WELCOME! ThisconciseintroductiontotuningtheSkipBarberFormula2000 hasbeenpreparedbyiRacersforthebenefitofotheriRacers. Thisconciseguideisintendedtohelpyoulearnwhatyouneedto knowaboutsetups.Goodluck! Likeyou,weallstartedwiththeSkippyatonepointandlearneda lotthroughtrialanderror.Thisguideisintendedto: helpyouunderstandthetuningoptionsontheSkippy, giveyouabasicapproachtomakingsetups,and giveyoutheconfidenceyoumayneedtostartplayingwith setupsandunderstandingtheimpactofchanges. Byusingthisguide,wehopeyouwillspendlesstimeon unproductivesetupsandmoretimefindingasetupthatworksfor yougivenyourdrivingskillsatthattime.Enjoythejourney!

urney! TUNINGVARIABLES TheSkippyonlyhassix(6)tuningvariablessothismakesiteasyto becomefamiliarwiththemandhowthecarresponds: FuelLoadhowmuchfuelyouneed. SpringPerchOffset(SPO)basicallychangesthecamber (tilt)ofthefronttiresandrideheightatthefrontofthecar. RearAntiRollBar(ARB)changeshowtherearofthecar respondswhencornering. FrontTirePressuresusedtocreateanoptimaltireshape andappropriategrip. RearTirePressuresusedtocreateanoptimaltireshapeand appropriategrip. BrakeBiaschangeshowmuchofthebrakingloadis assignedtothefronttiresversusthereartires. ThereareanumberofsourcesofinformationoniRacing.comand ontheinternetforeachofthesevariables.Overtime,youwill wanttobesureyoubecomefamiliarwiththem.

QUICKINTRODUCTIONTOSKIPPYTUNING
TUNINGFROMTHEDEFAULTSETUP ThedefaultiRacingsetupfortheSkippyisareasonablestarting placebutyoumaywanttoconsiderthefollowing: 1. Changethefuelloadfrom5.2to3.1gallons(11.7liters).
2.1 3.1 4.2 5.2

2013Season2
April2013

3.

TrychangingthefrontSpringPerchOffset(SPO)from3to +3andtherearAntiRollBar(ARB)from5to7.
1 2 REARANTIROLLBAR 3 4 5 6 7 8 4 3 2 SPRINGPERCHOFFSET 1 0 +0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5

Skippyracesaredesignedtorunina30minutewindowand3.1 gallonsisalmostalwaysenoughtogetyoutotheend.Noneed tocarryextraweightaround.Uselessfuelforaqualifyingrun. 2. Trychangingthefrontandreartirepressuresfrom21F/24R psi(145F/165RkPa)to19F/19R(131F/131RkPa).

PSI 17.4 18

AhigherSPOmakesfrontturninmorepredictable. Ahigher rearrotation ARBmakes more predictable Trydifferentcombinationsforyourself!

FRONTPRESSURES
17.4 120 18 124 19 131 20 138 21 145 22 152 23 158 24 165 25 172 26 179 27 186

PSI kPa 120 124 131 138 145 152 158 165 172 179 186 193

19 20 21 22 23 24

Drivers feeltheSkippy worksbetter pressures. atlower Trydifferent pressures foryourself!

25 26 27 28

ChangingtheSPOsettingfrom3to+3willputmorecamberin thefronttiresandthiswillgiveyoumorebiteatthefrontend whileturningandmakethecarlesslikelytoundersteer.Thismay notbeyourfinalsettingbut,fromthissetting,youcannow changetheSPOandlearnhowitchangescarbalance.Some peoplepreferkeepingalowerSPOsettingsinceitallowsthemto sawthefrontwheelstomaketurningandspeedcorrections whileotherspreferamorepredictablefrontend. WiththeARBsettingat7,therearendofthecarwillloadand unloadmorepredictablyincornersandessesandshouldbe manageable.AhigherARBsettingallowstherearofthecarto rotatemorepredictablyandthisishelpfuloncenewerdriversget thefeelforit.Youmaygiveupsomegripforpredictabilitybut thatmaybeagoodinvestment!Seethegraphiconthenextpage togetanideaofhowthehandlingmightchangefromalterations ofSPOand/orARB. 4. Changethebrakebiasfrom60%to58%.
40% 46% 52% 58% 64%

