New Physics and Tyres in V1.2 Update

Le Mans Ultimate has undergone a huge re-evaluation and implementation for a number of key physics and tyre features in the simulation engine for the V1.2 update.

Real Road

Let’s start with RealRoad, which is LMU’s versions of track simulation.

This simulates everything from road surface temperatures, to rubber distribution and much more. In this area they have analysed the width of the racing line and found the rubber would accumulate centrally, to where the vehicle was driven but not necessarily where the tyres were running, so they’ve corrected this, which may make it feel like the line is a bit wider, which will give you more confidence when venturing offline for a move or through multiclass traffic.

The rubber distribution between high and low speed corners has also been normalised which means the high speed braking zones no longer have less grip than low speed ones. Additionally, the team has rebalanced the grip offered from rubber across all circuits which should mean players feel more consistency across race tracks when racing on a preset rubbered surface.

Wet Weather

In wet weather, Le Mans Ultimate implemented new parameters to properly scale grip on rubbered surfaces and it is now less grippy which makes “wet lines” more realistic when eeking out those extra tenths in trying conditions.

Finally, how the feature works online has been reworked and players should now see a much greater degree of track rubber evolution on a dry circuit over time with multiple cars laying down rubber.

Tyre Heating

There’s also a huge new feature in this release for the car physics – wheel rim heating.

To some, this detail of physics modelling might sound small but this has been a vital missing link in the tyre modelling. The rim now has heat exchange with its surrounding environment, resulting in brake disks and tyres having a direct impact on one another.

The result is that you will have more consistent warming parameters and improved behaviour, particularly in colder ambient temperatures. This new feature is available on all cars other than the hypercar category – which will have an update coming in January.

Tyre Grip

Tyres have been revisited once again in this update as well. This time for LMP2, LMP3 and all GT3 cars once again. This essentially makes temperature peaks less aggressive, so there will be a slightly smoother drop off in grip.

This will allow for more control and less on/off behaviour that was often felt before, especially if the overall tyre was already running quite hot.

In theory, all of these changes mean you should be able to build and keep heat in the tyres better than before, whilst also making the P2, P3 and GT3 cars more drivable thanks to the updated car physics, changes to the road surfaces and tweaks to the tyres. Making for a more enjoyable experience on track.