Practices/Setup help

[DaveO]

It's been brought to my attention that a few drivers would like help with understanding gear ratios, and general help with properly setting up there car. Next week will have a few practice sessions and at the same time, basically help/answering any questions that drivers may have with fine tuning there setups. Kinda like a little workshop on adjusting setups, and what exactly certain things do pertaining to the car, while also practicing. Ron has also agreed to help out with answering questions during these sessions.

[oldnslow]

to help with setups, we all have to communicate using the same technical language. if the car wants to go straight in the corners when you are trying to turn that is "push" or understeer. the opposite problem of the car turns too much is "loose" or oversteer.

Plus are we dealing with those problems at the entry of the corner, the center of the corner, or the exit of the corner. have too make sure the throttle (on or off) and brakes (especially locked) and not covering up what the main setup is doing.

Weight front/rear springs rates and anti-roll bars or Stabilizers mainly are used to adjust for the middle of the corners. the Shock Absorbers( dampers) are used for adjusting the the transients afterwards (entry and exit).

Gear Ratios: first you determine the fastest point on the track and find a top gear/final gear combination that allows you to get near the redline for the engine. allow some margin if you might be slipstreaming a competitor. the lower gears are determined by a increasing gap to each lower gear. ie. 1.00 4th, 1.20 3rd, 1.50 2nd, 1.90 4th. howerver, in shelby series it may be necessary to chose 1st for the standing starts rather than the slowest corner.

[Deleted]

Ok my 2 cents.

Rear wing angle:

More adds grip to rear (and steering) - better turn speeds
Less makes the rear slide more but faster straight speeds

Sway Bars:
Front: Lower for looser (more grip at right amount)
raise for tighter
Rear: (raise for looser iirc) lower for tigher car

Tyres:
Camber:
negative camber tilts tires inward adds grip but wears tires quicker. always add more negative camber to oppsite side of the most common turn (if most turns are lefthanded, then add more negative to right.)
Pressures: lower = more grip but more wear
higher = longer lasting but less grip (might be better in long haul)

if car is too tight:
lower front sway bar (adjust rear aswell)... depends where car is tight (in the rear or front)
+rear wing angle... (rear will feel tighter but grip is better)

if car is too loose:
raise front sway bar
raise rear wing... adds grip and rear downforce

Brakes:
I prefer mine around 65%, but I know many like it at 50% for these cars. 65% will wear front tyres out a bit quicker but will allow for car to steer into turns better. Never use more than 50% brakes or you will find your rear end dragging and fish tailing

wing is the easiest to adjust for immediate response.

After this series I will release all my setups

[DaveO]

Nov 24, 2010 3:41:00 GMT 2 @oldnslow said:

to help with setups, we all have to communicate using the same technical language.

Ron's 100 percent right, if everyone can describe what kind of problems they are having, by using the technical language he has describe in his post, will be able to help everyone out a lot better.

Will be having one practice session next Tuesday, November 30th@ 9pm UTC aka 4pm Est.

During this session, will answer any questions you have about doing any kind of an adjustment to your setup. But please do use the technical language that Ron has written to help describe what kind of problem you might be having!

If things go well, and drivers like this kind of hands on approach, will do another session as well.

[Blaxman]

I definately could make a good use of this workshop! Time has being a big issue though. I'll really do my best to attend this....

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