These are arguably the most impactful setup changes you can make in the sim.

• ENGINE BRAKING:
  Located in the drivetrain section, under engine and electronics.
  Value ranges from 0 (maximum engine braking) to 10 (minimal / no engine braking)
  
  
  
  The engine of a car has a natural resistance to movement/rotation (inertia). This means while off the throttle, the engine contributes to slowing down the car. At 0, the ECU (cars computer) completely closes the throttle valve when off throttle and at 10, keeps it open by a certain amount. Changing the engine braking value controls how much the engine contributes to slowing down the car.
  
  Cars (most) in the sim have this value set at 2. When coasting through a corner or braking, the added braking of the engine causes more weight transfer to the front of the car which unloads the rear, resulting in less grip (at the rear tyres) and a greater chance of losing the rears and spinning. The braking caused by the engine also increases the chance of a rear tyre lock up during heavy braking zones or while trail braking into a corner.
  
  Increasing the value (recommend 7 or 8 to start) creates less engine braking. There is less weight transfer to the front tyres and the car will have a more even balance through the corner (reduces lift-off oversteer). A higher value causes a slight increase in fuel consumption as the throttle is not completely closed. Possible (very slight) increase in engine wear too. A lower amount of engine braking also reduces the need to be on the pedals so much while driving in the sim as the car can better coast through corners. Some drivers might prefer this, some might not.
  
  If you also feel like the car bogs down a little under braking or when you are about to start accelerating, you should try reducing engine braking.

• REAR DIFFERENTIAL:
  Another located in the drivetrain section. The differential is essential in dictating how power from the engine gets on the track. Keeping this simple, so I will only be covering the Clutch LSD (Its also the one used by most cars in the sim).
  
  Keeping this simple, the LSD (limited slip differential) can be said to have 3 positions. Locked, open, and "in between" (we'll get to it). When driving and taking a corner, the outside wheel has to travel a further distance and rotate faster than the inside wheel.
  
  
  When the differential is locked, both rear wheels turn at the same speed. When the differential is open, the rear wheel can move independent of each other. When "in between", the differential allows the rear tyres a "limited" difference in rotational velocity. So not fully open but not fully closed either.
  
  In an open differential, the torque from the engine takes the path of least resistance. This means when you take a corner, the outside loaded tyre which has the most grip (hence frictional force) gets robbed of torque which is redirected to the inside tyre with less load. The outside tyre will be less able to push you out of the corner. This causes cars with open differentials to have more rotation (increased instability to a point) when entering a corner and less "grip potential" when exiting the corner.
  
  When the diff of a car is locked, you can think of the car as having the most "grip potential". Both tyres get equal power and the car is better under throttle as the loaded outside tyre is not getting robbed of torque. This does cause increase wear/temperature on the tyres (inside tyre scrubs when turning and outside tyre is worked more from the increased power now available to it). The car would also be more likely to understeer when entering a corner
  
  Preload: This is the amount of force exerted on the clutches in the LSD. There is a spring like element in the differential that provides this force (notice the blue one in the image below). The preload ensure the differential is locked until the torque difference between the rear wheels is greater than the preload strength. When this happens, the clutch slips and the differential goes from being locked to having a set amount of freedom. The amount of freedom so to say, are the coast ramp and power ramp.
  
  
  
  Ramp angles: In Automobilista 2, the ramp angles range from 25 degrees to 90 degrees, with 25 degrees providing more locking force than 90 degrees which essentially makes the differential become open. Think of it like a door where it is fully open at 90 and closed at 0 (locked). Each decrease in angle from 90 to 25 increases the locking force on the clutches and creates more resistance to the rear wheels turning independently.
  
  Clutches: These are orange and blue ones behind the axle gear. keeping this short, increasing the clutches makes the locking effect in the differential greater but does not affect the preload. Think of when you are past the apex of a corner (this is where the biggest relative difference in velocity between the two rear tyres are) and clutches haves slipped (if the preload is low enough). When getting back on power and straightening the car, the preload kicks in again and want to lock the differential (you are past the point of biggest rotation and the velocity difference between the rear tyres decreases). If you have a smaller number of clutches (2 or 4), there is a weaker locking effect, and the clutches are slower to engage but the transition to the diff locking is smoother/ takes a bit more time (that "bite" of the rear wheels come in a more progressive way). If you had a higher amount of clutches (6-8), the locking effect is faster and stronger, can reduce the over-rotation (if off throttle) of the car making it more stable (could induce understeer). But beware, the more (sudden) "bite" of the rear wheel could lead to snap oversteer under acceleration or braking even (if the rear tyres become overloaded).
  
