Race Car Chassis Design Resources

You May be Wondering— Where Can I Get Help with Setting a Chassis to Obtain the Best Racing Performance?

Most professional racers and race car builders have found that you can “fine tune” the suspension and set up components and gain a competitive advantage. Since we offer a comprehensive range of suspension products, our customers ask us many questions concerning the best way to set up a chassis. For example, they ask what is the best way to size springs and calculate the panhard/j-bar height and sway bar size in order to optimize weight transfer to improve their car’s balance during turns. Such knowledge allows accurate setup, improved handling consistency, and most of all, lap times that stay fast and consistent throughout the race. With the correct setup, the car’s handling balance will stay more consistent through changing track conditions. We suggest the following three ways to gain accurate knowledge that applies to your particular race car: (1) Purchase software, (2) Attend a seminar, or (3) Purchase educational publications.

(1) Purchase Software: Chassis R & D Software lets users examine alternatives & gives answers that are needed in order to make the correct decisions about chassis set up before a race. Such software removes trial & error.

(2) Attend a Seminar: Hyperco is familiar with two seminars, one on chassis design given by Claude Rouelle and another on tires & handling by Paul Haney. Such seminars cover topics like dampers, the use of data acquisition, camber, caster, and track variations, bump steer, roll center movements, anti-squat & anti-dive, pro or anti-Ackerman geometry, and the theory behind tire selection. Paul also offers a book on the subject of tire selection.

(3)Order Publications: Steve Smith Autosports has several publications on Chassis Design available for purchase online.