FAQ

General

Is RacePulse free?

Yes. RacePulse is completely free — no subscription, no trial period, no premium tier, and no locked features. Every widget and every supported game is available at no cost.

Does RacePulse require an installer?

No. RacePulse is a single portable executable, about 16MB. Download RacePulse.exe, run it, and you’re ready. No installation wizard and no runtimes to install.

What operating system does RacePulse run on?

Windows 10 and Windows 11 (64-bit). iRacing, ACC, Assetto Corsa, and Le Mans Ultimate support is Windows-only because those games use Windows shared memory for telemetry. F1 25 and F1 24 use UDP which is cross-platform in principle, but the overlay windows currently require Windows.

How do I update RacePulse?

RacePulse checks for new versions when it starts. When one is out, an update banner appears under the title bar: choose Update now, and RacePulse downloads the new version, checks it, and restarts into it. You can also check from Settings › Updates.

To update by hand, download the latest RacePulse.exe from the Releases page and replace your existing file. Widget positions, sizes, layouts, and all customized settings are stored separately in %USERPROFILE%\.racepulse and will be preserved across updates.

Where does RacePulse keep my settings?

In %USERPROFILE%\.racepulse. It holds your widgets’ places, sizes, and settings, your widget layouts, and the telemetry dashboard’s settings. Settings › Advanced in RacePulse opens the folder. Updating or replacing RacePulse.exe doesn’t touch it. Close RacePulse before backing it up or editing its files.

Supported Games

What sim racing games does RacePulse support?

RacePulse supports six games:

• iRacing — Windows shared memory, no setup needed
• Assetto Corsa Competizione — Windows shared memory, no setup needed; load into a session to be detected
• Assetto Corsa — Windows shared memory, no setup needed; load into a session to be detected
• Le Mans Ultimate — built-in shared memory, enable Plugins in LMU settings once
• F1 25 — UDP telemetry, enable in game settings once and pick one of RacePulse’s ports
• F1 24 — UDP telemetry, enable in game settings once and pick one of RacePulse’s ports

Do I need to install plugins or configure anything?

For iRacing, ACC, and Assetto Corsa — no. RacePulse detects these games automatically via shared memory with zero configuration. ACC and Assetto Corsa can’t be detected from their main menus, so load into a session first.

For Le Mans Ultimate — one-time step: go to Settings > Gameplay and turn on Enable Plugins. RacePulse reads the shared memory interface built into the game, so there is no plugin DLL to install.

For F1 25 and F1 24 — one-time step: go to Settings > Telemetry Settings, set UDP Telemetry to On, and set the UDP Port to one RacePulse listens on: 22025, 22024, 22023, or 20777. Use UDP format 2025 for F1 25 and 2024 for F1 24. If RacePulse doesn’t connect, another app may be using that port; pick another of these ports in the game. The install guide has the full steps.

Can I switch between games without reconfiguring?

Yes. RacePulse auto-detects which supported game is currently running. Close one sim, launch another, and RacePulse connects to the new game automatically. Your widget layout and settings carry over between games. If the new game can’t feed a widget, such as Relative in ACC, that widget hides with a notice and comes back when you switch to a game that supports it.

Does RacePulse work with iRacing in VR?

RacePulse overlays are standard Windows windows that appear on your desktop monitor, not inside the VR headset. If you use a desktop mirror or spectator view, overlays will be visible there. To bring RacePulse widgets into your VR environment, you can use a VR overlay app to project the windows into headset space.

Widgets

How many widgets does RacePulse have?

RacePulse has 14 overlay widgets:

• Core (8): Speed, Gear, RPM, Lap Times, Delta, Inputs, Fuel, G-Force (listed as Basic in the app)
• Advanced (6): Telemetry Core (all-in-one display), Inputs Telemetry (scrolling input graph), Flat Track Map (car positions), Relative (nearby drivers with gaps), Standings (the whole field by class, in six layouts), Lap Log (every lap with its delta)

See the full features page for details on each widget.

Do all widgets work with every game?

Most widgets work across all six supported games. The exceptions:

• Relative, Standings, and Flat Track Map — iRacing, Le Mans Ultimate, and F1 (they need data about every car that ACC and Assetto Corsa don’t send)
• Delta — iRacing, Le Mans Ultimate, and ACC (F1 and Assetto Corsa don’t send a live delta)

Some settings depend on the game too. iRating, license, and who’s talking in Relative and Standings are iRacing only, and country flags show in iRacing, F1, and Le Mans Ultimate online servers. The app marks each widget and setting with the sims it works in.

