The Coach Dave team continues to extensively test our setup packages for every car and track in ACC v1.6, which features a new tire and improved aero physics. Our testing has involved 3 professional test drivers and 4 sim racing engineers testing 6 hours per day. It’s an extensive effort.
Car Index
- Porsche 991.2 GT3 R
- Ferrari 488 GT3 2018
- Mercedes AMG GT3 2015
- Aston Martin Vantage V8 GT3
- Bentley Continental 2018 GT3
- Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo
- McLaren 720s GT3
- Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3
- Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO
- Lexus RC F GT3
- Honda NSX GT3 Evo
- BMW M6 GT3
The general consensus amongst my team is that the new update has improved the feel of the sim but not fundamentally affected setups. If a setup uses an exploit in the game then you’re in trouble, this has been something we have tried our best to avoid since day one of Coach Dave Academy. It’s the reason we employ real-life engineers to help us make setups.
The biggest change we have felt is getting the tires into their operating window, it definitely takes longer now and can influence your feeling during the first few laps out the pits. Work has primarily focused on this area, but it does depend on the car/track combination.
Our philosophy is fairly simple: If we feel changes are necessary, we will make them, if not we will leave the original Coach Dave setup untouched.
If a car setup has been changed we add a new setup to the track folder with a postfix ‘2020’. You can read more about our file naming conventions here.
Below is a report that will be constantly update, containing information on each car we have completed so far during our testing program:
Porsche 991.2 GT3 R
Overall the Porsche 991.2 GT3 R behaves with a lot of predictability. Some slight imbalances with higher speed corners were fixed through pitch control/ride height/wing level but fundamentally the setups were very much unchanged.
The 2020 BOP seems to have shifted its strengths at different circuits that we have tried so far. The big benefit it has post-patch over pre-patch is the increase in low-speed traction and consistency.
| Track | Changes | Race Setup | Quali Setup |
| Barcelona | Yes | Aero | Aero |
| Bathurst | Yes | Dampers | Dampers |
| Brands Hatch | Yes | Aero | Aero |
| Hungaroring | Yes | Aero | Suspension |
| Imola | No | ||
| Laguna Seca | Yes | Dampers, Suspension | Dampers, Geometry, Mechanical |
| Kyalami | Yes | No changes necessary | Aero, Suspension |
| Misano | Yes | Aero | Aero |
| Monza | Yes | Suspension, Aero | Suspension, Aero |
| Nurburgring | Yes | Geometry, Suspension, Aero | Geometry, Suspension, Aero |
| Paul Ricard | Yes | Mechanical | Mechanical, Aero |
| Silverstone | Yes | No changes necessary | Aero |
| Spa Francorchamps | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Mechanical, Aero | Dampers, Mechanical, Aero, Geometry |
| Suzuka | Yes | Suspension, Dampers, Mechanical | Suspension, Dampers, Mechanical, Aero |
| Zandvoort | Yes | Dampers | Dampers |
| Zolder | Yes | No changes necessary | Suspension |
Ferrari 488 GT3 2018 (non-Evo)
The Ferrari 488 GT3 2018 appears to be slower than pre-patch on the same circuits, this includes both 2019/2020 and IGTC circuits. Given our extensive testing pre-patch, we have enough data to understand why:
On all tracks, the car’s acceleration phase-out of all corners is slower than before however generally achieves the same top speed at the end of the straights as pre-patch.
In our testing, we have found that this lack of pace is not down to the setups given we are running the same wing/ride height levels, car handling and balance still feel very good, in some cases better on the new tire. We suspect the new aero calculations in v1.6, and BOP adjustments, have affected the acceleration and therefore lap time.
| Track | Changed | Race Setup | Quali Setup |
| Barcelona | No | ||
| Bathurst | No | ||
| Brands Hatch | Yes | Electronics | Electronics |
| Hungaroring | No | ||
| Imola | No | ||
| Laguna Seca | No | ||
| Kyalami | No | ||
| Misano | No | ||
| Monza | Yes | Geometry | No changes necessary |
| Nurburgring | Yes | Electronics | Electronics |
| Paul Ricard | No | ||
| Silverstone | Yes | Aero, Suspension, Dampers | No changes necessary |
| Spa Francorchamps | No | ||
| Suzuka | Yes | Dampers | Dampers |
| Zandvoort | No | ||
| Zolder | Yes | Electronics | Electronics |
Mercedes AMG GT3 2015
Overall the Mercedes AMG GT3’s setups didn’t change from the 2019 to 2020 tires. At certain tracks, we have tweaked tire pressures and made fixes damping.
