Man, I can't even begin to imagine how long it must've taken to set up a grid like that, especially if you tune each car by hand and make their liveries.
Do you balance the cars against each other on one track, or across a few?
As far as liveries go, for me, it's another pastime. I much prefer to make my own liveries, but I do use community liveries as well, especially when they are well done and similar to what I want to do. For instance, all the group C liveries that I use are from the community. But, I made all the liveries in that video above.
As far as tuning, it's not that bad. The 512 was a bit of a pain, but you work with one of them, and then take a screenshot and copy the settings to the other cars. USUALLY, the biggest issue is the differential.
As far as balance goes, it's trial and error with some general rules.
1 - Less downforce is usually better, so start with the minimum and work your way up. The only race I have that uses maximum downforce is my DTM. Those Mercs, BMW's, and Sierras feel so much better with maximum downforce. At more than 600, I add the flat floor when possible so I have flexibility on the downforce. It also helps that the front downforce tends to increase PP as it is increased and the rear downforce tends to reduce PP as it's increased, so I use this to fine tune the PP when I get close to my target.
2 - Balance the differences in downforce. For instance, that 512 only has low downforce. So, it's in a group with the BMW 3.0 (with rear wing), the Pantera, and the 930. They all have downforce set around the same, because that rear wing is limits the top speed. As you see in the video, the 512 will walk away from the F40, and they both walk away from the 458, so you NEVER want to mix downforce settings across the cars. Slight differences are ok. Edit: It's helpful that cars within the same decade tend to have similar settings. Also, dedicated race cars rarely work with the street cars.
3 - Keep the power and weight similar. There can be differences, but if the differences are big, the balance suffers. Usually, it's the heavy cars that are the problem. Heavy cars mean more power and more top speed, but they are slow in the corners. If you mix them, the race gets wonky. 500kg is a good window, Again, you play with it.
4 - Fewer cars is easier. Group C, for instance, is only 5 cars. That's all the game provides, so it's easier to see where 1 car excels or falls behind. My DTM is 3 cars, the Merc, the BMW, and the Sierra. If you have 20 different cars, then simply look for anything that breaks away and nerf it a little.
5 - Be AROUND a PP target, rather than making it a hard rule. For Group C, for instance, my target is 800pp, but the Merc is running at 815pp. It simply did not perform well on any track without the extra boost. For my 650PP DTM, the Sierras are running at 656pp. Generally speaking, if I can nail a PP target, that's what I try to shoot for first, because it is generally pretty balanced, but I allow my cars to be up to .04 above the PP target. That tends to work better than being under the target by that same amount. EDIT: and of course boost or nerf as needed for specific cars.
6 - Lastly, PP is your friend. It isn't perfect, but it's a great gauge. You can hit that PP target MANY different way, so if a car is really fast, turn the power down and then adjust the weight and downforce (if you have it) to bring it back to target.
It sound like a lot, but really, you just play it and tweak it over time. If a car consistently runs off into the distance, nerf it a little. If something is always falling behind, boost it a little. After all, this is just part of the game. I find it very rewarding, but I spent the bulk of my adult life making games, so it's like an old friend to me.
EDIT: OH, and the ride height. When you put racing suspension on a car, the ride height is often too low and the car won't steer or stop. You have to fix that.
Alsace - Village__2 by 2cam16, on Flickr
Alsace - Village_ (5) by 2cam16, on Flickr
Felt so off with flatscreen.
Wasn’t placing the car well and felt like I was defending more than focusing on driving
