Everything you need to get Track Impulse running on your rig: audio device configuration, zone mapping, per-sim setup, effect tuning, profiles, and troubleshooting. Start here if you just downloaded Track Impulse for the first time.
Head to track-impulse.com/download and enter your email. You will receive a download link and verification email. Click the link in the email, then download the installer.
Windows may show a SmartScreen warning because Track Impulse is not yet code-signed. Click More info, then Run anyway. The installer is safe. For detailed steps and browser-specific instructions, see the installation help page.
On first launch, enter the same email address you registered with. Track Impulse will verify your account and activate your licence. You can run Track Impulse on up to 3 machines with the same email.
Track Impulse is completely free while in beta. No credit card, no time limit, no feature restrictions. Next step: configure your audio device.
Track Impulse sends haptic signals to your bass shakers through an audio interface. Getting this right is the most important step. Click Setup Wizard in the toolbar to begin.
Track Impulse supports two audio driver types. Choose the best one available to you:
Set the channel count to match your device. For ASIO devices, set this to the device's maximum channel count even if you are not using all of them. For WDM-KS, set it to the number of output channels you actually need (typically 4 for a four-corner setup).
Set the buffer size to 64 for the lowest latency. If you hear crackle, clicks, or audio dropouts, increase to 128.
Click Apply to activate your settings. The status bar at the bottom of the window will show the active channel count and measured latency. The header bar will show your device name, driver type, and latency.
Track Impulse forces 48 kHz output on all devices. For best compatibility, open Windows Sound Settings (Control Panel), then your device properties, then the Advanced tab, and set the sample rate to 48000 Hz.
Open Windows Settings, then System, then Sound, then More sound settings to open the classic Control Panel sound dialog.
Do not set your shaker audio interface as the Default Playback Device. Game audio (engine sounds, spotter, voice chat) should go to your headphones or speakers. Only Track Impulse should send signals to the shaker interface.
For a detailed comparison of recommended audio interfaces, see the Audio Interface Guide.
Click Zone Setup in the toolbar to open the zone configuration dialog. This is where you map each physical shaker on your rig to an audio output channel.
Track Impulse supports up to 8 output zones. The first four (LF, RF, LR, RR) are always active and represent the four corners of the car from the driver's perspective. An additional four zones (Seat, Custom 1, Custom 2, Custom 3) can be enabled for rigs with more shakers.
Most users only need the four corner zones mapped to a 4-channel audio interface.
For each zone, set the Channel (Ch 1 through Ch 8) and the Device (Dev 1 or Dev 2 for multi-device setups). Hold the TEST button on each zone to send a test tone and confirm the correct physical shaker fires.
If the wrong shaker fires when you test a zone, swap the channel assignments until each zone matches the correct physical corner. Remember: LF means Left Front from the driver's perspective (sitting in the car).
At the bottom of the dialog, rotary knobs control the per-zone volume. Use these to balance output across your shakers if some are louder than others due to mounting position or hardware differences. All default to 100%.
Click Apply to save your zone configuration, then Close.
For help with physical shaker mounting, wiring, and amplifier setup, see the Bass Shaker Setup Guide.
Track Impulse reads telemetry directly from each sim's shared memory. Most sims require no configuration at all. Use the Sim dropdown in the top-right to select which simulator you are driving.
No sim-side setup is needed. Track Impulse reads iRacing shared memory automatically when you are on track.
iRacing has a built-in bass shaker system called LFE (Low Frequency Effects). If you are using Track Impulse, you should disable LFE to avoid doubled, conflicting signals on your shakers.
In iRacing, go to Options, then the Misc tab, and uncheck Enable LFE.
Track Impulse provides all the same effects (wheel slip, gear changes, engine, kerbs, road texture) with significantly lower latency, so iRacing's LFE is redundant.
If you want to keep iRacing LFE on for a different purpose (e.g. driving a subwoofer), make sure the LFE Speaker is set to a different audio device than the one Track Impulse uses. Running both on the same device will cause signal conflicts.
No setup needed. ACC shared memory is always available when the game is running. Track Impulse connects automatically when you enter a session and are on track.
