Reddit mentions: The best automotive racing books

Obviously mechanical geared but:
Machine Design by Norton

Is such a fantastic reference book.

If you're in formula SAE or other such projects
Racecar is a fun book that entertainingly in a short read goes over a lot of the experiences every SAE team deals with from engineering to people.

As others said, Machinery Handbook is a must.

A lot of it depends on what you're interested in. Especially as a mechanical you can go from working on steam turbines in subs to packaging in microelectronics to machine design for some every day product to designing some as seen on tv simple part that just needs to be developed and designed for manufacturability and plastic injection molding to super precise machines that are accurate to microns in positional tolerance to doing energy analysis on a house or a brewery to process engineering with that brewery to advanced control systems and systems engineering.

You'll need to learn a little of everything for your degree but depending on where your career takes you and what interests you, study up.

I was doing machine design and DFM work (and logistics that go with tooling and running a small run product.) In a week I'll be doing r&d work with microprocessors dealing with the structural integrity of chips and thermal issues. I searched around and found some interesting books on advanced thermal design for that purpose. I love machine tools as a hobby and have started getting my own. I love reading about how precision machining developed from less precise machines, how things are made, and building your own tools instead of buying them. There are tons of various books in this area and I also sought out older texts. I got some awesome used books from 1910-1950s that are treasures in my rapidly growing library.

I haven't read some of the books here that others mentioned but look good. In particular some of the management related books. My friend swears by How to make friends and influence people as a great way to understand and manage people better. 99% of the time as an engineer your hurdles will be less technical and more people oriented. You've gotta deal with the marketing people, your bosses, your subordinates, the people who control how much money your project gets, your fellow team mates, the manufacturers, the vendors, machinists, the publc etc. It's a team sport and learning to deal with people well, especially in stressful times with deadlines and deadbeats who aren't pulling their weight is an important skill you may or may not pick up in school.

I apologize in advance for any run on sentences but it was easier to just go for it.

Edit:
Also, sometimes non-computer related degrees get shafted on proper programming education. Learn programming. It helps you think about a problem more logically both for computer programs and regular design. Programming is identifying your problem and desired outcomes and doing so in a step by step manner. Programming can also be really helpful. For example, with Python you can do a ton of math and graphing and all of the stuff you'd do in Matlab practically for free. Scientific computing is a great benefit for any engineer. There are tons of different languages to choose from plus things like Matlab and Mathematica etc.

First things first, what type of karts does this track have by you, the more detail the better (rentals, competition karts, chassis name, engine model/mfg.)

1. You learn from doing, watching, trial and error, reading books and manuals. The engine side depends on what engine you go with (2 cycle /4 cycle).Great book on the most popular 2-cycle engine, Yamaha KT-100 | The Karting Manual, haven't read this one yet, but looks promising from the reviews | Memo Gidley's Karting: Everything you need to know, I personally liked this book as it was good and being simple to understand
   
2. eBay isn't a bad place to start, craigslist is hit or miss as I have seen people trying to sell like new Shifter kart that was actually a 15 year old kart with a motor that hasn't been in competition in 20 years on it, another place to start is find club forums, ekartingnews.com has a good forum that many of the top national members communicate through. Also, DO NOT BUY A BRAND NEW KART when you're starting unless you're comfortable spending $10K. There are amazing deals on used karts that are in great shape, just have to keep your eyes peeled, fight a club or go to a regional race in your area at the end of the season, most people in the higher tiers of this sport will practically give stuff away to make room for new.
   
3. Best place to start is at a local club, this is where you will get the most experience and information from, traveling to regional series is not advisable without a few years of club experience under your belt.
   
4. Most likely not, almost all racing clubs/orgs. require a snell rated/SA certified full face helmet. Entry level HJC, K1, Arai, or Bell motorcycle helmets can be bought for $1-200 and work great for getting started, remember this is your head you're talking about. Here are links for mid-high end helmets specifically for karting if you really want to spare no expense (honestly, just buy a entry level helmet) Bell karting specific helmets Arai SK-6
   
5. I can take a look to see what shops are around your area, the track you found might know of some places. Otherwise online is becoming more and more popular if you're okay with it, just have to plan ahead. Here are a couple midwest places that have good customer service and online shops, the owners of these places are great people and I have known them for a while. Franklin Karts in Wisconsin by Badger Kart Club | Comet Kart Sales in Indiana at NCMP track | Newer place in Wisconsin | Guy has been around karting for forever and is great to work with.
   
6. Some drivers have sponsors beyond family members (g-parents etc... or family businesses), unfortunately karting isn't a big enough platform for companies, many local restaurants and bars will tend to help the younger crowd out. But in saying this, it never hurts to try and is a great skill to possess in your life, the ability to sell yourself, its an invaluable skill I've honed since I was 8 years old through karting.
   
7. This question depends on what you like and what is available in your area. The major categories are sprint karting (european style), road racing, dirt oval. for more info on the major types go to the WKA Website to leanr more or ekartingnews for great tips on getting started.
   Nicholson Speedway in Chestertown, MD
   
   Sandyhook Speedway in Sandyhook, MD
   
   These are the only two sprint tracks that I found in MD, Since you live in an area that makes it easier to travel to other states I would look at those as well.
   
   Here is a list of master tracks through out the country, these tracks are recognised by the WKA for having solid clubs to support the tracks and follow the WKA rule book fairly closely.
   

Well, you already know about design, but you could specialize in industrial design, or take another course in ergonomics and such. I have no idea what the job market demands are for car-design, but in a creative place, fresh ideas from other perspectives are usually welcome, so maybe being an architect isn't such a bad position to be in.

Now, you can like cars from varying points of view, you may like to tinker with them, to look at them, or maybe just drive them. If you like the driving part, I'd recommend you go several track days, or try to go to a high performance driving school, just keep in mind they can be expensive. If not, try to save up for a place with serious go karts (try and find some that go to 60mph, but you'll find ones going up to 100 or 120 mph) and learn how to really drive. A good go-kart is cheap fun and acceleration/cornering wise is pretty much on par with a decent, winged, single seater, this means it will corner and brake harder than any supercar car and accelerate on par with most of them.

A couple of books that might help you on the subject of high performance driving would be Thisand this one.

Regarding car shows, the most entertaining one is called Top Gear. It's British and it's more a entertainment show that happens to have cars, but most of us gearheads enjoy it.

I don't know much but if you have any questions ask away :)

I'd say to keep remembering that what you're trying to set up is a student run business. Pretend you're Elon Musk trying to tell people how electric is the next best thing in the automotive market, which may be true, but the public (and more importantly, endorsers such as the school) are not going to be swayed easily without proof of concept.

Before I go on, I was the president of the VCU FSAE team in Richmond, VA up until last month (June 2017). The team was in the same predicament as yours 10 years ago, and was getting threatened with the discarding of the half-finished vehicle up every other year until our first competition at Lincoln 2017 (for internal combustion). Richmond is the capital of Virginia, so I'm very familiar with the difficulties of building a vehicle in the city as you've described above. That being said, the information I'm providing is from a team that didn't pass the Noise/Kill-Switch tests at tech inspection, and I'm probably going to be one of the least experienced people to respond to this thread.

Start with looking at the paperwork required for competition, particularly the Business Logic Case. Here, you outline your goals for the vehicle and why you want to build it in the first place and who you will sell it to. Do you want to make the car cheap and market it to a broader, lower income market? Or do you want to make a high cost vehicle which comes with options such as paddle shifting, adjustable front and rear wings, and a carbon fiber monocoque. Every design decision that is made on the car after deciding on your market and budget needs to coincide with the Business Logic Case, which you are allowed to modify if the team decides that they want to market differently for whatever reason. The car should be designed around the Business Logic Case, and we messed up by designing our Business Logic Case around the car, and that's why I want to mention this so strongly.

From there, you'll probably want to assign a few people who have taken their economics/business courses to start on the presentation. There are a lot of things in the presentation that the judges love to see, such as factory layouts, tooling requirements, and labor costs that take a lot of time to prepare and assess accurately.

Design work can start alongside the Presentation, beginning with the chassis. There are a few key points I'd like to throw in first:

1. Have a full 3D model of the entire car before building or ordering anything, unless it's for proof-of-concept or school presentation purposes and can be stored in your student org society room.
   