The pace of the car still seems competitive, but on some tracks, it loses out a lot. We think this comes down to the BoP changes. The car has definitely become easier to drive with the new 2020 tires as it allows you to be more aggressive with the rear on corner entry. The TC also seems to have improved as it would no longer let the revs jump or leave tire marks on the track.
| Track | Changed | Race Setup | Quali Setup |
| Barcelona | No | ||
| Bathurst | Yes | Aero, Geometry | Aero, Geometry |
| Brands Hatch | Yes | Dampers | Brake Ducts |
| Hungaroring | Yes | Electronics | Electronics |
| Imola | No | ||
| Laguna Seca | No | ||
| Kyalami | Yes | Aero, Geometry | Aero, Geometry |
| Misano | Yes | Dampers | Dampers |
| Monza | No | ||
| Nurburgring | No | ||
| Paul Ricard | Yes | Brake ducts | |
| Silverstone | Yes | Dampers | |
| Spa Francorchamps | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Aero | |
| Suzuka | Yes | Dampers | |
| Zandvoort | Yes | Dampers, Electronics | Dampers, Electronics |
| Zolder | Yes | Dampers, Electronics | Dampers, Electronics |
Aston Martin Vantage V8 GT3
The Aston Martin Vantage V8 GT3 didn’t need big adjustments overall. Balance and driving wise the car didn’t suffer much from the V1.6 update. The biggest improvement which we have done on the pre-patch setups was improving the damper histograms in Motec.
The car suffered a little bit with traction on every track which we solved mainly by adjusting the rear ride height and increasing the traction control.
| Track | Changed | Race Setup | Quali Setup |
| Barcelona | Yes | Brake ducts, Dampers, Mechanical | Dampers |
| Bathurst | Yes | Electronics, Dampers | Electronics |
| Brands Hatch | Yes | Aero, Dampers | Aero, Electronics, Brake ducts |
| Hungaroring | Yes | Dampers | Brake Ducts, Electronics |
| Imola | No | ||
| Laguna Seca | Yes | Dampers, Geometry | Brake ducts |
| Kyalami | Yes | Electronics, Dampers | Brake ducts |
| Misano | Yes | Electronics | Electronics, Brake ducts |
| Monza | Yes | Electronics, Brake ducts, Dampers | Electronics, Brake ducts |
| Nurburgring | Yes | Suspension, Electronics | Electronics |
| Paul Ricard | Yes | None | Brake ducts |
| Silverstone | No | ||
| Spa Francorchamps | Yes | Electronics | Electronics |
| Suzuka | Yes | Dampers, Electronics | Brake ducts |
| Zandvoort | Yes | Dampers, Electronics | None |
| Zolder | Yes | Dampers, Electronics | Electronics, Brake ducts |
Bentley Continental GT3 2018
Overall the Bentley Continental GT3 2018 hasn’t changed much. The car still has the exact same pace on most tracks and t’s handling characteristics remained similar. Small tweaks to the suspension and improving the damper histograms were almost universal across most circuits to keep the car in a more consistent window.
The biggest difference we have noticed is in the Traction Control. The TC is less prone to bogging the car down or letting it jump on higher revs. With this, you can exit corners faster than before which can definitely make the car more competitive on short & twisty tracks.
