Dirt Rally Vehicle Tuning - Basic and Advanced Techniques v.1.09

This is a guide for tuning just about any car in Dirt Rally. You will find a recommendation for each basic adjustment point on the tune/setup screen as well as advice on advanced settings.

[Update Jan 19, 2025]
I am thinking about updating this guide for EA WRC. Stay tuned.

This guide is specifically written to make your chosen car faster and more agile. When writing this guide I have taken into consideration the fact that this is a video game and there are certain settings and strategies that might not mirror real life but they will make you faster and more competitive in Dirt Rally. While most recommendations do mirror real life setups, some are simply recommended to take advantage of the limitations of the game itself.

Why should you use this guide?
First, I am writing on a level that anyone can use and understand. Too many guides (including the game itself) assume the reader understands rally terms and jargon. A lot of guides don't give a flat out recommendation but instead play around with the terms and ask the reader to do the work. I will make straight recommendations in this guide that will improve your times (or your [free] money back). Note: Improving your times assumes you won't drive it directly into a tree.

Second, in most tuning categories I will show you how to set the basic tuning mechanisms WITHOUT ever touching the advanced sliders. If you want to jump in and be faster in 30 seconds, I can show you how to do that.

Third, if you want to use the advanced adjustment points, I will give you straight recommendations on those as well.

Lastly, my own credentials: I have been playing Dirt Rally with a controller since early access. I have played each and every CM (RIP) game and almost every single Codemasters Dirt game. I am often in the top 5-20% of daily times even using a controller. My tunes work in every league rank from beginner to masters. I am certainly not perfect, and some people may even disagree with some of my recommendations, but overall I am confident this guide will make you better (with some practice of course). Come check out http://gameoverthirty.com/ if you want to see the rest of my gaming material/editorials/articles. I write on various topics but I concentrate on modern day gaming and editorials.

Introduction & Rally Tune Basics

---Change Log and Version Notes---

[Update Jan 19, 2025]
I am thinking about updating this guide for EA WRC. Stay tuned.

V1.09 - Clarified Tender Spring usage
V1.08 - Updated the vehicle recommendations section (partially complete)
V1.05 - Added a game settings and controller section
V1.01 - Corrected typos and ambiguous language. Vehicle recommendations not complete.
V1.00 - Completed the damper section. Vehicle classes recommendation is not complete but this is officially version 1.00 since all tuning sections are complete.

The Intro!

Welcome to my Dirt Rally Tuning Guide.
This guide is specifically written to make your chosen car faster and more agile. When writing this guide I have taken into consideration the fact that this is a video game and there are certain settings and strategies that might not mirror real life but they will make you faster and more competitive in Dirt Rally. While most recommendations do mirror real life setups, some are simply recommended to take advantage of the limitations of the game itself.

Why should you use this guide or even believe anything I am saying?

First, I am writing on a level that anyone can use and understand. Too many guides (including the game itself) assume the reader understands rally terms and jargon. A lot of guides simply don't give a flat out recommendation but instead play around with the terms and ask the reader to do the work. I will make straight up recommendations in this guide that should improve your times (or at least get you into that tree faster than before).

Second, in most tuning categories I will show you how to set the basic tuning mechanisms WITHOUT ever touching the advanced sliders. If you want to jump in and be faster in 30 seconds, I will show you how to do that.

Third, if you want to use the advanced adjustment points, I will give you straight recommendations on those as well.

Lastly, my own credentials: I have been playing Dirt Rally with a controller since early access. I have played each and every CM game and almost every single Codemasters Dirt game. I am often in the top 10-25% of daily times, came close to several WR, and usually in the top 200 controller users in the world (those flying Finns with steering wheels always beat me). My tunes (which are some of the most popular on steam) work in every league rank from beginner to masters. I am certainly not perfect, and some people may even disagree with some of my recommendations, but overall I am confident this guide will make you better (with some practice of course). I am also a rally enthusiast and have studied the sport for several years (again, not like those crazy Finns though...).

How to use this guide

The guide is divided into subsections each pertaining to the tuning point on the car (e.g. brakes, gears, suspension, etc). Each of those subsections will contain a basic tuning recommendation and an advanced tuning discussion. The point is you don't have to dig into the advanced section to get your car tuned and ready. The advanced section will be for those of you that want to get into the finer details of each tuning attribute.

I am going to use the Impreza '95 from the Group A cars as the example car in 90% of the screenshots because that particular Impreza uses (almost) every single tuning category:
If your chosen car doesn't have that attribute (e.g. front differential) then simply disregard that section. It's just easier and more effecient to use the Impreza '95 in the screenshots so I don't have to keep changing vehicles when demonstrating settings.