   
2. Leave yourself a lot of space inside the chassis to work. Leave large tolerances and assure that everything will fit and be able to slot in to its spot. It also helps your team from getting frustrated when you learn that you'll have to drop the engine for the 5th or 6th time this month.
   
   
3. There is a "standard" chassis outlined in each chassis sub-section in the rulebook, and I highly recommend starting with this, as it is guaranteed to pass in the Structural Equivalency Spreadsheet. (Note: The same applies for the Impact Attenuator and Impact Attenuator Data Sheet. A standard one does not require real-world testing results).
   
   
4. Keep as many mechanical items in the car as possible. I would not advise creating paddle-shifters, traction control elements, or any other systems that cannot be fixed with duct-tape, JB Weld, or zip ties at competition. I don't really agree with the decision to go electric for your first car, but even still, there will be more people who can work on mechanical elements in the vehicle instead of electrical elements, simply because electrical vehicles are not the norm in industry yet.
   
   
5. Every system needs a design and cost report!!! Being a first year team, it's going to take forever to get your first car driving. Make sure that every design on the car has a report that outlines why the design team made certain decisions that what the results of their analyses were. A full bill of materials will also need to be done upon the completion of each system. Just make sure that no significant information is lost when people inevitably begin to graduate from your school and your team.
   
   
6. Make sure that every parameter in the Design Spec Sheet is known before a particular system design is "completed". There are a lot of weird values that they want, and it's very likely that only the people who worked on that system of the car will be able to fill in the blanks.
   
   
7. Don't use or buy any parts that aren't free or discounted. This was something I asked a lot of teams about at Nebraska, and pretty much all of them abided by this.
   
   So as a summary, compile all the paperwork that you'll require for competition, and begin working on it as soon as you can. It should go something in the starting order of:
   
   
8. Business Logic Case
   
9. Design Report (from each team, and then compile and shorten to the 6-page FSAE version)
   
10. Design Spec Sheet
    
11. Structural Equivalency Spreadsheet
    
12. Cost Report
    
13. Impact Attenuator Data Sheet
    
    With all of this completed, you should be able to make a very solid case to anybody at the school for building space. I encourage you to keep trying to get work space as you put together the virtual stuff in the vehicle however.
    
    I will leave these resources as well for you to look through:
    
    
14. Emily Anthony's "Key points for a successful Formula SAE team" article
    
15. Carroll Smith's Engineer to Win, Tune to Win, and Prepare to Win books. Everyone on the team should read these as soon as possible before the design of the car starts or gets too far in.
    
    
16. FSAE Forum Book List. Encourage team members to look here to order books before beginning design work on the vehicle. Chassis team members order books on structural components, intake/exhaust get books like Four Stroke Performance Tuning, and etc.
    
    Good luck, and let me know if you have any other questions!

1. Haven't taken any, but a good friend of mine, Jerott King, is one of the instructors, and he is excellent.
   
   
2. Corner exit is EVERYTHING. Seat time is a must, but driving the karts indoor at K1 are very different from outdoor gas karts. Use a GoPro so as to see where you are being inconsistent. Always lean out, not into the corner.
   
   
3. Start with this. The whole series of these books are excellent.
   
   
4. Some knock on arrive and drive, but you will learn a ton. The camaraderie between the competitors off track is probably the nicest you'll find across all motorsports, and simultaneously the most ruthless on track. Go do a Super Series at CalSpeed Karting (at Auto Club Speedway outside LA). I think their fields are up to 120 per race weekend now with a huge range of skill and the best maintained and fastest arrive and drive karts in the States. Best value to money out there. They have Sport Kart Grand Nationals in June - four days of all arrive and drive, open to anyone who pays the entry fee. $5000 purse, and some of the best drivers in the States.

Sorry, I typed a reply earlier on my phone which apparently didn't send.

If I were you I would call Skip Barber back and try to reschedule something sooner. If you wait until summer you'll miss at least half of the 2016 season. I'm not sure about series in California, I know there used to be a Pacific F2000 championship but I'm not sure how good it is or if it's even still around. You may get annoyed traveling across the country all the time, but IMO the best place to start is the SCCA's F1600 Championship Series. They straddle the line between club racing and pro. The paddock is really relaxed, but the racing is still really competitive and most of your competition will be career-minded drivers. A new car will cost around $70,000, but you can find older, still competitive ones for less, and a season budget will be anywhere from $30-150,000. Another bonus is that the Formula F is an SCCA class, so you can also run the same car in the SCCA Majors, Runoffs, and there are several championships in Canada that the car can run in with zero modifications. You could run a race every single weekend and still have well over half of your budget intact. If you decide to do this, let me know. I'm working on putting together a program to run in that series myself.

In the meantime, read these two books: Going Faster and Drive to Win. The first is all about racing theory and is the official textbook of the Skip Barber Racing School. Become familiar with that before you step into a race car and you'll be ahead of everyone else at the school. The other is more about what is expected of a racing driver who wants a career. They're both a bit dated but still very relevant.

Also, get iRacing and buy the Skip Barber car. Even if you don't do the Skip Barber series, it's a low-powered formula car that behaves a lot like anything else you'll drive at the beginning of your career. Simracing can't replace real-world seat time, but you can still learn things from it that will help you when you get into a real car.

Good luck, and don't let anyone tell you you can't do it. Honestly I'd trade 10 years of karting experience for an $800k/year budget in a heartbeat. You've already got the hardest problem solved, now go have fun learning to do something well.

Ah, I've had this same problem myself sometimes. There are a few ways to approach the problem.

TRANSMISSION

You can look at your transmission, as mkhockeygeek mentioned. I recently posted a short gear ratio tuning guide here. My procedure is for using the engine's power band, which should give you efficient performance in general as you accelerate through your gears. This is a different strategy than what BIGSTIG recommends, so your mileage may vary.

Adjusting your transmission will only fix the problem if your car has plenty of power that was not being utilized. Unfortunately, installing an adjustable transmission adds to your PI points, which means a sacrifice somewhere else, so it may not help you. I think that the highly experienced tuner "Worm" said that a race transmission is almost never worth it.

All-wheel-drive cars have fast launch and acceleration, but lower top speed, so you'll get passed on the straights. Keep that in mind if you converted your drivetrain.


TIRES versus ENGINE STRENGTH

But there is something more basic to think about. You mentioned you can hang in the corners, but you get passed on the straights. I think this means that your car has good handling, which is important, but this comes at the expense of speed. For example, if you install narrow tires or less grippy tires, you can move those PI over to the engines power. Because many human beings like flashy powerful things and "big numbers", a lot of people are tuned for speed, not handling, so they are really fast on the straights. Downgrading your handling will let you upgrade your speed stat and compete on the straights.

"It is the car that wins in the straights, but it is the driver who wins in the corners." I like this quote. I am personally more interested in corners than straights. However, any great racing teacher will attest, rightfully, that torque wins races. You spend more time accelerating than cornering. Make sure you have the torque you need to beat the pack.

YOUR DRIVING

Usually the driver who begins accelerating earlier out of a corner will be the fastest. You should think carefully about your racing line and make sure you take corners in the way that lets you (1) maintain as much speed as possible and (2) accelerate as soon possible! Here is where BIGSTIG's tuning guide can come in handy, since by adjusting your roll bars, differential, camber, and springs, you may be able to corner faster and accelerate sooner.

The "driving" is how slower cars beat fast cars. A weak car used effectively can of course beat a powerful car that is sloppy.

This question has been asked a bunch of times, but the one post I've found the most helpful was /u/that_video_art_guy's response in this post. For quick reference, here's the copy/paste:



I've read many of these books, I'm partial to the mechanics and team member books but find all of them to be very enjoyable.