| Track | Changed | Race Setup | Quali Setup |
| Barcelona | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Electronics | Dampers, Suspension, Electronics |
| Bathurst | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Electronics, Aero | Dampers, Electronics |
| Brands Hatch | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Electronics | Suspension, Electronics |
| Hungaroring | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Electronics | Dampers, Suspension, Electronics |
| Imola | No | ||
| Laguna Seca | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Electronics | Dampers, Suspension, Electronics |
| Kyalami | Yes | Dampers, Suspension | Dampers, Suspension, Aero, Geometry |
| Misano | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Electronics | Dampers, Suspension, Electronics |
| Monza | Yes | Dampers, Suspension | Geometry |
| Nurburgring | Yes | Dampers, Suspension | Dampers |
| Paul Ricard | Yes | Dampers, Suspension | Dampers, Geometry |
| Silverstone | Yes | Dampers, Suspension | Dampers, Suspension, Geometry |
| Spa Francorchamps | Yes | Dampers, Aero, Suspension, Geometry, Electronics | Electronics |
| Suzuka | Yes | Aero, Dampers, Suspension | Dampers, Suspension |
| Zandvoort | Yes | Dampers, Suspension | Dampers, Suspension |
| Zolder | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Electronics | Dampers, Suspension, Electronics |
Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO
Overall the Audi R8 GT3 EVO didn’t change it´s car characteristics/feeling on track. Most of the setups only needed slight adjustments like tyre pressures, dampers and brake ducts. Nevertheless, some of the pre-patch setups, especially on tracks with fast corners where you need to apply quick braking/steering lock, were not driveable.
The issue in the setups was aero related. By changing the front/rear ride height to create a more conservative rake the issue was solved.
| Track | Changed | Race Setup | Quali Setup |
| Barcelona | No | ||
| Bathurst | Yes | Aero, Dampers | Aero |
| Brands Hatch | Yes | Aero, Dampers | Aero |
| Hungaroring | Yes | Aero, Suspension | Aero, Suspension |
| Imola | No | ||
| Laguna Seca | Yes | Dampers | |
| Kyalami | Yes | Brake Ducts | |
| Misano | Yes | Dampers | Dampers |
| Monza | Yes | Brake Bias, Dampers | Brake Bias |
| Nurburgring | Yes | Brake Ducts | |
| Paul Ricard | Yes | Aero | Aero |
| Silverstone | Yes | Aero | Aero |
| Spa Francorchamps | Yes | Aero, Suspension | Suspension |
| Suzuka | Yes | Aero, Dampers | Aero, Dampers |
| Zandvoort | Yes | Brake Ducts | |
| Zolder | Yes | Brake Bias | Brake Bias |
McLaren 720s GT3
Overall the characteristics of the McLaren 720s GT3 are still the same as it was pre V1.6. The biggest difference was that due to the reworked aero-physics the car couldn’t run as aggressive aero balance as before.
By applying damper tweaks on almost every circuit we also made a massive improvement to the mechanical grip of the car and kerb behaviour. We saw no major differences in lap time to the pre-patch lap times completed.
| Track | Changed | Race Setup | Quali Setup |
| Barcelona | Yes | Damper, Electronics | |
| Bathurst | Yes | Dampers, Brake Ducts, Electronics | Damper, Electronics |
| Brands Hatch | Yes | Dampers | Dampers |
| Hungaroring | Yes | Dampers | Dampers |
| Imola | No | ||
| Laguna Seca | Yes | Dampers, Aero, Suspension | Dampers, Aero, Suspension |
| Kyalami | Yes | Dampers | Aero |
| Misano | Yes | Dampers, Aero | Dampers, Aero |
| Monza | Yes | Dampers, Aero, Suspension, Brake Ducts | Dampers, Aero, Brake Ducts |
| Nurburgring | Yes | Dampers, Aero | Dampers, Aero |
| Paul Ricard | Yes | Dampers, Aero, Suspension, Brake Ducts | Dampers, Aero, Suspension, Brake Ducts |
| Silverstone | Yes | Brake Bias, Brake Ducts | |
| Spa Francorchamps | Yes | Dampers, Aero, Suspension, Mechanical | Suspension |
| Suzuka | Yes | Dampers, Aero | Dampers |
| Zandvoort | Yes | Dampers, Aero | Dampers |
| Zolder | Yes | Dampers | Dampers |
Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3
Overall the Nissan GT-R GT3 hasn’t changed much since the V1.6 update. The setups were unchanged on some tracks. The only big difference we have noticed was the different behaviour at some tracks regarding the bumpstop range.
This might be due to a bumpstop calculation rework from late 2020. The same goes for the dampers as we had to reconfigure the dampers on every track, especially the rear.
