rec.autos.simulators

    >> wondering what pit strategy works best in a 100% race.

    >> : Read the manual.

    >> : : Normally run on C tyres and change them at roughly 1/3 and
    >> 2/3 of the : : race.

    >> : Try them all and see what works best for you.

    >> Ok, sorry.  That was a joke out of another topic.  :D

    >> Now the real answer:

    deleted stuff...

    >> EVERY lap you should keep a note in your brain of what your lap
    >> times are.  You should see a nice ramp downwards, then a
    >> leveling off and finally a slight ramp back up.

    >> Like this:

    >> T \
    >> I  \
    >> M   --__   ___---
    >> E       ---
    >>    Number of Laps

    >> Your going to want to pit on the plateau.  How long you stay on
    >> the plateau is up to you and the tires.  What you learned with
    >> the tire trick will pay off big now.

    >> The only reason to get off the plateau early is if new tires
    >> will be MUCH faster than if you waited.  You always want your
    >> time to be on the downward slope lap after lap.

    >> You have to time your last pit stop so that the last ten laps
    >> are not going on the upward slope.  You always want to finish
    >> on the plateau.

    >> If you have troubles 'timing in your head', then use GPLAP to
    >> do this.  The only problem with that is if you don't test a
    >> lot, you will not have sufficient data to make your decision.

    >> Timing in your head is really the only way to go.  It also
    >> makes those snap decision easier to make if you know what worn
    >> tires feel like.

    I agreed with this, unfortunately it's not that simple, because
    the car is getting lighter all the time, so your lap times will
    improve despite the tyres being worn.

    If you really want to figure it out, you have to do it hard way
    and run 100% distance on each type of tyre on each track, and
    use GPLAP to analyse the way your lap times change.

    Mark

I'm wondering what pit strategy works best in a 100% race. Normally run
on C tyres and change them at roughly 1/3 and 2/3 of the race.

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Read the manual.

: Normally run on C tyres and change them at roughly 1/3 and 2/3 of the
: race.

Try them all and see what works best for you.

: Read the manual.

: : Normally run on C tyres and change them at roughly 1/3 and 2/3 of the
: : race.

: Try them all and see what works best for you.

Ok, sorry.  That was a joke out of another topic.  :D

Now the real answer:

Pit strategy depends entirely on 2 things:

 1) The type of track it is (ie how hard it is on tires)

 2) Your setup (ie how hard it is on tires)

A track such as Monza is real easy on tires (ie you may go 100% distance
on Cs and turn roughly the same laps all the way through), whereas France
will eat them for lunch if you have a bad setup (ie you may only get 12
good laps out of them before they drop off and go bad).

The first thing you have to do is learn what worn out tires 'feel' like.  
There are two ways you can get a quick feel for worn tires:

 1) Use Q tires for many laps without changing them

 2) Use W tires on a dry track

The Q tires will teach you how the tire feels when it is good and then
falls off over time.  The W tires will teach you how worn tires feel
almost immediately.

I would suggest to use both techniques.  Use the W's first to get a good
'feel' for REALLY worn tires.

Then switch to Q's and drive on them until you think they are worn.  It's
not really as hard as it sounds and it won't really take that long either.

Once you have mastered the art of detecting worn tires, you are ready to
move on to step 2.

Step 2 is lap timing in your head.  It's really quite easy.  It's not as
hard as counting cards in poker, but easier than counting jelly beans in
a jar.

EVERY lap you should keep a note in your brain of what your lap times
are.  You should see a nice ramp downwards, then a leveling off and
finally a slight ramp back up.

Like this:

T  \
I   \
M    --__   ___---
E        ---

   Number of Laps

Your going to want to pit on the plateau.  How long you stay on the
plateau is up to you and the tires.  What you learned with the tire trick
will pay off big now.

The only reason to get off the plateau early is if new tires will be MUCH
faster than if you waited.  You always want your time to be on the
downward slope lap after lap.  

You have to time your last pit stop so that the last ten laps are not
going on the upward slope.  You always want to finish on the plateau.

If you have troubles 'timing in your head', then use GPLAP to do this.  
The only problem with that is if you don't test a lot, you will not have
sufficient data to make your decision.

Timing in your head is really the only way to go.  It also makes those
snap decision easier to make if you know what worn tires feel like.

As always, this is, of course, only my opinion.  If you asked 3 people
you would get 3 answers.  Consider this one of those 3 answers; nothing
more, nothing less.

:  <One of the best "insider" replies we've seen here...>

: T  \
: I   \
: M    --__   ___---
: E        ---

:    Number of Laps
:  
: Your going to want to pit on the plateau.  How long you stay on the
: plateau is up to you and the tires.  What you learned with the tire trick
: will pay off big now.

: <more snipped>

: Timing in your head is really the only way to go.  It also makes those
: snap decision easier to make if you know what worn tires feel like.

: As always, this is, of course, only my opinion.  If you asked 3 people
: you would get 3 answers.  Consider this one of those 3 answers; nothing
: more, nothing less.

Good stuff.  I won't add a lot (or change much).

But another factor you'll have to experiment with is tire compound.  For
me, this has been the biggest issue, period.  I think, like Doug, that
different drivers will get different wear rates on their tires, so the
choice of compound can be very important.  It also varies by track, so
you may want to start some tracks on D's, although most will likely be
C's.  Then you have to figure your stop strategy - one stop or two, and
will they be stops for C's or D's?  I'm sure the fastest guys all have
their strategies, so I'm not going to try to put forth one definitive
plan - you'll just have to play with it.  But use Doug's "how to tell
when" scheme and play with compound based on your wear rate (laps before
they go off, remembering that your car gets lighter as the race
progresses) - try a couple of strategies and you'll have a plan in no
time.

Regards,
                        _    ___  ___  ___     _   _   ____
--Brian Ferguson       | |  | __|| . )/ __|   | |_| | / __ \   LFRS '95-96  
--Newmarket, ON, CAN   | |_ | _| |  < \__ \   |___  | \___ |  Uranus-Nissan

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