Horizon 5 Tuning Guide
Part 6 - Season and Weather Tuning
This section explains how to setup cars in a way that they will work best in specific seasons or in specific time of day or weather conditions.
Basically this works by altering road and off-road tunes as described in Part 2 and Part 3, so make sure to first read these parts before advancing to season and weather tuning.
Understanding how Seasons affect Tuning
Seasons in Horizon affect grip levels because of two main factors:
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track temperature
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air temperature
Changed in Horizon 5 The four seasons have different temperature profiles when it comes to air and track temperature. Seasons in Horizon 5 that takes place in Mexico differ from the seasons in Great Britain where Horizon 4 took place. Now Spring is the hottest and Autumn the coldest season as opposed to Summer and Winter in Horizon 4:
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Spring: high air temperature / high track temperature
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Summer: low air temperature / high track temperature
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Autumn: low air temperature / low track temperature
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Winter: high air temperature / low track temperature
Air and track temperatures affect tuning because higher temperatures generally provide higher grip levels than lower temperatures, this means higher temperatures allow for a stiffer setup while lower temperatures require softer setups to compensate for lower level of available grip.
The following table gives an overview how seasons affect the different tuning areas. please refer to the related section in the tuning guide for more details.
Tires Gearing ARBs Springs Ride Height Dampers
Spring Higher Higher Lower Higher Lower Higher
Summer Higher Higher Lower Lower Higher Higher
Autumn Lower Lower Higher Lower Higher Lower
Winter Lower Lower Higher Higher Lower Lower
Understanding how Time of Day affects Tuning
Similar to seasons the time of day also affects grip levels because of different track and air temperatures.
Horizon distinguishes between the following time of day ranges:
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Morning: high air temperature / low track temperature
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Noon: high air temperature / high track temperature
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Afternoon: low air temperature / high track temperature
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Evening: low air temperature / low track temperature
The following table gives an overview how seasons affect the different tuning areas. please refer to the related section in the tuning guide for more details.
Tires ARBs Springs Ride Height Dampers
Morning Lower Higher Higher Lower Lower
Noon Higher Lower Higher Lower Higher
Afternoon Higher Lower Lower Higher Higher
Evening Lower Higher Lower Higher Lower
Understanding how Weather Conditions affect Tuning
In addition to seasons and time of day weather conditions greatly affect tuning because they drastically affect grip levels depending on the amount of cold and wet they bring to the track surface.
Horizon distinguishes between the following weather conditions:
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Dry: day and dry conditions are the standard weather conditions that don't require any adjustments to tuning
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Fog: foggy conditions bring a slightly wetter track surface than dry conditions
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Night: night conditions bring a colder track surface than day conditions
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Rain: rain or wet track surface brings a colder and wetter track surface than dry conditions
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Snow: snow or snow covered track surface bringa a colder and slippier track surface than dry conditions
Note that weather conditions can also be combined, for instance night & fog or night & rain which will pronounce lower grip levels even more. Also weather conditions are pronounced more on off-road or dirt tracks than on road tracks, so dirt and cross country tunes require an even softer and more understeer setup than road tunes to compensate for lower grip levels on off-road and dirt tracks.
Generally the more a specific weather condition affects track temperature and wetness the softer and more understeer setup is required for best performance.
The following tables give an overview how weather conditions affect the different tuning areas please refer to the related section in the tuning guide for more details.
Tires Gearing ARBs Springs Ride Height Dampers Brake Distr./Press. Accel / Decel
Dry ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fog ^ ^ | ^ | ^ ^ ^ ^ |
Night | | v | v | | | | v
Rain / Snow Lower Lower Higher Lower Higher Lower Lower Lower Lower Higher
Tires
When tuning for a specific season alter the general tire pressures as described in Part 2 and Part 3 depending on the season:
Season Front Tire Pressure Rear Tire Pressure
Spring +0.5 +0.5
Summer -0.5 -0.5
Autumn -0.5 -0.5
Winter +0.5 +0.5
When tuning for a specific time of day in dry conditions alter the tire pressures further depending on time of day.
Dry Conditions
Time of Day Front Tire Pressure Rear Tire Pressure
Morning +0.5 +0.5
Noon +0.5 +0.5
Afternoon -0.5 -0.5
Evening -0.5 -0.5
When tuning for night or specific weather conditions alter the tire pressures further depending on conditions and track type.
Road
Conditions Front Tire Pressure Rear Tire Pressure
Fog -0.5 +0.5
Night -0.5 - 0.5 -0.5 + 0.5
Rain / Snow -1.0 - 1-0 -1.0 + 1.0
Cross Country
Conditions Front Tire Pressure Rear Tire Pressure
Fog -1.0 +1.0
Night -1.0 - 1.0 -1.0 + 1.0
Rain / Snow -1.5 - 1.5 -1.5 + 1.5
Dirt
Conditions Front Tire Pressure Rear Tire Pressure
Fog -2.0 +2.0
Night -1.5 - 1.5 -1.5 + 1.5
Rain / Snow -2.0 - 2.0 -2.0 + 2.0
Note that when you want to tune for combined weather conditions like Night & Rain or Night & Fog you can simply add the values for Night and Rain or Night and Fog.
