A Setup To-Do List to Get You Started By Bob Bolles, Circle Track Magazine . Cut through any emotion and provoke quality responses. Once the car has moved through the middle and it is time to accelerate off the corner, we need the LR to squat and the tire to come back into a more straightforward position for better exit performance. HS: With the track going to full dry and slick conditions, we need to get more radical in our setup. Decrease the air pressure all around for more footprint area, and groove the tires for the most side bite with more grooves and a limited number of siping cuts. A before leaving check list will help you get ready. There is a reason iRacing set up the license progression system and why they have the lower-level series. July 5, 2016 Wayne Scraba Drag Race 101, Guest Columns, How-To and Tech Tips, Tech, Tech Tips 0 Over the past several issues, we’ve taken a close look at the hardware that’s pretty much proven to make your leaf spring car hook hard and go straight. We can see how it is possible to experience a high 1.7 g's all the way down to a very low 0.7 g's in a single day. This is a highly complex subject and best left to experts such as Professor C.P. Very moist but graded and compacted: 1.5 to 1.6 g's (the best the track will be all day and very fast through the turns). We currently have about 20 different tire rules avalable, accross the country. Partial proof came to me as I was putting this story together. Let the tire sit between coats and use at least three coats. The higher the banking, the farther the moment center can be located to the right in the car. We usually have the opportunity to change the grooving in the tires to increase the grip and to help control heat buildup. The LF spring = 375; RF = 350; LR spring = 185; and RR spring = 175. The latter involves changing the height of the spring by turning the adjusting ring at the top or bottom of each spring to regulate the amount of crossweight, or, in more familiar terms to dirt racers, the amount of left-rear (LR) weight. Six laps into the final race, I looked in the rearview mirror to see that my Miata friend was just a green dot in the distance. Log In. When you reach the track it is ready to roll out of the hauler and onto the track. Evening up the front springs will help the car turn, and softening the RR spring, lowering the moment center, and raising the CG will provide better bite as the track dries out. A good practice is to coat the tire on one day, let it sit overnight and coat the tire again the next day. A typical setup might be: LF = 350; RF = 375; LR = 175 (325 pounds swing arm), RR = 225 (400 swing arm); 56 percent left-side weight; Panhard bar at 11 inches left and 12 inches right; and no front Ackermann with zero rear steer. You can arrange your three link set up for over steer or under steer through chassis roll. The greater angle of the bar also causes the chassis to hike up in the rear, which produces rear steer, the degree dependent on the angle of the linkage bars in the rear suspension. From left to right: Roll Oversteer, Roll Understeer, and Neutral Steer. MCs located to the left are useful for the flatter, slicker tracks. 5. We should soften the shock rates all around so that the "shock" to the tires will be reduced as the car transitions going into the turns and accelerates off the corner. We would soften the right-side springs to help the front turn and the rear to promote traction off the corners. When the LF is hiked up considerably, we lose any front downforce that we might have enjoyed, as a great deal of air comes under the raised LF spoiler and we lose most of our front grip. The RF = 350; RR = 200; LR = 200 (375 pounds swing arm). This prevents a condition in which the LR (as well as the RF) ends up with a high weight while the RR supports very little weight. Keep the all-terrain tires and lower the pressures a bit. We will still need to drive the car straight and try not to soften the right-side springs too much yet. That is probably why rear steer (left tire forward) is sometimes so helpful. Raise the Panhard bar by 1 inch to 13 inches left and 9 inches right. Hobby Stock (HS): We might run a stiffer right-front (RF) spring and a stiffer right-rear (RR) spring. Dry slick, a condition in which the track has lost considerable moisture and is now very dry and slick with little grip: 0.7 to 0.9 g's (The cars are now very slow in getting into and through the turns, and traction under power is very low. We could continue to move weight up and to the right in the car to raise the CG about 1 inch and further decrease the left-side weight percentage. Here is a list of phases of grip that a dirt team might encounter on a typical race day, along with the associated estimated g-forces that the car might experience: 1. The idea of side bite, the tires digging into the dirt when sliding, then became someone's reason of why these changes needed to be made. Racing Shocks Setup Tips for Dirt and Asphalt Here are some racing shock setup tips you can apply at the race track.. Like anything else, all suggestions are just what they are "suggestions." In this blog, we will talk about some dirt street stock setup tips that you can use to make sure your racing experience is as good as possible. The LF tire can be floating somewhat, but if it is not well off the ground allowing air to get under the front end, the aero will still work. The setup may look like this: LF = 350; RF = 325; LR = 185; RR = 150 (double the rear springs for the swing arm car); Panhard bar at 12 inches left. We can observe cars that three-wheel off the turns and hear the throttle being cycled on and off. So if we agree that there is a low pressure effect and with it some amount of downforce, we might try to utilize that effect to our advantage. That can be said for us all. If you have a choice, run tires with large grooves such as the all-terrain types for mud and snow. The fewer degrees that the LR is toed in, the less rotation the chassis will have on corner entry. The Superstar Racing Experience currently features legendary drivers from a variety of racing backgrounds, but later may include younger up and coming drivers looking for exposure. You need to know the weight of the vehicle, the wheelbase of the vehicle, the size of the tires, and obviously the size of the other braking components.”