Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics

Ahh, the good old days. This was my very first Amazon purchase back in 2005. We had gotten some stuff before then, but it was not MY account. Paid $79.95 for this back in 2005. Currently listed for $85.82. Going up only 7% in 15 years is not bad. Although...the information has also aged 15 years. But.... math is math.If cars were flying like they should have been in 2015, this book would have become obsolete. Oh well I guess we just have to stick with roads for now.

I first have to say I am surprised that I am the only one to give this book such a poor rating. From a "reading for leisure" standpoint, this book explains the basic concepts of vehicle dynamics pretty well; however, as a engineering book (from SAE no less), this is probably one of the worst books I have ever purchased in my entire educational and professional career.As one of the reviews mentioned, the "unexplained 'magic numbers' in formulas" take time to get used to. I am not one to just accept formulas as is. As a graduate student, I like to know some thought behind the formulas I am using. In addition to the 'magic numbers', the author poorly explains many formulas. As an example, the author does not explain whether the sprung weight or total weight should be used when determining steady-state cornering. In all the formulas, the total weight is used; however, when determining changes due to body roll, only the sprung weight should be taking into account. Since unsprung weight only accounts for 5% of the total weight, maybe the author decided that was "close enough"; however, he should explain his reasoning in his assumptions. The author does this throughout the book.This brings me to my next point: poor examples and very few examples. The review from the individual who said this book had great examples must have been a review for another book. I can count on one hand the number of examples in this entire book. The few examples that are used are grossly over-simplified and very poor in explaining the steps involved in finding a solution.Additionally, the author rambles on too much. His wordy explainations could easily be condensed into fewer pages. As an engineer, I like conceptual explainations, but I don't like wasting my time either. One particular example that comes to mind is a formula written in paragraph form. Instead of just typing out the formula, the author takes a paragraph to write out the formula. After taking about 30 minutes of reading the paragraph and trying to find out the meaning of it (along with 2 other graduate students), I finally gave up.

My background is in computer engineering. As such, I have a basic understanding of kinematics, but approached this book with little knowledge of physics as specifically applied to vehicles.I found this book to be a perfect first step into the field. It picked up essentially where my knowledge left off and provided solid coverage of the topics discussed. Due to the nature of the book--an introductory text--simplifications often had to be made; in these cases the simplifications were pointed out, often with references to publications covering the areas more fully. Furthermore, I felt that all topics were evenly covered--no one got undue attention.Basically, the book was just what I was looking for.My only significant pet peeves are the use of English-system measurements (I am more comfortable with metric), and a few cases of unexplained 'magic numbers' in formulas (it took me a minute to realize that 57.3 is the number of degrees in a radian). And plot and character development were pretty thin (grin).

I like books like this because they help me gain a better understanding of the materials needed to withstand the dynamics machines experience. Understanding the mechanics and dynamics of a technology enable better discernment in determining sustainable materials to use for certain parts of the technology. This book provides a straightforward and easy to follow overview of vehicle dynamics with both qualitative and quantitative explanations. So much happiness!

Needed this book for a graduate class. It’s old but it has good information.

This is an excellent book for the basics of vehicle dynamics. It covers the main topics in a straightforward, easy to understand way and has good examples. The only thing preventing a 5 star rating is that the book is a little dated having been written in the late 1980's. Some of the references therefore need to be updated.

Book quality as described and fast shipping.

Thank you

Classic vehicle dynamic reference book. Really detailed and includes mathematics, diagrams and paragraphed explanations. Surprised they haven't updated the formating but that is a non-issue.

Lots of information

As advertised