Help tuning FWD Cars

  • Thread starter mld0806
  • 13 comments
  • 4,539 views
M

mld0806

12
My main problem right now is my Mitsubishi FTO GR '49, but I have trouble with all front wheel drive cars. I've tried spring rates, downforce, everything, but I just can't seem to get any heat in the tires. They'll drive great for the first 2/3 of a race, but pick up a serious understeer late in the race as the front tires wear away and the rear tires are still barely warming up.

Can anyone give me any tips on FWD cars that will give me even tire temps all around? Thanks.
 
I can't tell you anything other than to use harder compound tires on that rear vs the front..

As for handling, once your spring rates are good for the car you are driving, you can play with your rear ride height.
Lower rear ride height = more understeer. Higher rear ride height = more oversteer.
You might also make the rear end a bit stiffer to encourage it to "step-out" some when cornering.

Set your dampers so that they are at 3/4 or at 4/5. If that doesn't help you can spread them out a bit further. But I rarely have more than a 2 number spread between my damper numbers, unless I'm using the semi-race suspension.

Hoipe that helps some.
 
For most FWD cars, the key is a lot of toe out in the rear. There is difference of opinion on whether this is positive or negative in GT4. Try setting it to -2 and see if that helps get rid of the understeer; if you don't like it, try +2 and see what happens.

Also go to 3 degrees camber in front and zero in back, and stiffen the rear stabilizer.

Welcome to GTPlanet, by the way.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I'll have to invest in a few more parts it seems, and work on tweaking them a bit. You've given me the right direction to head, however, so that should be a lot easier. Thanks a ton!

@ Gil Wouldn't having harder compound tires make them even slower to wear/heat up compared to softer compound fronts? My problem isn't cold tire handling, it's late lap handling where the front tires start to go away from me.
 
These worked for me on the Mitsubishi FTO GPX, at least:

SR 10.0 / 15.0
RH 89 / 104
SB 4 / 7
SR 5 / 10
C 1.0 / 0.0
T -1 / 0
S 1 / 7
BB 3 / 5
ASM 0 / 0
TCS 3
LSD NA (Standard)
Tranny trick gearset, final adjusted per track.
Wing added, max downforce front and rear.

Some goofy-looking settings, I know, but the whole concept of going racing with a front-wheel-drive car is goofy, isn't it? These settings are pretty much a carryover from GT3, so they could probably be improved upon in GT4. However, the result in the new game is a car that handles very well, so maybe they aren't all that far off.

I'm a disciple of Fumes when it comes to LSD on FF and 4WD cars. They seem better with none at all, I think.
 
porschedrifter
Why tune them when you can just sell them :)
Click to expand...

First purchase, and it looks pretty sweet in photo mode in the midnight bluish color with a white wing on the back. I rarely sell anything I don't have duplicates of. Call me a pack rat. I have Autobianchis (sp?) in every color!
 
AAAAGHHHH! Going nuts here. Trying EVERYTHING to loosen the car up, but to use NASCAR slang, it's still pushing like a dump truck late race. Raised the rear end up, raised the rear shocks, dropped rear downforce, stiffened the rear shocks. All the opposite on the other end. And it just won't let the back end come around......
 
mld0806
Thanks for all the replies. I'll have to invest in a few more parts it seems, and work on tweaking them a bit. You've given me the right direction to head, however, so that should be a lot easier. Thanks a ton!

@ Gil Wouldn't having harder compound tires make them even slower to wear/heat up compared to softer compound fronts? My problem isn't cold tire handling, it's late lap handling where the front tires start to go away from me.
Click to expand...
Yes it would, but they would also, by virtue of being a harder compound, have less grip allowing the rear to drift a little.
 
mld0806
AAAAGHHHH! Going nuts here. Trying EVERYTHING to loosen the car up, but to use NASCAR slang, it's still pushing like a dump truck late race. Raised the rear end up, raised the rear shocks, dropped rear downforce, stiffened the rear shocks. All the opposite on the other end. And it just won't let the back end come around......
Click to expand...


Hey, its a lame-ass front-wheel-drive car. This may be all you're going to get out of it...
 
You just have to work with the DGL.

One thing to do is to tweak it like that.

You put in order 5, 60 and 5 again, and with that your car should turn much much better.

Anyway, FWD cars are no good at all.

See ya.
 
Go to -2 or -3 toe out in the rear, set the rear camber to zero, and up the rear stabilizer all the way.

That, and brake earlier. GT4 really really punishes overbraking. Brake earlier, get off the brakes and coast a bit at turn in, and throttle in as you unwind the steering.
 
Duke
Go to -2 or -3 toe out in the rear, set the rear camber to zero, and up the rear stabilizer all the way.

That, and brake earlier. GT4 really really punishes overbraking. Brake earlier, get off the brakes and coast a bit at turn in, and throttle in as you unwind the steering.
Click to expand...

Hehe...braking is something I've learned painfully with my solidly Silver performances in the guided lap tests. Hairpins KILL me.

I've given up on the FTO as my FWD car. I restarted it all again (wasn't THAT far into it) with an RX-7, and I'm in love. I'll take my Vitz as my FWD car because it's FF and has a single make race to go along with it.

Thanks for all the advice, and if my collector's spirit makes me buy the FTO again, I'll put it to good use, and hopefully give my Vitz a bit of a kick in the pants as well with it. :)
 

Latest Posts

Back