[IT-Trader]

This thread is a blog for some general comments, links of interest, etc.

If you have any questions or comments, use this thread.

Weight Distribution

F40 Steering Setup for rFactor

Engine Power Curves

F40 Gearbox Setup & Ratios

[IT-Trader]

Weight Distribution

Sometimes during development, better quality information comes to hand after that specific area has been configured.
The weight distribution is one of those areas. In v0.82 it was 54.4% rear and 50% side to side.

Since that was set, we've got the distribution of a real F40 as shown below.



However its not as simple as just using those weights as rFactor wants the weight with the driver but without fuel.

So we need some simple maths.
The specific gravity of fuel is around 0.7197.
We assumed an average driver weights 80kg.
The fuel tank is 0.891m forward of the rear axles and the wheelbase is 2.45m.
So the distribution of the fuel is 0.3637/0.6363(rear) and 50/50.
The fuel tank is 100L (+20L reserve but we have assumed that will stay on-board at all times).
The driver sits 0.977m behind the front axles giving a distribution of 0.6012/0.3988(rear) but also 70/30(right)

So for each corner we need to convert the fuel and driver to lbs (x2.20462) and then 'remove the fuel' and 'add the driver'.
This results in corner weights of:
LF - 561.38lbs
RF - 593.96lbs
RR - 850.75lbs
LR - 784.62lbs

So in v0.83 (not released yet), the resulting weight distribution is 41.4%/58.6%(rear) and 50.6%/49.4%(right). Of course its not perfect because rF averages the number across the corners but its the closest we can do.

[IT-Trader]

Steering Setup

The steering setup is critical in sim-racing. The information it provides gives us clues as to what the car is doing before it becomes visible on the monitor.
Many people spend a lot of time researching the right hardware or car setup tips. Getting an accurate steering rate and feel should be given at least as much attention.
We do everything we can to increase the immersion in our sims and the steering response right is a key part of that.

With regard to the Ferrari F40, the following setup is recommended. In fact using a similar approach could transform your other favourite mods too.
These instructions assume a G25/G27.

The real car has 2.8 turns lock to lock (1008deg rotation) and the turning circle is 11.60m.
We STRONGLY recommend as much steering rotation as your wheel will allow up to 1008 deg.
For a G25/G27 this is 900 deg.
If you use less than that, it may help to make a minor change to the LeoFFB.ini file which is detailed below.

Before even starting the game, set up the Logitech Profiler as follows:



The above Profiler setup is suitable for running RealFeel and LeoFFB together, so we need to install those next,

RealFeel
RealFeel takes the actual forces acting on the steering arms and feeds them back through the wheel so you know just what's going on.
We have pre-configured RealFeel so you can just download and copy it in.
(NOTE: If you are an existing RealFeel user, just copy the [Ferrari F40] section into your existing realfeel.ini)

LeoFFB
Many who use RealFeel also use LeoFFB to complement it. This adds aditional effects not generated by RealFeel.
We have pre-configured LeoFFB so you can just download and copy it in.
(NOTE: If you are an existing LeoFFB user, backup your existing leoffb.ini before installing.)

900 deg Users:
You don't need to make any changes at all.

Non-900 deg Users:
Before starting the game, you need to work out the correct steering lock. (not rotation but lock - i.e. how much the front wheels will turn.)
As we know, the real car is has 2.8 turns lock to lock and the turning circle is 11.60m which requires about 32deg of lock.
So we can deduce... 2.8 turns x 360 deg = 1008deg of rotation and a maximum 32deg of lock.
This gives a ratio of 32/1008 = 0.03175deg of lock for every 1 deg of steering wheel rotation.

This gives s the forumla Steering Lock = Wheel Rotation x 0.03175

E.g. If you use 419 deg of roration, 420 * 0.03175= 13.34, so use 13.4 deg of lock.
Now edit the LeoFFB.ini file in your rFactor folder and change number on the very first line from 28.6 to 13.4


Now Start rFactor:
Click the following menu path...
Customise - Settings - Controls - Force Feedback Set Effects to Low and FFB strength -100% (for a G25).
Customise - Vehicle - Upgrades - FFB. Select the RealFeel option. (in v0.82 you should select Low FFB. The RealFeel option is only available in v0.83 and later)

Now load the track of your choice and go into the car setup and change the steering lock as follows:
v0.82: Multiply your wheel rotation by 0.03175 to calculate the correct lock. (e.g. 420 x 0.03175=13.34, so use 13.4deg lock)
v0.83 (not released yet): If you are using 900deg, the default lock of 28.6 is correct, otherwise use the number you calculated in the 'Non-900deg' section above.

[IT-Trader]

Power Curves

When building the engine file, its obviously important to get the curves as accurate as you can to best simulate the characteristics of the real car. Many mods just use the the peak torque and hp but these alone aren't enough as they give you only 2 points of the curve.
What is really needed is the complete curve like that from a dyno test but finding that can be quite a challenge. Fortunately our research has yielded an embarassment of riches with both the 'blueprint' curve from Ferrari and a curve from a dyno test of a real F40 engine. Not surprisingly these aren't the same!
In the image below, the curve on the left is the blueprint, the one on the right is of a real F40 engine.



While the real engine has less peak torque and power, the flatness of the torque between 5000-6000rpm on the real curve means that in our testing we've found virtually no lap time difference between the two engines on a 'typical' circuit.

The dilemma we had is that the figures quoted by Ferrari are the ones that people know, i.e. 478hp and 577Nm torque but if we use the real figures, anyone looking at the information panel in rFactor will see 349kW (468hp) and 528Nm.

This mod is predominantly about realism so from v0.83 (not released yet) onwards the mod will use the real curves rather than the blueprint curve that the previous builds were based on. So if you wanted to know why the mod appears to have less power than the often quoted numbers, that is why.
Below is the rFactor F40 curve used in v.0.83 onwards.

[IT-Trader]

F40 Gearbox & Shifter Setup

The image below is not from an F40 but shows the layout. Also note the tight metal gate.
Shifting in an 80's Ferrari is not an easy process without practice. You can't just push the stick in the general direction and hope it pops in, you need to be precise.



Ferrari are well known for their gearboxes being 'back to front', that is the upper gate is for R, 2, 4 and the lower gate is 1, 3, 5.
So for an authentic experience, you should do the same.

R 2 4
|--|--|
1 3 5

Ratios
Moving on to the ratios themselves, below is an image from Ferrari documentation showing the ratios, bevel & idle gears for the F40.



These numbers are reflected directly in the ratios file in the mod, the final ratios can be seen in-game.
If you don't like them, blame Ferrari.