Ok, I'm going to attempt to cover all the inner secrets of hotlapping in this article. Here goes:
A set-up that is absolutely spot-on, can't be improved is a must for
hotlaps. You'd be surprised at what a difference a perfect
set-up makes compared with what you thought were "good" set-ups. Also,
the set-up for hotlaps is vastly different to the one
you would use for a race. Try and race with a hotlap set-up, and you
would finish last, no matter how good you were. This will
be explained a little later.
You want a generous amount of front wing, between 12-14 for fast tracks,
and 17-20 for slow tracks. More front wing doesn't
really slow the car down much if at all. You want virtually no rear
wing, 1 or 2 maximum.
The brake balance should be biased towards the front to help counter
the oversteer caused the the small rear wing. Gear ratios
should have a high first gear to prevent wheelspin. This is important
if you disable throttle help - this is explained later.
The advanced menu. This is where the real differences in the hotlap
set-up and the race set-up takes place. Many people
ignore the advanced menu - this is a BIG mistake. The front packers,
front fast bump dampers, front fast rebound dampers,
front slow bump dampers, and front springs should all be set to their
maximum value. Also the rear packers, rear fast bump
dampers, rear fast rebound dampers, rear slow bump dampers, and rear
springs should all be set to their minimum value. These
settings are to counter the effects of having a very small rear wing.
The anti-roll bars should be stiffened at the front, and softened at
the rear, to help counter the oversteer caused by the small
rear wing.
The ride-height. The most important variable to set-up in the advanced
menu. The ride height should always be set up so that
the ride height is as low as possible and so that immediately after
your hotlap the plank wear indictor turns red. The lower the
car is, the more downforce it creates without the penalty of drag,
the lower the centre of gravity, and therefore faster cornering
speeds.
Fuel. For a hotlap you should set the fuel to 2 laps only. Drive the
first lap slowly, making sure you don't make the plankwear
indictor light up at all. You should cross the start/finish line between
1.2 to 1.5 laps fuel and then accelerate. If the plank wear
lights up red before the end of the hotlap, you can throw that hotlap
away, it will be no good. This is why a hotlap set-up
cannot be used for a race - the plankwear would slow you down an enormous
degree after the first lap.
Your driving style also is very important. Throttle help (F7) should
be turned off for faster acceleration. However be warned, if
you've never tried driving without throttle help you need a lot of
practice.
The way you take a corner is also very important. It all depends on
what follows the corner. A real driver's mind is always
thinking ahead to the next corner. Yours should too. If a straight
follows a corner, approach the corner slowly and get as fast an
exit as possible. Have you ever tried the last corner of Spain, Catalunya?
Get a fast exit speed and you can normally slipstream
up to two or even three drivers. If a slow corner follows the corner
you're taking, brake late, and take a slower exit. This will
mean a faster corner, you don't need the extra speed at the exit.
For chicanes, be careful not to brake too late. You can lose up to 0.5s
by braking to late. In this diagram the correct way of
driving a chicane is the grey line - the false way is the red line.
The red line is what happens when you over-brake: you lose time
because you have to travel a few metres further.
When you take corners, you should also consider how much kerb you should
use. Using to much curb actually loses you time,
because you end up travelling further. However, on tracks like Hockenheim,
where the kerbs are shallow, you should use them
to your advantage. Tracks like Spa also needs good use of the kerbs.
Kerbs can also be useful to prevent wheelspin when your
rear wheels touch them.
My last and final point is the most important. You need to practice
as much as you can. Practice until you can't stand the pain in
your fingers. Persevere, and you will be rewarded with a time that
you could never have thought about getting before you read
this article..........
This article was written by Michael Lam.