Ferrari 488 EVO GT3 Release Notes

Welcome to the Ferrari 488 EVO GT3 release notes blog. In this page you will find the detailed notes compiled by the team after each session when creating the fast and safe variants of the new CDA3 Ferrari setups. In addition, a complete list of the driver and engineer combinations for each track is present so customers can see which driver and engineer worked on that circuit when looking for setup trends.

Note, some tracks required more notes and instruction than others. This is determined by how the car behaved in the session or how much scope for change in the setup there was.

To view the notes and team list, see below:

Brands Hatch

• Smaller changes compared to previous setup.
• Softer overall but with less pitch sensitivity was the main aim.
• Wheel alignment metas increased slightly from the previous setup.
• Aero balance made slightly more forward bias.
• Main changes to springs and bumpstop rates to give a wider operating window.
• Safe setup runs slightly higher at the front along with a softer roll bar.
• Quali setup more aggressive toe and roll bar.

Misano

• Minor Changes compared to previous setup.
• Wheel alignment metas used more heavily than last time (be wary that FFB force may need to be reduced due to caster angle).
• Damper changes to help with power-on understeer.
• Safe Setup Uses higher front ride height and suspension changes to add stability.
• More aggressive Roll bar and bumpstop settings for qualifying setup. 

Nurburgring

• Due to the amount of kerbs and bumps, the car needs higher than usual ride heights and stiff damping to cope with them.
• A high wing to take advantage of the downforce is used with more rake added to gain back rotation.
• The rear bumpstops need to be engaged at the chicane to stop the car bouncing/behaving in weird ways through the final chicane.
• Can take a small lift for Schumacher Esses without losing time. Flat out doesn’t have to be the quickest way through.
• With the RS03 set you get a way with braking a bit earlier than usual and therefore let the car roll a bit longer through. With that approach the car is very safe and you still get a decent amount of rotation

Paul Ricard

• A softer approach on the mechanical grip with dampers adjusted for kerb usage in comparison to the previous setup.
• A low wing approach helps with general high speed rotation as well as straight line speed but can be a bit more on edge to drive.
• Raising the front ride height can make it safer with the bonus that it helps with kerb usage. A higher wing does help with making it safer but it will be slower. Lowering the front bumpstop range will also make it safer but without a compromise on the straight line speed.
• Need to go over the inside kerb on the fast right at the end of the back straight else you won’t get the grip you need to take the corner without understeering wide.
• You can easily coast through the fast right hander, don’t turn too much and also don’t brake as you turn, car is very stable with RF and RS setup

Silverstone

• Large changes compared to previous setup.
• Camber/caster/toe metas implemented.
• Change of above alignment means changes to roll bars, springs and dampers to reduce turn in/mid corner oversteer, and control the exit.
• Rear bumpstops lengthened and stiffened to give more traction out of slow corners without sacrificing high speed cornering balance.
• Safe setup runs more rear wing for stability along with a few other small changes.

Spa Francorchamps 

• [TC1 = 5, TC2 = 0] for bus stop chicane and turn 1 corner exits. [TC1 =9, TC2 = 0] everywhere else. 
• The new setup uses the old setup as a baseline but quite a few changes were done to the suspension. Firstly the springs have softened to provide better traction out of slow speed corners and to provide better compliance over the undulations of Eau Rouge. 
• In order to regain the agility from before, the ARBs have been stiffened. Damper adjustments have also been done to better balance out the front end, getting rid of the extra on throttle understeer which can be felt in the current patch, with the old setup. 
• A few fast damping adjustments have also been done to compliment the new suspension combination that’s being used. 

Suzuka 

• Major changes compared to previous setup.
• Toe/camber/caster metas added.
• Softer roll bars and springs front and rear to increase grip.
• TC changes to increase performance.
• Shorter front bumpstops to increase predictability under braking.
• Asymmetrical bumpstops on the front to help with heavy loads in T1 causing instability post-apex.
• Higher ride heights to help in the Degners and Spoon curve.
• Safe setup uses safer bumpstop and damper settings to add predictability.
• Qualifying setup is a blend of both setups, a very good option for sprint races.

