Project CARS 2 Nighttigers's Step-by-Step Setup Guide (1 Viewer)

[miagi]

thanks for the reply, but I guess I was not clear enough.



I get this, but does this matter for an individual lap (ie your brakes are terrible at 1400) or is it only a factor that starts to cause brake damage, and it is that damage that causes poor brake performance.

Will differ from car to car a bit but I can tell you for sure that when I run Hot laps in the FR3.5 and the brakes run hotter and hotter (because the ducts are too small) there will be a braking point where my brake temps are too high and I miss the apex with my usual braking point. Whenever this happens I notice about 1400°C on the hud. It's not necessarily the surface temperature that is the problem but the overall temperature of the system before starting to brake. Or it could be the surface temperature directly. It's hard to say but whatever it is, it's helped with more cooling.
I'm not sure if there is a soft degradation e.g. between entering the braking point with brake temps at 300°C and 500°C. I feel like there is a window where the brakes are OK and there is not much of a difference in performance but I'm not 100% sure. The FR3.5 with our short races doesn't collect much brake damage I think. There are other cars and endurance races that can be effected. In real life, if you don't run the brakes too hot the brake pads and to a degree discs will wear, but until you reach a certain point of wear the performance should be consistent. Carbon-Ceramic discs (like used on road cars) are a bit different about that, they wear in a much more complicated way and the danger here is that the disc stability is reduced and it can disintegrate at some point without having viewable indications of wear.
There can be a problem in real life that if you get the pads to high temps, the surface will become like glas and that will kill brake performance as the pads don't work as they should any more. (This rather happens if there is a general problem with the pad/disc setup or the pads grind on the disc.) But I don't think the game does that?!

 

[aed3810]

Fantastic resource, thank you. I will be printing this and studying it today!

Just a side note, is there a setup sharing page? I find it very handy to see how other people are setting their vehicles up so I can start trying to understand how certain set up changes affect car behaviour.

 

[UnstopaPaul]

Fantastic resource, thank you. I will be printing this and studying it today!

Just a side note, is there a setup sharing page? I find it very handy to see how other people are setting their vehicles up so I can start trying to understand how certain set up changes affect car behaviour.

I'd recommend joining up for one of the seasonal championships then. The last few have worked as a PRO/AM team, pairing a more experienced driver with a more novice one. I've learned a lot from working with more experienced drivers who have been able to share/discuss setups for tracks that we were jointly preparing for.

Another good way is to look for practice sessions coming up to one of the ranked events. People will often setup a practice session a day or two before. It's a great chance to ask questions on setup and many people are willing to give advice.

If you check all the links in Nighttiger's guide, there are at least a couple that show visually what is happening in corners (there is a great one of Catalunya showing where suspension/ roll bars take effect). It's worth investigating the (basic) physics of turning and mentally thinking through what is happening to the car on the corner. I've found this technique to be most valuable when combined with an understanding of what each setting changes about physical characteristics.

Finally, there is nothing like going onto a circuit, and putting settings to their extremes! You should be able to identify changes to steering and responsiveness. @Nighttiger mentions it in his guide, but to really be worth it you should make sure you are already doing consistent laps in a default setup, so you can actually feel the changes. Personally I find that I still need 50-100 laps of a car/track before I can genuinely gauge fine tuned changes to something like suspension. I've got this down over time from around 200 laps...so I hope that with continued practice that I can get it down further. My team mate @SBart_uk from season 5 seems to be able to get consistency in around 10-20 laps, which obviously improves the ability to feel setup changes. This part of course takes experience (or in my cause brute force lapping).

 

[aed3810]

Wow thank you for the in depth response. I would be thrilled to be considered for the PRO/AM champs in time, I think right now I just need to earn my stripes and get used to racing with some talented racers.

I know I have a lot to learn but I am so impressed with the friendliness of this forum and group, I’m really looking forward to getting to know you all! (Provided I can earn my probation status next week!)

Thanks again for the advice though, I am taking it all on board and trying to get my lap times consistent +/- 1%. That’s my first hurdle!

 

[Jamesl91]

Wow thank you for the in depth response. I would be thrilled to be considered for the PRO/AM champs in time, I think right now I just need to earn my stripes and get used to racing with some talented racers.

I know I have a lot to learn but I am so impressed with the friendliness of this forum and group, I’m really looking forward to getting to know you all! (Provided I can earn my probation status next week!)

Thanks again for the advice though, I am taking it all on board and trying to get my lap times consistent +/- 1%. That’s my first hurdle!

No need to be considered for the pro/am teams. For our project cars league “Revolution Cup” currently open to all probationers and members. Normally your championship status(PRO or AM) is based upon experience and TT times and is designed to help those who struggle with certain aspects of racing and to stop the “aliens” from teaming up and dominating.

We are always learning and improving and along with the friendly happy community, we are also privilaged to have so many members willing to help others improve.

 

[SgtBilko]

This looks great except i mainly work from an iPad and its really dificult to read in a small box.. Will you be releasing a pdf, I dont mind making a donation.
Thank you

 

[Crysis]

@Nighttiger Can we get a downloadable PDF of this? I am mostly offline at home, where I'd need the guide the most. It's way too much and complex to just type it all out by hand, not to mention I don't have the time to do that at a public location, and this is by far the best guide to be found for this.

