Compression vs Extension?!?!?!

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XPLOSV

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Ok guys, I know its been covered here before. Relevant section quoted at the bottom.
But does this seam incorrect to anyone else? It quotes that the extension should be set at 65% of compression, and that compression should be 150% of extension. So this should mean for example a extension of 5 when compression is set to 8. That is, compression should be higher than extension.

So does this mean that compression should be harder/firmer than extension?
Shouldnt a damper have a softer compression (i.e. to absorb bumps) and a harder extension (to quickly return the wheel back to the tarmac after compression)? Am I wrong on this one? I thought I'd ask before I commence testing.

I've always set compression 3 to 4 times softer than extension (e.g. compression = 2, extension = 7).

Dampers - Extension "corner exit"
Set about 65% of compression.
The best effect I've found to use this for, is to balance the car while on the throttle. If a car is rotating too much when on the throttle, set the rear higher than the front,(6/7) if it's not rotating enough, set the front higher than the rear.(7/6)2.09 addition
After testing for months, I've determined that setting the compression higher than the extension feels best to me. I usually aim to run to extension at about 60-80% of the compression.

Dampers - Compression "corner entry"
Set to about 150% of extension.
Same as above, but works on deceleration/braking. Higher front increases rotation, higher rear decreases rotation.
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And while we are on the topic, what impact do either of these parameters have from front to rear?

That is, what impact does setting compression harder at the rear vs the front have (and vice verser).
 
compression = how much the dampers resist compressing
extension = how much the dampers resist extending

the higher the numbers, the more resistance.

during braking, front compression and rear extension dampers come into play
during acceleration, front extension and rear compression dampers come into play

therefore, if you want to increase corner exit oversteer (or reduce corner exit understeer) increase your front extension and/or rear compression.

dampers should also be matched to spring rate. ie. stiff springs, higher dampers.
 
esoxhntr
compression = how much the dampers resist compressing
extension = how much the dampers resist extending

the higher the numbers, the more resistance.

during braking, front compression and rear extension dampers come into play
during acceleration, front extension and rear compression dampers come into play

therefore, if you want to increase corner exit oversteer (or reduce corner exit understeer) increase your front extension and/or rear compression.

dampers should also be matched to spring rate. ie. stiff springs, higher dampers.
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Ah, got ya!!!
I've been doing it wrong all this time. FML.
Will have to re-adjust all my cars. Thanks for the advice.
 
esoxhntr
dampers should also be matched to spring rate. ie. stiff springs, higher dampers.
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I say the opposite esp. if you don't want to loose traction.

For dampers effects, I'd rather talk about noticable effects:
- Low compression mean the car will be going down quicly, high compression mean a car will be going down slowly => i agree there it's resisting compression.
- Low ext mean the car will be going up slowly, high extends mean the car will be going up quickly => i disagree there it's resisting ext. It renders extention to me.
 
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Imagine a small spring compressed between your thumb and finger. Is it going to extend quickly or slowly if you move your finger away? Would it extend quicker or slower if it had a strong damper on it?
 
As always, this is a screwed up video game....not everything is same as real life, quite alot isn't.

There isn't really a right or wrong in GT, what works for a car/driver is what works. The huge amount of situations/variables in the game, especially driving styles/steering sensitivity settings, tyre wear, tyre to power/weight ratio's means that what is right in one situation/for one person, could be wrong for another.

Generally, I'd set comp lower, but in certain situations guys that help me test, or I race with, prefer it the other way round.

What is right is knowing what is best for that person / car / situation and when....
 
another role of dampers, both in real life and in the game as far as I've observed is to control the oscillation of the spring. which is why i say you need to match the dampers to the springs.

mrgrado, when you release the spring in your example it will naturally want to oscillate.. or go boing boing boing :) . this is bad for cars. the dampers control this oscillation. the stiffer the spring, the harder it will want to extend when released, therefore, the damper extension needs to be set higher.

..and yes, as highlandor states, different strokes. this works for me.
 
Just my humble opinion - dampers, rolls bars and springs are all about getting the right balance for the given situation they have to face..

Guys who race no abs and can put some heavy pressure (compared to abs on) and for some cars can be catered for by strengthening the dampers, without modification to the springs / roll bars.. Sometimes dampers can be used to help control the weight shift on MR cars, sometimes this can be done via other methods..

Sometimes switching (what is the norm dampers for a certain type of car) front to rear, can be the icing of the cake for a setup..

With the amount of variation between situations in the game, I'm not sure there's any rule of thumb, other than dont have any set rule, have various starting points and subsequently troubleshooting 'techniques' and see what works for that situation..
 
See this is where it gets confusing. I could have sworn that in GT5, it is clearly stated in the help menu that extension can be set two or three times higher than compression (or something to that effect).

Which is why this latest development has come as a shock to me.
 
In not sure it did. The most it probably said was to set damper settings with spring settings. I don't see GT5 giving a calculation, rough or otherwise. As said this is such a varied setting from one car or one track to the next it's impossible to have a set ratio for everything. I could be wrong.
 
XPLOSV
See this is where it gets confusing. I could have sworn that in GT5, it is clearly stated in the help menu that extension can be set two or three times higher than compression (or something to that effect).

Which is why this latest development has come as a shock to me.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately some (not all) of what is stated in the help menu isn't what happens in the game...

The problem is made worse with the huge amount of variation/diversity in the game - cars/tyres combination, difference between online/offline physics etc etc

To try and cater for all variables in all situations to create something definitive is allmost impossible, because this would take a very long time, or a lot of people to test and collate.

Personally, I settle for the next best thing - keep things simple within a setup and try to gain experience and knowledge by looking at as many different types of cars, situations, driving styles etc etc as possible, then trying to have various starting points and trouble shooting methods to deal with this..

Even this isn't enough, as PD could change things within an update and not say (or confirm they did change something but not accurately say how/what exactly was done), as what happened in GT5....
 

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