PRACTICE,PRACTICE,PRACTICE Everynewpersonstartingoutthinksthereisafastsetupthat everyoneelseknows.Thisisnottrue. Whatyouneedtorealizeisthatfastdriversgotfastthrough hoursandhoursofpracticeandexperience.Duringthattime, theyfoundsetupsthatworkforthem,theparticulartrack,and theirdrivingstyle.TheydidnotgettoanAorBlicenselevelora 3000+pointiRatingwithoutdevotingtimeandattentiontotuning andracecraft.Youwillneedtodothesame. ThebestwaytogetbetteratiRacing(measuredbyiRating,Safety Rating,orbychampionshippoints)istopractice.Therearea coupleofwaystodothis: Byyourself: CentripetalCircuitgoingoutbyyourselftogetintoa steadystatecorneringdynamictoseehowthecar respondstodifferentsetupsaswellasdifferentinputs (throttle,breathe,brake,steering,etc.). SoloPracticegoingoutonthetrackbyyourselftotry differentsetupsandseewhichsetupchangesresultin lowerlaptimes,splittimes,orgreaterstability. Withothercars: Ghost/SpectatorSessionsparticipatinginasessionwith othercars(practiceorrace)butwheretheycannotseeyou andyoucannotinterferewiththem.Greatforbecoming comfortableinontracksituationsandtestingracepaceand distance. GroupPracticegoingoutonthetrackwithothercarstotry differentsetupsandhelpyourexperiencedrivingintraffic (leading,following,chasing,passing,etc.). ActualRaceswhenyouareready,goingoutonthetrack withothercarstoraceandseeinghowyoudo!

SomeofthemostexperienceddriversfeeltheSkippyisfastest withthelowestpressuresettings.Becarefulthough,theextreme lowerpressurescanleadtosidewallrolloverandshouldbe usedwithcautionespeciallyifyouaregainingexperience. Generally,pressuresarethesame(frontandrear)orarewithina clickorsoofeachother.Trydifferentpressuresforyourself. Akeytuningaspectmaybetherelativepressures.Loweringtire pressuresaclickormoremaygiveyoualittlemoregripatthat endofthecar.Thekeylessonhereisforyoutofindpressures thatworkforyouandyourdrivingstyleandexperiencelevel.See thegraphiconthenextpagetogetanideaofhowthehandling mightbeaffectedbychangingtirepressures.

REARPRESSURES

Maximumbrakingpotentialisachievedbybalancingthebraking powertothefrontandreartires.Abiastothefrontismore stablebutmorebrakingpotentialcomesfrombalancingboth ends.Ifthefronttireslockonbraking,movebiastotherear.If thereartireslock(youwillprobablyspin!),movebrakebias towardsthefront.Sincethereareseveralbrakingstyles (thresholdbraking,trailbraking,andthrottlebraking),youwill wanttosetthebiasforyourstyleandthetrackcharacteristics. Seethegraphiconthenextpagetogetanideaofhowthe handlingmightchangefromalterationsofbrakebias.

TUNINGGRAPHIC

HigherARB: TiestheLRandRRsuspensionmovement togetherwhich: o reducesrearbodyrollwhenturning o reducesthesnapunloadon outboardreartire Mayreduceoverallreargripbutcanmake rearendmorepredictabledrivercan learntosliderearendandcontrolit Lesstolerantofridingcurbs Mayincreaseoversteerattherearend Mayreducefeelingofundersteeratthe frontend LowerARB: LetstheLRandRRsuspensionmovemore independentlywhich: o canmakeitmoredifficulttomanage rearbodyrollwhenturning o mayresultinasnapunloadon outboardreartireatcornerexit Mayincreaseoverallreargripbutcan makerearendlesspredictable Moretolerantofridingcurbs Maydecreaseoversteerattherearend Mayincreasefeelingofundersteeratthe frontend HigherRearTirePressure Canhelpbalancecorneringbehavior Reducesthesizeofthetirecontactpatch Aboveacertainpoint,tendstoreduce reargripastiresurfaceconformslessto roadwaysurfaceunderloads Mayincreaseoversteerattherearend Mayreducefeelingofundersteeratthe frontend HigherBrakeBias Morefrontbitewhenbrakingsince morebrakingforceappliedtothefront wheels Morecontrollableunderthresholdbraking butcanlockupfronttires Moredifficulttotrailbrake(turnwhile braking)orthrottlebrake(usingabitof throttletostabilizethecarunderbraking) HigherFrontTirePressure Canhelpbalancecorneringbehavior Reducesthesizeofthetirecontactpatch Aboveacertainpoint,tendstoreduce frontgripastiresurfaceconformslessto roadwaysurfaceunderloads Mayincreaseundersteeratthefrontend Mayreducefeelingofoversteeratthe rearend