  For some advice on the differential, If you are running a more balanced car (mechanical and aero car) like the ever-present (i hate them and don't ever drive them) GT3s, a power/coast ramp of around 35/55 where corner entry can still be stable and power delivery is smooth. 4 or 6 for the clutches should be fine (default is 6 for most cars I think). If you're racing in the rain, lower ramp angles for both would be better (just be careful of the car snapping :) ). If you're racing on a tighter track or with heavy aero cars (more if you "V" your corners), a looser rear with higher ramp angles could make you faster (if you can handle it).
  
  The type of car driven matters a lot. You might require more clutch plates for a car that has more torque to lock the differential faster. A higher preload might also be needed for a high torque car if you want to avoid losing time with the inside wheel spinning on corner exits.
  
  Finding a good balance FOR YOU is key.

• CASTER ANGLE:
  Located in the suspension section, front left and front right.
  
  
  
  Now this one is mainly for those who say they would like the car to feel a bit more "weighty" (looking at you ACC players). Rather than cranking up your feedback, increasing the caster angle can add that "weightyness" (car's self aligning torque increases) to the the steering column that you are looking for.
  
  There are some effect to increasing caster angle like camber gain (when the outside wheel gains negative camber as you turn). We will kinda ignore these.
  
  Too much caster will make the steering rack too heavy and the car wont want to turn.

Here we will cover springs, anti roll bars, aero (more sprinkled throughout) and brakes. I will try to provide a deeper understanding than just telling you increase this if you have understeer or decrease this if you have oversteer. Short and simple :)

• Brakes:
  Located in the chassis section, under (guess it) brakes.
  
  
  Most important component of the brakes in Automobilista 2 is temperature. For most race car (especially those without tyre warmers), the brakes are basically ineffective at low temperatures (I find cold brakes to be worse than cold tyres, the combination can be deadly and race ending).
  
  The front and rear brake ducts seen under the brake bias (obviously) control how much cooling the brakes get. In AMS2, at your hardest braking point, you want the front brakes to get a little deep into the yellow on the HUD (not red). The high temperatures can look scary but will fall back quicker than you think (more so if you are in clean air). Ensure the ducts are open enough to where the brakes are always green at the start of your braking (250 to 500 degrees CELSIUS ;) I'd say for more modern cars). The track layout will have a big impact on this. The fronts will always be more open than the rears but shouldn't be by too much (15% max)
  
  A lower duct opening means less drag on the car which we definitely want. Bear in mind, the brake temps affects the tyre temps (more so carcass than tread). High brake temps warm up the tyres and could contribute to overheating tyres (next index).
  
  Brake pressure is really a skill factor. the higher you can have it without locking up (if your car does not have ABS), the better. A lower pressure is safer but will extend braking zones and add time to your laps.
  
  Brake bias determines the strength of braking between the front tyres and the rears. If it is too far forward, the risk of locking a tyre increases and an unstable rear end occurs as too much weight transfers to the front. A brake bias that is too far backwards is not advisable. Find a balance that suits your driving style and skill level.

• Springs:
  Located in the suspension section, there are two types.
  Seen as spring rate and 3rd spring in the setup page.
  
  In Automobilista 2 (and real life), springs control the displacement of the suspension. They determine how far the suspension compresses under load (or extends away from it).
  There are different kinds of springs, the ones in AMS2 setups are linear. At equal lengths, a stiffer spring require more force to be compressed or extended than a softer one.
  
  
  When weight transfer occurs (braking, cornering, accelerating), a stiff spring is more resistant to movement. The increased resistance makes the car respond faster when cornering as the tyre is loaded faster (think of the energy that could be absorbed by a softer spring compressing is instead sent straight to the the tyre). This improved responsiveness puts more load on the tyre and can cause understeer with the fronts tyres or oversteer with the rear tyres if the tyres cant handle the increased load. An increased resistance to chassis movement also keeps the car more stable aerodynamically and is why high downforce cars use stiffer springs.
  
  
  A softer spring rate allows the tyres to maintain better contact with the ground as the suspension can conform to the track surface easily, giving better mechanical grip when cornering. Cars with softer spring are less likely to lock up tyres, are more comfortable to drive and can be more forgiving. The car might feel slow and slugging in response to driver inputs as the suspension now absorbs more energy during weight transfer (reduces tyre load, wear and temperature).

