Technical Book Review thread

[Indy]

So, I've been spending the last hour or so sorting through about 10 forums looking for a good book detailing suspension design. Found a bunch. But what I wanted to do here is provide a thread where RFT'ers can look through books that others here already have, and have provided their opinion on.
Books should be limited to topics covering:

• Suspension and Chassis Design and Tuning
• Engine Design and Tuning
• Advanced EFI
• Turbocharging ( Tools, please don't recommend "Maximum Boost" more than 50 times in this thread.)
• Anything else that would actually be beneficial to learn

Please do NOT include stuff like "Chevrolet Cylinder head part numbers".

So, please post:

• Name of book (duh)
• Author
• Your short summary of why it rocks (or why it doesn't) and why it might be better than some other book
• Where you got it from or where it is available might be nice to include also

Hope everyone has something they want to post!
Nate


*****************************************************
CURRENT BOOK LIST (UPDATED 11-29-08)
*****************************************************

Key:
Book
Author
Availability
Approximate Price as of : 11-08

[+] Pros

[-] Cons
*****************************************************

Chassis Engineering
Herb Adams
Amazon.com
$13.57 - New

[+] Easy to read, simply worded
[+] Many illustrations using common examples
[+] Explanation of suspension terms

[-] Doesn't go much beyond the basics

*******************

Scientific Design of Exhaust and Intake Systems
Philip H. Smith and John C. Morrison
Amazon.com
$22.76 - New

[+] In depth investigation of the science behind operation
[+] Demonstrations of trials and tests
[+] Intense in its coverage of the material

[-] Not for the novice without any scientific or mathematical background
[-] Somewhat aged illustrations

*******************

Tires, Suspension, and Handling
John C. Dixon
Amazon.com
$79.95 - New

[+] Builds concepts necessary to understand the activity of suspension geometry
[+] Focuses on a "tires inward" approach
[+] Explanation of suspension dynamics through mathematical modelling

[-] College or possibly graduate level text

*******************

How to Make Your Car Handle
Fred Puhn
Amazon.com
$13.57 - New

[+] Explains things very well
[+] Information contained is relevant to the topic

*******************

Competition Car Suspension: Design, Construction, Tuning
A. Staniforth
Amazon.com
Used & New from $160

[+] Centered around actual race cars

[-] Not always applicable to common street machines
[-] Author tends to ramble


Hands-On Race Car Engineer
John H. Glimmerveen
Amazon.com
Published by SAE.
$69.95

This book's primary focus is the operational side of racing: how to run a racing effort that starts in a well organized garage and leads to developing a car into a winning machine.

*****************************************************
*****************************************************

So that's the list for now, there are still other books that have mentioned that I have yet to add. I might get approximate prices up tonight too. EDIT: I got prices up, only a year and a half late.

Thanks everyone!
Nate

[p8ntman442]

maximum boost is a good source for turbocharger info.

[FieroWannaBe]

Chassis Engineering
By Herb Adams

The book is real easy to read and keep reading, its worded so you can understand it and not have analyze every other sentence so you it can be applied to the real world. There are tons of diagrams to illustrate the authors intention, The author uses F-bodies and corvettes for a lot of examples, I like that so i can actually picture what he is talking about, had he used formula cars or Ferrari i wouldn't have any idea what it would look like, the suspension section is very in depth and explains all the terms you hear people talk about. with a few formulas and examples, he even explains the science of spring cutting properly. the chassis section includes model builds and information about torsion strength mostly, it is not as in depth as the suspension.
I like the low cost, its a nice add to the library.

both these books are off of amazon


Scientific Design of Intake and Exhaust Systems. Third Edition

Phillip H. Smith
John C. Morrison

This book is freaking long and impossible to understand. There is a lot of lab data included to show you this shit is for real. the motors being analyzed and shown in the graphics are barbaric to todays standards, but physics laws and thermodynamics don't change. I haven't finished it because after every sentence i have to think about what the hell it says, and what that means. It really go far into depth and demonstrates all the trials made and tests done to find optimum performance and thermo efficiency of the ICE. good book for its low cost, but not for the novice, even thought they start at base one, you need to know your shit.

[The Dark Side of Will]

I think I've read "Scientific Design of Intake and Exhaust systems". It's been a while, but IIRC doesn't deal much with collector effects on the exhausts of multi-cylinder engines, which are very important to getting the most power out of a header design. Good book, though.

My favorite suspension book so far is "Tires, Suspension & Handling" by John Dixon. It's a college (or possibly graduate) vehicle dynamics text that is pretty intense. Lots more equations than pictures. It builds the foundational concepts necessary to understand WHY suspension geometry acts the way it does. It also focuses on a "tires inward" approach. It doesn't deal with the material properties of tires, but treats them as "black boxes" with inpt-output relationships. He does, however, explain how these relationships work.

