iracing CAMARO ZL1 NASCAR CHEVROLET CUP CARS User Manual

iracing CAMARO ZL1 NASCAR CHEVROLET CUP CARS

Introduction
The information found in this guide is intended to provide a deeper understanding of the chassis setup adjustments available in the garage, so that you may use the garage to tune the chassis setup to your preference.
Before diving into chassis adjustments, though, it is best to become familiar with the car and track. To that end, we have provided baseline setups for each track commonly raced by these cars. To access the baseline setups, simply open the Garage, click iRacing Setups, and select the appropriate setup for your track of choice. If you are driving a track for which a dedicated baseline setup is not included, you may select a setup for a similar track to use as your baseline. After you have selected an appropriate setup, get on track and focus on making smooth and consistent laps, identifying the proper racing line and experiencing tire wear and handling trends over a number of laps.
Once you are confident that you are nearing your driving potential with the included baseline setups, read on to begin tuning the car to your handling preferences.

GETTING STARTED

Once you load into the car, press the clutch and select 1st gear. Give it a bit of throttle and ease off the clutch pedal to get underway. This car uses an h-pattern transmission, but only requires the clutch pedal to get the car rolling and when coming to a stop in gear. To upshift, simply let off the throttle and select the next higher gear. To downshift, give the throttle a blip while selecting the next lower gear. Upshifting is recommended when the red RPM warning light illuminates. If you downshift too early, or don’t blip the throttle sufficiently, the wheel speed and engine speed will be mismatched, leading to wheel hop at the rear and a possible spin.

LOADING AN iRACING SETUP

When you first load into a session, the iRacing Baseline setup will be automatically loaded onto the car. If you would like to try any of the other iRacing pre-built options, you may select it by going to Garage > iRacing Setups > and then selecting another option that fits your needs. Because this car uses slightly different chassis and body configurations on different types of tracks, it will be necessary to load a setup from the same track type to pass tech inspection. For example, a setup for Talladega will pass at Daytona, but likely will not pass at Bristol.

If you would like to customize the setup, simply make the changes in the garage that you would like to update and click apply. If you would like to save your setup for future use click “Save As” on the right to name and save the changes. To access all of your personally saved setups, click “My Setups” on the right side of the garage. If you would like to share a setup with another driver or everyone in a session, you can select “Share” on the right side of the garage to do so. If a driver is trying to share a setup with you, you will find it under “Shared Setups” on the right side of the garage as well.

Dash Pages

Three digital dashboards are available in these cars, which can be selected through
the setup page or through the in-car adjustments black box. Each provides the same information but in a unique format. Dash page 1 provides information in a digital-numerical format, dash page 2 provides a digital-analog tachometer with digital-numerical auxiliary gauges, and dash page 3 provides a completely analog gauge display.

DASH PAGE 1

On the left, engine oil pressure and the cooling water pressure are displayed, on the right engine oil temperature and cooling water temperature. Top center displays the most recent lap time and current numerical engine RPM. The second row is fuel system pressure and battery voltage. The third row are the pit speed lights, which progressively illuminate in yellow below pit road speed, in green approaching pit road speed, with all lights green at pit road speed, and then switch to red when pit road speed is exceeded. The 4th row is a graphical RPM display. Each of the numerical displays illuminates in red when potentially dangerous values are reported.

DASH PAGE 2

On the left is the most recent lap time, engine oil pressure, fuel system pressure, and battery voltage; on the right is cooling water temperature, engine oil temperature, and cooling water pressure, each represented digitally-numerically. In the center is an analog tachometer displaying engine RPM, which illuminates red when the RPM limit is approached. Similarly to dash page 1, pit road speed lights will appear in the RPM region of the pit road speed limit, which progressively illuminate in yellow below pit road speed, in green approaching pit road speed, with all lights green at pit road speed, and then switch to red when pit road speed is exceeded. Each of the numerical displays illuminates in red when potentially dangerous values are reported.

DASH PAGE 3

On this page, all gauges are represented in a digital-analog format, which each illuminates red when potentially dangerous values are reported. On the left from top to bottom are cooling water temperature, fuel system pressure, and cooling water pressure. On the right from top to bottom are engine oil temperature, battery voltage, and engine oil pressure. In the center is the tachometer, and at bottom left the most recent lap time is reported digitally- numerically. Similarly to dash pages 1 and 2, pit road speed lights will appear in the RPM region of the pit road speed limit, which progressively illuminates in yellow below pit road speed, in green approaching pit road speed, with all lights green at pit road speed, and then switches to red when pit road speed is exceeded.