Zandvoort

• A few fast damping adjustments have also been done to compliment the new suspension combination that’s being used plus the high front ride height for more predictable behaviour over bumps and kerbs.
• Raising the front even further should be a good way to add understeer and make it more predictable over kerbs.
• Wheel rates have a greater effect on balance, however, the front bottoms out if the car is too low and/or too soft.
• ARBs can be used to fine tune the car. Despite the large range available, smaller changes of 2-3 clicks will make a difference to the balance.
• Car handles low fuel well without major changes to the setup for qualifying therefore the car should keep a similar balance over an hour long stint.

Zolder

• This car does not like the first chicane. Quite a few compromises have to be made to make the car balanced over these kerbs, such as high front ride height, tuned bumpstop ranges, rates and dampers that could make the car not optimal elsewhere.
• Cannot go fully over the first kerb at chicane and you need to make sure your steering wheel is straight as you go over the 2nd kerb. Get all the rotation and braking done before you hit the first kerb.
• However, the car has good race pace and these compromises aren’t as bad as you may first think. It’s only the chicane that can make you inconsistent.
• Car is sensitive to range changes, especially on the rear. Consider changing ride heights, wheelrates and ARBs to help change the balance to suit your driving style, however, even a small rear ride height change can be all that you need.
• Car can be tricky on low fuel and needs quite a few changes to get the most potential out of it.

Barcelona 

• The car runs a very similar setup to that used at Hungaroring. 
• The main difference is that it uses a stiffer front spring and slightly softer front ARBs. The front spring has been added to ensure the car is more stable under braking as many of the corners require very smooth control while getting off the brakes around this track. 
• A softer front ARB ensures that the car is a lot more stable through the bumpier parts of the track and to make sure the front tyres don’t saturate too quickly through the fast right hander leading to the back straight. 
• If you need more stability on entry, it is recommended to add a click of front bump damping or reduce the rear ride height by a click. Making too many changes quickly pushes the car out of its operating window, since the car is quite sensitive to pitch changes. 
• This sensitivity is amplified when the ARBs are relatively softer as seen in this current setup. The safe setup also runs a 54.0% brake bias which is 1 click higher than the fast setup. Consider adding another click of brake bias as well for more stability. 
• For quali consider closing the front brake duct 1 click, if you prefer more consistent brake performance at the cost of some higher front tyre temps.

Donington Park 

• Large changes in suspension geometry vs old setup.
• Alignment metas added to setup.
• Main issue seems to be unpredictability under braking and acceleration and over kerbs, so this is the main thing we focused on.
• Bumpstops tuned for more pitch control.
• Very hard to find a way to give predictable traction, so compromised with having “bad” traction which is counteracted by TC settings.
• Safe setup uses softer springs to be more forgiving on grip levels.
• Qualifying setup focuses on more entry and mid corner grip.

Laguna Seca

• As max caster is used it is recommended to turn down the FFB-multiplicator
• RF is more tailored to ultimate pace. It is harder to drive because the car rotates more on its own. As a result it’s important to always drive the perfect line, especially in corners where you find bumps. If you like the balance but are unhappy with the ground clearance you can increase the overall rh while still maintaining the same aero variation.
• If RF is too aggressive for your driving you can pick the RS setup. It will give you more confidence, as the setup is more planted, has better traction and ground clearance
• Raw pace potential difference between RF and RS is 2 tenths.
• T1-2: For ultimate pace switch to TC1: 7. 
  • Use first gear, second gear the rpm is too low. 
• T3: Maximise the track on the left side and don’t wait too long before turning in otherwise you won’t make the corner.
• T3/4/6: If you struggle with snap oversteer on corner entry you can reduce the front bs range or stiffen the front wheel rate. Bear in mind this will compromise every other corner.
• T5: Use the banking of the corner to go early on the power
• T7/8: Use your throttle modulation to help the car go over the track bumps.
• T9: Make sure you use the camber of the road and don’t hesitate with the turn in. Especially with the RF setup you need to turn a bit earlier otherwise the bumps will push you wide. 
• T10: Don´t brake too hard. Try to introduce the car smoothly into the corner
• T11: Make sure you finish the rotation early enough, as it´is important to floor the car as soon as you hit the apex.
• If you struggle with exit grip you can try to decrease the rear arb or increase the rear bs range.
• Give the tyre at least 2 laps until you start to push. As it´s a short track the tyre pressures won´t be already in the first lap in their window. You don’t want to risk a pressure loss that early in your stint.

