Questions for GPL setup gurus

I have been playing around with the garage in GPL and I like what I see so far.I have some questions regarding some of the setup options. #1--Am I right that softer springs mean more grip and stiffer springs means less grip? #2--Does stiffer springs allow the car to go faster? #3--I use all I can in the GPL world and so ride with a 1in ride hght and 1in bump *** on the tracks that allow this.I read some places that (A) this is in effect riding on the bump ***s and other places say that (B) with these settings the suspension still has 3in of play and that the only thing that bottoms is the chassis onto the pavement.Who is right here?? #4--If using a lowrider setup and the option (B) is the right one,then I would assume I need stiffer springs to keep this 3in from bottoming out.Is this right? Skeeter

#1 Yes, you're right ! But one thing : what is power without control ? Nothing ! Stiffer springs yield in greater control due to less weight transfer and better car response. Also try to go with stiff (max on SPA and Monza) ARB's and about 130 to 150 for a bit morw twisty circuits. #2 You can drive more precise, with better control -> thus faster. #3 Those cars don't have suspension setup like our everyday cars (shocks being peripendicular to the road). Take a look at the main screen picture. You'll see the springs and dampers (shocks) going from the wheel to the chasis diagonally. Now...when you have let's say 0.5inch of travel when going over the bump, that may result like a 2inch spring/shock travel. That's nowhere near the bump ***s yet (I think). So, as it was already said in one of the posts here, you'll first bottom out the car then run on the bump ***s when on 1/1 ride heihgt/bump ***s. I sugegst you to use as low setting as possible for both settings (I also tried 1inch static ride height with bump ***s set to full and I still wasn't running on the bumps :) #4 Right. Go with a bit stiff car, as low as possible and with a bit of understeer. Cheers, Tadej Krevh Lotus Internet Racing [link lost in import] * currently holding 2 GPL world records [link lost in import] * the best GPL hotlap page

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> I have been playing around with the garage in GPL and I like what I > see so far.I have some questions regarding some of the setup options. > #1--Am I right that softer springs mean more grip and stiffer springs > means less grip? > #2--Does stiffer springs allow the car to go faster? > #3--I use all I can in the GPL world and so ride with a 1in ride hght > and 1in bump *** on the tracks that allow this.I read some places > that (A) this is in effect riding on the bump ***s and other places > say that (B) with these settings the suspension still has 3in of play > and that the only thing that bottoms is the chassis onto the > pavement.Who is right here?? > #4--If using a lowrider setup and the option (B) is the right one,then > I would assume I need stiffer springs to keep this 3in from bottoming > out.Is this right? > Skeeter

Well, read below... > I have been playing around with the garage in GPL and I like what I > see so far.I have some questions regarding some of the setup options. > #1--Am I right that softer springs mean more grip and stiffer springs > means less grip? Ok, yes... to a point. This is one area where the bump stops *do* play a part in GPL. If you go TOO soft, when you accelerate, the suspension will slam down onto the bumps in an uncontrolled manner. When it does this, you will get the *shimmy* all the way down the straight. It will weave more than a snake charmer. So I like to stiffen them up until this goes away. What DOES help exit traction is SOFT front rebound shock settings. Try it. Keep spring rates constant, then drive some laps with the FRONT rebound settings at 4. Then pit and change them to 1. See if there is a difference EXITING under power. Soft rebound (like in the real world) helps aid in traction; stiff front rebound aids in power-on exit oversteer. To a point. Too soft, the car collapses under the load. Too stiff and not enough load. Hehe.. I was B). Theoretically, B is correct. However, in the real world, you would have bump stops to *prevent* the chassis from bottoming. So in the real world, the A correlation would be closer to the truth. But the *bug* in GPL does not model it correctly and thus makes B a viable option. I have experienced bump ***-riding in GPL and with stiff enough springs and bars, you do NOT get this automatically with 1-and-1 setups. I've talked with Steve Smith a lot about this (and he in turn talks to David Kaemmer) and he agrees on these points... BTW, neither of them like this bug. I don't either, but I'm not going to be 1 second slower by NOT using a lowrider setup. If it's feasible, and it is with GPL's *bug*, go for it. Papy could have solved this by making the ride height "minimum" hard-coded at 2 inches with bump *** at 1-inch. Problem solved. But they didn't, so there's a *realism* dilemma... BUT I understand they are trying to make sure this DOESN'T occur with N3. Yeah. Try a 1-inch ride height at Mosport or the Ring. You'll experience it REAL quick. You need to go high enough on the ride height (given your spring/shock settings) to prevent the chassis from bottoming. Only experimentation will be your guide. Hope this was of some help Skeet! -_Dave -- Dave Schwabe The Aussie Toad -- Grand Prix Legends & Brabham site http://users.wi.net/~schwabe