HOW TO SET UP A BURNOUT CAR

BOB Telford (no relation to our own Editor Telfo, but similarly bearded) is the guy to speak to at Castlemaine Rod Shop when it comes to custom suspension tuning. There are a thousand different ways to do it, but there’s one simple key to setting up a burnout car: The outside front wheel needs to be square with the pad during the tip-in. Just like a drift car, the steering is often close to the lock stops during this time, and the front wheels need to be square with the ground in order to achieve the maximum contact patch and therefore the best steering and brake control. For Pete's car, Bob recommended 1-1.5° of negative front camber and 4-4.5° castor angle, so he'll get the most steering correction from the front end. When it comes to toe-in, it really depends on the car, but generally around 2mm is the go-to – you definitely don’t want toe-out like Peter had with his rear mount rack and short tie-rod ends. Most burnout cars use a live-axle rear end without much adjustment other than perhaps a set of coil-overs – though Pete uses airbags in his car. Generally you want the car set softer in the rear than the front. A stiff front end will help turn-in during the tip-in, though you don’t want to set your rear too soft, as this will make the car twitchy when trying to carve wider arcs and may even prolong tyre life. It’s a fine balance!