3rd Spring:


The 3rd spring has no involvement in the roll resistance of the car and only comes into effect when both wheels (front and/or rear) are in compression (or extending). The 3rd spring also known as the heave spring is not in all car and is mostly found on the higher downforce cars. Similar to the corner springs of the car, a stiffer 3rd spring resists compression better than a softer 3rd spring. This can help keep cars at the optimal ride height when at high speed (and downforce) and also during braking (especially at the fronts). This stability helps the car maintain good aero balance under braking but could reduce braking feel as there is less movement in the chassis and increase chances of locking the fronts tyres on more bumpy tracks.

The corner springs and 3rd spring determine the level of movement in the suspension. The 3rd spring helps to ensure you don't have to run very stiff corner springs to control the cars ride height and allows the corner springs to still have some movement when the car is being ran closer to the ground and the 3rd spring is fully compressed or hits the bump stop.

Bump stop: These are located at the end ranges of the springs/damper system in the suspension and in real life are to prevent suspension damage at the end ranges of compression. The bump stops make the spring rate incredibly stiff when they are compressed and can prevent the car from bottoming out. They do prevent any further suspension movement when compressed so make sure they are only reached during the highest load situations and not normal driving.


In a car with a 3rd spring, I would recommend higher stiffness and bump stops values compared to the (four) corner springs. Again, this is to allow the corner spring to possibly still have some movement left when the car is as low as it can go.

• Anti roll bars (ARBs):

Located in the suspension section, under front and rear centre.


ARBs control the amount of body roll the car experiences during cornering. The anti roll bar is kind of the opposite of the 3rd spring. While the 3rd spring assist the car and corner springs in pitch (braking, accelerating, downforce load) but not roll, the anti roll bar assists the car and corner springs in roll (cornering or when a spring on an axle compresses while the other extends) but not pitch or downforce loads.


The anti roll bar has spring like characteristics that I mentioned earlier. A stiffer anti roll bar has a greater resistance to movement of the car chassis in roll (cornering). As the anti roll bar is connected to both wheels on on axle, during cornering, a stiff anti roll bar (like the picture above says) makes the car more nervous. That axle with the stiff roll bar becomes more responsive as there is less twisting rotation allowed by the bar (absorbing energy). This energy makes it's way straight to the loaded tyre (which is where the improved responsiveness comes from). Due to the anti roll bar's lack of flex (stiffness), it causes the tyre on the other side of the chassis to be picked up (possibly above the track surface depending on cornering speed and bar stiffness).


High aero cars might want more roll stiffness to keep the car's aero platform as stable as possible. A softer anti roll bar twists more (think of this as storing more energy internally) and allows the less loaded tyre to maintain contact with the track, improving mechanical grip.

A softer anti roll bar also improves the suspensions ability to absorb bumps (energy) and prevents uneven tyre compared to a stiffer anti roll bar which increase wear (and most likely temperature) on the outside loaded tyres. A softer anti roll bar does allow more body roll which reduces the effectiveness of aero devices and they produce less downforce.
If the ouside tyre on a car with a stiff anti roll bar doesnt have enough grip (becomes overloaded), a loss of traction can occur and can lead to understeer if it's the front axle, and oversteer if it's the rear axle.

• Dampers:
  Located in the suspension section, under front and rear left, centre and right (basically everywhere).
  
  in the previous section, I mentioned how spring control suspension displacement (how far the suspension can move). Dampers control the rate of the displacement (how fast the movement happens aka velocity). Without dampers, the springs on the car would absorb bumps and energy but will rebound just as quickly and go into uncontrolled oscillation. We do not want that and add dampers to control how fast the spring moves in compression (bump in the sim) and rebound.
  
  
  A damper converts the kinetic energy (spring movement) typically into heat which is then dissipated. The faster the movement of the suspension (weight transfer, curbs), the greater the resistance of the damper. If you have use a wheel to drive the sim and turn up your damping, when you try to steer really fast, the wheel becomes heavier to turn the faster your movement gets. Thats the same way dampers in car works.
  
  
  In Automobilista 2, you have the option of slow and fast bump (compression) and rebound (extending or trying to return to original position). You use the dampers to fine tune the behaviour of the springs. Similar to the springs. The slow dampers are mainly used to dial in the car during weight transfer (braking, acceleration, cornering) and the fast dampers dial in the suspension during higher frequency oscillations (curbs, bumpy tracks e.t.c).
  
