CDA4 Alpine A110 GT4 Release Notes

Welcome to the Alpine A110 GT4 CDA4 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 CDA4 Alpine GT4 setups. Please carry on reading below to see what our team found:

Brands Hatch

• Soft springs and ARBs maximize the mechanical grip, so the car has better traction.
• Setup was made with TC off but if you struggle you can use TC 1.
• Maximum wing to have the most downforce possible, since the straights are very short and especially in sector 2 and 3 we need a lot of load on the rear to have more stability.
• Dampers are tuned to give more grip at the rear of the car.

Misano 

• With the safety that the Kyalami setup provides as an overall balance to the car, the setup was tested at Misano and despite the 2 tracks being very different to each other, the car still seems to work very well in this track. 
• The softer spring setup is still needed to maintain the mechanical grip, however the rotation was improved by increasing the stiffness of the front and rear ARBs. This helps with better response and direction change stability through the flowing corners at Misano. Being quite a flat track these changes work much better as kerb stability is not a requirement around this circuit. 
• The rear dampers have been adjusted slightly in order to improve the traction of the vehicle. Different spring and damper changes were also made but the vehicle appears to work much better with the very soft settings that were used at Kyalami and no other changes were made.

Nurburgring

• Low rake, high wing setup used to maximise corner ability.
• Reasonably conservative spring settings along with even Roll bars used to try to balance stability with outright performance.
• Alignment adjusted to try to reduce ‘pointiness’ of the car on entry as lack of rear performance was causing entry instability.
• Preload reasonably high to limit entry rotation also, though this can cause some snap oversteer on power in slower corners.
• Safe setup uses zero rake, and minor changes to mechanical grip to make the car more stable.

Paul Ricard

• Low wing to maximise the top speed, but we put negative rake to increase the stability.
• Safe setup has a higher wing to have more stability under braking.
• Setup was made with TC off but if you struggle you can use TC 1.
• Dampers are tuned to give more traction.
• Stiff wheel-rate to have more stability on the high speed corners.

Silverstone

• At Silverstone, the Alpine can suffer from understeer as the rear wing angle is set to the maximum. To help reduce it, the front spring rates have been decreased.
• The dampers have been refined to support the car through the fast corners whilst trying to reduce the understeer in the car.
• The Alpine is very fast compared to its rivals at Silverstone. The car needs to be rotated early for the exit of chapel so that you don’t run out onto the grass.
• All three set ups have been created with TC off, but it can be set to TC1 if the car is struggling under traction.

Spa Francorchamps 

• The Alpine can be very lively at Spa, with over and understeer through the corners. Between the driver and engineer, a low downforce setup was agreed. This is to maximise the car through sector 1 and 3.
• The car uses soft spring rates for increased mechanical grip. The dampers are refined to suit this, but prevent the car pitching too much.
• The car is running no rake, to help increase the top speeds on the straights.
• The key to a good lap at Spa is taking Eau Rouge and Raidillon flat out. This can be achieved in the Alpine by keeping the car as far to the left on the circuit as possible, before Eau Rouge. As you turn right, take plenty of curb on the rise to Raidillon, but be careful not to invalidate your lap. A mistake here will lose you time down the Kemmel straight.

Suzuka 

• COTA setup used as base.
• Wing lowered slightly to aid high speed rotation along with stiffer, more aggressive roll bar settings.
• Alignment adjusted as traction is less of an issue.
• Softer springs used to try to regain grip on the slipperier Suzuka surface.
• Slight damper adjustments to suit the circuit and subsequent car behaviour.
• Safe setup uses a softer rear roll bar, along with minor changes to dampers and alignment to aim to give a much easier feel on throttle with greater traction.

Zandvoort

• With Zandvoort being a small technical circuit, the Alpine can use a high wing, low rake set up as top speed is not important.
• With a high aero set up, the car rotated well through the corners, thanks to refined dampers. The rear rebound was reduced to prevent understeer on the corner exit.
• The race safe set up improves the cars stability by increasing the rear toe. The car is more stable under braking and through the mid phase of the corner.
• For qualifying, the preload was increased as the car was having some lift off oversteer as a result of less mass from the fuel. The increased preload solved this problem.

Zolder

• High wing due to limited length straights, much better to optimise for cornering speed.
• Preload tuned to aid turn in stability, along with adjustments to dampers.
• Reasonably aggressive spring settings used to aid mid-corner performance.
• Safe setup maximises entry stability with changes to rake, preload and alignment.

Barcelona 

• To get enough rotation out of the car, the front suspension has been set really soft. This allows the rake to stay low and enables soft rear suspension to be used. As a result the car has really good traction and gets an advantage on the long main straight.
• With such a soft car, stiff anti-roll bars are used to help the car with turning in quickly and rotating well through fast corners.

Donington Park 

• Soft springs maximise the mechanical grip, so the car has better traction from the slow corners.
• Setup was made with TC off but if you struggle you can use TC 1.
• Low rake and high wing increase the stability and the grip of the car.
• Dampers are tuned to increase the stability under braking.

Laguna Seca

• To make the car safe through the corkscrew, both the front bumpstops and rebound damping have been set up quite stiff.
• Low rake is used mainly for traction but it also reduces scraping which helps in corners like the turn 6 and corkscrew. 
• Also for traction the car is running really soft springs at the back. However, to maintain good rotation the rear anti-roll bar is stiffened.
• As the car started bottoming out in turn 6 in quali trim, the rear bumpstop rates had to be raised.

