The Development of the Setup is a Form of Art
The whole process of setting up a race car involves seeing a picture of what you want to develop and then assembling all of the parts and pieces that will cause that to happen. Some racers see the picture more easily than others. If we see race car setup as an art, we can also see where there are many different approaches and ways to look at the art form.
I truly believe that artists are mostly born and improve with age. That idea sometimes conflicts with my other belief that setting up a race car is a form of art too. The whole process of setup comes easy for some and more difficult for most. Can this art form be learned? I have often wondered if it can. My daughter Christa is an artist. I knew it from the time she was only five. She would sketch scenes with depth and imagination at that early age. It came easy for her.
The truly gifted race car setup artists also seems to have a natural knack for putting all of the pieces together in the proper order and where all of the parts fit. When that happens, the car has a look to it, while negotiating the turns, that to me resembles art. A well setup race car is a thing of beauty. You know exactly what I mean. You’ve seen it countless times be it your car or someone else’s.
The driver can tell from inside the cockpit. The car just feels like it wants and needs to go through those turns. The effortless way it settles in on entry, the neutral feel in the steering wheel and as it rockets off the corners all tell us something that just feels right. The driver exits the car after 100 hard fought laps with a lot less sweat and energy loss than with other cars they have had to drive.
I have seen it done by some who are masters. They can take a completely different car than what they are used to and transform it into a piece of art. Others struggle to apply the first stroke and waiver through the process, not really being able to see the picture in their minds like the artist do when painting the landscape.
Can these types learn the art or are they doomed to struggle year after year? There is a truth to be learned here and it falls somewhere between and includes the artist and the engineer. And I’m not talking about formal education being the determining factor in labeling a person either. We are what we are by deed.
Most artists never had any instruction, Christa didn’t. They can learn something from the masters though. And, most race car engineers never took engineering courses in school, but they can acquire the skills they need through association with other more experienced racing engineers. They just do the art and are the artist.
There is hope for the aspiring setup artist. It comes with developing, or being born with, the desire to “paint” and the willingness to work hard at it. Associate yourself with other “artists”, watch what the masters do and listen when they talk. Ask questions without fear.
No one ever learned anything by being quiet. And seek only to please yourself. The true masters care not what others think of how they do their art, if it is appealing to your eyes, then it will most likely appeal to others.
And when you are finished with your “painting”, it will be on display for everyone to see. When your car does well, it will show. And that, I think, is the draw for every artist, to show off your talents to others. Are you ready to paint the perfect picture and display it in victory lane?
If you have comments or questions about this or anything racing related, send them to my email address: chassisrd@aol.com or mail can be sent to Circle Track, Senior Tech Editor, 1733 Alton Parkway, Suite 100, Irvine, CA.
Concussions Without Crashes Comments
Hi Bob,
I am an open wheel racer in Australia, I have seen several topics lately concerning full containment seats and the damage they are doing as far as the heads striking the seat and it having no “give” so to speak, I have recently gone to a full containment seat and I have to agree, they are pretty harsh on the head when your bouncing around on a rutted track.
I had an idea, and forgive me if you have already thought of this, or if the seat manufacturers are already on it. Is it possible to design a headrest that has a floating cushion/pad and that is connected to the seat via several hydraulic tappet-like barrels? The pad wouldn’t need to move much, just enough so that it absorbs the shock and progressively transfers the pressure through the halo?
Sean Henderson
That is a good idea. The head could be contained inside a halo device that was restrained by a mechanism that works much like a shock where with lower speed movements, it gave way fairly easily. Then with higher speed movements, like when the car hits the wall, etc. it would restrict the movement more aggressively like it needed to.
In an unrestricted scenario like back in the day when there were no head side restraints, the neck naturally allowed the head to stay fairly centered while the car rocked back and forth with the movement over the rough track surface. There was no transfer of force to the brain back then.
But we do need to protect the head and neck from violent movement to the side, just like we discovered we needed to do for sudden forward movement. With the talk about this problem getting louder, I would think that the industry would begin to address the problem and offer up some solutions. Only time will tell.
Push Rod For Three Link
Hello,
I’ve just purchased a new car and I’m starting to go through and look at the suspension. I just wanted to ask a question on rear steer. The car is on a three-link rear axle but the link bars have a rubber bushing on one end and a rose joint the other. The rubbers are really soft so under power I think they will stretch or shorten and make the rear axle point in all directions.
