TITC 2024

TITC Tech info:

The ultra-competitive Thailand International Touring Car Championship TITC event saw very tricky conditions this year, with a very high grip surface & tire (Sweep D40R), as well as a technical track layout which was largely affected by bumps. Our team worked meticulously to find the right setup during the week of open practice. These were our findings:
The XRAY X4'24 carbon chassis kit configuration is what worked the best and is what seemed to have the biggest setup window throughout the changing track temps each day. The lower arms in medium material, as opposed to hard, also drove better over bumps.
Mounting the spool and differential in the low position in both front and rear made the car easier to drive, mainly in the two chicanes in the middle of the track.
The active rear shock tower provided improved bump handling and more consistency.
A wider rear offset compared to front, took away a bit of mid corner rotation, and greatly improved drivability.
A rather soft progressive front spring (2.4-2.7) made the car initially less nervous, and reduced traction rolling. A stiff 2.8 linear rear spring reduced squatting on-power, and thus, improved forward bite. We even ran a 2.6-2.9 rear spring for the "high grip" runs of the day, to lock in the rear more, and improve drivability.
Raising the front lower arm (to have the same lower RC in front and rear) reduced pitching, and stopped the car from getting onto the nose as hard in the infield section.
The motor mount setting should be considered rather stiff, with all screws used apart from the front furthermost one. This also gave better consistency over bumps.
Several elements from our 2023 TITC setup remained, such as the rear T-brace (using 2 screws) to reduce rotation, and to increase stability. A reduced rear caster setting (1.5 degrees) also provided better bump handling, as a result of the longer wheelbase.
Most importantly, gluing of the front tire sidewalls was important, 60mm in this case, to reduce traction rolling, especially on fresh rubber in the cooler conditions. We also reduced front camber to further aid this effect. I've made a video on how to glue front tire sidewalls.