Proper way to use LMDh systems?

The 1.6 patch has improved the modeling of the LMDh cars' hybrid systems, but I'm still unclear how we should be using them. My understanding is that 'virtual energy' is not yet simulated by AMS2, but that ERS acts possibly as a combination of energy regen and deploy? Or is Fuel Map handling the energy deploy function while ERS handles regen?

At the risk of referring too much to LMU, the key principle I've taken from it is to not let the battery reach 100% as this will stop the charging process, and along with it the extra braking power that the car's braking bias has been tuned for. As a result, when first starting out of the pits, it's best to lower regen so that you get below 100% and don't risk going back up to 100% at the first turn.

Can anyone clarify how we should be using the hybrid system?

 

what is LMU?

 

Le Mans Ultimate

 

Wow that's quite a sig block!

The more I thought about it, the more I now think that, based on the 1.6 patch notes, ERS is in fact modeling both the energy regen and deploy, same as how it works on the Formula Gen2 cars.

 

Earlier today I came across this post that noted that Fuel Map, contrary to what I had assumed, does not control engine mapping; rather, it controls the correspondence between our pedal travel and throttle response as follows:

Fuel map low: full physical pedal travel equals 80% throttle in-game
Fuel map medium: full physical pedal travel equals 90% throttle in-game
Fuel map high: full physical pedal travel equals 100% throttle in-game

I just tested this out and to my surprise, it's correct - although it seemed to me to be more like 90, 95 and 100%, respectively. Either way, does not seem to have anything do with energy deploy in hybrid cars.

 

There is so little info, it is a bit frustrating. The change log leaves so much on the table and would require further details on how to use those systems, maybe have short video explaining ? I tried checking things in the telemetry, but there is not enough info to figure stuff out, at least not easily.

So how does that work exactly ? Does it mean that as soon as the battery level reaches 70%, the torque from the electric motor is cut down ? What are the thresholds for the other ERS mode ?

What is the meaning here ? Is it then that the brake by wire system is just there for simulating the e-motor regen ? Or does it change depending on the brake application ? What if the battery is full ? In other words when I choose 54% brake biais does it stays at 54% with the game adjusting automatically or is it changing depending on my pedal pressure and on the e-motor charge level ?

 

The sim absolutely deserves a manual and/or some detailed info on these topics.
Same for race rules specific to some cars and any special features of some cars.
And any (possibly obscure) feature that makes AMS2 unique or special...
There is some info available but it is often very scattered, possibly out of date and lost in some obscure forum post.

 

That’s why I made the wiki to try and keep all the info in one place

 

Yes! And it's a great reference; in fact that's where I tracked down the info on how ERS works in the Formula Gen2 cars.

 

Maybe I should add to it for how it works on the LMDh cars

 

what Wiki?

 

The AMS2 wiki Automobilista 2 Wiki

 

cool!

You should add my Edurance racing Ai/time/weather guide to it

 

In some RCO race I did with LDMh hypercars what I noticed was:
If I had high deploy settings, qualifying deploy, I could do faster laps.

It was a problem for me regarding fuel calculations because during practice session and qually in the online servers I did a few laps, 3 to 5, before changing settings. But the fuel calculations were wrong.
(They are usually wrong by a lot if I trust the built in ams2 fuel calculator in the setup menu)
I've came to the point where it's almost safer for me to prepare by any online race that has a re-fuel pit stop and lasts like 1h or more:
I need to practice that race against an AI, or lap for 1h alone, and measure and calculate my own numbers for fuel consumption.

Also happened with F-usa 2023.

In shorter races sometimes you can get away with fuel saving even if you lose some positions you finish the race, but even in some cases I ended up not finishing and DNFing the race.

So beware that the fuel you have in qually will be low compared to what you need in the race (if the ERS system is deploying all the time full power during qually session)

 

The hybrid system does not change your total power output, it is purely there for fuel efficiency. The more electric power you use the less fuel your car consumes each lap, but power stays the same at 670hp (?). What it also does is it improves braking, so If you got faster lap times with more hybrid power it could be either some kind of placebo or maybe you simply could brake a bit later.

When Reiza added GTP's the hybrid system indeed added power to total output at first, but now the it is more realistic and modeled how it really works IRL.

 

Ackshually...

I noticed the same thing a long ago (I think ever since the correct implementation of hybrid power was added), and I believe this is because the electric engine being, well, an electric engine contributes a much quicker response, delivering peak or near-peak torque almost immediately. If you are aggressive on the throttle, this means you get to maximum torque and power levels more quickly, even though the maximum power delivered never goes beyond the regulated limit.

As a consequence, this also makes the rear more nervous particularly with little to no TC, and potentially affects tire wear as well.

So yeah, as far as I can tell from driving these cars, higher deployment levels actually do affect lap times to some degree.

 

So in the 1.6 GTP the hybrid does not add output to power but just replaces the gas consumption, meaning that there's less gas needed to make the same output? This is how it currently works in AMS2?

 

Yep, that's how it's supposed to work. As @carloscepinha and I pointed out, there's also a slight change in the way power is applied, i.e. there seems to be more torque available earlier in the RPM band (which makes sense considering there's an electric motor substituting some of the ICE output).

EDIT: When viewing the telemetry, you should be able to confirm yourself that the maximum power output is the same.

 

That's indeed a possibility, depends on how it is modeled in AMS2. That's a question for Crimson or Renato.

 

A quick and dirty test over this is putting it on Auto Club oval. The LMDhs indeed does not increase in speed when you set it to use more battery power. Lap times are the same, if not slower with high deploy because you empty your battery pretty quickly.

My general ask, as AMS2 doesn't bother with the Virtual Energy system, is whether managing deploy better means that you should be putting in less fuel at the start? I don't really see a ratio but blowing your battery means that you are on gas power only and I suppose that drains quicker in online races?

I can imagine a lot of people getting this wrong and end up blowing their battery only for them to run out of fuel when the calculator says they can reach the end on that fuel number at the start of the race.