ADVANCED SETUP OPTIONS

This section is aimed toward more advanced users who want to dive deeper into the different aspects of the vehicle’s setup. Making adjustments to the following parameters is not required and can lead to significant changes in the way a vehicle handles. It is recommended that any adjustments are made in an incremental fashion and only singular variables are adjusted before testing changes.

Tires

TIRE SETTINGS (ALL FOUR TIRES)

COLD PRESSURE
Air pressure in the tire when the car is loaded into the world. Higher pressures will reduce rolling drag and heat buildup but will decrease grip. Lower pressures will increase rolling drag and heat buildup but will increase grip. Higher speeds and loads will require higher pressures, while lower speeds and loads will see better performance from lower pressures. Cold pressures should be set to track characteristics for optimum performance. For typical road courses or for oval left-side tires, lower tire pressures are recommended. For oval right-side tires, the greater loads experienced by the tires require higher starting pressures.

LAST HOT PRESSURE
Air pressure in the tire after the car has returned to the pits. The difference between Cold and Hot pressures can be used to identify how the car is progressing through a run in terms of balance, with heavier-loaded tires seeing a larger difference between Cold and Hot pressures. Ideally, tires that are worked in a similar way should build pressure at the same rate to prevent a change in handling balance over the life of the tire, so Cold pressures should be adjusted to ensure that similar tires are at similar pressures once up to operating temperature. On ovals, the right front and right rear would be similar, and the left front and left rear would be similar. On-road courses, the left front and right front would be similar, and the left rear and right rear would be similar.

LAST TEMPS
Tire carcass temperatures are measured via Pyrometer, once the car has returned from the pits. Wheel Loads and the amount
of work a tire is doing on track is reflected in the tire’s temperature, and these values can be used to analyze the car’s
handling balance. Center temperatures are useful for directly comparing the work done by each tire, while the Inner and Outer temperatures are useful for analyzing the wheel alignment while on track. These values are measured in three zones across the tread of the tire. For ovals, the left sides of the tires should typically be the most heavily loaded and hottest, so the outsides of the left side tires and insides of right side tires. For road courses, the insides of each tire should carry the greatest loads and temperatures.

TREAD REMAINING
The amount of tread remaining on the tire once the car has returned from the pits. Tire wear is very helpful in identifying
any possible issues with alignment, such as one side of the tire wearing excessively, and can be used in conjunction with tire temperatures to analyze the car’s handling balance. These values are measured in three zones across the tread of the tire.

Chassis

FRONT END

BALLAST FORWARD
To meet minimum weight requirements, tungsten blocks are installed within the lower frame rails on the chassis. These blocks can be moved fore and aft in the chassis, directly influencing the car’s Nose Weight value. The Ballast Forward value is simply a measurement of the location of these tungsten blocks relative to a reference point in the frame rail. Moving ballast forward in the car raises Nose Weight, moving it rearward reduces Nose Weight.

NOSE WEIGHT
The vehicle’s Nose Weight is the percentage of total vehicle weight on the front tires, directly adjustable through the Ballast Forward adjustment. Nose Weight represents the longitudinal Center of Gravity location in the vehicle and has a direct influence on the high-speed stability of the vehicle. Higher Nose Weight values result in a more directionally-stable vehicle, good for low-grip tracks and situations where the vehicle is set up with extra front downforce. Conversely, lower Nose Weight values are good for high-grip tracks and configurations with high rear downforce levels. Smaller tracks will also see benefits from lower Nose Weight values, as it will allow the rear of the vehicle to rotate easier.

CROSS WEIGHT
Cross weight is the amount of weight on the car’s Left-Rear and Right-Front tires relative to the entire weight of the car, displayed in percent. This is adjusted via the corner Spring Perch Offset adjustments as well as Front ARB preload and, to a very small extent, the Truck Arm Preload. For an oval car, Cross Weight is one of the most influential settings for grip level while the vehicle is in a turn. Higher Cross Weight values will add weight to the left- rear and right-front, both stabilizing entry and helping drive-off on corner exit. Lower Cross Weight values will help the vehicle rotate and keep it “free” in the corner to prevent speed from being lost, however too low can result in unstable entry and exit.

