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Old 10-14-2022, 08:02 PM   #4392
Spuds
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spcmafia View Post
I do actually have ACC. Might give it a try.
Disclaimer, I probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but I have done pretty much what you are looking at and here's my advice.

To get you started:
Recommend a flat track (no elevation changes/banking) with different length corners at different speeds. You want no aero on the car because that is a whole different game. Pick a RWD car. I am intentionally leaving toe adjustment out until the end.

There are two goals for racecar (comfort and feel are hard to do in sim I think):
-Achieve highest steady state grip in lateral and longitudinal directions.
-Achieve smooth and predictable transient load conditions

Start looking at steady state, mid corner performance first. Pay attention on solitary fast sweepers and slow >90° turns, and ignore everything else. First mess with the front/rear balance of the following: Sway bars, spring rates, camber. Then adjust them up and down as a whole, then go back to changing balance.

Next, look at corner entry. You are looking at slow, longer corners following a braking zone with the main parameter being how late you can brake and still follow the racing line with only smooth inputs. Parameters to mess with are: Spring rate overall, spring rate f/r balance, front bump damping, rear rebound damping, camber overall, caster. Note that some beneficial adjustments here might actually be to the detriment of mid-corner balance and performance. Once you figured out how settings affect you here, go back and forth to find a good balance.

Third, look at corner exit, particularly from medium speed corners onto a straight. Obviously you want to be able to put the most power down to get the highest speed coming out. Here you want to adjust: rear sway bar, spring balance, front rebound damping, rear bump damping, rear camber. Once you found a happy zone, go back through the other two phases, see the effect, and find a balance.

Last is quick direction changes. S curves, chicanes, etc at varying speeds. You want the car to change direction as quickly as possible while remaining stable through the second/third/etc curve. This is where damping really comes into play (at least on a race track). Adjust damping overall first, then balance, then look at spring and sway rates, then adjust damping again. As before, go back to the other phases and find a good balance.

Toe. I look at this as a last resort to attempt to make an axel just a bit more or less stable, mostly because I would probably always leave it at 0 on a real street car. Toe out typically makes that axel want to change directions a bit more, while toe in makes it more resistant to changing directions. You can try it out, but I recommend learning how everything else affects the car first.

Maybe add in elevation and/or banking and see what things do? Lol. Embrace the madness.

Once you have figured out one car, repeat with a few others with different weight distributions and geometries. Then you can try fwd, awd, aero, etc. Warning it's addicting.

Edit: Now change the tire compound and do it all again. Fun fact, EVERYTHING depends on the tires.

Last edited by Spuds; 10-15-2022 at 03:10 AM. Reason: Spelling, grammar, etc.
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