Race Car Handling Optimization (PDF)

The reader will first learn to measure his racing car himself in order to ultimately get to know and understand the car's setup better. This is followed successively by the teaching of the basics with the claim of immediate applicability of the knowledge. First, the most important properties of the tyres are described in order to convey how to optimally utilise the properties of the tyres. Only then are the mass-spring system, shock absorbers, anti-roll bars, suspension geometries and aerodynamics dealt with, with the aim of making the best possible use of the tyres' potential. What has been learned is optimally applied to driving through a curve, divided into five essential phases of the corner, and an analysis for possible causes of understeer and oversteer is carried out for each phase, and solutions are given. Finaly examples of laptime simulations are being described, and the book ends with a very clear description of the calculation of the Magic Numbers regarding Roll, Roll Resistance, Load Transfer and Total Wheel Load.