Chassis Tuning Advice and Techniques - Chassis Tips

Let's say, for example, you're not writing down what the setup is each week before the race. And the first week out you are blistering fast and win by a straightaway. The next week, however, is a completely different story. You run mid-pack, barely manage a ninth place finish and you're a half a second slower each lap. What changed from the first week? Without that notebook you have no idea. The notebook will help keep your program firing on all cylinders.

Lead position in the framerails needs to be double-checked.Let me tell you from experience, there is nothing worse than getting lead stuck in your framerails. This past year at Mansfield, Ohio, I spent an hour with a sledge hammer beating a piece of lead back into place inside one of our framerails. After we had that problem all fixed, I did not give another thought to the lead until we went to pull it out. It took us every bit of six hours to beat the lead out of the car with the same sledgehammer we had used at Mansfield. To get the last piece out we had to take a cutting torch and heat the bottom of the framerail to where it was glowing red just to melt the lead inside the rail. We ended up pushing out an extremely warped and very soft piece of lead.

Measure the distance between the spring buckets.On the front of the car, there are two spring buckets separated by the engine compartment. One of the best things you can do while the engine is out of the car is measure the distance between the two spring buckets. And while you're at it, measure the distance between the two upper control arms. Write down both measurements to within 1/16-inch in the same notebook we were discussing earlier. During the course of the year you will likely be involved in a crash. Most of the time, simply eyeing the chassis will not reveal a problem. But with that measurement you can simply pull the motor, which after an accident you need to do anyway just to make sure the chassis is okay, and check the measurement between the two spring buckets. If it has changed at all, you know your front end has been tweaked.

Never underestimate the position of your seat.This is more for entry level divisions like Go-Karts and Bandoleros where the driver makes up the majority of the weight of the car. In these vehicles, seat position becomes extremely crucial on how well your chassis will perform. If the seat is in a bind, then your chassis will be in a bind. You should never have to push your seat up or down to make it fit a bolt.

One of the most often overlooked pieces of the chassis setup - caster.Most teams look at caster and dismiss it because it's not as evident as camber. But caster is just as important, if not more important, than camber. Caster is best seen when the wheels are off the front tires. You can see the caster of a car by imagining a straight line that starts with the upper ball joint and extends to the lower ball joint.

Most asphalt teams run a standard 2 degree split between front wheels, with 4 degrees of caster in the right front and 2 degrees in the left front. However, dirt drivers often run as much as a 6 to 7 degree split and sometimes even run a negative setting in the left front.

Preserve your chassis by powder coating it during the offseason.One of the best things you can do for your chassis during the off-season is to clean it up and make it look brand new. The best way is to have the car sandblasted and then have it powder coated. Of course, there is no performance advantage from doing this. However, not only will it look great, it will help preserve the chassis. Powder coating helps resist the chipping of paint, scratches and fading. It is much better than the typical spray paint used by some teams.