Setup Matrix yo'all....
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Advanced Setup Matrix
This document is intended as a quick reference guide. It is not supposed to include detailed explanations. Nor is it supposed to be my soap box. Refer to the source material, if you want more detailed explanations of what's actually going on. Virtual racing is a fantastic hobby, and is certainly not for everyone. However, if you have the patience to stick with it, you will find it very satisfying.
I set this up to help me solve specific tuning problems with driving simulations. That is, sometimes I'll get in a car I don't know, or on a track with some extreme(ish)/odd situations/corners (Knutstorp), and I want a quick reference to see which adjustments I should be fiddling with.
This was originally a paraphrase of the setup guide in the back of the handbook from EA's F1 2002, but I have added sections from a few online sources, and given credit when I did.
For actual explanations of various bits, I highly recommend you read RacerAlex' Avanced F1 Setup Guide (http://watcher.drivingitalia.net/index.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownloaddetails&lid=23)
NOTE: This was based on information from a variety of sources, and is supposed to be a general purpose tool, so not all items apply to all cars.
Link to the PDF version for download, and printing.
I certainly take responsibility for my work. If you find erroneous information, or think I should add something, email me: cbarnett[at]yahoo[dot]com?subject=Setup Matrix
Topic (and what it might affect)
Gearing (speed, and acceleration)
Brake Duct Size (engine cooling, and speed)
Engine Rev Limit (horsepower, reliability)
Engine Brake Mapping (fuel consumption, and snap oversteer)
Radiator Size (engine cooling, straight line speed)
Steering Lock (turning circle, and control)
Differential Lock (stability, [snap] oversteer, and understeer)
Wings (grip, tyre wear, top speed, oversteer, and understeer)
Anti-Roll Bars (grip, surface handling, corner exit, tyre wear, responsiveness, oversteer, and understeer)
Weight Distribution (oversteer, and understeer)
Brake Bias (stopping distance, braking stability, snap oversteer)
Camber (grip in corners)
Caster (turn-in, oversteer, understeer, corner stability)
Toe-in (turn-in, tyre wear, top speed, and stability)
Tyre Pressure (grip in corners, tyre wear, understeer, and oversteer)
Ride Height (bottoming out, understeer, and oversteer)
Packers and/or Bump Rubber (bottoming out, understeer, and oversteer)
Spring Rate (bumpy surfaces, grip, tyre wear, responsiveness, understeer, and oversteer)
Bump Damping (tyre wear, bumpy surfaces, grip, nervousness, understeer, and oversteer)
Rebound Damping (tyre wear, responsiveness, corner entry, and exit, understeer, and oversteer, chassis roll)
Simulating understeer, and oversteer with the brake, and/or throttle
Simulator Controls (Steering wheel, pedals, etc)
Links
Glossary
Section
Action
Effect on Balance
Other Effects
1
Gearing
1.1
Lengthen Gears
None
Increase potential maximum speed; decrease acceleration.
1.2
Shorten Gears
None
Decrease potential maximum speed; increase acceleration
2
Brake Duct Size
2.1
Increase
None
Increase engine cooling; decrease straight line speed.
2.2
Decrease
None
Decrease engine cooling; increase straight line speed.
3
Engine Rev Limit
3.1
Increase
None
Increase horsepower; higher engine temperature; lower reliability
3.2
Decrease
None
Decrease horsepower; lower engine temperature; higher reliability.
4
Engine Brake Mapping
4.1
Increase
Decrease oversteer under negative throttle
None
4.2
Decrease
Increase oversteer under negative throttle
Reduces fuel consumption; low numbers can exacurbate snap oversteer, if you suddenly lift in a corner.
4.a
Engine Brake Mapping will affect how much the engine helps slow down the car - lower numbers result in MORE engine braking, which also uses less fuel. The downside is that the engine only slows down the driven wheels, which can cause a braking imbalance between high and low speed.
From the rFactor ReadMe
5
Radiator Size
5.1
Increase
None
Increase engine cooling; decrease straight line speed.
5.2
Decrease
None
Decrease engine cooling; increase straight line speed.
6
Steering Lock
6.1
Increase
None
Decrease turning circle; coarser steering control
6.2
Decrease
None
Increase turning circle; finer steering control
7
Differential Lock
7.1
Increase Power and Coast
Increase understeer in corners
None
7.2
Increase Power
Increase understeer under postive throttle
More stable off the line
7.3
Increase Coast
Increase understeer under negative throttle
More stable under hard braking
7.4
Decrease Power and Coast
Increase oversteer in corners
None
7.5
Decrease Power
Increase oversteer under postive throttle
Less stable off the line
7.6
Decrease Coast
Increase oversteer under negative throttle
Less stable under hard braking
7.7
Increase Pump (4WD)
?
