Post by Kamikuza on May 4, 2007 3:01:11 GMT
Motorbikes are complex machines and riding a motorbike is a complex and beautiful dance of geometry and physics. While we can't control physics (in the real world, Blade 
) we can control the geometry. The settings in SBK2001 and other games allow us to do this, with more or less some sort of precision.
Downloading setups is fine but understanding what all the settings mean and more importantly, how we use them will allow us to customize them for our style of riding, controller or skill level and ultimately make us faster.
While most of the settings in SBK2001 do what they're supposed to, a few of them are a little ... strange.
First thing to note is - SBK2001 offers setting adjustments in a very unrealistic way, using sliders and descriptions such as 'low', 'stiff' or a random number. I'd LOVE to see a 'sim' where we're offered setting adjustments in °, mm or kg! But I guess that means that for each bike they'd have to pester the manufacturer for the exact range of settings avaliable on their race bikes and I doubt they'd get that information in a hurry and so we get generic settings & slider controls.
Rake
Game says : Short: faster steering, less stability. Long: slower steering, greater stability
How does it work? Moving the slider to the left decreases rake, making the steering axis more vertical ie. steeper
What is it really? The angle of the steering axis from vertical, measured in degrees. Or should be ...!
What does it do? Decreases your turning radius, at the expense of stability
Got a tip? When you're fully leaned over, if the front is 'chattering' then you've got too much rake ... probably
In the real world? Less rake means faster steering
Trail
Game says : Short: faster steering, less stability. Long: slower steering, greater stability
How does it work? Moving the slider to the right increases trail, making the measurement longer
What is it really? Trail is the hoziontal distance from the front axle to where a line drawn through the steering axis meets the ground
What does it do? While rake and trail are interrelated ie. changing one changes the other, trail is the setting that mostly changes the steering feel the machine due to the self-centering effect caused by the front wheel being behind (or trailing!) the steering axis
Got a tip? Making trail longer and increasing rake can increase turning ability but not compromise stability too much
In the real world? Too little = instability. Too much = heavy steering
Preload
Game says? Minimum: lower front/rear of bike. Maximum: higher front/rear of bike
How does it work? Move the slider to the right to increase the ride height
What is it really? The distance a spring is initially compressed; the measured difference between the suspension fully extended and the bike upright and mounted.
What does it do? Using the preload to set the sag correctly allows us to use ALL the suspension travel, effectively eliminating the effect of the weight of the bike and rider from the suspension.
In the game however, it primarily alters the ride height - which although a secondary and minimal effect of changing preload is not all it does and is not our ultimate goal. This is a setting the game doesnt need IMHO as we can assume that the pit crew set the bike up for the one rider. Aaron Slight wont be riding Carl Fogarty's Ducati, so we, the player, don't need to change preload.
