When you recieve or purchase a new car, is there a process you go through to begin adjusting its settings? To clarify, what setting do you start playing around with first? Are certain settings more important than others, or do some settings interfere or mess up things you may have done previously?
Tuning Process?
- Thread starter Celerity
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- Midlantic Area
- GTP_Duke
Hi, Celerity, and welcome to GTPlanet! This is a good question. I do indeed have a process I follow: tires first, then suspension, then transmission/LSD, and last of all, power.
First, I start with tires - usually T2 Super Slicks, rarely softer than T4s. Real race cars race on real race rubber, so I don't waste time with sport tires or less. Plus I change the oil for the extra 5% power you get on an undriven car.
Also, unless I have a requirement for a stock car or I'm in a competition with a very tight budget, I usually add the race suspension. I'd rather use a lesser car with better handling, so I usually try to pick a car that will be competitive with the AI.
After that, I head out to the specific track with the unadjusted car to make baseline runs. Without changing any settings, I run 5-10 laps and note the fastest lap time I get, and try to observe where the car seems to have trouble. Is it understeering at entry? Oversteering on trail braking or throttle? Does it bobble during fast left-right transitions? You can't fiddle the suspension settings unless you have a very good idea of what you're trying to cure.
In answer to your last question, all your suspension settings must work together. Setting a car up incorrectly can lead to having it fight itself. Also, some settings may be very effective, but have negative effects. For instance, massive toe settings can really make a car responsive in rotating through a turn... but, they also cause drag and hurt tire wear and top speed. So there are other things you should try first: camber, damper stiffness, stabilizers. If these don't cure the problem to your satisfaction, then go for toe. Always try to make one change at a time, and measure the effectiveness with lap times before you make another adjustment. The key is to observe how your changes affect the car, so you can tell if you're going the right way or not.
Suspension settings are very interrelated. Have a good read through ///M-Spec's Pocket Guide to Suspension Tuning above, which should help you get a handle on it.
First, I start with tires - usually T2 Super Slicks, rarely softer than T4s. Real race cars race on real race rubber, so I don't waste time with sport tires or less. Plus I change the oil for the extra 5% power you get on an undriven car.
Also, unless I have a requirement for a stock car or I'm in a competition with a very tight budget, I usually add the race suspension. I'd rather use a lesser car with better handling, so I usually try to pick a car that will be competitive with the AI.
After that, I head out to the specific track with the unadjusted car to make baseline runs. Without changing any settings, I run 5-10 laps and note the fastest lap time I get, and try to observe where the car seems to have trouble. Is it understeering at entry? Oversteering on trail braking or throttle? Does it bobble during fast left-right transitions? You can't fiddle the suspension settings unless you have a very good idea of what you're trying to cure.
In answer to your last question, all your suspension settings must work together. Setting a car up incorrectly can lead to having it fight itself. Also, some settings may be very effective, but have negative effects. For instance, massive toe settings can really make a car responsive in rotating through a turn... but, they also cause drag and hurt tire wear and top speed. So there are other things you should try first: camber, damper stiffness, stabilizers. If these don't cure the problem to your satisfaction, then go for toe. Always try to make one change at a time, and measure the effectiveness with lap times before you make another adjustment. The key is to observe how your changes affect the car, so you can tell if you're going the right way or not.
Suspension settings are very interrelated. Have a good read through ///M-Spec's Pocket Guide to Suspension Tuning above, which should help you get a handle on it.
