Chapter 85 - 16: Car Tuning

Chapter 85: Chapter 16: Car Tuning

But even with a standard approach, his experience as an F1 driver still guided him through at a considerable speed.

WHOOSH!

The high-speed corner vanished in the blink of an eye. Turns Three, Four, and Five immediately followed—a combination of corners that required different entry angles depending on one’s strategy.

Wu Shi used his favorite method: slow-in, fast-out. He braked hard once to get down to cornering speed, then dove in aggressively.

Just past the apex, the engine roared as he hit the gas, but before he could accelerate much, he was off the throttle again, gliding through Turn Four.

"Hasn’t he only driven this car for two laps? How has he already figured out the braking points?" a confused mechanic asked.

"He said he’s very familiar with the track. That’s probably why," a crew member from the other side said.

Alan rubbed his temples, recalling that the kid had mentioned twice how familiar he was with this track. ’Could he actually be telling the truth? But he’s never driven here before, has he? Does he really have the talent to learn just by watching others?’

’This is absurd,’ Alan thought. ’Still, I should check the data first.’

WHOOSH!

The lap was over. The time came in.

1:56.246.

Alan TR: "That’s a good pace."

Wu Shi TR: "I feel like it was a bit slow. I’ve mentally marked the places where the corner entry felt wrong."

Alan TR: "Copy that. But I have to correct you—that’s not slow at all. Based on our previous tests, the fastest laps are generally around the 1:52 mark, and you’ve only been in this car for less than half an hour."

Wu Shi didn’t reply. When he said it was slow, he meant it.

The reason was simple, just as Alan had said: how long had he actually been driving this car?

He didn’t dare to push it in many places. After all, damaging the car was a minor issue; delaying the test would be a major one.

For the next five consecutive laps, Wu Shi slightly refined his lines with each pass, gradually adapting to the car.

On the sixth lap, he yelled over the team radio, "BOX! BOX!"

"Copy. Prepare for pit stop."

The car then pulled into the pit lane, stopping precisely in its pit box.

"What’s going on?" Alan came over and asked.

Wu Shi climbed out of the car, took off his helmet, and said, "We need to adjust the car. The steering feels really unfriendly."

"Understood."

Then, Wu Shi pulled off his balaclava and huddled up with the engineers and mechanics.

"The damping. I feel it’s too soft," Wu Shi said, pointing to the front suspension.

"Okay, we can adjust that for you, but you’ll need to test it for a few laps," Alan said.

Setting up a race car is normally a tedious process. A single tweak requires a test run; otherwise, there’s no way to know its true effect.

Some changes might even make the driver feel faster through a few corners, giving them a great sense of confidence. But then they get back to the pit box, look at the data, and discover that while they were indeed faster in those specific corners, they lost even more time everywhere else on the track.

"There are a few other issues I’d like us to sort out all at once," Wu Shi said.

"No, kid. Trust us. You need to test it first before you can say things like that," Alan said sternly.

Generally, the team’s engineers decide the direction of the car’s setup. A driver’s input is treated only as a suggestion.

"Mr. Alan, I hope you’ll let me try something bold. Just this once, okay?" Wu Shi asked sincerely.

Alan was silent for a moment before saying, "This is your first time driving an F3 car, and your first time seriously setting one up. I think our experience as veterans is more extensive."

Wu Shi looked a little frustrated, but then Alan continued.

"But we know about the astonishing skill you showed in karting and during the Renault Formula test, so I’m willing to give you this chance."

"However, you must remember, I’m only allowing you to do something this unorthodox because of your past achievements. If the results aren’t good, I expect you to respect the team’s decisions in all future tests and races."

Wu Shi’s eyes lit up. "Of course! Thank you for giving me this chance."

"Alright. Let’s hear it."

Alan spoke calmly. As he’d said, he was willing to give Wu Shi this chance because his past results were so brilliant that he couldn’t completely dismiss his suggestions.

Secondly, if this discussion proved Wu Shi’s understanding of car setup to be flawed, it would be an opportunity to knock the young genius down a peg, making it easier for the team to communicate with him in the future.

After all, the more talented someone is, the prouder and more difficult to communicate with they tend to be.

"I like a car with oversteer, especially one with a responsive turn-in. So, first, let’s adjust the negative camber. If that’s not enough, we might also need to add more toe-out," Wu Shi said.

"Increasing the toe-out could cause understeer after the load transfer is complete. Are you sure you want to make that change?" Alan countered.

"I know, but the load transfer on an F3 car is already very low. I should be able to control it," Wu Shi said.

"Alright. Since I promised you, we’ll do it your way. Go on, what else do you think needs changing?"

"The spring preload might need to be adjusted, too. And the brake bias needs to be shifted more to the rear."

Wu Shi listed so many things that by the end, even Alan’s brow was furrowed.

"Wu Shi, I have to remind you again: this isn’t a simulator where you can just slide a bar to change parameters precisely. These changes you’re suggesting could lead to unknown and unpredictable results."

"Of course, of course, I know all that. But Alan, didn’t you say you’d trust me this one time? I need to test out my ideas."