Review

By Matt Gartner

The best way to describe Allan Staniforth's book "Race And Rally Car Source Book" is that it is advice for amateur race car design and construction. Its tight, 3-column layout is filled with page after page of race car design and construction techniques, observations and tips.

The author walks through his experience and philosophy for race car design and in doing so gives suggestions and data on many different car parameters and components. For example, while discussing basic car design parameters, he provides a table that shows the wheelbase (wb), trackwidth (tw) and the wb/tw ratio for of over 20 different cars, from a sprint kart to F1 to Road cars. It's great to have this kind of data compiled in one place to use when deciding on what wheelbase, trackwidth and wb/tw ratio might best suit your own design.

Some of the ideas in this book jump out at you. The "String computer", a method of simulating suspension motion using strings and templates, was created before there was any personal computer software (that I know of) available, but is still a decent option for those who prefer to design "hands-on". Other examples of ideas discussed in the book include amateur monocoque design and rubber suspension.

The Race and Rally Car Source Book is most appropriate for someone who understands the fundamentals of race car handling and design and is about to embark on designing their own car. You don't have to be experienced as this book provides the author's experience and ideas. But you will need to understand the fundamentals to appreciate the author's advice.

It is primarily written with scratch-built, spaceframe vehicle designs in mind, but much of the advice can be applied universally to donor and scratch-built cars. It also looks at monocoque design.

Table of Contents from "Race and Rally Car Sourcebook" by Allan Staniforth

Contents

Bibliography	4
Author's Preface &		Setting-up a car	79	6. Two Case Histories - the
Acknowledgements	5	Corner weights	80	conception, building and
		Testing	82	development of the
1. You Have To Start		Rubber suspension	83	Gould-Terrapin & Megapin 5	202
Somewhere...	7	Ackermann angle	87
The Balsa Model	10	4. Aerodynamics	88	7. The Anatomy of a Racing
Costing; Accidents;		What wing to choose?	92	Team - Williams	222
Looking ahead	11	The coming of the "Wing
		Car"; D.I.Y. flow checks,	94	Appendices	227
2. What, Why, When ...		The NACA duct	94
and some of the How	13	Duct calculations	98	1. Tools & Useful Materials	228
Weld or braze?	14	Wings, pods &
The monocoque car	15	undersides	99	2. General Data & Conversions	229
Design criteria	21	More D.I.Y. research	103	Comparative material
Fitting everything in	22	Drag, speed & power	103	weights	229
Safety harness	23	Single section timing	110	Metal sheet comparisons,
Wishbone/links	24	Multi-section timing;	111	lb wt/sq ft	230
Bulkheads; Nuts, bolts &		Performance graphs	115	Imperial Standard Wire
Dzus	25	G-forces at Prescott	115	Gauge equivalents	230
Getting started	26	Wheels & Tyres	119	Steel and light alloys: specs
The little things	27			and uses	230
Using the rollcage	28	5. Trailblazers	129	Liquids: Various data	231
Analysis of your "Best		Introduction	129	General conversion table	231
Buy"	29	Rally: SAAB 96 (1960-		Miscellaneous other
Remote controls; Fuel		62)	131	equivalents	233
" tanks	30	Rally: Mini (1963)	133	Some comparisons in
Honeycomb, carbon fibre &		Rally: Ford Escort		typical tube	233
the future	31	(1971-78)	135	A guide to torque wrench
Improving YOU	39	Rally: Lancia Stratos		settings	233
Brakes	40	(1971-78)	138	Formulae for calculating
Limited slip & locking		Rally: Audi Quattro (1982)	144	mph per 1000rpm for any
differentials	41	Rally: Peugeot 205		overall gear ratio	233
The five-link axle;	42	(1984-92)	144	3. Guide to Spherical Rod End
Narrowing a solid		F.750: Simplicity (1949-53)	150	joints	235
axle; Strengthening		F.750: Forrest (1961)	154
a solid axle	42	F.750: Tristesse (1965)	156	4. Tyres	236
Gear ratios; Electrics	43	F.750: Warren/Reliant		Dunlop	237
		(1973)	160	Avon	238
3. Suspension & Steering -		F.750: Omag 2/Reliant	162	Goodyear	239
the heart of the matter?	47	F.750: Marrow and Darvi		Michelin	239
Solid "suspension"	47	(1989-92)	166	M & H	240
String - and other -		Formula Ford - "Entrance		Yokohama	240
computers	49	to the arena"	171	Hoosier	240
Targets	54	F1: Vanwall (1958)	179
Bump-steer	57	F1: Cooper T51 (1959)	181	5. Effects of inclining coil spring
Steering alterations	59	F1: Lotus 25 (1962-63)	184	suspension units	241
Suspension frequencies	64	F1: Brabham BT26 (1968)	186
Push/pullrod suspension	65	F1: Tyrrell P34 -		6. Establishing C of G position	243
Choosing coil/damper		6-wheeler (1976)	189
sizes	70	F1: Lotus 78 (1977)	193	7. Damper evolution	246
Anti-roll (sway) bars	76	F1: Brabham BT46/B
Rising rate suspension	78	"Fan Car"	196	Index	247

Book Sections

The book contains the following sections:

Introductory

The book begins with the introductory chapters "You Have To Start Somewhere" and "What, Why, When and some of the How". They are composed of a variety of topics that the author felt were of importance in the construction of a small race car. He looks at both spaceframe and monocoque chassis in this book.

