Customer Reviews

Bosch 4 Automotive Handbook

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book because I am nuts about cars, but in addition to that, I am also a professional in a technical field. I used this book as a reference during the writing of my doctoral thesis. I found that the Bosch Automotive Handbook had a very comprehensive section on hardness testing, which I used extensively in my research at that time. I am also using this book in calculating the suspension geometry for a car project at home - I use it at work so much that I'm considering the purchase of a second copy for home use.

The book is full of topics that are useful to anyone with a technical background who is interested in the general construction of complex things with moving parts. There is a section devoted to the "tightening of threaded fasteners", where all of the specifications of fasters are described and the forces that are involved are written out. There are fairly detailed sections on welding and other joining methods. There are sections on wheel offset, tire construction, NVH measurements (noise, vibration, and harshness), wear testing, fuel efficiency, coatings of surfaces, vehicle dynamics, the balance of forces in a piston engine, and fuel injection. There are a great couple of pages on "empirical values and data for calculation" which compares parameters between engine types, such as Diesel, gas, Stirling, and rotary engines. There are many pages dedicated to the calculation of engine parameters such as displacement, compression ratio, final compression temperature, piston acceleration, fuel supply, and piston pressure. I have actually used some of these once or twice and I love the fact that I have them on hand, even if I don't really need them.

Ever wonder what the difference between a screw-type and Roots-type supercharger is? It's in this book. Ever wonder how a wastegate works? It's right here. Fuel injector design, spark plug gaps... all of it is in here.

The best thing about the book is that even if it does not offer a lot of detail on a particular topic, there is at least a paragraph devoted to the subject with enough information and context so that the reader is armed with the tools to search for more meaningful literature on the topic.

Edit: 12/5/08
One gripe: at least in this edition, I don't see anything useful on controller area networks (CAN) or how one goes about programming them or controlling them. CAN is becoming an essential part of automotive manufacturing and I would expect that someday Bosch will cover this topic more thoroughly.

With that said, I consider this book to be one of the "must haves" for technical reference books. With a recent edition of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Perry's Chemical Engineer's Handbook, Mark's Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, Machinery's Handbook, Metals Handbook, and the Bosch Automotive Handbook, one person has an excellent overview of the entire Industrial Revolution. I call this library of books the "Build-Your-Own-Civilization Library". If you like handbooks (I cherish them), get this one, then go buy the others.

This book is an excellent overview of all aspects of vehicle design theory, basic principles, and reference information. It is NOT a guide to auto repair and is NOT for someone who is only interested in fixing and/or improving auto performance. The best description is to say it is the one single most useful book a newly graduated engineer should have and read upon entering the field of vehicle engineering and engine design. This is not to say it is beyond non-engineers, but only to say that if you are not interested in the theory and principles of automotive design and operation, this book is not for you.

This book is not for someone looking to learn about automotive mechanics or how to fix and repair cars. This book contains a fair amount of formulas and tables that are useful to those who work in the area of automotive design. It does describe briefly all aspects of the automoble such has how an ignition, starter, steering, fuel management, braking system, etc. work but not to the point that it would be useful for someone trying to troubleshoot automotive problems. If you're looking for your first automotive textbook to learn about the systems on your car then this book is not it. If you're looking for an indepth HANDBOOK for a quick reference for any automotive aspect (that you once knew but now forgotten) then it's worth every penny. The book fits in the palm of your hand and is 1-inch thick. Like a bible in many respects.

this is probably the best compact book about automotive. it includes a very comprehensive information about every system. Illustrations and tables can be used for training purposes. Definetely a must for people working in automotive industry. But i must say that it could have been more user friendly, you have to search through many pages, until you reach what you really look for.

Although the size of this book is a little bit bigger than a pocket book, it has 892 pages full of all the theories and calculation you might want to know about an automobile. It even includes information and formulas on trigonometrics, electrical engineering, physics, etc. so the reader can refer to them as they read the book (since the book includes calculations on different parts of an automobile). If you want to know about how components of an automobile are designed or just want to know how complex an automobile really is, this is the book. But if you want a book that tells you how to troubleshoot different components of an automobile, you need to find different books. This book is full of theories, not practicalities.

This is a truely amazing book, with over 800 information packed pages, it covers all major functions and components of modern automobiles. Its small format, 4.5 x 7 x 1 inches, is very deceptive - this book packs in the information! The intended audience appears to be automotive engineers or professional mechanics - it is very technical. For those readers seeking reference information, it provides a quick overview of how the component works,the relevant standards and then goes on to provide lots of useful data. I service my own vehicles (3 cars and a motor bike) and find the book interesting and very useful even for normal servicing. I am constantly finding useful reference tables and explanations. Also, the information is directly relevant to current vehicles. I highly recommend this book to anybody that is after a serious reference book.

When you see the book for the first time you don't think the book will be as complete as it is. It is very extensive, has a lot of pictures and formulas. It covers anything you may want to know, from tires to supercharger systems. This book is a must for anyone serious about understanding the design of the mechanics and electronics of any car.

This is THE book on auto. The relatively low cost for this book makes it a steal. Jam-packed with everything about auto, covering topics A-Z. Absolutely a must-have!

A definite bible of car technology. Does not go very deep on every item, but it covers them all, including a solid theory. Great buy for knowledge hungry enthousiast and troubleshooters.

Being an automotive engineer, I bought this book thinking that it will be an easy reference book for small definitions that I have forgotten. Turns out that this is an automotive engineer's bible! Everyone in my company has this book and this is really good. This book has small details about everything in the automobile, starting from definitions in basic physics to dimensions to SAE standards. This is a super quick guide to have a "sanity check" to know if you are going the right way. I have definitely learned a lot from this.
If you are looking for something very specific, this is definitely not what you want. I just love this book and will definitely suggest anyone to buy this one, its well worth the money!