Front wheels pull more than rear
7.a
Preload affects how quickly the transition between power and coast differential occurs. If you used a preload of '1' and slammed the throttle down you would get a very quick transition to whatever your power percentage age was, the reverse would happen with taking the throttle off. With a higher preload the above effect would be a lot more gradual.
TKD in the RSC rFactor forum (http://forum.rscnet.org/showpost.php?p=2626021&postcount=24)
People tend to use the words "understeer" and "oversteer" when describing the effect of the differential lock. In reality, oversteer is truly the only thing you are actually adjusting. It's only because a lack of oversteer naturally moves the car closer to an understeer condition that understeer is used as a descriptor at all.
RacerAlex' Avanced F1 Setup Guide (http://watcher.drivingitalia.net/index.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownloaddetails&lid=23)
8
Wings
8.1
Increase Front
Increase oversteer in corners
Increase front grip in corners; increase front tyre wear; decrease straight line speed.
8.2
Increase Rear
Increase understeer in corners
Increase rear grip in corners; increase rear tyre wear; decrease straight line speed.
8.3
Increase Front and Rear
None
Increase grip in corners; decrease straight line speed.
8.4
Decrease Front
Increase understeer in corners
Decrease front grip in corners; decrease front tyre wear; increase straight line speed.
8.5
Decrease Rear
Increase oversteer in corners
Decrease rear grip in corners; decrease rear tyre wear; increase straight line speed.
8.6
Decrease Front and Rear
None
Decrease grip in corners; increase straight line speed.
9
Anti-Roll Bars
9.1
Increase/Stiffen Front
Increase understeer in corners
Decrease grip on bumpy surfaces; increase front tyre wear; more responsive handling
9.2
Increase/Stiffen Rear
Increase oversteer in corners
Decrease grip exiting corners; decrease grip on bumpy surfaces; increase rear tyre wear; more responsive handling
9.3
Increase/Stiffen Front and Rear
None
Decrease grip exiting corners; decrease grip on bumpy surfaces; increase front, and rear tyre wear; more responsive handling
9.4
Decrease/Soften Front
Increase oversteer in corners
Increase grip on bumpy surfaces; decrease front tyre wear; less responsive handling
9.5
Decrease/Soften Rear
Increase understeer in corners
Increase grip exiting corners; increase grip on bumpy surfaces; decrease rear tyre wear; less responsive handling
9.6
Decrease/Soften Front and Rear
None
Car may bottom out more often; increase grip exiting corners; increase grip on bumpy surfaces; decrease front and rear tyre wear; less responsive handling
10
Weight Distribution
10.1
Adjust to front
Increase oversteer
None
10.2
Adjust to rear
Increase understeer
None
11
Brake Bias
11.1
Adjust to front
Increase understeer while braking
Front wheels can lock up, increase braking distance, reduce snap oversteer
11.2
Adjust to rear
Increase oversteer while braking
Rear wheels can lock up; increase braking distance; increase snap oversteer (swap ends)
11.3
Adjust to centre
Some oversteer while braking
Decrease braking distance; may cause snap oversteer, depending on front/rear weight distribution, wing, etc.