Got a tip? You can use preload like a 'multiplier effect' on the rest of your suspension settings. Moving the slider expands/contracts the range of movement for the suspension and spreads/compacts the range of settings into the area of the slider ie. more preload = less sensitive (twitchy) suspension. So increasing the rear ride height has the effect of making it easier to get on the gas hard in corners. Less front preload makes the front suspension stiffer. But we can also changed the geometry using preload in SBK2001 - lowering the front and extending the rear makes the turn in quicker & turn tighter but without sacrificing stability so much
Spring
Games says? Soft: less stable under braking and acceleration, softer ride over bumps. Hard: more stable under braking and acceleration, harder ride over bumps
How does it work? Move the slider to the right to make the springs stiffer and less bouncy; moving the slider to the left makes the springs softer and more bouncy
What is it really? Spring rate is a measure of how much force is needed to compress a spring
What does it do? Makes it harder to compress the suspension for a given weight of rider and bike or road conditions. In reality, you wouldn't worry about altering this setting either as it's difficult to do and bloody expensive. You try to set the sag with preload. If you CAN'T get the correct preload setting - say 30mm for road riding - then you HAVE to change the spring rate, as you wont get enough or full travel out of the suspension
Got a tip? Stiffer is more stable, lets you brake harder and further into the corners when leaning and get on the gas sooner when cranked over
Compression damping
Game says? Soft: quicker spring compression. Hard: slower spring compression
How does it work? Move the slider to the left to allow the suspension to compress quickly from an extended state
What is it really? Damping is designed to slow down the speed at which the suspension travels from compressed to extended states, typically using oil or gas and a series of valves or gates. It usually only works in one direction
What does it do? Compression damping slows the suspension as it's compressed. Too little damping and the wheel will travel too far, too fast making the bike unstable and bottoming out. Too much damping and the bumps in the road are not absorbed by the suspension but transmitted into the bike itself, destabilising the bike. Too little damping and the suspension will tend to be too bouncy. This is a setting that, in reality, is set according to personal preference (within a few guidelines) that can't really be duplicated in a game with only 5 settings
Got a tip? Less damping for rougher tracks or areas when you're getting bounced around and crashing or worse, missing your lines
Rebound damping
Game says? Soft: quicker spring release. Hard: slower spring release
How does it work? Move the slider to the left to allow the suspension to release quickly from a compressed state
What is it really? See above
What does it do? Rebound damping slows down a suspension component when it is trying to return extend from a state of compression. Too much rebound damping on a rough road, and you'll get a 'packing down' effect - the suspension will be unable to rebound quickly enough and will just get shorter and shorter as it hits each bump. I've never seen that in the game though. Too little and the suspension will tend to be too bouncy
Got a tip? See above
Transmission
Game says? Minimum: higher acceleration, lower stop speed. Maximum: lower acceleration, higher stop speed
How does it work? Move sliders to the right to make the gears/final ratio longer ie. have a higher top speed
What is it really? Exactly what it says in the game. Easy!
What does it do? Changes how fast you can accelerate, for how long and what your top speed will be. What the game says will be top speed in 6th may or may not be possible, even with enough track. In reality, you can't change the gearbox ratios on your street bike. Maybe you can with a factory racer and a whole crew rebuilding it for you. But most mere mortals can only change the front and rear sprockets to change the number of teeth and hence the gearing ratio. Less teeth in front and more teeth out back means more acceleration, less top speed - just like your ten speed bike. You're changing the gearing, true, but what is actually happening is you're allowing the bike to transfer more torque from the engine to the ground. Which is important because if you gear too low, you risk wheel spinning and lowsiding. In the game and real life
Got a tip? Ride around a track in default gearing until your lap times stabilize then find your top speed. Change the final ratio so that you're about 20kph above that. You should now be pushing the rev limiter just as you hit top speed and then have to brake. You can then fiddle each gear for the corners, depending on how fussy you are.
Here's an example. On Kyalami, I can't seem to better 258kph as my top speed. So I gear for 276kph in 6th. Any lower and I'm bouncing off the rev limiter in corners and having to shift gears - although my top speed is up a little, my lap times are down. Any higher and I just dont get the zap out of corners and my top speed and lap times are down. Each to their own though - that's how I find my sweet spot
General guidelines IMHO
Stiffer front springs for better braking
Stiffer rear springs for better acceleration
Higher rear, lower front turns better than when using less rake and is more stable
Stiffer springs are more stable but avoid the lumpy bits in corners
Let the suspension use all its travel - use as little damping as you can
A stable bike is easier to ride faster
On the brake or on the gas - no coasting!
Final thoughts
Setting up a bike is all about altering the geometry. How the bike responds to settings is dependant on the components themselves but as long as we can understand and adjust them, we can control them. However, most things you fiddle with are going to have side effects. Making the front stiffer means the rear will squat in corners (relative to the front) and the bike will want to run wide. Making the rear higher will alter rake and trail and affect the stability.
So think about how one will affect another when setting a bike up. Aim for a stable bike first, then sharpen it up till you feel like it's slipping off the ragged edge.
