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iRacing Asphalt Late Model Stock Car Setup Matrix

Rev. October 12, 2024

Increase Speed

Handling Feels Good but Car is Slow

Corner Entry

  • The car might be bottoming out in the front. Raise the front ride heights using the left arrow beside front spring perch offsets.
    Late Model Shock Collar Offset Down
  • Lower the rear ride heights using the right arrow beside rear spring perch offsets. Lowering the rear will raise the front.
    Late Model Shock Collar Offset Up
  • Stiffen the front springs on bigger tracks and higher banking. Not recommended on bullrings. Reset ride heights after any spring adjustment.
    Increase Spring Rate

Center

  • The car might be bottoming out in the front. Raise the front ride heights using the left arrow beside front spring perch offsets.
    Late Model Shock Collar Offset Down
  • Stiffen the front springs on bigger tracks and higher banking. Not recommended on bullrings. Reset ride heights after any spring adjustment.
    Increase Spring Rate

  • Optimize right front camber.
    Late Model Right Front Camber
    Look for the left side (inner side) of the right front tire to be roughly 10° fahrenheit hotter than the middle of the tire after a short run.
    Inner – Middle – Outer
    Late Model Tire Temperatures

Early Corner Exit

  • Decrease rear spring split to stabilize handling.

Late Corner Exit

  • Stiffen springs if soft in order to stabilize ride heights. Not recommended on bullrings.

Short Run Speed

  • Decrease right front camberLate Model Right Front Camber
    Make camber more negative using the left arrow.
  • Increase caster
  • Make sure the car isn’t bottoming out.

Long Run Speed

  • Increase right front camberLate Model Right Front Camber
    Make camber less negative using the right arrow.

More Speed Tips

  • Rear end ratio (gear) – Adjust it so that you reach the rev limiter just before lifting at the end of the straight. Try experimenting by increasing or decreasing it by a click or two from that point.
  • Tire pressures (PSI) – Set all four tires to minimum pressure.
  • Adjust rear ride heights to strike the ideal balance between downforce and drag. This is important on bigger tracks.
  • Make sure the car isn’t bottoming out.
  • Maximize camber on the left front tire. For the right front, adjust camber for optimal long-run performance. Use inner, middle, and outer right front tire temperatures as a guide. Typically, more negative right front camber is ideal for qualifying or short runs.
  • On large, high-speed tracks, particularly those with substantial banking, use stiffer springs to minimize chassis movement and improve aerodynamics.
  • Take advantage of every small speed boost you can find—they all add up in the end.
  • After making any adjustments, double-check that your ride heights are set exactly where you want them.
  • Some settings will be right on the edge of garage tolerances. Any adjustment could push the setup out of tolerance and cause it to fail tech inspection, so you’ll need to correct that.

Qualifying Setup Tips

Starting with a typical race setup, make the following changes.

  • Increase Ballast forward to approximately 16″ (if starting at zero) or about 4 clicks.
    Late Model Ballast
  • Qual tape configuration
  • Increase ARB diameter one or two clicks.
    Late Model ARB Diameter
  • Maximize cambers.
  • Set toe-in to zero.
  • Lower fuel fill to 2 gallons.
  • Set ride heights using spring perch offsets.
  • Set the left front as low as possible (about 2 inches as long as the front is not scraping). Set the right front about .25 inch higher.
  • For bullrings, set the rear ride heights close to the maximum of 5 inches. For bigger, higher speed tracks, aim to strike the ideal balance between downforce and drag.
  • Increase the crossweight if the car is too loose. Use the spring perch offset method below.
  • Decrease rear end ratio (gear) until you’re not hitting the rev limiter at the end of the straights.

Late Model Stock Car

Improve Handling

Oversteer (Loose)

Oversteer (Loose) Throughout Corner

  • Increase front ARB diameter
    Late Model ARB Diameter
  • Soften the right rear spring, reset ride heights (left arrow).
    Soften Late Model Right Rear Spring
  • Lower both track bars.
    Late Model Track Bars

Oversteer (Loose) on Entry

  • Decrease left rear track bar height.
  • Increase ballast forward.Late Model Ballast
  • Increase crossweight.Late Model ARB ARm End
    You can increase crossweight by pressing the right arrow next to the ARB arm end. Aim to keep your ARB arm end negative. For details on the spring perch offset method, refer to the bottom of the page.
  • If loose under braking, increase brake balance bar.Late Model Brake Balance Bar

Oversteer (Loose) in Center

  • Increase crossweight.Late Model ARB ARm End
    You can increase crossweight by pressing the right arrow next to the ARB arm end. Aim to keep your ARB arm end negative. For details on the spring perch offset method, refer to the bottom of the page.
  • If loose on throttle, stiffen left rear spring and soften right rear spring
  • If loose off throttle, soften left rear spring and stiffen right rear spring, increase crossweight.