STEERING RATIO
The Steering Ratio is a numerical value for how fast the steering response is in the vehicle’s steering box. This ratio can be thought of as the degrees of steering input needed to produce one degree of turn on the steering box output shaft. For example, a 12:1 steering ratio will require 12° of steering input to rotate the steering output shaft 1°. A steering box with a lower ratio will feel more responsive to steering inputs and will require less steering input to reach the amount needed to navigate a corner. A steering box with a higher ratio will feel less responsive and will require more steering input to reach the amount needed to navigate a corner.

STEERING OFFSET
Degrees of steering wheel offset, are achieved by installing the steering wheel into the quick release mechanism off-center. This can be used to compensate for chassis settings that place the wheel off-center and is primarily a driver comfort adjustment.

FRONT BRAKE BIAS
Brake Bias is the percentage of braking force that is being sent to the front brakes. Values above 50% result in more pressure being sent to the front, while values less than 50% send more force to the rear. This should be tuned for both driver preference and track conditions to get the optimum braking performance for a given situation.

TAPE CONFIGURATION
Percentage of grill opening blocked off by tape. Increasing the percentage reduces aerodynamic drag and increases downforce while shifting the downforce balance forward, but reduces airflow to the cooling system and increases engine heat. Decreasing percentage increases cooling but also increases drag and reduces downforce. Too much tape may risk engine damage over more than a short number of laps.

FRONT ARB

DIAMETER
The ARB (Anti-Roll Bar) diameter influences the stiffness of the front suspension in roll, such as when navigating a corner. Increasing the ARB size will increase the roll stiffness of the front suspension, resulting in less body roll but increasing mechanical understeer. This can also, in some cases, lead to a more responsive steering feel for the driver. Conversely, reducing the ARB size will soften the suspension in roll, increasing body roll but decreasing mechanical understeer. This can result in a less-responsive feel from the steering, but grip across the front axle will increase. Given the low ride heights and high rates typical of this car’s springs and shock springs, ARB diameter can be considered primarily a fine-tuning adjustment for front roll stiffness to reduce or increase understeer and to control roll angle for optimal ride heights and aerodynamic performance.

ARM ASYMMETRY
The difference in length between the left and right sway bar arms can be altered via the Arm Asymmetry settings. The “None” setting will set the two arms at equal length, while increasing the setting will increase the difference in length of the two arms. This can be used to produce multiple effects, primarily serving to produce a higher anti-roll force on the right- front suspension than on the left-front, effectively rolling the chassis to the left when under load. This can be used to correct excessive roll without increasing the ARB diameter. A knock-on effect of asymmetry is a slight increase in front end heave stiffness or resistance to vertical travel. Since the two different lengths of arms cause the bar to be twisted at different rates, vertical travel will load the ARB, possibly leading to higher front ride heights on straights.

LINK SL ACK
The left-side sway bar linkage can be adjusted to either delay bar engagement or apply a static load to the bar. The linkage itself is a slider-type linkage, and any positive link slack will require the left-front wheel to travel prior to the ARB experiencing any load. This adjustment directly affects the bar’s Preload, outlined below.

PRELOAD
The ARB Preload is the static load in the bar while the vehicle is in the garage. Preload adjustments can be used to alter the dynamic loads in the bar while on track, and can be used to remove or add bar load in the corners and on the straights, directly influencing static and dynamic cross weight.

ATTACH
A quick way to unhook the anti-roll bar to allow for static suspension adjustments without bar twist confusing things; increase link slack and unhook the ARB before making spring/ride height adjustments; attach and reduce link slack (ARB preload) when done. If the ARB is attached with any preload while making adjustments, this will influence all other adjustments and quickly lead to improperly adjusting the chassis to compensate for the preload.

FRONT CORNERS

CORNER WEIGHT
The weight distribution on each tire under static conditions in the garage. Correct weight arrangement around the car is crucial for optimizing a car for a given track and conditions. Individual wheel weight adjustments and cross weight adjustments are made via the spring perch offset setting. Once ride heights and corner weights are set, any change to a spring rate will typically require a corresponding spring perch offset adjustment to maintain static corner weight.