  The front and rear dampers work in pair and not just the front or rears by themselves. During acceleration, rear springs are compressed and the rear slow bumps are active. Simultaneously, the front springs extend as the weight shifts backwards and the front slow rebound are active.
  
  During braking, weight shifts forwards and the front springs compress, activating the front slow bump. At the same time, the rear of the car comes up, the rear springs extend and the rear slow rebound is active.
  
  When taking a corner, the (front and rear) outside tyre springs are compressed due to weight transfer and the slow bump at those tyres are active. Load comes off the inside tyres, raising them and extending the suspension which activates the slow rebound of both inside tyres.
  
  A softer damper makes the car more compliant and easier to drive (the suspension is able to move faster with undulation on the track surfaces, improving contact and stability). Cornering will feel smoother but slower and less precise (as the dampers easily moves to absorb energy that would otherwise go straight to the tyres).
  
  A damper that is stiffer improves cornering response, maintains more aero stability, but is less forgiving. The axle with the stiffer damper becomes more skittish and can cause the car to bounce or skip over track undulations (reducing mechanical grip). Tyre load will also increase which can lead to increased tyre wear and temperature. You would want to use stiffer dampers on smoother tracks or when ride height control is important (like higher downforce cars).

• Ride height
  Located in the suspension section, front and rears.
  
  You would want your ride height as low as possible for a lot of reasons (provides better under-body downforce and lower drag, lower centre of gravity and roll centre which improves general car handling and response). This does cause you to have less suspension travel (can give the car a more bumpy ride over curbs), risk bottoming out and stalling the aero which greatly reduces downforce and unsettle the car. Its a balancing act where you want the cars as low as possible, as high as necessary.
  Having a higher rear ride height and a lower front ride height provides more downforce for the front tyres and less for the rear (reduces ground effect). This is called (positive) rake and moves the centre of pressure on the car forwards especially at low speed (tunes out understeer).
  
  The amount of downforce a car produces, how stiff the suspension of the car is set, and things like fuel also influences the ride height. More downforce pushes the car down which reduces ride height. A stiffer suspension might now be needed to prevent bottoming out and keeping an optimal ride height. Fuel at the beginning of a stint also compresses the suspension. As the fuel burns off, this raises the suspension (less load) and is something to keep in mind
  
  
  Front and Rear downforce: Sometimes you just need more downforce to stabilise the car (especially if the problems you encounter are at faster than 1st gear speed). Yes it might make you slower in a straight line but the corners are where real driver show themselves (or something like that). Do note, more downforce can mask problems with a poor setup, more so at lower speeds. (And also slightly increase fuel consumption)
  There is also less downforce available at high altitude tracks due to the thinner air (Spa, Interlagos, e.t.c).

TYRE TEMPERATURE AND CONTACT PATCH IS KING IN AUTOMOBILSTA 2

Everything else like camber, pressure and toe is to be used to obtain the optimal temperature for the tyres (70-85°C for most modern soft slicks, 75-95°C for mediums. Hard compounds can still be optimal up to around 100-110°C). Caster also has a slight effect on tyre contact patch when you steer (you gain camber) but wont really be expanding on that.

Camber affects the contact patch of the tyres during cornering, more camber will improve tyre grip in corners as the weight moves to the outside tyre and the tyre straightens (increased contact with track surface). This does increase wear on the inside part of the tyre and reduces braking and acceleration capabilities in a straight line (increase chances of locking the fronts and the rears losing traction as contact patch is reduced). You generally want to stay away from positive camber unless your doing some oval racing.

Toe affects how responsive your initial change of direction is (in the fronts with toe out). A higher a mount of toe out (negative) on the fronts makes the car more responsive initially but can cause instability especially at high speed corners (oversteer). Toe in (positive) is often used on the rear tyres to improve stabilty under acceleration but can induce understeer. Excessive toe, at the front or rear will cause the tires to drag, increase wear, temperature and will reduce top speed.

