Customer Reviews

Tune to Win: The art and science of race car development and tuning

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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.

Auto racing is a VERY complex sport. 95% of amateur racers don't have a clue about aerodynamics, vehicle dynamics, and other rather essential but very diificult areas, and the professional racers aren't much better. The beauty of this book is that Carroll Smith breaks it down and tells you EXACTLY what you need to know in a very easy to read format. I read this book and driving, as well as racing, has never been the same since. I'm constantly trying new things driving, and reflecting on what Carrol Smith theorized in his book and I can tell you as living proof that he is right on, because if he was wrong I'd probably be dead! I can't stress to you enogh the importance of this book, it is vital to winning. Mr. Smith's expertise and advice should be regarded as coming from directly from God. After reading this book the next step in understanding race car handling and dynamics is "Race Car Vehicle Dynamics" by Bill Milliken. It's a college text book and has alot of math and physics, and Carroll Smith's book does all of that, in less pages, and simpler language than that book (although that book is a really good one too, I have it as well). Last thing I will say is this:

Please do NOT buy this book. I want to keep winning, and the fewer people that read this book the better for me. ;)

Carroll Smith is simply the best. Period.

This is a must for anyone interested in racecar preparation and tuning. Smith is an absolute expert in a difficult field and highly regarded by his peers. Also, check out his other "... to Win" books. All the same quality, written with talent and dry wit.

This is a great introduction to vehicle dynamics and a basic guide to the overall tuning of the vehicle. Carroll Smith gives just the right amount of theory to go with his practical advice toward the end of the book so you can understand why it works (or doesn't).
Tune To Win does NOT take the place of Milliken & Milliken's Race Car Vehicle Dynamics but is certainly enough for tuning. Tune To Win does not have enough information for anyone building a car from scratch; for that, Race Car Vehicle Dynamics must be on the reading list.
Do note that this book is quite old, but the laws of physics have not changed. Tire compounds have improved, good shocks are more available, there are more manufacturers of differentials on the market, etc, but all of Smith's tuning advice and explanations of vehicle dynamics still apply.. so this is still a great read in 2006!

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.

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.

Carroll Smith not only has a great deal of hard-won technical information to share, but his style is light and entertaining, a rarity in this segment. Smith is unashamedly opinionated, but with the breadth and depth of his experience, he has every right to be. Technical specifics share pages with amusing and insightful anecdotal information. This book should be considered required reading for anyone building a high-performance automobile.

I've been racing cars for years on a shoestring budget.Mr.Smith shows you how to do it safely and wisely.Engineer to win,etc. Thank you Sir.

The late Carroll Smith's book "Tune to Win" will appeal mostly to engineering minded car racing enthusiasts. Smith, in his patented blunt style, tells you everything you need to know about suspension geometry (both static and dynamic), handling issues related to alignment, springs, dampers, and anti-roll bars. While somewhat dated (1978), this book is still a gold mine of useful and accurate information. He goes on to discuss steering, under- and oversteer, and methods to set-up a race car based on what is actually happening with the car.

Also worth reading is the section on aerodynamics.

While this book does a good job of covering theoretical information in an easy-to-understand way, much of this is either fairly obvious (or described on many internet sites), and/or not all that useful.

As for more practical information, the book is aimed at the driver of purpose-built race cars built in the 70's (when the book was written) who doesn't know the basics of how her car works. In contrast to the statement on the back cover, there is no indication that anything about the book has been updated. If this applies to you and you believe the suggested suppliers are still in business, buy the book.

Finally the large number of typos and factual errors (e.g. the constant confusal of inertia/momentum with energy) make me question the accuracy of the rest of the information.