Run your first simulation

Use this tutorial to run a first FastSim simulation in 4ACE. The goal is to move from prepared inputs to a completed simulation result that you can inspect in Summary and Analysis.

Before you start

• Sign in to 4ACE and select the correct team.
• Make sure the team has enough credits. The sidebar Team badge and Team Billing pages show the latest balance.
• Use FastSim for the first run. FastSim is the circuit-based simulation type.
• Prepare these inputs before opening the simulation form:
  • Vehicle.
  • Driver.
  • Circuit.
  • Ambient.

OpenSim is also available, but it requires a Driver Input and is not the shortest first-run path.

1. Create or select a vehicle

A vehicle combines setup modules such as body, suspension, steering, brakes, drivetrain, aerodynamics, and tires.

1. Open Vehicles from the sidebar.
2. Select New.
3. Enter Name and Short Name. Short name is limited to 7 characters.
4. Add notes, picture, or tags when useful.
5. Open Vehicle Assembly.
6. Select each required module:
   • Body.
   • Front suspension.
   • Rear suspension.
   • Steering.
   • Brakes.
   • Drivetrain.
   • Aerodynamics.
   • Front-left, front-right, rear-left, and rear-right tires.
7. Save the vehicle.

Use a name that tells the team which baseline this vehicle represents, such as car, class, and setup version.

2. Create or select a driver

1. Open Drivers from the sidebar.
2. Select New if the driver is not listed.
3. Enter Name and Short Name. Short name is limited to 7 characters.
4. Add notes or tags when useful.
5. Save the driver.

Driver entries help connect simulation runs to the driver or baseline profile used by the team.

3. Create or select a circuit

1. Open Circuits from the sidebar.
2. Select New if the circuit is not listed.
3. Enter Name and Short Name. Short name is limited to 7 characters.
4. Add notes, tags, and an optional picture.
5. Upload the required Circuit File in CSV format.
6. Continue to the verify step.
7. Review the parsed circuit map and telemetry preview.
8. Adjust Start Angle if the map orientation needs correction.
9. Save the circuit.

The circuit picker used by simulations can include team circuits and public circuits.

4. Create or select an ambient

A FastSim run also requires an ambient. Ambients describe the environment and track condition used by the simulation.

1. Open Ambients from the sidebar.
2. Select New if the ambient is not listed.
3. Enter Name.
4. Add notes or tags when useful.
5. Save the ambient.
6. Open the ambient detail page if you need to review or edit condition values such as temperature, pressure, humidity, wind, track temperature, and track grip.

5. Run the simulation

1. Open Simulations from the sidebar.
2. Select New.
3. In General, choose FastSim.
4. Add a simulation name, notes, or tags. If you leave the name blank, 4ACE can generate a name from the selected circuit and vehicle.
5. Continue to Setup.
6. Select Vehicle, Circuit, Ambient, and Driver.
7. Continue to Settings.
8. Review the credit consumption shown in the sheet header.
9. Set simulation settings.
10. Optional: turn on Save these settings as team defaults if future simulations for this team should start with these type-specific settings.
11. Select Add simulation.

When the simulation is added, it appears in the Simulations table. The table shows simulation name, vehicle, circuit, tags, status, creator, and created time.

Settings reference for the first run

6. Check the result

Open the created simulation from the Simulations table.

The simulation detail page includes:

Simulation statuses include Pending, Running, Completed, Failed, Canceled, and Timeout. Performance metrics appear after a simulation completes successfully.

7. Analyze the result

1. Open the simulation detail page.
2. Select Analysis.
3. Wait for telemetry data to load.
4. Select laps if no lap is selected.
5. Use the analysis layout, channel selector, and chart tools to inspect telemetry.
6. Select Add Simulation Comparison when you need to overlay another simulation.
7. Filter comparison simulations by circuit, vehicle, creator, date, or tags when needed.
8. Select simulations and choose Compare.

Use comparisons to check whether a vehicle setup, ambient condition, or driver profile changed lap time or trace shape in the expected direction.

Troubleshooting

Next steps

• Configure reusable defaults in User preferences.
• Review credit usage in Team credits.
• Review SIM vehicle setup, vehicle submodules, lookup tables, and polynomials.
• Review units and conventions and glossary terms.