Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37142 in Books
• Published on: 1992-11-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

A good balance between theory and practice.
A good book that has an excellent blend of the theory AND practice of the subject. I particularly liked the worked examples and the fact that it gave actual values to the concepts discussed. The diagrams and explanations are clear and easy to understand. The book is not too race oriented but also very applicable to those wanting to make their road cars handle better.

Two (small) criticisms: 1. Far too much space is given to the characterisrics and setting up of circle track cars ( left/right turn only ) which cannot be of general interest. 2. Pictures are included that do not add to the content in any way.

Was the editor on vacation that week?
Herb Adams' Chassis Engineering is a good introduction to chassis and suspension design for the general reader. The book is easy to read and well laid out with lots of photos and diagrams. A cursory reading will reveal many of the intricacies, interrelationships, and compromises involved in designing components and subsystems to engineer a chassis for a given purpose. Anyone with an interest in automotive design with high school reading skills can certainly gain some insight and appreciation for the complexities of chassis and suspension design from reading Adams' book.

As entertaining and informative the book may be for the general reader, Chassis Engineering cannot in any way be considered a reference book. The informed reader, or anyone with an editorial eye, will quickly spot inconsistencies throughout the text. The definitions and use of fundamental terms vary from page to page and there are direct conflicts between essential portions of the text and the supporting illustrations. Those familiar with the subject can easily overlook the errors and get the gist of the wisdom Adams is trying to impart. For all others: take all information in Chassis Engineering with a grain of salt until it can be cross-referenced and confirmed by better reference material.

Good reference, excellent primer
First, the not so good news. Like every other book in the automotive section, it is slightly dated. It is a fact in this subject, like a few others, and the nature of a technology-driven pursuit.

Now that we got that out of the way, i found this book to be a very good reference for those who have some experience and a fairly good grasp on the concepts behind it. Also, it comes across in basic, easy to understand language, explaining anything more technical then simple shop-talk. Clear, concise examples with practical, real-world numbers are used through out. A relaxed, yet informative tone keeps it more interesting than a textbook, while adequately explaining the underlying technical points.

i did feel that the book glossed over a few things however. Most notably in the section covering different types of front suspensions, it starts off with a well-balanced good point/bad point system. Near the end, it starts to feel as though the authors bias towards certain types shows through. Not to the point of comprimising the books authority, but it does show.

The book itself is well laid out, clear charts and graphs, black and white pictures provide good illustration. The index is good, and makes for easy location of particular points. The last page has a list of books (from the publisher of course) that provides suggestions for continued reading.