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How to Install iRacing Setups [Step-by-Step]

Claire

April 5, 2021

iRacing is a fantastic sim racing game, and once you get into the open series you’re able to customize your car settings to make them feel ‘just right’.

Having the right setup can definitely improve your lap times, so it’s important to spend some time getting your settings sorted out.

That being said, creating your own custom setups can be time consuming and labour-intensive, which is why many people opt to download setups that have been pre-configured by other drivers.

We’ve created this visual step by step guide to make it easy for you to find, download and install iRacing setups. Don’t worry, it’s actually very straightforward, once you know how to do it!

Summary of steps to install iRacing setups

1. Find an iRacing setup to download (free or paid)
2. Download the iRacing setup file (and rename it if needed)
3. Copy and paste the file into your iRacing “setups” folder (Documents > iRacing > Setups)
4. Open the iRacing simulator and load your setup (Garage > My Setups)

A few common problems that people run into when trying to install iRacing setups are 1. not having an iRacing “setups” folder, and 2. not having a setups folder for a particular car. 

If you need help with these issues, check out our guides at the end of this article for what to do if you don’t have an iRacing setups folder and what to do if you don’t have a folder for your car.

Step 1: Find an iRacing setup to download (free or paid)

Luckily there are lots of passionate drivers in the iRacing community who have created resources to find and download different iRacing setups. 

One thing to keep in mind when downloading iRacing setups is that one person’s driving style will not necessarily suit another person. For example, if you pick a setup from an elite driver it’s very possible that it will be a specialized setup that’s harder for you to drive as a beginner. For this reason, it’s important to try out different setups and tweak them within iRacing to make them work for you.

If you’re not sure where to go to download iRacing setups, check out our article on where to find iRacing setups (including a breakdown of each one).

A few great places to start are:

• iRacing Setup Sync by Nick Thissen (free)
• iRacing forum (free)
• Setups4i.Racing (free)
• Virtual Racing School (mix of free and paid)
• Craig’s Setup Shop (paid)

Virtual Racing School Datapacks Example

Step 2: Download the iRacing setup file (and rename it if needed)

We’re going to use a download from iRacing Setup Sync as an example for the purpose of this article. 

To find all the iRacing Setup Sync setups, just click “Setups” in the menu at the top and search the list for the car and track you’re interested in downloading a setup for.  In this case we’re using Skip Barber at Zandvoort as an example.

iRacing Setup Sync Downloads List

After clicking the Skip Barber at Zandvoort link it will open a new window where you can download the setup. Once you click the “download” button the file should automatically download onto your computer.

iRacing Setup Sync Skip Barber Download Example

To see it in your “Downloads” folder, right-click on the download and select “Show in Folder” (alternatively just navigate to your “Downloads” folder and it should be there). 

Skip Barber Setup Download “Show in Folder”

In this case the setup that we downloaded was un-named and showed up as “sto”. You can name the file anything you want, but you always need to keep the file extension “.sto” at the end, or if won’t work. To keep things organized it’s a good idea to name the setup after the track, in this case we named it after the track and the season: “Zandvoort-20S3.sto”.

New Skip Barber Setup in Downloads Folder

Once you’ve downloaded your setup you need to get it into the correct iRacing “setups” folder

Step 3: Copy and paste the file into your iRacing “setups” folder (Documents > iRacing > Setups)

Copy the setup file that you just downloaded (“Zandvoort-20S3.sto”). You can do this by right-clicking on the file and selecting “Copy” from the menu.

Copy Your New Setup File in Your Downloads Folder

Then, navigate to your iRacing setups folder, which lives under Documents > iRacing > Setups. If you can’t find this folder, check out our solution for what to do if you don’t have an iRacing setups folder.

Documents iRacing Folder

iRacing Setups Folder

Within the iRacing “setups” folder you should see a list of folders for each of the cars you have access to in iRacing.

The folder names aren’t always the most intuitive, for example, the Skip Barber folder is called “rt2000” (after the model of the car), so don’t panic if you can’t find the folder for your car right away.

If you can’t find the folder for the car you want, you may need to take a few extra steps. Check out our solution for what to do if you don’t have a setup folder for your car.