Laptime wise we have seen a reduction in pace for the car, predominantly at some of the european circuits on the 2020 BOP.
| Track | Changed | Race Setup | Quali Setup |
| Barcelona | Yes | Aero, Suspension, Mechanical, Electronics, Dampers | Dampers |
| Bathurst | Yes | Dampers, Electronics | Dampers, Electronics |
| Brands Hatch | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Mechanical | Dampers, Suspension, Mechanical |
| Hungaroring | Yes | Dampers, Electronics | Dampers, Electronics |
| Imola | No | ||
| Laguna Seca | Yes | Dampers, Electronics, Aero | Dampers, Electronics |
| Kyalami | Yes | Dampers, Electronics | Dampers, Electronics |
| Misano | Yes | Dampers | Dampers |
| Monza | Yes | Dampers | Dampers |
| Nurburgring | Yes | Dampers, Electronics | Electronics |
| Paul Ricard | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Aero | Dampers, Suspension, Aero |
| Silverstone | Yes | Dampers, Electronics | Dampers, Electronics |
| Spa Francorchamps | Yes | Dampers | Dampers |
| Suzuka | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Aero | Dampers, Suspension, Aero, Mechanical |
| Zandvoort | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Electronics | Dampers, Electronics |
| Zolder | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Mechanical | Dampers, Suspension, Aero |
Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO
Overall the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo didn’t lose its main characteristics with the V1.6 update. It’s still really strong under braking and really competitive at the tracks where it was also really good before the V1.6 patch.
However, most of the setups needed aero adjustments because the aero configuration was too aggressive for the new aero physics adjustments.Car appears to be a little slower overall than pre patch at some circuits.
| Track | Changed | Race Setup | Quali Setup |
| Barcelona | Yes | Aero, Geometry | Geometry |
| Bathurst | Yes | Aero, Geometry, Mechanical, Dampers | Mechanical |
| Brands Hatch | Yes | Aero, Geometry | Aero |
| Hungaroring | Yes | Aero, Dampers | Aero, Dampers |
| Imola | No | ||
| Laguna Seca | Yes | Mechanical | Mechanical |
| Kyalami | No | ||
| Misano | Yes | Aero, Geometry, Mechanical, Dampers | Aero, Geometry |
| Monza | Yes | Aero, Electronics | |
| Nurburgring | Yes | Aero, Mechanical, Electronics | Brake Ducts |
| Paul Ricard | Yes | Geometry | Geometry, Electronics |
| Silverstone | Yes | Aero, Geometry | Aero, Geometry |
| Spa Francorchamps | No | ||
| Suzuka | Yes | Mechanical, Geometry, Dampers | Aero, Dampers, Mechanical |
| Zandvoort | Yes | Aero | Aero |
| Zolder | Yes | Aero, Mechanical, Geometry | Aero |
Lexus RC F GT3
Overall the Lexus RC F GT3 has not seen much change going from the 2019 BoP to the 2020 BoP. The car still has the same strong pace on most of the tracks. In the handling we can also see that the new DHE tyres have not made much change to the car’s characteristics, resulting in us not having to make big changes to the car’s existing setups.
On the tracks we had some changes, it was mostly down to the new aero calculations. This caused the car to develop some understeer going into high speed corners. The damper rework from late 2020 has also seen us adjust and fix the damper histograms on every track.
| Track | Changed | Race Setup | Quali Setup |
| Barcelona | Yes | Dampers, Mechanical, Aero, Electronics | Dampers |
| Bathurst | Yes | Geometry, Brake Ducts, Electronics | Geometry, Brake Ducts, Electronics |
| Brands Hatch | Yes | Dampers, Aero, Electronics | Dampers, Aero, Electronics |
| Hungaroring | Yes | Dampers, Electronics | Dampers, Electronics |
| Imola | No | ||
| Laguna Seca | Yes | Brake Ducts, Electronics | Brake Ducts, Electronics |
| Kyalami | Yes | Dampers, Electronics, Brake Ducts | Dampers, Electronics, Brake Ducts, Aero |
| Misano | Yes | Dampers | Dampers |
| Monza | Yes | Dampers | Dampers, Aero |
| Nurburgring | Yes | Dampers, Aero | Dampers |
| Paul Ricard | Yes | Dampers | Dampers, Aero |
| Silverstone | Yes | Dampers, Electronics | Dampers, Electronics |
| Spa Francorchamps | Yes | Dampers | Dampers |
| Suzuka | Yes | Dampers, Brake Ducts | Dampers, Brake Ducts |
| Zandvoort | Yes | Dampers, Aero, Suspension | Dampers, Electronics |
| Zolder | Yes | Aero, Dampers, Geometry, Mechanical, Suspension, Electronics | Dampers, Geometry, Mechanical, Electronics, Suspension, Aero |
Honda NSX GT3 Evo
Overall the Honda NSX GT3 EVO still has the same driving characteristics as it had pre patch. However with the 2020 BOP the car has more rear grip which allows it to put the power better down without the tc intervening too much. We also found out that the braking performance improved slightly at the tracks where the 2020 BOP is applied. On the IGTC tracks however the car still feels mostly the same as pre patch (braking performance).
