Of course I'm a noob and I've just started racing the BMW Formula FB02 online. I use the Race_blackwood setup and my best lap time at Blackwood has been 1:20:38. The best times from others seem to be around 1:14.

I know these drivers have more experience and are better racers but can my time be increased by a better setup? I've downloaded a bunch of setups but I was wondering if someone could recommend one in particular that I could start with that would help improve my lap time. At least get me started in the right direction. Thanks.

I guess this was a silly question. I'll just keep practicing with the setup I have until I can no longer improve my lap time. Then I'll start experimenting. I'll bet the farm that I'm coming out of some of the curves in one gear too high.

Hi Sylvie and welcome to LFS. Well I had the same problem when I started playing the game. I was going as fast as I could with demo cars but on the back straight I was getting overtaken easily even with a good exit speed so I realized really quick that the name of the game was setups. I would suggest you try some comfortable race setups before going for hotlap setups as these are generally easier to get into.

This page gives you some good setups. https://www.lfs.net/files/setups/FBM/BL00

Personally one gear too high is not always a bad thing unless it's REALLY high. At first you might come out of a corner in redline second gear and the day you start taking it a tad faster in third gear you realize you've just gained some time by not shifting at the exit of this said corner. In Blackwood the back straight last forever so you really need the best exit speed possible. You can learn plenty by downloading hotlap replays on LFSWorld so you can compare your driving style with the fastest on LFS.

Hope this helps, good luck!

Most turns I'm entering in third and leaving in third. The last turn I'll accelerate out in second and the first turn I'll enter in second.

Same here... getting overtaken on the back straight.

Thanks for the tip on the hotlap analyzer.

Actually I was pointing out the hotlap replays to analyze their racing lines and braking points but yeah.. I forgot the hotlap analyzer
To download a hotlap you just need to click the said icon in LFSworld, then Hotlap Charts and then you click the combo you like and the laptime. It should open LFS automatically plus you can try yourself with the same setup.

The hotlap telemetry analyzer is nice but a bit abstract when starting out.

After the race you can save a replay by pressing "2"
Change camera to birds-eye view and if you drive a bad line it will show nicely.

Also use TAB / click playerlist to change view to other drivers and look what they are doing.

Thanks to both of you for your advice, tips and help.

Wow, that is so cool to be able to download and view the hotlap. Are you able to save the setup after trying it out?

Quote from Sylvie20 :

Are you able to save the setup after trying it out?

If you ever find out how please tell me

drivers can "publish" their used setup to the setup page.
If they did that, you can find it there. I would not get too hang up on the excact setup, for start any of the sets on https://www.lfs.net/files/setups/FBM/BL00 will do ok.

Quote from Gutholz :

I would not get too hang up on the excact setup, for start any of the sets on https://www.lfs.net/files/setups/FBM/BL00 will do ok.

Good advice it seems. I have tried many setups and still have lap times around 1:20. I'll probably discover my line needs to be improved, I need to brake a bit later and accelerate out of the turn a bit harder. I'm losing about a second in each corner on the average.

Usually making ur own setup is best

Quote from asyed :

Usually making ur own setup is best

I agree but it's going to take a while to get to that point. Understanding the physics involved, my own personal driving habits (good and bad) and learning what each adjustment does in the car setup is going to take some time.

Probably a stupid question, but how do I add car set ups to my car?

I can see files to download, but where do I put them and how do I choose them in game?

Thanks

Quote from MysticReverie :

Probably a stupid question, but how do I add car set ups to my car?

I can see files to download, but where do I put them and how do I choose them in game?

Thanks

Manually put them in your C:\LFS\data\setups directory. They should show up in "Garage" on the upper right side of the screen within the game.

You can also just double-click the downloaded files, LFS will move them to /data/setups for you.

Edit: Now I think of it, layout files do that too - double-click to move them to /data/layout

Quote from Racon :

You can also just double-click the downloaded files, LFS will move them to the right pace for you.

Didn't know that one and it works well.

Thanks all.
That's so neat

Another fine example of just how user friendly this game is.

That much lap time difference isn't just in setup.

You also need to know that people usually set their car up for their driving style somewhat. On top of that, changing your driving style is way more effective than trying to iron out a perceived flaw in the car with setup changes.

I remember spending ages on a setup, and getting a fairly decent lap time. Then trying to address the weakness in what the car was doing, trying to narrow in on the perfect setup.

Then a friend joins the server, who's had far more experience than me, and gets close with a standard setup. Then makes a couple of really basic and subtle changes, and beats my time.

He sent me the setup and it felt like a boat, and I was far quicker on the setup I made for myself.

But it also taught me that setups really aren't anything but finding the last few tenths. The best thing you can do is practice, analyse, and learn to adjust your driving to solve handling issues you may think the car has.

Sometimes a car can feel a complete mess driven reasonably fast, but be far better driven very well at the limit. Conversely, you can make a car that feels great when driven reasonably well, but then it is all over the place when driven at the limit.

You should always try to make changes to your driving style before messing around too much with the settings. It will ultimately make you much faster, even if you're handed a lemon.

Quote from EeekiE :

That much lap time difference isn't just in setup.



You should always try to make changes to your driving style before messing around too much with the settings. It will ultimately make you much faster, even if you're handed a lemon.

Yea, I was sent a set up file from a p[layer online who was lapping very well.
Didn't make much difference to my sorry lap times though!
I guess it's all about getting them racing lines and braking just right

Quote from MysticReverie :

Yea, I was sent a set up file from a p[layer online who was lapping very well.
Didn't make much difference to my sorry lap times though!
I guess it's all about getting them racing lines and braking just right

It's practice practice practice, but more than that, it's practice done right. Forget lap time completely. Focus on one area you want to improve, read as much about that area as you can from something like the Skip Barber book, or the Speed Secrets book, and then consciously practice an element of that over and over.

Aimlessly doing laps over and over isn't so effective once you've got a feel for the track, car and game etc. You'll hit a wall and not go any faster. At which point you need to watch back replays to spot weak areas and focus just on them, with lap time out of your mind. And when you try and apply what you've learned, perhaps just pick 2 or 3 corners per lap to try it on. Don't overload your brain.


Practice doesn't make perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect.

So arse in seat time is critical, but not if you just aimlessly do the same thing over and over, trying to luck your way into a fastest lap you couldn't go out and do again a few laps later.

Yea
I usually just race one track until I'm very familiar.

Brands hatch I often race if it's available in games.

Blackwood is the track I usually race on in this game.

And I think you're right.. I hit a bit of a brick wall driving with my style.
I get good.. but after a point I just can't seem to improve much more.. while other players can lap significantly faster.
I guess I need to change certain factors in my style to really shave off the seconds.