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

by Carroll Smith

Covers the development and tuning of race car by clearly explaining the basic principles of vehicle dynamics and relating these principles to the input and control functions of the racing driver. An exceptional book written by a true professional.

Genres: Engineering, Racing, Cars, Nonfiction, Technical

173 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1978

Reviews

[Malachy Crossan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly informative book. It explains complex dynamic systems perfectly by introducing simple concepts and later building on them to form a complete understanding of the system as a whole. Because of this approach, very little prior knowledge is necessary to comprehend the topics covered.

What truly sets this book apart is Carroll Smith's engaging writing style. His wit and humor make the technical content not only accessible, but truly enjoyable to read.

The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars is its age. To his credit, he did an impressive job of "future-proofing" this work. Not only are most of the concepts still relevant today, but he also acknowledged that motorsports is ever-evolving. However, you can't avoid the fact that this book was written in the 1970s, and some technology he discusses would be considered primitive compared to its modern counterparts.

[Erick Corona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative on how racecars are tuned. I read it to make better setups in simracing. Many of the things explained are complicate, and only useful when building a real car. In simulators, a smaller percentage of the book is useful. It's very interesting, however, to know the work involved in setting up a real car.

The book is old, but most of what it says is still good advice today. Carroll is also fun to read.

[Ariel Gil · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first thing to read when designing racecars.

[ShadierRook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super dense, but fantastic for tuning knowledge. Feel way more prepared for FSAE and have been successfully using the advice to tune in Assetto Corsa.

[Shubham Saurav · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read for racing enthusiast.