How To Make Your Car Handle

Comments

1. Anonymous says:

   October 13, 2010 at 6:32 pm

   I happen to work with Fred Puhn and own a signed copy of this book.

   It was one of the best works available at publication. It is still valuable for any serious student of automotive suspensions. If you do not know and understand that which preceded your time, you will repeat past mistakes.

   Does the book cover innovations since 1980? No. Does it provide the careful reader insight into car handling and suspension dynamics? Yes.

   If you are interested, take a look at what Fred was doing when most readers were still in diapers.

   http://www.tamsoldracecarsite.net/SanteeSportsCar.html
   Rating: 4 / 5
2. Mike Blaszczak says:

   October 13, 2010 at 6:50 pm

   I bought this book based mostly on its review score average. I’m very disappointed in my purchase.

   The book has two major flaws.

   First, it’s horribly outdated. The copyright date is 1981, and the I have the 32nd printing; but it seems like the book was never revised since its publication. I began amusing myself by guessing which companies and suppliers mentioned in the book were no longer in business, and finding which products were no longer manufactured.

   The book mentions some specific measurements and values, but discusses no car newer than 1979 or 1980. Some tables (such as the list of wheel bolt patterns) don’t mention a car newer than 1975! While the hard statistics and tables which discuss specific models might be interesting to someone doing restorations or who is a vintage racer, they’re of no use to anyone who’s racing modern cars. Even if an older model of your car is listed, it’s probably been redesigned enough to make dimensions (if not the advice itself) obsolete.

   There are some innovations that the book doesn’t even mention. For example, the section on tires doesn’t discuss metric tire sizes (where the section width and aspect ratio are explicitly given, like 255-50R15) and instead includes tables that show the depricated tire size codes (where the section width is designated by a letter, as B50-15).

   The book includes between zero and little advice on modern suspension tuning techniques. There’s no mention of corner-balancing and cross-weighting in the book. The section on pyrometer use for diagnosing a car’s handling is less than half a page long and includes a couple of flaws. One of them is suggesting that the “ideal” setting results in equal temperatures across the surface of the tire; modern directional tires are built to let the inside edge to more work, so the tire will run hotter towards the inside.

   Most of these issues are forgivable in a book that’s old. But they’re somewhat compounded by the author’s shallow treatment of other handling issues. There are impressive graphs and some simple formulae throughout, but the shallow treatment of the book is too tightly applied to the outdated parts and designs. You can read this book and learn about ride height and center of gravity, but the explanation is tied to double-link suspensions. How can you apply the author’s advice to your modern car, with its MacPhereson strut system, or an independent suspension?

   In some areas, the tuning advice is laughable. The book says that “the method for arriving at the best shock setting is a matter of trial-and-error”. The author suggests setting the bump and rebound of shock absorbers to “the softest settings”. Then, “drive the car and note the amount of wheel hop over the bumps … increasing the bump setting until wheel hop is reduced to a minimum.” And that’s where the advice ends. How can a driver measure wheel hop? Should the driver really leave the rebound setting at its softest possible setting? If so, then what’s the point of using a double-adjustable shock? What about using bump and rebound to cure mid-corner and corner-exit handling problems?

   I think that it’s easy to find more modern books on suspension tuning, and to get better advice for your car’s modifications. This book is inexpensive, and might earn a place on your reference shelf just because it’s half the price of some other books on the same subject. And someone resotring an older car might find the dated information useful (though little advice contained here is appropriate for the drag racer) as might someone who is restoring an older car. But the book isn’t interesting for a modern road-course racer or street tuner.
   Rating: 1 / 5
3. Anonymous says:

   October 13, 2010 at 9:34 pm

   The book begins by explaining why your car handles the way that it does in the first couple of chapters. The author gets into a lot of physics formulas building up on everything as it goes. It feels a little dry after a while, but the explanations make a lot of sense.

   Then he gets into explaining how to tweak your car and modify the chassis. It’s best to read the “whys” in chapter two before attempting to read the “hows” in the later chapters. Otherwise, you won’t have a good understanding of why he’s recommending changes or if you *should* make the change.

   The book is a little old, but is still applicable to any modern car.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. Heather Walton says:

   October 13, 2010 at 11:15 pm

   I was recommended this book from a friend at the i-club. I love to drive and am looking to modify my car for better handling. This book is an excellent source for that! A major part of the fun in driving is a good handling car. This book covers all the basics in detail. It is easy to read, yet, has a Physics/Engineer depth to it as well. It is not just a matter of buying better suspension parts and installing them, this book goes into depth about understanding the nature of a good handling car and exactly what that entails from good tires, alignment, lowering the ride height, springs, anti-roll bars, shocks, brakes, etc. It emphasizes balance and that there is no magical part for better handling, but all the parts must work together in harmony and how making one change effects others parts in the car. Once you gain an understanding for the reasons of poor and good handling, you will then be able to truly understand what will work and what will not to achieve your goals. Changing one part of the design often has far reaching effects and it is rare that one part will do you any good. Just as I thought adding a stiffer anti-roll bar to the rear of my car alone would work! Tires are the source of contact and are vital to good handling, so an entire chapter is dedicated to tires and exactly what they do. This information is relevant to the everyday driver with no mechanical knowledge (like me) who simply wants to increase the fun factor in the driving experience, and also to rear gear heads with chapters on chassis modifications and designing your own parts as well! An excellent source for anyone who values good handling characteristics in their car as I do.
   Rating: 5 / 5
5. David Vaughan says:

   October 14, 2010 at 12:43 am

   Do not be deterred by the age of this book. It gives a broad-ranging and well-written coverage of what car handling is all about and what you can do to your own car, if you are so inclined. I actually bought it to learn more about setting up 1/10th electric racers rather than a street car. All of Puhn’s ‘big car stuff’ at first seemed irrelevant but he covers both concepts and practicalities so well that it proved of great value. Highly recommended and, at its cut-price, a real bargain.
   Rating: 4 / 5