The Super Collective Super list of Super Good F1 Books:

Mechanics/Team Members


[Life in the Pit Lane: Mechanic's Story of the Benetton Grand Prix Year](
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Pit-Lane-Mechanics-Benetton/dp/0760300267/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356716346&sr=1-5&keywords=steve+matchett) - Steve Matchett

[The Mechanic's Tale: Life in the Pit-Lanes of Formula One](
http://www.amazon.com/Mechanics-Tale-Life-Pit-Lanes-Formula/dp/0752827839/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356716346&sr=1-1&keywords=steve+matchett) - Steve Matchett

The Chariot Makers: Assembling the Perfect Formula 1 Car - Steve Matchett

Team Lotus: My View From the Pitwall - Peter Warr

Jo Ramirez: Memoirs of a Racing Man - Jo Ramirez

Art of War - Five Years in Formula One - Max Mosley, Adam Parr, Paul Tinker

Tales from the Toolbox: A Collection of Behind-the-Scenes Tales from Grand Prix Mechanics - Michael Oliver, Jackie Stewart


Technical Books

Red Bull Racing F1 Car: Haynes Owners' Workshop Manual

McLaren M23: 1973 Haynes Owners' Workshop Manual

Lotus 72: 1970 Haynes Owners' Workshop Manual

Tune to Win: The art and science of race car development and tuning - Carroll Smith

Engineer to Win - Carroll Smith

Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook AKA: Screw to Win - Carroll Smith

Race Car Vehicle Dynamics: Problems, Answers and Experiments - Doug Milliken

Chassis Design: Principles and Analysis - William F. Milliken, Douglas L. Milliken, Maurice Olley

The Racing & High-Performance Tire: Using Tires to Tune for Grip & Balance - Paul Haney


Technical Driving

Ultimate Speed Secrets: The Complete Guide to High-Performance and Race Driving - Ross Bentley

Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving - Carl Lopez

Working the Wheel - Martin Brundle


Drivers and Rivalry's

Senna Versus Prost: The Story of the Most Deadly Rivalry in Formula One - Malcolm Folley

The Limit: Life and Death on the 1961 Grand Prix Circuit - Michael Cannell

Winning Is Not Enough: The Autobiography - Sir Jackie Stewart

Shunt: The Story of James Hunt - Tom Rubython

Alex Zanardi: My Sweetest Victory: A Memoir of Racing Success, Adversity, and Courage - Alex Zanardi, Gianluca Gasparini, Mario Andretti.

It Is What It Is: The Autobiography - David Coulthard

Flat Out, Flat Broke: Formula 1 the Hard Way! - Perry McCarthy The Black Stig, Damon Hill

F1 Through the Eyes of Damon Hill: Inside the World of Formula 1 - Damon Hill, Photography: Sutton Images


People Of F1

Life at the Limit: Triumph and Tragedy in Formula One - Professor Sid Watkins

Beyond the Limit - Professor Sid Watkins

I Just Made The Tea: Tales from 30 years inside Formula 1 - Di Spires

Bernie: The Biography of Bernie Ecclestone - Susan Watkins


Picture Books

McLaren The Cars: Updated 2011 Edition

Art of the Formula 1 Race Car - Stuart Codling, James Mann, Peter Windsor, Gordon Murray

If you're really interested in it, a good book to read is Tune To Win by Carroll Smith. It was written in the 70's so it's a bit dated but still plenty relevant, especially to new drivers/engineers. But if you're studying finance you probably already have more than enough on your plate.

Basically, driving a race car is about managing weight transfer to balance the car around each corner. The more load one corner or end of the car has on it the more grip it has. The driver controls lateral load transfer with the steering wheel and longitudinal load transfer with the gas and brake pedals.

Tuning the suspension is another way to influence how load is directed around the car. For example, if the front springs are very stiff, the front of the car won't squat as low under braking, less weight is transferred forward so the rear of the car has more grip. So that's why if you're struggling with turn-in understeer you might want to soften either the front sprigs or front (low-speed) compression damping. Alternatively you could also soften the rear low-speed rebound damping (take not that when talking about dampers, speed doesn't refer to speed of the car, but of the piston traveling through the fluid in the damper. Think high speed=bumps, low speed=weight transfer).

Anti-roll bars are a bit different since they manage lateral load. They also link suspension systems together, so if you hit a kerb or a bump with the right front wheel, the left front will feel it as well. Very generally, softer=more grip. The book I referenced goes into a lot more detail than I can, but I like to think of it as making that end of the car more malleable. Although I don't think that's entirely technically accurate. It also may be worth noting that when tuning the car, anti-roll bars are the first thing real-world teams play with, and a lot of cars have anti-roll bars adjustable from the cockpit. The team uses it as a sort of guide to lead other larger setup changes.

To your second question, the car can behave differently in different parts of the corner. It might feel great when you turn in (usually at which point the car is slowing-meaning forward weight transfer), but then lose all front grip when you're accelerating out of the corner. This means that you're transferring too much weight to the rear under power, so the solution is to stiffen rear springs or low-speed damper compression. If it happens earlier in the corner, when there is more lateral load, then stiffening the rear anti-roll bar (or the opposite, softening the front) might be a better solution.

This isn't even getting into things like camber/castor/toe, which I don't really understand enough myself. The general rule of thumb is to try to keep the outer/middle/inner tire temps as even as possible. I think it's also common opinion that cars should always have at least a little bit of toe-in. Edit: This video has a good overview.

Your third point is absolutely correct. Race car setup is an unsolvable equation. There are too many interdependent variables for there to ever be an ultimate solution. Add on top of that different driving styles and one setup might work well for one driver and be trash for another. It's more of an art than a precise science.

I hope that helps!

I just started -- the first thing is just learning how to drive like a race car driver. It's a lot different than other racing games.

There are a lot of good resources online on how to drive fast. Or if you want a good book check out https://www.amazon.ca/Speed-Secrets-Professional-Driving-Techniques/dp/0760305188

The first little while will be pretty frustrating. Learning a new track and new car involves a lot of spins and crashes. There will be new stuff you're not used to -- going over a small bump in the track will cause the wheels to lose grip. Braking and turning at the same time will send you into a spin.

Spend a whole just learning the track -- several hours at least, until you can drive clean laps without wrecking.

Once you can get around the track a couple times without going off, then jump into an open practice. There you'll learn how to be on track with other cars. Try following other cars around the track. See if you can drive close to them without wrecking. Learn to follow someone into a corner and stay with them coming out.

When you're ready to move up to racing, don't think about winning for the first little while. You'll just end up wrecking and feeling frustrated.

The first job is just to get the car back safely. Think of a race as just lapping with other cars. Honestly if you start in last place, you will probably finish fourth or fifth if all you do is just keep the car on the track. Learn how to let a faster car go by without hitting them (harder than it seems.)

As you get faster, you'll start to be competitive and then you can start racing. Then you'll learn how to pass people without hitting them (also harder than it seems.)

The more you can stay calm and avoid crashes, the better off you'll be. That's true at every level.

Also as you level up, don't feel like you have to race in the highest class. I moved up to the IMSA races too quickly and I wasn't really ready for it. I got DQ'D from.a couple races, and it knocked my rating waaaay down.

So I've dropped back down to the Skip Barber car and I'm having a lot more fun. This isn't like other games where you have to level up to have fun. Your rating is about your driving skill, and it's better to have along slow climb than to yo-yo up and down, wrecking along the way.

Oh -- also check out the Crew Chief app. I just installed it (it's free) and it's way better than the built in spotter.

Good luck! Have fun!

>You should go over & read you comment 10 years later.

You should go over & read a book about racing lines. I recommend The Perfect Corner from paradigm shift. You do not understand this subject.

> Pro drivers have good 3d spatial awareness & I see no reason why they would draw that wrong from habits.

Good spatial awareness =/= good drawer. Also it’s not a perfect drawing because it wasn’t meant to be analysed down to the fucking millimetre. It’s a rough schematic showing the different phases of a corner.

Also, I reiterate, the apex of a car’s trajectory is not necessarily the apex of the corner. By definition, the apex of the trajectory is the point where you switch from deceleration to acceleration. To maximize your speed in a given corner, that apex should generally correspond to the turn’s physical apex.

Your “real life” drawing represents a trajectory that is mathematically slower than the one in your “sim racing” drawing which is actually pretty much the ideal way to take a corner regardless of if you’re in a real car or in a sim

The absolute fastest way through a given corner is to:

• follow an Euler spiral trajectory
  
  This is the mathematically proven way to take a corner (change direction in general) as fast as possible. Euler spirals are widely used, especially on railroads. Most highway on and off ramps follow euler spirals as well
  
  
• take the widest possible trajectory
  
  The widest possible Euler spiral is the one whose apex (the point where the car switches from decelerating into the corner to accelerating out of it) matches the physical apex of the turn
  
  
• brake as late as possible
  
  Because trail braking allows the driver to brake later, it should be used as much as possible. The Euler spiral allows for the best possible transition between longitudinal grip (full braking in a straight line) to lateral grip (full on turning, no brake or throttle) and then back to longitudinal grip (accelerating out of the corner). Ideally, the trail braking should be maximised to the point where the driver is trail braking right up to the apex, because this allows for the latest possible brake point.
  
