Setups

Setup Help

Tell us what the car is doing and where on the track, and you'll see what to try first, in order, with where to find it in the garage. Written with Le Mans Ultimate in mind, but most of it works in any sim. These are suggestions, not rules – every car reacts a little differently, so change one thing at a time.

What is the car doing?

Car

Corners

Pick anything you notice – you can pick more than one.

How to tune without getting lost

Start from something that works – the default setup, or one from the setup library.
Drive 3–5 clean laps first so you know it's the car and not cold tyres, a heavy fuel load or a lap you didn't put together.
Fix the biggest problem first, usually in this order: braking stability, corner entry, mid-corner, then exit. A car that won't stop straight makes everything else hard to judge.
One change at a time, one or two clicks, with the same fuel and tyres each run.
Save each version under a new name and note what changed. The Setup Comparer shows every difference between two saved setups.
No difference? Put it back before trying the next thing, or you'll lose track of what's doing what.

Reading tyre temperatures

Hottest part	Usually means	Try
Inside edge	Too much negative camber, or too much toe	Less negative camber, less toe
Middle	Pressure too high	Lower the pressure
Outside edge	Not enough negative camber, or pressure too low	More negative camber, check the pressure
All over, hot	Sliding, too much toe, hot brakes	Fix the balance first, less toe, open the brake ducts
All over, cold	Not working the tyre hard enough	Lower pressure, a little more toe, more brake duct blanking

A slightly hotter inside edge is normal with negative camber. Check temperatures straight after a push lap, and set pressures for the hot reading – the tyre pressure converter has the targets.

Dampers in a minute

Slow damping controls how quickly the weight moves when you brake, turn and accelerate. Fast damping controls how the car reacts to the track – bumps and kerbs.
Bump slows the damper compressing; rebound slows it extending. Rebound is usually set higher than bump.
Use the softest settings that stop the car floating or bouncing. Stiffer makes the car react faster; softer makes it calmer and more forgiving.
Car floats or keeps moving after an input: more slow damping. Car snappy when the weight shifts: less.
Kerbs kick the car: less fast bump. Car keeps bouncing after a kerb: more fast rebound.

Aero, ride height and rake

Ride height as low as you can without the car hitting the ground – lower usually means more downforce and less drag.
Rake is the front sitting lower than the rear. More rake moves the aero balance forward (more front grip at speed); less rake moves it back.
Set the overall downforce with ride height and rake, then fine-tune the balance with the wings.
Wings and rake matter most in fast corners. In slow corners the springs, anti-roll bars and diff do most of the work.
Run the car as stiff as it needs to hold a steady ride height – and no stiffer.
Brake bias: the fronts should lock just before the rears. That's the most stable balance under braking.

Hypercars and LMP2: the aero platform

Prototypes punish random setup changes. Downforce grows with the square of speed and pushes the car down onto its springs, so the ride height you set in the garage is not what the car runs at 300 km/h. A small ride height or 3rd spring change can feel fine in slow corners and ruin the car in fast ones.

Slow cornersbelow about 125 km/h

The car sits near its static ride height. Corner springs, anti-roll bars, diff and tyres decide the balance – mechanical grip.

Medium and fast cornersabout 125–250 km/h

Downforce compresses the car. Aero takes over more of the balance and floor suction rises quickly as the car gets lower.

Top speedabove about 250 km/h

The car runs millimetres off the ground and aero dominates. Without enough support it would bottom out; the ride gets stiff and bumpy.

The 3rd spring (heave spring) only works when both sides of an axle move down together – which is what downforce does – not when the car rolls in a corner. It holds the car off the ground at speed, so the corner springs and anti-roll bars can stay soft enough for grip in slow corners.
Lower is faster, until it touches. Bring the ride height down a click at a time, and use the 3rd spring (and its packers) to stop it bottoming at top speed. Sparks, a sudden jolt or a snap over a crest mean you've gone too far.
Too soft on the 3rd spring and the car bottoms out and the aero balance moves around as speed changes. Too stiff and it skips over bumps and loses mechanical grip.
New to hypercars? Make it stable first. Brake bias slightly forward and softer front corner springs make slow-corner entry calmer and turn front lock-ups into understeer instead of spins. Once you're consistent, start lowering the platform.
Every car is different. Some take a very soft front 3rd spring; others want a stiff front 3rd damper rebound. Use the LMU telemetry (MoTeC) to see the real ride heights at speed rather than guessing.

Quick reference: understeer and oversteer

Where	Car understeers (front won't turn)	Car oversteers (rear steps out)
Corner entry	−Front anti-roll bar +Rear anti-roll bar −Front springs +Front toe-out −Diff coast lock −Brake bias (move rearward) +Front wing / rake (fast corners)	+Front anti-roll bar −Rear anti-roll bar +Rear toe-in +Diff coast lock +Brake bias (move forward) −Engine braking +Rear wing (fast corners)
Mid-corner	−Front anti-roll bar +Rear anti-roll bar +Front negative camber +Front wing / rake (fast corners)	+Front anti-roll bar −Rear anti-roll bar +Rear negative camber +Rear wing (fast corners)
Corner exit	+Rear anti-roll bar +Rear springs +Diff power lock −Rear wing (fast corners)	−Rear anti-roll bar −Rear springs −Diff power lock +Traction control +Rear wing (fast corners)

+ more / stiffer / higher − less / softer / lower. Softer springs and anti-roll bars give more grip and less tyre wear, but a lazier car that needs more ride height; stiffer gives a sharper car that's harder on bumps and kerbs.

Frequently asked questions

How do I fix understeer in Le Mans Ultimate?

First work out where it happens. On turn-in, soften the front anti-roll bar or stiffen the rear, check the front tyre pressures, add a little front toe-out or reduce diff coast lock. Mid-corner, add front negative camber. On exit, stiffen the rear anti-roll bar or rear springs. In fast corners, add front wing or rake. Change one thing at a time.

How do I stop oversteer on corner exit?

Add traction control while you learn the car, then soften the rear anti-roll bar or rear springs, reduce diff power lock and, for fast corners, add rear wing. Squeezing the throttle and short-shifting out of slow corners also helps.

Why do my front tyres lock under braking?

Usually the brake bias is too far forward. Move it rearward until the fronts lock just before the rears. In GT3 and GTE cars more ABS helps, and lowering the maximum pedal force makes the limit easier to find. Also release the pedal as the speed drops, because there is less grip once the downforce fades.

What does the 3rd spring do on a Hypercar or LMP2?

The 3rd (heave) spring only works when both sides of an axle move down together, which is what downforce does at speed, not when the car rolls in a corner. It holds the car off the ground at high speed so it can run low for downforce, while the corner springs and anti-roll bars stay soft enough for grip in slow corners.

What should tyre temperatures look like?

Fairly even across the tyre, with the inside edge slightly hotter when you run negative camber. A hot middle means the pressure is too high; a much hotter inside edge means too much camber or toe; a hotter outside edge means not enough camber or a pressure that's too low.

What is the difference between slow and fast damping?

Slow damping controls how quickly the car's weight moves when you brake, turn and accelerate. Fast damping controls how the car reacts to bumps and kerbs. Use the softest settings that stop the car floating or bouncing.

Where can I find setups to start from?

The TSR setup library has Le Mans Ultimate setups shared by drivers in the community. You can open any of them in the setup comparer to see every setting next to your own before you download it.