Tally's Nascar 2003 Racing Setup Guide

Updated on 12/04/2004

 


    Start fixing entry first, then middle and then exit.
    In between each test check the tire temps for proper camber and PSI and check your water temp/tape.

The Basics

Camber

Tire PSI

Tape

Springs

Swaybars

Front/Rear Weight

Wedge

Trackbar

Caster

Shocks

Toe out

Ride Heights

Spoiler

Advanced adjustments

Making a Qualifying Car

Tally's tips

 


The Basics

Do a save as with the fast setup.

Things to check and adjust all through testing:

A neutral car will have the RF average tire temp 10 degrees hotter than the RR. I prefer them to match.
If it is hotter then you are tight, if it is the same or lower, then you are loose.
The front tires inside/outside temps spread CAN BE up to 20 degrees. I try to keep it around 10.
Flatter or slower tracks require more camber.
The center tire temp usually ranges from the average of the inside and outside temp to the highest edge on that tire.
A center tire temp that is lower than both inside and outside temps is underinflated. If it is higher then it is overinflated.

Camber Adjustments

Use camber more for the feel of the car rather than just controlling tire temps. Don't just crank it to get a 20 degree difference.
If you're real loose out, lowering the LF camber really helps.
Usually I try to max out the LF camber and leave the rears at the fast setup setting.
More positive LF or more negative RF will loose throughout the corner.
More positive RR will loosen middle out.
More negative LR will loosen on entry.
You can try to run no rear camber on flat tracks.

Tire PSI

Raising will
RF = loosen
LF = tighten in
RR = tighten. Lowering it will loosen you overall but you may also snap loose at the end of exits. Usually you know this is too low when you can barely get on the gas for a lap or two.
LR = tighten middle out
On high speed tracks, usually you have very high tire PSI. Just the opposite for small tracks.
Less PSI gives more grip, slows you down and heats up a tire.
More PSI gives up grip but makes you faster. Also cools the tire down.

Tape

Raise it so you can run 220 degrees (2 o'clock) out of traffic.
Adding tape will loosen you up and raise your water temp.
Removing tape will tighten you up and lower your water temp.

Springs

For the front, softer is better. Stiffer in the rear.
I've noticed that the higher your rear springs are, the faster your front tires will tighten up on a long run.
Drop the fronts until it barely bottoms out, then raise it up a tick.
You can also raise the LF ride height to allow you to drop the front springs even more.
If the front springs are too soft, it will make the car unresponsive.
In my opinion, the front springs take care of corner entry and middle. The rears take care of middle and out.

Rear springs can be tricky. Too high and it can make you tight just as too low can make you tight. Try to find that middle setting.

Adjustments - (all stiffening)

RF = tighten in. Try to keep this as low as possible to keep the RF temps down.
LF = loosen in
More front split = tighten in. I try to run no split. Don't run the LF higher than the RF.
RR = loosen mid-out
LR = tighten mid-out but can loosen overall.
More rear split = loosen mid and out. Too much split can make you snap loose at the end of long green runs. Try not to run more than 50 lbs. split.
Both Fronts = tighten in and mid
Both Rears = loosen mid and out

Swaybars

Larger front = tighten overall. I try to keep it between 1 and 1.5
Larger rear = loosen in the middle. Prime example is at Martinsville - just as the car rolls in the middle of the turn so you can get on the gas, it breaks loose.
Usually when you use stiffer front springs, you use a smaller front swaybar. Opposites apply.
If the car rolls too much or sways back and forth on corner entry, then your front swaybar is too small.
If it gets tighter throughout the corner then the front swaybar is too large or the rear is too small.
A smaller front swaybar will drop the nose and could cause you to bottom out.
If the rear is real loose or the car is slow to respond, the front swaybar may be too small.
Dropping the rear swaybar will help stop wheel spin. (Martinsville).
If it seems like the back end of the car just jumps out when you get on the gas, the rear swaybar is too big.
Raising the front or dropping the rear will raise the RF and lower the RR tire temps.

Front/Rear Weight Bias

On small or flat tracks that have quick acceleration out of the corner, use more rear weight (48 % - 50%) to help stop the wheel spin.
Banking will make you loose so use more front weight (50% to 52%) to help settle the car going in.
If the car is wobbly on entry or middle then you can add front weight.
If tight in the middle, move weight back which may make you loose all around.
I usually can get away with just leaving this at the fast setup setting. Maybe I'll make very minor adjustments.
The more weight you push back, the faster the car will rotate in the corner.
More front weight will also heat up the front tires.

Wedge

Adding wedge will tighten you up, raising the RF and LR tire temps (lowering RR and LF).
Removing wedge will loosen you up, lowering the RF and LR tire temps (raising RR and LF).
I only notice this effect on entry and exit. I've not seen it do much for the middle of the corner.

Trackbar

Raising it on both sides will loosen you all around and raise the RR tire temp.
Raising the right side will loosen you when you get on the gas and it will heat up the RR tire.
If the bar is too low, the car will be over responsive.
Start out with a split of 2.
Never run the left side higher than the right.
Try to run this as low as possible. If they are too high you feel like you are driving a top.

Caster

Too little will make the steering over sensitive.
More caster will give you a better feel on what the car is doing.
Split will cause a pull to the lower numbered side.
Never run the left side higher than the right.
More LF will loosen in and middle.
More caster will take out more wedge as you turn the wheel.
Too much split will break you loose on entry if you are braking.
Large tracks use less caster and a 2 split. For example 0 and 2.
Smaller tracks use more caster and a 3 split. For example 3 and 6.