. Birkhofer says his team is working to make the car more balanced, learning the exact location of the moment center design. Lower pressure on the left side will provide a lateral force that counters the centrifugal force that is trying to take the car up to the wall. KNOWLEDGE CENTER. The "slide job" works well here because as you go under a car coming into the corner, you pass and inevitably slide in front of the passed car. If we combine the different bar angle possibilities with the various spring placements, indexing properties of the birdcages, pull bar angles and spring rates, lift arm rates that regulate lift on acceleration and compression during braking, shock rates for the four corners, plus the fifth and sixth coil, we begin to get the picture. Think of the effect at 60-80 mph in the turns. It is time to soften the car, move weight over to the right, and lower the rear moment center more. This track condition means the tires are getting a lot of grip and the surface tends to have ruts that grab the car hard. We will take more air out of the tires, but not enough to cause them to roll over. A typical spring layout would be: left-front (LF) = 800; RF = 900 (or a 750 with a full spring rubber, if spring changes are not allowed); left-rear (LR) = 200; RR = 225 (or a 175 with two full spring rubbers). Change, change, everywhere a change... , a message from social protests of the '60s, could have been written in reference to dirt track racing. The LF tire will be doing less work with these changes but should still be touching the ground, and the Ackermann will help it provide turning power. The conditions do not usually change much from practice to qualifying, and the surface may become even more moist if the crew waters the track prior to the qualifying runs. By clicking Sign Up, you agree to the  Terms of Use. LM: We definitely need to soften up the setup and introduce more rear steer to be able to negotiate the turns without causing the LF tire to be lifted completely off the track surface. It will take more than one race to really make you a great racer, so don’t get discouraged by a bad lap or race. All cars and drivers are not alike, but in general these are commonly applied pratices we have used over the years. Challenge your skills to some of the most technical racing on mobile, these cars aren't for the faint of heart. Another way to get your car set up and going in the right direction is to have a weekly maintenance routine. https://www.hotrod.com/articles/ctrp-0404-dirt-car-setup-tips Dirt Car AerodynamicsMost dirt racers probably do not agree that aero has a profound effect on dirt cars. Learn how to make the proper adjustments to improve lap times. Raised some dirt on the exit of Turn Eleven, but dropped the lap times. The routine for setting up a dirt car should start in the shop. Tire selection should include a little more siping to help dissipate heat, as the tires will begin to spin slightly coming off the corners. We need to maintain the downforce our car produces for corner speed, while providing some kind of bite off the corners. If we had nothing to learn, we may as well go golfing-not. We will examine some physical rules that deal with chassis dynamics so we can arrange the setup to meet the conditions. Furney Jr., who took the time and effort to help us dirt racers understand more about dirt Late Model tires by writing a book about it. It's no wonder that the pole car seldom wins. Steering Geometry. Makes sense and explains why the adjustments work. To the typical dirt racer, side bite is the idea that the car is rolling to the right, forcing the tires to dig into the dirt providing more traction. There's never one set rule for every chassis for every track though, so these should only be taken as guidelines. We could raise the rear ride height an inch or so to be ready if the track begins to dry out some and affect bite off the corner. For race setups, I use very little rear split because as the RF tire wears a big rear split has a tendency to make the car snap loose on exit. Driver touch is most important in maintaining momentum). Putting the large, flat side of a Late Model into the wind has a pronounced effect on slowing the car and creating lateral lift. A team sent me the geometry data from its Late Model car purchased from a recognizable car builder; the car was very well designed. For this reason Keep the egos out and listen intently. Case in point: The MR2 from BDRC and the white Mark II. By clicking Sign Up, you agree to the  Terms of Use. It takes a lot of work to make these changes, and we must think correctly in order to make the best changes. The tires can be changed to more of a street performance tread with slightly lower pressures. Before that, you have to understand how to prepare dirt track tires and dirt racing flag as well as talking about the necessity of balancing your car and defining the term ‘wedge’. Tight, Moist TracksMost dirt tracks start an event with a lot of moisture due to the crew watering and/or tearing up the surface prior to the event. Most racers now agree that all rear steer should be accomplished through LR wheel movement. Dirt car setup is far more complicated than setting up an asphalt stock car. ABOUT. Increase the rear steer by changing the angles of the left trailing arm. The car should enter, go through the middle, and come off the corners going straight ahead and balanced in the overall setup. The key, again, is to be sure to make changes based on your track conditions related to your type of car. CAR SET-UP'S If you have a 2016 Late Model, please give us a call for the setup sheet! The ones we spoke with were in agreement that times have definitely changed. Experienced crew chiefs use the three link set up as part of their set up package. The track has now blackened over and the edges of the groove are loosening up with the surface material turning to drier sand. We need all of this when the tracks more closely resemble asphalt conditions as the G-forces increase. Build a legacy on the track that you are proud of with dirt track racing education from Bob Harris' Race Tech Info! The car will turn in well and drive through the middle because of the balanced setup causing the LF tire to work to turn the car. LM: It is time to go a little more radical in the setup. Generally speaking, most dirt tracks are ovals of less than one mile in length with the majority being ½ miles. Race track configerations and Series rules will also dictate what setups work best for your race car. #RaceTechSpeedSecrets. A low CG number for a dirt car is around 17-18 inches off the ground. The idea is to help the tire produce the maximum allowable grip by making appropriate changes to the tread pattern by cutting (siping) or grooving.

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