Prepare to Win

Rating:
Summary: The Great Ones Make it Look Easy
Review: Ever heard that phrase before? That's exactly what Mr. Smith has done with "Tune to Win". The breadth of his experience becomes obvious very quickly. Yes, it was written in the seventies, but, the last time I checked, Newton's Law of Gavitation (1687?)was still applicable. Mr. Smith has saved the 95% of racers who haven't turned pro at least five years of research and development time. Thinking of changing your car's suspension geometry? Why do you need to keep the roll center height low? Loose is fast, but how loose? Where does understeer drag affect the car the most? Considering all real professionals are continously looking for every little thing that will make their cars faster, I'm sure they read this book as soon as it became available. "Tune to Win" will show you how to find the best set-up for your car and conditions and driver. There are many suspension books on the market, but this one goes far beyond "to reduce understeer, soften the front anti-roll bar". If you haven't read it, and you want to win, you need to. My highest possible recommendation.

Rating:
Summary: Every car lover should read this book
Review: I enjoy driving my car - in the most active sense. I enjoy being involved in the experience, and I like to know how things work in general. Although I spent a little time as a mechanic, I am certainly not an engineer, nor am I interested in racing as a participant. I do enjoy driving my cars on the track - but I compete against myself. I LOVED this book.

Tune to Win was at once educational and entertaining. I expected the education, but the entertainment was a pleasant surprise. Smith writes very well, making otherwise extremely dry material absolutely fascinating. Even though this book is now quite old, it is still very relevant. The descriptions of vehicle and tire dynamics, as well as the effects of suspension design upon them, were "just right" for me. They were technical enough to satisfy me, and at the same time they were light enough that I could follow them. There is some math, but high school algebra is sufficient to follow every example.

Smith's approach combines carefully explained laws of physics with pragmatic sensibility when it comes to where and how one might realistically effect a change in their car's performance

For all of the guys out there adding strut braces, sway bars, after-market springs, changing ride heights, wheel offsets - all without truly understanding what all the implications are - this book should be required reading.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic and important for any motorsport professional
Review: This book in unquestionably the bible of motorsport set-up. It is an absolute must for anyone who considers themselves a professional in this industry. .... He is one cool guy and a heck of a guru!

I bought Carroll's whole set of books with skepticism, but they helped me improve my game as a driver, and I am much more able to discuss with my engineer now. My engineer gave me his old ratty copy (it was obviously very heavily used) and ordered me to get a copy of my own. I AM VERY GLAD I DID.

I learned more in the preface about racing than I have in years and thousands of dollars of engineering and racing schools! The reason is that all of the pertinent information is directly provided to you - right up front. It is concisely organized to help you get the most out of yourself and your racing machine.