Things to think about when finding a good setup

You’ve heard it before: when it comes to winning, "the driver makes all the difference". That's mostly true - a good driver is more important than a good car, however a good setup is key for anyone! Many racers who are new to the sport ask what is the best set up for their car, and the answer is the one that works best for them. Every driver has their own way of driving and with that comes a set up that works best for that style of driving. So before you go wrenching on your car and chasing a good set up, first let’s take a look at what we are trying to achieve when we set up a car and how your driving style affects this.

You may hear a driver talk about how “balanced” his car feels. That’s what a good set up is all about, balance. Like a tightrope walker, a good set up strikes a balance between all the variables that affect its performance. A well-balanced car is one that does not want to spin out at every corner, what we call loose or oversteer or one that refuses to turn, what we call tight or understeer. This is achieved partially by the design of the car and partially by the set up of the car. Weight distribution front to back and side to side should be as equal as possible unless there is a benefit from offsetting the balance such as in oval racing.

Driving style will also dictate how a car performs. If a driver likes to stay hard on the throttle through a turn, chances are the car will feel tight and act as though it has understeer. If the driver likes to slam on the brakes, the car may spin and act as it has oversteer. Proper driving style is actually the first step to having your car handle properly. Practice driving as often as you can. Learn when to brake and how much to brake. Learn how to ease into the throttle of a nitro car to keep the car from spinning out under power. Know how far you can push your car before it spins or pushes wide in a corner.

Once you have a feel for driving your car, you can start to make changes to it. Notice and take notes on where the car is having problems. Is there a particular corner where it seems to want to spin out? How does it behave through the beginning, middle, and exit to each corner? Does it not want to begin the turn but then tracks through the middle and exit of a corner okay or does it push wide in the middle of the corner? Does the car feel very twitchy and responsive or does it feel sluggish and slow to respond? Narrowing down what parts of the car’s behavior you do like and don’t like will help narrow down your options.

Remember, your goal is to balance the car and tailor it to the way you drive. If you want to be able to get on the throttle faster coming out of a corner, look to the things that will let you do that. You can only push your car so far though and if you notice everyone is having the same problem in the same area then chances are it is not your driving or the car’s set up that’s to fault. Deciding what problems you can fix and what problems you have to live with are perhaps the toughest challenges of all.

Last is the golden rule to car set up. If you take nothing else from this guide, remember this:

Only make one change at a time! If you make many changes and the car gets worse, you may not know which change altered the car’s performance. Even if the car gets faster, because you do not know which change improved the car’s handling chances are you will not be able to repeat it at later events.

Record Keeping

No matter how many different tuning options a car may have, it is always very important to record each set up change you make and notate what changes it had on the way the car handles. Many manufacturers will make set up sheets available for their cars. These sheets will have fields for every conceivable option on the car including what electronics gear was used and the settings for that equipment. Try and be as thorough as possible as the better records you keep, the better information you’ll have available in the future.

Setup sheet for RS4 Pro 3.Notice that every aspect of the car’s set up can be recorded here. (Available on http://www.hpiracing.com)

1.    The type of track you are racing on, weather and time of day.

2.    Tire type, compound, size, insert, and wheel for both front tires.

3.    Camber, castor, and toe for left and right side front suspension.

4.    Front kick up and roll center (if adjustable)

5.    Front ride height.

6.    Front upper link location both inside and outside.

7.    Front Ackerman link length.

8.    Front springs, piston, oil, and preload for both front shocks.

9.    Front shock position both on shock tower and on suspension arm.

10.  Repeat steps 2 through 9 for rear suspension.

11.  Wheelbase

12.  Body type

13.  Motor

14.  Battery

15.  Pinion and spur gear ratio along with roll out

16.  Transponder placement

17.  Steering servo type.

18.  A section for taking notes on the set up.

You’ll want someplace to put your notes after you have recorded them. Most people will organize them in some type of binder. Some sort them by track type, then weather condition; others will organize them by setups that worked and setups that didn’t work. Some people even make a simple drawing of the track and note how the car behaved on certain sections of the track for each set up they tried. Find a way that you are comfortable with and stick to it. The better you take notes, the better your ability to quickly dial in your car to changing track or weather conditions.

If possible, also make sure to record individual lap times. Sometimes a set up change that you make may not seem like it made any difference until you look at your lap times and see you picked up a few 10ths of a second! If you have a friend time your car, be sure to offer to do the same for him or her.