Generic Top Speed Tunes?

[lbpomg95]

Hello, GTPlanet Drag Racers!

Recently, I've started getting into breaking in and top speed tuning my cars. What would help is if I knew anything about top speed tuning in the first place! The only part of the car I'm confident with is the transmission as of yet, and by tuning it have achieved 266mph in an SL 600 which has a circuit tuned suspension. Probably not much of an achievement, I know, but I'm semi-pleased with it.

Either way, I've got a few questions for the community;
What sort of a setup (suspension, drivetrain etc) increases top speed?
Is it different for 4WD's or FF's etc?
Is there some form of generic method I could use aside from transmission setups?

Any help and feedback is much appreciated - thanks.

Toodles!​

 

[thrasher0422]

Hello, GTPlanet Drag Racers!

Recently, I've started getting into breaking in and top speed tuning my cars. What would help is if I knew anything about top speed tuning in the first place! The only part of the car I'm confident with is the transmission as of yet, and by tuning it have achieved 266mph in an SL 600 which has a circuit tuned suspension. Probably not much of an achievement, I know, but I'm semi-pleased with it.

Either way, I've got a few questions for the community;
What sort of a setup (suspension, drivetrain etc) increases top speed?
Is it different for 4WD's or FF's etc?
Is there some form of generic method I could use aside from transmission setups?

Any help and feedback is much appreciated - thanks.

Toodles!

the sl600 has way more potential.... mine traps 273 at 10k. without hill

 

[Smuttysy]

Agreed, the SL should be running at least 269. With circuit style suspension, mine runs flat 270's, and with the "wheelie" style suspension also running 273mph.

As for generic methods, it's really a mixed bag of answers, as I've found that some cars need much more specific tuning to get the most from them and therefore generic simply won't do the job. I've seen people wheelie tune FF cars, believing they will be faster, only to be beaten by me in a circuit style tuned version of the same car. Some cars develop torque much lower down the rev range than others, and therefore benefit from much longer ratios in the gearing (the SL being a prime candidate for this) whereas others need really close and tight ratios in order to stay in the power range.

Experimentation is the best way to get to where you want - start with a good base suspension tune, then work on the gearbox. Once you feel you've hit the edge of the gearbox's potential have a little tinker with some of the suspension settings, but make sure you know what you started with so you don't make an irreversible mistake.

Also worth mentioning that if you plan to race them online, make sure you take into account any drafting you may be doing. It's all well and good having a car that will run 270mph all by itself but if you're in a pack and your gearing will top out at 290mph you'll end up feeling quite lonely whilst everyone else drafts eacho other past the 300mph mark. It's for this reason alone that I now tune my "usual suspects" for route x so that the maximum undrafted speed is hit in the penultimate gear, so that the final gear essentially is an overdrive ratio.

(Here's a vid of the SL doing some silly speeds using this method)

Pure drafting only from 2:00 onwards

Have fun!

(EDIT: I am potentially looking at putting together a thread in the tuning section for my speed run tunes, but finding the time to do it is something I've yet to manage, although I have had quite a bit of interest already from friends and youtube viewers)

 

[lbpomg95]

Like I said, I've got little to no experience in top speed tuning. Friends whom I've shared my circuit setups with agree they're ridiculously hard to control. not sure if a bucket load of negative toe and high camber values affects top speed but I'm sure it does. I'm also told a fully dropped car doesn't run as fast, but I'm not sure.

 

[Smuttysy]

The best way to test any circuit suspension is to run it on a circuit you know exceptionally well, but run it in drift practice mode. (for obvious reasons you'll steer clear of LaSarthe and Nurburgring) Now use your circuit tune and aim to get the lowest possible score without compromising lap times doing it. Once the base suspension is stable you can then stretch your gearbox for higher speeds.
I've never found a car yet that runs faster after raising only the ride height and everything else unaltered, but high camber and toe values aren't really going to help much, especially when you'll be in a straight line for the most part.