D.I. COLUMNIST
Tuned Up
with Will Hanna
TUNING WITH A PURPOSE
I
have preached about tuning
to the next run in this column.
We look at data from the last
run and past runs, but we have to
make sure we are making changes to
suit the conditions for the next run.
What was too aggressive one run
might be just right for the next or
vice versa. Building on that concept
is tuning with a purpose.
What I mean by “tuning with a
purpose” is having a goal of what
you want the car to do. In my years
of racing and consulting with teams,
one thing that sets apart the racers
who turn into good tuners is they
have a direction they want to go in.
It is easy to get so caught up in the
run-to-run, race-to-race changes
and adjustments we don’t have a
direction we are heading, or at least
trying to reach. When you have a
goal you are trying to reach, you will
learn more from your trial and error.
Even when the goal is not the op-
timal way to run the car, reaching
the goal can help point you in the
right direction. As a case in point,
I was tuning a car for a while and
had a certain way I was running
the car with a goal that I thought
was the optimal way to run the car.
Over the course of the year I had
made changes to get to that certain
point. The car ran pretty good at
marginal tracks that way and was
OK at national event tracks, but
wasn’t going rounds. By reaching
that goal and analyzing the results,
I knew I was going down the wrong
road. I knew the answer was “over
there,” so to speak. So overnight we
made some wholesale changes to the
combination and the way we ran
the car. I told myself I wasn’t going
to be “afraid” and make the same
changes I was used to making. Four
runs later we were standing in the
U.S. Nationals winner’s circle. The
next year we made the two quickest
runs of the year in the class.
While that was an awesome week-
end, the road to reaching a goal is
not always that smooth. All too often
changes or experiments come at a
cost, especially if you don’t have the
luxury of making a lot of runs. Some
races only have two qualifiers. Some
racers don’t have the time or avail-
ability to make test runs outside of
events. So to try something different,
you have to risk potentially losing
runs. This ultimately might lead to
losing races and even not qualifying.
Having a goal will help you
weather those storms, so to speak.
If you are trying to make the car,
the engine, the tire, etc., do a cer-
tain thing, you keep making steps
towards that goal. Successful or not,
each change brings you a little closer
to that goal.
When you don’t have a goal, you’ll
often find yourself making changes
just because what you are doing
isn’t working or isn’t running well
enough to win.
Now when you are trying to figure
out a goal, we often discuss certain
things with someone else. It might
be an engine guru for some direc-
tion or questions on something. It
might be a suspension or shock
guru, or a converter or clutch guru.
It might also be another tuner you
race with or have learned from. Even
the tuners who are at the top of the
game talk to other tuners and “gu-
rus” to get perspective.
I have often preached that if you
are going to get guidance, pick one
guru and listen to them. Don’t get
caught up in the tuning guru buf-
fet. Taking what you hear from one
guy and putting it with something
else you liked from another guy will
many times lead to failure.
On the same note, don’t go an-
swer-shopping either. Some people
call it being an askhole. We’re all
guilty of searching for an answer
we want to hear. You have to learn
to accept an answer you don’t want
to hear and that’s why it’s important
to not seek guidance from too many
different sources. The most com-
mon version of this is, “Why did it
burn this piston?” The answer most
want to hear is the nozzle plugged.
The answer is almost always the
engine was too lean and that’s the
hole it picked on.
When two people tell you dif-
ferent solutions to a problem, they
might both be correct – in their own
application. Solution A might work
with Tuner A’s combo because he
has X, Y and Z to go along with it.
Solution B might work with your
combo, but won’t work with Tuner
A’s combo because you lack X, Y and
Z in your combo. The devil is truly
in the details.
Finally, don’t be afraid to believe
in yourself and your judgement no
matter what your experience level.
There’s a long list of champions who
were relatively inexperienced and
quickly rose to dominance. Don’t
try to do what everyone else is doing.
Be the guy they are trying to figure
out what you are doing.
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
Will Hanna is a tuner/consultant-
DI DI DI
for-hire offering services from run
evaluation to trackside consulting.
He can be reached via email at
will.hanna@insidetopalcohol.com.
TRACKSIDE CONSULTING • REMOTE TUNING • RUN EVALUATION / “Monday Morning Crew Chief Service” Available
will.hanna@insidetopalcohol.com • 979.415.4959
58 | D r a g
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