Anyone know how to tame the F Trainer?

I love driving lower powered open wheelers, but find the Formula Trainer (either variant) a thoroughly unpleasant drive compared to both its AMS1 version, and other cars in AMS2. For me this car is nearly impossible to steer with the throttle, backing off the throttle even slightly results in the back end coming around in an unrecoverable way. Left foot braking is the only way I can compete.

Anyone know of some setup changes that might help?

 

Can you change the diff ramp angles?
If so, try:
Raising the coast ramp angle, take note where it is at default, then wack it up to 90. See how that feels.

If you want more power oversteer, lower the 'Power ramp' angle. Although it's best to stick with fixing one particular issue before trying to tweak/improve elsewhere.

Another thing regards off throttle behaviour. Engine braking. Raise the number and see how it feels.

 

Thanks mate. Unfortunately neither of those settings are available for the F Trainer. I've tried fiddling weight balance and rear/front ARB but the bloody back end still comes around at the slightest throttle misapplication in corners.

 

What is your brake balance set to? Have you enabled auto-clutch?

When you say you can only control it left foot braking is that because you can then blip the throttle on downshift?

 

Brake balance is not my problem, the car usually comes around before I get on the brakes! I have to left foot brake because it’s more controllable rotating the car that way rather than lifting the throttle. Even the legendarily squirrelly FVee is better bloody behaved...

 

I think the main issue is too much engine braking. I did some tests with the PC2 formula rookie to see if I could get it to handle like the AMS2 version. Increasing the engine braking made the PC2 car have much more lift off oversteer. Unfortunately you can't adjust engine braking in the AMS2 car. Some things that might tame (but not cure) the oversteer are increase rear wheel camber to -2.0. As you have done, move the weight bias forward. Soften the rear suspension - say to 22. Increase the rear toe to say 0.4 and reduce the front negative toe to -0.5. Increasing the front caster might help too.

 

@David Wright thanks so much for this. I tried your suggestions and they've transformed the car. Yep it steps out a bit to easily still, but it's no longer unrecoverable, so you can actually drive through corners. Still hates being overdriven into those corners, but I guess it's the whole point of a Formula Trainer to stop you doing it!

Interesting that you mentioned the Formula Rookie in PC2. One of my favourite cars in that sim, and the F Trainer is a very similar feeling car now. Thanks again.

 

I've been trying to tame the trainers as well but have found the 0.8.2 update today is like chalk and cheese as to how the cars now handle. I deleted the settings folder as suggested in the update info and now the cars respond to adjustments and even the default setup is now drivable.

 

It’s been said elsewhere, but shouldn’t the default setup give you neutral/safe handling without the need for tinkering to make it driveable? I wouldn’t expect it to be the fastest setup but it should at least give a decent, manageable starting point for those new to sim racing.

 

In a perfect world yes, in EA not necessarily. Just like FFB, car handling preferences are personal, hence we've been given sliders to modify them.

 

Default set-ups are not all finished yet. Neither are physics tweaks.

 

I think that it would probably have been better to just release the cars which had been worked on and then gradually introduce the rest as they reached a similar standard. We don’t actually need all of the cars at the start of beta/EA.

 

Tested side by side the trainer in AMS and AMS2:
-in AMS I can drive it for two hours dancing on the limit and have fun managing the throttle
-in AMS2 it's spinning instantaneously in coasting and strongly understeering in acceleration with no room for adjustment over throttle and a very narrow window of sideslip to play with. No fun at all and not convincing.

 

That's why I'm taming the F Trainer by not driving it, at least for the time being--and given the fact that enough feedback has already been posted cataloging its [temporary] deficiencies. More fun to be found elsewhere in AMS2.

 

What's the difference between the Trainer and Trainer Advanced?

 

Advanced has a more powerful engine, a more sophisticated dash readout and uses slick racing tires. Otherwise, I think the rest of the two (chassis, etc.) are identical.

 

Yes Sir, as I said in a couple of threads, for me the situation has worsened a lot with the new tire model. The problem does not concern only F.Ford, the same situation is also found with F.Vee and Puma for example

 

I agree on the Puma (old and new) but the FVee is better than it was in the first builds (now it can throttle oversteer a little bit).

In any case ALL AMS2 cars have the same issue: low sensitivity of lateral grip respect to longitudinal forces in acceleration. Depending on setups and kind of tires the situation is more or less pronounced, but sill there.

In braking it is exactly the opposite...

 

How is the state of the F.Trainer (and Vee) in current build?

 

Awesome