What do you all think of permitting adjustable diff settings? I find the current settings pretty sloppy even after some significant testing. I can run the car consistently enough at 9/10ths, but I can also easily tweak these diffs to knock at least a second off my time and still be well within the safety margins.

Otherwise I can provide a pretty good setup for you to try that I think most everybody will find very easy to drive fast. It hooks up everywhere, even under full boost and cold rubber, you can be incredibly aggressive with it. Actually makes the cars pretty easy to drive. I tried it out earlier just for a couple of laps and immediately ran in the low 27s on Qs with relative ease (full boost).

Anyway, let me know what you think.

I disagree with adjustable diff settings. I feel it takes away from the spirit of fixed setups. However if anyone wants to supply an alternative setup then I am sure we would be willing to try it out. The whole point though must be that these cars are managable for all abilities.

Yup, that was the spirit of my suggestion. A setup that's very easy to drive hard for all skill levels. If you don't mind, take it for a spin and let me know what you think. The approach to taming the rear is a little unconventional, but I think the result are undeniable. It doesn't turn as sharply as most people are probably used to, but it's actually very difficult to spin. You'll have to adjust the boost and max revs to meet race spec. If you don't beat your previous best time in short order, by a significant margin, and still be well within the limits of the car I'll honestly be pretty surprised.

F1'85 Monza Setup

I'm not an expert by any means, but I'd definitely be interested in making the setup a little more stable for me. After coming through chicanes, if I don't have the RPMs high I will definitely spin out but it seems almost impossible to keep RPMs high every time with autoclutch.

Sorry no offence but that setup is an .exe file and I never download .exe files from an unknown scource.

Huh? How's that possible? I just clicked on the link myself and the filename is "apex+~3eMonza88-F185(q).svm". There's no reason for me to up an exe file.

There's only so much that can be allowed to be adjustable with a fixed setting....I don't think differential settings are among them.

setup link worked fine for me no exe stew though u may of made the same mistake i did and clicked that big green download button when in fact its the link with the light blue bar in the middle of the page called: "click here to start download from sendspace sendspace"

i shall give this a run and get back to you matey

Good fun out there tonight. I'm still slow. I don't know if it was allowed, but can I jump into other vehicles to watch while you are driving?

Yep...if say, during practice you want to watch someone else drive, just select their name in the driver's menu and they will appear in the view window, usually 20 seconds delayed. Hit "R" to make it Live.

You can also use the same view keys to change views that you have when you're driving.

Yes thats ok Kurt. you will soon be up to speed. You're doing well considering these beasts are so hard to drive and you are new to sim racing.

Apex I just downloaded and tried that setup but I have to say I prefer the one thats on the server right now. Your setup had too much understeer for my taste. But thats just me I dont know how the others will feel.

There was some good, close racing all around tonight during the practices...and mine and Pumbaa's usual "which curve are we going to collide in?" expedition...

Birdki showed that keeping it on the track is key when he ran away that one race, without a single "off" to slow him down. Nice run, Birdski.

Couple suggestions for our newer guys...on the formation lap, drag your brakes a little to build up heat in them for the run down to the first turn. It'll help you stop much quicker than cold brakes will. You can cycle through the HUD to see brake temperatures to get an idea when they're nice and warm. Also, those hunks of rubber they called tires in 1985 need at least a lap or two to get up to a good temperature.

If you're starting back down the grid a bit and can't quite see the starting lights, you can cycle through the HUD to the screen that shows your track position...I think it has the Current and Fastest Lap indicators. When the red lights go out, signifying the start of the race, the clock on that screen will start....letting you know the exact point the red lights have gone out.

Remember, in a 51 lap race....you're not going to win it in the first couple of laps, but you sure can lose it in them by running into a wall because the tires and/or brakes weren't up to a good operatiing temperature.

At least this time I wasn't the leading car stopped on the racing line lol... Although I think the parabolica will be my corner at which to have a off at this time around lol...

What gear is everyone taking through there? I've tried 3rd, but that turbo lag bites too hard... But 2nd creates the changing gear snap oversteer problem... And either way I lose a bucket of time through there...

Initially, I snap down to 3rd on entry....the first or second light pole into the curve, the one after you've already started your turn-in and after the revs have dropped....I go to 2nd and start powering out of the turn, letting it drift a bit wide to the secondary line.

Ideally, I try to be tight on the curb at entry and let the car's momentum carry it to that secondary line.

Run a couple of laps yesterday alone... these cars are real beasts.
Depending the time I can spend taming them, I will think over my participation.

You really need to be gentle on the throttle, its way too much power under my feet...
I have a feeling that my pedal is not precise enough, are you changing the input curve to deal with this?

It does indeed understeer, that's why I mentioned its relatively slow turn-in compared to what most people are probably used to. I myself don't prefer that type of setup... but, like I was saying, the results are undeniable, at least for myself. If I take only the diff settings and apply them to the default settings we're running at the moment, I very quickly knock over a second off my fastest laptimes. I mean that's pretty significant no?

Even though it takes a bit of getting used to, I find that rear end to be more or less bulletproof. I mean, you can literally stand on the throttle nearly everywhere and under any circumstances. And it basically eliminates those 'pre-canned' spins that you can't recover from. I just thought I should mention it for that quality alone, in the hope that it could save some people a few headaches

Ok, I sign up, let's see how it goes.

Staniol / #17 / Arrows-BMW

I doubt I'll be there today. I got up early and am really tired. Probably going back to bed.

Got disconnected once more, luckily only in the first lap of the practice race. TS also sounded strange afterwards, voices of people speaking were badly distrorted and cut.

See you tomorrow.