I could have something that you might be looking for, do you have any requests??
Thanks for the offer. I'm turning to the A class Exh races next so anything in A class would be nice 
Two question about the Merc setup.
1) How did you tune the transmission on the Merc, was it a trial and error thing?
2) Why the +3 toe on the front?
A class, Hmmmm. For most of the medium speed, grip tracks, I used a Tommy K Subaru. The AWD helps you get the power down early and pulls you through the corners nicely. It doesn't have the top end of a RWD car but, its likes to be driven hard. I'll get that one posted up in the next day or two.( My folks are flying into town for a visit so, my time is going to be divided up a little more than usual for the next few days )
My Transmission Tuning: I understand that Blooze has a spreadsheet that should work really well if you're looking for a scientific method. My method is a little more 'fast and loose' but, gets the job done nicely:
Step 1) Determine the most usable part of the engine's powerband.
For production cars, you get a nice chart in the buy upgrades/ engine upgrades section. For R classers, all you have to work with is a straightaway and telemetry. Basically, I'm looking for the RPM range that provides 85-90% of peak horsepower. If your working with an engine that's a real torque monster, you may want to note the RPMs there as well if you intend to take advantage of that fact.
NOTE:Some engines have a nice, wide powerband that can easily allow you to set up the transmissions as a 4 or 5 speed through the use of longer individual gears. Motors with narrow, abrupt peaks in the power output will generally work better with shorter individual gears to stay within that powerband. There, you are more likely to use all six gears but remember, every shift represents a slight loss of acceleration and time.
EDIT: Something that also can factor into your choice of how many gears to run is forced induction, particularly a turbo. The virtual throttle lift/ clutch application employed by the game when shifting gears results in a drop in exhaust pressure. This allows the turbo to spool down and on some engines, it can take as much as a couple of seconds to build back up to full speed and boost pressure, resulting in lower horsepower for that time period. This reduction in usable power makes it an even better idea to limit the number of upshifts you make by altering your FD/gears to reduce the number of gears in the box that you actually use.
Step 2) Determine the approximate maximum speed for the track your going to runYou can always make a couple of laps with the default trans ratios. The type of track is also going to be an influence on how you set up your trans. Tsukuba isn't going to need the same kind of speed that the Nurburgring is. Suzuka makes a pretty good all-purpose track gauge.
Step 3) Set your gear widthNow you're into the nuts and bolts of the operation. When we look at the low rpm point for each gear, generally we are looking to create a nice curve here, with a steep slope at first and then levelling off in the higher speeds as you make each successive gear adhere more and more strictly to the lower limit of you engines powerband. In lower gears you can utilize the rpms below your powerband more effectively due to the torque multiplication that comes from the higher ratio gears being used. As you get to the higher gears, lets say at about 4th gear on a six speed, thats where I will typically start to 'plateau' at the powerband.
Step 4) Set the Final DriveSo, now you know approximately what your highest speed is going to be and have made a decision as to how many gears that you're actually going to use. Let's say we're going to make it a 5 speed and we want to top out at 180 mph. We now slide the final drive to a point where the 'end' of fifth gear is at about 180. I know that this isn't the easiest thing to figure based on the screwy mph scale that they give you but you can get it within a mile per hour or so by looking and estimating.
You might want to give yourself a couple extra MPH to account for the possibilty of drafting. Also, if you find a way to improve your exit from that last corner before the straight, you don't want your gains wasted by hitting the rev limiter. Also and importantly, some engines start losing power before redline so, you may want to tweak this after you've finished the basic trans setup and make a run for the purpose of watching the telemetry. You don't want the engine losing too much power while the car is struggling to reach maximum speed. This is also important in determining at what rpm you are going to shift up, particularly in the higher gears. Redline is not automatically the best, a significant dropoff in the powerband will tell you where to shift.
Step 5) Set launch controlFor most tracks and most transmissions, 1st gear is only used for getting the car away from a standing start. Getting consistant launches can be just that slight advantage that we all look for in setting up a racecar. Generally speaking, for AWD and low power cars, I set up 1st gear to launch off the rev limiter/ and usually at full throttle. With higher powered cars, I usually set 1st so that I crack the throttle and hold the engine at about redline.
Either way you decide you like it, my goal is to set first gear so that when I 'dump the clutch', the tires spin up and when they do hook up fully, the engine's rpm should be starting to approach the lowest point of our powerband.
( wouldn't it be nice to have a clutch... )
If the tires hook up too soon/ low in the rpm range, the engine is going to lug and you'll struggle to get off the line so, increase the ratio for 1st gear. If the tires continue to spin up into the powerband or all the way up to redline, decrease it . Make a few starts and tweeks until you find that sweet spot just before you hit the powerband.
Optional fine tuningMaybe you set up your new trans as a 5spd but are concerned that you might be losing time. Don't be afraid to change up the final drive to effectively turn it into a 4spd or a 6spd and drive it again and see if your laptimes improve or worsen. Its easy to switch it back, especially if you write down settings before changing them or let Forza save them for you.
Tailoring to the track is where you can get into the level of finding that last few tenths of laptime. I will drive around for a few laps, getting into the rhythm of the track and noting what's going on with the shift points. The two things I look for are:
1) Are there any points where I am getting close to a brake zone but, I have run out of a particular gear and have to shift up for a moment before braking. That extra shift is going to cost you in momentum and time so, it is advisable to lengthen that gear a little so you don't have to upshift.
2) Are there any points where on corner exit, I'm too far below the powerband or being forced to shift up before having exited the corner fully. The first one is going to cost you speed and time the second can destabilize the car if you shift while cornering. You may be better served by tweeking a gear to eliminate those circumstances.
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As to your question about the toe, it helps me steer the car more aggressively, particularly on corner entry, when diving down to the apex.
Maybe Fit or one of the others can confirm this because its been more than twenty years since I did alignments but, I believe that Forza's toe adjustments are actually backward from reality as I remember it.
It might have been done for simplicity or consistancy of representing adjustments with the sliders or, I could just be having a memory issue but, IIRC toe IN (+) is where the front edges of the tires, as they point down the road, aim in toward each other and were they allowed to separate from the car and roll forward, would bump into each other a few yards down the road. / \ if up represents forward. Conversely, toe out (-) would be this \ /.
Sorry, this is going to be more confusing because of the whole Forza +/- thing.
If you have 0.0 toe both wheel would point exactly straight ahead [ ]. Okay lets say you wanted to make a right turn. Due to the differing sizes of the arcs that the wheel have to travel to complete the turn ( outside wheel large radius, inside wheel short radius ) it is beneficial to use toe out to help 'pull' the front of the car around [ / . The outside wheel is bearing the majority of the load and inside wheel is 'turning' more sharply, encouraging the car to turn more easily / __
Now, if I've remembered and explained it incorrectly, I apologize. I know that it is a possibility which would mean that Forza's toe +/- are correct and not reversed but, either way and reality aside...
adding positive toe in Forza makes the car easier to turn.
