Spaz said:
Question though, do you know of a website with a tutorial on how to change the cars in the shop to get more performance on the track. I like racing, but I'm no good in the garage. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Oh boy, no I don't and I know exactly how daunting it can be looking at all those suspension options and adjustments. I am lucky enough to have a bit of a mechanical background so a lot of this stuff isn't too hard for me to grasp. Also, I started way back when on the original Forza and NASCAR games. The NASCAR series really helped me to understand the balance of a cars suspension and how to adjust it to get the most performance that I could from a car given certain driving styles.
The best help I can offer, is that you adjust only one or two things at a time. Start with the first page, right after tire pressures, and read what the scrolling help bar says. Play with the adjustments and test the car out to see and feel what kind of effect you had. It's tedious, but it's the best way for you to REALLY understand what is going on under your cars skin.
I'd start with a favorite car on a favorite track. Do a couple of test runs as is to establish a baseline time. Adjust your gear ratios (individually or final drive) and do a few laps to see what the impact was. Your goal with gearing is to extract all the engine power you can and that you can use as often as you can. There are other aspects to establishing your gearing, but you'll figure those out with time.
A gear ratio that works well on one track, won't on another. Either the gears are too far apart for the engine power, or you can't reach top speed on long straights, or you're too sluggish in accelerating out of a turn.
Once you've got a good feel for the gearing, jump into the suspension components. I'd start with track bars, read what the menu hints at, and give it a shot. Keep repeating the process and you'll eventually gain a good understanding of how you like to setup your cars for different tracks. You'll have a better grasp of what you want a car to feel like in the turns, on the straights, and on long sweeping curves. You'll then feel the differences between cars almost instantly and you'll feel uncomfortable until you can change their characteristics to fit your style.
I suggest starting with a very low class, low powered car on a shorter track for your experiments. Use a FWD car and get it to perform in the bends like you want, use a RWD car and figure out how to maximize your traction to use all of its power and maneuverability without spinning it all away in tire smoke. A lot of it takes a fine touch from the driver, and an even finer touch in the garage.
That's just me though....