Oversteer (Loose) on Early Exit

  • Stiffen left rear spring and soften right rear spring
  • Decrease right rear track bar height.

Oversteer (Loose) on Late Exit

  • Stiffen left rear spring and soften right rear spring on high banks.
  • For low banks or tracks where the banking decreases on corner exit, stiffen right rear spring and increase crossweight.
  • Decrease right rear track bar height.

Oversteer (Loose) in the Short Run

  • Increase right front camber.Late Model Right Front Camber
    Make right front camber less negative using the right arrow.

Oversteer (Loose) in the Long Run

  • Increase crossweight.
  • Stiffen left rear spring
  • Use less throttle in turns
  • Decrease right front camber.
    Make right front camber more negative using the left arrow.
    Late Model Right Front Camber

Understeer (Tight)

Understeer (Tight) Throughout Corner

  • Decrease front ARB diameter
    Late Model ARB Diameter
  • Stiffen the right rear spring, reset ride heights (right arrow).
    Soften Late Model Right Rear Spring
  • Raise both track bars.
    Late Model Track Bars

Understeer (Tight) on Entry

  • Increase left rear track bar height.
  • Decrease ballast forward.Late Model Ballast
  • Decrease crossweight.Late Model ARB ARm End
    You can decrease crossweight by pressing the left arrow next to the ARB arm end. Aim to keep your ARB arm end negative. For details on the spring perch offset method, refer to the bottom of the page.
  • If loose tight bracing, decrease brake balance bar. Late Model Brake Balance Bar
  • Back up your corner (lift earlier).

Understeer (Tight) in Center

  • Decrease crossweight.Late Model ARB ARm End
    You can decrease crossweight by pressing the left arrow next to the ARB arm end. Aim to keep your ARB arm end negative. For details on the spring perch offset method, refer to the bottom of the page.
  • If tight on throttle, soften left rear spring and stiffen right rear spring.
  • If tight off throttle, stiffen left rear spring and soften right rear spring, decrease crossweight.

Understeer (Tight) on Early Exit

  • Soften left rear spring and stiffen right rear spring
  • Increase right rear track bar height.

Understeer (Tight) on Late Exit

  • Soften left rear spring and stiffen right rear spring on high banks.
  • For low banks or tracks where the banking decreases on corner exit, soften the right rear spring and lower the crossweight.
  • Increase right rear track bar height.

Understeer (Tight) on Short Runs

  • Decrease right front camber.Late Model Right Front Camber
    Make right front camber more negative using the left arrow.

Understeer (Tight) on Long Runs

  • Decrease crossweight.
  • Soften the left rear spring.
  • Increase right front camber
    Make right front camber less negative using the right arrow. Late Model Right Front Camber

Crossweight Adjustment Using Spring Perch Offsets

Decrease crossweight by clicking the arrows indicated in the image below. Use the same number of clicks on each arrow in order to preserve ride heights.
Decrease Late Model Crossweight
Increase crossweight by clicking the arrows indicated in the image below. Use the same number of clicks on each arrow in order to preserve ride heights.
Increase Late Model Crossweight

Ride Height Adjustments

When adjusting ride heights, aim to maintain the same crossweight. To check ride heights in a replay, select the best camera angle. You can move the camera with Ctrl+F12 or press Ctrl+Z to freely adjust it using your mouse. Alternatively, you can use telemetry software to monitor your ride heights.

Bottoming Out in the Front

  • Stiffen the front springs on larger/higher banked tracks. Not recommended for bullrings.
    Increase Spring Rate
  • Raise the front ride heights using the left arrow beside front spring perch offsets.
    Late Model Shock Collar Offset Down
  • Lower the rear ride heights using the right arrow beside rear spring perch offsets. Lowering the rear will raise the front.

Bottoming Out in the Rear

  • Raise the rear ride heights using the left arrow beside rear spring perch offsets.
    Late Model Shock Collar Offset Down
  • Stiffen the rear springs.

Car is Too High in the Front

  • Lower the front ride heights using the right arrow beside front spring perch offsets.
    Late Model Shock Collar Offset Up
  • Raise the rear ride heights using the left arrow beside rear spring perch offsets. Raising the rear will lower the front.
  • Soften the front springs if possible.
    Increase Spring Rate

Left Side is Higher

  • Lower the left-side ride heights using the right arrow beside left spring perch offsets.
    Late Model Shock Collar Offset Down
  • Soften left-side and/or stiffen right-side springs.

Right Side is Higher

  • Lower the right-side ride heights using the right arrow beside right spring perch offsets.
  • Stiffen left-side and/or soften right-side springs.

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