QUICK SETUP GUIDE FOR THE DW12 ON OVALS
If the primers on setting up the IndyCar on ovals are not making sense to you, and you do not care about the “Whys” and “Hows” of all of it, you can use the following guidelines to make your car faster. You will want to do them in the order presented. Also, remember that you are trying to get a balanced car with possibly a bit of oversteer in it.
IndyCar mandates the use of the road/street/short oval aerodynamic package for all short ovals. Within this package, however, there are options. For example:
diffuser sidewalls/strake: optional (but suggested)
rear wing angle: 10.0 degrees to 46.0 degrees
For superspeedways, the aerodynamic package is quite different. Each superspeedway will have its own options. For example:
Indianapolis -
diffuser sidewalls/strake - optional
rear wing angle: -10.5 degrees to +10.0 degrees
Michigan -
diffuser sidewalls/strake - optional
rear wing angle: -10.5 degrees to 0.0 degrees with no wicker
Texas -
diffuser sidewalls/strake - not allowed
rear wing angle: -10.5 degrees to 0.0 degrees with wicker
Race trim:
THEN REPEAT process of reducing lengths by 10 clicks and running 5 laps
UNTIL new fastest time is slower than previous fastest time
ELSE IF the new time is slower than the old time
THEN REPEAT process of increasing lengths by 10 clicks and running 5 laps
UNTIL new fastest time is slower than previous fastest time
(This process should only take 5 or 6 repetitions before you find the best ride height/speed.)
NOTE: if the fixed setup ride height is too high to begin with, then reducing pushrod lengths by 10 clicks will create a faster time. If the fixed setup ride height is too low to begin with, then increasing pushrod lengths by 10 clicks will create a faster time. At some point, you will either be too low to the track and bottom out (by reducing lengths) or too high for the underwing to be effective (by increasing lengths).
THEN REPEAT process of reducing rear wicker height and rear wing angle
UNTIL car is balanced (“push” is gone)
ELSE IF car has oversteer
THEN REPEAT process of reducing front wicker height and front wing angle
UNTIL car is balanced (“loose” is gone)
b. Now that the car is neutrally balanced (no understeer or oversteer), continue to trim the car out by reducing the front/rear aero by the same percentage until the car starts to lose grip. Then, go back just a bit to the previous aero settings. You are trying to find the point where less downforce is justified, but you don’t want so little downforce that the tires are losing grip and sliding. Make sure the tires don’t lose grip after only a few laps. If that is the case, you have taken too much downforce out of the wings.
NOTE: if the fixed setup wing angles/wickers are too low to begin with (and the tires are losing grip and sliding already), then adding wing angles and wicker heights may be needed. In this case, the underwing/ride heights have not produced enough downforce to keep the tires from losing grip – you will need to increase angles to the “upper” wings and heights to
the wickers to help add more downforce.
c. There are 2 other wickers to adjust - the diffuser exit wicker and the rear beam wicker. Try decreasing each of their heights and see what happens. There is no magic formula here, so try trimming each down in size and see how your speed responds. You will most likely want to leave them on the car, albeit at a small height, for the race. They both will add stability to the rear end of the car by producing downforce.
NOTE: You can use the “front downforce %” number to keep track of whether you keep your car neutral in balance while doing the aero trimming. In “garage” in “tires/aero” under “aero calculator”, you will see that percentage. Before trimming the car out (and after getting the car to be neutral in balance), note the front downforce percentage. As you trim the wings and wickers, try to keep that percentage the same. That way, you will know that your car is still balanced.
Also, keep monitoring the "downforce-to-drag ratio" number just below the "front downforce %" number in the aero calculator. As you change wing angles and wicker heights, note the ratio before making the change as well as after making the change. You are attempting to optimize (maximize) the downforce-to-drag ratio, so try to get that number as large as possible - it will indicate the most efficient use of that wing/wicker.
4. check rear diffusers - to keep the car stable with proper downforce from the underwing, the rear diffuser's sidewalls and strakes should be left on. In the case where an extra-low downforce setup is desired, they can be removed. But for most instances, keep the sidewalls and strakes on.
5. Change the gearing – After all of the aero adjustments, chances are that the gear ratios for 5th and 6th gear are off. In “garage” in “drivetrain” under 5th and 6th gears, you will see a drop down menu of possible gear ratios. The higher up the list are shorter gears. The lower down the list are taller gears. For 5th gear, you want to be at the very top of the RPM band. So, find a gear ratio (usually within one or two listed above or below the current one) that gets your engine to run just below the rev limiter. Normally, you will want all 5 lights on the steering wheel to be lit and flashing. 6th gear should be taller by 2 or so down the list from the one chosen for 5th gear. You will use it in the draft behind other cars.
Qualifying trim:
During the race:
1. Anti-roll bars – On most ovals, their effectiveness is pretty minimal. You may find that the default settings will work throughout the entire race. But, if you have set up your anti-roll bars, they may provide small, yet useful changes to the handling of the car. They are used for more subtle changes during a fuel stint, such as oversteer/understeer toward the end of a run. Most times they are used when there is no traffic ahead of you to disrupt the airflow. Keep in mind that their performance is optimal on road/street courses, where left/right turn complexes cause the car to roll more than on ovals. Do the following:
a. To correct understeer (“push”) during a run – move them to the “1, 6 position” That is, ‘1’ for front (softest) and ‘6’ for rear (hardest)
b. To correct oversteer (“loose”) during a run – move them to the “6, 1 position” – that is ‘6’ for front (hardest) and ‘1’ for rear (softest).
NOTE: the roll bar numbers can be seen as the middle 2 digits on your steering wheel display. They range from 16, 25, 34, 43 52, to 61. The first digit is for the front roll bar, the second digit is for the rear roll bar.
2. Weight jacker – If you have your weight jacker set up, it will provide much larger changes to the handling of the car. It is used for more aggressive changes, like “aero push” when behind another car. Do the following:
a. To correct understeer (“push”) - add + weight jacker of 5 to 10 (maybe more).
b. To correct oversteer (“loose”) – subtract – weight jacker of 5 to 10 (maybe more).
NOTE: the weight jacker number can be seen as the rightmost 2 digits on the steering wheel display. It ranges from -20 to +20.
3. Fuel mapping - fuel map "1" is for full rich/maximum power, 2 through 5 are for green flag fuel saving, 6 and 7 are for alternate throttle/power shapings at full power and map "8" is for maximum saving under full yellow conditions.
4. Tire wear – As your tires wear and lose grip, there is little that can be done from an aero standpoint. Do the following:
a. Turn into a corner earlier, giving yourself more room and less steering wheel input to complete the turn.
b. Let off the throttle just before entry into a turn, slowing the car just enough to make the turn without losing grip. Immediately return to full throttle once you enter the turn.