Today we are pleased to release a brand-new Balance of Performance (BoP) update for our extensive collection of GT3 specification cars within rFactor 2.
The new update is available now and aims to further close the performance differential between the various cars within the GT3 class in rFactor 2, as well as introducing a new fix developed to improve the behaviour of the cars when following closely in the slipstream – an unexpected behavioural trait that has particularly manifested itself when in proximity of another car through the Eau Rouge / Raidillon complex of corners at Spa-Francorchamps.
rFactor 2 | GT3 Bundle Steam Store: Click Here.
Why have a BOP?
he idea of a Balance of Performance in GT racing is nothing new, the desire to engineer close performance between a number of different brands and engineering principles has been a technique applied by real world motorsport championships for a number of years. Born from a desire to ensure a racing series can enjoy close racing from a rich collection of varied machinery, whilst preventing excessive manufacturer spending in order to gain a performance advantage, the application of Balance of Performance is often a thorny topic of conversation amongst drivers and teams alike.
The same can be applied to the world of virtual racing, where parameters such as weight, power and fuel are just some tools used to ensure each car of a given category has comparable performance over a single lap or longer stint. This doesn’t mean the cars will produce identical performance characteristics, far from it in fact, as inherently some designs will carry their own unique advantages and disadvantages – not to mention the driving characteristics of that particular machine, and how that plays into the strengths and preferences of an individual driver.
rFactor 2 | Ferrari 488 GT3 EVO Steam Store: Click Here.
Here at Studio 397 we go to great lengths to ensure our respective BOP adjustments offer a fair, rewarding and even playing field across the many cars currently available in the GT3 category of the simulation. Using a mix of physics data, performance telemetry and of course countless laps on the track by a number of drivers of different skill levels, we aim to apply performance BoP to each of the 13 GT3 cars that allows the player to have a fair and reasonable chance to mix it at the front of the field in any given car – just like in real life!
What changed in the new BOP?
Of course, from a performance point of view the new update aims to further refine the outright speed differential between our GT3 class of cars, adding or reducing performance across the 13 different models to ensure a level of parity can be achieved in regard to overall lap time and longer stint behaviour. Does this mean we are less likely to see the Calloway C7 GT3-R run away with things at the front of the field in GT Pro? Yes, I think it would be fair to say the days of OP behaviour for the big American muscle car have been concluded with this new update!
All this aside, we’ve also taken the opportunity to have a look at the behaviour of the cars themselves with this new build, and have used this new update to address both the aerodynamic loss behaviour behind another car, and also the potentially excessive ability to rotate the car by sliding all four tyres through a corner in an exaggerated fashion. We’ve paid attention to the way yaw aero interacts with the car physics for this new build, adjusting some parameters and characteristics on each of the cars that we believe should make for a more stable, and ultimately smoother driving experience behind the wheel.
We have also used this update as an opportunity to look at how the rear diffuser responds to ride height and circuit proximity when on track, which should result in reducing the sometimes excessive snap oversteer encountered when players ‘bottom out’ (hit the floor of the car on the track surface) – hopefully leading to a more consistent and manageable driving experience in a wider range of specific conditions.
GT3 February BOP Update Notes
Aston Martin Vantage GT3 v1.87
- BoP adjustments: +5kg weight penalty, -1% engine power.
- New values for draft lifts (FW, RW and diffuser).
- Modifications to yaw aero response (affects sliding sideways).
- Tweaks to diffuser stalling parameters (the car is less snappy now, when bottoming out).
- Reduced slipstreaming effects on drag (lower speed gain when drafting).
- Default setup: -1 to rear wing.
- Recalculated fuel consumption.
Audi R8 GT3 2018 v1.89
- BoP adjustments: -20kg weight penalty.
- New values for draft lifts (FW, RW and diffuser).
- Modifications to yaw aero response (affects sliding sideways).
- Tweaks to diffuser stalling parameters (the car is less snappy now, when bottoming out).
- Reduced slipstreaming effects on drag (lower speed gain when drafting).
- P4 is new default the rear wing,
- Adjusted drivetrain losses (resulting in slightly more engine power on the wheels).
- Adjusted aero drag.
- Default setup: P4 rear wing, +1 to front and rear ARB, +0.352deg to rear toe in, +2 to TC, +14 to differential preload, -0.5deg to rear camber, +1 rear springs.
- Recalculated fuel consumption.
Audi R8 GT3 2019 v1.61
- BoP adjustments: -20kg weight penalty.
- Adjusted total inertia, tweaks to default setup to make the car more stable.
New values for draft lifts (FW, RW and diffuser). - Modifications to yaw aero response (affects sliding sideways).
- Tweaks to diffuser stalling parameters (the car is less snappy now, when bottoming out).
- Reduced slipstreaming effects on drag (lower speed gain when drafting).
- P4 is new default the rear wing.
- Adjusted drivetrain losses (resulting in slightly more engine power on the wheels).
- Adjusted aero drag.
- Default setup: P4 rear wing, +1 to front and rear ARB, +0.352deg to rear toe in, +2 to TC, +14 to differential preload, -0.5deg to rear camber, +1 to rear springs.
- Recalculated fuel consumption.
Bentley Continental GT3 2020 v1.23
- BoP adjustments: -20kg weight penalty.
- New values for draft lifts (FW, RW and diffuser).
