diff question

so i am building/tuning an e-class car and am am the top 1% of the leaderboards on most of the tracks ive ran it on being in some cases only 2-3 seconds off the top guys.

which brings me to my issue, i think i can get more out of my car but it never seems to fully redline in 4th...so when i shift it to 5th it pretty much just maintains the same speed as when i shifted with hardly any acceleration. my accel setting on the diff is currently at 40,if i tighten that will i get more out of my gears or is it simply the fact that it is only an E-class and just doesnt have what the top guys cars have?

diff just controls how much you allow the wheels to spin. So you would have to change the gearing or just leave it in 4th down the straights.

diff settings will not have an effect on final drive. What trans are you running? If its sport, just adjust the final drive to what makes you happy. But keep in mind it will change what gear you are in during other sections of the track. High downforce can also keep you from hitting your top speed. If you have no adjustable gearing or aero, Im not sure what you could do, aside from adding power.

Can give some relevant specs on the car? Power, weight, etc?

btw..sorry I bailed the other night. My wheel was pissing me off pretty badly. Shouldve sent you a message.

yeah, ill post the specs in a bit, dont have them in front of me at the moment. and i understand what you guys are saying about the diffs, so thats not the issue.

the car is E-class, so the parts you can put on it are extremly limited...the car is the civic del sol, starts at a mid-high F, cant remember exact PI.

but i have fully adjustable suspension and diff, no aero, and stock tranny. race tires, 1st width upgrade(i think) front and rear...no engine mods.

This is my first real attempt at building a car from the ground up. i have a goal in mind and want to get it there by just tinkering until i figure this tuning thing a little bit. so please bear with me with some very noob-esque questions like this one was. Thanks guys.

P.S. before someone sends me links to threads or web pages that break down what each thing is and how it affects the vehicle, i think i have read every single one of those multiple times. im just learning now how all those things work together on the car, not the one peice individually. thanks again.

I think the biggest problem is that you are comparing your E class tune with race tires to guys that havent touched the tire compound for their fast E class tunes. Most of the tunes Ive seen hardly even touch tire compound or width until B or A class. I would drop your tire compound down a notch or two, toss in a sport trans, and add some power while youre at it. Then you'll hit that redline youre looking for.

never thought about that. *lil light bulb goes off*. thanks chuck.

you also have to factor in the AWD option. Most leaderboard times are AWD. I think its BS to have an AWD Ford GT, but thats my opinion and probably wouldnt keep me from running one online if it was really that fast. But it is what it is. My thoughts are that the difference between a good tune and a bad one may only be a second or two. The difference between a good build and a bad one can be several seconds. If I can get a car in the top 100-200 and it is consistent and competitive online, then Im done with it. But I know Im not the fastest driver or the best tuner.

Bottom line, if you dont have a bunch of parts in the upgrade shop laying around that you bought, installed, and replaced with something else; then the build probably isnt the best it could be.

next question....

I rebuilt the car more accordingly and now have the street transmission with the adjustable final drive. i was tinkering around with it a little bit and if i adjusted it toward top speed when i benchmarked it mytop speed would be slower and my 0-60 time was quicker...and when i moved it toward more accelleration the opposite happened. 0-60 time got longer and top speed was higher.

so am i just misinterpretting what its telling me? im confused....

see what it does on the track. Some may find the benchmark stuff useful, but I dont look at it.

definately wouldnt need race tyres on the car-shouldnt even need race springs or dampers either,.just add as much sport parts for handling and maybe a little power.As chuck says some cars are just too far off for being fast in that class,you cannot tune 5-10 seconds off a time in that class-probably not even up2 A class could you tune that much time off..almost all my AWD set ups are the same just depends on what tracks your using it on IE stiffer car for power tracks and a softer car for twisty stuff.Same as my FWD and RWD.For FWD make sure the front is stiffer as its doing all the turning has all the acceleration going through it and also the compression of braking so if its soft it will just give up at some point through the bend/bends.for RWD try and make the back end stiffer and just play with the front(this is all mainly down to anti roll bars).also the weight of the car will depend on how low the springs can go.2,500lbs is around about 300=350 FRONT and 350=400 REAR but again a car with a low pi like yours shouldnt need race springs and dampers.My advice on learning to tune would be to buy a car and run it as stock,jot down the time and then go and add 1 or 2 parts and see what it does and depending on wether its improved the car or not as to keep them parts or swap for something else.and just tinker with it like that until you find the maximum build.

thanks elise! good idea...i will get to doing that. always wanted to learn to build cars, thanks for the input