Jezchat /\ Pitwall

Don't worry if this happens. Sponsors can negotiate with more than one team at a time, just like you can negotiate with more than one sponsor at a time. This sometimes leads to other teams signing them before you, but on other occasions you'll sign them first, so it should balance out in the long run.

To minimise the chance of this happening and leaving you with no sponsors to sign, try to negotiate with more than one simultaneously. I tend to negotiate with the number of slots available (eg 2 Section 1 sponsors) plus an extra one or two in case they sign with other teams.

How do I get my sponsors to pay more money?

You'll need to either hire a better commercial head, hire more commercial staff or focus more of your team's effort on its commercial department. The effects can take as long as a week to show, so be patient.

Furthermore, different sponsor levels pay different amounts, you'll need to have happier sponsors to enjoy a larger income, so start finishing races and scoring points!

As of season 20, you can also enter extra negotiations with sponsors. Be aware that sponsors with low 'negotiations' ratings may decide to pull out of talks with you. Those with higher ratings, however, are likely to offer you a better deal in a few hours time.

Why won't the driver sign my contract?

A new contract system was implemented for Season 19. This new system is more realistic, as drivers consider their options before deciding to accept or reject an offer. If there are very few teams offering a driver a contract, it may be that he accepts a drive for a fraction of what he requested. If there are lots, however, he will only accept a decent wage.

Will a driver accept my contract even if all of the indicators aren't green?

In short, yes. Providing that none of them are red, you have a good chance of securing the deal. If some of the indicators are red, there's still a possibility that the driver will sign for you, so the moral of the story is to not overspend when offering contracts to drivers.

I've signed too many drivers, what can I do?

There's not much you can do. You offered the drivers contracts and they accepted, therefore you're obliged to pay their wages for the duration of the contract. You can try selling your drivers on the transfer market or, if you're sure they're not going to be sold or used by yourself, just terminate their contracts, as it'll save you money in the long run.

Are youth drivers worth it?

They can be. Signing a scout and taking a couple of promising youngsters from their local kart track to Pitwall superstardom can be very rewarding and worthwhile. It is, however, costly to hire both a scout an a coach, so ensure that you shop around for the best deals and terminate your scout's contract as soon as he's not needed. On the other hand, a well managed youth team can even generate an income for your team. Signing two cheap drivers and a coach can cost considerably less than the prize money you receive for finishing a race.

Why aren't all my youth drivers racing?

You can have up to three drivers in your squad at any time - any more than this and you'll never have enough seats to give them all a drive.

There are a number of additional reasons why not all of your youth drivers are racing:
1. Your coach can only train 1 or 2 drivers. This stat can be found on the coach's page.
2. Your driver is too old. Driver's get older during their birthday week - if they turn 21, they're no longer allowed to compete in Youth Races and therefore will not race on a Tuesday

I've just started - should I buy contracts to make sure I can keep up?

No, no, a thousand times no! This is probably the most common rookie mistake. Buying contracts will only temporarily mask your car's deficiencies whilst draining a huge hole in your budget. It is wise to wait at least until you have a better understanding of the game before spending money on contracts.

I can only afford one contract, which one should I buy?

Each contract has it's merits - an Engine contract gives you a raw pace boost, Fuel allows you to run lighter for the entire race and therefore save considerable time each lap. Tyres allow you to push your car harder and give you more grip, whilst brakes are usually the first thing that fail, so better brakes again allow you to push harder. It's up to each individual to decide how they play the game depending on how developed their car is and what contracts the competition has.

How many designers should I have?

As there's no limit, you're free to experiment, just remember that most teams never exceed 500, whilst some of the top teams have fewer than 200.

My parts have division rating of 100%, why aren't I winning?

This could be down to a number of reasons, contracts, drivers or strategy choices. Have a look around, see if your competition are doing anything different on raceday, if you're still struggling, ask on the forum!

I want a fast car, what should I develop?

A fast car is a combination of both internal and external parts. If you're not concerned about your electrical system breaking, then developing external parts is, usually, the way to a faster car. Each component has information accompanying it, so check this out too.

Should I evolve or revolutionise?

This is down to you. There are many different ways to manage in Pitwall, some of these are more long-term orientated than others, it's up to you to pick your strategy and stick to it.

Why does my homepage say my part increased by more than it actually did?

This is one of the most dificult things to understand. For now, just imagine that the message on your homepage reads "The part improved by (5) units". If the best part in Pitwall has a value of 200 units, your part would increase by 2.5%, not the 5% reported. It's difficult to comprehend, but for now, just trust your development page.

When should I start next year's chassis?

Whenever you like. Bear in mind that this year's development will take a hit when you do start developing your next chassis, but the earlier you do start then better your chances of having a superior chassis for next year.