Alignment
Alignment only needs to be adjusted when tuning for specific weather conditions which will require a more understeer setup depending on track type and conditions.
Alter the alignment as determined in Part 2 and Part 3 depending on the track type and conditions:
Road
Conditions Camber Front Toe Rear Toe Caster
Fog +0.1 -0.1 +0.1 +0.1
Night +0.1 -0.1 +0.1 +0.1
Rain / Snow +0.2 -0.2 +0.2 +0.2
Cross Country
Conditions Camber Front Toe Rear Toe Caster
Fog +0.2 -0.2 +0.2 +0.2
Night +0.2 -0.2 +0.2 +0.2
Rain / Snow +0.3 -0.3 +0.3 +0.3
Dirt
Conditions Camber Front Toe Rear Toe Caster
Fog +0.3 -0.3 +0.3 +0.3
Night +0.3 -0.3 +0.3 +0.3
Rain / Snow +0.4 -0.4 +0.4 +0.4
Note that when you want to tune for combined weather conditions like Night & Rain or Night & Fog you can simply add the values for Night and Rain or Night and Fog.
Anti-roll Bars
When tuning for a specific season alter the general ARB values as described in Part 2 and Part 3 depending on the season:
Season Front ARB Rear ARB
Spring -0.1 -0.1
Summer +0.1 +0.1
Autumn +0.1 +0.1
Winter -0.1 -0.1
When tuning for a specific time of day in dry conditions alter the ARBs further depending on time of day.
Dry Conditions
Time of Day Front ARB Rear ARB
Morning -0.1 -0.1
Noon -0.1 -0.1
Afternoon +0.1 +0.1
Evening +0.1 +0.1
When tuning for night or specific weather conditions alter the ARBs further depending on conditions and track type.
Road
Conditions Front ARB Rear ARB
Fog +0.1 -0.1
Night +0.1 + 0.1 +0.1 - 0.1
Rain / Snow +0.2 + 0.2 +0.2 - 0.2
Cross Country
Conditions Front ARB Rear ARB
Fog +0.2 -0.2
Night +0.2 + 0.2 +0.2 - 0.2
Rain / Snow +0.3 + 0.3 +0.3 - 0.3
Dirt
Conditions Front ARB Rear ARB
Fog -0.3 -0.3
Night +0.3 + 0.3 +0.3 - 0.3
Rain / Snow +0.4 + 0.4 +0.4 - 0.4
Note that when you want to tune for combined weather conditions like Night & Rain or Night & Fog you can simply add the values for Night and Rain or Night and Fog.
Springs
When tuning for a specific season alter the general spring values as described in Part 2 and Part 3 depending on the season:
Season Front Springs Rear Springs
Spring -0.1 -0.1
Summer +0.1 +0.1
Autumn +0.1 +0.1
Winter -0.1 -0.1
When tuning for a specific time of day in dry conditions alter springs further depending on time of day.
Dry Conditions
Time of Day Front Springs Rear Springs
Morning -0.1 -0.1
Noon -0.1 -0.1
Afternoon +0.1 +0.1
Evening +0.1 +0.1
When tuning for night or specific weather conditions alter springs further depending on conditions and track type.
Road
Conditions Front Springs Rear Springs
Fog +0.1 -0.1
Night +0.1 + 0.1 +0.1 - 0.1
Rain / Snow +0.2 + 0.2 +0.2 - 0.2
Cross Country
Conditions Front Springs Rear Springs
Fog +0.2 -0.2
Night +0.2 + 0.2 +0.2 - 0.2
Rain / Snow +0.3 + 0.3 +0.3 - 0.3
Dirt
Conditions Front Springs Rear Springs
Fog -0.3 -0.3
Night +0.3 + 0.3 +0.3 - 0.3
Rain / Snow +0.4 + 0.4 +0.4 - 0.4
Ride Height
When tuning for a specific season alter the general ride height values as described in Part 2 and Part 3 depending on the season:
Season Front Ride Height Rear Ride Height
Spring -0.1 -0.1
Summer +0.1 +0.1
Autumn +0.1 +0.1
Winter -0.1 -0.1
When tuning for a specific time of day in dry conditions alter ride height further depending on time of day.
Dry Conditions
Time of Day Front Ride Height Rear Ride Height
Morning -0.1 -0.1
Noon -0.1 -0.1
Afternoon +0.1 +0.1
Evening +0.1 +0.1
When tuning for night or specific weather conditions alter ride height further depending on conditions and track type.
