Racing and Sports Car Chassis Design [Hardcover]

Michael Costin (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 147 pages
• Publisher: Bentley Pub; 2nd edition (June 1967)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0837602963
• ISBN-13: 978-0837602967
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,662,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Chassis Designers Bible, Amen, July 17, 2001

By 

Ian Carter (Guilin, CHINA.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Racing and Sports Car Chassis Design (Hardcover)

There is yet to be a book written, that describes the why's and how's of designing a light-weight, high-performance sports car chassis in a more informative, yet pleasantly readable style than "Racing and Sports Car Chassis Design". There are other, more contemporary titles on this topic, and having read many of them, I have a strong impression that their authors were much influenced by this book; perhaps having studied it in their college and university years. That would not be surprising, for it is forty years since the author, Michael Costin, then Development Director of Lotus Cars Ltd., with technical writer David Phipps and automotive artist, James A. Allington completed what was to be acclaimed by the industry, and motoring enthusiasts, as the Chassis Designers' Bible.

Costin was also a chief chassis designer at Lotus Engineering, one-time home of many of the most creative and innovative thinkers in the history of motor-sports. He later became the Cos' of Cosworth fame. Quite a motor-sports pedigree!

The theory and basic principles of chassis design, including methods for chassis stress calculation, plotting suspension geometry, and selecting materials for a winning space-frame chassis are all comprehensively covered. The text is classically crafted, making this a reference book for the `coffee table' reader too. It is complemented with excellent illustrations and (now historical) photographs, and the reader will enjoy a revealing treatise from a fascinating period in motor-sports development. Reference to the appendices explaining the essential mathematical calculations, tables of materials specifications and the glossary will assist understanding of the engineering principles, and will be invaluable to the novice chassis designer. This is the material that contemporary writers have often, unfortunately, left out.

The sections on suspension, while now dated, examine the conflicting forces that influence road-holding and vehicle dynamics, and assess the advantages and disadvantages of the various suspension types then in use. The technology may have developed, but the principles that applied then still apply today, and would be readily recognized by todays engineering student.

If you are a motorsports enthusiast, and particularly one interested in building your own racing or sports car, then this book, though now out of print, is well worth the search. Of course, if you are planning to build a monocoque, or a composite-bodied racer, then you'll have to supplement this book with more recent titles.

As a current Lotus-Seven-inspired-sportscar builder, I value and constantly refer to my copy, and strongly recommend it to like-minded enthusiasts.

Put it in your shopping cart now,...your copy is out there.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best book in existence on automobile chassis design, March 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Racing and Sports Car Chassis Design (Hardcover)

Mike Costin was chassis designer at Lotus, and also co-founded Cosworth.

This book shows, in brief and clear style, how to design a fully triangulated space-frame type chassis that will carry loads as efficiently as possible,and how to design a suspension to give both good ride and good roadholding.

If you wish to design a modern day car using a tubular space frame, this book is absolutely essential. It will be very helpful as well to those wanting to design ultralight mileage record or solar cars. Even designers of monocoque chassis will find excellent ideas as to where their load paths should be going, and how their suspension movement should be controlled.

Don't be put off by the fact that the book is almost 40 years old. If you plan to build a space frame, find a copy.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Original and Still the Best Book on Tubular Spaceframes, July 24, 2003

By 

Bob Fann (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Racing and Sports Car Chassis Design (Hardcover)

If you are thinking of building a "Locost" replica of the Lotus Seven according to Ron Champion's Build Your Own Sports Car for as Little as £250 and Race It!, you would be well advised to consult this book to see how Champion's design could be improved. As reviewer Ian Carter can probably attest, a chassis built straight from Champion's book will not pass the Australian government's mandatory test of torsional rigidity. A Web search for "Locost" will yield thousands of hits from which you can eventually dig out some minor improvements to the Locost chassis that will allegedly double its stiffness. But if the principles so clearly presented by Costin and Phipps were applied in a complete redesign, the chassis stiffness could probably be doubled again due to improved triangulation and the use of round rather than square tubing. (Sure, square tubing is easier to weld but structurally it's equivalent to round tubing that has already collapsed on four sides!)