I just got Project Cars 2, the most I've ever done with a driving game in a long time is Mario Kart. The last major driving game I had was Gran Turismo 3 for PS2, and I didn't know anything about tuning then either.

 

[Jamesl91]

@Nighttiger Can we get a downloadable PDF of this? I am mostly offline at home, where I'd need the guide the most. It's way too much and complex to just type it all out by hand, not to mention I don't have the time to do that at a public location, and this is by far the best guide to be found for this.

I just got Project Cars 2, the most I've ever done with a driving game in a long time is Mario Kart. The last major driving game I had was Gran Turismo 3 for PS2, and I didn't know anything about tuning then either.

I dont believe this is something Nighttiger is too keen on doing, since he spend a lot of time(along with a few fellow members). With a number of setup geniuses here at RSR you are more than welcome to post any questions you may have. there's always someone willing to help

 

[Crysis]

But that doesn't help me when I'm offline at home playing this. I encounter a problem, I have to wait until I'm out in public days later to post, then however many more days to get back out and see any replies. It ends up taking a couple weeks to get a solution.

 

[Jamesl91]

But that doesn't help me when I'm offline at home playing this. I encounter a problem, I have to wait until I'm out in public days later to post, then however many more days to get back out and see any replies. It ends up taking a couple weeks to get a solution.

ahh, i didnt realise you didnt have access to the internet from home. while you wait for nighttigers response maybe this can help you.

from the self improvement thread

As everyone has already said, there are plenty of guides and videos to watch to help you understand how you can improve. From personal experience, when i joined RSR i didn't really know anything about setups, I knew the basics such as down-force, camber etc. Since joining RSR i have learnt an awful lot on how to setup the car with their help. There are a few things i always do now before i start making a setup and these are things i would recommend to anyone:

• take the stable default setup and do 5-10 laps on race fuel to understand how the car handles. This will then give you a good understanding on how the car feels, does it understeer? or oversteering? these are simple to fix with a few changes.
• doing the default setup run before you start working on a setup also gives you a lap time to aim for, so when you make a setup change ideally each time you go out on track you should beat the previous best lap. For me this makes practice more fun!
• When setting up a car its best to understand what the track surface is like(can be done in default setup laps) if the track is bumpy you may need to run with a softer suspension, if the track is smooth like Monza then a stiff setup will help here.
• once you have a setup your happy with and is balanced(no under-steer or over-steer) you can then really start pushing the car to its limits, exploring what the car can do and how you can use the track to increase your performance.
• Finding the out right pace of you/car is fundamental for race performance i believe. everyone can do 50 laps at a pace they are comfortable with but this wont help them during the race as they haven't explored the boundary's. I for example, will find the absolute ragged edge where I'm on the edge of track limits, braking zones and kerbing. This i find makes it easier to race as I'm not driving at 100% constantly i drive at around 98% leaving me room to stick to the rules and be safe. This also has the advantage of knowing i can out brake someone if i need to without going off track or causing contact.
• You have to setup the car according to the race your taking part in. For example if your taking part in an Endurance race then you need to still do the above but focus the setup more towards a setup that will look after the tire wear and fuel. this setup would be more focused on looking after the car and consistency rather than a short 20 minute race that can be about outright speed.

Race craft is a different story, This i find can only to taught to a certain level from books and explanations. A lot of race craft is done without thinking(if you have to think about it its quite often too late). I have learnt my race craft naturally with the help of watching BTCC and F1, absorbing what i see and putting it into practice. A few pointers on race craft:

• Track knowledge is key to all race craft.
• Using your knowledge of the track allows you to think 2-3 corners ahead, this means you can position your car in a way that gives the chasing driver limited options to overtake, and they will struggle to get past.
• being able to read a potential situation is a useful skill, this will come with time. the more you race with us the quicker you will understand certain drivers characteristics. driving behind a driver you will notice some will be defensive, some aggressive and others who crack under pressure. These provide opportunities for overtaking.
• Defensive drivers - you can stick to the racing line knowing they are going to be a lot slower through a corner or in the wrong position to take advantage of the track ahead.
• Aggressive drivers can be tricky to get passed but sometimes a semi defensive approach from you can work. chances are they will spin off through a mistake of their own.
• driver who cracks under pressure - if you know your a lot quicker but the car in front is holding you up and making it difficult to overtake, sometimes you can sit right behind them lap after lap. this will sometimes make them driver quicker than they are comfortable with and make mistakes.
• Knowing how a driver will react is important and will allow you to race closely with them without worrying.

I hope the above information helps you improve. Joining RSR helped me improve with setup as mentioned above but also i learnt to be more consistent and pick my battles(not every overtake is necessary) Most importantly what i quickly discovered with RSR is everyone is willing to help. as i have mentioned in the "introduce yourself" thread, we have members with a wide range of experience from those who are new to sim racing and those who are seasoned veterans.

The flow chart below might be of some help. Further to this there are a few programs on steam that can help with setup work.

 

[The Breeze]

But that doesn't help me when I'm offline at home playing this. I encounter a problem, I have to wait until I'm out in public days later to post, then however many more days to get back out and see any replies. It ends up taking a couple weeks to get a solution.

FYI: to join the RSR community competition, you definitely need a PC and internet connection.

 

[FuBii]

@daniel v