Now...on to the good stuff!

Controller / Game Settings

After completing the majority of this guide, I realized there was no way to reference how the controller and game options were adjusted to compliment the vehicle settings. There is no reason this guide can't be used with a different controller setup or steering wheel but I wanted to make it clear how my controller was set up in case there are any questions about it.

Game Settings

As you can see in the image above, I have traction control and stability control off. If you are a beginner to dirt rally and have never played a rally game before, I highly suggest you leave one or both of them on until you get a feel for the game. But to be clear, leaving them on will slow you down! Once you have a handle on the game turn them both off or you will be unable to properly "whip" the car, e-brake, or left foot brake properly

Controls and Sensitivity

I use the default controls except set my manual clutch override to the A button (on an xbox controller).

Sensitivity is all set to default.

Brakes

If you aren't famiiar with rally technique you may be surprised how important brakes are to weight shifting and turning. Brakes are so important because they allow you to shift the weight of the vehicle while staying on the accelerator. They also keep you from driving your brand new rally car right off the cliffs of Greece. Rally driving is not just constantly using the e-brake! To get the best time possible you need to learn to left foot brake while using the accelerator. Left foot braking is another concept for another guide but take a minute to look it up if you can.

Basic Brake Tuning

If you just want to set your brakes and get out there, 90% of the time the best position for the brake setting is right in the middle.

A nice 50/50 brake distribution is the best braking profile when you don't want to mess around or get into advanced techniques. A 50/50 braking profile gives the car enough stopping power up front to slow down and enough braking power in the back to brake-drift most of the turns on every stage. If you are using a RWD car and you want the back end to be more "controlled" then a 40/60 profile (60% braking power in the front) might be more appropriate. You can control some of the gross oversteer of the RWD cars by shifting the braking power to the front, which I highly recommend you do.

Advanced Brake Tuning

There aren't a lot of ways to get creative even when using the advanced braking tools. As with the simple brake setup, too much in either direction on either slider will make the car unstable and unusable. If you find you are braking too late and constantly running into the wall you might consider bumping up the stopping power by one notch. If you like to start on the brakes really early then dropping the power down by one might be for you. Otherwise the standard braking power is probably the best for most of the game. The only other major advanced recommendation I can make is leaving the braking power normal but changing the brakes to favor the rear (specifically in AWD setups, not RWD).:

This really helps with brake-drifting and left foot braking. If you are already "fast" and want to get faster this will likely work on most of the AWD and FWD cars. It will allow you to approach corners faster and left-foot brake through them.

Differential (Front)

The front differential comes into play with these types of vehicles:

• FWD
  
• AWD

(RWD cars do not have a front differential. If you are using a RWD vehicle, you can skip this section.)

It is very important to note the differentials in Dirt Rally are LOCKING differentials. This mean the stronger the diff, the more the differential is forcing both wheels to rotate at the same speed. By pushing the slider all the way to loose (left), there is essentially no locking power and the wheels will be able to spin independently. If the slider is set all the way to strong (right), the differential will always lock the wheels to the same speed.

You have to steer the car with the front so don't ever completely lock the front differental. If you lock the front completely the car will grossly understeer and be completely unmanageable.

Basic Front Differential Tuning

If you just want to adjust the basic slider and get racing here are some recommended settings:

Stages with: a lot of turns, low maximum speed, using a loose suspension or loose sway bars



Stages with: long straight sections, long sweeping turns, high maximum speed, firm suspension AND firm sway bars
When using a very firm suspension, the inside wheels can lift off the ground. If you don't have any locking power, the differential will spin out and your outside, connected wheel will be powerless.


There is no perfect setting. Your front differential tune should compliment your rear differential strategy (more on that in the rear diff section). Regardless of your strategy I highly recommend keeping the front differential setting at 50% (halfway) or lower (loose).

Advanced Front Differential

Generally speaking, all cars in Dirt Rally (except for FWD) are faster when power comes from the back while the front is used to make sure the car pulls into the turn and stays in the turn (aka, you don't want understeer). This is why I almost always recommend using some combination of advanced settings that promote front axle mid corner traction and a powerful rear axle, especially when using an AWD vehicle.