RIDE HEIGHT
Distance from ground to a reference point on the chassis. Front heights are measured at the bottom of the chassis frame
rail just behind the wheel well and can be roughly identified via the skirt rivets at the bottom of the door. Since these values are measured to a specific reference point on the car, these values may not necessarily reflect the vehicle’s ground clearance, but instead provide a reliable value for the height of the car off of the race track at static values. Adjusting Ride Heights is key for optimum performance, as they can directly influence the vehicle’s aerodynamic performance as well as mechanical grip.

SHOCK DEFLECTION:
Shock Deflection is how much the shock has compressed from its fully extended length while under static conditions in the garage. This is useful for determining how much shock travel is available before the shock springs and packers are engaged on the shock body.

SPRING DEFLECTION
Spring Deflection is how much the primary ride spring has compressed from its fully extended length while under static conditions in the garage. On the front corners, coil binding is not possible.

SPRING PERCH OFFSET:
Spring perch offset is used to adjust ride height and corner weight. Adjusting this setting changes the preload on the spring under static conditions. Decreasing the value increases preload on the spring, adding weight to its corner and increasing the ride height at that corner. Increasing the value does the opposite, reducing height and weight on a given corner. These should be adjusted
in pairs (left and right, for example) or with all four spring preload adjustments in the car to prevent cross-weight changes while adjusting ride height.

SPRING RATE
Spring Rate changes how stiff the spring is, represented in force per unit of displacement. Primarily responsible for maintaining ride height and aerodynamic attitude under changing wheel loads, stiffer springs control the chassis attitude better (less roll or pitch change) which is good for aerodynamics and camber control, but the mechanical grip is often better with softer springs which allow for more track surface compliance but reduce aerodynamic control.

SHOCK SPRING RATE
The shock spring is a small metallic coil spring mounted on the shock body that keeps the shock from bottoming. If a car’s suspension compresses into the shock spring while on track, the stiffness of the shock spring will affect the handling in the same way the regular corner spring rates do.

PACKERS
Packers are shims inserted between the shock springs and shock body to change the amount of shock deflection at which the shock spring is engaged in compression. This allows fine control over dynamic ride heights which can improve the aerodynamic downforce and alter the mechanical balance.

BUMP STIFFNESS
Bump stiffness affects how resistant the shock is to compression (reduction in length), usually in chassis movements as a result of driver input (steering, braking, & throttle) and cornering forces. Higher values will increase compression resistance and transfer load onto a given tire more quickly. Lower values reduce compression resistance and transfer load onto a given tire more slowly. Differences between left and right bump stiffness influence dynamic crossweight on corner entry and result in a dynamic shift in balance while the shocks are being compressed, with greater right front bump shifting the balance toward understeer.

REBOUND STIFFNESS
Rebound stiffness affects how resistant the shock is to extension (increase in length), typically during body movement as a result of driver inputs. Higher rebound values will slow extension of the shock, lower values will allow the shock to extend faster. Higher rebound values can better control aerodynamic attitude but can result in the wheel being unloaded when the suspension can’t extend enough to maintain proper contact with the track. When tuning for handling, higher front rebound can increase on-throttle mechanical understeer (but reduce splitter lift, maintaining downforce) while lower values will maintain front end grip longer, helping to reduce mechanical understeer, but will allow more splitter lift and reduce downforce. Differences between left and right front rebound influence dynamic cross on corner exit, with greater right front rebound shifting the balance toward oversteer, mostly on corner exit. Excessive front rebound can lead to unwanted oscillations due to the wheel bouncing off of the track surface instead of staying in contact.

CAMBER
Camber is the vertical angle of the wheel relative to the center of the chassis. Negative camber is when the top of the wheel is closer to the chassis centerline than the bottom of the wheel, positive camber is when the top of the tire is farther out than the bottom. Greater camber angles will increase the cornering force generated by the tire, but will reduce the amount of longitudinal grip the tire will have under braking. Excessive camber values can produce very high cornering forces but will also significantly reduce tire life, and extreme values of camber can even reduce grip by critically reducing the contact patch so it is important to find a balance between life and performance. For ovals, set the left side positive and the right side negative. For road courses, all four wheels should be set with negative camber.