* If anyone disagrees or has a better idea, PLEASE post! These are my understanding from my experience but I'm by no means an expert!
) we can control the geometry. The settings in SBK2001 and other games allow us to do this, with more or less some sort of precision.Downloading setups is fine but understanding what all the settings mean and more importantly, how we use them will allow us to customize them for our style of riding, controller or skill level and ultimately make us faster.
While most of the settings in SBK2001 do what they're supposed to, a few of them are a little ... strange.
First thing to note is - SBK2001 offers setting adjustments in a very unrealistic way, using sliders and descriptions such as 'low', 'stiff' or a random number. I'd LOVE to see a 'sim' where we're offered setting adjustments in °, mm or kg! But I guess that means that for each bike they'd have to pester the manufacturer for the exact range of settings avaliable on their race bikes and I doubt they'd get that information in a hurry and so we get generic settings & slider controls.
Rake
Game says : Short: faster steering, less stability. Long: slower steering, greater stability
How does it work? Moving the slider to the left decreases rake, making the steering axis more vertical ie. steeper
What is it really? The angle of the steering axis from vertical, measured in degrees. Or should be ...!
What does it do? Decreases your turning radius, at the expense of stability
Got a tip? When you're fully leaned over, if the front is 'chattering' then you've got too much rake ... probably
In the real world? Less rake means faster steering
Trail
Game says : Short: faster steering, less stability. Long: slower steering, greater stability
How does it work? Moving the slider to the right increases trail, making the measurement longer
What is it really? Trail is the hoziontal distance from the front axle to where a line drawn through the steering axis meets the ground
What does it do? While rake and trail are interrelated ie. changing one changes the other, trail is the setting that mostly changes the steering feel the machine due to the self-centering effect caused by the front wheel being behind (or trailing!) the steering axis
Got a tip? Making trail longer and increasing rake can increase turning ability but not compromise stability too much
In the real world? Too little = instability. Too much = heavy steering
Preload
Game says? Minimum: lower front/rear of bike. Maximum: higher front/rear of bike
How does it work? Move the slider to the right to increase the ride height
What is it really? The distance a spring is initially compressed; the measured difference between the suspension fully extended and the bike upright and mounted.
What does it do? Using the preload to set the sag correctly allows us to use ALL the suspension travel, effectively eliminating the effect of the weight of the bike and rider from the suspension.
In the game however, it primarily alters the ride height - which although a secondary and minimal effect of changing preload is not all it does and is not our ultimate goal. This is a setting the game doesnt need IMHO as we can assume that the pit crew set the bike up for the one rider. Aaron Slight wont be riding Carl Fogarty's Ducati, so we, the player, don't need to change preload.
Got a tip? You can use preload like a 'multiplier effect' on the rest of your suspension settings. Moving the slider expands/contracts the range of movement for the suspension and spreads/compacts the range of settings into the area of the slider ie. more preload = less sensitive (twitchy) suspension. So increasing the rear ride height has the effect of making it easier to get on the gas hard in corners. Less front preload makes the front suspension stiffer. But we can also changed the geometry using preload in SBK2001 - lowering the front and extending the rear makes the turn in quicker & turn tighter but without sacrificing stability so much
Spring
Games says? Soft: less stable under braking and acceleration, softer ride over bumps. Hard: more stable under braking and acceleration, harder ride over bumps
How does it work? Move the slider to the right to make the springs stiffer and less bouncy; moving the slider to the left makes the springs softer and more bouncy
What is it really? Spring rate is a measure of how much force is needed to compress a spring
What does it do? Makes it harder to compress the suspension for a given weight of rider and bike or road conditions. In reality, you wouldn't worry about altering this setting either as it's difficult to do and bloody expensive. You try to set the sag with preload. If you CAN'T get the correct preload setting - say 30mm for road riding - then you HAVE to change the spring rate, as you wont get enough or full travel out of the suspension
Got a tip? Stiffer is more stable, lets you brake harder and further into the corners when leaning and get on the gas sooner when cranked over
