Before testing or racing, we must set-up the car to the current
baseline.  Professional race teams have a program which involves stripping and re-building the car.  Amateur racers will generally
confine workshop set up to a basic check over.

But if we are to go testing with the car, to develop the chassis and suspension for more speed, there is a hell of a lot we need to know about the car.

To illustrate the relative importance of workshop set up, I analysed all the causes of handling problems listed in Carroll Smith's "Engineer in Your Pocket" (A practical guide to tuning the race car chassis and suspension).  I allocated each cause to one of three categories:

55 causes.  A workshop setting or component check. 
13 causes.  A car structural or preparation problem.
51 causes.  A setting which you would generally adjust at the                    race track, (or a Driver problem - no workshop fix                    possible!)

So nearly half are items that would be set in the workshop.  The settings to be made at the track are also baselined in the shop, if you like, but are adjustable at the track.  These include tyre pressures, roll resistance (anti-roll bars and springs) shock absorber settings and wing (downforce) adjustments.

Our workshop services include complete race car set-up.  If we were doing your car, we would consult with you to determine the
check list.  As Pedders Suspension Dealers, we are highly experienced in 4 wheel alignment, using the very best equipment.

For race cars, weight scaling is vital.  It's important for cars without spring seat height adjustment as well.  We'll get the adjustment we need with spring packers, or specially designed
springs.  For scaling,we use industrial quality load cells and digital readout equipment.

An article on how to weight scale a race car is here.  It is on the
Grassroots Magazine web site.  Note that left-right static weight
and front-rear static weight can only be changed by moving things around in the car.   Cross weight can be adjusted on the
scales to be as close as possible to 50-50.  Also note that cross
weight can wedge the car, but is not the same as dynamic wedge
as we define it in the theory section of this web site.