No setup needed. AC shared memory is always available. Track Impulse connects automatically when you are on track.
LMU uses the rFactor 2 shared memory API via a built-in plugin. You may need to verify that Enable Plugins is turned ON in LMU Settings, then Gameplay. This setting is on by default in recent LMU versions.
No setup needed. AC EVO shared memory is always available. Track Impulse connects automatically once your car is on track.
No setup needed. Track Impulse connects when the car's engine is running and physics telemetry is active.
The Status panel in the header bar shows the current connection state. When your sim is running and you are on track, you will see the sim name and live telemetry data. If it shows OFFLINE, the sim is not detected or you are not yet on track.
Track Impulse ships with carefully tuned defaults for each sim. Try the defaults first: they are tuned across many hours of testing. Each sim stores its own effect settings independently, so your ACC tune will not affect your iRacing setup.
Start with one or two effects, dial them in, then layer more on top. Use keys 1 through 7 to toggle individual effects on and off, isolating each one so you can hear and feel it clearly. Hold the TEST button on any effect to preview it at current slider settings without being on track.
Avoid overlapping frequency ranges between effects. If two effects share a similar frequency, they can muddy each other and become harder to distinguish through the shakers.
Road Texture is recommended OFF initially. It simulates tarmac grain under the tyres and can feel noisy on some cars. Start with Suspension and Kerb, then layer in Engine, ABS, Gear Change, and Wheel Slip. Add Road Texture last once everything else feels right.
Each effect has a gear icon that opens an Advanced Settings dialog with controls for Waveform (Sine, Square, etc.), Harmonics, Decay, and Priority. Priority determines which effect takes precedence when multiple fire simultaneously on the same zone. Most users should leave these at their defaults.
The large Master Volume gauge on the right panel controls the overall output level for all effects across all zones. Below it, individual Zone Volume sliders let you balance output across your four corner shakers (LF, RF, LR, RR).
Click Channel Routing in the toolbar to open the route matrix. This grid controls which effects are sent to which zones, and at what volume.
Effects are rows (Road Vib, Susp Impact, Kerb, Engine, ABS, Gear, Wheel Slip). Zones are columns (LF, RF, LR, RR, Seat, Custom 1-3). Each cell has a slider controlling how much of that effect goes to that zone.
Right-click any cell to toggle it on or off. Scroll for +/- 1% fine adjustment. Double-click to reset a cell to its default value. Each column has a per-zone volume knob and test button at the top. Play buttons on each row send a test tone for that effect to all routed zones.
By default, all effects route to all active zones at full level.
Engine rumble only to rear shakers: turn down the Engine row on the LF and RF columns. ABS only to front shakers: turn down ABS on the LR and RR columns. Seat shaker at reduced level: lower all sliders in the Seat column to around 50%.
Save As saves the current routing as a named profile. Load loads a previously saved routing profile. Reset Routes restores all routing to defaults.
The Profile dropdown in the top-right shows the current profile name. Each sim has its own independent set of profiles. The default profile ships with Track Impulse and contains the factory-tuned settings.
Profiles save all effect levels, frequencies, advanced settings, and channel routing. They are stored at %APPDATA%\TrackImpulse\profiles\{simname}\{name}.json.
The Defaults button in the bottom-right corner of the main window resets all settings for the current sim back to factory defaults. Each dialog (Zone Setup, Channel Routing) also has its own reset button for more granular resets.
Browse and download shared profiles from other users at track-impulse.com/profiles. You can also upload your own profiles to share with the community.
Click Options in the toolbar to open the Settings dialog.
Accent Colour changes the UI colour theme. Card Density adjusts the spacing and density of effect cards on the main window.
Close to Tray: when enabled, closing the window minimises Track Impulse to the system tray instead of exiting. Start on Windows: launches Track Impulse automatically when Windows starts. VR Auto-Minimise: automatically minimises Track Impulse when a VR headset is active, preventing it from stealing focus.
Always minimise Track Impulse before you start driving. If TI stays in the foreground while your sim is running, Windows gives GPU priority to the foreground window, which will cause frame rate drops in the sim. Press Alt+Shift+T to minimise and restore TI at any time, even when the sim has focus. VR users should enable VR Auto-Minimise in Settings.