This is an advanced front differential tune example for a slow gravel stage, based on an AWD vehicle:
Front LSD Driving Lock - Low to Medium
This is your primary lock and the one that is in play while you are pressing the gas pedal. The maximum is should ever be set is 50% (halfway). If the stage is twisty, speed is low, and suspension is relatively soft, this should be set to low.
Front LSD Braking Lock - Low to Medium
This comes into play during braking. By keeping it low you have more turn in traction and less risk of understeer, especially on heavy to medium gravel. The penalty is increased breaking distance but it barely matters. If you are running a proper line, the loss to braking isn't remotely important.
Front LSD Preload Lock - Low
This is how effective the front diff is when under little to no torque (aka, not using the gas pedal & not braking). If in doubt, leave it on a medium-low setting. Only turn it up if the stage has purely shallow/wide turns and you find yourself "coasting" around them (and need to get back on the gas quickly).


The tune above is used in combination with a strong back end. You don't want to simply implement the setting above without considering what you are doing with the rest of the vehicle.
If you are using a FWD vehicle and there is no rear diff to consider, make sure your differential strategy matches your stage and suspension strategy. But regardless, I never, ever recommend using a very strong front differential in ANY vehicle, ever.

Differential (Centre)

You won't find the center differential tuning option on many of the vehicles in Dirt Rally. It is, however, a very important part of the drivetrain if the vehicle is equipped with one as it can drastically alter how the vehicles accelerates, brakes and turns. As you might have guessed, it is only available on AWD cars.

The "stronger" the center diff is set, the less the center diff allows the front and rear axles to act differently.

Basic Center Differential Tuning

If you want to jump right into the action and aren't sure how the center diff should be set, put it at medium and be done with it:

A medium center diff is the best balance of both worlds. You get enough locking for straight line speed and enough flexibility for turns. Its not perfect, but it works well on gravel or tarmac.

Advanced Center Differential Tuning

The advanced center differential tuning options are some of the most important in the game when talking about the drivetrain. They can be used to make an AWD vehicle act like a rear or front powered vehicle instead (for all that is holy in rally don't ever make an AWD car act like a FWD car).

The key point about the advanced center options is that it gives you access to the torque bias. By changing the torque bias to a larger rear %, the car is capable applying more torque to the rear wheels. For example, a torque bias of 57% will send 57% of the cars torque to the rear wheels and 43% to the front. The torque bias is very important. If you want to go fast and drive THROUGH turns properly you should always have a bit more torque in the rear than in the front (or an equal front/back balance). Don't go crazy and turn an AWD car into a RWD one. Simply tweak the torque so a bit more than 50% is in the rear. This is an example of a setup I use which make the car a bit more aggresive and puts the power in the rear:
This is viable on both gravel and tarmac. Once you get use to using the advanced options, play around with it and see what suits you better.

Differential (Rear)

The rear differential! My favorite differential! (Can a person HAVE a favorite differential?)

The rear differential tuning option is found on these vehicle types:

• AWD
  
• RWD

In my opinion, the rear diff will make or break your strategy. If you want to power through the turns hard, keep your speed up and left foot brake like a madman, you need to consider HOW you are setting your rear diff. Unlike the front, the rear differential is where you will be making your power with AWD and RWD vehicles.

Basic Rear Differential Tuning

In most cases, you want a rear diff with some moderate locking power. You don't want a rear diff that isn't constantly "pushing" the car. If you need a good starting point, I recommend setting the basic slider in this position to start (tarmac or gravel):
Just put it there and see if you like the way the car drives. Remember, this is assuming you are using a looser front diff (if the car has one). In an AWD vehicle, don't ever use an extra strong front differential and a loose rear differential unless you want to understeer right off the next cliff.

There is a specific instance in which you would want a looser rear differential:

• RWD
  &
  
• Low max speed, a lot of tight turns
  &
  
• Very soft rear suspension (or at least soft sway bars)

if you meet the above three criteria, you may want to consider setting the rear diff under the halfway mark.

Advanced Rear Differential Tuning

When using the advanced rear differential settings, you have to think about your terrain, the suspension setup, and what kind of strategy you want to deploy. I will discuss some general strategies but depending on your playstyle, you may want to change certain things to account for how you are attacking the stage. [Remember, tuning options vary by vehicle]

This is an example of a rear differential setup for medium to heavy gravel (in an AWD vehicle):
LSD Driving Lock: Medium to High %
This is your primary lock and the one that will create the oversteer that you want. You want the back end to "push" the car. In medium and heavy gravel you can't rely on the front to pull the car. If you are on tarmac, it depends on your suspension strategy. If there is risk of the inside wheels lifting off the ground, you need some medium or high locking power. However, if you are on low speed tarmac with a lot of turns, you need to set the driving lock lower because both wheels will be connected to the ground and they need to spin more independently.
LSD Braking Lock: Medium
This is the stength of the diff under braking. Unlike the front braking lock, too high of a % here can create understeer. In loose medium-heavy gravel you want some (not a lot) of braking lock. On low speed tarmac, you want a little less if you are braking into turns.
LSD Preload: Low-Medium
This is the stength of the diff when not under load. Since you still want some locking power, you should cosider a low to medium setting depending on suspension and stage.