Kyalami

• Several different ARB and spring combinations were tested at Kyalami as this was one of the earliest tracks where the setup process started for this car. A softer mechanical combination suits the flow of the track for this particular vehicle. 
• The soft ARB combination ensures maximised grip while changing direction, albeit at a loss of actual direction change responsiveness. In order to improve this the rear dampers have been stiffened to induce the required amount of rotation needed to get the car turned. 
• The car also has a small issue with braking stability. This has been made more challenging due to the car needing a soft spring system to increase grip over the track undulations. The stability has been achieved by running a stiff rear rebound along with a high preload. The front mechanical grip has hence been retained by not affecting the softer front setup that has been developed.

Hungaroring

• Setup was made with TC off but if you struggle you can use TC 1.
• Stiff ARBs work well with this car, it gives more stability and more reactivity.
• Soft springs maximise the mechanical grip.
• Max wing to maximise the downforce especially on sector 2.
• Dampers are tuned to increase the stability under braking.

Monza

• The Alpine handles really well at Monza, like most circuits. Using a low rake set up to help top speed, the Alpine can achieve good top speeds relative to rival cars.
• Reducing the preload helps the car rotate at low speeds, aiding T1 at Monza.
• The dampers have been reduced, to improve traction whilst not hindering corner stability.
• The TC value can be increased to help in the exit phase of the corner.

Imola

• Like the Audi, low rake setups work best due to high roll-centre sensitivity.
• Low, but not minimal springs used to help with bottoming out over kerbs.
• Dampers and alignment tuned to give optimal stability, rear rebound damper tuned to manage rotation on corner entry.
• max wing used for braking performance.
• Front toe increased to aid direction change in the chicanes.
• Safe setup uses less front toe, more preload and softer rear spring to increase stability and window of control.

Mount Panorama

• Setup was made with TC off but if you struggle you can use TC 1.
• The car was a bit unstable on the mountain section, so to fix it we tuned the dampers.
• Safe setup has stiffer springs to have more stability on the downhill section.
• Medium wing values have more downforce and stability.
• Positive toe on the rear to maximise the traction.
• Stiff ARBs for increase the stability

Snetterton 

• Most important while setting up the car was to get rid of excessive roll which was causing instability mid corner. Also since a low wing is used, the pitch had to be limited to gain better control on corner entry.
• For good traction the main focus was to keep the rear ride height low
• For easy handling on exits, the rear bump damping is set soft.
• As the suspension is stiff in front in order to limit roll and pitching, the front bump damping was used to provide enough grip on the front axle.

Oulton Park

• Interestingly despite being a bumpy track, the Kyalami baseline doesn’t quite suit the Oulton Park requirements. This is mainly due to how soft the Kyalami setup is which despite providing kerb stability also brings with it a lack of turn in response, which is crucial at the narrow corners of Oulton Park. 
• The ARBs are run quite stiff as is the suspension in order to bring about enough rotation in the high speed corners. The dampers on the other hand have been adjusted to help with the stability for the stiffer springs along with a low preload for traction.

Watkins Glen

• The Alpine at Watkins Glen is fast, with all set ups created producing consistent lap times through each stint. 
• The race fast set up for the Alpine using a negative rake set up along with soft springs. The idea behind this is to maximise cornering grip as Watkins Glen is a technical circuit.
• The dampers have been refined, to assist traction and help reduce understeer as the car is set up to have some understeer. This makes the car more predictable through the corners. 
• The Alpine’s tyres go off very fast during qualifying. A maximum of three hot laps can be achieved with optimal tyre conditions. 

COTA

• Conservative roll bar values used to help stabilise the car in the fast direction changes through sector 1.
• Dampers are adjusted to limit pitch and roll during corner transition phases as due to the fast flowing nature, the car is prone to over-pitching.
• Preload reasonably high to aid with stability.
• Negative rake and higher spring rates used to maximise stability and direction change response.
• Safe setup uses lower rear ride height, softer rear springs, and changes to dampers and preload to try to optimise safer on-power performance on the exit of corners.

Indianapolis

• Setup was made with TC off but if you struggle you can use TC 1.
• Soft springs increase the mechanical grip of the car.
• Low rake ensures easier handling.
• Dampers are tuned to have a responsive car in the change direction.
• Positive toe in the rear to give more traction.

Valencia 

• minimal rake, high wing used.
• bumpstops tuned to balance rotation on entry and mid corner.
• Preload kept around medium settings along with stiff rear rebound dampers to try to limit over-rotation on entry.
• Safe setup uses zero rake, and stiffer front bump dampers along with slightly less rebound damper on the rear to remove unwanted twitchyness under braking. A stiffer front roll bar is also used for stability and predictability.

Team List

Track	Driver	Engineer
Barcelona	Hubert Szymanski
Hungaroring	Amedeo Castorino
Imola	Amedeo Dekeyser	Rob Taplin
Kyalami	David Pertile	Saiduth Ramesh
Laguna Seca	Hubert Szymanski
Misano	Amedeo Castorino	Saiduth Ramesh
Monza	David Pertile	David Skidmore
Mount Panorama	Amedeo Castorino
Nurburgring	David Pertile	Rob Taplin
Paul Ricard	Amedeo Castorino
Spa Francorchamps	David Pertile	David Skidmore
Suzuka	David Pertile	Rob Taplin
Zandvoort	Chris Hack	David Skidmore
Zolder	Amedeo Dekeyser	Rob Taplin
Brands Hatch	Taariq Adam
Donington	Taariq Adam
Oulton Park	Chris Hack	Saiduth Ramesh
Snetterton	Hubert Szymanski
Silverstone	Amedeo Castorino	David Skidmore
Watkins Glen	Chris Hack	David Skidmore
Indianapolis	Taariq Adam
COTA	David Pertile	Rob Taplin
Valencia	Amedeo Castorino	Rob Taplin