NASCAR Martini Livery

Part of the fun of the NASCAR '14 paint booth is seeing if you can create custom schemes from other series. With the old school MARTINI livery making its return to prominence in motorsports in F1, WEC, and the Tudor United Sportscar series (owned by NASCAR's France family) I decided it was time for it to join our game. I went with the Ford Fusion, because it looks closest to a GT sportscar. Many have noted to similarity between the Ford front end and that of the Aston Martins. Maybe I should do a Gulf Livery next...

NASCAR '14 Talladega Setup

This is a modified setup based on changes between NASCAR The Game: Inside Line and NASCAR '14. The rear end has softer springs and drags more, but this allows for higher speeds in the 204-206 range if you can hang on to it. I increased the front sway bar on the advice of some racing companions to help keep it more stable in the draft. The left rear tire is running lower pressure to help with the restarts.

If you are planning on running a race where you will need to make pit stops, I recommend lowering the right side tire pressures to 60 PSI rather than running 65, so your pit crew won't automatically change right side tires if you don't need to change them or mess up the pressures in a 4 tire stop. You sacrifice a bit of speed, but save time on pit road.

In general, this is a fairly loose car that slowly gains speed, but won't win you many pole positions. It handles very well on the low line, and definitely has some pull coming out of turn 2 without needing to drift up any lanes. This is where its strength lies. It is optimized for the PS3, so it may need a few tweaks on X Box or PC.

Some people recommend starting out with the default Michigan setup and then plugging your numbers in. I view this as optional, but it certainly doesn't seem to hurt.

TIRES:

Front Left:
Cold Pressure: 35
Camber: 8
Caster: 6

Front Right:
Cold Pressure: 65
Camber: -8
Caster: 6

Rear Left:
Pressure: 25
Camber: 1.8

Rear Right:
Pressure: 65
Camber: -1.8


Front Toe-In: -1/4
Left Rear Toe In: -1/4
Right Rear Toe In: -1/4

SUSPENSION:

Front Left:
Ride Height: 10.0
Bump: 91
Rebound: 45
Spring: 350

Front Right:
Ride Height: 10.0
Bump: 91
Rebound: 19
Spring: 400

Rear Left:
Ride Height: 5.8
Bump: 40
Rebound: 15
Spring: 350
Trackbar: 14
Rubber: YES

Rear Right:
Ride Height: 5.5
Bump: 69
Rebound: 51
Spring: 240
Track Bar: 14
Rubber: YES

DRIVETRAIN AND AERO:
Gearing: Cog B

Brake Bias: 50
Steering Lock: 26.5

AERO:

Tape: 100%
Front Splitter: 2.0

Front Bias: 53
Left Bias: 52
Wedge: Whatever it says (Should be around 50.1)

FRONT & REAR SWAY BAR:
Front: 1350
Rear:  200