Possibly a really dumb question, but if I've found a race set that I'm really happy with are there any general rules for tweaking it for qualifying (low fuel, warm the tyres up quicker etc.)?

Edit: The set in question is for the FOX on Aston National, in case anyone wants to go into specifics

Quote from TechAde :

Possibly a really dumb question, but if I've found a race set that I'm really happy with are there any general rules for tweaking it for qualifying (low fuel, warm the tyres up quicker etc.)?

well, I'm not a pro, but quali sets for GTR cars usually have:
- Negative camber for better grip in corners (front wheels around -3, and rear ranging from -1 to -5).
- R2 slicks only
- lower pressure on rear wheels for better grip (which is good on slower tracks like blackwood, fern bay and south city). High pressure (180 - 200KPa) improves your top speed and tyres cool down very quickly on long straights.
- lowering downforce can also improve top speed, but it pretty much changes how the car handles, so I rarely change this one.

Quote from Rumiko :

well, I'm not a pro, but quali sets for GTR cars usually have:
- Negative camber for better grip in corners (front wheels around -3, and rear ranging from -1 to -5).
- R2 slicks only
- lower pressure on rear wheels for better grip (which is good on slower tracks like blackwood, fern bay and south city). High pressure (180 - 200KPa) improves your top speed and tyres cool down very quickly on long straights.
- lowering downforce can also improve top speed, but it pretty much changes how the car handles, so I rarely change this one.

Many thanks Rumiko. Do you know if the same would apply to the FOX?

Hotlap setups are generally all about grip and speed, not stability - you only need to go on lap without crashing after all.

So you're looking at as little understeer as possible and low tyres pressures for grip. Camber is a curious one, since the tyres seem more heat sensitive than load sensitive, so having flat camber during cornering might not actually be fastest if it means part of the tyre is cold.

The amount of downforce certainly shouldn't be changed much, whatever is fastest for racing will be fastest hotlapping. However the aero balance might be slightly less rearward (e.g. one or two degrees less rear wing angle, depending how much you had to start with).

Obviously as little fuel as possible, such that you'll need to scrub the tyres for a lap to get the up to temperature, rather than just racing for 3 or 4 laps, since you'll have none left for a fast hotlap then.


For most people though you'll mainly want to stick with whatever you're used to, since you'll be able to push this set the hardest. Dedicated hotlap setups are only for the aliens out there.

Thanks for the advice Bob