CHOOSING THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT Selecting chassis components is something that should NOT be taken lightly. It’s just as important as choosing the right camshaft or gear ratio. Making the right chassis setup decision wins races. Making the wrong one leaves you with a car that doesn’t perform as expected and usually ends up wasting a lot of your hard earned money. Before purchasing a single chassis component, you must first make some very important decisions concerning your car and the level of competition you plan to achieve. First, determine what you want out of your car. Are you looking for better performance from your street machine; do you want a dedicated race car that will never see the street; or do you want a performance street machine that can do occasional track time? Once you’ve decided on how the car will be used, determine the horsepower level you want the engine to make. Then decide if you want to use bolt-on or weld-in components. Finally, become familiar with all rules and guidelines established by your sanctioning body. Once you have addressed all of these important issues, you will be in a better position to choose the chassis components that are correct for your car. To help both the beginner and seasoned racer select chassis equipment, we’ve grouped cars in four stages beginning with street performance and mild bracket cars, and ending up with "outlaw" Pro-Street and Pro Modified type race cars. In our "Blueprint for Performance", we’ve built each of the four stages around the three most important factors concerning component selection: Intended Use Horsepower Level Installation Complexity Following along stage by stage will help you select equipment that best suits your performance requirements. Next