Customer Reviews

New Directions in Race Car Aerodynamics: Designing for Speed (Engineering and Performance)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The author does an excellent job of giving a layman's intro to auto-aerodynamics and the text is quite useful for a fan trying to understand what all those wings, bills and slots are supposed to do on CART, F1, IRL cars. It is clear that the author is very well versed in the subject of aerodynamics. Regrettably, he seems more intrigued by aerodynamics, than automobile aerodynamics and he draws the line of application to autos so shallowly that a serious reader will have to go to other aero-texts to actually apply what is offered here. This does not mean that he doesn't discuss at length, things like wings, slots, boundry-layers and a modest discussion of laminar flow (which is curious, since it is rarely achieved to any large degree -- the chronic automobile problem of turbulance producing bumps, ridges, seams and other protrusions, coupled with awful pressure gradients except perhaps on land speed record cars) and that part of the text is interesting.

There is an ongoing -- and intriguing, but not thorough -- discussion of the exotics of the racing world and he looks at open-wheeled cars quite often, but there a noticeable lack of discussion of open-wheel v. mud-flap bodywork. But the discussion of the challanges of racing at high-speeds in relatively stock-bodied autos is superficial at best. As an example, with all the aero-difficulties that NASCAR stockers have had staying on the ground for the past 15-years, there is limited discussion and the reader is left with one picture of an old Pontiac sedan drafting -- you will have to really read between the lines to figure out what a spoiler does, let alone how this most basic device works. However, if you dig, a reader can extrapolate some useful, but minimal, lift/drag/downforce data from some of the tables in the book...

Unfortunately, the good professor didn't give us the benifit of much of his obvious knowledge -- it seems to be an honest look at the automobile, but through the eyes of a Cessna, Boeing or Lockheed designer. A great book at half the price, but if your interests or racing rules require a relatively stock sedan or sports-car body configuration, there are other books with a more thorough treatment of the subject in this price range.

I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to read and informative. The author clearly showed a great deal of familiarity with race cars and does a good job of laying out concepts without overcoming the reader with formulas or technical jargon. At the same time, he addresses some very cutting edge concepts such as the use of micro-vortex generators for drag reduction, and ground effects and exhaust powered ejectors for down force. There is certainly enough material covered to keep the most avid aerodynamicist interested and looking for more. Personally, I would love to see a follow up book published that goes into more technical detail, but I'm sure the author doesn't want to give up all of his secrets.

The only place where I did find the book lacking was in addressing vortex flow. Passenger automobiles are using turbulent air flow more often these days, primarily to reduce drag, yet none of the tricks you see commonly on Porsches or Corvettes, or even on every day sedans were addressed. Hopefully the author is saving this for his next book.

Overall I would definitely recommend that anyone interested in exotic cars, either as a spectator or operator, add this book to their collection.

If you've never taken a fluids course or are not a racing fan, this book will be a good introduction for both. It's not anywhere nearly as technical as his other books ("Low-Speed Aerodynamics" is arguably the standard in inviscid flows and on the shelf of most aero/fluids grad student), thankfully.

VERY basic on fluid mechanics/dynamics and scrapes the surface on racecar aerodynamics, but almost everybody in our wind tunnel (Langley Full Scale Tunnel) has a copy!

This book is well laid out with plenty of diagrams to explain its concepts. There are some equations, but they aren't necessary to understanding everything in the book. I believe someone who has taken High School Algebra could take away a lot from this book. It does have a few differential equations, but that's definitely for the advanced reader and not required unless you're designing a car.

A little bit American, but even so, an excellent first step towards understanding airflow effects.

As an F1 aerodynamicist myself I would encourage purchase of this book, informative and easy to read. Slightly outdated and simplistic but still relevant.

It is perhaps a mistake to title a book New Developments in Race Car Aerodynamics because the time will come when the book is no longer new. In 15 years the nature of aerodynamics has not changed but racing rules and regulations have and the tool of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has greatly matured. The effect of the CFD revolution, if I can call it that, is that flow vizualization and flow calculation based on 3D mathematical models of cars has become so good and so cheap, relatively speacking, that wind tunnels are now a verification tool to make sure the models are correct. All this means that a rewrite of this book would look entirely different. In additon, I am still unclear as to who the audience was for this. It was not for a practicing automotive aerodymanicist, not being technical enough. But somehow it doesn't seem to me correctly structured for the car sports enthusiast who wants to know a bit more about aerodynamics and auto racing.

Still, there are good things here. The brief discussion of wind tunnels is quite interesting and in a sense explains the demand side of the CFD development since clearly the capital intensity of really accurate autosports wind tunnels is high. The basic explanations of fluid dynamic behavior are clear enough. The references at the end of the chapters are quite helpful and would enable anyone seeking more in depth understanding to find a path, though again, they are all 15 years old.

This is not a bad book, but more a starting point than an ending point.

This is a very well written and designed book on cars aerodynamics. It starts from the Bernoulli law, passing through the definition of drag, lift, coefficient of pressure,...(always recalling to the objective of the book: understanding cars aerodynamics), ending with lot of examples on real-world race cars. There's no need to start reading this book with an advanced knowledge in engineering, because in here you can find all the recalls or new knowledge that you need in the subsequent chapters: so I recommend it for all kind of knowledge that you have. Lot of graphs, formulas, and very well described examples. So: not only theory but lot of practical examples and observations. Very good book!

The book explains very well, all the details one would need to understand the aerodynamics of a race car.
buy it!

It's a very interesting and technical book. It's explains all aspects about the car's aerodynamics.

The reader needs a lot knowlege about maths and phisics subjets and equations, but if you have that knowlege, is your book!!

I think is a good book for teacher and students of fluid's dynamics, especially if they love cars.

You find the best way to design winds, spoilers and car's bodies.

Es un libro muy específico y es necesario el dominio de algunos conceptos de matemáticas y física, si el lector los posee, le será de gran ayuda.
Puede encontrar información para crear sus propias formas aerodinamicas, tales como spoilers, alerones, e incluso carrocerías.

A good resource for the basics on the subject matter. Most readers without a strong background in math will understand the concepts presented without any trouble.