Forward
First off: this guide will not make you a faster driver! Unfortunately, there is no quick fix for that. There is no substitute for logging the laps that make your reactions to the car become second nature. There is no quick way to learn a new circuit so you can concentrate totally on what the car is doing at any given point in time. The only way to be faster is to practice, read, learn, and practice some more.
What this guide can help you with, is understanding the various components involved in car setup, and why their adjustments affect what they do. In other words, the guide will give you the knowledge with which to create a faster car. After that, you still must drive the car to its limit!
And what makes a car fast? Well that depends on the driver and his technique. Some drivers prefer a lightly understeering car that reminds them gently where the limit is. Others have a more aggressive style and prefers to use oversteer to steer the car from both ends. And here is whats tricky: there is not one defining setup that is faster than any other setup for everyone. Its whatever gives a particular driver the confidence to drive a particular car at its limit. One thing is for sure, as you learn what settings work well for your style, you can generally apply those setup philosophies to most cars with desirable results.
This guide will refer to weight transfer over and over again. An F1 car has a minimum weight limit of 600Kg. That weight is subject to the laws of physics, and manipulating that weight is the science
no, make that voodoo, of car setup. The ultimate goal is to load that weight into the cars contact with earth, its tires, as evenly as possible at all times thus generating the tire temperatures that are deemed optimum for grip. As the car pitches (movement forward and backward) and rolls (movement from side to side) under acceleration, braking and cornering, this weight transfer must be manipulated to your advantage. Keep this in mind at all times because it is the name of the game.
This guide will not get into hotlapping. We will instead, focus on setting up the car for good solid, consistent performance. However, it shouldnt be too hard to push the principles outlined here to their limits and learn how and why those hotlap setups work.
The guide is divided into two basic parts: Part 1 will focus on all the various parts and pieces of the car, explain their principle roles and what they do, and give a brief setup guideline for each. It is the goal of the first part of this guide to give you a better understanding of what these components are, so you can better understand how and why to adjust them. Part 2 will be a testing session at Silverstone featuring the Arrows A-23 where well go over, in detail, all things discussed in the 1st part, while charting the effects
and laptimes while we sort out the car and develop a well balanced, competitive setup.
Lets begin
