BTW Bob, with the gui bug, so you can repeat it. My resolution is 1024x768 and fonts are at 105%.

Any idea when u'll be able to fix this?

Another suggestion. In spring settings/analysis, would it be possible to add some info on spring frequencies?

Venus

Quote from Venus :

Another suggestion. In spring settings/analysis, would it be possible to add some info on spring frequencies?

It has the info already (at least on my screen). Look for "natural frequency" in the Analysis -> springs screen. Or maybe you meant some other info?

As for names, a not so serious idea:
Clockwork lemon analyzer - How to rape your own car in 10 minutes.
A little bit more serious:
Race engineering analyzer
Mechanics dream (or nightmare?)
Blackbox viewer
Car constructor

Anyway, I am very happy for this tool. It makes it more fun to experiment because I know better what I'm doing with the setup. Interesting read in the doc as well.

I'm currently wittling out some other bugs with the deceleration run, that are taking ages to sort out (mostly damper code related). Then I'll look at GUI changes, both to include the additional differential settings/analysis that patch X brigs (and support the updated .set file format), and to solve the affore-mentioned issue.

orjanbye - "Race engineering analyzer" sounds like something in the right direction.

Quote from Bob Smith :

I\orjanbye - "Race engineering analyzer" sounds like something in the right direction.

I had a couple of name ideas that popped into my head this morning.

1. Vehicle Handling Analyser (VHA)
2. Vehicle Handling Predictor (VHP)

Thanks, more food for thought.

"Vehicle Handling & Performance Analyser"?

That gets a bit long though, so how about:

How about DALK: The Vehicle Handling & Performance Analyser

The name coming from the prgram initials "VHPA", since little can be done with those letters, they're mapped from the QWERTY keyboard layout into Dvorak, giving "KDLA", then re-arranged into something pronounceable. I'm assuming people most won't confuse the name with "Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty".

Or is the connection a bit too thin?

Some alternatives from ASCII code shifting:
ZLTE => ZELT or TELZ
gYaR => Gary

I think the VHPA is a bit too umm how can I say this... nerdy. lol

How about Racers Performance Analyser, or
Racing Setup Analyser, or

Race Car Analyser

Racing Handling & Performance Analyser or Analysis.
Vehicle sounds a little bit too much like its govermental.

The name needs Sizzle, and hard core info to impress exactly what its for.

Get too techy with the name, and it'll scare people off who don't know too much about it. Hell, the program would scare alot of ppl from first look, but when u look deeper, its quite intuitive.

Venus

Motorsport Technical Analyser?
Motorsport Setup Simulator

I need to be clear with the terms I use.

Motorsport is actually a very broad term, and covers a wider variety of vehicles than my program can cope with. So it is misleading. Car, on the other hand, is quite specific and does not really do justice to the program. This program can also handle trucks, vans and, to a certain extent, karts (although it needs more work to support them fully). I intend to support three and two wheeled vehicles in the future. LFS is by no means all that the program is designed for. This will become more apparent as development continues and it becomes possible to remove all LFS related content.

I feel this sentence is a good description of the project:
"This program simulates the performance and handling of a vehicle and analyses the results."

How to sum that up in two or three words? (with sizzle, as you put it)

Hmm

Umm yeh thats the trick....

Yeh... its getting hard now lol... I'll think on it and see if I can come up with something.... I'm sure one of us can come up with a great name.

Ven

What about.
“Vehicle dynamics analyzer”

Great program Bob

Quote from kaynd :

What about.
“Vehicle dynamics analyzer”

Great program Bob

Hey I like that "VDA" for short.
I also thought that you could change one of duke_toaster's to make it Vehicle Setup Simulator (VSS). Keeping it more in line with Bob's philosophy that it is more than a motorsport/race car tool.

Bob, hang in there the right one for you will pop-up soon enough.

hey thats cool name... I like that one, VDA... has sizzle... and says it all pretty much.

+1 vote from me for vda lol

V

Hmm, not bad. I'll give it some more thought.

Heh, as a general rule, I'd avoid names that remind people of venereal disease

LoL that’s the problem with acronyms you never know what they will bring to somebody’s mind.

So any suggestion to describe "...the performance and handling.." with an other word than dynamics?
Or the Vehicle?
And i think Analyzer stands better as a descriptive word for that program, than simulator.

There would be another combination eg
Vehicle setup analyzer
but also it has commonly used acronyms...

I don't mean use VDA as name lol that'd be no good at all, who would know wot it was unless they downloaded it. I think Kaynes idea of Vehicle Dynamic Analyser is a cool name.

Ven

Quote from anbiddulph :

whats the unknown picture?

A Le Mans prototype style car?

Hey Bob,
you did a great job in progaming such a powerful tool. I'm normally driving open wheel cars.
A question about the FOX. When I look in your suspension setting I can see that a Antiroll setting of 50 kN/m rear and ~30 kN/m front (100% rear / 60% front) would give me a neutral balanced car. When I use this on a track the car is oversteering quite a lot.
So is my car feeling so bad or are you sure you have the right data collected for that diagram. With FO8 everything seems to be fine and I'm now understanding much more about car setups. So again it's a brilliant job you did.

Quote from colcob :

Heh, as a general rule, I'd avoid names that remind people of venereal disease

Don't forget the critical upgrade notification tool!

p.maishaupt - don't forget there is much more to car balance than suspension settings. Tyre pressures, tyre camber and wing angles are also important. Diff settings have an affect too.

Hey, Bob.
All other settings were set to neutral. That's what I discovererd myself, your tool showed me that all other settings were in the right direction. Just the antiroll settings and just on FOX seemed at least 20-25% wrong. I have a neutral balanced FOX when antiroll settings are a few percent higher on rears.
I think I can't be wrong that much (a bit is possible).
What I mentioned is just a thing to think of no criticism from me.

Two relevant limitations with the program here:

a) There are no dynamic track widths, it's highly likely your track widths differ to the hard-coded values in the program, which could throw off the suspension balance.

b) Tyre grip (the important one) does not take tread width into account, thus wider tyres don't alter the balance as they should.

Both issues will be fixed in time. I never said the analyser was perfect!

I've another explanation
On the attached image we can see that springs/dampers angle is quite low from the horizontal line. That means springs must be very stiff to generate the vertical force needed to suspend the car. The analyzer manages the vertical forces only (atm?), but the springs settings in LFS must be recalculated to match the analyzed values by taking in account the suspension geometry. In the case of FOX for example, the springs are so near the horizontal position that even a small different angle between the front and rear springs could sensitively change the car balance.

I've not noticed any problems with the suspension in VDA in the fox compared to in car in game. My setup says it has slight oversteer, and bit more oversteer when lifting throttle in tightening bend, bit understeer coasting in. This is pretty much how the car actually behaves in my setup.

Ven

There is one obvious name you guys have overlooked..

Setup Analyser Pro..or SAP

Cheers,

Sap