CASTER
How much the steering axis is leaned back (positive) or forward (negative), which influences dynamic load jacking effects as the car is steered. More positive caster results in heavier steering feel but decreases dynamic cross weight while turning, as well as adding straight-line stability, and also increases camber gained through the steering. Running less caster on the left- front will cause the vehicle to pull to the left, a desirable effect on ovals.

TOE-IN:
Toe is the angle of the wheel, when viewed from above, relative to the centerline of the chassis. Positive toe-in is when the front of the wheel is closer to the centerline than the rear of the wheel, and negative toe-in (toe- out) is when the front of the wheel is farther away from the centerline than the rear of the wheel. On the front, negative toe-in is generally preferred. More negative toe-in typically provides better turn-in and straight-line stability, but at the cost of increased tire temperature and wear.

REAR CORNERS 

CORNER WEIGHT
The weight underneath each tire under static conditions in the garage. Correct weight arrangement around the car is crucial for optimizing a car for a given track and conditions. Individual wheel weight adjustments and cross weight adjustments are made via the Spring Perch Offset setting.

RIDE HEIGHT
Distance from ground to a reference point on the chassis. Since these values are measured to a specific reference point on the car, these values may not necessarily reflect the vehicle’s ground clearance, but instead, provide a reliable value for the height of the car off of the race track at static values. Adjusting Ride Heights is key for optimum performance, as they can directly influence the vehicle’s aerodynamic performance as well as mechanical grip. Increasing rear ride height will increase front downforce as well as slightly increase overall downforce and drag. Conversely, reducing rear ride height will reduce front and overall downforce and reduce drag.

SHOCK DEFLECTION
Shock Deflection is how much the shock has compressed from its fully extended length while under static conditions in the garage.

SPRING DEFLECTION
Spring Deflection is how much the spring has compressed from its fully extended length while under static conditions in the garage. Spring deflection is important to identify how much spring travel is available before the spring is coil bound on the right rear if enabled.

TRAVEL TO COIL BIND
On oval speedways, the right rear spring can be coil bound to allow corner height control for aerodynamic platform stability. When enabled, the travel to coil bind can be set within the allowable range of values. These values along with the ride height, spring rate, static spring deflection can be used to adjust the timing and height at which the right rear coil binds. Right rear coil bind is most useful to maintain lower rear heights on the straights to reduce drag while maintaining a stable attitude in cornering for downforce, in effect “trimming out” the car.

SPRING PERCH OFFSET:
Used to adjust ride height and corner weight, adjusting this setting applies a preload to the spring under static conditions. Decreasing the value increases preload on the spring, adding weight to its corner and increasing the ride height at that corner. Increasing the value does the opposite, reducing height and weight on a given corner. These should be adjusted in pairs (left and right, for example) or with all four spring preload adjustments in the car to prevent cross weight changes while adjusting ride height.

SPRING RATE
Spring Rate changes how stiff the spring is, represented in force per unit of displacement. Primarily responsible for maintaining ride height and aerodynamic attitude under changing wheel loads, stiffer springs control the chassis attitude better (less roll or pitch change) which is good for aerodynamics and camber control, but mechanical grip is often better with softer springs which allow for more track surface compliance but reduce aerodynamic control. For ovals, a softer left-rear spring (relative to the right-rear) is desired to prevent the dynamic cross weight from being too high while cornering, which will result in a balance shift towards understeer through a run.

BUMP STIFFNESS
Bump stiffness affects how resistant the shock is to compression (reduction in length), usually in chassis movements as a result of driver input (steering, braking, & throttle) and cornering forces. Higher values will increase compression resistance and transfer load onto a given tire more quickly. Lower values reduce compression resistance and transfer load onto a given tire more slowly. Differences between left and right bump stiffness influence dynamic cross weight and result in a dynamic shift in balance while the shocks are being compressed, particularly on corner exit, with a greater right rear bump shifting the dynamic balance toward oversteer.