[cactus bastard]

Chassis engineering is a good read, but I have to admit I was mildly disappointed in content. It was full of all sorts of general info, but didn’t go much beyond the basics.

I really enjoyed the Carrol Smith books I’ve bought. I found them interesting to read, and also easy to understand and apply. I bought Nuts, Bolts, and Fasteners after I had already bought Engineer to Win, and was pretty disappointed in that one. Most of the info in Nuts, Bolts, and Fasteners is lifted straight out of Engineer to Win. A lot of it was literally the same paragraphs cut and pasted. It goes into the metallurgy a little bit more, but I think for most of us, all that was adequately covered in Engineer to Win. Tune to Win I think would be more practical for most people, but I think I enjoyed Engineer to Win more, myself.

I found Fred Phun’s How to Make your Car Handle to be really good as well. It explained things a lot better than Chassis Engineering, yet still keeps most of the info relevant and easy to understand. I think it would be my pick for the top single book on suspension.

These books are all pretty cheap though ($12-$25 IIRC), so I’d recommend reading at least a couple?
I find reading the same basic stuff written out in different ways by different people gives you a much better understanding than simply studying one man’s book.

For Christmas I got Competition Car Suspension by A. Staniforth, but I’m only about half way through it. It’s centered around actual race cars, which is really cool to read about, though not always applicable to anything I’ll ever encounter. I’m finding it rather difficult to read though, because of the author’s writing style. He’s tends to ramble on a bit, and half his sentences go on for so long that I end up having to re-read them a few times to figure out what he was trying to say. This book’s out of print and a lot pricier, at around $80 - $120. It’s also not the most relevant of what I’ve listed so far, but I’m still enjoying it.

Will, are you an engineer or something? Just curious. Have you looked at Race Car Vehicle Dynamics by Milliken? I was considering it for a while, but decided it would be beyond me unless I got some more schooling - or at least a job that keeps my brain a little bit "fresh". Stale grey goo blows.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Physicist

[I_wear_pants]

I have read chassis engineering too, and I think it is a great book for someone that doesnt know a whole lot. If you know a decent amount about suspensions and tuning them I would recommend finding a more advanced book. Also the book is a bit dated. Herb Adams does know his stuff though. He is the godfather of 2nd generation firebird's suspension.

[Series8217]

Race Car Vehicle Dynamics by William Milliken and Douglas Milliken.
This is the bible for chassis dynamics. It goes through the basics of the SAE coordinate system then takes you through all the functions for chassis behavior in steady state and simple transient situations, covers tire data gathering and analysis, brief overview of applied aerodynamics, dampers, steering systems, braking, various suspension types, compliances in bushings and etc..
It does require some calc and linear algebra knowledge. Not much really. It's also easy enough to skip over the equations and still understand what they're talking about; you just won't necessarily be able to apply it if you do that.
It's not written as a "do it yourself" guide like Carroll Smith's books; it's really a textbook.. but if you combine it with Smith's books, you'll have a good idea of what to do with cars, and know where to get and how to understand the detailed analyses when you need them.
I actually just got to meet Douglas Milliken today; he was doing a presentation on chassis behavior analysis and tire data for our SAE group. He definitely knows his stuff, and is very helpful. He was willing to answer specific questions on suspension design, etc. Cool guy, awesome book. Check it out.

[TurboGT]

Digging this up from the dead!!

Anyone have any advice on a tuning theory or how to tune your car book?????


This book looks good
http://www.amazon.com/Engine-Management ... 67-7709718

here are a few other's I found.
http://www.amazon.com/Modify-Management ... 67-7709718

http://www.amazon.com/Engine-Management ... 67-7709718

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Engine-Tun ... 67-7709718

[The Dark Side of Will]

None of those look particularly appealing.

Read www.msefi.com for a while...

[Nashco]

Yup, I've learned way way more on msefi.com (and the old mailing lists before they had a forum) than any of the books that I've read on tuning. Alexander Bell has a couple that go pretty far into tuning, two strokes and four strokes, I read the four stroke one long ago...I'd have to read it again to tell you if it was worth buying it's been so long. I've been wanting to get his two stroke tuning book, since my dad has a wild two stroke waveblaster that could stand to get a better tune, but that has been pretty low on my priority list.

The "Modern Engine Tuning" would probably be a waste of money, since it was published so long ago to not be modern anymore. His four stroke tuning book will be all about the engine, not just tuning fuel injection stuff, so that probably won't suit your need. Seriously, msefi.com could overwhelm you with injection tuning stuff for months, check it out.

Bryce

[TurboGT]

I have read almost the entire msefi web page and it has a ton of good info. I was just wondering if there were any books on how to maximize your tune or performance tuning.

[Nashco]

I have read almost the entire msefi web page and it has a ton of good info. I was just wondering if there were any books on how to maximize your tune or performance tuning.

