New Downforce Numbers

Got some new downforce numbers calculated and plugged in and I think I've settled on one that provides realistic balance, also helping with the bottoming out. It's comparable to a case of three people seeing the same thing, yet describing three different things. It's all a matter of how you view something.

Still fighting to get the diffuser numbers working as it should in real life.

Going to make some control arm angle adjustments on the 22 suspensions this weekend.

Track Pack 4.0 Is Nearly Ready

The FMS Track Pack 4.0 is nearly ready for release. Very, very close.

I had one small issue that I couldn't fix on the texture side of things, so I've sent it up to Joe Evans to see if he may be able to provide a fix.

Once complete, I'll be looking for hosting and begin initial uploading thru the usual free sites. I believe that you guys are going to be impressed with the quality of these tracks. In my opinion, it supersedes the quality of the 3.0 release.

The Culprit

The culprit of my recent problem appears to be a front downforce issue with the front springs. Either the new diffuser upgrade coming up will solve the problem, or I'll be forced into a SpringMult. Hoping the former works!

Any Work Is Good Work

Been doing some smaller work lately. Fixed an axis issue with all of the rear suspensions, a simple edit really. Working on some fixes for a certain issue the car is having, which is leading me into doing some much needed work on the diffuser.

Also, I've gotten back into downforce work a bit. Interestingly, my physics and math for the front end is accurate within 20 pounds of real life data taken from 2002. Only problem is, the rear end aero balance data is vastly different. Not going to touch it, though. If the math for the front end is correct, then so too is the spoiler. I'll chalk up any downforce and/or aero balance gains being made in the body department. A lovely grey area, indeed!

New Car Models

New car models appear to be in the pipeline for the NSS mod. In addition to one friend doing initial work, another has talked to me about wanting to modify and update the current models.

It's these guys who will get all of credit for how the NSS cars look, and it appears to be in great hands.

Nothing new to report on the physics side of things. Stepping away for a bit to avoid burnout and to reinvigorate myself with ideas and solutions.

July 28 Updates

New springs are in and finalized, as well as spring compression distance. Now experimenting with ride heights and spring multipliers.

Decompressed

I took the weekend off from all mod work so that I was able to really decompress and think about this spring situation. Glad to report that I was able to come up with a solution and will be applying it in the coming days. I've also received some information about spring height requirements that will be added into the mod. The future is currently looking very bright!

SpringMult

I've tried to avoid it like the dickens but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to use them for all of these new suspensions. I know what the real Cup spring ranges are, but in rFactor the cars are bottoming out something fierce. Higher spring rates fix the problem in the garage, so I'm left with few options. Grrr....

Twenty Two

Twenty two chassis' have now been integrated into NSS 7.0. Not ready for prime time, so more work ahead.

RF Chassis Completed

Got the right front suspension completed. Rear end suspension finalized. Now the fun begins in creating all of those new track-specific chassis'!

Testing New Hampshire AI

Woke up too early this morning, so I worked on the AI a bit. Still using Joe's AIW except for one small change, but made edits in the TBC, HDV and PLR files. Here's the result:

Compiling Data

After talking with my source, I'll be compiling a lot of data in the next two days then begin building the new suspensions this weekend. The new NSS mod will have 22 track-specific suspensions/chassis'.

Springs Are Nearly Done

I've almost completed the spring sizes. Since there are so many sizes, I've had to strike a balance. My previous work on them made them too small by 4 or so inches, which was causing very serious binding. All I need to do in this area is decide upon a rear spring angle and that area of work will be completed. RF control arms appear to be ready to go in as well. Holding off a bit on that for LF info. Based upon what information I receive, I have the option of finding an average and using 4 chassis'....or modeling a chassis for each track on the schedule. Won't be a problem either way, but it the fact remains that it needs to be correct. Ideally, whatever work I put in now will save me time down the road...especially if certain physics changes are made for rFactor 2.

Work Continues

Making a lot of gains with the control arms and steering arms. Got a few things to clear up and I'll be ready to put the numbers into the new suspension files. Also another spring update is in the immediate works. Can't wait to be done with the suspension!

Data Mining

Been an incredibly long weekend, but the data mining I've accomplished will surely pay off. Very productive weekend, so I may take a couple days off to relax before getting back into the grind of modding.

More Research Completed

Got some research done last night and crunched a few numbers. Primarily control and steering arm angles, and this morning various arm lengths. Still have a lot of work ahead, but I'm making good headway.

FMS Track Pack Update

I have heard back from Joe Evans, and he is willing to look into these last few track issues and see what he can do.

Also, to all of you reading this, I want to wish each and every one of you a happy Independence Day! Stay safe out there!

7/04/10 Updates

I was able to get a couple things done this morning:

1) Center of Gravity has been recalculated.

2) Inertia has been recalculated, based on the mass and Center of Gravity changes.

3) Modified centerline trailing arm connections in the suspension.

How does it drive?

In short, the car handles nicely. But you'll need a gentle touch on the throttle because you can definitely feel the horsepower. During a quick test session I was getting too aggressive on corner exits at New Hampshire, the rear tires broke traction and I looped it. I definitely need to put some work into the front sway bar, but that's for another day.

Mass Recalculated

Mass of the car has been recalculated and is now accurate. Now 33 lbs lighter than the last version. The lighter weight will help the suspension respond a little more quickly, as well as downforce having slightly more impact. This is very good news considering how much the spring travel has changed!

Keep in mind that the downforce numbers are track specific and are completely brand new, using actual math and known physics to obtain numbers that are closer than just guessing, as other mods do.

Camera Fun

I finally got the dang LOD dropped down to 2 feet in the TVCOCKPIT view, AKA the 3/4 hood view from the Driving Cameras key. Comes out to about 2 feet, which is roughly the length of a human arm. Previously, if you panned around you would see the steering wheel moving down in the dash. I tried to correct it's location as a first step, but something is amiss with cockpit location. If I moved the wheel as seen from the hood view to it's correct place, the actual cockpit wheel would move closer to the drivers viewpoint.

Anyways, I'm working on getting the hood view as close as possible to the broadcast onboard cameras, that way my future comparison videos will better reflect similarities and differences.