I like to keep both toe values (I use some rear toe and don't really like using front toe) under ±1 degree and influence the car/tyres in other ways. This is mainly to keep tyre temps (and wear) down and car behaviour consistent. Do note, too small values (0.1, 0.2) would have very little impact. Recommend values from ±0.4 to ±0.8
Do note, not all cars turn the front wheels at the same angle when you steer.
Formula cars for example turn the outer wheel slightly more than the inside wheel when you steer (as this is the loaded tyre with more grip available)

A big factor, tyre pressure affects ride quality (suspension like behaviour), grip (contact patch size), wear (on the tyres) and ability to generate heat (flexibility).

A tyre with a pressure that is (too) high can give a sharper response as there is less flex/give in the tyre (but can cause the car to be nervous on handling). A smaller contact patch as the tire centre bulges can cause understeer, increased wear and overheating.
A tyre with (too) low pressure wont be as direct and responsive as there is more give in the tire (energy is absorbed by the tyre material flexing, and too much flex can cause overheating and reduce traction). IRL, there is a greater chance of the sidewall being damaged and blowouts happening.
Too high or too low tyre pressures will reduce tyre contact patch and increase the risks of tyre lockups in the front and rear, accelerating wear.
While tyres are unsprung masses (not supported by the cars suspension like the chassis or driver), they do have a "suspension like effect". You can think of the tyre as having its own spring rate which is mainly determined by the pressure of the tyre. Higher pressure would mean a "stiffer" spring rate, less smoothing out of road bumps and less deformation on kerb surfaces (which could contribute to unsettling the car).

Similar to the ride height, a general saying for the tyre pressure is as low as possible, and as high as necessary (mainly to maximise they tyre's contact area with the track).

To find the "optimal" combination of pressure, camber and toe to keep the tyre in the right temperature window, you can use the HUD page above which give a lot of tyre (and suspension) information.

You want to have a combination of camber, toe and pressure values that keeps the temperature range of the tyres (after the tyres have warmed up or under racing conditions) within 10°C from the inside shoulder to the outside shoulder (with the inside being the hottest and outside the coolest).

This tells you how the contact patch of the tyre is on the track. Too high a pressure will see the middle temperature the hottest and too much negative camber will cause the inside temperature to be at a greater difference from the middle and outside of the tyre.
Do note the tyre pressure you set (especially in a series without tyre warmers) are the starting pressures before any heat has built up in the tyres (by you or tire warmers).

In rain or colder conditions, you would want to increase the tyre pressure to try to maintain good tyre temperature. This is because the reduced sidewall flex from a higher pressure causes the tyre to build heat more quickly IN THE TREAD.

Remember you can also use the suspension (springs and dampers), brakes (and ducts) and differential to influence tire temperature.

Also note that the tire widget in the default HUD that shows temperature and the one above (with the left, middle and right readings) show different temps. The one above gives the temperature of the tyre's surface (tread) while the widget in the basic HUD give a more general/average temperature of the overall tyre (I think its the internal temp of the tyre including the carcass). This means you wont really see thing like immediate temperature spikes from the surface (tread) of the tyre (from things like losing traction or locking up) with the basic HUD widget.

A tyre that is overheating will wear faster

Tyre Volume: While not part of the setup, AMS2's tyres can be too loud and distracting by default and can make you think the tyres are slipping even under controlled driving. I would recommend turning it down.
I have my tyre volume at 20 and track surface volume at 50.

Something I would like to see the sim do in future updates is making sure drivers bring the tyres up the temperature correctly.
Bringing tyre temps up too fast IRL could cause issues like blistering and really damage the tyre for the entire stint. Early overheating can also harden the tyre by "cooking" it and reducing stint length due to lower expected grip.

Radiator Opening: Another big source of drag on the car, you want to run this with a little safety margin (if your engine blows, that's race over or a very very long pit stop for you .
The bigger the engine, the more cooling they might need, especially if it is a big engine with a turbocharger (as the turbo also needs cooling). A lower radiator opening can accelerate engine wear especially on cars with less reliable engines e.g the Formula V10 gen 2 cars

Most cars should be able to run fine around 50 to 60%. Track properties like air temperature, layout (long straights mean more air through the engine but also sustained higher RPMs), and the time of day will be factors that influence the radiator opening.
Clean air also helps in keeping a low engine temperature and coolant pressure (once coolant pressure is too high, that leads to it leaking and is the first step to breaking your engine mostly followed by an oil leak). So try starting at the front if you're running slimmer radiators.

