Tire Load Indicator - How does it work?

[dr_slump]

So, has there been any kind of consensus as to what the difference is between a red circle and a red circle !..?? I've seen both. I'll assume that the red ! is the car bottoming out, but what about a plain red circle..??

Ta,
{Cy}

The same just longer? Springs too weak to hold the weight.

 

[CyKosis1973]

The same just longer? Springs too weak to hold the weight.

No idea Sir. I took an old Golf GTi around the Nordschleife the other night, completely stock. In the bottom of the trough at Fuchsröhre(?), the front right circle briefly flickers red, no "!", just flickers. Am I to assume that that means the suspension almost bottomed out, or does it mean something different..??

{Cy}

 

[Johnnypenso]

To see how the white circles work with the weight distribution of the load up Trial Mountain, jump in the Caterham Seven,add 200kg of ballast to the car making the weight balance 73-27 and enter the track.Park the car and note the size of the white circles.The front will be twice the size of the rear

Now go back and shift all that weight to the rear and go back on the track.The circles will now be opposite-smaller in front,big in rear.

Finally go back and set the weight balance to 50-50 and re-enter the track.The circles will now be even on all 4 corners.

To see how the red !! works and the weight distribution changes setup the car so the springs rates are 5.0/5.0.,ride height at 0/0.Now drive around the track to the downhill left after T3 were you can see the lake.The curbing on the outside edge of the track is high enough to park the car at a 45 degree angle with a front wheel on the top of the curb fully compressed.If you do it just right the red ! will be on and the rear wheel on the same side of the car will be off the ground and the white circle will be gone.

Yeah what iForce said. In my opinion, it's just a load indicator, it goes red when you've bottomed out and nothing more than that. But no matter how you slice it, it's almost useless as a tuning tool because it has no scale, no way to review it easily and it happens so fast you can't possibly drive well and watch the indicators and know what's going on. Even the fact that it's bottoming out is almost pointless because even though I was bottoming out in several places on Trial Mountain for example, it didn't seem to have any effect on grip, cornering speed or lap times. To me it's just another thing that could have been useful, but really isn't.

 

[Ronald6]

Even the fact that it's bottoming out is almost pointless because even though I was bottoming out in several places on Trial Mountain for example, it didn't seem to have any effect on grip, cornering speed or lap times.

Unfortunately PD didn't link body movement to the suspension correctly. It's better post 2.0 but still not there. As others on this forum have pointed out suspension bounce doesn't ever seem to be communicated to the body. This includes bottoming out the suspension or tyres.

The TLI is a good (tuning) tool, but it is not THE tool. It's useful but not the only tool you can or should use. It's just one more aid.

IMO it is useful for pointing out slight to glaring suspension problems. It is not going to be the Yoda of tuning whispering in your ear what the magic setting are supposed to be.

Is the TLI showing your tyres bouncing for no good reason? It it showing your tyres continue to bounce after you hit a bump? What is the frequency of the bouncing tyres? The TLI will help point these problems out and highlight these questions.

Use it for what its worth.

 

[Blood*Specter]

I think the line between real, authentic and "game" may be starting to blur again.
I do think Motor-City-Hami is on to something. And this tool is called a "Load Indicator". Asking this feature to perform when tires are off the ground is not an option given memory limitations. It is a simulation, (similar) not real. It is undeniable that it does contain some features that reflect real situations.

I am pretty sure that since the inception of GT (1-5) the tire/wheel combination has never included tire temperature. And I think another independent CPU module would be required to even attempt it. I am not "ride" engineer. However, think about the scope of variables and the amount of computing power that would be needed to keep track of each car as it moves about the course. In fact, in the on-line racing environment, a max of 16 vehicles would have to be tracked simultaneously. The computing power required is mind numbing.

1. Tire Pressure (All four at any given time/condition)
2. Air Temperature
3. Road Surface Temperature
4. Road Surface Contours (The best simulation of any racing game)
5. Caster settings (Not even adjustable in any addition of GT)
6. Wind speed, resistance and down force....count those too.

I am sure there are others that I have no clue about. I respect every tuner who offers up their help guidance and talent in GTP. Because this (tuning) aint easy.

So what I am saying is although all of you know your stuff, the modeling (mapping if you prefer) of this game does not encompass the entire spectrum of tire related variables.
That is no crime. This load indicator I suspect will pay off for tuners in the long run.
Like Hami is saying, you MIGHT be able to "infer" what other suspension settings "should" be based on the indication of tire load. That is better than nothing. It still has to be tested.
And for tunners, that is part of the fun/job.

 

[PiRacingChamp]

I thought that the white circle moved to mimic spring movement. The smallest circle (inward) shows the spring unweighted, as with accelerating and the front springs are as unweighted as they would be. Larger circle (outward) shows the springs weighted with more compression as with the rears under acceleration and the springs compressed. And, of course, all acting independently, so each corner is represented so all can be monitored during cornering. The red in the middle when you are hitting the bumpstops (or bottoming to the chassis). This all would indicate grip levels, as mentioned above, however a more precisely as a result of the spring travel.

So, more a representation of how much the springs are compressed. Small circle = less spring compression / large circle = more spring compression.

 

[Master_gamer438]

I use the TLI alot, from experience I agree with you...but for curbs and bottoming out im not 100%. I know moree then 4 spots that "dip" low enough to bottom out most cars, but I might go red for 1 so it cant be totally safe to assume. I'm more for tires losing grip or weight being transferred to a tire. I think when this happens which ever tire is flashing is taking the weight and at some point is overloading it. Just a thought.