  The only way to follow all these guidelines is to brake as late as possible, use as much trail braking as possible right up to the apex, and accelerate exactly at the apex. That is the mathematical, exact best possible corner. And that is what that 1:53 time is getting close to.
  
  You need to understand that this is all mathematically proven and works the same way in real life and sim racing. it works the same way for bikes, trains, cars, planes, spaceships, anything. It is the mathematical, irrefutable perfect way to change the direction of a moving object.
  
  The ideal trajectory in a sim or in real life cannot be different, because at its core the goal is to change the direction of a moving object. There is only one way to do so as fast as possible.

>Hi, I'm interested in joining my school's FSAE team. Unfortunately I have next to zero knowledge of cars and the process required for assembling one.

Not really a problem, most new guys dont know anything, which is why most teams have things for you to do that don't require you to know much.

>I realize that many of you will say that I should just join the team and learn as I do, but the FSAE is fairly competitive and I might not get a chance to do that.

Most of the 'competition' for team positions can be won by simply showing up time after time, and being reliable source of labor for team leaders to shove work on.

>I will be applying to the Baja team as well so that might work out.

Mini Baja is a totally different competition, you can learn just as much, but be sure that the end goal of what you want to work on is available within the team you choose. If you are looking to do studies on jump dynamics and position dependent damping, you will not find that in FSAE for instance.

>Anyway what I'm looking for is a book or website that will give me an introduction to racing cars, so I can have some knowledge going in. Thanks for any help.

As suggested here, Caroll Smith's Tune to Win series is an excellent start. Most teams have the full set of these, see if you can borrow one, or just go to the shop and read them there between jobs people give you, or if it's slow.

Other good books (for suspension I admit) are Gillespie's Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics and Milliken's Race Car Vehicle Dynamics, though this one is much more technical, and considered the Race Engineer's bible, so to speak.

I could go on for hours about basic vehicle dynamics tbh, but suffice it to say that there are countless variables that go into determining handling characteristics. If you're really interested, the definitive introductory resource is this book, which if you can find used would probably be best. It's certainly not an easy read.

For a more accessible read, this book is pretty great too. It's also much cheaper.

IMO, you should probably do a bit more research about common solutions that people have for your particular car. I'd recommend, before changing anything, learning a bit more about basic vehicle dynamics. You don't even need to learn fancy math or anything, just kind of get an idea of what changes generally affect which characteristics.

Aerodynamics, especially automotive aerodynamics, is a very complex subject. If you pursue this path in undergrad you'll need to get comfortable with advanced calculus and physics, as well as fluid mechanics. From experience, I would highly recommend getting involved with the car project teams at whatever university you decide to go to if you want to pursue a career in motorsport. Motorsport teams are looking for people that are not only exceptionally knowledgeable in their field but also passionate about racing.

As for things to read, there are loads of books on the subject. Understanding Aerodynamics by Doug McLean and Fundamentals of Aerodynamics by Anderson are two aerodynamics books sitting on my bookshelf.

For automotive/motorsport aerodynamics, the following are good books from my bookshelf:

Competition Car Aerodynamics by McBeath

Race Car Aerodynamics: Designing for Speed by Katz

Aerodynamics of Road Vehicles by Schuetz

Note, Aerodynamics of Road Vehicles is a full-on textbook and may be beyond what you're looking for, but it goes into great depth on a number of road vehicle aerodynamic topics.

One last book I came across on Amazon is Amateur Car Aerodynamics by Edgar. I haven't read this book, but the title sounds like the language may be more suited for people who don't have a background in fluid mechanics.

If there are any specific topics in fluid mechanics/aerodynamics that you are looking for I may be able to help find some.

Learn more about driving.

Many techniques and principles from racing can be applied on the road at perfectly legal speeds. Some of this can be demonstrated at 30mph or even less.

The techniques can make you a safer driver as well. Practicing the various skills as you drive, even on something as simple your commute will help keep you engaged and focused on your driving. This helps keep you attentive like you should be anyway, so it's just a bonus.

Pyrometer

Low profile jack stands (flat feet, safe for tarmac)

Racing gloves

RaceQuip Helmet Support

A GoPro off-brand accessory kit To help mounting that GoPro to whatever you want to mount it to.

Some Mechanix gloves lots of options

Paint markers various colors.

F4 self-sealing silicone tape

Going Faster
Speed Secrets
High-Performance Handling for Street or Track

Another few things would be to find out what the driver uses for brake pads, brake fluid, rotors, oil filter, etc., as those can be pricey and nice gifts. (I use Hawk DTC-60 front, HP+ rear pads, Motul RBF-600 fluid)

Portable battery powered air pump for tires I have one very similar to this. It's cheap and great to use for adjusting pressures before sessions.

A decent tire pressure gauge This is the one I have and have used for several years and I have been very happy with it.

A subscription to Grassroots Motorsports

Torque wrench, +200 ft/lbs This is the one I have been using for a few years and it works well.

I've got lots of other ideas for tools and such; specific socket sets, impact gun & sockets, special bits for your car, magnet, flash lights/head lamp/stick light, channel locks, stubby sockets, various wrenches, extensions, breaker bar, bits, allen wrenches, vice grips, pry bars, adapters, pliers, cutters, etc that would be good to put on your list if you don't have them in your kit.

Happy holidays!

Yeah, The Perfect Corner is an overall look at the basic physics of racing. If you haven't gotten a chance to check it out, Perfect Control covers car control techniques if you are looking for more info on that. The paperback version was just released a few days ago. Perfect Corner 2 covers things like chicanes, double apexes and how to optimize them when combined into complex sections. I'd be happy to answer questions anyone has about the books, driving stuff or whatever.

We're in a word-spreading mode right now so The Perfect Corner is 50% off list right now on amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Corner-Drivers-Step---Step/dp/1523441143/

Look for the series starting with The Perfect Corner. Then Perfect Control and The Perfect Corner 2.

I’ve read them a couple of times so far and the change in thinking they inspire helped my driving considerably.

Plus I love working through the case studies in the second book.

This book is pretty awesome. I'm sure you could find a better price, I got my copy for like $35...

http://www.amazon.com/Ayrton-Sennas-Principles-Race-Driving/dp/1874557403/ref=cm_lmf_tit_25

Basically though you're trying to increase the corner radius to maximize mid corner speed. But there are also places where you would want to enter tight and sacrifice some mid corner speed to get on power earlier for a straight bit. Or take a wider entry line to brake late for passing or in a corner where it would be more beneficial to setup for the next corner. All lines depend on what happens before and after the corner.

Sorry if this is just a brain dump, I'm on my phone and formatting is hard...

For aerodynamics competition car aerodynamics by Simon McBeath is good starting point for aero.
Amazon link
Competition Car Aerodynamics 3rd Edition https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1787111024/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_LyUezbWXPXNS1

For engine design, I've found the tuning books to be good for a base point. The Books by A Graham Bell are good starting points
Amazon link.
Four-stroke Performance Tuning (4th edition) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0857331256/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_1BUezb9J526WQ

I'd also recommend some of the books from the speed pro series. Should be noted there are books by bell for 2 stroke engines should that take your fancy

Transmission wise I'm not to sure. I got all my knowledge of those through practical experience and engineering maths.

Hope this helps

Here are the two best intro books on the subject:

https://www.amazon.com/Race-Car-Vehicle-Dynamics-Experiments/dp/0768011272

https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Vehicle-Dynamics-Premiere-Books/dp/1560911999

Formula SAE in college is a great resource. Look for a co-op opportunity in vehicle design (it'll probably have to be in Michigan unless you're lucky or go into commercial truck). Experience is highly valued when you're trying to get that intro level job because co-ops and internships are so widely available in the industry.

The best way to catch a spin is by avoiding it in the first place. I've been reading a book called Speed Secrets and by FAR the most helpful thing in there is realizing that you have to SQUEEZE your brake & throttle to go fast. I always used to spin like you're talking about, but once I learned to properly apply the throttle after braking into a corner, I've had to catch slides a LOT less frequently. I used to pretty much use the throttle as an on/off switch, since I grew up playing arcadey racers when I was a kid. Over the past 3 months or so, I've had to relearn how to actually apply brake & throttle pressure, and I've gained 2-3 seconds a lap on most tracks since then.