Boost Pressure: higher means more boost from the turbo and higher power output (more fuel burn as a side result) but also more engine wear and temperature (especially in the older cars) and will need more cooling. Most modern cars are fine at their max boost pressure (F-ultimates, GTP, GT3, e.t.c) and are designed to run at those levels (you lose more than you gain if you reduce it).
Remember, engines with turbochargers tend to suffer less with power at tracks with higher altitudes (Interlagos, Spa, Red Bull Ring) compared to naturally aspirated engines (due to the lower atmospheric pressure at those heights).

Fuel Ratio: The default in the setup is 1.0 which also shows up as RICH when you bring up the In Car Menu (ICM) while driving. There are three levels for the fuel ratio in the sim. The second is NORMAL in the ICM which is the fuel ratio at 0.95. The third is LEAN in the ICM, and is the fuel ratio at 0.9. You obviously have the most power at rich but also burn more fuel. Changing the fuel ratio to "normal" (in the cars that support this) will cost you some power (more obvious in the faster cars) but you should still be able to keep good pace with good driving. With the normal fuel ratio and some lift and coast, you might be able to save fuel for an extra lap (track length dependent) and not lose too much time doing so. I would not recommend using the lean fuel ratio as the power loss gets quite noticeable and you'll lose too much time for the fuel you're trying to save. Only use the lean ratio if you're trying to save fuel under a safety car, overheating your engine or when you're really about to run out of fuel.

Final drive: When the shaft that delivers power from the engine (through the gearbox) meets the differential, the gears that connect them are not the same size. The crown wheel (kinda what everything in the differential is connected to) tends to be bigger than the pinion gear at the end of the gearbox's shaft. There is a torque multiplication (final drive ratio) between the two gears. A higher ratio gives better acceleration (more torque multiplication) but a lower top speed (Rotational velocity of the crown wheel is less compared to the pinion). The vice versa applies (lower final drive for higher top speed). The final drive affects all the gear ratios, so adjusting this first before tampering with the individual gear ratios might be a good idea.

Longitudinal weight bias allows you to very slightly move the centre of gravity forward or backwards. The default is often fine as you cant alter it much to begin.

Steering Lock: This is more of a drivers preference but can have a big impact in how the car is driven. Higher lock means you have to turn your wheel less for the same movement in game. Can make the car feel too pointy if too high or unresponsive if too low.
I usually run mine at 21.0 degrees.

Traction control: This is one I have less experience with as most of the cars I drive don't have it. Traction control cuts power when the car's computer detects wheel slip (lateral or longitudinal). There is one TC setting in the game (no separate one for longitudinal or lateral slip (yet)). The higher the TC number (0 to 10), the greater the amount of power cut from the engine to the wheels. I mainly use this in the LMDh/GTP cars to help control my tyre temperatures if I've pushed the car quite hard. If you always engage the TC during acceleration or cornering (too aggressive with the throttle), it will cost you more time the higher the TC is set as more power is cut). It might save you (and you tyres) from spinning (and overheating if they're not hot already), especially in wet weather races.

Further expanding on this HUD page, you can see the corner suspension details like front and rear ride heights, the amount of suspension travel left in each of the corner springs and the bump stop value you selected in the setup.

At high speed and downforce you can change to this HUD to see how much performance the car is giving. If the ride heights constantly reach zero (especially on the rear), you will want to raise the ride height or stiffen the suspension spring. If there is still a lot of clearance, the car could possible be run lower for more performance (its all just a balancing act).
Even though I already covered the bump stop, you can see how much they affect suspension travel (more so at high speed) with this HUD.

A little tip of mine would be to run with zero bump stops on the corner springs (especially if the car has a 3rd spring available) to start and go from there.

Remember, travel and height are not the same thing. Zero travel means your suspension is fully bottomed out and any bumps will really unsettle the car. Zero on the ride height means the car is literally scraping on the ground at that point (front or rear).

If the setup is optimal, the ride height should be very close to zero just before the hardest braking zones of the tracks (end of straights).

I have made a table that you can follow when you want to make a setup for yourself and don't know where to start.



Note: Think of the "Dry surface" as a dry/grippy track and the "Wet surface" as a slippery/wet track.

Start from the top down when creating your setup

When adjusting your setups, start from the bottom up and remember to try to change one thing at a time so you know what change has affected the car.

In AMS2 when adjusting things like the springs and ARB's, I tend so change them 3 to 5 steps/clicks at a time (depending on how big the range of adjustment is). This is because just adjusting them one step/click then testing won't really show much of a perceivable difference to before

You can think about Toe at/around when you get to the camber. More positive toe at the rear if there is some oversteer and a little negative toe at the front if there's some understeer.