Release Notes shows what changed in the current version. Measure Latency runs a latency measurement test. Check for Updates checks for a newer version. Shortcuts and Tips shows keyboard shortcuts and tuning advice.
Alt+Shift+T minimise and restore Track Impulse (global hotkey, works from any application). Keys 1 through 7 toggle individual effects on and off for isolating during tuning.
Track Impulse supports direct haptic output to compatible pedal devices. Pedal haptics use a separate signal path and do not consume audio output channels.
Currently supported: SImagic P-HPR pedals. Additional devices will be added in future updates.
Pedal Haptic Devices appear in the Zone Setup dialog with individual controls for Brake, Throttle, and Clutch. Each has an enable checkbox and a volume knob. The status line shows Not connected when no supported device is detected.
Detailed pedal haptics documentation, including device pairing and per-effect configuration, is in progress and will be added here once testing is complete.
Check the status bar at the bottom of the window. If it shows NO SIGNAL, Track Impulse is not receiving telemetry. Make sure your sim is running and you are on track (not in menus, garage, or loading screen).
Check the header bar: does DEVICE show your audio interface name? If it shows dashes, the device is not selected. Run the Setup Wizard. Does DRIVER show ASIO or WDM-KS? If blank, click Apply in the wizard. Does LATENCY show a number? If blank, the audio stream is not running.
Try the TEST button on any effect. If you hear nothing through the shakers, the problem is device or channel configuration, not the sim connection. Verify your amplifier is powered on and the correct input is selected.
Open Zone Setup and use the HOLD TEST button on each zone one at a time. If the LF test fires your rear-right shaker, swap the channel assignments until each zone matches the correct physical corner. LF = Left Front from the driver's perspective (sitting in the car).
Increase buffer size from 64 to 128. Close other audio-intensive applications. If using WDM-KS, check that no other application has the device open in exclusive mode. If using ASIO, make sure the manufacturer's ASIO control panel is not open simultaneously.
This is almost always caused by Track Impulse having window focus. Minimise TI using Alt+Shift+T before driving. If using VR, enable VR Auto-Minimise in Settings. The performance issue is caused by Windows giving GPU priority to the foreground window (WDDM scheduling). Track Impulse's telemetry reading and audio output use minimal CPU.
iRacing, ACC, AC, ACR: Track Impulse connects automatically. If stuck on OFFLINE, ensure you are actually on track, not in the garage, replay, or loading screen.
LMU: Check that Enable Plugins is ON in LMU Settings, then Gameplay. If it was recently changed, restart LMU.
AC EVO: Track Impulse currently connects after leaving the pit lane. Drive out of pits and it will connect.
Make sure your audio interface is plugged in and drivers are installed before launching Track Impulse. If the device appeared previously but is now missing, unplug and replug the USB cable, then restart TI. ASIO devices require the manufacturer's ASIO driver to be installed, not just Windows plug-and-play.
ASIO is exclusive: only one application can use an ASIO device at a time. If your DAW, VoiceMeeter, or another audio app is using the ASIO driver, Track Impulse cannot open it. Close the other application, then click Apply in TI's device setup. This does not affect game audio, which should be on a different device.
If iRacing's LFE is enabled and pointed at the same audio device Track Impulse uses, you will get doubled, conflicting signals. Fix: disable LFE in iRacing (Options, then Misc tab, then uncheck Enable LFE), or point LFE to a different device. Track Impulse provides all the same effects at much lower latency.
VoiceMeeter can conflict with Track Impulse if both try to use the same device. Equalizer APO inserts processing into the Windows audio stack, which can add latency or cause WDM-KS issues. Make sure these applications are on a different device than the one Track Impulse uses for shakers.
Track Impulse validates your licence online on first launch and periodically thereafter. If you see an activation error, check your internet connection and ensure you are using the same email you registered with. Track Impulse allows up to 3 machines per licence. If you have hit the limit, deactivate an old machine or contact support@track-impulse.com.
Track Impulse is free while in beta. No credit card, no time limit, no feature restrictions. Download, sign in, and start driving with sub-20ms haptic feedback.