Here's a short article with the reader's digest version of what I'm talking about. Take some time and practice going around corners slowly, applying more and more throttle until you spin. Then get comfortable with applying just slightly less than that, and you'll probably find yourself almost never having to catch a spin. :D

I don’t know which races you watch on youtube but chances are that those people are really good and have lots of experience.

Being 1-5 seconds off pace from the really good drivers isn’t that bad actually. Especially when you’re still new and even more on a track like Bathurst (which is quite challenging).

In iRacing you’re being paired with drivers approximately your skill level anyways. So don’t worry about that too much and just keep on gaining experience.

edit: if you’re totally serious about gaining speed real fast, you may wanna have a look at this book. Didn’t read it yet but heard lots of good things about it: http://www.amazon.de/The-Perfect-Corner-Step-Step-ebook/dp/B019WQFEIK

Here is the link

I got it for kindle and am enjoying it. Also Ross Bentley has a podcast where you can get helpful tips.

I think for me the most important concept is "deliberate practice". You will get better by just spending a lot of time on track, but actually taking notes, practicing certain corners/techniques specifically will help you get better faster.

I've just "bought" it and can access it through the Kindle Cloud Reader thing (read.amazon.co.uk)

ps: UK link http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B019WQFEIK

pps: thanks for free stuff... I like free stuff :)

Again, please stop trying to apply your physics 1 understanding of friction to this. The way friction is taught in a course like that is completely inaccurate and flat WRONG with how friction and tires actually work. It would be like trying to newtonian physics in astronomy, where relativity is incredibly important.

Have you ever stopped to think and ask why sports cars have wide tires? According to your sources and the physics 1 modelling of friction, surface area has no factor in lateral force, so why would they ever want to have those big, heavy, wide tires when they could just get nice skinny and light ones which get the same amount of grip? Its because friction is a nightmarishly complicated topic and all of those numbers youre looking at are at best rough ballpark guesstimates dont hold up in reality.

First off, in YOUR OWN SOURCE, there are items in there with higher than 1 coefficient of frictions, so its clear that even the completely basic (and wrong) understanding of friction isnt bounded at 1.

Second, there are a ton of readily available examples of street cars exceeding 1G in acceleration, braking, and cornering. Basically every reasonably quick sports car today has a higher than 1G skidpad, most of which dont generate any downforce, and even the ones that do arent generating anything meaningful at skidpad speeds. Under your assumption it would be literally impossible for the corvette z06 to hit the 1.2G on a skidpad that it did in car and driver's test. The Tesla model S also would not be able to hit its 0-60 time of 2.3 seconds, and it definitely isnt generating downforce. On top of that, basically every car on the market can hit >1 peak braking Gs.

third, "you dont increase the u" is completely wrong. u is an ungodly complicated variable which depends on temperature, chemistry, surface conditions, surface properties, deformation, contact angle, system dynamics, and funny enough the normal force as well. Its why you have to warm up a racing tire, its why race tires use very different rubber compounds and construction methods than street tires, its why racing brakes dont work worth a shit the first few times you try to stop, its why vehicle suspension matters, its why vehicle weight matters in a corner.

Start on page 13 to start learning about how tires and friction actually work then after youve read that book about 10 times go buy race car vehicle dynamics and read that about 5 times. Then go work on a racing team for 5 years, then come back and talk to me about your understanding of friction.

Going Faster is a widely recommended book for real life driving and racing. I say driving and racing because you need to focus on two different objectives. There is the ability to go around the circuit fast (Driving) and then there's Race Craft, which is the art of passing, defensive lines, etc. You need them both to be a winner, whether real or simulation. Enjoy.

I strongly suggest you find your engineering school librarian and ask them to show you some of the databases on hand at your school. You'll find everything you need there, plus a few extra rabbit holes to go down. Here's a good title for other interested readers https://www.amazon.com/Physics-Nascar-Science-Behind-Speed/dp/0452290228

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby easily one of my favorite movies EVER. Infinitely quotable.

The Physics of NASCAR is a must-read. I'll add that I am a liberal arts major who barely passed high school algebra, but this book made physics understandable. I feel like I have a better grasp of the sport after reading this very approachable book.

Not my thing, but dude, kudos to you for build finish and worksmanship. I'm really impressed.

You are going to have wheelbase changes as you corner, and the rear is too narrow for the front end. I would have made that rear tire as wide as possible. It will tend oversteer a lot and will be difficult to use the throttle to balance the vehicle. Chassis could use more triangulation too, but from a glance, the tubing looks big enough to hold.

If I can suggest a reading, please check out https://www.amazon.com/Tune-Win-science-development-tuning/dp/0879380713

Do you have any wide open stretches of pavement you can screw around on without drawing unwanted attention? A big un-lit parking lot in an industrial area for example? The best way to learn driving is by doing it, and particularly by screwing up in a controlled manner so you can learn how the car feels when you take it over the limit. If there's nothing to hit for hundreds of feet you can go out when the weather is bad (I don't think you guys get snow, but rain works almost as well) and intentionally put the car out of control knowing that if you don't get it back under control you at least won't hit anything.

Beyond that, this book is always one I've heard of for being very good: http://www.amazon.com/Going-Faster-Mastering-Race-Driving/dp/0837602262/

I've never read it myself but it comes up all the time on various forums when this sort of question is asked.

There's nothing really special about driving this specific car. It's a front-engine front-drive with independent front suspension and a beam axle out back. The turbo is small enough that lag is not really a huge factor and you don't need to think about it much at a basic level. Most hot hatches have a similar formula, with the main difference being some of the nicer ones have independent suspension in the back too.

I started writing up some basic instructions here, but then I figured there are enough people here who actually race competitively or semi-competitively and would be better at it than a guy who knows the theory but puts it to practice mostly hooning on back roads and playing video games.

If you're interested in continuing to talk with him about this, ask him how weight impacts tire grip, and how the force needed to turn plays into that.

You see... more weight does mean more grip from the tires. The problem is, the added grip provided by the weight is less than the added grip needed to control the weight. So more weight means less grip:force for the same move. Adding weight to the car means its maximum cornering speed is lower.

If you're interested in more, Think Fast has a good breakdown, without being overly heavy or technical. Speed Secrets is another good book on the subject of performance driving, but my memory is that Think Fast does a more effective job of succinctly explaining technical/engineering realities in an easy-to-understand fashion.

I loved all of the Carol Smith books. Engineer and design to win are great. I LOVE the way he writes.

For other books:
The scientific design of exhaust and intake systems.

Competition car suspension
^^^ This taught me a lot about Ackerman, king pin angles, etc...

Race Car Aerodynamics
^^^ I'm going through this one now, but haven't touched it in a while.

Find the organizations that hold track days at your local tracks and sign up as a beginner with an instructor.

https://www.reddit.com/r/CarTrackDays/

Some reading: https://www.amazon.com/Going-Faster-Mastering-Race-Driving/dp/0837602262

Don't get too caught up in the didactics, as there is no replacement for seat time. But it's a good introduction so you have the right frame of mind and get the most out of your instructors.

There are no winners at track days, but there can definitely be losers.

Be safe, and have fun.

Race Car Vehicle Dynamics (Milliken)

Tune to Win

Good Luck!

Get the STi springs. Subaru spent a couple hundred grand engineering them for a reason.

Are the strut bars bumping you up a class? If so ditch them and run in a more proper class.

As for the bodyroll, that might be a driver mod. Too much braking, not enough gas. Scoobies don't like lifting. That being said, your first problem is absolutely lack of suspension travel due to the drop. 1.6" is a TON of lost travel, and those rates are per inch, which you've chopped off.

I don't think your spring rate is too high, STi's are over 200 stock. But those Epic springs are 100% for looks, and not for handling. Even says so on their website.

>Epic Engineering springs are designed to give your Subaru a more aggressive stance, and increase the intensity of the driving experience while maintaining a smooth and comfortable ride

Further:

>The decrease in ride height effectively lowers the coefficient of gravity, as well as the front roll center and hence inclines the vehicle roll axis further up to the rear.

And, as anyone who's read "Tune to Win" can tell you, lowering the front roll center will promote understeer.