Road
Time of Day Front Ride Height Rear Ride Height
Fog +0.1 -0.1
Night +0.2 0.0
Rain / Snow +0.4 0.0
Cross Country
Time of Day Front Ride Height Rear Ride Height
Fog +0.2 -0.2
Night +0.4 0.0
Rain / Snow +0.6 0.0
Dirt
Time of Day Front Ride Height Rear Ride Height
Fog +0.3 -0.3
Night +0.6 0.0
Rain / Snow +0.8 0.0
Dampers
When tuning for a specific season alter the general damper values as described in Part 2 and Part 3 depending on the season:
Season Front Rebound Rear Rebound Front Bump Rear Bump
Spring +0.1 +0.1 +0.1 +0.1
Summer +0.1 +0.1 +0.1 +0.1
Autumn -0.1 -0.1 -0.1 -0.1
Winter -0.1 -0.1 -0.1 -0.1
When tuning for a specific time of day in dry conditions alter dampers further depending on time of day.
Dry Conditions
Time of Day Front Rebound Rear Rebound Front Bump Rear Bump
Spring -0.1 -0.1 -0.1 -0.1
Summer +0.1 +0.1 +0.1 +0.1
Autumn +0.1 +0.1 +0.1 +0.1
Winter -0.1 -0.1 -0.1 -0.1
When tuning for night or specific weather conditions alter dampers further depending on conditions and track type.
Road
Conditions Front Rebound Rear Rebound Front Bump Rear Bump
Fog +0.1 -0.1 +0.1 -0.1
Night 0.0 -0.2 0.0 -0.2
Rain / Snow 0.0 -0.4 0.0 -0.4
Cross Country
Conditions Front Rebound Rear Rebound Front Bump Rear Bump
Fog +0.2 -0.2 +0.2 -0.2
Night 0.0 -0.4 0.0 -0.4
Rain / Snow 0.0 -0.6 0.0 -0.6
Dirt
Conditions Front Rebound Rear Rebound Front Bump Rear Bump
Fog +0.3 -0.3 +0.3 -0.3
Night 0.0 -0.6 0.0 -0.6
Rain / Snow 0.0 -0.8 0.0 -0.8
Brakes
Brakes only needs to be adjusted when tuning for specific weather conditions which will require a more understeer setup depending on track type and conditions.
Alter brake distribution and pressure as determined in Part 2 and Part 3 depending on the track type and conditions:
Road
Conditions Brake Distribution Brake Pressure
Fog -1% -1%
Night -1% -1%
Rain / Snow -2% -2%
Cross Country
Conditions Brake Distribution Brake Pressure
Fog -2% -2%
Night -2% -2%
Rain / Snow -3% -3%
Dirt
Conditions Brake Distribution Brake Pressure
Fog -3% -3%
Night -3% -3%
Rain / Snow -4% -4%
Differential
As with alignment and brakes the differential only needs to be adjusted when tuning for specific weather conditions which will require a more understeer setup depending on track type and conditions.
Alter differential values as determined in Part 2 and Part 3 depending on the track type and conditions:
Road
Conditions Accel Decel
Fog -2% +1%
Night -2% +1%
Rain / Snow -4% +2%
Cross Country
Conditions Accel Decel
Fog -4% +2%
Night -4% +2%
Rain / Snow -6% +3%
Dirt
Conditions Accel Decel
Fog -6% +3%
Night -6% +3%
Rain / Snow -8% +4%
FWD Cars
For FWD only adjust front accel, leave front decel always at 0%:
AWD Cars
For AWD only adjust front accel and rear decel, leave front decel always at 0% and rear decel always at 100%.
Changed in Horizon 5 After adjusting front accel and rear decel adjust distribution depending on the installed differential:
Race Diff: Front Accel + 50% (2% + 48%)
Rally Diff: Front Accel + 26% (2% + 24%)
Offroad Diff: Front Accel + 14% (2% + 12%)
Gearing
Gearing only needs to be adjusted when tuning for specific season or weather conditions.
Depending if you have installed a sport or race transmission alter final drive or gear ratios as determined in Part 2 and Part 3 depending on season:
Sport Transmission Race Transmission
Season Final Drive Gear Ratios
Spring +0.1 +0.1
Summer +0.1 +0.1
Autumn -0.1 -0.1
Winter -0.1 -0.1
When tuning for night or specific weather conditions alter final drive or gear ratios further depending on conditions and track type.
Road
Sport Transmission Race Transmission
Conditions Final Drive Gear Ratios
Fog 0.0 0.0
Night -0.1 -0.1
Rain / Snow -0.2 -0.2
Cross Country
Sport Transmission Race Transmission
Conditions Final Drive Gear Ratios
Fog -0.1 -0.1
Night -0.2 -0.2
Rain / Snow -0.3 -0.3
Dirt
Sport Transmission Race Transmission
Conditions Final Drive Gear Ratios
Fog -0.2 -0.2
Night -0.3 -0.3
Rain / Snow -0.4 -0.4
Aero
Adjusting downforce is generally not required when tuning for seasons or weather conditions, simply use general downforce values as determined in Part 2 and Part 3.