[Post #6] Can someone explain dampers...

[Roger Prynne]

It's not my fault when you're slower than a snail.

I was just about to do it the same time as you but the threads weren't there anymore

[DECATUR PLAYA]

You really should start tuning at the dampers. Once you have the rough spring settings for the track where you want them, the slow and fast bump/rebounds are to fine tune the springs for how you drive on the track. Example, medium soft springs at CotA, with fast damps set fairly high, will allow for the smooth surface at CoTA, and those mad S's and setting the slow bump/rebound to a soft setting should allow for a newish driver to learn to perfect the line on the track.

Will take this into consideration for the future.

[Jussi Karjalainen]

For me dampers and springs go hand in hand at the same time. If I start from a balanced position, every spring change usually requires a damper change. Dampers are there to control the springs and the body.

Hence why I use the calculator. =)

[Racefancy]

I agree best way to start is to use Jussi's calculator, select your springs (from a ride frequency you desire) and the damper settings result from that, this is how it's done IRL as well and it gets you in the ballpark where testing on track is then used to refine the settings.

[Dynomight Motorsports]

That's why there's engineers.. it takes a degree to understand this

In all honesty, I appreciate the games attempt to make this a very detailed and in-depth Sim, but in Real Life the Driver rarely has to deal with this many aspects of the car. They have teams of engineers for this, unless you are in some low budget hobby racing series. But the "Ask the Engineer" setting doesn't really go in-depth with dampers or tow or camber. Instead we're force fed a steady diet of info and asked to not only drive the car but be the lead Engineer as well.

[tekQ]

I just got PCars2 last night and my initial impression is that the developers made a complicated system even more complicated. I’ve played multiple driving sims over the last 20 years and I d never come across one that is so needlessly difficult to play. I’m probably the easiest person to please with a game, but the tuning options I’m seeing the on the Clio Cup car are so limited it’s ridiculous.

Also, the responses to questions in here are no more than links to other articles that do t appear to provide any answers, they just speak in very general terms using only a definition of vocabulary as opposed to instructions on how to actually tune a car.

Honestly, I think I want my money back...

[Visceral_Syn]

No 2 people drive cars the same, the more you know on how to setup your car, the more you 'should' be able to get more out of the car, especially if you set up your car the way you need it to go fast...

[Wayne Kerr]

In all honesty, I appreciate the games attempt to make this a very detailed and in-depth Sim, but in Real Life the Driver rarely has to deal with this many aspects of the car. They have teams of engineers for this, unless you are in some low budget hobby racing series. But the "Ask the Engineer" setting doesn't really go in-depth with dampers or tow or camber. Instead we're force fed a steady diet of info and asked to not only drive the car but be the lead Engineer as well.

Depends on the series. Factory efforts wec, sure there might be teams of engineers.

Privateer LMP2 teams? Depends on the size of the team and the budget that they operate on.

If you filter it down to privateer GTD in IMSA that is not a factory backed program, I assure you the "teams" of engineer is at MOST two-three guys per car if that. Usually two is the norm, one data guy, one main engineer. You might have a junior eng that shadows the main guy and helps out the data guy in some places, but if you think every team that goes out there racing on tv has another team at the factory running a 7 post rig with telemetry getting fed back to the rig in real time, you're in for a surprise. That stuff only happens in F1.

[Roger Prynne]

Guys it is a 'Sim' after all.

[Dynomight Motorsports]

Depends on the series. Factory efforts wec, sure there might be teams of engineers.

Privateer LMP2 teams? Depends on the size of the team and the budget that they operate on.

If you filter it down to privateer GTD in IMSA that is not a factory backed program, I assure you the "teams" of engineer is at MOST two-three guys per car if that. Usually two is the norm, one data guy, one main engineer. You might have a junior eng that shadows the main guy and helps out the data guy in some places, but if you think every team that goes out there racing on tv has another team at the factory running a 7 post rig with telemetry getting fed back to the rig in real time, you're in for a surprise. That stuff only happens in F1.

Touche.. but I'm on console, and can't get VRHive to work.. so I don't even have the benefit of raw data to interpret with my "Engineering Degree". Again.. I appreciate the opportunity to tune every aspect of the car or the fact that it needed to be seriously over complicated this year over last, but when it comes to Driver Comfort, the Driver is 9 out of 10 times not looking at telemetry data trying to adjust his dampers. He simply informs the Engineer what the car is doing.

Me hitting [Sarcasm] button; I guess I could send my wife to College and get a degree in mechanical engineering then she can cypher out the data as I drive and when I give her feedback on what the car is doing maybe the two of us can figure out how to go fast.
I know about low budget teams, I raced as a hobby till it became too expensive. But the most I could adjust was corner weight with coil-overs and tyre pressure. It was all done with the seat of my pants, and yet somehow I still managed to stay competitive.