For best handling, don't change the tires first

[terranceaskew]

I dont usually go around defending youtubers, but yall really need to listen to what this guy is saying. Like, really just sit back and absorb what is being "taught", instead of trying to argue. Everything said in this video and in others, rings extremely true for daily, spirited, and light track usage. ..stuff that you wouldnt know or learn unless you had a degree, or decades of experience. And he is giving this knowledge for free....some of yall need to stop arguing, listen to what is being said, and say thank you.

BTW....thanks for uploading these videos!

[banovsky]

Shout-out to Julian for not only educating people but for also responding to comments from people who are using their lack of knowledge to explain why his lessons don’t apply to them :D

[tiitsaul]

Better tires made my 1985 BMW handle worse. The suspension was designed for not so good TRX tires and with improved grip loaded suspension more than optimal. Increased suspension travel caused camber gain in rear and camber loss at front, resulting in nervous handling.
I "fixed" it with stiffer suspension. Now the whole car is flexing and squeaking.

[Remenschneider]

I tried switching to very grippy tires as first mod, would not recommend it.

With stock suspension, you will be hitting the bump stops way too often, have excessive roll and pitch, and experience large dynamic toe changes.

If your car is older, replace your suspension bushings first.

[Gibbonium]

I agree. Very well put to words.
On the topic of sway bars, shame there isn't a company selling smaller front sway bars. It's always only bigger or nothing. They're great for changing the handling balance, but you can only buy bigger ones.
Your videos are very insightful, they've helped me understand a lot of new concepts. Thank you for making them!

[BushidoDriver]

💯 This!

I started autocrossing on older endurance tires (Dunlop Zii) and kept finding pace making adjustments to: coilovers, tire pressure, sway bars, etc until the tires were actually the limiting factor. Swapped to a set of real 200tw tires and next event dropped 2 sec on a 60 sec course, went from middle of the pack to fighting for podiums.

Too many people use mods as a bandaid for not tightening the nut behind the wheel 🙃

[eduardogarcia]

This man is a genius both in his knowledge and his ability to explain an extremely complex topic of suspension design. I make this statement as an engineer in the automotive design space and too many engineers in the field do not have the knowledge depth this man has in his and things are done because that’s what the standard process says, but that engineer lacks the true understanding of the subject therefore we produce a car that handles like crap or lacks good handling because the fundamentals are not there. Thank you for amazing explanations.

[turt]

Im glad I got to track my car before and after suspension mods with my old worn out tires. Got it dialed in for my driving style before buying some 200tw tires

[HardstylePete]

I think people prefer to change tyres so that the balance of grip remains constant but the overall mid corner speeds are higher. A lot of cars are setup from factory with somewhat predictable and safe understeer, whilst not optimal, its an easier driving experience for the road. All that being said, I had a 2011 Ford Focus LV and I raised the steering rack to reduce the large amount of front suspension toe out under compression. That really improved the handling.

[johnkim]

The single sway bar change will tune the normal load distribution during cornering; it is elegant and probably the least invasive for a significant effect.

However, this video assumes that the front and rear tires must be identical.

[ellisjackson]

I love your philosophical approach. Right now, I have some cheap no name tires fitted to my car. I’ve been wanting to get gripper tires. But I have also asked myself “am I ready for gripper tires? Have I done everything I can to maximize what I have right now? Has my skill even outgrown this setup?” All I have are some coil overs with slightly stiffer than stock springs and the shocks set to full soft. It’s not a flashy setup and I can’t even say it’s particularly fast. There can be long oscillations over bumps. But the car feels nice, safe, and predictable in terms of the handling right now. Maybe a bit too low lol

[chrstphrr]

Given the few videos you're teasing us with, this new book seems quite a promising read!

Looking forward to when you can give a firm announcement for when it's ready to be bought up!

[wasdwasdwwasd]

This reminds me of the 6th gen Camaro Z/28 which wore super sticky P Zero Trofeo Rs in addition to the lovely 7 litre LS7. GM put the same tyres on the more powerful supercharged ZL1 out of curiosity but it was slower around their test track because it hadn't been designed with the tyres in mind.

[nicktwentyfive]

You have made me question my front sway bar I put on my e36 non-m bmw 😂. Your videos are thought provoking and I appreciate that kind of content

[trevor]

It’s important to note that even same size tires change handling dynamics via sidewall stiffness as evidenced by blind tire tests performed by Tyre Reviews here on YouTube. While it can be argued the F/R balance remains the same between tires, there is a difference in “subjective” feel. I do however share the sentiment that lowering treadware is often a bandaid for poor optimization of mechanical grip.

[silvenshadow]

So this is a very controversial topic. Having 'perfect' balance isn't always desirable. But I agree that, fixing bad behavior with great tires is just looking to have a problem at a higher speed.

[jazzistation]

I have to say these videos are very educative and i appreciate the passionate way you explain things, i'm subscribed since the last year or so but i really like this channel and hope to see it grow faster!

[johnmcdonnell]

Nice bit of clarification Julian. Top stuff as usual.

[Weezal]

Love your channel! Great explanations and I love your enthusiasm

[moneyshifters]

If upgraded tyres cause certain behaviours to occur at a higher speed 5:26 (and a couple other points), then surely that is a desirable outcome? It gives a higher limit for highspeed cornering where the car stays predictable. Great video. Keen for the book.