PitLane Systems

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions — SmartScreen warnings, sidecar problems, OBS connection, and known limitations.

Installation

Windows SmartScreen says "Unknown Publisher"

This is expected. PitLane is not yet signed with a code signing certificate. Click More info, then Run anyway. This only appears once during installation.

Installer fails or hangs

Try running the installer as Administrator (right-click > Run as administrator). If the issue persists, make sure no previous version of PitLane is currently running.

Activation

"No active subscription"

Your account exists but doesn't have a subscription. Click the Subscribe button in the activation window to open your dashboard, subscribe, then return and click Try again.

"Device limit reached"

Your subscription allows a limited number of devices. Click Manage devices to open your dashboard, deactivate a device you no longer use, then try again.

"Unable to reach activation server"

Check your internet connection. PitLane needs to reach pitlanesystems.com to validate your subscription. If your internet is working but the error persists, the server may be temporarily unavailable — try again in a few minutes.

App shows activation screen on every launch

Your cached session may have expired (sessions last 30 days). Sign in again. If this happens frequently, check that your system clock is set correctly — an incorrect clock can cause token validation to fail.

Connecting to AC

No race data appearing

  1. Is AC running? PitLane needs AC to be in an active session (practice, race, or online).
  2. Is CSP installed? The data sidecar requires Custom Shaders Patch. If you're using Content Manager, CSP is likely already installed.
  3. Is the sidecar activated? In AC, move your mouse to the right edge to open the CSP sidebar. Find "PitLaneSidecar" and click to activate it. You only need to do this once.
  4. Is the AC install path correct? Check Settings > Preferences and verify the path points to your AC installation directory (the folder containing AssettoCorsa.exe).
  5. Check the sidecar connection — when the sidecar is connected, PitLane shows car data in the leaderboard within a few seconds of entering a session.

Sidecar not appearing in AC's sidebar

The sidecar is auto-deployed when PitLane starts. If it's not in AC's sidebar:

  • Verify your AC install path is correct in PitLane settings
  • Restart AC after PitLane has deployed the sidecar
  • Check that <your AC path>/apps/lua/PitLaneSidecar/PitLaneSidecar.lua exists

Some data is missing (nationality, team name)

In offline races with AI drivers, ac.getDriverNationCode() and ac.getDriverTeam() return empty values. This is an AC limitation — these fields populate correctly in online races with proper skins and entries.

OBS

Can't connect to OBS

  1. Is OBS running? PitLane connects to OBS, not the other way around. OBS must be open first.
  2. Is the WebSocket server enabled? In OBS, go to Tools > WebSocket Server Settings and check Enable WebSocket Server.
  3. Check the port — default is 4455. Make sure the port in PitLane's OBS panel matches what OBS is using.
  4. Check the password — if you set a password in OBS's WebSocket settings, make sure you entered the same password in PitLane.

Overlays not showing in OBS

  1. Is the overlay server running? Check Overlays in PitLane's menu — it shows the server status and port.
  2. Are the browser source URLs correct? Each overlay URL must start with http://localhost:9100/overlay/. See the OBS Setup page for the full URL table.
  3. Is the overlay toggled on? Disabled overlays don't receive data. Check the toggle switch in PitLane's overlay panel.
  4. Try refreshing — in PitLane's OBS panel, click Refresh Browser Sources to force OBS to reload all overlay pages.

Overlays appear but show no data

The overlay is loading but not receiving WebSocket data. Check:

  • The overlay server is running (check in the Overlays menu)
  • The overlay is in your active set and toggled on
  • AC is running with the sidecar active

Wrong overlay server port

If another application uses port 9100, change the overlay server port in Settings > Preferences. Update all OBS browser source URLs to match the new port.

General

App crashes on startup

If PitLane crashes before the main window appears, try:

  • Delete the settings file: navigate to %APPDATA%/pitlane-settings and delete the JSON files there. This resets all preferences to defaults.
  • Reinstall the app.
  • If the issue persists, contact support at gray@pitlanesystems.com with a description of what happens.

High CPU usage

PitLane polls for race data approximately 10 times per second. This is normal and lightweight. If CPU usage is unusually high:

  • Check how many overlays are active — each active overlay maintains a WebSocket connection and renders independently
  • Close overlay preview iframes in the program monitor if not needed (they render the overlays inline)

How to report a bug

Email gray@pitlanesystems.com with:

  • What you were doing when the issue occurred
  • What you expected to happen vs. what actually happened
  • Your PitLane version (shown in Help > About)
  • Your AC and CSP versions
  • Whether you're racing offline or on an online server
Custom Overlays