Setting up the Aerodynamics, Weight Distribution, and Steering of a modern F1 car in rFactor 2

The following guide is about the theory behind setting up the aerodynamics, weight distribution, and steering of a modern Formula 1 car in rFactor 2. Feel free to add your questions and comments below. Aerodynamics Front and Rear Wings Adjusting the front and rear wing parameters determines how much downforce the car will have on the wheels. It is quite obvious that the higher the wing value, the more downforce will be obtained, as a consequence, there will be more drag and therefore top speed will be less than with lower wing settings. It is recommended to have a higher value on the rear than the front, otherwise there is a risk of completely losing control of the car in high speed corners. Keep in mind that the effect of aerodynamic grip is mostly noticeable at high-speeds. Analyzing the type of circuit is important to determine whether low wing setting or high wing settings will be necessary. If lapping a circuit in which most of the lap is at high speed, then a lower wing setting will be more advantageous, for example, Monza. On a circuit which the average speed is low, like Monaco, higher wing settings is the way to go. Rules to follow on aerodynamics:

[b]Wing[/b]

[b]Adjustment[/b]

[b]Result[/b]

Front Increase [center]- Increases oversteer in corners.[/center] [center]- Increases front grip in corners.[/center] [center]- Increases front tire wear.[/center] [center]- Decreases straight line speed.[/center] Front Decrease - Increases understeer in corners. - Decreases front grip in corners. - Decreases front tire wear. - Increases straight line speed. Rear Increase - Increases understeer in corners. - Increases rear grip in corners. - Increases rear tire wear. - Decreases straight line speed. Rear Decrease - Increases oversteer in corners. - Decreases rear grip in corners. - Decreases rear tire wear. - Increases straight line speed. Front and Rear Increase - Increases grip in corners. - Decreases straight line speed. Front and Rear Decrease - Decreases grip in corners. - Increases straight line speed.

If the car is not balanced, wing adjustment is the last resort. Instead, look at the suspension or balance settings first. Weight Longitudinal Distribution In real life, weight distribution is a complex area to setup, but in rFactor 2 it is not that involved. A fixed polar moment of inertia is used by rFactor 2 so when the weight shifts it directly applies grip without the consequences of inertia as it is in real life.

[b]Adjustment[/b]

[b]Result[/b]

Moving the weight towards the front - Increases oversteer. - Increases front grip. - Increases front tire temperatures. Moving the weight towards the rear - Increases understeer. - Increases rear grip. - Increases rear tire temperatures. Weight distribution can be used to equalize tire temperatures as well as managing some understeer/oversteer. The key is to use this setting in moderation because it influences many things. Lateral Distribution Certain tracks may have a preponderance of right or left hand corners. Moving the weight to one side can improve performance on those corners and improve tire temperatures. The lap times may still remain about the same, but the car is more controllable in the critical corners and tire temperatures are lower.

[b]Adjustment[/b]

[b]Result[/b]

Moving the weight towards the right - Increases right tires temperatures and grip. - Decreases left tires temperatures and grip. Moving the weight towards the left - Increases left tires temperatures and grip. - Decreases left tires temperatures and grip. Wedge Wedge is a type of cross-corner bias applied. If the right-front and left-rear were one pair, and the left-front right-rear were another pair one turn of wedge would move 1-5% of the weight from one pair to the other. Most F1 mods have this adjustment disabled. Steering Steering Lock Steering lock is the distance the tires can steer before hitting "steering stops". What's interesting about this is while your steering wheel may turn, say 90° in either direction, the tires may not turn that far, in effect you may be steering further than the wheels of the car are turning. Understand that increasing the steering lock does not produce more front grip, you are simply decreasing the turning radius (turning more), as a consequence, the tires will move more and will wear out more quickly. You will need to be extra careful as the steering becomes more sensitive to driver input as well. Usually, the way to setup the steering lock is by checking at the tightest corner at maximum steering wheel turn, for example, Monaco's famous turn 6 requires a high steering lock since that turn is notorious for being too tight. Adjust your lock so that you can completely turn your car on a tight corner at almost maximum steering wheel rotation.