Shocks

I rarely change these. I haven't totally gotten a good grasp on them so I leave them at the fast setup settings. If you do change them, make it the last adjustment you make.
They control the speed of weight transfers, not the amount of weight being transfered.
As you slow down/brake, the fronts compress and the rears rebound.
If you are tight in, lower the front compression and raise the rear rebound.
As you accelerate, the fronts rebound and the rears compress.
If you are tight out, lower the front rebound and raise the rear compression.
On corner entry, the lefts rebound and the rights compress.
To slow down that transfer and stop a push on entry, you can raise the lefts rebound and lower the rights compression.
Try to do asymmetric changes. Ex: raise the RF compression AND the lower the LR rebound.

Shock synopsis:

RF

Higher compression will tighten the chassis entering a corner.

Lower compression will loosen the chassis entering a corner.

Higher rebound will tighten the chassis accelerating out of a corner.

Lower rebound will loosen the chassis accelerating out of a corner.

Overall stiffer RF shock will tighten chassis, weaker will loosen it.

RR

Higher compression will loosen the chassis accelerating out of a corner.

Lower compression will tighten the chassis accelerating out of a corner.

Higher rebound will loosen the chassis entering a corner.

Lower rebound will tighten the chassis entering a corner.

Overall stiffer RR shock will loosen chassis, weaker will tighten it.

LF

Higher compression will tighten the chassis entering a corner.

Lower compression will loosen the chassis entering a corner.

Higher rebound will tighten the chassis accelerating out of a corner.

Lower rebound will loosen the chassis accelerating out of a corner.

Overall stiffer LF shock will loosen chassis, weaker will tighten it.

LR

Higher compression will loosen the chassis accelerating out of a corner.

Lower compression will tighten the chassis accelerating out of a corner.

Higher rebound will loosen the chassis entering a corner.

Lower rebound will tighten the chassis entering a corner.

Overall stiffer LR shock will tighten chassis, weaker will loosen it.


Toe Out

Never run toe in.
With most tracks you'll use .125
Smaller tracks - you can use up to .175
Larger tracks with wide corners - use as little toe as possible.
More toe out will make the tires stick entering a corner but may slow down your straightaway speed.
Too much toe out will show higher tire temps on both inside edges of the front tires.
Too little toe out will show higher tire temps on both outside edges of the front tires.

Ride Heights

Often raised on superspeedways to lower the spoiler and give less drag.
It is also helpful for stopping you from bottoming out.
More LR will put weight on the RR and make you loose in.
More LR will also lower the RF and could cause you to bottom out.
Higher rears will raise the spoiler but will make the back end stick better in the corners.

ADJUSTMENTS:

Raise LF or RR = tighten. Raise the LF = loosen

I've mainly only used ride height to prevent the car from bottoming out.

Spoiler

I usually leave it at 70 degrees or the fast setup setting.
Try to use as little as possible and not get loose in traffic.

Gearing

Your power band range is betwen 7500 and 9000 rpms.
Keep raising the final gear ratio until you barely red line at the end of the longest straightaway.
Copy down the final drive ratio for all the gears.
Play with 4th gear & differential ratios while maintaining the same final gear ratios.
1st gear - set it up so that you are turning 7000 to 7500 rpms on the pace lap.
2nd gear - (all in gear ratios). Divide the 1st by the 3rd, then take the square root of that and multiple by the 3rd.
On most tracks you want catch the next gear between 5000 and 6500 rpms.

Advanced Adjustments

The tire temp/wedge equation -

Average each of all of the tire temps.
Now average the RF and LR. Then the fronts and then the rears.
If the RF/LR average 10 degrees lower than both the front and rear averages. If it is higher, you have too much wedge.
Left side tires should be 20 degrees cooler than the rights.

How to heat up the left side tires:

Move weight forward
Take wedge out
Stiffen the rear springs
Lowering the front sway bar will heat up the LF tire.

How to raise a tire's temp:

Drop it's psi
Raise it's spring
Put more weight on it

The Spin Test:

Head down a straightaway at full speed. Keep the gas down and yank the wheel to the left. If the car goes into a slow spin, you are set. If it doesn't then you are too tight.

Brake Bias

This is only for when you are on the brakes entering a corner.
The Test - Remove any caster stagger, go into the corner as usual and give it as much brake as possible without locking the tires up.
If the car pushes, then you might have too much front brake bias.
If it gets loose, then you might not have enough.
I try to keep this setting as long as possible/at the fast setup setting.

Ideal tire temps

 OutsideMiddleInside     InsideMiddleOutside 
LF 200 200 190   220 220 210 RF
LR 190 190 180   210 210 200 RR


-Making a Qualifying Car-

  • Do a Save As with your race car.
  • Raise the tire PSI all around. Ex: 3 more on lefts, 6 on right.
  • Add grille tape but don’t go to 100 on big tracks.
  • From there you can tighten or loosen it but the important areas are covered. This won't make a super qual car but it will get you by.

  • Tally's Tips: (updated on 12/31/2003)


    Read these before every race. Make them habits.
  • Listen to your engine to tell how your traction is. If the pitch steadily gets higher and higher then traction is good. If it dips down for a second then you are losing traction. If it dips down and then jumps right up then it is too late, you are spinning.

  • You should also look for signs of getting loose. Turn off the sound and watch the car. Hearing and seeing signs of getting loose is very important.