In my mind the fewer the adjustments on the car the better. Less on your mind that you can tweak(fewer excuses or mind games). The car will pretty much be "all new" for me in Autox with the amount of suspension changes I'm making this winter so eventually I will just learn to drive it again. Once the car is setup, with a decent amount of research and knowledge, then leave it and learn to drive it. At least thats the way I think. I do have the advantage of tweaking my alignment whenever I want. I have a rack and machine at work that I can use whenever I want. 95% of those alignments are just making sure everything is exactly the same as last event.
I don't think there are many of us here who have developed a driving style that can't improve or change. And I think there are fewer who can tune a shock/suspension properly. I have no idea how, I have read how, it seems tedious, seat of the pants is a pretty terrible gauge in my opinion and you would need some data acquisition and track time to set properly.
Here is some information I found with a quick search on Shock Tuning.
Before they even get into shock tuning, take a look at
the precautions. This is geared towards a road course but be honest with yourself and think if you would be able to accomplish
point #2. Specifically stating the handling issue with the car. Especially taking into account factor #4, and #6.
Sure the ultimate suspension is out there, but do we all have the potential to USE IT ? Not on the street, and no one here is driving on a race track full time with endorsement so I doubt it.
I know we are all enthusiasts, we all want to improve out cars, its a passion and a disease at the same time. Driving our
cars isn't paying the bills though...
Suspension Tuning Tips by Bob Tunnell
Before getting into specifics of suspension tuning, here are some thoughts about suspension tuning drawn from my own experience...
1. When listening to advice, consider the source and the context. Many of the Internet special interest groups are a wonderful source of information. But one of the biggest drawbacks to all the advice you see on SIGs is that the authors are rarely qualified to offer SPECIFIC advice for YOUR car. It's easy to SOUND like an authority... it's rare to actually BE one. When reading their advice, pay particular attention to what make and model of car they own and drive, what modifications have they made that are truly applicable to your car, how experienced they are, what discipline are they tuning for (autocross, road race, street, track, etc.), and how closely their budget resembles yours.
2. Be specific in your analysis. If your car is pushing, pay particular attention to *when* it pushes. Is it on initial turn-in? Is it mid corner? Is it on corner exit? Or is it a combination of all three? For example, if a car pushes in mid corner, but not upon entry or exit, chances are the problem lies with alignment, spring, or bars... not the shocks. So it's critical to properly identify the symptom and isolate the true cause of the problem... the treatment needs to address the root cause.
3. Fix the end of the car that has the problem. If your car isn't turning in properly, don't adjust the rear of the car to try to make the front end work better. Conversely, if the car is extremely tail happy because of low rear grip, decreasing the front grip to compensate may make the car feel balanced, but it will ultimately make you slower. Often in Stock class autocrossing or road racing we're forced into adjusting the "wrong" end of the car because rules limit our ability to adjust properly, but these methods should be considered a last resort.
4. Don't discount driving technique as a big factor. Most drivers don't like to hear this, but it's true. I can't tell you the number of times I've been told by a driver, "My M3 pushes like a pig!" But when I get in the car it seems perfectly balanced to me. I'll ask the driver what his previous car was and invariably it was a Camaro, Mustang, Corvette, or other high horsepower RWD car. M3s were not built to handle the same as pony cars and they cannot be driven quickly with the same technique. Slow sweepers in particular need to be entered slowly, under control, and "carved"... not tail-out Dukes Of Hazard style. And the best part -- changing your driving technique doesn't cost you anything!
5. For the best results stick with one tuner. Professional high performance tuners know more than anyone else about how to make your car fast. We work on making cars faster and handle better day in and day out. We know which products perform best together and which ones don't. By mixing and matching products -- usually in an attempt to get the lowest price -- customers often end up with a car that doesn't respond like any of the advertising claims they've been reading. Put a pot pouri of components on your car and you'll likely end up with a mixed bag of results and wasting your money. Different tuners have their areas of expertise and their advice.... spend a little extra, discuss your needs and budget with a professional tuner, and you'll likely get far more value for your money.
6. "Compromise cars" will not do everything well. I am frequently asked how to set up a car that will be good on the track, but still plenty comfortable to drive on the street. Not everyone can afford to own enough cars to have one for a commuter, one for autocrossing, one for road racing, one for rallying, and another for concourse events. Most of us are forced to live with compromises... one, or maybe two, cars that have to perform a variety of functions. When asking a tuner for advice on how to set up your car, you must first determine in your own mind what compromises you'll be able to live with and be certain to communicate your needs. If winning autocrosses is more important than having a luxurious ride during your 5-minute commute, chances are you'll be happy having your car set up more for performance. But if you drive an hour to work over frost heaves and tar strips, you probably should set up your car more for comfort and leave the WRC Championship for another time. BMWs are amazing cars and can do a lot of things well, but don't expect a tuner to do the impossible.
Also some more good reading here...this car is now owned by a local Autox'er with the SASC club.
The original builder, Dennis Grant won SCCA nationals in the USA, he knows what he is talking about. He
was also a shock engineer at a race team at one point.
He doesn't have a lot of love for adjustable shocks, since on his shock dyno the adjustments do very little or work incorrectly.
http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets6.html