Larry Herman

I see these questions asked over and over again: I want to go faster, what mods should I do to my car? Or should I run R tires? Or I want to run stiffer springs, how stiff should I go? Or should I buy Motons? The typical answer is that it depends on how well you can drive. A pretty nebulous answer if you ask me. I think that this is a very important subject, especially for the newer drivers, and I would like to delve into it a little further.

What is it about a newbie modifying their car that gets all of the old-timers into a lather? After all, if one makes their car handle better, doesn't that make it safer to drive? Big brakes, stiff springs and sticky tires all raise the limit of ones car, so doesn't that make it easier to drive? In a word, NO. All of these mods make your car faster, but not safer, and certainly not easier to drive.

The problem is that you can take a car that may lap a track in 2:00 with you driving at 10/10ths and modify it so that you can lap a few seconds faster driving at only 9/10ths. Well that sounds safer, doesn't it? In theory maybe, but we all know that you will try to get back to 10/10ths and that is where the problem is.

Nothing is free. All things come at a cost, and performance mods are certainly no exception. As you improve the performance of your car, you make the operating envelope narrower, and harder to read. Whether it's stiffer springs, sway bars, shocks, monoballs, R tires etc. all of these mods improve the grip of your car, but they operate in a smaller window. In order to take full advantage of this, you must be on the same level. And a stock car at 10/10ths is much easier to drive than a race car at 10/10ths. The reason is that a stock car has a very large operating window, and the movement in the suspension, the leaning of the car, and even the screech of the tires all give very clear signals that the car is approaching the limit of adhesion.

Race cars have a very narrow operating window. They are very stiff, don't lean at all, and race tires never squeal so the clues that you are getting near the limit are very subtle. Most newer drivers are very visual and need lots of notice that something is happening before they recognize it, because they have not yet learned to identify all of the signals. They literally need to be hit over the head with them. Experienced drivers have learned to feel the subtle changes in the car. If you are not able to feel those changes, you will drive right past them, and off the track without ever realizing what happened.

A good friend and accomplished racer and car builder, Chris Cervelli, always tells me that he wants the car to talk to him. He's looking for, and feeling, the changes in grip of the front and rear of the car. A stock car will shout at him. A racecar will whisper. A car that is setup wrong will be deadly quiet. Are you good enough to hear your car whisper?

And that is the answer to your question, can you hear your car whisper? If you are able to feel the minute changes in the car and you can get on top of the little twitches and slides before they become big ones, then you are probably ready to modify the suspension of your car. When a slide becomes a nuisance because it slows you down, not because it is a potential spin that you saved, then you are most likely ready. And most importantly, when you know and can feel everything that your car does, when you can predict and be ahead of any missteps that your car may take and when it never "just steps out" or "snap spins" or any of the other excuses as to why your car gets out of control without you realizing that it is happening until it is way too late, then you are definitely ready.

Veloce Raptor

POST OF THE YEAR.

Crazy Canuck

Great post Larry.

Gary R.

Todd, how did you get into Larry's account?

Well said "Larry".

Veloce Raptor

Gary, it was too brief for one of Todd's miniseries.....

TD in DC

Great post Larry. That is exactly right, of course.

In addition to being able to hear your car whisper, you need to be able to have enough tools in your toolbox (i.e., car control skills) to know what to do in response to those whispers.

The other interesting thing is that the farther you stray from the stock design, the more you typically need to know about car setup. Do you know how to setup your triples? Maybe it would be a good idea to crawl and then walk before you run rather than trying to run from the beginning.

Hindsight is always 20/20. I have learned so much over the past three years that I can hardly remember all that I didn't know. Of course, all I have to do is search for old posts to get really humbled.

In the end, I am still barely above newbie level. There is so much that you can learn if you are only willing to open your mind to new ideas and your ears to all the whispers . . .

TD in DC

Not by much, and I would know

BostonDMD

Larry, nice post....

I will be in WGI with Riesentorer in August with Bobt993, do you think I can stop by and introduce myself?

At the race at the Glen, I only saw your car fly by......

Larry Herman

I'll be there too running the white classroom. Make sure that you see me on the first day.

Jim Child

That post should be required reading for newbies. Nice work Larry!

BostonDMD

Hi, hi Sir......

bobt993

Hey Larry, I thought I was going hoping to run with Scott. From my observations, he's ready to move forward. Who's this Boston dude??

BTW Jack wants to be in our group, but still needs to talk to Tom Z (still on a trip). Dougherty found some more snot in my car after doing a leakdown. We will see, Tom and I are instructing at the Bimmer event in 2 weeks.

BostonDMD

Hey, thanks Bob.....

Anyonelse who wants to show me around?........

Veloce Raptor

Sure...I dare ya!

BostonDMD

ARE YOU TALKING TO ME?