So change the springs for the STi ones. Takes an hour if you DIY and borrow the spring compressors from Autozone (or buy a set for like $40). Just make sure you get the cone washer on top of the struts going the right way!

Though not really applicable to the engine side, and likely too conceptual for the tire wear models, this one is really good from the dynamics side and translates many aerospace concepts over to vehicle dynamics (Stability derivatives, etc.):

Race Car Vehicle Dynamics, Milliken & Milliken

Do you have any good links for more information? I see what /u/Wozrop is saying from the theoretical model of friction standpoint but I see a ton of empirical evidence to backup what you're saying—and no doubt racers know this. I'm basically looking for technical explanations of why this is the case.

Edit: Incase anyone cares (or even reads this) I found an excerpt from Race Car Vehicle Dynamics:

>Tractive force F_T and braking force F_B are a function of slip ratio. As the slip ratio increases (numerically) from zero, the forces rise rapidly to a maximum which usually occurs in the range of 0.10 to 0.15 slip ratio, after which the forces fall off.

So, yeah, Milliken's 10-15% slip ratio finding corroborates /u/Kkubaa's statement. The chapter on Tire Behavior is pretty interesting; a lot more going on than simple problems from undergrad mechanical engineering.

> Get the best experience out of iRacing possible without wasting time

I would suggest possibly changing the mentality here (If I'm understanding you right). Instead, take your time & enjoy it instead of trying to rush to the top classes. Especially with road racing, the lower classes are the best place to learn tracks & driving competitively.

For learning how to be fast, I always recommend the book Going Faster. Everything else is just from experience & practice.

For the wheel stuff, you should be fine. Stick shifter would add immersion, but it's not mandatory.

Good book and the one I came in here to recommend.

Red Bull put out a shop manual for the RB6(?) A few years back. It's got a lot of really interesting stuff in it.

https://www.amazon.com/Red-Bull-Racing-Car-Championship-Winning/dp/0857330993

If you want to learn about the engineering/mechanical side of it, I highly recommend The Physics of NASCAR. I've been watching for 20 years or so and just recently read it and still learned a ton. You'll come across all of the terms you hear them talk about during the broadcast. The book reads almost like a high school text book so you can bounce around and hit things you are really interested in or know nothing about. I've picked it up and flipped to different chapters during a race to refresh my memory.

https://www.amazon.com/Physics-Nascar-Science-Behind-Speed/dp/0452290228

I figured responding would be better than downvoting and what not. Here's a short list of some good textbooks to start with.


Fluid Mechanics: Fundamentals and Applications: This is my favourite general fluid dynamics textbook.

Race Car Aerodynamics: Designing for Speed: Considered one of if not the best textbooks for race car specific aerodynamics.

Race Car Vehicle Dynamics: This is the defacto vehicle dynamics textbook. I don't think any F1 engineer out there hasn't read this.

Computational Fluid Dynamics: The CFD Bible.

PM me if you want ahem links to the digital versions. Sorry if I've been harsh earlier, everyone starts somewhere and some concepts aren't particularly intuitive. You've got the right attitude though, a better feel for aerodynamics will come soon enough.

If you think you learned a lot from the video, buy Skips actual book, "Going Faster". It's the single book to own for any driver. The video everyone keeps posting is a massive summation of the writing and it skips a ton of amazing stuff. Not to mention full page illustrations of suspension geometry and setup techniques, setup theory, etc. I got a copy off of amazon for like $20 - http://www.amazon.com/Going-Faster-Mastering-Race-Driving/dp/0837602262

Tune To Win would be my recommendation by Carroll Smith, old but very informative.

I started to read "The Perfect Corner" and whilst there is nothing wrong with it, it's not my go to book, but that is just my personal opinion which doesn't mean it's right for everyone.

I suggest you actually learn the basic fluid dynamics, then you'll understand how they work when people explain to you. Actual maths involved in proper fluid dynamics is pretty tough but you don't need it to understand the concepts.

Race Car Aerodynamics by Joseph Katz is a good mixture of theory and practical examples. The maths is basic, nothing beyond A level or first year undergraduate level.

That doesn't mean it's "slow". That depends on how straight or wide the entry and exit are. In a hypothetical scenario, you can save more time by getting optimal angle on the next curve rather than saving a small amount of time on this one.

See: https://www.amazon.com/Competition-Driving-Alain-Prost/dp/0905138805

Going Faster! from Skip Barber Racing School is a great resource as well.

Yeah that's a tough one. Probably the only real resource that would be useful is Paul Haney's The Racing and High Performance Tire. https://www.amazon.com/Racing-High-Performance-Tire-Using-Balance/dp/0768012414

Most other resources only have tires as a small subsection of the book or are going to be way over your head and focus on mathematical modeling. There is also one other interesting source of info that Michelin produced. http://www.dimnp.unipi.it/guiggiani-m/Michelin_Tire_Grip.pdf

Hayne's manual on Red Bull's first championship winning car, the RB6

https://www.amazon.com/Red-Bull-Racing-Car-Championship-Winning/dp/0857330993

In a word, yes. I know there is a way. I know it has to do with things like Ackerman and every other damn suspension variable. Unfortunately I do not know how to do it (engine guy here). Check out RCVD by Milliken. Good luck!

I know this isn't at all what you are looking for, but I would heartily recommend the Red Bull F1 Technical manual for any formula one fan.

Pretty much everything I know I learned from these two books, I recommend them highly:

• Competition Driving by Alain Prost http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0905138805?pc_redir=1397942173&robot_redir=1
  
  
• Tune to Win by Carroll Smith http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00E3GMC08/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1398350253&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40

The Racing & High-Performance Tire: Using Tires to Tune for Grip & Balance


It is more about technical stuff, and improving your knowlege about tires, doing setups... so it also should improve your driving.

Check to see if your university has a Formula SAE team. As an AE student you can help design and fabricate the airfoils of a Formula one car. Lightweight aeropackages with a low lift/drag ratio and a large downforce win races.

Race Car Aerodynamics: Designing for Speed (Engineering and Performance) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0837601428?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

*edit: forgot to include link

There was a good technical analysis book for the new hybrid era, but I don't remember the name. Will try to find it when I'm on my laptop. IIRC it was something like 2015 Formula 1 technical analysis, and it has loads of drawings detailing the various components of the PUs. I also believe it was translated from French, or maybe Italian

edit: this is the book

Why is this book so obscure and expensive? Why wasn't it republished? You can find only 3 copies on Amazon, starting from $230. (edit: since I wrote that, two more popped up, reaching from $70 to $1153)

​

I guess it has to do with the Senna family. They were allegedly very strict in providing home videos for the Senna documentary, requiring that Ayrton be presented in a favorable way, which is one reason why the movie ended up being biased and one-sided.

Thanks. I've found a few recommended books already:
http://www.amazon.com/Going-Faster-Mastering-Race-Driving/dp/0837602262/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312228989&sr=1-1

and

http://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Your-Car-Handle/dp/0912656468/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1312228516&sr=1-5
The latter is available as PDF ("for free"), although I don't know about the former.

Edit:
The recommendations are taken from this Audi A4 tracking introduction:
http://www.startupracing.com/Docs/Tracking%20the%20Audi.pdf

You are probably entering with too much speed. In levels of importance when racing are

1. Proper driving line -- Make sure you are using all the track and not apexing too early or late.
   
   
2. Exit speed -- You want to be as fast as possible on the exit to carry the speed down the straights.
   
   
3. Entry Speed -- This is the last one to worry about and usually only shaves tenths from a lap time. The previous two will shave seconds.
   
   Too many drivers focus on entering as fast as they can which messes up both their line and their exit speed and makes them slower overall.
   
   Also, in the MX5 weight shift is key. To get the car rotating release the throttle. You will get throttle-lift oversteer which is the key to rotating the car into the turn.
   
   I highly recommend buying and reading this: http://www.amazon.com/Going-Faster-Mastering-Race-Driving/dp/0837602262

If you're curious about the early years of Penske, a driver named Mark Donohue was central to the operation in its early years and he quite literally wrote the book on autoracing.

The Unfair Advantage. It's not quite like Senna's book, which is actually a great textbook on how to drive a car, but it's a really good view on how Team Penske started and the principles it follows to this day.

I know everyone hates Penske, but there's a reason they do so well beyond having lots of money. They know how to properly spend it and how to work well too.

>And weight on that tire would just be taking away from your other tires.

Except that's a good thing...

