CHART KEYS part time team, or a team that has skipped at least one race unknown or a rumor for that section ROTY Rookie of the Year Candidate. IndyCar driver Will Power got the ultimate opencockpit racing scare tonight at Gateway Motorsports Park a view of the underside of Ed Carpenters car. The Texarkana Gazette is the premier source for local news and sports in Texarkana and the surrounding Arklatex areas. Subscribe and SAVE, give a gift subscription or get help with an existing subscription by clicking the links below each cover image. The 1. 01 Race Car Set up Basics Pt. SHARE. The 1. 01 Race Car Set up Basics Pt. Hours are spent between engineers and drivers describing how a racing car feels in pursuit of that perfect set up, often accompanied by the universal driver language of hand gestures. The most effective wing in the world isnt going to help you if its at the wrong angle, or if your camber is out by a fraction and the car is eating its tyres. Winning or losing can be predefined by mere millimetres of difference in the configuration of each aspect of a racing car every part must work in harmony to obtain the maximum performance. When I was younger, I used to enjoy spending hours setting cars up on the race sims that were available at the time perhaps mostly because you could get as much enjoyment from that as from the relatively simplistic, blocky graphics available at the time Wing angle, bump stops, spring rates I spent hours tweaking the numbers and then usually just minutes testing each adjustment out on the virtual track mostly in a desperate attempt to beat my uncle, who was the Indy. Car Racing king. And I think that at the time I actually had an idea of what all those things meant, the reaction to each action. I cant say I do any more, unfortunately. With modern games looking so great, its easy to play a game just to be blown away by the look of the cars rather than how well they drive. You can let practice and the science of set up disappear why not just set it to rookie mode, use other cars as your brakes and the barriers to help you round corners In real life there isnt that luxury. Race weekends are short and track time limited. Most importantly, car parts are expensive and drivers fragile, as weve unfortunately found out far too often recently. Whatever performance a driver is able deliver out on track, their efforts are made or unmade by the way the car has been set up. You want to win You need to have the car underneath you to do it. So how do teams go about setting up a car for a race What do all the terms mean, and what real life effects do they have Luckily I have Speedhunters own tame racing driver, Edward Sandstrom, to help explain. So what are the main areas of focus for setting up a race car Lets start with the definitions of terms and whats available, using Edwards FIA GT3 spec BMW Z4 as an example. GT3 cars are heavily stripped out road cars there are many limitations on what you can and cant change, and no in season development is allowed. The FIA carry out performance balancing at the beginning of a season to ensure that the potential of each GT3 model is as equal as possible this is then constantly reviewed during the year. GRID%203.jpg' alt='Race Driver 1.3 Patch' title='Race Driver 1.3 Patch' />There are an immeasurable amount of books on motorsports. These few are a some of my favorites because they capture the dream of motorsport. Guys like Donohue, Hunt. Check out race car chassis designs that suit your motor best. Whether it be your dirt stock or street stock, nothing has been more important than chassis knowledge. Santa Monica, CA breaking news, local news, events, weather, sports, schools, shopping, restaurants from Patch. NASCAR driver Brad Keselowski has said more than once that his lowerlevel Camping World Truck Series team loses about 1 million annually, but that he keeps doing it. This means that only way to maximise the drivers potential is to fine tune the set up of the car. DOWNFORCEThe most visible sign of a cars set up is its aero package. GT3 cars have big rear wings, which are balanced with the front splitter and, if necessary, dive planes. Edward, how do you decide on a downforce level for a race weekend Edward BMW provide us with general information regarding different downforce levels on the car. But of course we do analyse the track beforehand to get the right amount of downforce or at least set up a test program to find a baseline. Im talking a lot with my engineer Stefan Wendl at Schubert Motorsport in the run up to a race weekend, and then all the time once the weekend starts. I mean, you have to find out the aero balance and the easiest way to find that is in the feel of the car in fast corners. You want to make the aero so efficient that it doesnt change too much between front and rear in different speeds. We can change the upper and lower rear wing angle to adjust the balance between front and rear. We also have the diffuser that you can affect by different rake angles of the car. But we arent allowed to do much more than that in FIA GT3. ENGINE RESTRICTORSThere is a wide variety of engines being used in GT3, from the howling front mounted 6 litre V1. Aston Martin DBRS9 to the 4 litre, rear engined 6 cylinder Boxer on the Porsche 9. In an effort to keep the GT3 speeds reasonable and not to embarrass their GT2 and even GT1 cousins, which they could potentially keep up with out on track given full freedom the engine power is held back by the use of air restrictors these reduce the flow of air through the engine intakes and therefore reduce the power. In GT3 each manufacturers engine power is set at the beginning of the year during Balance Of Performance testing, and then altered as necessary depending on results. Edward, how much effect do the restrictors haveWhat can you do to counter act being handed smaller restrictors, if anything Edward I cant do anything Less air means less horsepower, so what can you say But an engine with more torque wont be affected as much as an engine with less. Every engine supplier of course finds their way to adapt things a bit for a smaller restrictor, but you never walk away from it with the same amount of HP. I think its important to have a camshaft with a wider range when you get a restrictor. You can also change the engine mapping to try and claw back performance. GEARINGIn an ideal world where money was no object, gear ratios would be changed to suit each difference tracks characteristics youre always looking to top out your speed on the longest straight at any track. Edward, can you change ratios in GT3 How many gearboxes are you allowed in the season Edward The gearbox is homologated from the start of the year. We are allowed to change the unit as many times as we want, but thats an expensive thing to do and thankfully we dont seem to have a big issue with them. The only thing we do is to rebuild them between the races. This year BMW introduced the paddle shift, which seems to make them last even better. BRAKESYouve configured the car to will max out down the straights now how do you stop it for the cornersEdward, how much can you change on brakes, except for the obvious consumables like pads Can you change manufacturer or compound Edward In FIA GT3 the brake disks have to be steel and the size is for sure homologated. Pads we can change between different suppliers to get different friction performances. That can help in terms of trail braking. EXHAUSTThe Z4 has the most recognisable sound on the FIA GT3 grid, with its big exhausts making a rasping roar, especially on downshifts. Edward, does the exhaust have much impact on the cars performance Edward Its nothing like Formula 1 with their blown diffusers I actually dont know why they go all the way back on the M3 GTE car they exit out on the side. On the Z4 its only made to maximise engine performance and to make that great sound perhaps SUSPENSION, WHEELS AND TYRESSprings, dampers, anti roll bars These areas are are fraught with complication and trade offs going in one direction often compromises other areas of performance. Download Eva Wild Series Rapidshare there. The softer a cars suspension, the better it can deal with bumps and potentially the more grip the car will have, but a stiff car will generally be more responsive, can normally run consistently lower to the ground and therefore generate more downforce, whilst also helping with tyre temperature by putting more load on them.