This is an example of a rear differential setup for low speed Tarmac/Asphalt (AWD):
You still want the driving lock to be medium to high, depending on your suspension. The only major difference is the Braking and Preload Locks. When on tarmac, you want responsiveness in turning when not applying the gas. Using too much braking and preload lock will create understeer when entering a turn. Tarmac doesn't "give" like gravel and you want the wheels to rotate at different speeds. [Remember, tuning options vary by vehicle!]


What about RWD only?
RWD is a tricky beast. You can follow the rules for AWD above but it is best to start with ALL of your differential settings looser than the AWD tune. RWD takes a lot of practice to master and you will want the "forgiveness" of a looser differential. Once you feel you have the car under control try experimenting with some stronger settings to see if it improves your times.


What about Finland?
Since Finland is fast and the road is composed of light gravel, but smooth terrain, you will want something in between tarmac and gravel. Start with a gravel setup and tweak it from there.

What about snow?
Snow is tricky but for the most part Dirt Rally treats snow as really slippery gravel. A gravel tune will generally work well in the snow stages.

Gears

Gears...this should be called the "set it and forget it" section. The basic adjustment slider is the only one I recommend using unless you want to get into gear ratios and shift points. And if you screw up your ratios and shift points the car won't even work properly.

A few notches under halfway (favor acceleration) is a great strategy for any stage if you are starting out. Once you learn the ins and outs of the stage/location you can tweak it up or down a few notches from there. The best advice I can give is to almost always favor acceleration over top speed. This is rally, not F1. You rarely need top speed, ever. If you find the car hits the limiter during a stage, go back and push it up one notch and try again.

Suspension (Front)

The front suspension will affect several vehicle characteristics including (but not limited to):

• Turn In
  
• Weight Transfer
  
• Jump Absorption
  
• Ride Height
  
• Overall stability on changing terrain

The front suspension has less of an effect on:

• Sudden SHOCK absorption
  
• Rebound from sudden shock

What does all this mean?
-In most cases the looser the front suspension the more the vehicle will rock or sway on its springs and not react to forces acting upon it (i.e. road conditions).
-In real life, a loose front suspension allows for easier steering. In Dirt Rally, however, the difference is negligible.
-The looser the front suspension the more the vehicle will allow weight to transfer to the front of the frame while braking or changing direction.
-The looser the front suspension, the more that weight transfer will cause the front tires to dig in (up to point, this has limitations).
-The looser the front suspension the more the vehicle will navigate and absorb changes in terrain and elevation.
-The looser the front suspension, the less chance there is to see an inside wheel lift off the ground.

Suspension is a tricky game to play because loose and firm suspension both have their advantages. It is critical to tune your suspension to the terrain. The front suspension, like the rear, should be set based on the terrain and matched to the differential setting (usually). This means:

• Smooth Terrain (Tarmac, Cement, Light Gravel): Firm to Medium Suspension
  
• Rough Terrain (Heavy Gravel, Medium Gravel, Snow): Medium to Loose Suspension

Always tune your front suspension as stiff as reasonably possible!
Why?
Because this is a video game and you can take advantage of the game mechanics. In almost every case you can afford to tune the front suspension higher than the game probably recommends. Dirt Rally doesn't really have the mechanics to "punish" the car for using a slighty-too-firm front suspension (still, don't make it TOO stiff). A medium to firm front suspension keeps the car more stable and you experience a lot less slop. I recommend always trying to tune your front suspension as stiff as you can get away with. The only location in DR that really beats up a car is Greece. It is the only location you might think about using a faily loose suspension.

Front Suspension Basic Tuning

If you want to quickly set the basic front suspension option, then set it at 50% when dealing with rough terrain (e.g. Greece, Wales) and slightly stiffer on smooth terrain.
On this example you should note that the front differential is relatively loose but my front suspension is still medium. I want the turn-in and forgiveness from medium front suspension and I'll also get proper absorbsion. A medium front suspension also ensures both wheels remain on the ground (inside wheel doesn't lift off). If you find the car feels sloppy, keep bumping it up one notch until the car reacts the way you want it to, especially on tarmac.