Compression damping
Game says? Soft: quicker spring compression. Hard: slower spring compression
How does it work? Move the slider to the left to allow the suspension to compress quickly from an extended state
What is it really? Damping is designed to slow down the speed at which the suspension travels from compressed to extended states, typically using oil or gas and a series of valves or gates. It usually only works in one direction
What does it do? Compression damping slows the suspension as it's compressed. Too little damping and the wheel will travel too far, too fast making the bike unstable and bottoming out. Too much damping and the bumps in the road are not absorbed by the suspension but transmitted into the bike itself, destabilising the bike. Too little damping and the suspension will tend to be too bouncy. This is a setting that, in reality, is set according to personal preference (within a few guidelines) that can't really be duplicated in a game with only 5 settings
Got a tip? Less damping for rougher tracks or areas when you're getting bounced around and crashing or worse, missing your lines
Rebound damping
Game says? Soft: quicker spring release. Hard: slower spring release
How does it work? Move the slider to the left to allow the suspension to release quickly from a compressed state
What is it really? See above
What does it do? Rebound damping slows down a suspension component when it is trying to return extend from a state of compression. Too much rebound damping on a rough road, and you'll get a 'packing down' effect - the suspension will be unable to rebound quickly enough and will just get shorter and shorter as it hits each bump. I've never seen that in the game though. Too little and the suspension will tend to be too bouncy
Got a tip? See above
Transmission
Game says? Minimum: higher acceleration, lower stop speed. Maximum: lower acceleration, higher stop speed
How does it work? Move sliders to the right to make the gears/final ratio longer ie. have a higher top speed
What is it really? Exactly what it says in the game. Easy!
What does it do? Changes how fast you can accelerate, for how long and what your top speed will be. What the game says will be top speed in 6th may or may not be possible, even with enough track. In reality, you can't change the gearbox ratios on your street bike. Maybe you can with a factory racer and a whole crew rebuilding it for you. But most mere mortals can only change the front and rear sprockets to change the number of teeth and hence the gearing ratio. Less teeth in front and more teeth out back means more acceleration, less top speed - just like your ten speed bike. You're changing the gearing, true, but what is actually happening is you're allowing the bike to transfer more torque from the engine to the ground. Which is important because if you gear too low, you risk wheel spinning and lowsiding. In the game and real life
Got a tip? Ride around a track in default gearing until your lap times stabilize then find your top speed. Change the final ratio so that you're about 20kph above that. You should now be pushing the rev limiter just as you hit top speed and then have to brake. You can then fiddle each gear for the corners, depending on how fussy you are.
Here's an example. On Kyalami, I can't seem to better 258kph as my top speed. So I gear for 276kph in 6th. Any lower and I'm bouncing off the rev limiter in corners and having to shift gears - although my top speed is up a little, my lap times are down. Any higher and I just dont get the zap out of corners and my top speed and lap times are down. Each to their own though - that's how I find my sweet spot
General guidelines IMHO
Stiffer front springs for better braking
Stiffer rear springs for better acceleration
Higher rear, lower front turns better than when using less rake and is more stable
Stiffer springs are more stable but avoid the lumpy bits in corners
Let the suspension use all its travel - use as little damping as you can
A stable bike is easier to ride faster
On the brake or on the gas - no coasting!
Final thoughts
Setting up a bike is all about altering the geometry. How the bike responds to settings is dependant on the components themselves but as long as we can understand and adjust them, we can control them. However, most things you fiddle with are going to have side effects. Making the front stiffer means the rear will squat in corners (relative to the front) and the bike will want to run wide. Making the rear higher will alter rake and trail and affect the stability.
So think about how one will affect another when setting a bike up. Aim for a stable bike first, then sharpen it up till you feel like it's slipping off the ragged edge.
* If anyone disagrees or has a better idea, PLEASE post! These are my understanding from my experience but I'm by no means an expert!