For tires to generate lateral force, they need a normal load on them (i.e. weight) and they need to slip (hence slip angle).

So by that logic, you just want to pile on more weight and you get more lateral force. This is true, but the problem is that pneumatic tires have a sensitivity to that weight. This means that for more and more load you pile on them, the less lateral force you get back. It's why race cars want to always be as low as possible, you transfer less weight.

Essentially, because the weight got transferred off the tire, it lost more lateral force capability than the outside tire gained.

If you don't believe me, read either:

The Racing & High Performance Tire by Haney

or

Tune to Win by Carroll Smith

or

Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics by Gillespie

or

RCVD by Milliken and Milliken

or you can choose to ignore a random person on the internet that says he has several years of engineering experience for several racing series.

Tune to Win: The art and science of race car development and tuning

It's never too early to start.

If you're interested in ride/handling or chassis design:

Race Car Vehicle Dynamics

The Science of Vehicle Dynamics

Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics

Chassis Design: Principles and Analysis

I would highly highly recommend picking up the book "Going Faster" and reading through that. It teaches the basics of race craft and how to break down the geometry of any circuit, and how to establish the best racing line through a corner. The book may be a little dated, but the fundamentals haven't changed one bit. And the boys at Skip Barber know a thing or two about race training.

The book is also fantastic

Have you read this beauty?

Haynes RB6 Red Bull manual

Its a pretty technical in depth look into practically every part of a formula 1 car

Thank you!

Link for Amazon UK

>teach each other racing techniques

Kind of seems like you are familiar but for those who aren't, Speed Secrets by Ross Bentley is usually recommended for new people looking to understand a bit more about fast driving techniques.

I just picked up Going Faster! and it seems like a solid book.

If you read these four Carroll Smith books you'll be more knowledgeable than just about every person here. They are by an large the foundational bibles of modern race car building, maintenance, and design. Don't let any engineer tell you differently. All of this info is easily applied to motorcycle mechanics, design, and engineering.

https://www.amazon.com/Tune-Win-science-development-tuning/dp/0879380713/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/Engineer-Win-Carroll-Smith/dp/0615754090/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/Fasteners-Plumbing-Handbook-Motorbooks-Workshop/dp/0879384069/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

https://www.amazon.com/Prepare-Win-Bolts-Professional-Preparation/dp/0615547338/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

The Physics of NASCAR is her book on the subject that she wrote before starting the blog. It's as good as any place to start.

That book got me hooked on the engineering and science behind racing. My favorite bit is about the shift to the COT and the crash testing they did.

Edit: Fixed link.

Nice, what about this one? http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Speed-Secrets-Complete-High-Performance-ebook/dp/B005J0K7X6/ref=la_B001IGLXME_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1451301872&sr=1-1

DrivingFast.net

TurnFast.com

"The Six Most Important Things You'll Learn At Racing School" (Jalopnik.com article)

"Performance Driving Illustrated" by Ross Bentley (PDF e-book)

"Ultimate Speed Secrets: The Complete Guide to High-Performance and Race Driving" by Ross Bentley (book)

"RaceLogic Advanced Circuit Driving Techniques" (PDF e-book)

Rapid-Racer.com Suspension Tuning

"Tune to Win" by Carroll Smith (book)

I have the rb6 specific one and thought it was a pretty good read/view. They're a bit technical but to the point where most people can understand what's going on.

Do you think that something like the F1 Technical Analysis or the Hayne's RB6-Rb10 Manual will have any of this stuff?

Totally forgot about this test! Hard to believe it was only 3 years ago.

From what I remember, I did the acceleration testing and one of the other test drivers did the handling testing. Essentially the 1LE performed identically on both tires. The figure eight test is so short that the 0.03 avg lat g difference is basically noise.

Much of the reasoning why has to do with optimization of the suspension for a given tire. I won't pretend to be an expert on suspension setup, so I'll point you here: https://www.amazon.com/Race-Car-Vehicle-Dynamics-Experiments/dp/0768011272

Well, some books that might be worth looking at:

Formula Student Finish to Win by Patrik Sipak


Racecar: Searching for the Limit in Formula SAE by Matt Brown

Learn & Compete A primer for Formula SAE, Formula Student and Formula Hybrid teams by Suzanne Royce, Michael Royce and others

Race Car Vehicle Dynamics by William and Douglas Milliken

Race Car Aerodynamics: Designing for Speed (Engineering and Performance) by Joseph Katz

As a beginner, you're going to benefit way more from getting your form and technique in line before you start tweaking things with the kart. Change one thing at a time until you get a handle on things.

Karting techniques:
http://www.amazon.com/Bob-Bondurant-Race-Kart-Driving/dp/0760310769

http://www.amazon.com/The-Karting-Manual-Beginners-Competitive/dp/0857330861/

http://www.amazon.com/Kart-Driving-Techniques-Jim-Hall/dp/0936834471/

Not karting specific:
http://www.amazon.com/Going-Faster-Mastering-Race-Driving/dp/0837602262/

Also this one is more specific than the Speed Secrets book IMO, which can be a good addition for your reading: http://www.amazon.com/Going-Faster-Mastering-Race-Driving/dp/0837602262/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0ZQHKTH18AJ2MMNPZ7EZ

https://www.amazon.com/Speed-Secrets-Professional-Driving-Techniques/dp/0760305188

Disclosure: I've never read any of these. Going just by what's popular.

You are going to have to try some different things to see which impact times the most (make notes of you changes and the results. One thing to keep in mind is after the long fast straights, try to hold speed as long as possible by early apexing the turns. Before the straights, you want to late apex so that you can straighten out the turn and get on the gas earlier. Check out some racing books too like: https://www.amazon.com/Speed-Secrets-Professional-Driving-Techniques/dp/0760305188/ref=nodl_

I agree with everything he said. Another way to get the most out of your eventual driving class is to read this book first:

Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving https://www.amazon.com/dp/0837602262/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_nkVvub00B1PF5

One book i can recommend

https://www.amazon.com/Going-Faster-Mastering-Race-Driving/dp/0837602262

The Perfect Corner, a bit heavy on trying to describe physics but very understandable

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1523441143/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1457147031&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=the+perfect+corner&dpPl=1&dpID=51Bfu8oKN3L&ref=plSrch

Going Faster, the Skip Barber book.

Edit for Amazon link:

Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving https://www.amazon.com/dp/0837602262/ref=cm_sw_r_other_awd_JEK2wbPN6JSZV

You could at least give the rest of us a link, unless you were planning to keep the secrets to yourself ;)

https://www.amazon.com/Going-Faster-Mastering-Race-Driving/dp/0837602262

You want more? You want Going Faster. I've spent a few weekends at the track, but this book still taught me a lot. Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving https://www.amazon.com/dp/0837602262/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_cV2AwbH2J2389

buy this book - http://www.amazon.com/Going-Faster-Mastering-Race-Driving/dp/0837602262/

it helped me a LOT. they break it down so well and explain everything you want to work on imho...

It's not fully online, though you might find a PDF around, is this: http://www.amazon.com/Red-Bull-Racing-Car-Championship-Winning/dp/0857330993/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410571889&sr=1-1&keywords=f1+engineering

http://www.amazon.com/Race-Car-Vehicle-Dynamics-Experiments/dp/0768011272

http://www.amazon.com/Racing-Chassis-Suspension-Design-PT-90/dp/0768011205


Can't learn suspension design without chassis design!

https://www.amazon.com/Race-Car-Aerodynamics-Engineering-Performance/dp/0837601428/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=race+car+aerodynamics&qid=1564857858&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Racecar - Searching for the Limit in Formula SAE

I believe this is heralded as THE racing guide

The redbull owners manual: http://www.amazon.com/Red-Bull-Racing-Formula-Manual/dp/0857330993

https://www.amazon.com/Racecar-Searching-Limit-Formula-SAE-ebook/dp/B00637KNZG


This is what you're looking for

read this https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Speed-Secrets-Ross-Bentley-ebook/dp/B005J0K7X6

For people looking for the technical book about the ins and outs of an F1 car (RB6).