Adjustments that have the star(*) around them means you have to be careful when making them as you do not want to go too far in that direction

I have excluded the AMS2 essentials from the table to make it a bit more general and easier to approach.

Keep in mind, the table is a general guide for a general approach to setting up the cars.

Note: when i say rearward for the brake bias, the bias should still be towards the front but more balanced i.e something like 52:48 instead of 58:42.

Tip: Less engine braking can allow you to race with a slightly more balanced brake bias.

So let's establish some bullet points

• Rear ride height is almost always set too high/conservative. It is basically free performance to reduce it (as long as you're not bottoming out during normal driving or on most curbs) and it has a strong impact on car handling in ALL types of vehicles. Wanted to put this in the essential fundamentals section but Steam won't let me add to it for some reason.

• Reduce exaggerated tyre volume

• Engine braking should be increased (can induce understeer) for better balance while the car is in a transient state (weight transfer).

• The power ramp in the differential should be lower than the coast ramp or at least equal to it (for most cases).
  
  The default power ramp is set higher in the sim which means when past the (also generally set low) preload, and on throttle, the differential is more open and that might induce the rear feeling of low grip (tyre slip on throttle without the car's total loss of traction/spin that many feel should accompany that). This is what I think some drivers encounter and due to not knowing or being unbothered to investigate, label the simulation/physics of the game as wonky or a "slide fest" because it's not "planted" like their other favourite game.
  
  As covered in the essential fundamentals, when an open diff loses traction (inside wheel spinning first due to having less load and more torque delivered to it), the feel of traction loss is more progressive and different to the suddenness (snap oversteer) of a more locked diff. You'll also get less of that drive feeling out of corner (with the open diff) that could give the feeling of the car not being "planted" and/or on rails.
  
  There will also (with normal driving) be generally less wear and chances of overheating with a more open differential than a more closed differential (especially with repeated snap oversteer moments).
  
  ALSO MAKE SURE NOT TO HAVE THE RAMP ANGLES TOO FAR APART e.g 25/80 or something like that. It would cause the car to be very inconsistent and display contrasting behaviours

• Probably also increase the default preload a bit but not too high (or low). You still want to use the coast and power ramp angles to have fine control of the diff during transient states.

• While most of the setups you use or make will be symmetrical, there might be tracks that require some asymmetry to get the most out of the car such as oval racing with positive camber on the inside tyre and negative on the outside tyre or tracks that have a lot of (high speed) corners in one direction compared to the other (e.g Silverstone or Barcelona with the front left tyre).

• The stiffer (front or rear) axle (assuming setup is symmetrical (left and right)) takes on more load during weight transfer which is what contribute to the sharper response and handling.

• More load/weight transfer onto a tyre does not always mean more grip. The relationship is not linear and tyres do have a maximum amount of grip they can provide. Your objective with your driving style and setup is to get as close to that limit as possible.

• Your driving style will greatly affect how you think a setup feels. How sharply you load the car into corners with your steering input, how deep into the corner or how early you brake (preferred rotation point of the car) and where you get back on throttle, will all determine what kind of setup direction you find beneficial.

• A perfect setup wont make you a better driver.

• Ensure you spend time dialling in your FFB. A poor FFB setting will have you unable to fully understand whats happening with the car.
  The FX setting is quite important and would recommend you use it (wouldn't advise it over 50 though as it muddies the feedback).
  I use a Fanatec GT DD pro (8nm) and have it set to peak force with no natural damping, friction or inertia. FFB interpolation filter is at 1, FFB strength and force effect intensity at 100.
  Trying your FFB without any damping is something I would recommend.

• Camera setting can also affect how the car's behaviour looks so ensure that is dialled in. I use VR (made a guide for that too if you need one).

• The track (rubber) state has a big effect on handling and would not recommend using a green track to test cars. default progressing is fine

• The throttle response in AMS2 is quite direct ( good (and sharp) torque response and fall off at those lower gears as the revs climb, if that makes sense). A heavy right foot will cost you very easily

I tried my best to make this a simple guide and hope you've found it helpful
A like or share would be appreciated as this took some time :)
I only wish I put this amount of effort in my engineering classes

I will keep this guide updated if the sim gets any new feature (tyre graining and blistering notably).
Any questions you have just ask below, I'll try my best to help.