Will any progress I make on this year's car help me next year?

Yes, next year's chassis is based on your chassis at the end of the year. Any evolutions you complete before the end of the season will be accounted for in your next car.

Why has my development stopped?

There are a number of reasons for this to have happened and it's a common problem. Probable causes include:
- You are over 5 000 000 in debt. No development is allowed beyond this point so you'll need to cut costs in other areas for a while or take out a loan.
- You are developing too many parts at once. Each part (including overdevelopment) means that a little less gets done on each part. For example, with 1 part in development, it goes at a rate of 10% per hour. With two, they each develop at 8% per hour. To solve this problem, either cancel some parts (you won't receive a refund though), increase the % weighting on your design department or hire some more designers.
- You don't have enough designers, your head designer isn't good enough or your design % is high enough. These problems are solved fairly simply.

How does production work? Why don't I have any parts?

The best way to ensure you always have parts is to set up production rules. You can see how to do this on the Manual page. If, however, you're developing heavily and want to use your new parts as soon as possible then it may be best to use a Just-in-Time production system. Dan (Cosmos) has developed an excel spreadsheet to help you do this, PM him if you're interested.

What's the difference between Production and Development?

Development is the process of improving your existing components. Production is the manufacturing of those components to use them on your cars.

What parts are equipped on Youth Cars?

The cars that your youths race in are generic, like lower forumlae in real life - every driver has the same chassis, engine and tyres, so you don't need to do anything about it.

When should I start producing balanced parts?

After each race, see how your parts are doing. If their reliability is below bad, then you should defiantely avoid producion balanced parts, as they will just break mid-race. If they're at bad (or better), it might be time to begin to switch to balanced parts. Some people have suggested around the 40% overall mark for changing to balanced parts.

Why are my pitstops so slow?

There are a number of factors determining pitstop time. Your head mechanic has the greatest influence, so if you're sluggish in the pits, it might be time to sign a new one. Next important is the amount of time you've spent on your mechanics over the week. It updates hourly, so each extra hour that you can assign team % to your mechanics should see improvement in your pitstops. Finally, each circuit has an ideal number of mechanics that give optimal performance. Take a look at the pitbox space to get an estimate of how many to use, then use experience to improve on this over time.

Why does the cars page take so long to load?

This is probably because you've got too many in your 'warehouse'. The server has to load a lot of unnecessary parts as you can only use two at once. Delete some older parts and you should see the load times reduced.

My driver crashed during testing, is there anything I can do?

Yes, wait. Your driver will walk back to the pits within a few hours, you should then be able to transfer him to another car and he'll be able to continue his session. The car itself takes longer to return, but will be usable in the next session.

What does setup do?

Improving your setup speeds up your car. Doing more testing laps will see an decrease in your laptimes. You can also use your test driver to do laps as he contributes to the setups of both your main drivers.

Do I need to add extra fuel to include my qualifying lap?

No, you start the race with the same fuel you started Qualifying with. This should also mean that you never run out of fuel in qualifying, although this can happen. The morale of the story is: remember to put your fuel in before sending your driver out.

Does replacing parts do anything to the testing?

Changing parts does nothing to the car's setup. You can change parts as often as you want and all of the laps you've already done will still count towards the setup.

Why did I run out of fuel?

Everyone runs out of fuel for no apparent explanation at some time or another. On further investigation, it's usually due to one of the following reasons:
- Driver/engine orders being set incorrectly
- A spin using up excess fuel
- Manager error (eg not enough fuel added at pitstops)
- The fuel consumption figure being incorrect. Be sure to check Jezchat for approximate fuel usage figures.

Are there any tools available to help me?

Why yes, there are. These Excel based tools have been shared by kind Pitwall members and can be found in our In-Depth Guide.

How can I help people to find Pitwall?

You can help to turn the decrease in Pitwall members around by voting on the following websites. Please remember to vote as often as possible (perhaps bookmark this page to remind yourself).
Oz-games200.com
Apexwebgaming.com
Worldonlinegames.com
If you've anymore websites to add to this list then please feel free to alert me to them

Is there an easy way to search through old forum topics?

Unfortunately not, the only way you can search through old forum topics is to click through the historical list of them yourself.

Obviously, this isn't ideal, so here are some important topics that have been discussed in the past:
Driver Changes - Concerning all the changes made regarding the new driver skills system whereby there are now only five levels of visible skill (ie Terrible, Bad, Okay, Good and Superb).

Can I add Jezchat sponsorship to my livery or team logo?

You can indeed. If you'd like an idea of what to base it on, try looking here, here and here for some inspiration. If you're struggling, feel free to post on our forums and ask for some help.