What about smooth terrain?
If you are dealing with smooth or hard terrain like tarmac or cement (and even smooth gravel), you would need to weigh other factors like the stage layout and what speed you will be taking turns. This is where it is critical to understand what the vehicle will encounter during the stage or location. If you will be traveling very fast and expect to make very sharp and sudden turns (i.e. Baumholder, Germany) you will likely need to use a firm suspension AND a medium front differential because there is risk of the inside wheels lifting off the ground. If the stage is more technical (i.e. Monaco) and max speed is a lot slower, then your suspension can still be fairly stiff but the front differential may be looser (since there is less risk of the inside wheels lifting up).

Front Suspension Advanced Tuning

This is an example of a front suspension advanced tune on rough a rough gravel stage:

Ride Height - Ride height has advantages and disadvantages depending on where it is set. A "tall" ride protects the car from bumps, rocks and rough landings but makes the car harder to steer and less reactive to input. The best general strategy is set the ride height above 0 on rough and uneven terrain (i.e. Greece, Wales) and 0 or below on smooth terrain. That said, I never use the default ride height that the game uses because it is too high in most cases. I always recommend dropping the ride height by one or two notches from the default.


Spring Rate - This is probably the most important attribute of the advanced front suspension options. Firm spring rate makes the steering more predictable and car more stable. Spring rate also determines how well the car rides over changes in terrain, especially at high speed. Note: this is not to be confused with sudden shock impact (which really falls to the dampers to absorb). I never recommend setting FRONT spring rate under 50% (halfway) in any kind of terrain with perhaps the exception being Greece. Doing so makes the front end too soft and the car's steering (and reaction) will be unpredictable. You can see in the example it is set right at the halfway point (my personal minimum) because of the rough, always-changing, terrain. This also keeps the car from springing up and "jumping" off a bump or spike in elevation. If this was a tarmac or cement example, the spring rate would be more firm.

Tender Spring Rate - (not in picture) You won't find this on many of the vehicles. It essentially creates a dual spring setup. You should almost always set this one or two "clicks" softer than the main spring. The tender spring can be used for some minor impact absorbsion before the main spring kicks in.



Anti-Roll Bar - The front anti-roll bar (ARB) exists to limit vehicle sway from left to right or right to left. In general, a firm anti-roll bar makes the car more predictable by making the vehicle more rigid. A firm anti-roll bar forces energy to pass through the vehicle instead of absorbing it by rocking on its frame. The front ARB can be used in a similar fashion to the front suspension. Both settings will have a similar effect on the overall vehicle characteristics. That said, you can combine a loose anti-roll bar with a tight suspension (or vice versa) to create some hybrid setups. The best way to set the front ARB is usually the same as your spring setting or a little firmer. Alternatively, if you are using a tight suspension but you are concerned with the inside wheels coming off the ground, think about using a slightly looser ARB to make sure the inside wheels stay down. (Note: Most racing sims allow the car to turn easier with a LOOSE ARB. For whatever reason, DR cars turn relatively the same whether using a loose or firm front ARB.)

Camber Angle - The front camber angle will dictate the grip of the front wheels when turning. The more camber angle the better the vehicle will grip when turning. However, too high a camber angle will remove significant acceleration and braking traction. The best bet is to leave the front camber angle on the default setting (usually -.50 or so). Your front and back camber angles should usually match unless you are trying some hybrid setup. Don't ever use positive camber. Don't ever use maximum negative camber.

Toe Angle - I don't ever move the toe angle from 0. There might be some use for it but any kind of toe in makes the car unstable under acceleration and braking. Leave it alone unless you want to experiment with it.

Suspension (Rear)

The rear suspension will affect several vehicle characteristics including (but not limited to):

• Energy Transfer (Oversteer)
  
• Weight Transfer
  
• Jump Absorption
  
• Ride Height
  
• Overall stability on changing terrain
  
• Rear Grip

The rear suspension has less of an effect on:

• Sudden SHOCK absorption
  
• Rebound from sudden shock

What does all this mean?
-In most cases the looser the rear suspension the more the vehicle will rock or sway on its springs and not react to forces acting upon it (i.e. energy transfer, road conditions).
-The looser the rear suspension the more the vehicle will allow weight to transfer to the rear of the frame while accelerating or changing direction (Note: an extremely loose rear suspension will ABSORB that energy instead of tranferring it to the wheels).
-The looser the rear suspension, the more weight will tranfer to the rear axle and cause the back end of the car to "dig in" and oversteer less (as above, this has limitations).
-The looser the rear suspension the more the vehicle will navigate and absorb changes in terrain and elevation.

