My Personal Philosophy for Car Builds - March 24th, 2023

When I am building a car for an enjoyable driving experience, there are few things I aim for. Steering, suspension, tire/wheel size, weight, and driver interface.

First and most important is a zero slop suspension setup. I absolutely HATE any bushing that causes undue movement, especially in the steering system. I want the steering to be precise, repeatable, and direct every time.

Recently, I picked up a supercharged R53 JCW (John Cooper Works) Mini Cooper. Having a bit of BMW DNA, it uses a large compliance bushing at the rearmost mounting point of the lower control arms. Even after tuning up all the rest of the suspension (Yay! for Ohlins R&T coilovers!) I could most definitely feel those compliance bushings. Swapping them out to urethane still left slop in the system. I just can’t handle that.

Nobody made a solution for the problem, so we developed a zero compliance large monoball assembly using solid Delrin alignment bushings. The difference was immediately noticeable. For an extra 5% in road noise, I now had a car that offered laser precise steering. I can put the car exactly where I want it, exactly the same, every time.

How did I end up with this philosophy? The damn AE86, that’s how. The AE86 has zero bushings in the steering system from steering wheel to steering knuckle. The only bushings at all are the bushings holding the rack to crossmember. It’s as good as any Lotus design, if you ask me. Ditch the inboard LCA bushing and TC Rod bushing and you are talking amazing precision. Other than that, camber plates up front and rod ends on the 4 links and panhard bar and you are pretty much done for slop. With good dampers and springs, you can control the slip angle right down to the inch at the track. It’ll never jump out and bite you. Might as well be a video game it’s so precise.

For tire size I tend to go down one size instead of up. If the car comes with 16’s front and 17’s rear, I’m likely going to go for 15’s front and 16’s rear, while maximizing the contact patch. I like the extra margin that having a little sidewall gives you. The car tends to break loose a bit more gradually and soaks up irregularities in the pavement a bit better. If a car comes with 18’s all around, I’ll go to 17’s. If 17’s all around, I’ll go with 16’s. I like the look of a little more meat on the sidewall. Seems a bit more serious, maybe a bit more grown up. In many cases, going down one size allows for a wider tire plus lower weight wheels for less rotating mass. It makes a difference. For tires on my street and track toys, I prefer something along the lines of the Toyo R888 or RA1. Hoosiers tend to piss off the folks behind you by flinging rocks and they just don’t last long enough to really be used on the street much.

Weight reduction is key. Often overlooked, but one of the best ways to liven a car up. Lead acid battery out, Braille in. Spare tire and jack, what? Now what else can I get rid of? I never have rear passengers, so the rear seatbelts gotta go….and on and on. It’s amazing what 70lbs of weight reduction can do for a car. Wanna find out? Check how your car feels with a nearly empty tank vs full.

Driver interface is something I never overlook. You spend most of your time interacting with your car from the inside. A good steering wheel, a good seat, a good shift unit (if possible) and a good shift knob. Throw in a Broadway mirror for extreme visibility and hit the corners.

Things I no longer have a use for? Solid or overly firm motor mounts. For essentially zero gain, you can make your life hell. You can take a car that would be a great or decent daily and make it so you can’t see out the mirrors for the vibration of it all. For what?

Digital clutches. I hate em. Nothing makes me feel like a noob like peeling out just trying to roll from the stop sign, or even better, having a cool car and killing it while trying to pull away from a stop light. Then everybody’s gotta wait for the idiot in the sportscar to get it started again and try again….. I like a strong clutch, but you gotta be able to modulate it a bit.

Crappy exhausts. Whether a rasp or a drone, it’s gotta go. I keep working at it till I get a bearable throaty burble pop or sporty sound.

I usually leave all the looks portion of the car till the very end. I’d rather have a car that looks like a rat and goes like stink than have a car that looks like a million bucks but wallows.

Pretty much every car I’ve ever owned, I’ve built this way. There have only been a couple of times where I couldn’t tune a car into what I wanted it to be, and usually it had to do with an overly floppy chassis that created inherent slop. Without fully caging and modifying the chassis of the car, there was no way to dial out the flexi-chassis (Kenmeri…I’m talking to you).

Just my two cents. Everyone has their own approach, but this is mine, and it is what I aim for with any of our product design. Have fun with the build, have fun in the enjoyment of the vehicle after the build. So get out there and #buildsomethingawesome!

Gabriel Tyler