HigherSPO: Morenegativecamberonfrontwheels whichincreasesfrontendbitewhen turning Canreduceundersteeratthefrontend Mayincreasefeelingofoversteeratthe rearend Reducessuspensiontravelwhichreduces theamountofsnapunloadonfronttires whenreleasingthebrakepedal Reducesfrontrideheightwhichincreases rake

LowerRearTirePressure Canhelpbalancecorneringbehavior Increasesthesizeofthetirecontactpatch Tendstoincreasereargripexceptthattire sidewallscanbecomeunstablebelowa certainpoint Mayreduceoversteerattherearend Mayincreasefeelingofundersteeratthe frontend LowerBrakeBias Lessfrontbitewhenbrakingsince brakingforcesharedmorewiththerear wheels Lesscontrollableunderbrakingiflockup reartires(canspin) Makesiteasiertotrailbrake(turnwhile braking)orthrottlebrake(usingabitof throttletostabilizethecarunderbraking) LowerFrontTirePressure Canhelpbalancecorneringbehavior Increasesthesizeofthetirecontactpatch Tendstoincreasefrontgripexceptthat tiresidewallscanbecomeunstablebelow acertainpoint Mayreduceundersteeratthefrontend Mayincreasefeelingofoversteeratthe rearend

LowerSPO: Lessnegativecamberonfrontwheels whichdecreasesfrontendbitewhen turning Canincreaseundersteeratthefrontend Mayreducefeelingofoversteeratthe rearend Increasessuspensiontravelwhich increasestheamountofsnapunloadon fronttireswhenreleasingthebrakepedal Increasesfrontrideheightwhichreduces rake

THECONCEPTOFBALANCE Theconceptofabalancedracecarisanelusivenotion. Whatappearsbalancedwhenatrestmaynotfeelbalancedwhen atspeed.Manypeoplesmarterthanushavedevotedentire careerstotryingtofindtheproperbalanceforaracecar.Andyou stillheardriversandcrewchiefssayingthatthecarhadpushor wasloose. Whentuningyourcar,itmaybehelpfultothinkofyourcaras beingbalancedonapoint.Thereisonepointforwhenthecar isatrest(static)andtherearemanypointsforwhenthecarisin motionatdifferentpointsaroundthetrack(dynamic). Youwanttotryandfindthesetupwhichprovidesthebest balanceforthemostpointsaroundtheracetrackorforthemost importantpointsaroundtheracetrack.Youmaytunethecarto avoidaproblem(lossofcontrolatacertainplace)ortoexploitan opportunity(exitspeedatacriticalcorner).Findabalancethat worksforyouandyourdrivingstyle. Forexample,a+2SPOsettingresultsinacarwithequalcamber atthefrontandtherear.Thiswouldseemtobebalancedwhen thecarisatrest.Tryacoupleoflapswiththecaratspeedand seehowitfeels. NowtrychangingtheSPOsettingandseehowthatfeels.Ifyou increasetheSPOtoahighernumber,youcreateasituationwith morecamberatthefrontthantherear.Youshouldexpect(all elsebeingequal)thatthiswouldresultinmorefrontbiteand lessundersteer.Whatmaysurpriseyouthoughisthatchanging thebalanceatthefrontalsochangestherelativefeelingatthe rearinotherwords,youmaynowbecomemoresensitiveto whatishappeningattherearendofthecar. YoumaylikethewaythecarfeelswithadifferentSPOsetting (youaregettingclosertothefeelandbalanceyouare comfortablewith),butyounowmaywanttotunetheARBorthe tirepressurestomanagethatoversteerpotentialorchange anotheraspectofthecarbalanceandhandling. Sometimes,balancingrelativegrip(alittlemoreinthefrontora littlelessintherear)isthekeytofindingasetupthatworksbest foryou.Sometimes,theabsolutesettingsmaynotbeas importanttothebalanceofthecarastherelativesettings.
ContributorstothisTuningGuide(andearliereditions)includedIanBevan,Nicolas Bihan,JayBlass,MarkCarpenter,GlennChalder,DuncanCoppedge,Roland Ehnstrom,DarioFrattini,DaveGrey,MitchellHibbs,SimonHulbert,MarcoLinke, MichaelLorenson,LubomirMoric,SeanSiff,RyanTerpstra,SamuliVahonen, AmjedYamin,andanumberofotherpeoplewhohavepostedinformationonthe iRacingForum.

Welookforwardtoseeingyouonthetrack!