Suspension setup resources

Well, there are many many books out there on theory but few that are "this is how you do it."

How to make your car handle Is an old source and may not have too much relevance to your car. But, it's usually available at most libraries so you wouldn't have to buy it.

Any of the Carrol Smith books are worth having if you plan on doing any kind of race tuneing. Race to Win, Tune to Win and Drive to Win are all worth owning IMO. Once again they are a bit old but physics is physics and the laws applying in 1980 are the same today.

If you'd like a great book about race car suspension development over the years Allan Staniforth's Competion Car Suspension is one to have.

On a side note from what I remember about the 348 it actually has a nice camber adjustment mechanism. It uses shims that go between the top of the upright and the top A-arm, you add or remove the shims to get the desired camber. The shims come in different thicknesses, the smaller ones adjust a smaller amount and the thicker ones more. Obviously each shim has a direct effect on how much you're adding or subtracting, so you can just decide how much camber you want added or removed and then add or remove the corresponding shim for that amount. The Swift DB4 Formula Atlantic used to have the same system.

 

Actually, I do this on a 348 race car. What do you want to know? If DIY at home you need 1) totally flat floor verified 2) race scales, 3) strings and chassis alignment bars 4) slip plates or room to settle your suspension and ramps for the scales. That's about a minimum set-up of about 1500 bucks in tools.

 

Only $1500 for everything? Wow, my Intercomp scales alone msrp at over $1k.. and then we have the cost of the bridge system for leveling it all as this eliminates if the floor is level or not (plus allows for ease of track setup on the fly). If i may ask, what scales system do you use?

 

I use compuscales longacre 15x15 pads, slip plates, smart string knock-off

 

Bill:
You've been given some good resources above. My experience (about 40 track days in a 308 over a 3 year period and a year of vintage racing) is that the set up requirements are very car (and driver) unique. So, what applies to the Ginetta (and how the adjustment is achieved) is likely to be very different from what works well for the 348.

For the 308, I found a great Ferrari resource in QV London -- they'd won the PFMC (355s) and the Ferrari Classic (308/328) many times and both Mike and Phil are ex-Maranello Concessionaires where Mike prep'd the race cars. My guess is they'll have useful perspective on the 348 too.

On the 308 I went through 3 sets of springs, 2 shocks, multiple ARBs, multiple sets of tires, different camber, castor, toe, rake etc to get it "right" for me. (e.g., if feels too front end sensitive at 105 through the kink -- take out 1/2 inch of rake or whatever the evil is you are trying to cure). Others (like Dave "speed" Moore) also provided some good advice and some nuts and bolts on how to test corner weights, what you are trying to achieve etc. I believe FBB (above) can provide you with some good 348 / 348 Challenge advice too.

As I went down this path the car become more track friendly and less road friendly. I started towing it to track events and so forth. (Another concurrent set of modifications -- fire system, seats (fuel cell, cage) -- also add to the track safety / more miserable on the road so I'd think carefully about what you want to achieve.)

Finally, from one season of racing a new to me car, it has been very helpful to be able to access guys that know the car type (a Lotus Elan) well and have been champions (like Tony Thompson in the UK or Dave Vegher in the US). The last qualification is critical as a racer. It has helped to have a race shop / crew chief that can look, listen, diagnose and advise thoughtfully and this has made a significant difference and helped me learn and become more attuned at describing what's going on beyond the general "it's fine in medium speed corners and pushing like crazy in high speed corners". I'd strongly recommend you find the equivalent resource for a 348 (and the Ginetta too).

Good luck,
Philip

 

+1 what Philip said.