Knowledgeable books

[TrackPrep]

Does any one know of any books out their that gives good information regarding roll cages/suspension set up/brakes in general, to do with motorsport? Regards,

[dtype38]

Hi TP and welcome to 10-10ths. For the suspension and brakes I'd suggest a good basic place to start is the Speed-Pro Series Book "How to build and modify sportscar and kit car Suspension and Brakes for road and track" by Des Hammill (ISBN 1 901295 08 7)

[JamesH]

I concur - I have that one and its a good introduction.

[Jason C. Wells]

Racecar Vehicle Dynamics by Milliken has a great chapter on suspension adjustments and the expected result. Much of the book is heavy on theory.

Regards,
Jason

[bradrive]

Originally Posted by Jason C. Wells

Racecar Vehicle Dynamics by Milliken has a great chapter on suspension adjustments and the expected result. Much of the book is heavy on theory.

Regards,
Jason

First step for people wanting to understand racing cars is to read the complete "x to win" series of books written by the late Carroll Smith. They are good and down to earth.
He was a writer being good at presenting complicate issues in a simplified way to let you understanding the principles.
I work in high level motorsports for 30 years and have read every single book more than 10 times and every time I read them again, I find something new which I had not pick up before.
These books make you THINK, sometimes you will disagree with what Smith says, which is ok. Mainly he teaches you logical thinking.
Only after having read Carroll Smith you have to start reading Milliken. To understand Milliken 100% you need some time. And again it means reading the book various times.
The clue is to not read in a superficial way thousand books, but to read the right ones many times and understand them well. The right ones are the ones quoted above.

[dtype38]

Re: Roll Cage design... don't know any specific books just on that subject, but a good place to start would be to beg or borrow someone's MSA Blue Book. Last year's is pretty close to this year's and might be easier to get hold of. Anyway, there's a section in it with all the rules for layout of the cage, how it has to be mounted, jointed, and the minimum specs for the diameters, thicknesses and materials. Getting familiar with that section will give you a good grounding and, importantly, you'll know if your design is legal or not!