Can I customize widget appearance and behavior?

Yes. Every widget has its own Customize page with a live preview:

• Units — KPH or MPH for speed, Celsius or Fahrenheit for temperatures, liters or US gallons for fuel
• Visibility toggles — show or hide individual display elements
• Layouts and colors — for example, RPM as a number or rev lights, and Standings in six layouts
• Frame rate — 60, 30, or 15 FPS per widget
• Position and size — drag to reposition while arranging, resize as needed

All settings persist across sessions automatically. Reset defaults on a widget’s Customize page restores its default settings.

How do I reposition widgets on screen?

Turning a widget on starts Arrange: widgets become draggable, so you can move them anywhere on your screen. When you’re done, choose Lock for racing in the bottom bar. Locked widgets are click-through, so they don’t interfere with your game. Switch back to Arrange any time to move them again.

To keep different setups, save them as widget layouts from the layout picker in the bottom bar.

Why do my widgets disappear when I’m not driving?

Only show with telemetry is on by default. It hides locked widgets while no game is sending telemetry, for example in menus or between sessions. Each widget counts down for 5 seconds first, and they all come back as soon as telemetry returns. Widgets always show while you arrange them.

To keep widgets on screen all the time, open the Overlay menu in RacePulse’s bottom bar and turn off Only show with telemetry. You can also choose Keep showing on the countdown banner in the main window.

Performance & Streaming

Will RacePulse affect my game performance?

RacePulse is designed to be lightweight. It reads telemetry passively — shared memory reads and UDP packet reception add no processing load to the game itself. Each widget runs as a small transparent window. Most users see no measurable FPS impact.

Can I use RacePulse while streaming or recording?

Yes. RacePulse widgets are standard windows that streaming and recording software can capture.

• Display capture picks up widgets automatically
• Game capture may not show widgets. Add each widget as its own window capture source, or switch to display capture.
• Widgets have transparent backgrounds, so they overlay cleanly in both the game and the stream

Privacy & Data Collection

RacePulse processes racing telemetry locally on your device. It does not upload racing telemetry, lap times, racing inputs, session recordings, driver names, iRacing IDs, or detailed driving data to RacePulse servers.

RacePulse does collect limited app usage analytics to understand whether the app is being used and which supported games need the most development attention. This may include app startup events, app version, operating system, supported game detected, and a randomly generated installation ID. The installation ID is not based on hardware information and is used only to measure app usage.

RacePulse may keep limited server logs for security, abuse prevention, rate limiting, and blocking malicious traffic. Website analytics may also be used to understand page views, downloads, referrers, browser/device information, and general product interest.

RacePulse does not sell personal data and does not use analytics to collect racing telemetry.

Troubleshooting

RacePulse doesn’t detect my game

• Make sure you are in a session (on track or in replay), not in the main menu — shared memory is only populated while on track
• For ACC and Assetto Corsa: they can’t be detected from the main menu, so load into a session first
• For Le Mans Ultimate: verify that Settings > Gameplay > Enable Plugins is turned on
• For F1 25/F1 24: verify that UDP Telemetry is enabled and the UDP Port is 22025, 22024, 22023, or 20777. If it still doesn’t connect, another app may be using that port; pick another of these ports in the game, or close the other app.
• Check the connection pill at the top of RacePulse. It reads LIVE when telemetry arrives. If it reads Not connected, click it to auto-detect, or open its menu to pick your sim.

Overlays don’t appear on screen

• Make sure at least one widget is on in All widgets
• With Only show with telemetry on, locked widgets stay hidden until a game sends telemetry. Switch to Arrange to see them, or turn the setting off in the bottom bar’s Overlay menu.
• If a widget card says Hidden in your sim, that game doesn’t send the data the widget needs
• Run your game in Borderless Windowed mode for best overlay compatibility
• If using multiple monitors, Overlay › Recenter all widgets brings every widget to the main window’s screen

Windows SmartScreen blocks RacePulse

On first launch, Windows may show a SmartScreen warning because the app is not code-signed. Click “More info” then “Run anyway”. This only happens once.

Widgets show stale data after closing a game

RacePulse disconnects automatically shortly after the game stops sending telemetry. You can also choose Disconnect from the connection pill’s menu to clear stale data immediately.

Still have questions? Open an issue on GitHub or check the installation guide for step-by-step setup instructions.