My question is, under load the wheels rotate and try to push towards the front of the car, but does the link bars try to get longer or shorter? I was thinking of running a harder poly bushing or something harder than the current rubber on just one side of the car to help give me rear steer but the correct way. But which side should I run the harder bush.
Cheers, Carl
Yes, as the car accelerates off the corner, the tires push the suspension links and the link with the rubber will compress and shorten causing rear steer in some direction. I’ve never heard of running those on the left side in a left turning car. Most of these do not extend although they can be designed to do that.
We usually run the rubber biscuit on the right side only. Most types of these “push rods” can be adjusted and tightened so that the movement is reduced. Many times these will move too far and cause too much rear steer.
It is not a given that you need this device. I would put in a solid link in the left side all of the time (I assume you are turning left) and try running a solid link in the right side to see if you really need the push-rod for traction off the corners. Then if you think you need help, just install the compressible link in the right side and adjust the preload, or put in the stiffer poly biscuit and see how that works.
Spring Rate vs. Panhard Bar Height
Good morning Mr. Bolles,
Concerning spring rates on the rear in relation to panhard bar heights, can I get a little more explanation on how I go about choosing my height in relation to my rear springs? When lowering spring rate on the rear do I lower the panhard bar or raise it?
Is it normal to run the panhard bar inverted with the left side higher than the right side? I look forward to hearing from you. I am a long time reader of Circle Track, and I think it is an awesome magazine.
Thanks, Brian Owens
When you soften the rear spring rates, you soften the rear dynamics to cause the rear to want to roll more. If that is your goal, fine. But if you just want to soften the springs and not change the dynamic balance, you would need to change the rear roll center height, or panhard bar height.
To compensate in this case, you have to raise the rear roll center, or panhard bar height if you want the same rear roll stiffness. If you are just trying to tighten the car, soften the springs and/or lower the panhard bar to do that.
There is no formula that will tell us how much to raise or lower the panhard bar for a given change in spring rate. That’s because there are so many different designs of rear suspension involving spring base width, spring angles, and spring split (which greatly affects the suspension stiffness).
As for panhard bar angle, it is becoming normal to run the left side of the panhard bar higher on asphalt cars. This has been done for some time with dirt late models for other reasons than why we do it on asphalt.
When we run the bar at an angle with the right side down, it is more in-line with the lateral forces that cause the car to dive and roll. With this angle, there is less jacking of weight when the force and panhard bar are more in line.
Pull Bar/Lift Arm Spring Rate
Hello Bob,
I am 66 years old and have been in racing for 50 plus years as car owner and crew chief. I am currently working with a dirt modified driver with 27 years of perfect attendance at Merritt Speedway in Michigan. He is a multi-time track champ with over 100 feature wins.
My question is, in a recent article about more forward bite, you mentioned pull bars, lift bars, etc. as ways to reduce shock on the rear end. Do you do that with a stiffer or softer spring? Also, which way would you move it forward or back to help? I say use a stiffer spring, a lot of people are not sure. Thanks for your help. You should come to Merritt sometime. Oh, and I forgot to mention, we are trying to get off the corners better.
Thanks again, Bob Dack
The pull bars and lift arms do two things. The first is, they help reduce the “shock” to the rear tires when we initially apply throttle when coming off the corners. This help is short lived and only works during the initial application of power. Secondly, these parts also transfer some of the load off the springs and onto the rear end at the point where the link is attached to the rear end.
The second event is the most lasting because this transfer of load stays on the rear end the whole time we are accelerating. We can use that transfer of load to cause more equal loading on the rear tires, which is a primary goal to help gain bite for acceleration for asphalt race cars. It’s a little different for dirt cars.
As for spring rate, the stiffer the rate, the less help you will get from the first event, reducing the shocking factor. As to the second event, you’ll need to run a stiff enough spring in the third link pull bar so that it won’t coil bind. We need for this spring to work all of the way down the straight while we are accelerating.
As to the lift arm, the stiffness will dictate how well it absorbs the initial application of throttle. Softer is better if you need it. And, the length of the arm determines how much load is transferred off the springs by how much force the arm produces. The shorter the arm, the more force produced and therefore the more load taken off the springs and put on the rear end.
The running of a shorter lift arm can actually lift the rear of the car and not all teams think that is an advantage. If you find a length that will eliminate rear squat on acceleration, but not raise the rear of the car, you are probably close to the right length.
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