Here is the desktop version of your link

Giorgio Piola who does the ilistrations on f1.com has his own books

there is http://www.racecar-engineering.com/ which has a few more tecnical articals

and the http://www.f1technical.net/ forum

edit and of course scarbs on twitter his site and on peter windsor youtube channel

https://www.amazon.com/Race-Vehicle-Dynamics-R146-Premiere/dp/1560915269/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1491969872&sr=1-1&keywords=race+car+dynamics

Get him started early

This may help

Ultimate Speed Secrets by Ross Bentley
http://www.motorbooks.com/books/Ultimate-Speed-Secrets/9780760340509/4185

Bentley has several books that cover specific topics. This book pulls all of that together in one volume.

------------


Going Faster by Carl Lopez
http://www.amazon.com/Going-Faster-Mastering-Race-Driving/dp/0837602262

An old standby.

https://www.amazon.com/Race-Car-Vehicle-Dynamics-Experiments/dp/0768011272

Ayrton Senna's Principles of Race Driving

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1560915269/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1463348434&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=race+car+vehicle+dynamics&dpPl=1&dpID=51RPTK9WZCL&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B019WQFEIK?pc_redir=T1

You haven't really looked at all have you?

Art of the Formula 1 Race Car
http://amzn.com/0760337314

McLaren M23: 1973 onwards (all marks) (Owners' Workshop Manual)
http://amzn.com/0857333127

Lotus 72 Manual: An Insight Into Owning, Racing and Maintaining Lotus's Legendary Formula 1 Car (Owners' Workshop Manual)
http://amzn.com/0857331272

Red Bull Racing F 1 Car: An Insight into the Technology, Engineering, Maintenance and Operation of the World Championship-winning Red Bull Racing RB6 (Owners' Workshop Manual)
http://amzn.com/0857330993

The Golden Age of Formula 1
http://amzn.com/3832794360

Formula 1 in Camera 1950-59
http://amzn.com/1844255530

Formula 1 in Camera 1960-69
http://amzn.com/1844252183

Formula 1: The Roaring 70s (English, German, French, Spanish and Italian Edition)
http://amzn.com/3832795375

Formula 1 in Camera 1970-79
http://amzn.com/1859609600

Formula 1 in Camera 1970-79: Volume Two
http://amzn.com/0857330748

Formula 1 in Camera 1980-89
http://amzn.com/1844251098

It is actually a slightly confusing title, as it's principally a biography rather than the workshop manual (which also exists) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Bull-Racing-Manual-Championship-winning/dp/0857330993

Just my 2C, but unless you learn race craft and theory, simply using a “line” drawn by someone else will do nothing for you. Once you learn the theory you then can start applying it to each corner based on your driving style, etc. There’s no magic bullet outside of outright knowledge and practice.

My suggestions beyond practice and seat time:

Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving https://www.amazon.com/dp/0837602262/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UC.GDbR6JKTR3

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1785211749/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_QE.GDbWKAQZPM

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1540628590/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_.F.GDbC7VC4TN

back in the 90s I got paid to do the dynamics on a racing game.

so much fun.

hardest part was understanding impulse vs. force applied, keeping the time dimension straight.

plus figuring out the axis of rotation of wheeled vehicles, how exactly tires turn a car.

https://www.amazon.com/Race-Car-Vehicle-Dynamics-Experiments/dp/0768011272 is the bible of course but it didn't answer any of the hard problems I ran into, like how to transfer the (uneven) forces in the shocks into angular vs. vertical acceleration.

Fail button is to deselect the menu options on the LCD Display

Source: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Bull-Racing-Manual-Championship-winning/dp/0857330993
Screenshot from mine:
http://i.imgur.com/a6MDY.jpg

Good reading: http://www.amazon.com/Going-Faster-Mastering-Race-Driving/dp/0837602262

My first was a lot of fun, but I took it very easy since I had OEM summer only tires and it was in the low 40's max in October... Keep an eye out for stupid or faster drivers and just let them pass in the passing zones. Not everyone on track actually belongs there...

Here is some advice, especially for an older car:
Brakes are the MOST important thing to check and there are plenty of incidents where people crash due to inadequate maintenance. fresh brake pads, inspect rotors for thickness, stress cracks if drilled. Inspect brake lines for nicks/age cracking, check brake fluid condition, reservoir leaks. Some places will turn you around right away if they see a wet reservoir. Flush and replace if it is bad or only DOT3. GOOD fresh oil and filter change, check wheel bearings for play (that will get you kicked out). Check tire condition, no dry rot. Clean and check alloy wheels for stress cracks. Remove all loose items you don't need at the track. Bring water, hat, long pants, long cotton shirt, helmet (SA2010+ probably), and of course a camera!

I totally remember reading about this in Tune to Win, but I forget the reason why it was.

It may have had to do with the fact that they used Swing Axle front suspension, so the camber angle change during body roll was the opposite of what it is with double wishbone (the reason people run negative camber these days).

Since Le Mans (linked posts only):

Yesterday, Maldonado (not a meme, just silly): http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/jw47n/maldonado_is_worse_than_hitler/
No race for Button: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/jw35u/no_race_for_button/
Copypasta-esque: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/jrc80/dont_get_me_wrong_bruno_is_a_great_driver_but/
Prost vs. Senna panel comic: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/jlimk/prostsenna/
Trollface Button: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/j4ymz/you_went_off_a_lot_didnt_you/
Overtakes 'like a boss' with a mugshot of Kobayashi: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/search?q=like+a+boss&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance
Copypasta: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/jjayd/three_words_jenson/
Copypasta re Button at Silverstone (presumably): http://i.imgur.com/qBUAp.jpg
http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/?count=275&after=t3_j6b5i
Button eating a biscuit: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/?count=325&after=t3_j4ggc
Vettel overtaking: http://i.imgur.com/jOQ6L.jpg
Vettel overtaking: http://i.imgur.com/4unXN.jpg
That laughing face: http://i.imgur.com/z5mpn.png
Haynes manual for about the 4th or 5th time: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0857330993
Haynes again: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/iphp4/haynes_red_bull_racing_f1_owners_workshop_manual/
Current points standings (?): http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/illa4/formula_1_drivers_standing/ and http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/ill98/formula_1_teams_standing/ - deservedly downvoted (linking to someone's advert-ridden blog, no doubt)
40 upvotes for pasting Terrence & Phillip heads on marshalls at Canadian GP: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/?count=650&after=t3_ikti3
The Haynes manual appears again: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0857330993/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
Troll face Vettel with 40 upvotes: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/i9jeb/luckily_hes_not_a_fortune_teller/
Haynes manual: http://www.haynes.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=52821&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=34566
Button, the 'most interesting F1 driver' copypasta (169 upvotes): http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/hxzv1/the_most_interesting_f1_driver/
Don't know: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/hy0dw/yep_i_still_have_it/
No upvotes, but 'Vettel's a whingey little fucker': http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/hy54a/bbc_race_report_fixed/
'Spoiler': http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/hnum3/spoiler/
Forever alone F1: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/hnve2/forever_1/


Others before Le Mans:

I first started noticing it when Petrov had his infamous 'flying' moment - a .gif with troll faces superimposed (http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/search?q=gif&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance).

Also, from Monaco, rage comic (264 upvotes): http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/hmum9/monaco_rage/
Another rage: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/dxguc/hey_f1_reddit_sorry_i_know_this_is_several_months/
More rage: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/e6930/abber_dabby_spoiler_rage/
Y U NO meme: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/hmxr1/this_goes_for_both_quali_and_the_race/
http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/h6qp2/hamilton_has_had_enough_of_vettels_finger/
Demotivational poster: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/gngo4/back_to_malaysia_ii/
Petrov flying (plus gif in comments): http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/gmn8y/stoli_gives_you_wings/
EJ copypasta: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/gm9ga/what_i_think_will_happen_tomorrow/
Petrov trollface: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/gji4g/what_most_people_thought_of_petrov/
Rage: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/gbtqk/f1_spoilereverything_went_better_than_expected/
Bernie copypasta: http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/ejytf/badass_bernie/

Granted, this isn't representative of the deluge of memes in other subreddits. But about a year ago, there was very little of this, and I think when they did crop up, they were all the more funny. But I worry that r/formula1 is beginning to turn into the rest of Reddit. I was attracted to Reddit because of good grammar, intelligent comments, insightful posts, and quirky in-jokes. Over the past year that has mostly disappeared, and I have stuck mostly to r/formula1. I just don't want to see one of the few parts of Reddit I can still intelligently enjoy devolving into a Reddit memefest resembling a cross-over between Youtube comments and FunnyJunk.