REBOUND STIFFNESS
Rebound stiffness affects how resistant the shock is to extension (increase in length), typically during body movement as a result of driver inputs. Higher rebound values will slow the extension of the shock, lower values will allow the shock to extend faster. Higher rebound values can better control aerodynamic attitude but can result in the wheel being unloaded when the suspension can’t extend enough to maintain proper contact with the track. When tuning for handling, higher rear rebounds can increase off-throttle mechanical oversteer while lower values will maintain rear end grip longer, helping to reduce mechanical oversteer off the throttle, but will allow an increase in rear ride height and shift the aero balance forward. Differences between left and right rear rebound can influence off throttle dynamic cross weight on corner entry, with greater right rear rebound shifting the dynamic balance toward understeer.
CAMBER
Camber is the vertical angle of the wheel relative to the center of the chassis. Negative camber is when the top of the wheel is closer to the chassis centerline than the bottom of the wheel, positive camber is when the top of the tire is farther out than the bottom. Due to the suspension geometry and corner loads, negative camber is desired on all four wheels on road courses, but on ovals positive camber is desired on the left sides. Higher camber values will increase the cornering force generated by the tire, but will reduce the amount of grip the tire will have on the throttle. Excessive camber values can produce very high cornering forces but will also significantly reduce tire life, so it is important to find a balance between life and performance.
TOE-IN
Toe is the angle of the wheel, when viewed from above, relative to the centerline of the chassis. Positive toe-in is when the front of the wheel is closer to the centerline than the rear of the wheel, and negative toe-in (toe- out) is the opposite. On the rear end, adding toe-in will increase straight- line stability but may hurt how well the car changes direction. The left and right toe can be adjusted independently, which can be useful for slight adjustments of the vehicle’s yaw attitude on ovals.
TRACK BAR HEIGHT
The rear axle is held in place laterally via a Track Bar, mounted to the left side of the rear axle housing and to the chassis frame on the right side. Overall height of the track bar dictates roll center location for the rear suspension and thus affects roll stiffness, with a higher track bar increasing rear roll stiffness and shifting the chassis balance to oversteer. Lower track bar settings will increase lateral traction due to a reduction in roll stiffness and roll center height. The track bar end heights can also be set to different values, known as “rake” or “split”. A positive track bar rake, with the right-side, mounted higher, will increase oversteer on corner exit, as well as adding skew through vertical travel, which moves the axle laterally to “crab” the car and increases side force for cornering stability. A negative track bar rake will increase traction on the corner exit but will remove skew through vertical travel, reducing side force.

TRUCK ARM MOUNT
The rear axle is held in place longitudinally with two truck arms, mounted to the bottom of the chassis underneath the driver compartment. The forward mounts can be adjusted up and down, resulting in various anti-squat and rear- steer configurations. Higher truck arm mounts will reduce rear-end grip, increase rear steer, add anti-squat, and reduce wheel hop under heavy braking. Lower truck arm mounts will increase rear-end bite, decrease rear steer, reduce anti-squat, and increase the chances of wheel hop under heavy braking.

TRUCK ARM PRELOAD
Due to the truck arm mounting design on the rear axle, most chassis adjustments will result in the truck arms applying torque to the rear axle housing. This preload has an extremely small effect on the chassis balance, but can be removed to eliminate any potential issues. It is good practice to reset this value to as close to zero as possible after making adjustments.

REAR END

REAR-END RATIO
The Rear End Gear Ratio is the ratio between the driveshaft pinion and the differential ring gear. For all ovals with NASCAR-sanctioned events, this value is either locked to one ratio or there is a choice of two ratios. Higher number values produce better acceleration but reduce top speed, lower number values reduce acceleration but result in a higher top speed.

ARB DIAMETER
The Rear Anti-Roll Bar (ARB, or Sway Bar) diameter affects the roll stiffness of the rear suspension. Increasing the diameter of the ARB will result in a higher roll stiffness on the rear suspension, increasing oversteer, while reducing the ARB diameter will reduce roll stiffness and increase understeer. A rear ARB is only available at Road Courses and has no effect on the chassis on ovals.

PRELOAD
The ARB Preload is the static load in the bar while the vehicle is in the garage. Since a rear ARB is only available at Road Course circuits, it is best to keep this value as close to zero as possible when using a rear ARB to prevent asymmetric handling issues. When the rear ARB is not in use, this setting has no effect on the chassis.

ATTACH
A quick way to unhook the anti-roll bar to allow for static suspension adjustments without bar twist confusing things; increase link slack and unhook the ARB before making spring/ride height adjustments; attach and reduce link slack (ARB preload) when done.

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