The looser the rear suspension, the less chance there is to see an inside wheel lift off the ground.

Suspension is a tricky game to play because loose and firm suspension both have their advantages. It is critical to tune your suspension to the terrain. The rear suspension, like the front, should be set based on the terrain and matched to the differential setting (usually). This means:

• Smooth Terrain (Tarmac, Cement, Light Gravel): Firm to Medium Suspension
  
• Rough Terrain (Heavy Gravel, Medium Gravel, Snow): Medium to Loose Suspension

In the front suspension section I talked about making sure to tune the suspension as stiff as possible without destroying your car. The same applies with the rear but IN GENERAL, the rear suspension should be the SAME as the front or ONE NOTCH lower. Why one notch lower? First, don't ever tune the front and rear suspensions more than one click different or you will have a car that is a mess to handle. Second, you can use a looser suspension in the rear to keep the rear end in contact with the road at all times. There are multiple bumps in Dirt Rally that your front suspension will glide over but cause the rear suspension to spring up. By using a "one notch looser" rear suspension you can keep the car planted to the Earth.

Rear Suspension Basic Tuning

This is an example of an AWD rear suspension on medium gravel/rough road rear using the basic settings (the entire tune is visible because it's best to take it in context with the other settings:
You can see in the example that the suspension is even across the board. This creates a balanced vehicle that isn't too loose but will also absorb most of the road terrain. The rear suspension also "agrees" with the rear differential tuning in that the rear differential has some moderate locking power. In gravel you can generally use a moderate/strong amount of locking power because rear end oversteer is desired. Leave the the suspension moderate enough to absorb the terrain.

On tarmac or smooth terrain the rear suspension basic slider should almost certainly be more firm. Don't leave the suspension loose when on cement, asphalt, etc.

Rear Suspension Advanced Tuning

This is an example of an AWD rear suspension on medium/rough gravel road using advanced settings:
The overall "theme" of the rear suspension, in this case, is to make sure it is in contact with the road at all times (especially since this is rough gravel terrain). I want the car to be pushing from the back end as much as possible and I don't want it jumping up off the road when I hit bumps, holes or ditches.

Ride Height- The default setting is almost always too high. You can usually afford to bump it down by one or two clicks. The lower the car is to the ground, the easier it is to control since the center of gravity is lower. The general rule of thumb is to use a high ride height on rough terrain and a low ride height on smooth terrain. It is important to note the ride height dictates your total suspension travel. If you lower the suspension too much, the car will constantly slam the bump stops when coming off large jumps or when hitting ditches, terrain, etc.

Spring Rate - Unlike the front suspension (where I recommended almost never using a spring rate under 50%), the rear suspension can be under the 50% mark. As you can see in the example I have softened up the back end to deal with the gravel and dig in instead of spin out. What exactly does that mean? This next part is very important: The more stiff the rear spring rate, the more that weight transfer will create oversteer and swing the back end out. Think of it like a whip. An extremely stiff rear spring rate will cause the back end to "whip" out when energy transfers to the back end. A softer rear suspension will cause the rear tires to dig in (to a point). There is a balancing act here. Too soft and the car turns into a marshmallow (bad). Too stiff and oversteer will be your nightmare, especially in a RWD vehicle. A good tip to managing the gross oversteer in RWD: soften the rear spring. Remember, your front and rear suspension should never be more than one or two clicks different otherwise the vehicle will not handle properly. If racing on tarmac or hard/smooth terrain use a stiffer spring rate than what the picture shows.

Tender Spring Rate - (Not in picture) You won't find this on many of the vehicles. It creates a dual spring setup. You should almost always set it one or two clicks lower than the main spring.

Anti-Roll Bar - Similar to the rear suspension, the rear ARB should be set to match the terrain and vehicle strategy. In general, the ARB can be used in conjunction with the suspension to set how much "play" or amount of frame rocking you want from the vehicle. Also like the rear spring rate, the rear ARB can be used to control the amount of "whip" that occurs when energy transfers to the back end. By allowing the frame to rock, the car is less responsive but less oversteer occurs, especially if the rear differential has a lot of locking power. In the rough gravel example above, the rear ARB is somewhat loose. This keeps the back end under control but it isn't so loose that the car is completely unstable. As stated before, the general strategy is to get some oversteer going but keep that oversteer in check. If this was a tarmac or hard surface example, the rear ARB would likely be more stiff. A very stiff rear ARB means the inside wheels can lift off the ground and thus the rear differential will need some locking power to make sure the differential doesn't spin out.

