M1 Momentum issue 2 Spring / Summer 2022

Page 140

Track tips Spare the horses Struggling in your quest for speed? Before putting money into the engine, see if your set-up can yield the answers W O R D S N AT H A N C H A D W I C K P H O T O G R A P H Y M A S E R AT I

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ARE YOU BEING EVADED BY THE LAP TIMES YOU think your car is capable of? Simply not going fast enough? It can be tempting to peer under the hood and think “what if?” Yet while the allure of adding more horses to the corral is highly tempting, it may be worth taking another look at your set-up. A few simple adjustments will not only shrink lap times but also make the car much more fun to drive on the limit – and, most importantly, less likely to launch you into the scenery if something goes awry. The best thing is that, unlike unnecessary investment in your engine, set-up changes can be very cheap indeed, yet yield huge gains. Start by dividing corners into two types: fast or slow. Then, divide these corners into three sections – entry, mid-corner and exit. Next, while driving, try to note what you’re feeling in each corner, and in each section of said corner. Of course, this is quite a detailed mental effort, and keeping the car pointing in the right direction is rather more important. However, with only a few short notes you can paint a picture of what’s happening based around three questions you need to ask: is it understeering or oversteering, is it doing this on entry, mid-corner or exit, and is the action mild, moderate or severe? The key is to get all this down in notes as soon as you return to the pits. Add context to these notes by explaining what inputs you were making while the car’s reactions were playing out. Such notes are the best way to help a chassis guru to make changes – but even if you’re doing M1 MOMENTUM

the work yourself, by thinking through the processes in a segmented form that mirrors going around the corner, you can adjust things slightly rather than take giant leaps. For example, mid-corner oversteer in slow corners might mean that the front of the car is too stiff and lacks compliance. Softening the springs, shocks and sway bar might make a dramatic change – and cure fast-corner understeer while you’re at it. Experimenting is key, and pursuing a stiffer set-up might yield results. A snappy or unpredictable car may mean it has a lack of roll support, especially if you’re pursuing a soft or friendly balance. However, a set-up can be too soft, just as it can be too stiff. While YouTube paints the scene that oversteer is king, for the best lap time a balance that tends towards light understeer is usually the quickest. Consider making the front end comparatively stiffer than the rear, so running the car fairly flat. Too much understeer, however, will add time, because you’ll be forever waiting for it to diminish before getting on the throttle again. Try dialing it out by increasing the rake angle (the difference between the front and rear ride heights) or make the back end stiffer. This will help the car to change direction quicker. It’s a case of experimenting, and there will always be a trade-off – what works at one corner will not work at another. However, try different things, stick at it and keep track of your times, and you’ll be shaving seconds sharpish.


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Articles inside

Choosing equipment

2min
pages 144-146

How to... Set up corner weights

3min
pages 142-143

Track tips Spare the horses

2min
pages 140-141

AUTOMOBILIA EVOLUTION OF THE AMERICAN GAS PUMP

5min
pages 136-138

BRUN MOTORSPORT 1966–2009

11min
pages 127-134

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE DAXTON HOTEL

9min
pages 118-124, 126

RAPID MOTORS AND THE GRABOWSKY BROTHERS

6min
pages 115-117

PARTS IS PARTS.

0
pages 113-114

MICHIGAN’S BEST-KEPT SECRET

4min
pages 108-112

40 YEARS OF… PRIDE?

4min
pages 100, 102-107

A MODEL OF PERFECTION

3min
pages 96, 98-100

ICONSOF WOODWARD AVENUE

10min
pages 85-87, 89-91, 93-95

PRAGA

6min
pages 76-82

SUCCESS BY DESIGN

11min
pages 71-74

‘THEYANKSARECOMING!’

10min
pages 60, 62, 64-68

National Corvette Museum

0
page 58

Second generation: C2 1963–1967

9min
pages 50, 52-56, 58

DREAM GARAGE 40/41

5min
pages 40, 42, 45-49

American Speed Festival

4min
pages 34, 36-39

Lyn St James

0
page 32

EVENT REPORT NACTOY

1min
pages 30, 32

Uncork For A Cure

1min
pages 28, 30

Prefix Performance Center

1min
pages 26, 28

Roadkill Nights

1min
pages 24-26

Woodward Dream Show and Parade

4min
pages 18, 20-22, 24

Dates for the diary

3min
pages 16-17
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