Bosch Automotive Handbook [Flexibound]

I bought this book because I am nuts about cars, but in addition to that, I am also a professional in a technical field. I used this book as a reference during the writing of my doctoral thesis. I found that the Bosch Automotive Handbook had a very comprehensive section on hardness testing, which I used extensively in my research at that time. I am also using this book in calculating the suspension geometry for a car project at home - I use it at work so much that I'm considering the purchase of a second copy for home use.

The book is full of topics that are useful to anyone with a technical background who is interested in the general construction of complex things with moving parts. There is a section devoted to the "tightening of threaded fasteners", where all of the specifications of fasters are described and the forces that are involved are written out. There are fairly detailed sections on welding and other joining methods. There are sections on wheel offset, tire construction, NVH measurements (noise, vibration, and harshness), wear testing, fuel efficiency, coatings of surfaces, vehicle dynamics, the balance of forces in a piston engine, and fuel injection. There are a great couple of pages on "empirical values and data for calculation" which compares parameters between engine types, such as Diesel, gas, Stirling, and rotary engines. There are many pages dedicated to the calculation of engine parameters such as displacement, compression ratio, final compression temperature, piston acceleration, fuel supply, and piston pressure. I have actually used some of these once or twice and I love the fact that I have them on hand, even if I don't really need them.

Ever wonder what the difference between a screw-type and Roots-type supercharger is? It's in this book. Ever wonder how a wastegate works? It's right here. Fuel injector design, spark plug gaps... all of it is in here.

The best thing about the book is that even if it does not offer a lot of detail on a particular topic, there is at least a paragraph devoted to the subject with enough information and context so that the reader is armed with the tools to search for more meaningful literature on the topic.

Edit: 12/5/08
One gripe: at least in this edition, I don't see anything useful on controller area networks (CAN) or how one goes about programming them or controlling them. CAN is becoming an essential part of automotive manufacturing and I would expect that someday Bosch will cover this topic more thoroughly.

With that said, I consider this book to be one of the "must haves" for technical reference books. With a recent edition of the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, Perry's Chemical Engineer's Handbook, Mark's Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers, Machinery's Handbook, Metals Handbook, and the Bosch Automotive Handbook, one person has an excellent overview of the entire Industrial Revolution. I call this library of books the "Build-Your-Own-Civilization Library". If you like handbooks (I cherish them), get this one, then go buy the others.

This book is an excellent overview of all aspects of vehicle design theory, basic principles, and reference information. It is NOT a guide to auto repair and is NOT for someone who is only interested in fixing and/or improving auto performance. The best description is to say it is the one single most useful book a newly graduated engineer should have and read upon entering the field of vehicle engineering and engine design. This is not to say it is beyond non-engineers, but only to say that if you are not interested in the theory and principles of automotive design and operation, this book is not for you.

This book is not for someone looking to learn about automotive mechanics or how to fix and repair cars. This book contains a fair amount of formulas and tables that are useful to those who work in the area of automotive design. It does describe briefly all aspects of the automoble such has how an ignition, starter, steering, fuel management, braking system, etc. work but not to the point that it would be useful for someone trying to troubleshoot automotive problems. If you're looking for your first automotive textbook to learn about the systems on your car then this book is not it. If you're looking for an indepth HANDBOOK for a quick reference for any automotive aspect (that you once knew but now forgotten) then it's worth every penny. The book fits in the palm of your hand and is 1-inch thick. Like a bible in many respects.