RC Tuning Expert — Complete User Guide

Version 1.0 — June 2026

This guide covers everything: getting started, finding setups, building your own setup from scratch, fine-tuning at the track, and sharing with the community.

1. Getting Started (2 minutes)

No account required for most features. Just open the app and start.

First Visit:

1. Open the app URL in any browser (phone, tablet, laptop)
2. You'll land on the Dashboard — a visual overview of the setup database
3. The top navigation bar has: Dashboard | Builder | Garage | Coach | Community | Debrief
4. Quick action buttons give you fast access to the most-used features

What You Can Do Without an Account: Browse 8,000+ setups, use the Setup Builder, compare setups, get coaching advice, use quick-tune, generate PDF setup sheets, use all calculators.

What Requires an Account: Saving setups, posting to community, race day management, earning reputation.

Create an Account: Click Login → Choose Google or GitHub OAuth. Your profile starts at Newcomer and earns reputation as you contribute.

2. The Dashboard

The Dashboard is the home screen showing:

• Brand Distribution — bar chart of setups by manufacturer
• Surface Breakdown — doughnut chart of carpet vs asphalt vs concrete
• Activity Trend — line chart of new setups added over time
• Compare Widget — pick two chassis for side-by-side radar comparison
• Quick Actions — Build, Compare, Coach, Community, Import/Export, Sector Analysis

3. Finding a Setup

The database has 8,000+ real-world setups from top racers: Bruno Coelho, Jilles Groskamp, Alex Hagberg, and hundreds more.

• Search: Press / anywhere to focus the search bar. Filter by chassis, driver, brand, surface, event.
• Filter by Chassis: Dashboard → Browse → manufacturer → model → year
• Filter by Driver: Search by driver name, see all their setups across all chassis/events
• Setup Sheet View: All alignment values, springs (kg/mm), dampers (cSt), gear ratios, shims, track conditions, notes
• Export to PDF: Click Download PDF on any setup for a printable pit lane sheet

4. Building a Setup From Scratch

The Setup Builder is a step-by-step wizard that generates a complete, physics-based setup.

Quick Build (2 minutes):

1. Go to Builder (or Dashboard → Build)
2. Select your chassis
3. Select surface type
4. Select grip level
5. Click Build — complete setup appears

Full Build (5 minutes): The wizard walks through 5 steps:

1. Chassis — Select from 8,000+ entries. App loads geometry database (pickup points, roll centers, etc.)
2. Reference — Optionally pick a reference event (IFMAR, ETS, ROAR) to pre-fill from top drivers
3. Conditions — Surface, temperature, humidity, wind, grip level, track size/type
4. Preferences — Driving style, handling priority (neutral/rotation/stability), stability vs rotation slider
5. Generate — Physics engine calculates springs, dampers, ride height, camber, toe, gearing, ARBs, roll center, shock geometry

See the Setup Building Methodology for the full technical detail.

5. Comparing Setups — Garage

1. Go to Garage (or Dashboard → Compare)
2. Pick two setups by chassis, driver, or search
3. See: Diff table (deltas highlighted), Radar chart (handling balance), Bar charts (key measurements), Shock geometry comparison

You can also compare two different chassis models to see geometry differences and typical setup values.

6. Getting Advice — Coach & Advisor

Coaching Chat: Go to Coach → Type your handling issue in plain English (e.g. "The car pushes in high-speed corners") → Get diagnosis, specific parameter changes, and expected effects.

Quick Tune: Go to Quick Tune → Describe symptoms → Troubleshooting Knowledge Base decision tree (50+ handling issues) → Ranked recommendations with confidence scores.

Smart Advisor: Input chassis, setup, track, conditions, symptoms → Combines 5 recommendation engines → Unified ranked recommendation list.

7. Track Day Debrief

1. Go to Debrief → Create new session
2. Enter track, conditions, sessions (practice/qualifying/race)
3. Record lap times, setup changes, handling notes, tire wear
4. System correlates: setup changes → lap times, conditions → behavior, wear → long-run pace
5. Generate PDF report with session summary, setup evolution, lap charts, recommendations

8. Community

Browse (no login): All public community setups, filter by chassis/driver/surface/event.

Feed: New submissions, achievements, discussions, reputation leaderboards.

Post (login): Save setup → Share → Add notes → Others can view, comment, rate, save.

Reputation Levels: Newcomer → Rookie → Club Racer → Regional → National → Pro → Legend

9. Race Day Management

Create race day events, add sessions (practice/qualifying/mains), record heat results, track positions, log setup changes, generate PDF results sheets. Tournament mode with brackets for multi-round events.

10. Data Import & Export

Import: JSON, CSV bulk, or image/PDF (vision OCR extracts data from photos of setup sheets).

Export: PDF (printable), JSON (machine-readable), QR code (scan to import on another device), ZIP archive.

11. ESC Settings

Browse ESC presets by manufacturer (Hobbywing, Castle, etc.), view recommended base settings, create custom presets, compare two ESC setups side-by-side.

12. Account & Settings

Profile, preferences (units, default surface, notifications), link multiple OAuth providers.

13. Keyboard Shortcuts

14. Color-Blind Mode

Append ?cb=1 to any URL or toggle in Settings. Switches to blue/amber/purple palette with pattern fills and icon+text indicators.

15. Offline & PWA

Install: Android: Chrome → Add to Home Screen. iOS: Safari → Add to Home Screen.

Offline works: Browse saved setups, all calculators, setup sheets, Quick Tune.

Needs connection: Online search, community, cloud save, AI coaching.