Reading Material

Hey, I was just curious to see what reading material (in books), if any, you guys use for researching. I've recently been hooked on a lot of stuff by Carrol Smith , anyone one else have any suggestions for a good read?

Good starter stuff with HPbooks. Be sure to skim them before buying since some of the authors just plain suck.

When you're ready, step up to ASE textbooks, then engineering textbooks.

Hey, I was just curious to see what reading material (in books), if any, you guys use for researching. I've recently been hooked on a lot of stuff by Carrol Smith , anyone one else have any suggestions for a good read?


Race Car Vehicle Dynamics by Milliken is probably the single most compressive book on vehicle engineering. It is very math orientated but not impossible to read. If you are not interested in the mathematics/physics behind race cars this is not the book for you. I highly recommend this if you are serious about vehicle dynamics. Personally I found the Carrol Smith series to be fun to read but too light on the details. The RCVD book has all the details, but is not necessarily as easy to read.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1560915269/qid=1098847251/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/102-3031440-8058521?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics by Thomas D. Gillespie is a reasonable compromise between readability and complexity. If you are not math/science orientated but want a better understanding of vehicle dynamics this will be easier to read than the RCVD book but still provides plenty of detail.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1560911999/ref=pd_bxgy_img_2/102-3031440-8058521?v=glance&s=books

Tires, Suspension, and Handling, Second Edition by John C. Dixon is a compressive book with less mathematics than RCVD but I personally have a hard time understanding the text. I personally found for the level of detail that FoVD was much better.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1560918314/qid=1098847951/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-3031440-8058521?v=glance&s=books

Racing & High Performance Tire: Using Tires to Tune for Grip and Balance by Paul Haney is a very interesting book. Personally I found this book to be very easy to read, with a minimal amount of mathematics. Although it is a book about tires the basics of vehicle dynamics are also covered. I highly recommend this book because tires are at the heart of vehicle performance, and no other text covers tires as this does.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0768012414/102-3031440-8058521?v=glance

I bought the Milliken just to have as a reference. I took a train trip to Seattle just after I bought it, and in the five days up and back I read it COVER TO COVER. I love it. It is a heavy book but so full of good stuff.

So, I read engineering books. And I'm not getting laid... why?

Haha curtis...

I generally am using the Carrol Smith stuff for to get rough estimates on "why did this break? And what should I do to make it better?" It does give me a good insight on metalurgy, something I find really interesting.

Excellent recommendations Alastor, thank you very much. I am extremely interested in the engineering/physics side of cars and racing. I'm going to order those books right now. I love being able to generate mathematical theories rather than, "gee, I wonder if this will work". It also helps to be majoring in mechanical engineering ;) .

Normal People: If it isn't broken don't fix it...
Engineers: If it isn't broken, it doesn't have enough features...

Excellent recommendations Alastor, thank you very much. I am extremely interested in the engineering/physics side of cars and racing. I'm going to order those books right now. I love being able to generate mathematical theories rather than, "gee, I wonder if this will work". It also helps to be majoring in mechanical engineering ;)

I too am studying mechanical engineering, and I would say since you have an engineering background that RCVD by Milliken will be the most satisfying book. It is more than worth the money. I would recommend starting with Milliken and then buying books on specific areas that you wish to have more information.

I agree. I wish Milliken did books on other aspects of auto engineering. Understandable, clear, factual.