Customer Reviews

Introduction to Internal Combustion Engines

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

 

 

I was looking for a book that would start at near-zero to introduce me to internal combustion engines and how they work.

I had always heard things like, "2 stroke engines produce almost twice as much power as a comparable displacement 4 stroke".

I know that engines typically had exhaust and intake valves and some sort of piston inside a cylinder.

But how these things all worked, I really didn't understand, other than a flammable charge ignited somewhere near the top of a piston stroke driving a piston down, resulting in a circular motion.

This book took me beyond my level of understanding before I even finished the introduction.

Yet, it was easy enough to understand that I was able to read it and comprehend, though I'm not an engineer or engineering student.

For those interested in the "why" and "wherefore" of an internal combustion engine, I think this book is excellent. It provides complete, detailed information on the theoretical operation of the IC engine, without teaching at either too high or too low a level.

I think after reading this book, it would be possible for a mechanically inclined person with access to the right tools to design their own simple IC engine.


For my purposes, this was the right book to get.

Like R. Trulov said, this book can appear extremely challenging at first. The fact that it is titled "Introduction to Internal Combustion Engines" makes you feel stupid and overwhelmed at first. If this is the introduction whats coming up next!!

Im a senior in high school and went to talk to a mech engineering professor at Stanford. He uses this book to teach his classes. So i decided to buy it on amazon. All i can say is that it is amazing! I am 100 pages into it and the chapter about fuels was a pleasure to read. it is extremely informative, and it really goes into detail. I have found myself doing research on the side and even setting up my own little experiments! I annotate and underline all the cool information i find. this book isnt for the faint of heart, but if you stick with it, you can really learn a lot. I find myself skipping over some of the more complex chemical formulas, but all the information you could ever want is there. I like how Stone really explains stuff on a rudimentary level, so you have all the basic building blocks and can go from there. Instead of throwing information at you, you get a chance to understand where all of it is coming from and how he derived it which is very cool. I originally purchased this book hoping that i could learn the secret to making my truck go faster. however, i have learned more than i could have ever imagined. this book is huge and goes into great detail about everything, and while it is hard to read, it is still definetly worth reading. Thank you Dr. Stone!

A logically set out explanation of the workings of IC engines. Fills the gap between books aimed at auto engineers (mechanics) and academics of thermodynamics. IE. a MUST for bright (or bright-ish) students. Quality.

It might not be enough to build your own engine, but it seems to be close. It is painstakingly detailed, and goes heavily into specific engines and engine technologies, which is fine for some, but too advanced for me. I was looking for something a bit more basic and well explained, while this is more like a textbook from school. Personally I can't learn from those, and find it to be slavery to try to learn something from heavy text, but it is very detailed, and you can pull theory and a lot of good understanding from it, so if you need something more than basic knowledge I'd recommend it. However, I was looking for something more basic explaining me how engines work and how they are built. This was too much.

Good comprehensive book, yet easy for a non Engineer. Pretty updated, it covers most of the information required by Engine enthusiasts. Personally, I would recommend to have a copy as a reference to the subject.

I've only read the first couple chapters, but so far I think this is a great book. Really good price for a textbook, as well.

The book is really hard to read. Much of the information is not explained in needed detail. Prelimenary courses should be taken or books read, in thermodynamics, to be able to understand that stuff. However, even with a good thermodynamic background, the book is hard to understand, even as a sumplement to the ICE course.