Supercar design

[Ris91]

hi guys
i am doing mechanical engineering and extremely intrstd in automotive career.........i design sports cars(atleast exterior) or which are particularly called supercars..............and i want to have a career as a car designer but i need to know much about vehicle dynamics for designing high performance sports cars...................i have a book "Automotive Chassis" SAE ...............is it a good book to study if i have a basic understanding of car suspensions , dynamics etc....or can u tell me other resources for serious study as i want to participate in formula sae next year but i don't have much knowledge about dynamics............can u guide me what should i do............our college library has nothing, no resources..............also i can't afford 100 $ books and even i can't get them through amazon as i live in india..............are there any resources or torrent links plz give me...........thnx

[jdmccright]

I wish there was a single book you could buy..."Supercars for Dummies"?...but there isn't. The best way to learn about automotive engineering is to immerse yourself in it. You have Tata Motors to tap...I'd seriously suggest that you apply for an internship or volunteer to be on a college project that involves them. They may not make supercars, but they still have to go through all the engineering, design, testing, and packaging that is involved with making cars and trucks.

In the meantime, get yourself dirty. Go work for an auto mechanic as an apprentice. Learn how they work, the pieces, parts, and how they all interact...and more importantly what happens when one fails. You can ask yourself why...Was it worn out? Was it poorly designed? Was the material wrong? Was there a defect? Was is installed wrong? All of this will help you down the road in designing and engineering the fastest of the fast supercars.

Good luck!

[Alastor187]

In addition to jdmccright comments, I would reiterate that any real world experience you can get will be invaluable even if is not on super cars. Also, don't let lack of experience prevent you from joining an FSAE team, the program is designed to teach students about automotive engineering.

In regards to free resources I would check out this tread:

http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?showtopic=82571

You probably can't beat the Physics of Racing Series (linked in the thread above):

http://www.miata.net/sport/Physics/

That is unless you can buy or steal a copy of Race Car Vehicle Dynamics by Milliken and Milliken:

http://www.amazon.com/Race-Car-Vehic.../dp/1560915269
http://www.millikenresearch.com/rcvd.html
https://shop.sae.org/servlets/produc...&PROD_CD=R-146

I know it is a $100 and on amazon, but if you can figure out a way to get your hands on that book it will be worth it. It is the definitive book on vehicle dynamics. Even if you can get it on inter-library loan, it would be worth your time to photo copy the entire thing. Or maybe since it is available through the SAE website, if you join the FSAE team they can help you source material through the SAE.

Good luck.