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April 29, 2009
Published on tags: Superleague
The GPVWC officially opened the R&D module, allowing Team Managers to improve their cars in the course of the season.

In order to fully appreciate the complex yet accessible system of developments, it is important to know how the process works and the different ways in which a car can be improved. This short guide, which will also be available soon in the downloads / documents section of the website, aims to help GPVWC members understand this fascinating subject.

Upon loading the Development page, Managers are confronted with the five main parameters influencing the physics of the vehicle. These are:

- Aerodynamics (measured in "aeros")

- Engine BHP (measured in BHP)

- Engine RPM (measured in RPM)

- Engine Reliablity (measured in seconds)

- Mass (measured in Kg)

Since engine performance development is frozen for the 2009 season, the only options the managers have to improve their cars involve Aerodynamics, Engine Reliability and Mass.

The R&D process works, for all the three areas, in roughly the same way: managers use their team funds and R&D points to work on developments that take a certain amount of time to be ready.

R&D points are obtained in two ways: through participation in official testing sessions (such as the one recently had in TI Aida) and by doing laps during Free Practice in the Race Weekends.

Aerodynamics

Hours and hours in the wind tunnel; nights spent awake designing the smallest wing profile; days of testing: all of this to gain that vital extra tenth that could make the difference between glory and humiliation, success and defeat.

Aerodynamics is all this - pushing every little detail of the car to the extreme to provide the most efficient, sleek package to be the fastest on the track.

The Aerodynamics figure available in the GPVWC R&D section is a "base drag" value: it represents the car aerodynamic efficiency.

THE LOWER THE VALUE IS, THE BETTER THE CAR'S AERODYNAMICS ARE.

Engine Reliability

You can create a monster of a car, but if it won't last the distance all your work will be in vain. Unfortunately, the engine is one of the frailest pieces of the car - as many drivers have found out, to their disappointment, in the first races of the season.

In rFactor, engines have an estimated average lifetime calculated in seconds. Each engine could last a longer, or shorter, amount of time (the amount indicated is just an AVERAGE VALUE) - once its life is over, it's flames out of your back.

Managers can devote R&D points and team funds to the increase of the engine's average lifetime.

Mass

This is one of the easiest concepts in the whole game: a heavy car is slower than a light one. By changing this value, managers can shave off fractions of kilo from their cars - and gain valuable time on the track. However, cars cannot be any lighter than the minimum weight of 605 kg - so the improvements in this area are indeed limited.

Once managers are familiar with the three development areas, it is time to start developing the car!

The interactive R&D system available in the monitor (Box03 - Development) offers information on various items, such as the minimum improvement unit, the price for each unit, the time each unit takes and the R&D points needed for each development.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE SOME PECULIARITIES:

- in the Aerodynamics improvement, managers will want to DECREASE the value - be careful to apply for a NEGATIVE figure! The same applies, more intuitively, for the Mass.

- Aerodynamics take a long time to be ready: no matter what improvement you as for, there will be always a minimum of 14 DAYS waiting time for the development to be ready. For requests of more than 14 units, the time required grows of 1 day per unit.

Once the managers are happy with their requested improvement, they can click on "Go" and their plan will be submitted and their team account charged with the expense.

The improvements will be ready after the indicated time - and will be added to the mod only if ready on the day before a Grand Prix (or when the Mod is prepared).

For further information regarding R&D, doubts or questions, feel free to use the thread on the forums!