There are few books on the market that cover all aspects of a vehicle as broadly as Paul Van Valkenburgh's Race Car Engineering and Mechanics. This HP Books publication comes in soft cover A4 size and includes many (black and white) photographs and relevant diagrams.
Van Valkenbugh states at the beginning of the book "the more you learn about anything, the more you realize how little anyone knows for sure." And in keeping with this idea, the book is well balanced in all aspects of a vehicle and covers it to a degree that will satisfy the minds of the typical streeter or new-to-the-game racer. It is not an extended scientific paper.
The current edition is quite old, being published in 1992. However, it still covers front wheel drives, computers, wind tunnels and more. Note that all of Van Valkenburgh's points made are in reference to race cars, but much of this can be carried over to a high performance road cars.
The meat of it starts off with the chapters: How to Win; Tyres and Wheels; Suspension Geometry and Alignment; Springs, Anti-roll Bars and Shock Absorbers; Brakes (including ABS); Aerodynamics; Handling; Engine Support Systems (such as fuel and oil systems etc); Gearing and Differentials; and the Frame and Body. The final seven chapters are on Safety; The Driver; Testing; The Pits; Computers in Racing; Front Wheel Drive Racing; and a prediction of the make-up of the race car of the future.
For the everyday performance motorist who doesn't find himself (or herself) competing in competition, some of the most valuable of these chapters are those focussing on suspension, brakes and tyres. Concepts that have been incorporated into these chapters include tyre slip angles, pressure, temperature, suspension settings (including a couple of useful equations) and geometry. The problem of rectifying brake fade is also tackled in a practical manner - although there is no mention of the many composite pad materials that are now on the market.
And this leads to an important point - although the book was updated in 1992, it still shows its overall age. The topics of exotic materials used in braking systems and body/suspension systems, traction control and stability control and the various ECU interfaces that are now widely available are all glaring holes for today's reader. Many of the examples used are now also out-dated and irrelevant - but the general thrust of Van Valkenburgh's theories still shine through.
The chapter on testing is extremely interesting and is also hands-on enough for the average enthusiast to explore parts of it. This section outlines the process to measuring various parameters including aerodynamic pressures, wheel speed, suspension deflection, brake temperatures, various handling attitudes and driver inputs such as throttle position and steering wheel angle. The chapter on aerodynamics is focussed mainly on open-top racecars, but the concepts of drag and lift and the idea of spoilers, ducts and wings etc is well explained. Handling is discussed with useful points on aerodynamic, static, steady-state and transient levels of stability.
Both understeer and oversteer are covered and the book also tells you how, as a driver, you can control these characteristics.
For those with front wheel drives, this chapter spreads itself over driving technique, transverse differentials, suspension settings and geometry. Four wheel drive vehicles (either constant or on-demand) get a very brief mention, with most of the references looking towards the future and what might happen. I guess there was no WRX, VR4, GT-R, or GTO/3000GT on the market when the book was originally written!
However, its broad coverage of basic theory and some of the do-it-yourself practical activities is very useful. If you're aiming to learn the absolute nitty-gritty on each of the covered topics it's not the book for you. On the other hand, if you want to understand the major principles involved in creating a fast circuit or road car, it's perfect. In addition, Van Valkenburgh will certainly equip you with enough knowledge to allow you to develop an understanding of what's going on with your car and what you steps you can take to make it suit your desires.
At only A$32.95 this book is an excellent purchase. Over years we have found it to be very useful thanks to its broad spread of topics - and once you get the craving for more in-depth detail, specialised books ideally compliment it.
Race Car Engineering and Mechanics is available by mail order from Beven D Young at
http://dove.net.au/~byoung/well.htm for AUD$32.95.
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