Kyalami

• T1: You can use a bit of the entry curb to help the car rotate, but it is not necessary
• T4 it is important to approach it from the widest angle as possible, smooth and not to harsh braking is required to get the car into the corner
  • The car doesn’t like to take much curb at the apex as it leads into a slide which compromises the exit so don’t overdo it with the curb.
• If you have trouble with stability you can increase the front rh or the front wheel rate
• T5 sunset: try to let the car roll into the corner with minimum braking input. It is important because otherwise the car could get into a four-wheel drift. The car can go quicker than you think through the corner
  • If you have trouble with stability you can decrease the rear rh / front bs range or stiffen the front wheel rate
• T7-8: Try to hug the insight curb as much as possible to help the car rotate. It opens up the second part of the chicane nicely. If you have trouble during the direction change you can try to increase the front wheel rate or bs rate
• T9: Use the curb at the apex for additional rotation, not to much as it can result in a slide (same as T4)
• T10: you can use the throttle to rotate the car a touch earlier, so you can open the steering wheel sooner and reach 100% throttle earlier
  • If you have traction issues you can increase the rear bs range
• T11 cheetah: try not to use the grass on the corner exit as the car loses more momentum compared to other cars
• T12: You need to be careful with the insight curb. To much curb can cause TC intervention which compromises your exit

Hungaroring

• Hungaroring is a track where a softer spring and ARB combination should work well in slow speed to ensure both traction and enough compliance through the off-cambered & bumpy corners. However, this would have implications on high speed corners.
• In order to make this compromise the setup runs a higher rear ride height to maintain enough load on the front tyres and then runs a softer rear bump damping and bumpstop configuration to get traction on exits. 
• For the safe setup we have focussed on reducing excessive pitching in the car by adjusting the dampers and front spring. For more stability you can try adding 1 click of preload, but it’s recommended not to go beyond that as the car is quite sensitive to this change in the second and third sectors.  
• The car translates its performance and balance into low fuel quite well in this track, so no changes were needed on the setup’s end for qualifying, apart from the fuel and brake pad adjustments.

Monza

• The car runs a lower wing angle similar to that in Paul Ricard. Adjustments have been made to the rear bumpstop range to provide more compliance and movement due to less vertical load from the downforce. 
• The front springs are stiffer than the rear springs in this particular configuration due to front stability required from the lowered downforce levels. The preload and front bumpstop range are quite sensitive around here so it is advised not to change these values too much from the given configuration. 
• For more stability it is worth adding another click of wing and few clicks of rear ride height, or increasing the front ride height individually as either change seems to have small impacts on the general straight line performance of the car. 
• For more agility, dropping the rear wing has a small effect but it is advisable to try a click higher on the rear ride height instead, since the extra downforce helps in stability over the Ascarii kerbs.

Imola

• The Ferrari does not get along with kerbs here and therefore much of the setup is a compromise to allow the car to ride kerbs.
• As the car is generally faster in a straight line than most others, running a high wing here won’t cost you as much as you think. The ride height can then be used to generate rotation and get kerb clearance.
• The stiffer wheel rates also help over kerbs with the rear wheel rate helping to gain back rotation after the front ride height is set higher than most other tracks.
• Dampers are then tuned to suit the kerbs and the stiffer wheel rates.
• The inside right hand kerb into Aqua Minerale can still upset the car, so be wary when taking this.
• The car in general does not like braking on the kerbs.

