Anyone know of a good book on suspension? I would like to start reading up on setting up race suspensions and i need suggestions on books. Primarily i would like a book that covers auto x and road racing setups and not drag but any suggestions are welcome.

 

Race Car Vehicle Dynamics( ISBN 978-1-56091-526-3) is THE bible, of race car suspension. However its heavily math based and very very heavy. Its also used as a textbook for suspension engineers , its about $100 and available from SAE. It delves very heavly into the hows and whys of suspension function, not necessarily autox setup.

"The Hands-on racecar engineer"(ISBN 978-0-7680-0898-2) is a much more useful book to most people looking to learn things needed to be competitive in any form of motorsport, its also nowhere near as technical, but again its doesnt teach you how to setup a Cobalt for autox.


There are many "racing for dummies" type books that are a good place to start if youre looking for basic understanding of chassis and suspension principles that apply to most cars, and they will be available at your average Borders where the above volumes wont.

Join the SCCA and become active on your regions forum.

 

Thanks maven! Im kinda a nerd at heart so i think i might enjoy the Race Car Vehicle Dynamics book, even if it takes me a couple hours to fully understand a page. But i think one of the racing for dummies books might be a good choice also. By the way how is your car coming along? Is it ready for autoX yet?

 

Yeah Ive got all the SS/TC stuff on, but the full swap isnt done yet, its probably about 2 weeks or so till I get the rest of my suspension, wheels, tires and big brakes.

The RCVD will drive you nuts, LOL, if you really are a car nerd it will make you want to go out and measure things on your car that no one else would understand or care about, and not so you could do anything with it, just so you knew what it was. LMAO.

Even if you dont get any of it, it will impress upon you how much is really going on in a properly designed and setup chassis/suspension.

The second book is honeslt a much better read, Id recommend picking that up before the RCVD if youre truly into knowing what it take to make any racecar operate at winning levels.

I would loan you a copy of the RCVD if the guy who has my spare would ever send it back. I think his brain may have exploded and Ill never get see that book again

 

Haha, Well it will probably a least 4 years until i start my build. Right now i dont have the money or the time. And that 4 years may be out of the question if i choose to go for my masters (lets hope summer jobs are good to me). I guess i should start with the 2nd book and once im done with that move onto the 1st book.

Are you going to do anything to the engine of your car? Sure your car will handle great and stop on a dime but what are you doing under the hood?

 

even if a book isnt designed at autocrossing, its still great to read it. way back when i was racing rc cars i could never get the suspention setup right, i was completly blind on what would change with spring, shock oil wt, rollbars, ect. i picked up a book, cant remember the name, but it was general suspention setup stuff, and once i read through it i was able to transfer it to rc cars and was able to come up with killer setups.

my dad has a book he used way back in the 80s when he was stock car racing. it was all about chassis and suspention design. ill try to find out the name of it. its an old book, but i beleive you can still buy it.

 

What kind of rc cars did you race? I used to race indoor oval and outdoor offroad in the 1/10 electric stock buggy class. It really does get complicated on how you set your car up. I moved though and can not race anymore but the last offroad race i did my car was set up perfectly but i blew my diff .

I dont think i really need to read about chassis design but just on everything capable by a weekend racer with off the shelf parts. Stuff like camber, toe, caster, tire pressure, roll bars, suspension valving, etc and how it effects the car on the track. I don't really need all the extra jazz but i would like to have more knowledge then i need.

 

What kind of rc cars did you race? I used to race indoor oval and outdoor offroad in the 1/10 electric stock buggy class. It really does get complicated on how you set your car up. I moved though and can not race anymore but the last offroad race i did my car was set up perfectly but i blew my diff .

I dont think i really need to read about chassis design but just on everything capable by a weekend racer with off the shelf parts. Stuff like camber, toe, caster, tire pressure, roll bars, suspension valving, etc and how it effects the car on the track. I don't really need all the extra jazz but i would like to have more knowledge then i need.

 

What kind of rc cars did you race? I used to race indoor oval and outdoor offroad in the 1/10 electric stock buggy class. It really does get complicated on how you set your car up. I moved though and can not race anymore but the last offroad race i did my car was set up perfectly but i blew my diff .

I dont think i really need to read about chassis design but just on everything capable by a weekend racer with off the shelf parts. Stuff like camber, toe, caster, tire pressure, roll bars, suspension valving, etc and how it effects the car on the track. I don't really need all the extra jazz but i would like to have more knowledge then i need.

 

its never bad to know things about chassis design and how it affects suspention setup. knowing those sorts of things give you an idea on why a certain change may not affect the car the way it should, or were adding braces to the car may help and how it will change the car.

i used to race 1/10 scale onroad, both electric carpet racing and outdoor nitro. i had a top running nitro tc3 with a rosi black pixi (.129ci race legal motor, 1.9hp), i did very well with that car. my first car was an hpi nitro rs4 2. i learned to race with that car and after reading and applying suspention and chassis theory to it i had pretty much redesigned the whole car. after getting a perfect 50/50 side/side and 51 front 49 rear and some good suspention setup, i had an amazing handling car, and took a bare bones beginer car and turned it into a competitive race chassis.

 

You dont need a lot of power for auto-x, thats the beauty of it. Ive got a 2.4 intake manifold, GMPP air intake, GMRacing LSJ header, LSJ downpipe, LNF catback. Ill proly be installing valve springs during the spring. Beyond that.....its a matter of cash, but Ill probably end with a blueprinted LSJ Koni Challenge engine if I make some money this summer.

 

Any weight reduction done to it? Tires?

 

No weight reduction, 225/45-17.

 

Sounds like you should do well next year. Good luck.

How do you like the lsj/lnf exhaust you have?

 

RCVD is a must have, if you really are interested in stuff like that. Going to get "The Hands-on racecar engineer" as recommended by Maven, I think I just found a guy on our local forum that is a SAE member.

Mind you RCVD is $100 and the Hands-on race car engineer is $60 (non SAE price). If you want a cheaper book, get skippy's "Going Faster" for just $20. There is a good section about basic vehicle dynamics in addition to driving techniques. If you want something specific for autocross, try "Secrets of Solo Racing" at only $10.

 

^ Thanks for the added suggestions