Simple Car Set Up Guide

Front Damper Fast Bump: A softer setting means more grip when steering,which is good for tighter tracks.A stiffer setting will increase understeer,a softer setting will increase oversteer. (oversteer) Softer - <> + Stiffer(understeer) + Front Damper Slow Bump: A stiffer setting will make the car feel snappier,though it will also be more unstable.Use stiffer settings to increase oversteer and to make the car turn more sharply. (understeer) Softer - <> + Stiffer(oversteer) stable Front Damper Fast Rebound: Adjusts how quickly the front wheels return to a steady state over bumps .Stiffening the front will result in less oversteer over bumps and kerbs. (oversteer) Softer - <> + Stiffer(understeer) Front Damper Slow Rebound: Adjusts how quickly the front of the chassis sets into a corner. Stiffing the front will result in less oversteer in turn-in and corner exits. (oversteer) Softer - <> + Stiffer(understeer) Rear Damper Fast Bump: A softer setting means more grip when steering,which is good for tighter tracks.Set it stiffer to increase understear,or to make the car turn less sharply on faster tracks. (oversteer) Softer - <> + Stiffer(understeer) Rear Damper Slow Bump: The stiffer the setting,the snappier and tighter the car will feel,though it will be more unstable.Use stiffer settings to increase oversteer,or to make the car turn more sharply. (understeer) Softer - <> + Stiffer(oversteer) stable Rear Damper Fast Rebound: Adjust how quickly the rear wheels return to a steady state over bumps .Stiffing the rear will result in more oversteer over bumps and kerbs. (understeer) Softer - <> + Stiffer(oversteer) Rear Damper Slow Rebound: Adjust how quickly the rear of the chassis sets into a corner. Stiffing the rear will result in more oversteer in turn-in and unstable unstable

corner exits. (understeer) Softer - <> + Stiffer(oversteer) Front Sway Bar: Increase stiffness to reduce body roll.Too much stiffness can cause the inside wheels to lift off the ground during cornering. A stiffer setting at the front moves the balance towards understeer.A softer setting moves the balance towards oversteer. (oversteer) Softer - <> + Stiffer(understeer) Rear Sway Bar: Increase stiffness to reduce body roll.Too much stiffness can cause the inside wheels to lift off the ground during cornering. A stiffer setting at the rear moves the balance towards oversteer.A softer setting at the rear moves the balance towards understeer. (understeer) Softer - <> + Stiffer(oversteer) Front/Rear Spring Rate: Determines the softness or hardness of the suspension springs .Stiffer springs will improve car responsiveness. Excessively stiff springs will cause the wheel to lose contact with the ground in rough sections .A softer rear spring setting can also add in rear wheel traction accelerating out of corners for rear wheel drive cars. Stance: Lowering the ride height lowers the center of gravity and increases overall stability.Too low a ride height can cause the suspension to bottom out.Also a lower ride height can give better aero dynamic c haracteristics resulting in higher top speed. Front Ride Height: Allows lowering or raising of the front height to adjust rake and total travel before bottoming .A higher front ride height will aid acceleration and braking.Rear wheel drive cars can generally benefit from less forward rake more than front wheel drive cars. Rear Ride Height: Slightly higher rear ride height than the front creates a slight forward rake,witch means more grip when cornering.You generally see front wheel drive cars with more forward rake. Steering lock: Adjust the steering lock maximum.Use higher lock for more responsive steering.So more lock works for tracks with tighter corners. Castor Angle: Most cars are not particularly sensitive to caster settings,but used in conjunction with other settings,a more positive value can aid straight line driving,wile a less positive one can make your car react quicker to steering .A lower castor angle can really be helpful in turning through a tight corner quicker.

Front/Rear Toe Angle: Adjusts the horizontal angle of the front wheels.Toe-in creates better straight line stability,but sacrifices responsivness.Toeout improves responsiveness,but sacrifices straight line stability.Set up the front with negative to (toe-out)and rear with positive(toe-in).Large amounts of rear toe-in can help in acceleration out of corners for rear wheel drive cars.High toeout in the front can help the car turn through a corner better.High toe settings both front and rear can build excessive tire heat and also limit top end speed. Front/Rear Camber: Adjust the vertical angle of the wheel. Increasing negative camber can increase cornering,but impair acceleration and braking .Adjust camber settings so that tire heat is evenly distributed across the tire at the apex of the turn.You should try to strike a good balance for the majority of the corners of any given track .I have generally found most people set there cars up with way to much negative camber. I find around negative 2.4-3.0 in the front and 1.5-2.5 in the rear works well for most cars .I like to run somewhat low camber for rear wheel drive cars in the rear.It can help with accelerating out of corners since there is more tire in contact with the pavment. Front Tire Pressure: To deal with understeer,decrease front tire pressures. Understeer is when the front end wants to run wide in a turn.Set tire pressure too high or too low though and you'll lose overall grip and generate excessive tire heat. Rear Tire Pressure: To reduce oversteer,decrease rear tire pressure.Oversteer is when the back end of the car tends to slide to the outside of a corner under strong steering.As with front tire settings,set this too high or too low and you'll lose overall grip and generate excessive tire heat. Brake Pressure: Adjusts the total applied brake pressure.Less brake pressure will reduce the tendency to lock up the brakes,but will increase your stopping distance .I find reducing pressure on front wheel drive cars to around 70 percent reduces the tendency for the back end to swing out under braking into a corner.Also formula cars tend to need a reduced pressure setting to combat locki ng the brakes so easy. Acceleration lock: Adjust's the L.S.D (limited slip differential) lock under acceleration .Higher settings(more slip before full engagement) give better traction coming out of corners,but will limit your ability to turn. Lower settings will make it easier to turn,especially in tight corners,but give you less traction.Note this setting in most sims is somewhat confusing.In most sims they usually call it the power setting.You must lower thi s setting in the garage to give you the effect of a higher L.S.D slip setting. Deceleration Lock: Adjusts the L.S.D lock under deceleration (coast).High settings make you more stable decelerating into a corner,but limit the car's ability to turn. Lower settings reduce stability when

decelerating into a corner,but improve turning ability.Very low coast settings will make it very easy to spin out decelerating into a corner but will help slow you down faster if you use it right.I like to lower my coast until I start to have problems with spinning out into a corner and then raise it back a bit so I strike a nice balance of stability and deceleration effect. Preload: Adjust the amount of built in lock before any acceleration or deceleration effects take place,as in a neutral throttle condition.This setting will effect how quickly the transition from acceleration to deceleration lock occurs. Lower settings improves maneuverability,higher settings reduce it. Putting it all into practice: Car setup is not an exact sience.What works for one may not work for another because everyone likes there cars to feel and drive a certain way.If you want to really start to lower those lap times you must first figure out how you like your cars to handle,and what best suits you skill level.Once you know exactly what you are going for then you can start to apply this information to your setups and truly have a car that is set up perfectly for you.