Settings 101

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Xtreme

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Now i joined this forum to learn about settings yet somehow nobody talks about it seriously, so i have decided to create this thread and use all that good knowledge out there from u guys to make it a better playing experience for everyone. I simply want people to talk about what ride height, or break power, or camber etc. does to your car so that in the end we all have a clue on how we would like to set up a car for our own taste. Please, please, try and be specific and lets hope that "Settings 101" will make us all better drivers.

tx, and let the class begin....
 
Originally posted by Xtreme
God damn it, i just have to say it

CINDY CRAWFORD IS THE FINEST WOMAN EVER CREATED BY GOD AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Click to expand...

Now you're just ruining your own thread.
 
Ok, i did not want this to become an argument so i guess i ll have to start with somethign.
I thought i ll start with downforce since that is kind of the only thing i really understand.
When we look at some basic physics we know that the
frictional force = coefficient of friction * the normal force exerted
Now the normal force is the force the ground pushes on the object, in our case our car, which has exactly the same value as does the force that our car pushes on the ground (Newtons law)
If we increase the downforce on our car, we increase the normal force yet the coefficient of friction is the same since we always use the same tires, well pretending we do. Since the formula above is gonna give us a bigger frictional force that means that our car can turn better in corners since it has more friction. The bad thing about downforce though is that by increasing it, we decrease acceleration, because the air pushes on our car alot more now, so with we decrease max speed too, AND we increase tire wear. Since the tires have alot more friction with the road due to the increased donwforce, they will wear alot faster. This should not be a factor to consider at all when u are racing agains ur buddy for the fastes lap in time trial.

Well that is basically all i know about the downforce, the thing i am not very clear on is what increasing/decreasin the front/rear does to your car, besides what they already say in the game when u try and set up the car.

I hope this is a good start to something big, and please please please help with ur knowledge.


PS: for those who feel offended or whatever for me makin the cindy crawford comment, I apologize, yet i couldnt help it. Sorry. heheh
 
Xtreme: Without getting too technical (mostly because I'll probably be mistaken), as I understand it, increasing downforce on the rear of the car will tend to reduce oversteer/increase understeer. Adding downforce to the front will do the opposite.

If anyone doesn't know, oversteer is when the car's rear tends to slide around a corner. With understeer, the car will tend to plow or push when trying to make a turn (you're moving the tires, but the car's inertia keeps moving forward).

I'm pretty sure that's right; please correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, so adjusting downforce to the front or rear can compensate for either under or oversteer. Other than that, you're right, I think. Increasing downforce will also increase tire wear. Decreasing it will make the car trickier to handle (since there's not as much force pushing it to the ground).
 
Yes, that is correct about the definition of oversteer and understeer.

A simple and uneducated tip from me... I used the Griffith 500 with the horsepower upgrades, and I couldn't keep from oversteering bad. So a quick fix to this solution was I bought a full custom suspension for it, and dropped the ride height and springs as much as I could. I have read before that doing so will make the car more manageable for turning. I did lose some speed by doing that, but it wasn't nearly enough to cause problems. And sorry, but I wasn't worrying about bottoming about and stuff like that.

One word of caution though... By doing this, avoid the curbs. I had trouble if I ran across a rumble strip at too slow a speed or cutting it too sharp, the car would turn around 180 degrees on me. I didn't like that, but I adjusted accordingly.

Good luck with that tip! :burnout:
 
I have trouble in sandy/grassy areas with my cars that over steer. I like to take corners as close as possible and by doing so clip the sand/grass with my nose causing my car to 180, so I dont know if i like oversteer, but i dont like understeer.
 
Originally posted by captainkirk
I bought a full custom suspension for it, and dropped the ride height and springs as much as I could. I have read before that doing so will make the car more manageable for turning. I did lose some speed by doing that, but it wasn't nearly enough to cause problems. And sorry, but I wasn't worrying about bottoming about and stuff like that.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's a good idea to increase your spring rate if you lower the car. If you want managable turning, you SHOULD be worried about bottoming out, especially on twitchy cars like the Griffith! The suspension tuning is all about weight transfer, and finding the balance between stability and turnability. Too much stability = more understeer/push, too much turnability = oversteer/spin.

To increase stability:
- make the front suspension stiffer than the rear
- make the front roll bar stiffer than the rear
- run harder tires on the front wheels
- you get the idea...

To increase turnability, do the opposite. And yes, I know that turnability is probably not a word.

Here's a quick 'n dirty page on suspension settings:

TurnFast

The rest of TurnFast is also great reading if your looking for understandable car physics. Check it... :D
 
I just made a quick fix to the Griffith by doing that. I wasn't trying to fine-tune the car, I was only running a 3 race set. But that is some good explaining. You said that very well, thank you :D
 
Wow guys, this is some good stuff for reall. I honestly looked for something like this but i did not read all this stuff, onr do i feel like reading it all, so im gonna ask u guys. I kind of realiezed while messing around with GT 2 that whenever you set up ride height or camber or something else, that u usally have to adjust the whole suspension, and downforce sometimes, regarding the changes. How does that work? I am really unclear about that.
Now the biggest misunderstanding i have is that damper rebound and damper bound stuff, oh my God i hate that. What does all that do to my car and do i have to change all that if i change the ride height, or stiffness??
 
F1Rasta: I'm not sure if this is the answer you're looking for, but I think the single most effective setting adjustment would be to the gear ratios, so you make best use of the car's power on each track.
 
What is oversteer and understeer?

Is understeer when you surn the steering wheel alot but the car doesn't turn that much? Then oversteer is the opposite?
 
Cale Yarborough used to say "If I hit the wall with the front of my car, that's understeer. If I hit it with the back of my car, that's oversteer"

Understeer is a reluctance to turn in or hold the intended line through a corner by washing out or fading to the outside from the front.

Oversteer is a propensity for the rear to step out or for the car to tighten it's line through a corner by the rear fading to the outside.

It's all about compromise. You can set up a car close to your driving style, but cars react differently depending on suspension geometry, etc. For example, some cars will exhibit slow speed oversteer and high speed understeer. You must find the balance.
 

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