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Setup Development Tool

About the tool
The purpose of this setup developer tool is to help you develop your setup over a period of time. It is not a "quick fix" or "cheat sheet". It will require an investment of time and effort, requiring you to navigate back and forth between sections continuously. You may want to focus on specific items each time you sit down to develop your setup. Do not overwhelm yourself by trying to work through this tool all in one session. Each section in the development tool correlates to a setup development article for you to better understand what changes are being applied to your car.

The one item that will benefit your setup time greater than any other item is the one sitting behind the steering wheel: You. If you do not know the track or the proper racing line, no setup changes will help you. You must take the time to adjust "you" before adjusting your car. Only when you can do multiple consistent laps should you begin to alter your setup.

As for the setup changes, you know the rule: Only make one change at a time! Trying to "shortcut" the setup process will not work. Take your time and allow your setup to evolve over time, possibly over an entire season of racing in your favorite league. Practice, setup development and testing can easily add up to 10 times the length of the race itself.

Current version; Aug 2, 2009 - v2.1
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from VindexWorks Inc. All distribution rights are held exclusively by VindexWorks Inc. and may not be distributed, by any means, by any party. The information furnished herein is believed to be accurate and reliable. However, no responsibility is assumed by VindexWorks Inc. for its use.

About the author
I've spent my fair share of time researching the dynamics of race car setup over the two decades of my simulated racing career. While the advices I can give are not rules carved in stone, it is my hope this knowledge is helpful to the less experienced racers in their processes of setup development and in their enjoyment of simulated racing. The information in these articles and program is not geared toward any particular sim or racing type. The results within this Setup Developer Tool are valid in any modern racing simulation and in real-world applications as well.

My own setups are rarely designed to 'hot-lap'. While they can be hot-lapped when needed, I have found that stability inevitably results in a much better finishing position over barely controlled speed. The longer the race, the greater the demand for a stable and comfortable setup. Every spin or off-track excursion during a race may as well be the equivalent of adding a quarter-second per lap, every lap, over the entire distance of a race. Have a couple spins and I may as well have not bothered showing up at all. A stable, friendly setup to prevent the spins caused by lack of comfort will lead to higher positions in the finishing order. It's that simple.

Something I have done for many years is not develop setups to infinity. I develop from a similar base setup per car at nearly every track, making minor changes specific to the individual track. The benefit to this is that I am already versed in the car's behavior and expectations and am that much ahead in being comfortable out on the course. This also cuts down on development time ... time I can spend learning or practicing the track. Unaltered, that base setup may not be 'best' for any individual track, but will be stable and predictable over the distance of any race and get me to the checkered flag, which is the 'best' way to finish.

Tim McArthur
Chief Setup Engineer, Race2Play.com