With the new introduced aero physics we had to change the rake at every track as the previous values caused instability. In addition to that we found that every setup had an understeer tendency midcorner onwards which was solved by stiffening the rear end of the car, whereas response was improved by stiffening the front of the car and front suspension at certain circuits.
| Track | Changed | Race Setup | Quali Setup |
| Barcelona | Yes | Dampers, Mechanical, Aero, Electronics | Dampers, Mechanical, Aero, Electronics |
| Bathurst | Yes | Aero, Electronics, Dampers | Geometry, Electronics, Mechanical, Suspension, Dampers, Aero |
| Brands Hatch | Yes | Mechanical | Mechanical, Geometry, Electronics |
| Hungaroring | Yes | Suspension, Aero, Mechanical | Electronics |
| Imola | No | ||
| Laguna Seca | Yes | Aero, Suspension, Mechanical | Electronics |
| Kyalami | Yes | Mechanical | Electronics |
| Misano | Yes | Aero, Mechanical | Aero, Mechanical |
| Monza | Yes | Mechanical | Aero, Mechanical, Suspension |
| Nurburgring | Yes | Aero, Mechanical | Aero, Electronics |
| Paul Ricard | Yes | Suspension, Mechanical, Geometry, Aero | Mechanical |
| Silverstone | Yes | Aero, Mechanical | Mechanical |
| Spa Francorchamps | Yes | Aero, Mechanical, Dampers, Suspension | Aero, Mechanical, Dampers, Suspension, Electronics |
| Suzuka | Yes | Aero, Dampers, Mechanical | Dampers |
| Zandvoort | Yes | Aero, Mechanical | Electronics |
| Zolder | Yes | Aero, Electronics | Aero, Electronics |
BMW M6 GT3
Overall the BMW M6 GT3 didn’t lose its main characteristics with the V1.6 update. It is still very strong at Monza, Suzuka and Laguna Seca. However with the 2020 BOP the car suffers even more on tracks where it wasn’t already competitive with the 2019 BOP.
The general trend of issues we found while updating the setups was mainly understeer from the mid-corner phase onwards, which we fixed with suspension/mechanical alterations. Stability was achieved by adjusting the aero.
| Track | Changed | Race Setup | Quali Setup |
| Barcelona | Yes | Aero, Dampers, Mechanical, Geometry | |
| Bathurst | Yes | Dampers | |
| Brands Hatch | Yes | Aero, Mechanical, Dampers | |
| Hungaroring | Yes | Aero, Dampers | Aero |
| Imola | No | ||
| Laguna Seca | Yes | Aero, Mechanical | Mechanical |
| Kyalami | Yes | Dampers | Aero |
| Misano | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Mechanical | Aero |
| Monza | Yes | Aero, Suspension | Aero, Suspension |
| Nurburgring | Yes | Aero, Dampers | |
| Paul Ricard | Yes | Aero, Suspension | Suspension |
| Silverstone | Yes | Dampers, Suspension, Mechanical | Mechanical |
| Spa Francorchamps | Yes | Aero | |
| Suzuka | Yes | Dampers | |
| Zandvoort | Yes | Dampers, Mechanical | |
| Zolder | Yes | Aero, Suspension, Mechanical, Dampers | Aero, Suspension, Mechanical, Dampers |