Camber Angle - As with the front, the default camber angle is usually appropriate. The more negative camber you add, the better the tires bite in the corners but the more they slip when going straight. As with most things, its a balancing act. If the stage features a lot of corners and tight maneuvers, adding a bit more negative camber can help.

Toe Angle - Leave this at 0 unless you are experimenting or trying some type of hybrid setup.

Dampers

Note: This section covers both front and rear dampers.

Dampers enhance and/or change the way the car acts within its suspension. They are also critical to shock and bump response. If you ever hear people say "shock absorbers", that is the same as the damper. But wait, there's more! They they act to limit the spring action of the vehicle suspension. If there were no dampers on a vehicle, it would continuously rock and roll on the springs without ever settling down.

Dampers that are too loose will allow too much sway, or worse, slam off the bump stop and possibly toss the car in an awkward direction. Dampers that are too stiff won't absorb anything and the car again, can get tossed in an awkward direction when landing or hitting ditches, holes, etc. Dampers that are too stiff can also leave the wheels off the ground because the rebound is too slow.

Basic Damper Tuning

Rough Terrain, Large Gravel, Low Top Speed
If you want to get set up and racing as quick as possible, a safe bet is to simply put the dampers in the middle, regardless of suspension setting. This is a good starting point that provides stability for the car while also providing some shock absorbsion as well.
If the terrain is really rough (e.g. Greece), loosen the dampers a bit. When it comes to "hybrid" stages like Finland or Sweden (smooth gravel, snow) you can afford to firm up the dampers while still using a loose suspension. The point being you want your dampers to be firm, when possible, but not so firm you lose control of the car.

The general rule to follow is that if you aren't using the dampers much to absorb terrain, you can set them relatively stiff. The roughest stages in Dirt Rally are Greece and Wales. In my experience those are the only two locations where you will use relatively loose dampers (lower than 50%).

Advanced Damper Tuning

Advanced damper tuning is very complex and there are different ways to set it, depending on the vehicle, driving style and terrain. In this section, I will give recommendations but note that when using the advanced settings, you may find something that works better for you.

Advanced Damper Tuning - Example in Rough, Slow, Gravel Terrain

I know this picture looks odd, but it's an example where I want predictable damper performance across the boad.
The car is on rough, uneven terrain and I want the dampers to provide even absorbsion and extension at all times. Let's discuss what each setting actually does:

Bump - Bump is the "normal" shock control (and spring limitation) that is in effect at all times (unless fast bump comes into play). A firm bump will resist compression, add stability, and add traction (better for smooth, safe terrain). A soft bump will allow more compression and absorb holes, ditches, jumps, etc. Write this next part down: Just because there are jumps in the stage does NOT mean you need very soft bump. In fact, a lot of soft bump will likely allow the car to slam off the bump stop. Jumping is tricky because you need some absorbsion but too soft and you'll break the car.
Rough Terrain (e.g. Greece) : Softer Bump
Smooth Terrain : Medium to Firm Bump
Fast Gravel on Smooth Terrain (or Snow): Medium to Firm Bump

Fast Bump - Fast Bump only comes into play when the damper COMPRESSES FASTER than the fast bump threshold. Think of it like this: Damper #1 is always working and damper #2 overrides it when it comes into play, based on the fps rule. The total sum effect is that you can have two different bump strategies on the same damper! My recommendation here (if you even choose to set it differently) is to use a slightly softer fast bump than the regular bump setting. A softer fast bump acts like an emergency bump setting. The damper will only go soft when it needs to, otherwise it will stay stiff. I have a dozen setups where I choose the bump setting and then I place the fast bump slightly lower than the regular bump. This is especially effective when you want a stiff regular bump but you need an "oh %#$&" fast bump, just in case you come off a jump wrong or hit some rough terrain. In the image above, however, I want the fast bump to react the same as the regular bump because the terrain is rough and my regular bump is already low/medium. I didn't need anything lower.

Fast Bump Threshold - This ties directly with Fast Bump. Think of this as the "sensitivity" or tolerance of the damper before it chooses to use fast bump instead of regular bump. By setting the fast bump threshold at a high fps, the fast bump will almost never come into play and the car will almost always be riding on the regular bump setting. By setting it low, the fast bump will almost always come into play when the tire hits something or you come off a jump. My general recommendation on this is to place it in the middle if you want it to kick in on jumps, rocks, ditches etc. For example, on Finland I use a stiff regular bump BUT my fast bump threshold is low enough that the threshold will trigger and kick in a softer fast bump. If you are looking for a good starting point, the middle position is probably best.