I'm calling BS. I've been on the MS mailing list/forum for several years and still haven't read everything. Seriously, there's hundreds of posts made on the forum every day, how could you keep up with all of that? If you really have read everything the forum contains, will you come tune my car?

Bryce

[TurboGT]

I wouldn't say I have read the entire forum but have read almost everything that pertains to MS-II and all of the tuning information found here. It has been a while so I am sure they have added to it :thumbleft:

http://www.megamanual.com/v22manual/mtabcon.htm

[The Dark Side of Will]

Hands-On Race Car Engineer
John H. Glimmerveen
Amazon.com
Published by SAE.

This book's primary focus is the operational side of racing: how to run a racing effort that starts in a well organized garage and leads to developing a car into a winning machine.

-Covers the how's of simple to advanced chassis adjustments and corellates them to vehicle behaviour.
-Lays out "best practices" for all the "nitty gritty" of vehicle setup from alignment and suspension adjustment to wiring, plumbing and data aquisition (yes, DAQ is so important that it should be considered on the same level as the engine's coolant and oil or the chassis brake fluid or damper oil).
-Discusses how to pick spares and pack a car transporter, how to provision for a race weekend, and how to execute setup during a race.
-How to run a race shop/garage, inventory control, budgeting, record keeping and all the minutiae.
-Gives multitudinous example forms for making all of the above tasks go smoothly, efficiently and quickly while preserving all the information in a format that maks it easy to go back and duplicate a setup you used on a particular track, or know how many 1/4" screws you'll need to take with you.

Overall rating: Outstanding
*******************

[bigblockfiero]

I think I've read "Scientific Design of Intake and Exhaust systems". It's been a while, but IIRC doesn't deal much with collector effects on the exhausts of multi-cylinder engines, which are very important to getting the most power out of a header design. Good book, though.

Lots of info on collector effects and with a much greater scientific understanding of why things happen instead of the usual generalization of what things happen. This isn't the kind of book you just read and call finished, your never finished and it becomes more of a lifelong resource book.

The whole book is based on experiments done with a (engine driven) multi-point indicator. I built one of these twenty years ago but there are cheeper/better/more accurate ways to get this information today but yet nobody writes about their discoveries using these technologys. engine designers use this stuff exclusively to built and test new engine designs and the information becomes proprietary.

Ever wonder what the cylinder pressure is just before the plug fires or five degrees after. Things like actual dynamic compression calculations, flame propagnation pressures and cylinder pressure just before the exhaust valve openeds.

When you make a mod change that has an opposite effect or no effect at all and cant figure out how this is possible, This book will give you the pesamistic wisdom to foresee and understand this result.

[bigblockfiero]

Best damn garage in town by smokey yunick is a must read. You wont be able to set it down untill its finished.

Also, have you ever wondered what books have influenced the people that are now influencing us! David vizard highly recommended that I read the internal-combustion engine in theory and practice by charles fayette taylor, first written in 1968. This book starts where scientific design of intake and exhaust systems left off. A bit newer technologies with physics experiments that are timelessly significant. I wish I would have discovered this book sooner then just a few years ago.

[bigblockfiero]

Alexander Bell has a couple that go pretty far into tuning, two strokes and four strokes, I read the four stroke one long ago...I'd have to read it again to tell you if it was worth buying it's been so long. I've been wanting to get his two stroke tuning book, since my dad has a wild two stroke waveblaster that could stand to get a better tune

Bryce

Both are very good books that I have bought each twice now and would buy again if they were lost..

[The Dark Side of Will]

I think I've read "Scientific Design of Intake and Exhaust systems". It's been a while, but IIRC doesn't deal much with collector effects on the exhausts of multi-cylinder engines, which are very important to getting the most power out of a header design. Good book, though.

Lots of info on collector effects and with a much greater scientific understanding of why things happen instead of the usual generalization of what things happen. This isn't the kind of book you just read and call finished, your never finished and it becomes more of a lifelong resource book.

The whole book is based on experiments done with a (engine driven) multi-point indicator. I built one of these twenty years ago but there are cheeper/better/more accurate ways to get this information today but yet nobody writes about their discoveries using these technologys. engine designers use this stuff exclusively to built and test new engine designs and the information becomes proprietary.

Ever wonder what the cylinder pressure is just before the plug fires or five degrees after. Things like actual dynamic compression calculations, flame propagnation pressures and cylinder pressure just before the exhaust valve openeds.

When you make a mod change that has an opposite effect or no effect at all and cant figure out how this is possible, This book will give you the pesamistic wisdom to foresee and understand this result.

Eh... maybe I just didn't get to those chapters before something shiny distracted me.

[The Dark Side of Will]

I'm about to recommend some SBC build books to a guy.

"John Lingenfelter on Modifying SB Chevy Engines"
"How to Rebuild your Small Block Chevy" by David Vizard
"How to Build Max Performance Chevy Small Blocks on a Budget" also by Vizard.

Does anyone have any experience with these?
Amazon has a deal on all three together.