General topics covered include balsa models, costing, welding vs brazing, monocoque car, design criteria, and the placement of components—These are not detailed sections, but rather commentary and the author's knowledge and experience on these topics.

Following these initial topics, the author discusses several component aspects including safety harnesses, wishbones/links design and construction, remote controls, composite materials, brakes, differentials, axles and more. There are some real gems of wisdom included in these topics that will benefit anyone building their own chassis. Aspects like part selection, longevity, crash energy impact absorption and the like are discussed.

Suspension

The next section discusses suspension design, including the author's own innovation the "String computer". If you can imagine replacing the wishbones/links with strings and templates instead of doing everything with math formulas or computer software, then you have the idea. It is a practical hands-on way to see and play around with suspension design parameters.

The book also includes other suspension topics such as bump steer, making alterations to steering racks, push and pull rod layouts for spring/damper actuation, spring/damper sizing and linkage ratios. There is a sway bar design section with diagram and formula.

Just like the introductory section, these are useful bits of information to consider when designing your own suspension and there are plenty of diagrams and charts to help explain things. Some topics even go into areas that no other book I've seen considers—for instance the "Rubber suspension" and "solid suspension".

Aerodynamics

This section, like the previous ones, is filled with practical advice, but in this case on aerodynamics. The author discusses wing design criteria, some basic aero theory, and DIY flow testing.

There is a nice NACA duct design section that provides a diagram and formulas for designing your own NACA ducts. The car underside and sidepods are also discussed as well as aero performance testing.

Tires/Wheels

There is a section on wheels and tyres (Strangely in the aerodynamics chapter, but that makes no difference), which offers some useful advice on wheel selection criteria and on tire characteristics. A portion of this section is about specific tire brands and treads which of course change over time and are potentially obsolete since the book's original publishing date.

Trailblazers

The book devotes a considerable number of pages to discussing cars that were notable for their time and some of the design attributes that made them stand out. For anyone designing their own car, this kind of information can be very useful for stimulating the possibilities in their own designs.

An area this section really stands out in is the number of cars from the "Formula 750" or "750 MC" that are discussed. These are innovative amateur cars built in the UK which parallel much of what current small motorcycle-powered race car series are doing. If nothing else, this section will give the reader an appreciation of the innovation found in many of these historic cars.

Author's Car Case studies

In this section, the author discusses the design and construction of his and other scratch-built cars, both spaceframe and monocoque based. His assessment of each type includes technical insights, challenges, practical advice and anecdotes like this:

[blockquote]A warm relationship with his local supermarket manager had gained permission for simple standing start testing in the car park after the shop had shut, invaluable in the long struggle for instant pick-up with a turbo. One summer evening, touching full boost, the whole collector box and inlet system exploded with such ferocity, that it was immediately reported by several locals as a bomb. Very shortly the law..[/blockquote]

This section also includes two designs for rod end adjustability on wishbones, which is useful in setting up a car.

The Anatomy of a Racing Team - Williams

A sidebar type chapter, this one talks about some of the goings on inside the Williams F1 team up to and including the active suspension period. It is interesting reading, but not of particular technical value to the DIY race car designer.

Appendices

In this section the author provides some useful lists and data tables to help designers and builders.

There is a list of tools and materials that are recommended for the builder of the spaceframe/monocoque cars the author predominantly talks about.

There are various tables of data and conversions as well, which unlike many books, are actually useful. For instance, there is a table for the weight of various metals and other non-metallic materials to help designers compare weights in their designs. There is also a table of weights for sheet metal of different metal types and gauges, again useful for estimating weight in a design.

Steel and aluminum alloy specifications are given for the most common types of alloys used in race car construction (1020 steel to 4130 chromoly to 7075 aluminum) and a handy chart is also included that shows different tube shapes and sections and their strengths relative to each other.

The recommendation of spherical rod ends is given some treatment with specific brands and models mentioned. Although potentially out-of-date, most parts suppliers can provide cross-referenced equivalents.

A design section for inclined coil springs in a suspension is given a decent treatment. It includes a chart, formulas and information to help calculate the effect of the inclination for anyone putting the coil springs/dampers outboard on their cars.

Two final pages discuss the evolution of damper (shock absorbers) technology and the impacts on DIY car designers/builders.

Page from "Race and Rally Car Sourcebook" by Allan Staniforth

Helpfulness to amateur race car designers

The true value of this book is in the experience and lessons conveyed by the author—pitfalls, best practices, interesting ideas (e.g. rubber suspension, suspensionless cars) and racing and building experiences. For someone looking to refine their design or study a successful designer's advice, this book has a great deal of value.