Understanding vehicle dynamics through curiosity, not myths.
aki@rs As a beginner, I learned firsthand just how important it is to stay calm when driving on a race track. Don’t get nervous. Relax, relax… Just relax, like you’re sitting on a sofa, kicking back and taking it easy. Re-laaax…♪ Hmm? Wait a minute. Does that mean the more I relax, loosen up, and take … Read more
When I was younger, I often had to work on Sundays, so I’d take weekdays off instead and go to the track. On weekdays, I often had the place practically to myself, which was the perfect environment for practicing. Thank you, Takasu Circuit! How’s business going? The best thing about having the track to yourself … Read more
And here we are with Part 3! I still have plenty of braking mistakes to talk about, but I figured writing about nothing but braking mistakes would get a little repetitive, so today I’m going to tell you about one of my mistakes involving cornering consistency. When you’re a beginner, you gradually get more and … Read more
Here we go again! It’s time for another installment of the series where I put my past mistakes on the internet for the whole world to see! Last time, I told you about one of my braking mistakes. And this time… it’s another braking mistake! HaHa. So, I’d finally overcome my beginner’s habit of lifting … Read more
One nice thing about driving on a circuit is that you can practice by driving the same track over and over again. But when I was still pretty new to circuit driving, I realized something one day. Even though I thought I was doing exactly the same things every time, there were times when I … Read more
Do you guys drive on circuits, compete in gymkhana, or go on mountain road attacks? When you think, “I want to go even one second faster!”, you might start adjusting your coilovers to tune steering characteristics such as understeer and oversteer. You’ve probably heard things like making the front springs stiffer will cause understeer, or … Read more
As we discussed in the previous article, this article continues our discussion of response. Roll stiffness and body stiffness are both important, but tire stiffness is also a key factor. Have you ever tried attacking a circuit on eco tires or comfort tires? Compared with tires designed for motorsports, these tires have lower stiffness, and … Read more
Think about this. Suppose you take a car with its stock suspension, put high-grip tires on it, and take it to the track. The car rolls so much that its response feels slow and it’s very difficult to drive. What would you do to make the car easier to drive? Increasing the damping force will … Read more
I occasionally mention specific books in my articles. The reason is simple: I want people who are actually looking for that kind of information to be able to find them. I’m not trying to tell people who say, “I like cars, but I don’t want to read difficult books…” that they have to read them. … Read more
In the past, partially threaded coilovers — also called “spring-perch-adjustable” coilovers, since ride height was adjusted by moving the lower spring perch — were the standard choice, and fully threaded coilovers, which adjust ride height independently of the spring, were considered a premium product. These days, however, depending on the vehicle, it can even be … Read more