When in doubt, put everything back to the factory settings. This will almost always give you a good starting point where you can continue to fine from there. As far as what's "best" for your neck of the woods, well, pay more attention to the current weather or seasonal weather. As temp and humidity change so will you need to adjust. I broke my T-Maxx in during the dead of winter (X-Mas present) and I struggled terribly with it. The extremely cold dense air was challenging to deal with. If there is a "ball-park" setting, that is, one that would work under most all conditions it would have to be something like the factory settings. Keeping in mind that you won't be getting the full potential from the machine at these settings. Take good notes on how many and which way you make the turns and on which needle, HSN, LSN and idle. Surf the net just like FastEddy said and use these forums. I live and die by the forums, the collective knowledge can't be beat.