- Modifications to yaw aero response (affects sliding sideways).
- Tweaks to diffuser stalling parameters (the car is less snappy now, when bottoming out).
- Reduced slipstreaming effects on drag (lower speed gain when drafting).
- Adjusted drivetrain losses (resulting in more engine power on the wheels).
- Adjusted aero drag, about 0.5% forward aero balance shift.
- Default setup: +1 to TC.
- Recalculated fuel consumption.
Bentley Continental GT3 2017 v2.89
- BoP adjustments: +2% engine power.
- New values for draft lifts (FW, RW and diffuser).
- Modifications to yaw aero response (affects sliding sideways).
- Tweaks to diffuser stalling parameters (the car is less snappy now, when bottoming out).
- Reduced slipstreaming effects on drag (lower speed gain when drafting).
- Fixed damper travel to bump stops (15mm more on front and 11mm on rear).
- Increased maximum packer stack to 40mm.
- Tweaks to inertia and center of gravity.
- Readjusted aero balance and drag.
- Lower (slower) steering rack ratio.
- Adjusted differential locking rates.
- Default setup: brake bias F54.2%, differential preload 120Nm.
- Recalculated fuel consumption.
BMW M6 GT3 v1.79
- BoP adjustments: +10kg weight penalty.
- New values for draft lifts (FW, RW and diffuser).
- Modifications to yaw aero response (affects sliding sideways).
- Tweaks to diffuser stalling parameters (the car is less snappy now, when bottoming out).
- Reduced slipstreaming effects on drag (lower speed gain when drafting).
- Adjusted drivetrain inertia (resulting in slightly less engine power on the wheels).
- Adjusted aero drag.
- Recalculated fuel consumption.
Callaway C7 GT3-R v3.01
- BoP adjustments: +10kg weight penalty, -1% engine power.
- New values for draft lifts (FW, RW and diffuser).
- Modifications to yaw aero response (affects sliding sideways).
- Tweaks to diffuser stalling parameters (the car is less snappy now, when bottoming out).
- Reduced slipstreaming effects on drag (lower speed gain when drafting).
- Default setup: +1 to default rear wing.
- Recalculated fuel consumption.
Ferrari 488 GT3 v1.45
- new values for draft lifts (FW, RW and diffuser).
- modifications to yaw aero response (affects sliding sideways).
- Tweaks to diffuser stalling parameters (the car is less snappy now, when bottoming out).
- Reduced slipstreaming effects on drag (means, less speed gain when drafting).
- Adjusted aero drag.
- Recalculated fuel consumption.
McLaren 650S GT3 v2.85
- New values for draft lifts (FW, RW and diffuser).
- Modifications to yaw aero response (affects sliding sideways).
- Tweaks to diffuser stalling parameters (the car is less snappy now, when bottoming out).
- Reduced slipstreaming effects on drag (lower speed gain when drafting).
- Adjusted drivetrain losses (resulting in more engine power on the wheels).
- Rebalanced aero balance and drag.
- Fixed incorrect damper travel to bump stops.
- Default setup: P4 rear wing.
- Recalculated fuel consumption.
McLaren 720S GT3 v1.75
- New values for draft lifts (FW, RW and diffuser).
- Modifications to yaw aero response (affects sliding sideways).
- Tweaks to diffuser stalling parameters (the car is less snappy now, when bottoming out).
- Reduced slipstreaming effects on drag (lower speed gain when drafting).
- Adjusted drivetrain losses (resulting in more engine power on the wheels).
- Adjusted aero drag.
- Fixed incorrect damper travel to bump stops.
- Recalculated fuel consumption.
Mercedes AMG GT3 v2.95
- BoP adjustments: -10kg weight penalty,
- New values for draft lifts (FW, RW and diffuser).
- Modifications to yaw aero response (affects sliding sideways).
- Tweaks to diffuser stalling parameters (the car is less snappy now, when bottoming out).
Reduced slipstreaming effects on drag (lower speed gain when drafting). - adjusted drivetrain losses (resulting in more engine power on the wheels).
- Rebalanced aero balance and drag.
- Default setup: +1 to TC, P10 rear wing.
- Recalculated fuel consumption.
Porsche 991 GT3 v1.75
- New values for draft lifts (FW, RW and diffuser).
- Modifications to yaw aero response (affects sliding sideways).
- Tweaks to diffuser stalling parameters (the car is less snappy now, when bottoming out).
- Reduced slipstreaming effects on drag (lower speed gain when drafting).
- Adjusted drivetrain losses (resulting in less engine power on the wheels).
- Rebalanced aero balance, drag and rear downforce between rear wing and diffuser.
- Adjusted center of gravity height and chassis inertia.
- Fixed issue with damper travel to bump stops.
- Default setup: P11 rear wing, +1 to TC, +2 to front and rear ARB,
–0.117deg to front toein, +0.352deg to rear toe-in. - Recalculated fuel consumption.
Radical RXC GT3 2017 v2.85
- New values for draft lifts (FW, RW and diffuser).
- Modifications to yaw aero response (affects sliding sideways).
- Tweaks to diffuser stalling parameters (the car is less snappy now, when bottoming out).
- Reduced slipstreaming effects on drag (lower speed gain when drafting).
- Rebalanced aero balance and drag.
- Recalculated fuel consumption.
The new Balance of Performance update for our GT3 cars is available to download now.
Happy racing!