List of Cars Inside iRacing Setups Folder

Once you’ve found the correct folder for the car you’re adding the setup for (in this case “rt2000”), open it up and paste in your new setup. You can do this using the paste button at the top of the window.

Paste Your Setup into the Correct iRacing Setups Car Folder

So, after copying and pasting our new setup has now been added to our “rt2000” folder.

Step 4: Open the iRacing simulator and load your setup (Garage > My Setups)

Time to open the iRacing simulator and set up a test drive. One the test drive has loaded, click “Garage” in the top right corner of the screen.

Click “Garage” on the Test Drive Landing Page

Then, click “My Setups” on the right side menu. 

Click “My Setups” Inside the iRacing Garage

You should now see a list of all the setups you have downloaded for your car, including the new one (in this case “Zandvoort-20S3.sto”). Simply select the new setup and click “Open”. Now you can take it for a spin. You can tweak any settings as needed and re-save it.

Open Your New iRacing Setup

You can also go through this process in an actual race, but if you’re new to this (or aren’t sure if you’ll like the setup), we’d suggest sticking to test driving first.

Now your setup should be fully installed and ready for racing!

No iRacing setups folder? No problem.

If you open the Documents > iRacing folders and you’re not seeing a folder called “setups”, it’s most likely because you haven’t saved any setups within the simulator yet. This is very easy to fix. You just need to follow these four simple steps:

Step 1:  Load the iRacing simulator and open a test drive

You can set up your test drive for any car or track. The idea is just to get any setup saved so the setups folder will be generated.

Start a Test Drive in the iRacing Simulator

Step 2: Navigate to your “Garage” 

Once the test drive has loaded, click on “Garage” in the top right corner.

Click “Garage” on the Test Drive Landing Page

Step 3: Click “Save As” and save the default setup

Once you’ve opened your Garage a new menu will open. If you haven’t loaded any setups previously, it will be automatically load the default “baseline” iRacing setup. You can also find a list of any basic iRacing setups in the “iRacing Setups’ tab.  

iRacing Baseline Setup

All you need to do is click “Save As”, name the setup file anything you like, and save it. You could also create your own setup to save. The idea is simply to save a setup (any setup) in order to generate the setups folder.

Click Save As in the iRacing Garage

Step 4: Confirm it has worked

Navigate to your iRacing folder (Documents > iRacing).

Documents iRacing Folder

You should now see a folder called “setups” that you can use to install new iRacing setups.

iRacing Setups Folder

What to do if you don’t have a folder for your car

If you open Documents > iRacing > setups and you’re not seeing a folder for your car, it’s likely because you have a new car that you have not saved any setups for yet. There are a few simple steps you can take to fix this.

Step 1: Make sure you already own the car on iRacing

You won’t be able to go through this process and create a folder for a car you haven’t purchased or downloaded in iRacing. You can check which cars you own within iRacing under My Content > Cars.

My Cars List iRacing

Step 2: Open a test drive using the car you want to setup

Load the iRacing simulator and click ‘Test Drive” to start a test drive.

Start a Test Drive in the iRacing Simulator

When you’re configuring your test drive, make sure to choose the car that you want to set up. If you don’t already own the car, you’ll need to purchase it before you can run the test drive. For the other settings (track, weather, etc.) you can choose anything.

Set Up Your Test Drive for the Appropriate Car

Step 3: Navigate to your “Garage” 

Once the test drive has loaded, click on “Garage” in the top right corner.

Click “Garage” on the Test Drive Landing Page

Step 3: Click “Save As” and save the default setup

Once you’ve opened your Garage a new menu will open. If you haven’t loaded any setups previously, it will be automatically load the default “baseline” iRacing setup. You can also find a list of any basic iRacing setups in the “iRacing Setups’ tab.

All you need to do is click “Save As”, name the setup file anything you like, and save it. You could also create your own setup to save. The idea is simply to save a setup (any setup) in order to generate the setups folder for your car.

Click Save As in the iRacing Garage

Step 4: Confirm it has worked

Navigate to your iRacing folder (Documents > iRacing).

Documents iRacing Folder

You should now see a folder called “setups” that you can use to install new iRacing setups.

iRacing Setups Folder

We hope you found this article helpful! If you’re looking to upgrade your wheel, check out our article on the best wheels for iRacing. Stay posted for more iRacing tips and tricks coming soon.