V1.2 Nov 22 2006
This is a work in progress, and it has been a very long time coming. I intend on working on it for the next little while, dumping as much of my brain and hard-earned knowledge into the public record. It is, however, NOT public domain; I reserve the copyright for myself. You may NOT duplicate this elsewhere without my express permission - and this is the age of Google, folks, I WILL find you if you post it elsewhere. Otherwise, read and enjoy, and put this all to good use. Go fast!. DG
While the Internet is a fabulous method of sharing information, the harsh reality is that any idiot can put up a web page and declare himself expert - and many, many do. In some cases, the volume of misinformation is staggering; no more so than on the topic of how to make cars go faster. Sometimes, despite the best of intentions, stuff is just plain wrong - my own early writings contain examples of this (oi, did I actually write that a turbo and nitrous would cause a positive feedback loop leading to insane boost pressures? Yes, I did - and it's wrong.)
But many times, you'll find blatent misinformation disguised as fact through the author's sheer, bloody-minded ignorence and the willingness to proclaim it at the top of his virtual lungs.
Sometimes, this misinformation is well-written and well-presented; that no more makes it truth than the moon being constructed of green cheese.
More insidious is misinformation presented by authority; where the presenter has had some degree of success. Gentle reader, almost a decade of trying other people's cars out - including some ProSolo Champions - has convinced me that the number of drivers who have had success in spite of their technical setup ability is far greater than conventional wisdom would suggest.
I'm tempted to name names of some... save that all that would do is unescessarily burn some bridges and wound some egos to no good effect. Suffice it to say that in the hands of a talented driver, any car with a reasonable amount of performance potential (and mounted on sticky tires) becomes a formidable weapon and is entirely capable of winning races, no matter how poor the setup.
This is doubly true when the rules limit the amount of setup changes one can do to the car. It is nearly impossible to render a Stock class Z06 Corvette undriveable (although many have struggled mightily to do so). Even Street Prepared cars are difficult to really screw up.
The true proof of the pudding is when a car in the hands of a mediocre driver can whup on the best of the best - and there are most definitely drivers out there with both driving and engineering talent to spare.
My hardest-won lesson was learning to stop listening to conventional wisdom, go back to first principles, and try and test for myself. So doing made me a better engineer, made my car much faster (and easier to drive) and as a side effect, shone a glaring light on those who were technically way over their head.
It is not lost on me that this writing suffers from the same problem; the argument from authority. So be it. GO TEST IT! Take what I have to pass along, try it out, test it under scientific conditions in a properly instramented car, and if you find out that I'm wrong about something - more power to you! I write this with the assumption that everything I have to say will be taken with extreme suspicion until proven out in your own testing. Don't just take my (or anybody else's) word for it - GO TEST IT!