GRAND PRIX CHALLENGE: TUNING GUIDE

GRAND PRIX CHALLENGE: TUNING GUIDE
by
Jamie Stafford/Wolf Feather
[email protected]

Initial Version Completed: April 27, 2003
Version 1.0 Completed: April 27, 2003

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CONTENTS
Spacing and Length
Permissions
Introduction
Tuning Options
Suggested Tuning Set-ups
Contact Information

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SPACING AND LENGTH
For optimum readability, this driving guide should be
viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier.
Check for font setting by making sure the numbers and letters
below line up:

1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

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PERMISSIONS
Permission is hereby granted for a user to download and/or
print out a copy of this driving guide for personal use.
However, due to the extreme length, printing this driving
guide may not be such a good idea.

This driving guide may only be posted on: FeatherGuides,
GameFAQs.com, f1gamers.com, Games Domain, PSXCodez.com,
Cheatcc.com, gamesover.com, Absolute-PlayStation.com,
GameReactors.com, RedCoupe, InsidePS2Games.com,
CheatPlanet.com, The Cheat Empire, a2zweblinks.com, Gameguru,
CheatHeaven, IGN, cheatingplanet.com, RobsGaming.com,
Infogrames Australia, neoseeker.com, ComputerUnderground.com,
ps2fantasy.com, and vgstrategies.com. Please contact me for
permission to post elsewhere on the Internet.

Should anyone wish to translate this game guide into other
languages, please contact me for permission(s) and provide me
with a copy when complete.

Remember: Plagiarism in ANY form is NOT tolerated!!!!!

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INTRODUCTION
This guide is intended to help those unfamiliar with tuning
in F1 games to properly adjust an F1 car for each race venue
in Grand Prix Challenge. Since most F1 races happen to take
place in dry racing conditions, the vehicle set-ups suggested
here are also for dry conditions. (In wet conditions, the
general rule is to raise downforce and switch to either
Intermediate Tires or Wet Tires.)

Please note that some of the information in this guide comes
from my Grand Prix Challenge: Driving Guide.

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TUNING OPTIONS
In many gameplay modes, the player can tune the selected car
to maximize its performance at each circuit. Unfortunately,
there is no provision in Grand Prix Challenge to save tuning
options for each vehicle/circuit combination, so tuning will
need to be done every time the player changes circuits and/or
cars.

Tires
There are four tire compounds available in Grand Prix
Challenge:
Hard: These tires have the longest life,
which means that the player can remain on
the circuit longer between pit stops.
However, hard tires have rather little
pavement grip, so the player can expect
the car to slide around a bit when
cornering. Hard tires also provide a
minor increase in top-end speed. Hard
tires should ONLY be used in dry racing
conditions.
Soft: Soft tires have superb pavement grip,
which moderately lowers top-end speed.
Unfortunately, soft tires also have
relatively short a lifespan, thus
requiring more trips to pit lane during
a race. Soft tires should ONLY be used
in dry racing conditions. If the
player's race strategy includes two or
more pit stops, it is definitely
worthwhile to use Soft Tires for the
race.
Wet: If racing in the rain, these are the
tires to use. The vehicle's overall
speed and handling will still be poorer
than if using hard tires or soft tires in
dry racing conditions, but the car will
be better able to stay on the circuit in
wet conditions when using wet tires.
Intermediate: These tires are best for the 'in-between'
period, when rain first begins to fall
or as the circuit is drying after the
rain. The trick to using intermediate
tires is correctly guessing just how long
the 'in-between' period will last, and
judging whether it is best to waste the
time with two trips to pit lane (to
change both to and from the intermediate
tires) or to only come to pit lane once -
the latter occurring hopefully within a
scheduled pit window.
Downforce
Downforce is what keeps these lightweight speed machines
on the ground, and the amount of downforce directly
affects vehicle handling. Using high downforce will lower
the vehicle's top-end speed, but cornering will be easier.
Conversely, lowering downforce will increase top-end speed
at the sacrifice of cornering ability.
Gear Box Ratio
Lower gear ratios are best for fast and strong
acceleration, but will reduce a vehicle's top-end speed.
On the other hand, higher gear ratios raise the top-end
speed at the sacrifice of acceleration. Ideally, the
gear ratios should be set so that the engine hits max
revs just at the very end of the longest straightaway of
a given circuit.
Suspension
A softer suspension setting provides more pavement grip,
but will reduce the car's overall speed. A harder
suspension setting provides faster top-end speed but less
pavement grip. Soft suspension is best for bumpy
circuits or for driving styles which make heavy usage of
the many rumble strips, whereas hard suspension is best
for relatively smooth circuits and those driving styles
which generally avoid the rumble strips.
Brake Balance
The brake balance can be moved closer to the front or the
rear of the vehicle. Strong rear bias can cause oversteer
and strong front bias can cause understeer; however, all
braking should be done in a straight line as much as
possible to minimize the occurrence of oversteer and
understeer and to maximize braking power.
Traction Control System (TCS)
Traction control was re-implemented in the 2002 F1 season,
beginning with the Spanish Grand Prix (held at Catalunya).
This system reduces the chances of the vehicle sliding
during acceleration, and is of particular importance for
the standing start of a race and for recovering when the
vehicle has left the pavement. For the purposes of Grand
Prix Challenge, however, traction control is available for
ALL events in the season.
In Beginner handling, TCS is always set to high. In
Intermediate handling, TCS can be toggled between low and
high. In Expert handling, TCS can be set to off, low, or
high.
In Intermediate handling and Expert handling, TCS
settings can be changed during any session or race,
meaning that a player can experiment with various traction
control settings for each corner or area of a circuit and
make a mental note to always have the TCS at a particular
setting in various parts of a lap for every lap of a race.
Generally speaking, traction control works quite well
for accelerating out of tight, slow corners, especially
when running through consecutive tight, slow corners.
Monaco is perhaps the best example in current F1 racing of
a circuit where a high TCS setting is highly favorable.
High-speed circuits, such as Monza or Catalunya, are
generally best served by using either a low traction
control setting or NO traction control at all, as this
will provide a little more speed on the many lengthy
straightaways.
Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
ABS theoretically prevents wheel-lock during severe
braking. In Expert handling, ABS can be set to on or off.
Unlike traction control, ABS cannot be toggled on and off
during a race.
Transmission
In Expert handling, the transmission can be set to
Automatic or Manual.

