General automotive knowledge resources

[mvrekic]

I would really like to know more about the science behind performance tuning and automotive engineering.

What are some books and resources (web sites?) you can recommend as a good start?

[DGthe3]

If you know extremely little, HowStuffWorks.com is a good place to start.

If you are beyond that stage, another great site that I kinda stumbled across is http://craig.backfire.ca/pages/autos. The site has some pretty good techincal info in it covering a range of topics from engines to aerodynamics.

There is also wikipedia. Even if the info on the main page isn't the greatest, you can go down to the bottom & find what the sources they used are and continue from there.

I don't know of any auto-eng books for laymen, most of my automotive books are history type, except for my copy of the SAE handbook but that is super technical -written by (German) engineers for other engineers.

[LOWDOWN]

Originally Posted by mvrekic

I would really like to know more about the science behind performance tuning and automotive engineering.

What are some books and resources (web sites?) you can recommend as a good start?

With a 100+ year history for vehicles, there are all manner of general and specific reading material available. Perhaps for general overview, visit your local library, in addition to what DGthe3 shared.

If, however, you have specific interests (chassis setups for road racing, or drag racing etc.), google may be your friend, either as a reference or to direct you to particular writers/info. With the internet at your fingers, you can quickly acquire information on just about any topic. Search away...