Chris' High Performance Automotive Technical Resource Page
~ knowledge is power ~
My Automotive Projects, Research, Calculators/Spreadsheets/Programs & Information
~All publications, data, programs/spreadsheets, & graphics in this section are for personal & educational use only and may not be distributed w/o my consent! ~
Fuel Science Page (NEW!)
Documentation on my calculations, simulations & experiments w/ various fuel additives.
Project Screwed - Twin-screw Supercharged 3.0L V6 Project Page (NEW!)
Spring is here & I'm ready to build another guinea pig for my engine management system development/tinkering. This time it's supercharged. I've never been a believer in stealing crankshaft hp to beat heat into the intake charge, but I'm gonna try this out. I'm doing it my way though...
Chris' Engine Calculator Spreadsheet rev 2 (copyright 2002)
Excel Spreadsheet that quickly calculates things like compression ratio, fuel & air flow, hp/torque estimates etc. Since this is an on-going project not everything works perfectly... but the basics are correct.
Quantization error due to a period capturing RPM algorithm calculator - rev 1 (copyright 2002)
Spreadsheet
that attempts to quantify the error associated with measuring the rpm of an
engine w/ a toothed wheel and period capturing algorithm. I don't know who
in the world would care to leverage the work I did... but I post it the same.
It's lame... but I tend to spend more time reading about crazy modifications than actually working on my cars. Here are some of the titles that I've found compelling/interesting for one reason or another.
Design & Tuning of Competition Engines - Morrison & Smith
This book has to be a classic... originally written in the 60's and revised in the 80's, it spans the golden age of motorsports engine development. The authors start with a review of the thermodynamic & physics laws that govern the operation of engines and then jump straight into practical applications. This book covers the aspects of engine balance & cylinder number/layout better than any other book I've read. The last 1/3 of the book is devoted to case studies on the most successful competition engines of the modern era (Cosworth, Jag, Datsun, American V8, etc).
The Internal-Combustion Engine in Theory & Practice Vols I & II. Taylor, Charles F.
These books are extremely expensive (I paid $150 for the set), but... ... wow. Geared for the people that actually design engines for a living, there's way more information than any amateur engine tinker could ever use. The volumes are logically divided into theory & practice with 66% of the information in the 2nd volume. The theory volume is thick... thick reading that is. Still, I found the chapters on detonation, friction, performance, & power estimation most useful. Taylor goes further into subjects like oil viscosity than the other books I have.
How to Hodrod & Race Your Datsun. Waar, Bob.
Ah, the essential text for any Datsun nut. Referred to as "The Bible" in the 510 community, this book covers virtually every aspect of modifying a Datsun 510 or 240Z for street performance or track competition. There are two editions of this book. The first has a more complete section on cams & general valve-train setup written by "Racer Brown" (cam profile designer from the 70's). The second addition trims down the valvetrain section, but adds information on the L18/L20B/L28 engines since they weren't available for the first edition. I'd say buy both... but the first editions are nearly impossible to find.
Design of Racing & High Performance Engines. ed Harralson, Joseph - SAE Press
Interesting compilation of the classic motorsports specific SAE papers published between ~1960 & 1990. This book contains ~20 papers that discuss the development of engines such as Honda's 1.5L 800hp V6 F1 motor & the Ford 427 OHC engine. This book should praised for it's entertainment value & gee-whiz factor, but unless you spend all day developing race engines, you won't gain much. Nearly all of the papers discuss the methods and results the authors used to research/design their engines, but there's not much information that can be used by the amateur. Expensive book... $45 if I remember right.
Fuel Injection - Installation, Performance Tuning, Modifications. Hartman, Jeff
Bosch Fuel Injection & Engine Management. Probst, Charles O.
Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners & Plumbing. Smith, Carroll.
Engineer To Win. Smith, Carroll.
Tune To Win, Smith, Carroll.
How To Air Condition Your Car. Remus & Chisenhall.
Advanced Engineering Mathematics. Kovach, Ladis D.
I don't know why... but this $15 text that I bought used at Powell's has become my best friend. I can hardly recommend this text to anyone that want to learn anything from it though. I use it a handbook & reminder for the stuff I allegedly learned in college. It covers everything from differential equations & fourier transforms to Green's functions & moments. There's also a section that directly discusses Maxwell's equations which is why I bought the book in the first place. Again, don't expect to learn anything from this text... it's a great resource to have handy.
Other Automotive Technology Resources - Links & Local Mirrors
Note: All of these links are to external sites or to local mirrors of external sites. In either case, the material is not mine and I cannot vouch for the accuracy. I've collected or linked these pages because I deem them to be good information, but all credits/copyrights remain property of the original authors.
If you are an author of the any of the material I've mirrored or copied & you would like me to cease hosting it, please send me an email (chrisv@<NO!SPAM!>dsl-only.net) and remove it promptly..
Additional
Automotive Calculator/Math Resources
home.att.net/~jroal/calcs.html
- forced induction calculators
www.bgsoflex.com/auto.html - Bruce Bowling & Al Grippo's (diy-efi guys) famous automotive calc site.
Engine Design & Building
Engine Bore Refinishing & Break-in info from Hastings (local mirror)
Thermodynamics & Combustion Related Resources
Gasoline FAQ (GASFAQ) - Local mirror of the somewhat famous and extremely informative gasoline FAQ.
Turbocharging, Supercharging, & Other Forced Induction Resource
Disscusion on Turbocharger Theory & Sizing - Mike Kojima (local mirror)
Autorotor Lysholm Compressor Page - local mirror of a swedish screw supercharger technical data
Eaton Supercharger Specs (local mirror)
Turbodyne specs - TurboPac 1500, TurboPac 2500 (local mirror)
Parts, Services, Etc
Automotive Vendor List - A random listing of many automotive & racing parts suppliers and services.
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High Performance Links!
Forced Induction Links
www.advancedengine.com/products_superc.html - Aussie manufacturer of the "Sprintex" Lysholm supercharger
www.opconab.com / www.opconab.com/autorotor/ - Swedish Manufacturer of Autorotor brand Lysholm (screw) compressors
www.kenne-bell.com - Lysholm compressors
www.kennebell.com - same, official version
Electronic Engine Management & Drivetrain Control Links
www.bgsoflex.com/megasquirt.html - Bowling/Grippo "Megasquirt" DIY EFI system
www.diy-efi.org - home of efi332, diy-efi, & gm_ecm projects and mailing lists
Chassis and Suspension Design Links
(any suggestions?)