Engine design / principles - book recommendation?
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 3,599
Likes: 24
From: Orange County NY
St. Jude Donor '10-'11-'12-'13
Engine design / principles - book recommendation?
I have a decent understanding of the basic principles of engine component functions and how they relate to one another, but I'd really like to learn more about why camshaft profiles are designed one way or another (pros and cons of certain grinds), the effects of various cam timing on the combustion process, static / dynamic compression, etc.
Can anyone recommend a good book that covers information like this?
Thanks!
Can anyone recommend a good book that covers information like this?
Thanks!
Large Impressive Member
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 65,811
Likes: 71
From: Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die
St. Jude Donor '04-'05-'06-'07
Among others, I'd recommend anything by Smokey Yunich on the subject. The man was brilliant and was anything but a conventional thinker.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 9,036
Likes: 13
From: Edmonton AB
Let me know when you've absorbed the information on induction
& exhaust events in these books, I have a few others I can suggest.
How to Build and Modify Chevrolet Small-Block V-8 Camshafts and Valves
by David Vizard
$16.47
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Motorbooks (November 13, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0879385952
How to Build High-Performance Chevy Small-Block Cams/Valvetrains
by Graham Hansen
$14.21
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: S-A Design (November 10, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1932494081
Four-Stroke Performance Tuning 3rd ed: A practical guide
by A. Bell
$23.07
Hardcover: 376 pages
Publisher: Haynes Publishing; 3 edition (October 30, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1844253147
Scientific Design of Exhaust & Intake Systems (Engineering and Performance)
by Philip H. Smith (Author), John C. Morrison (Author)
$19.77
Paperback: 274 pages
Publisher: Bentley Publishers; 3rd edition (June 1972)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0837603099
.
& exhaust events in these books, I have a few others I can suggest.
How to Build and Modify Chevrolet Small-Block V-8 Camshafts and Valves
by David Vizard
$16.47
Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: Motorbooks (November 13, 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0879385952
How to Build High-Performance Chevy Small-Block Cams/Valvetrains
by Graham Hansen
$14.21
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: S-A Design (November 10, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1932494081
Four-Stroke Performance Tuning 3rd ed: A practical guide
by A. Bell
$23.07
Hardcover: 376 pages
Publisher: Haynes Publishing; 3 edition (October 30, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1844253147
Scientific Design of Exhaust & Intake Systems (Engineering and Performance)
by Philip H. Smith (Author), John C. Morrison (Author)
$19.77
Paperback: 274 pages
Publisher: Bentley Publishers; 3rd edition (June 1972)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0837603099
.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 9,036
Likes: 13
From: Edmonton AB
Henry 'Smokey' Yunick.
Google will bring up a bit of background on the man, too.
On the specific subject you are interested in, my vote is that you
will not find a great deal of material by Smokey, relative to what is
available from other sources.
However, for fundamental education in motorsports and life philosophy,
I recommend that everything he wrote that can be found should be
read.
.
Google will bring up a bit of background on the man, too.
On the specific subject you are interested in, my vote is that you
will not find a great deal of material by Smokey, relative to what is
available from other sources.
However, for fundamental education in motorsports and life philosophy,
I recommend that everything he wrote that can be found should be
read.
.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 9,036
Likes: 13
From: Edmonton AB
On-line articles that may be of interest
Peaks And Valleys
Jeff Smith for Chevy High Performance
Bump and Grind
Camshaft Variables Explained on the Dynamometer
Scott Crouse for Chevy High Performance
Bump and Grind
Part I: Unlocking the mysteries of Pontiac camshafts
Ray T. Bohacz for High Performance Pontiac
Pontiac Camshaft Engineering – Latin Square – Derived Camshafts Revealed
Tom Neil with Don Keefe for High Performance Pontiac
.
Peaks And Valleys
Jeff Smith for Chevy High Performance
Bump and Grind
Camshaft Variables Explained on the Dynamometer
Scott Crouse for Chevy High Performance
Bump and Grind
Part I: Unlocking the mysteries of Pontiac camshafts
Ray T. Bohacz for High Performance Pontiac
Pontiac Camshaft Engineering – Latin Square – Derived Camshafts Revealed
Tom Neil with Don Keefe for High Performance Pontiac
.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,014
Likes: 18
From: Raleigh, NC
+1
That guy is a genius of the highest order. I've read everything I can find that he's written, and I still re-read the books in small bits and pieces during breakfast everyday.
His book on small block chevrolet engines built on a budget is excellent, and his book on modifying small block cylinder heads is great too. He also wrote an article for Popular Hot Rodding on moment of inertia and the myth of the heavy flywheel being better for launching a car that was really great.
All in all, his stuff is great.