FIA Cross Car

Braking characteristics

Braking grip is linked to wheel alignment as well as the pedal. The manual warns that adding negative camber increases cornering capability but reduces longitudinal grip under braking; excessive camber can therefore bring frequent lock-ups. At the rear, excessive negative camber also reduces forward traction. Do not treat a cornering-grip gain as a free improvement in every phase of the lap.

Corner entry also depends on matching engine and rear-wheel speed during downshifts. An early downshift or an insufficient throttle blip can cause rear-wheel hop and a spin. Separate that transmission-induced instability from a brake-balance problem before changing the setup.

Brake controls and adjustments

Brake Pressure Bias sets the share of braking force sent to the front axle. Above 50%, the front brake circuit receives more pressure than the rear. Moving the balance forward can improve braking stability, but it also increases the tendency to lock the front tyres. Tune this control to the track conditions and your preference rather than treating 50% as a recommended setup value.

Dashboard and driver controls

The FIA Cross Car uses an AIM MXm digital dash display with two pages and built-in shift lights. Page 1 displays a bar-type tachometer with numerical RPM in the upper left, current throttle pedal position (GAS %) in the upper right, current gear (GEAR), coolant temperature (WTS F/C) in the lower left, and session best lap time (Best) in the lower right. Page 2 shows engine cooling fluid temperature (WTS F/C) in the upper left, RPM in the upper right, best lap time (Best) in the lower left, and throttle pedal position (GAS %) in the lower right. Five LEDs above the display illuminate sequentially with increasing RPM, recommending an upshift when all five are lit. The dash backlight color (SCREEN COLOR) can be changed via the F8 black box or in the garage, without affecting vehicle performance.

Tyres and operating conditions

Cold Pressure, or starting pressure, is the tire air pressure when the car loads. Lower pressures increase grip but also rolling drag and temperature. Higher pressures offer responsiveness and less drag but may reduce grip. Hot Pressure, displayed after a track stint, indicates how tires are loaded; greater pressure buildup suggests more work. Tire carcass temperatures (Last Temperatures) reveal workload, with inner/outer differences aiding alignment tuning and center-to-outer comparisons helping with pressure. Tread Remaining, a percentage of a new tire, tracks wear but not specific tire workload.

Suspension and chassis

Cross Weight is the static weight share on the right-front and left-rear tyres. Around 50% generally gives symmetric left/right handling on non-oval tracks when the other chassis settings are symmetric. Above 50%, the manual describes more understeer in left turns and more oversteer in right turns. Increasing Spring Perch Offset lowers that corner; decreasing it raises the corner. Use matching changes across an axle for height adjustments, or diagonal pairs to change crossweight.

Stiffer springs control ride-height movement and help prevent bottoming after jumps, but sacrifice mechanical compliance. Softer springs absorb bumps better but may let the chassis hit the ground. Compression damping runs from 15 (least resistance) to 1 (most); rebound runs from 37 (least) to 1 (most). More compression damping can sharpen response but hurt bump absorption. Excessive rebound prevents the wheel extending quickly enough after a landing and can lose tyre contact.

Higher front ride height can add mechanical grip while making response less immediate. Higher rear ride height adds rear cornering grip; lowering it can promote oversteer and increase grounding risk. Front toe-out reduces straight-line stability; rear toe-in improves stability but slows direction changes, and excessive rear toe adds drag. Negative camber trades longitudinal grip for cornering capability.

The rear ARB Arm has three connected lengths and a disconnected option. Shorter arms add rear roll stiffness and oversteer; longer arms reduce both. Disconnecting the bar promotes understeer. Moving ballast forward increases front weight and medium/high-speed understeer; moving it rearward promotes oversteer.

Differential and transmission

When driving, select 1st gear and slowly release the clutch while applying throttle to move. The clutch is needed to prevent stalling when stopping and for reverse, but not for upshifts or downshifts once moving. Upshifting can be done without lifting off the throttle. Downshifting requires a small throttle blip to unload the transmission; insufficient blipping or early downshifting can cause wheel hop and potential spin due to speed mismatch. The dash displays the currently selected GEAR. The Sprocket Gear Ratio adjusts the final drive ratio at the rear axle, impacting acceleration and top speed. Smaller sprockets (lower number) increase top speed at the expense of acceleration, while larger sprockets (higher number) improve acceleration but reduce top speed.

Engine and electronic systems

The Yamaha MT-09 engine is an 890 cc three-cylinder unit, rated in the manual at 120 bhp and 93 Nm, with a 12,165 RPM limit. Fuel Level sets the amount carried when the car enters the track. Use the AIM display's coolant-temperature reading and shift LEDs described above; the manual does not document additional engine-map or electronic-aid adjustments.