Drivers and Engineers

An engineer from Team Le Mans, a racing team that has competed for many years in top Japanese categories such as SUPER GT and Super Formula, once wrote the following in a post published on the team’s Facebook page: Does changing the springs change the amount of load transfer under braking? No. It doesn’t matter … Read more

Learning to Learn

The other day, I came across a thread on X that really resonated with me. The author argued that self-study has actually become harder in the age of the internet. Beginners naturally search for answers online, but because they don’t yet have the foundation to judge what is important—or even what is correct—they tend to … Read more

Damping Force and Tires: How Certain Are We?

The other day, I was reading an article about damper damping force and the spring characteristics of tires. I found it very interesting and informative. Here are a few of the key points: The article also included a discussion between people from manufacturers and tuners about how to deal with the latter issue. When I … Read more

Lap Times Must Keep Getting Faster

There seems to be a general feeling that lap times must keep getting faster. When you stop making progress as a driver, you start looking to modify your car to gain more time. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I just think it’s one of many ways to enjoy motorsports. At the same … Read more

The More I Learn, the Less I Know

I sometimes wonder if there’s anyone who truly understands everything about cars. Cars are incredibly complicated. Just understanding the materials they’re made of is a huge challenge. Then those materials become individual components, and those components come together to form a complete vehicle. Trying to understand every mechanism at work in that finished product is … Read more

Why I Sometimes Recommend Specific Books

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