[John Hannaford]

Richard,

My problem isn't usually in passing over the details, rather it's in chasing them past the point of declining returns. I'm always tempted to do a full dissertation, but this isn't the place and I think the message can get lost in the numbers. My professors ensured that I acquired the engineer's usual excessive regard for measurement and analysis - I do my best to resist.

I agree with your general point. I think that much of the Cobra's reputation for difficult handling is due to a lack of development. The original car was never fully optimized, and now we face the large variety of sometimes questionable suspension compromises that are considered "Cobra". My live axle FFR is primitive and under-designed compared to one of your creations. Yet with two years of the kind of analysis that you propose behind it, and some opportunistic development of solutions and feed-back testing, it is now a very good race car that competes well. Despite having a less than sparkling pilot, to be honest. Those that start with less tattered sow's ears should be able to do at least as well.

I also agree that for some of us, a reasonable kinematic analysis should be done as a starting point, and that the information gleaned should direct the intial optimization as well as the on-track tuning. I also agree that the seat of the pants part is not usually done well. I wince every time I hear someone pronounce that they've thrown - fill in your favourite piece or adjustment - at the suspension, and now "it handles great". We will dyno test and obsess and spend endlessly on horsepower, but whenever I ask about suspension setup protocol or skidpad testing or data acquistion or even tire data - the glazed regard appears.

Now here comes the resisting part: Having said all that, I think we have to keep perspective on the issue. We are not (mostly) professionals, and most of us, despite calling it racing, never do more than circulate on tracks at comfortable speeds. The majority of us can probably get the improvement we need without the full development package. By doing just the most basic testing of our existing combinations we should be able to cure the most obvious handling ills and learn to adjust for basic track conditions. Those chasing the bowling trophies will have to do more, but perhaps the rest of just need something akin to a Stage 1 suspension setup program.

I had some sophisticated measurement and computational tools available, but that certainly isn't the usual case. So, faced with an existing design that was getting around the Glen in a reasonable but typically Cobra fashion, what would you do first with the tools available to the average enthusiast?

cheers,
John