Tuning Tweaks
The following tips & hints were supplied by Pieter Bakker.
You are not likely going to find this kind of information on any other website. Perhaps your best racing-friend knows, but he is not going to tell you.
Once your engine is tuned to "state of the art" and you still fall short compared to the frontrunners, then turn to these "Tuning Tweaks" and you'll find out that there is lots of reliable speed to be found in chassis tuning at the fraction of the cost of engine tuning.
And you'll find out, that the faster you go, the easier it gets.
These tips are primarily intended for Spridget drivers, although some may apply to other car types.
Should you find, that this information really helped you to get more competitive, please feel free to send us your reaction by using the E-mail button in the menu on the left.
| Cooling | Connect the water outlet at the back of the cylinder head ( normally input into the heater), directly to the top of your radiator . This will help you to run a cooler engine (10°C cooler) and prevent bhp-loss because of excessive heat. |
| Corner weighting | An absolute must for the serious driver and probably the easiest way to find seconds a lap. Tip: Be sure to unbolt one side of your rollbar before weighing your car. |
| Exhaust manifold | Preferably use an LCB manifold. Normally you'll find the manifold ports don't match the head ports exactly, thus blanking part them off. Spend time removing any "steps" here |
| Open cars | Although your acceleration will be slightly better, you will definitely loose on top end speed by creating more drag, ALthough we run rev limiters, so If you can reach 7,200 RPM in an open car you won't be any slower. In the end it just comes down to taste, what type do you like most. Do you want a roof when it's sunny or a wet bum when it rains ? |
| Rear leaf springs | Always check the springrate of the rear leaf springs, even if they are new from the factory. I am sure you will find out they differ. Before doing anything further to your car, equalizing them is an absolute must! |
| Ride height | Because of the existing geometry of a car's suspension, it is not always to your advantage to lower the car as much as possible. It is real easy to overshoot your settings and create a terrible understeer by doing so. |
| Rollbar | When mounting your rollbar (on the scales), make sure you are able to do this without having to force the bolts into the rollbar, they should just slide in without any force at all. |
| Roll cage | Always use the latest FIA - Annexe J Specifications. The roll cage is not only vital for your personal safety, but is a perfect and solid connection between your front & rear suspension as well. Even in Historic Motor Racing, where the use is limited, it still offers you unequalled advantages in chassis tuning. |
| Shock-absorbers (front) | We all know how delicate front shocks are, because of their single lever-arm construction. To enhance the reliability and thus safety, FISC allows you to add an extra link thus changing the single arm into a triangular construction. Probably more important to the racer is, that it causes a dramatic change for the better in the "turn in" characteristics of the car. |
| Shock-absorbers (rear) | Never use adjustable shocks on the rear for the simple reason, that bump & rebound cannot be dialed in differently. |
| Shock-absorbers (f&r) | If shocks are not filled up properly, it is easy to blow up the seals. Better replace the bleed bolt by a hose with a pressure relief valve on top in order to preserve your seals and prevent damper failure. |
| Track width (front) | Use the max. allowed track width to control body roll as much as possible. The big advantage is, that it will help you to keep more traction on the rear tyres as well. |