Mount Panorama 

• Rather large changes compared to previous setup.
• Lower rake and wing to optimise speed in the faster sections.
• Less preload and higher front bumpstop rates used to aid rotation and add some ability to change trajectory in corners with throttle/brake control.
• Safe setup uses more wing and preload for stability, especially down the mountain from skyline, as this is one of the more risky areas on the fast setup.
• Qualifying setup uses fast as a base, but with roll bar changes for more aggressive driving.

Snetterton 

• Higher ride height to help with kerb and bump composure compared to previous setup.
• Toe/caster Metas used.
• Adjustments to the dampers and bumpstops to help with exit understeer.
• Front roll bar softened to add mid-corner rotation.
• Safe setup uses higher front ride height and safer bumpstop settings.
• The 488 is very sensitive to the kerbs, so be very careful on kerb use.

Oulton Park

• The runs a high ride height around here as it needs sufficient rotation in the high speed sections in the final sector. To add stability to the vehicle under braking, the differential preload has also been set to a relatively high value. 
• Rear slow damping has been softened and the fast damping has been stiffened as per the meta to ensure better traction and stability on the kerbs respectively. 
• In terms of the suspension stiffness, the springs are run relatively for better compliance. soft and the front dampers have also been adjusted to compliment this change.
• The front brakes occasionally hit 700 but in terms of performance this will not be an issue. For much longer races consider opening the ducts. Having tested more open ducts, the tyres were not quite in an ideal window so that is why we decided to run a closed ducts (it also helps in aero since the car is not necessarily strong at this particular track). Feel free to open the front duct one click based on the track conditions for your race.

COTA

• Compared to the previous version of the setup, a much softer mechanical setup is used to try and help with the bumps and kerbs.
• Less rake to help aid stability in high speed sector 1.
• Softer roll bars set to give more rotation mechanically to help compensate for aero balance and also help with kerbs etc.
• Safe setup uses longer rear bumpstop ranges to aid initial traction, this can also be used on the fast setup if traction is an issue.
• Front ride height also raised on safe setup to help prevent upsetting the car on kerbs.

Indianapolis

• Minor adjustments over previous setup.
• Rear toe adjustment made to work with current metas.
• Mechanical grip settings adjusted to give a little less turn-in rotation and a bit more power-out rotation, mid corner relatively unchanged.
• Safe setup uses a little less rear toe and stiffer front ARB along with longer bumpstops to make the car more consistent (as can be seen by the lap times on the telemetry)

Team List 

Track	Driver/Engineer Combination
Barcelona	Taariq Adam/Saiduth Ramesh
Hungaroring	Taariq Adam/Saiduth Ramesh
Imola	Dennis Schoeniger/Taariq Adam/Nick Deeley
Kyalami	Gregor Schill
Laguna Seca	Gregor Schill
Misano	Luka Berk/Rob Taplin
Monza	Taariq Adam/Saiduth Ramesh
Mount Panorama	Luka Berk/Rob Taplin
Nurburgring	Jakob Ostermann/Nick Deeley
Paul Ricard	Jakob Ostermann/Nick Deeley
Spa Francorchamps	Jakob Ostermann/Saiduth Ramesh
Suzuka	Luka Berk/Rob Taplin
Zandvoort	Taariq Adam/Nick Deeley
Zolder	Taariq Adam/Nick Deeley
Brands Hatch	Luka Berk/Rob Taplin
Donington	Luka Berk/Rob Taplin
Oulton Park	Taariq Adam/Saiduth Ramesh
Snetterton	Jakob Ostermann/Rob Taplin
Silverstone	Luka Berk/Rob Taplin
Watkins Glen	Luka Berk/Saiduth Ramesh
Indianapolis	Luka Berk/Rob Taplin
COTA	Luka Berk/Rob Taplin