Alright folks, kicking things off with today’s tinkering session – trying to get Kris Wright dialed in for some NASCAR sim racing action. Figured it was time to put this through its paces.
Starting Simple
First off, grabbed my battered old gaming wheel from the closet. Dusted that sucker off – seriously, it looked like it hibernated through winter. Plugged it in, crossed my fingers… and thank goodness, it actually fired up. Poked around online looking for Kris Wright’s setups specifically. Found a couple floating around, but man, details were thinner than cheap toilet paper.
Throwing It In The Deep End
Dove straight into a quick practice session on one of the faster intermediate oval tracks. Immediately thought “Wow this feels way too loose!”. Car kept wanting to step out on corner exit anytime I breathed on the gas pedal. Felt like driving on ice patches in the dark. Slapped down some adjustments right then:
- Softened the rear springs a notch. Seemed counterintuitive.
- Pumped the rear tire pressures up slightly. Felt risky.
- Added a tiny bit more wedge.
Hopped back out… annnd immediately wiped out big time coming off Turn 2. Total yard sale. Reset, tried again. Still dancing around like it had ants in its pants.
The Tweak Cycle Begins
Okay, regrouped. Started tweaking things slower this time. Focused purely on getting the rear end settled:
- Dialed back the sway bar a click – less stiff in the rear.
- Gave it more rear brake bias. Hoped it wouldn’t make things tail-happy on entry.
- Took a deep breath and softened the rear shock compression. Felt like defying conventional wisdom.
First couple laps felt sluggish, heavy even. But gradually… started carrying a bit more mid-corner speed without the rear trying to swap ends with the front. Still had to be smooth with the wheel inputs, couldn’t just yank it around. Baby steps folks, baby steps.
Finding That Sweet Spot (Sorta)
Took another crack at the setup between long runs. Concentrated on getting the throttle connection right – crucial with these big stock cars. Didn’t win any races during testing, mind you. Still chewed up the right-rear tire pretty good after a long run. But managed consistent lap times without spinning myself out every third corner, which honestly, felt like a small victory today.
Why bother? Honestly, most days this sim setup nonsense feels like banging my head against a brick wall. Especially just for a single name like Kris Wright. But sometimes… sometimes making that stubborn car behave for ten clean laps makes it worth the headache. Stubborn rig is teaching me stubbornness right back.
