Customer Reviews

Maximum Boost: Designing, Testing, and Installing Turbocharger Systems (Engineering and Performance)

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is very well written. It handles a lot of the basic turbo knowledge that most enthusiast's need to know. What was dissapointing was that there is no real turbo sizing theory, fan blade effientcy equations or a lot of detail in a few other areas. None the less, the book is only about turbo systems and is the easiest to read. This is a great book to read. You may also want to get "Turbochargers" from Hugh MacInnes, it's also a must have, but is out of date and is not very useful on the modern EFI machines. I do like "Force Induction" by A. Graham Bell. A book that is much more knowlegable on the subject of performance turbos. It's always a good idea to get opinions of other great writers.

If you want to learn the terminology of tubocharging and all of the complonent and how they work then this book is for you. After reading this book though you will not be able to install your own turbo system or anything as advanced as that, but you will be able to make a more educated buy on a turbo kit and at least KNOW what you're buying. Most of his explanations are good although he simplifies some technical subjects. For instance he says: make the opening of your air ducts one-fourth the size of your intercooler/radiator because at speed you only need one fourth the air. Ummmm...no that's not what a duct does. (It basically slows down the incoming air so less drag in produced, among other things...) All in all, if you want to learn about turbos then buy this book. It definitely increased my knowledge of the are ...

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It gave me a good understanding of turbo systems, perhaps it is even enough to build my own setup. Bell's book priases the performance of the Bell Aerodyne VATN turbocharger, as well it should - notice the name "Bell?" Even though this bias is there, the book does provide a thorough, easy to read manual for designing, installing and testing turbo systems. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn about turbochargers and their applications. Another good, perhaps more thorough but slightly dated book is "Turbochargers" by Hugh Mcinnes.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, expensive too. This book is safe for those who already know a lot about Turbocharging, but they won't need this book. For the beginner, this book isn't bad to get familiar with the subject, but I wouldn't try using it as a source of information or a "how to" book, too much mis-information. Don't get this book unless you also get the book by Hugh McInnes. Mr. Bell is either guessing about things he hasn't tried, or hasn't been able to implement things that work for others because of his lack of understanding or poor execution. Don't quit your day job Corky!

This is a very easy to understand book. suited for the enthusiast not an engineer. The author takes the reedier through all the aspects of turbocharging, like selecting a turbocharger, types of intercoolers, exhaust manifold design, boost controllers, and so on. Seldom, theory is discussed in this book except in chapters 1 and 16. But be aware, this author for some reason wrote misleading sentences in this book that contain his opinion, not facts! Over all very good book.

After working through many of the formulas in this book, I wound up with performance numbers that didn't match the reality observed by other people with actual operating turbos. I guess that's what you get when the presented formulas are oversimplified. I found Joe Haile's Motorcycle Turbocharging ... book to be a much more balanced treatment of the subject, and the information isn't only applicable to motorcycles. On the upside, this book is certainly up-to-date and has some pretty good real-world examples of its own. It's clearly aimed at the person who wants to improve the performance of a daily-driver, as opposed to a car used for autocross, road racing, or other slightly more serious pursuits.

This book provides a good general overview of turbocharger systems in a very easy to read format, however do not take this book to be the bible of turbocharging it is distinctly lacking in theoretical content. And does contain some outrageous statements written in a childish manner. It is suited to the DIY enthusiast rather than an engineer.

"Maximum Boost" is very readable, covers most aspects of turbo charging, and contains many simple-to-follow rules of do and don't regarding turbos and turbo installations. It is oriented at the less technical reader, and contains little theory - So far so good. Sadly, the book also contains a lot of misleading and simply incorrect information; I would estimate that about 50% of the technical recommendations in the book are wrong. The 'hard and fast' rules are particularly to be avoided - my own car, an average 80's turbo car, violates quite a few of them, in it's unmodified form. As an example, it is the author's opinion that water injection is 'worthless'. Anyone with any experience with turbos can appreciate just how ludicrous this claim really is.

Despite it's downfalls, the book does cover most topics, and explains some difficulties in turbo installations. The recommendations for selecting kits are quite good. If you don't know anything about turbos, this book might be good to show the broad picture. If you want high quality technical information, look elsewhere ("Turbochargers" by Hugh MacInnes would be a good start).

Danny Halamish

I realize that Corky Bell is one of the most recognized authorities on turbocharging, but I think that this book is fairly outdated by now and does not give adequate coverage of today's modern, computer controlled vehicles. The books most recent publication is listed as 1997. Think of how much cars have changed over the last decade. It looks like over time he has attempted to keep it timely, but even these are outdated now and are incorporated merely as footnotes to each chapter. I also hate to admit such a non-scientific, emotional response, but looking at a bunch of photos of cars and engines from decades ago just doesn't motivate me to go out and modify my car.

The book does provide a good overview of turbocharging and how it works. I do think it will serve as a good primer for people. However, I am looking forward to buying some of the more recent publications out there.

For years I have heard about turbos and what they do. People often have suggestions about what to do if you have a turbocharged engine, or if you're planning to turbocharge a N/A engine. What alot of them cannot tell you is why you should or shouldn't do these things.

'Maximum Boost' gives these reasons and also exposes some of the false logics that you may have heard. It didn't just teach me about turbos, but a whole lot about modern engines in general.

At the end of the day, I feel alot more confident about designing a turbocharger system to fulfill my personal needs in a safe and reliable manner.

The only thing I would have added to this book (probably in one short chapter), is some more information on diesel engines. But for now I am satisfied.

Bottom line: If you are into high-performance autos, get this book. Get Maximum Boost.