Rebound
Rebound is how quickly the damper will allow the suspension to expand AFTER impact. A soft rebound allows the wheel to drop faster and stay in contact with the road. A soft rebound also causes the car to sway more on spring extension and thus can shift or push the car in an odd direction. Firm rebound adds control and stability but keeps the wheels off the ground longer, making it so the car cannot steer or react to input. The rebound strategy almost always follows the bump strategy. For example, a firm rebound is almost always used with a firm bump. A soft rebound is almost always used with a soft bump. On the rough stages like Greece and Wales, a soft bump is desirable since it helps keep the wheels in contact with the road. As you can probably guess, in a place like Germany a medium or firm rebound is more desireable.

Fast Rebound
Fast rebound is a little tricky to understand but it basically goes like this: Fast rebound is used when the rebound of the damper bypasses the fps threshold set on fast rebound threshold. This means you can have a damper that, in theory, goes into fast bump mode but does not go into fast rebound mode. So how should you use fast rebound? In most cases you want opposite usage as compared to fast bump or don't use it at all (set it the same as your base rebound setting). What I mean is that IF your fast rebound should come into play (very hard hit off a jump, ditch, or hole), you want some stability. Set the fast rebound a bit more firm than the regular rebound. This is essential to keep the car from, quite literally, springing up and off the course.

Fast Rebound Threshold
Most of this setting is actually explained up in the Fast Rebound section. Just remember, this setting is different than fast bump threshold and can be used to cause the damper to go into fast rebound mode even if it didn't go into fast bump.

Additional Examples

It is easier to show examples of dampers than try and continue to explain it. Take a look at these examples:

Advanced Damper Tuning - Cement

Advanced Damper Tuning - Medium Rough Terrain

Vehicle Classes and Recommendations

**Not complete. Will be updated after version 1.00.**

1960s

Best Vehicle for Beginners: Mini
Best Vehicle for Veterans: Alpine A110

1970s

1980s

Group A

Best Vehicle for Beginners: Any
-This class offer three extremely similar vehicles. All are about the same in terms of performance and stability. Each has its own quirks but overall that are all good for beginners and veterans alike.

Group B 4WD

Best Vehicle for Beginners: Delta S4
- The Delta S4 is one of my favorite vehicles in entire game. It's stable, fast, and manuverable.
Best Vehicle for Veterans: Any

Group B RWD

- Both vehicles in this class are very hard to control. You may want to avoid this class entirely until you are extremely comfortable with RWD.

2000s

R4

Best Vehicle for Beginners: EVO
Best Vehicle for Veterans: Any

The EVO is just a bit more stable than the STI thus it's a better choice for new players. The STI is very similar (and may be a bit faster), but it's harder to control. The R4 cars both suffer from weight problems (aka they are heavy). They aren't as light and nimble (due to R4 regulations) as top tier cars.

2010s

[RallyCarDelta]

Thanks NBT. I was actually thinking about expanding this guide for EA WRC (my current go-to Rally game). You may have given me the encouragement to do so.

[NBT]

Here i am trying to learn rally setups for ea wrc after reading so many contraditory guides and informations. Thanks alot for this! Will try it out, everything sounds proper. If you ever make an updated version let us know. Cheers!

[Funk]

I havent read everything but what a legend man
You deserve an award

[spirit69]

Thanks a lot, some very good information in here.

[J]

For beginners (and keyboard users like myself), I recommend the 131 for 1970s and either the E30 or Renault 5 for 1980s, down to personal preference. I also found the Manta to be massively more controllable than the 037 in the current version of the game, especially in their default setups.

[AlphaRO]

A boolseye post for the tweakers. thank you very much. However most of these apply for all car simiulations waiting for dirt raly 2.0 and wrc 8 version. (or for Wrc 8 i would make a work :) )

[TxXDRAGONXxT]

i really really needed this

[Lestat]

Thats nice, I wanted to ask a guide for dirt rally 2.0 but i didn't want to be greedy.

Love (L)

[RallyCarDelta]

You're welcome. I will be creating a guide for DR2.0 as well, but I need time to dig in and compare the physics to DR1. It will probably be a couple months while I figure it out.

[Lestat]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to make this guide, I really appreciate.

Best regards.