12
Camber
12.1
Increase Front
None
Increase grip in corners... to a point
12.2
Increase Rear
None
Decrease grip in corners... to a point
12.3
Decrease Front
None
Decrease grip in corners... to a point
12.4
Decrease Rear
None
Increase grip in corners... to a point
13
Caster
13.1 Increase Decrease understeer Decrease turning radius; Increase oversteer in fast corners.
13.2 Decrease Increase understeer Increase high speed corner stability.
14
Toe In
14.1
Increase front (positive)
None
Improve turn-in; increase front tyre wear; decrease straight line speed
14.2
Increase rear (positive)
None
Improve stability; increase rear tyre wear; decrease straight line speed
14.3
Decrease front (negative)
None
Decrease turn-in; increase front tyre wear; decrease straight line speed
14.4
Decrease rear (negative)
None
Decrease stability; increase rear tyre wear; decrease straight line speed
15
Tyre Pressure
15.1
Increase Front
Increase understeer
Decrease grip in corners; decrease front tyre wear
15.2
Increase Rear
Increase oversteer
Decrease grip in corners; decrease rear tyre wear
15.3
Increase Front and Rear
None
Decrease grip in corners; decrease front and rear tyre wear
15.4
Decrease Front
Increase oversteer
Increase grip in corners; increase front tyre wear
15.5
Decrease Rear
Increase understeer
Increase grip in corners; increase rear tyre wear
15.6
Decrease Front and Rear
None
Increase grip in corners; increase front and rear tyre wear
16
Ride Height
16.1
Increase Front
Increase understeer in fast corners
Car may bottom out less often
16.2
Increase Rear
Increase oversteer in fast corners
Car may bottom out less often
16.3
Increase Front and Rear
None
None
16.4
Decrease Front
Increase oversteer in fast corners
Car may bottom out more often
16.5
Decrease Rear
Increase understeer in fast corners
Car may bottom out more often
16.6
Decrease Front and Rear
None
None
17
Packers and/or Bump Rubber
17.1
Increase Front
Increase understeer
Allows front ride height to be reduced without bottoming out
17.2
Increase Rear
Increase oversteer
Allows rear ride height to be reduced without bottoming out
17.3
Increase Front and Rear
None
Allows ride height to be reduced without bottoming out
17.4
Decrease Front
Increase oversteer
Car may bottom out more often
17.5
Decrease Rear
Increase understeer
Car may bottom out more often
17.6
Decrease Front and Rear
None
Car may bottom out more often
18
Spring Rate
18.1
Increase/Stiffen Front
Increase understeer
Decrease grip in corners; decrease grip on bumpy surfaces; increase front tyre wear; more responsive handling
18.2
Increase/Stiffen Rear
Increase oversteer
Decrease grip in corners; decrease grip on bumpy surfaces; increase rear tyre wear; more responsive handling
18.3
Increase/Stiffen Front and Rear
None
Decrease grip in corners; decrease grip on bumpy surfaces; increase front and rear tyre wear; more responsive handling
18.4
Decrease/Soften Front
Increase oversteer
Increase grip in corners; increase grip on bumpy surfaces; decrease front tyre wear; less responsive handling
18.5
Decrease/Soften Rear
Increase understeer
Increase grip in corners; increase grip on bumpy surfaces; decrease rear tyre wear; less responsive handling
18.6
Decrease/Soften Front and Rear
None
Increase grip in corners; increase grip on bumpy surfaces; decrease front and rear tyre wear; less responsive handling
19
Bump Damping
19.1
Increase/Stiffen Front
Increase understeer in bumpy corners
Increase front tyre wear
19.2
Increase/Stiffen Rear
Increase oversteer in bumpy corners
Decrease grip on bumpy surfaces; increase rear tyre wear
19.3
Increase/Stiffen Front and Rear
None
Decrease grip on bumpy surfaces; increase front and rear tyre wear; nervous and unpredictable handling
19.4
Decrease/Soften Front
Increase oversteer in bumpy corners
Decrease front tyre wear
19.5
Decrease/Soften Rear
Increase understeer in bumpy corners
Increase grip on bumpy surfaces; decrease rear tyre wear
19.6
Decrease/Soften Front and Rear
None
Increase grip on bumpy surfaces; decrease front and rear tyre wear
20
Rebound Damping
20.1
Increase/Stiffen Front
Increase understeer during corner exit, and entry
Increase front tyre wear
20.2
Increase/Stiffen Rear
Increase oversteer during corner exit, and entry
Increase rear tyre wear
20.3
Increase/Stiffen Front and Rear
None
More responsive handling
20.4
Decrease/Soften Front
Increase oversteer during corner exit, and entry
Decrease front tyre wear
20.5
Decrease/Soften Rear
Increase understeer during corner exit, and entry
Decrease rear tyre wear
20.6
Decrease/Soften Front and Rear
None
Less responsive handling
20.a
Slow damping affects the weight transfer of the car's sprung mass (chassis pitch and roll) on the springs; fast damping controls the springs response to the deflection of the car's unsprung weight (the tire/wheel/hub assembly reaction to bumps)
RacerAlex' Avanced F1 Setup Guide (http://watcher.drivingitalia.net/index.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownloaddetails&lid=23)
21
Simulating understeer, and oversteer during cornering with the brake, and/or throttle
21.1
Increase Brake
Decrease Understeer
This applies to a car that is neutral, or understeering slightly going into a corner, and has a forward brake balance. As you apply brake pressure, the weight balance moves forward, the front wheels gain a little more traction, and the nose points in more. Too much understeer cannot be corrected in this manner.
