RaceLab Support – Overlay Setup & Tips (Getting Started)

Overlay Setup / Overlay Tips

This page gives you a simple, step-by-step guide to setting up RaceLab overlays and placing them correctly on your screen or stream. It also includes practical tips collected from the community to help avoid the most common problems (blurry overlays, wrong size, missing browser sources, etc.).

Before you start Do your first overlay setup in a test session or single-player practice, not in a live official race. It’s much easier to experiment when there is no pressure.

1. Decide what overlays you actually need

  • Pick a small core set to start with:
    • Relative + Standings
    • Fuel / pit info
    • Radar or track map
  • Add streaming overlays (chat, mic bar, promo code, etc.) later if you are also a content creator.
  • Use the Overlay by Category page on this site if you are unsure where each overlay belongs.
Tip – less is more Too many overlays on screen is distracting and can hide the in-game information you actually need. Start with only the essentials and add more slowly over time.

2. Match your resolutions (game, RaceLab, OBS)

  1. Decide your main output resolution:
    • Common choices: 1920×1080 or 2560×1440.
  2. Set your sim / game to run at that same resolution whenever possible.
  3. In your streaming software (OBS / Streamlabs):
    • Set Base (Canvas) and Output resolutions to match your main resolution.
  4. In RaceLab, when you create a layout, design it with that resolution in mind. Many layouts are built for 1920×1080 by default; if you use 1440p or triples, be aware that some positions may need adjusting.
Tip – avoid weird scaling Overlays usually look sharpest when the browser source in OBS is set to the same size that the layout was designed for. Heavy scaling up/down inside OBS can make text and lines look blurry.

3. Create a RaceLab layout

  1. Open the RaceLab App and go to Layouts.
  2. Create a new layout with a clear name, such as:
    • “Driving – Single Screen”
    • “Driving – Triples”
    • “Stream – Main Scene”
  3. Click Add widget and add the overlays you want: relative, standings, fuel, radar, etc.
  4. Position and resize each widget:
    • Keep important overlays near the edges, not in the middle.
    • Leave room for in-game black boxes / HUD elements if you still use them.
    • For triples or ultrawide, avoid placing overlays in the far corners where you never look.
  5. Save the layout when you are happy with the basic positions.

4. Add the layout as a browser source (OBS / Streamlabs)

  1. In RaceLab, open your layout and copy the overlay URL / browser link.
  2. Open OBS Studio or other streaming software.
  3. Create or select the scene you want to use.
  4. Click Add > Browser Source.
  5. Paste the RaceLab overlay URL into the URL field.
  6. Set the width / height:
    • If the layout is 1920×1080, enter 1920 and 1080.
    • If you use a custom layout size, match that here.
  7. Press OK. The overlay should now appear on top of your scene.
  8. Drag the browser source if needed, but avoid scaling it too much – it is usually best full-screen with transparency where no widgets exist.
Tip – scenes for different situations Many drivers have:
  • One scene for driving (RaceLab driving overlays).
  • One scene for garage / BRB (Garage Cover, chat, etc.).
  • Optional scene for replays / analysis.
Switching scenes is often easier than enabling / disabling lots of individual sources.

5. General placement tips

  • Keep the centre of the screen clear for the car and apex / braking references.
  • Place overlays where your eyes naturally look:
    • Relative near the centre-left or centre-right edge.
    • Standings higher up or at the side.
    • Fuel and pit info close to the dash / wheel area.
    • Radar near the middle lower area, but not covering the steering wheel.
  • Check how everything looks in night and daylight conditions – you may need different colours or brightness for some overlays.
  • In VR, keep overlays small and close to the centre so you do not have to turn your head just to read them.

6. FPS, performance & smoothness

  • Use a reasonable browser source FPS in OBS (for example 30 or 60). Very high settings can increase CPU/GPU load.
  • Avoid running multiple large RaceLab layouts at the same time if you do not need them – each extra browser source uses resources.
  • Close unused browser windows and overlays when testing FPS.
  • Check that your game is running in the mode RaceLab expects (for example windowed / borderless window in some setups).
  • If you use G-Sync / FreeSync, test carefully with overlays enabled and disabled to see what gives the smoothest result on your hardware.
Important: If you suddenly lose a lot of FPS after enabling overlays, remove them one by one (or hide individual sources) to see whether a particular overlay or browser source is causing the problem. Sometimes it is a single heavy layout, not all overlays together.

7. Common problems and quick fixes

  • Overlays not showing at all
    • Check that the RaceLab app is running and connected to the sim.
    • Make sure you copied the correct layout URL.
    • Verify that your browser source is visible and not hidden behind other sources.
  • Overlays in the wrong place
    • Confirm that your resolution matches between game, OBS and layout.
    • Check that the browser source is set to the correct width / height.
  • Text looks blurry
    • Avoid scaling the browser source much smaller than its native size.
    • Use whole-number scaling (for example 100%, 150%, 200%), not odd fractional scaling where possible.
  • Overlays cover in-game menus
    • Use the Garage Cover overlay and a separate scene to hide menus when you need them.
    • For driving, move overlays away from buttons and flags you still need to see in the sim HUD.
  • RaceLab disconnects from the sim
    • Check that the correct sim is selected inside RaceLab.
    • Verify that firewall or antivirus is not blocking the telemetry ports the sim uses.

This page was created by a RaceLab community member Scottozy, based on personal experience using RaceLab overlays together with publicly available documentation and community feedback. It is an unofficial help page and is not an official RaceLab publication.

Sources & references

  • RaceLab – official documentation and in-app help on layouts and overlays.
  • RaceLab community tips on overlay placement, resolution choices and FPS.
  • Practical experience from sim-racers using RaceLab with OBS / Streamlabs, triples, ultrawide and VR setups.