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SUGGESTED TUNING SET-UPS
Here is a suggested tuning set-up for each of the seventeen
circuits in Grand Prix Challenge. Please note that this
information is based largely upon my own driving style, which
tends to be rather aggressive, so these set-ups may not
necessarily work (well) for all players.

These suggestions are for dry racing conditions. Also, each
team's vehicles perform a little differently in terms of the
amount of engine power available, so using an identical set-
up across all eleven teams is not truly possible without
adjusting driving style, braking zones, etc.

Albert Park (Australia)
Tire Type: Soft
Downforce: Medium-low
Gear Box Ratio: Medium-long
Suspension: Hard
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: Low
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Sepang (Malaysia)
Tire Type: Hard
Downforce: Medium-low
Gear Box Ratio: Long
Suspension: Medium-hard
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: Low
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Interlagos (Brazil)
Tire Type: Hard
Downforce: Medium-high
Gear Box Ratio: Medium-long
Suspension: Soft
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: High
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Imola (San Marino)
Tire Type: Soft
Downforce: Medium-low
Gear Box Ratio: Medium-long
Suspension: Soft
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: Low
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Barcelona/Catalunya (Spain)
Tire Type: Hard
Downforce: Low
Gear Box Ratio: Long
Suspension: Medium-hard
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: Low
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

A1-Ring (Austria)
Tire Type: Soft
Downforce: High
Gear Box Ratio: Medium
Suspension: Soft
Brake Balance: Medium
Traction Control: High
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Monaco (Monaco)
Tire Type: Soft
Downforce: High
Gear Box Ratio: Short
Suspension: Soft
Brake Balance: Medium
Traction Control: High
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Montreal/Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve (Canada)
Tire Type: Hard
Downforce: Medium-low
Gear Box Ratio: Long
Suspension: Medium-soft
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: Low
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Nurburgring (Germany/Europe)
Tire Type: Soft
Downforce: Medium-low
Gear Box Ratio: Medium-long
Suspension: Medium-soft
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: Low
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Silverstone (Great Britain)
Tire Type: Hard
Downforce: Medium-low
Gear Box Ratio: Medium-long
Suspension: Medium-hard
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: Low
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Magny-Cours (France)
Tire Type: Hard
Downforce: Medium-low
Gear Box Ratio: Long
Suspension: Medium
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: Low
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Hockenheim (Germany)
Tire Type: Soft
Downforce: High
Gear Box Ratio: Medium
Suspension: Medium-soft
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: High
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Hungaroring (Hungary)
Tire Type: Hard
Downforce: Medium-high
Gear Box Ratio: Medium-short
Suspension: Soft
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: High
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium)
Tire Type: Soft
Downforce: Low
Gear Box Ratio: Long
Suspension: Soft
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: Low
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Monza (Italy)
Tire Type: Hard
Downforce: Low
Gear Box Ratio: Medium-long
Suspension: Medium-hard
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: Low
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Indianapolis (United States of America)
Tire Type: Soft
Downforce: Medium-high
Gear Box Ratio: Medium-short
Suspension: Soft
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: High
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

Suzuka (Japan)
Tire Type: Hard
Downforce: Medium-high
Gear Box Ratio: Medium
Suspension: Medium-soft
Brake Balance: Medium-rear
Traction Control: High
Anti-lock Braking System: Player's discretion

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CONTACT INFORMATION
For questions, rants, raves, comments of appreciation, etc.,
or to be added to my e-mail list for updates to this driving
guide, please contact me at: [email protected]; also, if
you have enjoyed this guide and feel that it has been helpful
to you, I would certainly appreciate a small donation via
PayPal (http://www.paypal.com/) using the above e-mail
address.

To find the latest version of this and all my other
PSX/PS2/DC/Mac game guides, visit FeatherGuides at
http://feathersites.angelcities.com/

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