21.2
Decrease Throttle
Increase Oversteer
If you lift sufficiently during cornering, the rear tyres will break traction, and the rear end will come round. If you do this carefully, you can use this tool to point into the corner. For this to happen, you do need to be carrying enough speed, and you do need to lift a little quickly.
21.3
Increase Throttle
Increase Oversteer
As long as there's enough torque available at the time, you can make a car's back end step out during cornering. You can take advantage of this by lowering the gearing, so you're in the meat of the power band during the corner in which you'd like to induce oversteer.
21.a
These are the essential components of 'trailbraking' and using them as such requires a good touch, and sufficiently sensitive hardware, in a simulator, to feel, and control the effects as they happen. You also have to get the other components balanced so the car doesn't 'snap' around on you, and you have to have enough cockpit time to know what you're feeling, and predict what will happen.
22
Simulator Controls (Steering wheel, pedals, etc)
22.1
Increase Axis Travel/Decrease Sensitivity
None
Reduce apparent nervousness; Allow a finer degree of control.
22.a
This is, of course, a matter of personal taste. However, after consulting with a number of hard-core gamers, you are looking for as much control, and as much feeling as you can get. When talking about first person shooters, the general advice was to set the mouse sensitivity as low as you can stand. This takes some getting used to, but pays dividends in accuracy, or so I'm told. As this applies to driving simulators, you want as much steering wheel travel as you can stand (It will take getting used to.), and as much pedal travel also. This may seem counter-intuitive, but think about it: You don't want minor twitches to have large effects, and you want to be able to make the finest possible adjustments during maneouvering. With force feedback equipment, this lets you set more, and stronger forces, thus allowing you to feel more of the road without having the wheel ripped from your hands.
Note that some drivers turn off the software that comes with the equipment, preferring instead to use the in-game controls alone to set the force feedback, button mapping, and so on. This is also a matter of choice, and possibly system resources, but you may lose some features by turning off the manufacturer's control software. Note also that some controller software has one effect, and the in-game adjustments are overlaid on the system settings, so turning off the controller software requires retuning the in-game settings.
23
Links
Caveat
Inclusion of a link in this list is by no means an endorsement. However, I am certainly not an authority on racing chassis tuning, and some of these guys might be. Also, some of these links are quite simulator-specific, so get what you can out of them. I do, on the other hand, wholeheartedly support anyone who would take the time to write something to help the community, and post it for all to read;-)
My personal preference is to drive a car that feels like a real car, and have a setup that might be usable in the real world. Suffice it to say that alien setups are, for the most part, unrealistic. They'd either rip the tyres to shreds, break components, or actually injure the driver. The common response is "We don't drive those cars; we drive these cars." so you decide.
Yahoo! search for 'trailbraking' I didn't like any of the explanations I found, so read them all, and practise, practise, practise.
Racer Alex' explanation of real F1 tuning This is a wonderful, if large, article with pictures. It is in PDF format only, as far as I can tell.
Old Farts Racing - Driving Tips Includes Car Tuning 101. Great place to start.
Building a Setup for Grand Prix Legends Paul Jackson's detailed HOWTO. Great place to go second, but some of it is a bit GPL-specific.
TKD's post on 'preload' This is a single forum post, so it may disappear, or move. Tell me if it does, please.
JohnP's guide to setting up a GTP car A forum post once again, and linking to two downloads, a text version, and a MS Doc version. This is very specific to GTP, and N2003-based simulations, and some of it is quite alien.
The Physics of Racing Old Fart's presentation of Brian Beckman's famous work. This is math folks, so take a week off before you start reading.
24 Glossary (My definitions to clarify some of this document. Email me, if you disagree.)
Simulator
Software and/or hardware that simulates something from the real world, as opposed to a game which subordinates reality to gameplay, regardless of how good the underlying software is. Need For Speed, and Project Gotham Racing are not simulators.
Physics Engine
That part of the software the controls the simulation of real-world physics
Alien
Someone who drives faster than should be possible.
Alien Setup
A setup that is impossible, or unusable in the real world, or one the takes advantage of flaws in the simulator's physics engine.
Gentleman Racer
Someone who would rather let you by, than put you in the wall while you try to make an incredibly stupid pass.
Jun 20 2012, 04:36 PM, updated 14y ago
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...thought wanna join.. but think i'll be last most of the time...sighh... 
, overseas trip 
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