This is by minos on the Kunos forums:
1)
Start with either safe setup and make it more loose to your taste or aggressive setup and make it more safe to your taste for starters.
Do this and ONLY this until you truly understand each setup option and how changes impact car behavior in ACC.
Generally the aggressive default setup is good for world record lap times but do have much smaller windows of safe operation for the cars and the safe setups make for much more accessible driving with the different cars but generally are a little bit slower for advanced drivers trying to squeeze out the car for fastest lap times. Choose accordingly.
2)
Make sure your tire pressures are spot on.
Use the tire app in session and gauge how tire pressure and temp are evolving from leaving the pits to optimally warmed up happy tires (do testing sessions in stable track conditions alone on the track for that).
The tire app does give some very clever combined feedback relating to over/under pressure, temperature, overheating, tire section temps, brake temps, … Learn how to read it, it is in ACC your most valuable too to adjust all tire related setup changes (in combination with tire wear and tire section temp and pressure readouts in the pits).
(keep an eye on the brake temps and adjust your brake ducts accordingly as well)
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looong pause
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Pay attention to the following only after exhausting the above basics but not limited to the following listed brainstorming list (in no particular order):
More complex and more constantly changing aero made the biggest change coming from a more static aero system as in Assetto Corsa so naturally this demanded the largest attention when setting up cars in ACC.
- watch how the aero balance changes when changing ride heights (there is a window of operation both for the front splitter and the rear diffusor - observe in which ride height windows aero efficiency changes have impact on aero balance)
- in short: you want both front and rear within the optimal window of efficiency as low as possible still running enough ride height for sufficient suspension travel for curbs, strong compressions without bottoming out, etc...
- adjust aero in this order:
1) amount of total aero (low drag, low downforce track vs. slow, twisty max downforce track vs balanced medium downforce track)
2) assure rear ride height, spring rates, front bump stop rates and bump stop travel and front and rear slow dampers prevent rear diffusor stall (due to heavy pitching off throttle or under brakes)
3) adjust downforce balance front to rear to taste (make sure the car is stable at all times but does allow for turns in fast high downforce corners)
- don't be afraid to use high bump stop rates and short bump stop travel ranges
- your #1 goal in ACC setups is to make the aero stable under braking and turning - if your car drives great but every time you enter a braking zone or turn in point and the car tries to kill you it is no good!
- minimize excessive pitch with your suspension setup (spring rates, slow dampers, bump stops
- watch your camber angles not only with inner, center, outer tire section temperatures but also do longer test runs that produce sufficient tire wear and WATCH TIRE WEAR in IMO sections to adjust and fine tune your camber and toe !!!
- if you see on certain vehicles a constantly too high tire temperature on a particular tire (with the Porsche the rear tires like to be on the hit side) you can utilize (misuse ;-) ) your brake ducts a little bit to counteract tire temperature (ie. at Spa you can run a one click more open rear brake duct than you normally would for brake temps in order to keep excessive rear tire temps in check - but be aware on the tradeoff and be prepared for changes in brake balance with optimal front brake temps and cold rear brake temps after long straights)
- pay attention to your shift points (especially important with the Blancpain regs demanding a single, locked set of gear ratios for all tracks) - test by variating your shift points ever couple of consistent laps and observe lap time gains (or use telemetry analysis)
- don't slide ! (your set up goal is to set up the car for minimal lateral slip and maximum traction on brakes and throttle) ACC punishes ruthlessly a loose, sideways driving style (by loosing time and tire life) focus on this aspect in your setup
- make only TINY, single changes gradually and run several consistent laps in between changes (this is ESPECIALLY true now with ACC, much more so than ever before with GTR1/2, rF, AC, … especially suspension changes that influence the aero balance have VERY BIG impacts on stability, much more so than in any racing sim before it).
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looong pause
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- use telemetry data, Motec i2 and build extensive math channel analysis to gain insight on the data ACC is lacking in direct data channels.
When I was new to ACC on EA my first thought was - great, now with a simplified setup system and much more strict rules of what can be changed on the car telemetry data is less important and ACC will be much more accessible to people who do not enjoy the engineering aspect.
I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG !!!
It turns out that the tiny setup changes it can take to completely make or brake a stable aero platform absolutely DEMAND utmost, detailed knowledge of data analysis in order to setup a car safely (especially so when getting to cars like the Porsche 911 GT3 R).
I would argue that ACC has made it even a little harder to setup cars with no or only basic engineering knowledge especially considering that we now have much, much more reduced direct data of what is happening with the car on the track.
You really need to know your Motec math module and your chassis dynamics 101 to make the best of ACC setups.
This is why I now almost always suggest newcomers to STICK with the save or aggressive default setups (which are usually very well sorted out of the box). Those are the best default setups in any racing sim I have ever used thus far and running them until you exhaust your lap time gains is a MUCH BETTER option than tinkering with setups to start with.
