about: Set Up manual for Touring Cars

Car not working properly? Try our set up guide, full of tips on what each part of the car does, and how you can adjust them to get the best performance from your car.

Car Set up

This set-up guide assumes that your car has a standard or kit set-up, and that there are no problems with your car, e.g. Bearings are spinning freely; nothing is dragging along the ground etc. If you do not have a standard set-up then the manufacturer’s website should have one.

Wheel

Tyres

Generally if you want more traction use a softer tyre, if you need more in the rear, use a soft rear and hard front and vice versa. This is mainly suited to on road cars.

Camber

Camber is best set so the tyres’ contact patch is as big as possible at all times. So with a stiff suspension and firm tires you’ll need less camber than with a soft suspension or tires with big, flexible sidewalls.

If the tires wear evenly across their contact patches, camber is about right.

Toe

Rear toe in

This is one of the most sensitive adjustments! One degree goes a long way. This can greatly stabilize the car. It gives the rear end loads of grip. The more toe-in you use, the more rear grip you get. This is especially apparent going into and coming out of turns. But more toe-in makes the difference between sticking and breaking loose bigger.

Large amounts of toe-in (2.5 – 3 degrees) scrub off a little speed in the straight

Rear toe-out is never used. It makes the rear of the car very, very unstable.

Front toe in

Stabilizes the car in the straights, and coming out of turns. It smoothes out the steering response, making the car easy to drive. It can make the car turn a little more in the middle and exit parts of a turn.

Front toe out Increases turn-in steering a lot. But can make the car wander on the straights. Try not to use more than 2 degrees of front toe-out.

Caster

Adding or removing a few degrees of caster can transform the steering balance of a car; it can be a very sensitive adjustment.

More

More caster aids stability, especially at high speeds, and generally suits large, open, high-speed tracks.

Less

Less caster increases steering drastically, it feels much more direct, the car turns tighter and faster. Small amounts of caster are suitable for tight tracks.

Springs

Stiffer front

The car has less front traction, and less steering. It’s harder to get the car to turn, the turn radius is bigger and the car has a lot less steering exiting corners. On very high-grip tracks, if the track itself feels tacky or sticky, very stiff springs are the way to go.

Stiffer rear

The car has more steering, in the middle and exit of the turn. This is especially apparent in long, high-speed corners. But rear traction is reduced.

Softer front

The car has more steering, especially in the middle part and the exit of the corner. Front springs that are too soft can make the car hook and spin.

Softer rear

The car has generally more rear traction, in turns as well as through bumpy sections and while accelerating.

Damping

Heavier

Thicker oil (heavier damping) makes the car more stable, and makes it handle moore smoothly. If damping is too heavy, traction could be lost in bumpy sections. The car will also change direction slower.

Softer

Soft damping makes the car react quicker.

Damping should always be adapted to the spring ratio; the suspension should never feel too ‘springy’ or too slow.

Heavier front/ softer rear

The turn radius is wider, but smoother. The car doesn’t ‘hook’ suddenly. The car is easier to drive, and high-speed steering feels very nice. Easy to drive.

Softer front/heavier rear

The steering reacts quicker. More and better low-speed steering.

Shock mounting

More inclined

Has a more progressive, smoother feel. More lateral grip. Having all shocks inclined makes the car very easy to drive and it feels like the car has more grip, but it’s not always fast.

Less inclined

More direct feel. Less lateral grip. (Side ways)

Front more inclined than rear

Steering feels very smooth. A little more mid-corner steering. Mounting the rear shocks very much upright can result in the rear end feeling unpredictable. It can also make the rear end jitter in turns.

Rear more inclined than front

Feels aggressive turning in, but for most of the time the car has a little less steering. The car has a lot of side traction in the rear, and the turn radius isn’t very tight.

Anti Squat

Anti-squat only works when you’re accelerating or braking, it does absolutely nothing when you’re coasting through turns. The harder you brake or accelerate, the bigger the effect of anti-squat is.

