General design drivers

I suppose this should have come earlier, and I don't think I have mentioned it before.

It is a key consideration though to realize what exactly is driving the design of your vehicle. Which are the independent variables, which are the dependent?

It's my feeling that there are three systems on the car that are independent and drive everything else. From a performance standpoint, everything else on the car has to exist to maximize the potential of these three things. They are:

• The driver
• Sufficient visibility to be aware of surroundings and pick the racing line
  
• Control ergonomics
  
• Linear, predictable feel to the vehicle's handling
• Etc...
• The engine
  
• Come to temperature quickly
• Stay in a sustainable range of operating temperature
• Supply air and evacuate exhaust gas at maximum rate
• Maximize area under the torque curve
• Etc...
  
• The tires
• Come to temperature quickly
• Keep footprint planted and oriented as optimally as possible through all handling
• Minimize over-stressing carcass to provide adequate durability
• Minimize over-stressing tread to prevent graining, feather, blading, etc
• Minimize load variation
• Etc...

If you're making a performance or critical design decision on the car, it should probably serve to benefit as many of the above as possible. If not, why are you doing it? And no hand waving.

The above is why I fundamentally disagree with the notion of setting a car up to have the absolute maximum theoretical grip level. If you throw an insane amount of camber at a tire just because that's where maximum grip is, you ride that line too long and you blow a tire and end you race. Likewise, you make the car handle like shit and you're taxing the driver's time with reacting to everything the car does, rather than freeing him up to drive it.