Really, every dirt or multi surface build I’ve made so far benefits from Offroad tires with the caveat of AWD and including the adjustable rear wing. Perhaps this will not be the case at S1 and S2 classes, but it has been my finding so far in lower classes than that.
Performance wise, the offroad tire actually outbrakes and feels better braking than rally tires do on tarmac. Go test the offroad and the rally tires at similar PSI and see for yourself. This is not “realistic” imo. There is some loss of lateral grip and drive on tarmac with Offroad vs Rally, but this loss ranges from negligible to very small once the car is maxed out in its class compared to what is gained on dirt.
This isn’t gamebreaking or anything, but will require some getting used to. It’s kind of unfortunate that I have less use for the Rally tire, especially since the offroad tire is kind of ugly on road cars and it actually sets the wheels further into the chassis when you equip it.
In FH4, unlike real life, weight is weight, and it makes no difference in a car’s performance whether a given weight reduction (or addition) is sprung or unsprung weight. Is that still true in FH5?
(Unsprung weight is weight that is not supported by the suspension, e.g. rim weight.)
It is a good question. I’m treating it as such and so are the more well known tuners from what I’ve seen. Same goes with flywheel too. A good test would be to load different parts and see how the 60-0, 0-60 etc. calculations change, but I’m guessing it is just weight like you said unless the f/r weight distribution is altered.
Not sure if this is worth updating, but I wanted to correct myself on a couple points and share some more insight.
Drivetrain swaps really are no longer necessary in road racing. AWD (and FWD in lower classes) still seem to be the best option for Dirt and Cross Country.
Rally tires still beat Offroad Tires in road racing. I was sort of wrong about this one early on, Rally tires can still be the best choice on tarmac all the way till you get to S2 class. While tire pressures can be raised significantly vs FH4 in almost every situation, lowering air pressure on Rally tires does wonders to smooth out braking and avoid lockup. I think TheWarmWind76 tried to tell me this and it just wasn’t getting through.
-The in game performance calculator is as useless as ever.
-Consistency from lap to lap wins, especially online; and this means a heavy focus on handling for myself. Online racing is full of full of drivers who cannot make it through a corner or pull off a clean pass and it almost always ends badly for them. Seriously, if you’re struggling, lighten the car and put better tires on it. The youtube videos of GOATed players dominating in power buiilds aren’t telling the entire story, most people can’t handle those cars and even these great players aren’t winning with them on tight circuits. There are some cars which are the exception to this and power is often still king for Cross Country.
If you want to build a car that will win or at least average a podium position online then build for handling and address acceleration performance with weight reduction before adding power. Do not rely on Rivals times alone to gauge online competitiveness- if it takes a lot of effort to get that perfect lap without tapping a wall and getting flagged then it is going to ruin your online racing experience.
-Lowering Diff Decel improves initial turn at the cost of stability, but raising it can actually help a car rotate and maintain speed mid corner. Is that how it is supposed to work? I always start with it really low (0-10) for road and high (100) for offroad and adjust from there. I find this to be a tricky thing to dial in, but it can do wonders for the aforementioned lap to lap consistency.
Any way, I am not sure if writing this was necessary. There are a lot of good tuners out there who have shared valuable information. Hopefully I am contributing a little less misinformation with this update. Is tuning in this game getting a little easier for you all? What have been some of your Ah-Hah moments?