More

More anti-squat generally makes the rear of the car more sensitive to throttle input.

Less

Less anti-squat gives more side-bite, on-power and while braking.
It feels easier to drive in low-grip situations.

Long link

A long link gives a lot of body roll in turns.
It feels as is the body is willing to keep on rolling, until in the end, the springs prevent it from rolling any further. The car has more grip in corners, especially the middle part. But: if there already is a lot of traction, long camber links can slow the car down in turns.

Short link

A short link makes that the body doesn’t roll as far, its tendency to roll drops off as it rolls. It feels as is the car generates a little less grip.
More parallel
A parallel link gives a little more roll than an angled one. It feels very smooth and consistent as the body rolls in turns.
More angled An angled link makes it feel as if the car has a tendency to center itself (level, no roll), other than through the springs or anti-roll bar. It gives a little more initial grip, steering into corners. It makes it very easy to ‘throw’ the car. The body rolls a little less than with parallel links. It’s possible to use softer settings for damping and spring rate than with parallel links, without destabilising the car.
Beware that you should always keep an eye on the balance of your car; large differences in roll center front vs. rear will make the car feel less consistent and less confidence-inspiring.
Longer front

The front rolls and dives more in turns. Lots of steering in mid-corner. Could make the car hook.
Shorter front
The front feels very stable. A little more turn-in, but less steering in mid-corner.

Longer rear

More rear traction in turns, and coming out of them.
Rear end slide is very progressive, not unpredictable at all.
Make sure that there’s enough rear camber though, or you could lose rear traction in turns.

Shorter rear

The rear feels very stable. It breaks out later and more suddenly, but if it does, the slide is more controllable. It makes the front dive a little more, which results in more steering, especially when braking.
More angled front
Turn-in is very aggressive. The front feels as if it wants to roll less than the rear.
More angled rear The rear end is rock-solid while turning in. It feels very confident.

Droop

Less droop

The car changes direction faster, and corners flatter. It feels generally more responsive and more direct. Having a lot of droop is only advisable on smooth, high-traction tracks.

More droop

Gives better handling on bumpy tracks, and more and more consistent traction on difficult tracks.
Less droop in front
The car changes direction faster. It turns in very well, but it could lose front traction halfway through the turn.
More droop in front Makes the car brake better. Rear traction feels consistent.
Anti dive/kick up The assumption is made that if kickup is changed, caster stays the same. (This usually requires different caster blocks.)

Kick-up & Anti-Dive

More kickup/less anti dive

Much better through bumps. More forgiving to drive.

Less kickup/more anti dive

More turn-in steering. The car dives less while braking, and the front lifts less while accelerating. Maybe a little more braking traction, and a little more on-power steering too.
Wheelbase

Wheelbase

Longer

A short wheelbase makes the car feel very nimble, and good in tight turns. This is a good idea for very small and tight tracks.

Shorter

The car becomes a lot more stable and better in wide, high-speed turns. This is good on wide-open tracks.

Pinions

Smaller pinions

Smaller pinions give better acceleration, but you will get a lower top speed, this is good for tight twisty tracks, where you want to accelerate fast out of a corner.

Bigger pinions

Bigger pinions give higher top speeds, but the car will feel slow out of corners,
Smaller spur

Spur Gears

Smaller

Smaller spur gears give higher top speed, same effect as larger pinions.
Larger spur

Larger

Larger spur gears give better acceleration, same effect as smaller pinions.
These can be shown in tables know as gear ratio charts, where the ratio between the spur and the pinion is given.
Small ratio
More acceleration. More runtime. Lower top speed.
Large ratioLess punch, but more top speed. Less runtime.

Weight Distribution

Toward the front = More front-end grip, all the time. But the front also feels more inert. If you overdo it, it feels like you’re riding on the front tires, and the rear doesn’t do anything but follow the front. Rear traction is reduced.
More towards the back = More rear-end grip, so the rear feels more planted. But if the rear does swing out, it’s usually very sudden and more unpredictable.