 - I brake just before the 50m mark and hit the apex at 3rd gear, just barely on the kerb, but its very dicey as it can cause you to spin off, often I have a slow exit because i'm trying to be careful to not spin the car, but have no other problems like that. For this track I run a 3 ride height and 5, 6 spring stiffness, with 80% front ballast and 1,8 front,rear roll bar.
however this is where I am confused. For the slow part of the circuit, I need a responsive car because the turns are very dramatic and it seems with a soft anti-roll, i could actually lose traction in that slow complex.. so I could go stiff roll bars and soft springs since there's quite a bit of kerb usage.. not sure, what i do know is the default "Fast" setup doesn't work.. height is too low, springs too stiff, etc.
Another example, melbourne:
The chicanes are a *****. It's difficult to brake for them, then turn into the chicane and exit cleanly because the difference between braking miles early, and overshooting it is tiny, so you need a car that can turn on command, get up on a kerb and not lose traction, so similar settings may apply. You also need downforce because there are a few high speed corners, and the high speed chicane.. so I may use my wing adjustment in the + position for the track, and in the - position for the straights, but I don't understand how much that setting is actually changing the wing angle/grip.
Anyhow, I've gone back and watched some onboard videos from bahrain and melbourne this year and noted some usage of the corners, and that has helped me a bit, but over all, in bahrain i'm real slow in sector 2 and in melbourne, I'm slow in sector 3 and that's where I've made the most of my improvement.
Dispite all of that, I can manage no better than a 2:00 at bahrain and no better than 1:30 at melbourne..I struggle to qualify mid field and I suppose that's realistic, but it's all pointless because after 5 laps of the race, the cars suddenly hulk up and speed up, whether or not the catchup.xml is present, whether or not fuel sim is on..
If my car is braking poorly, understeering or losing traction as a result of the suspension, how can I recognize it? it all seems the same unless i'm getting spun out from a kerb.
Thanks!
