Posted this up on the G forum. Thought you'd enjoy.

Identify Book Title, ISDN, and short review.

Been a long time since I've read most of these so I'll keep the reviews short.

"High Performance Handling Handbook" 0760309485
-Ok

"Drive to Win" 0965160009
-Ok

"Winning a Race Drivers Handbook" 0879387769
-Ok

"Engineer to Win Understanding Race Car Dynamics" 9780879381868
-Nearly Essential

"How to Rebuild and Modify Your Manual Transmission" 0760320470
-Not directly race related but good information

"High Performance Brake Systems Design Selection and Installation" 1932494324
-Good

"Going Faster Mastering the Art of Race Driving" 0837602262
-Good

"Racing Ahead" 0947981896
-Ok

"Tune to Win" 0879380713
-Very Good

"Speed Secrets" 0760305188
-Essential

"Speed Secrets 2" 0760315108
-Nearly Essential

"Inner Speed Secrets" 9780760308349
-Good

"Speed Secrets 4" 0760321604
-Good

"Speed Secrets 5" 0760322899
-Good

"Speed Secrets 6" 0760322759
-Good

"Racing to Win" 1590521552
-Avoid like the plague

 

Reading this right now, for about the 10th time

"Speed Secrets" 0760305188 -Essential

 

What kind of pearls of wisdom are contained in these books? Any examples?

 

Sports Car and Competition Driving by Paul Frere, ISBN: 0837602025.

Everything from the basics to more advanced information.

 

Like I said, been a long time since I've read them but they cover general racing techniques. From basic terms like apex, turn in, etc... to late braking, late apex, over steer, etc... and some have suspension gemoetry theory & setup.

One essentially covered racing materials like steel, aluminum, titanium, fatigue, stress, blah blah... that was probably Engineer to Win.

Some of the Speed Secrets had tips that you can do every day. Like walk fast through a crowded sidewalk and timing yourself doing a mental lap.

Most I've picked up at the bookstore like the Speed Secrets but some I've had to get online.

 

Has anyone read Secrets of Solo Racing by Henry A. Watts?

 

The Ross Bentley books talk about things like the importance of slip angle, how to read a track the first time out, mental exercises for looking ahead, keep your self smooth, etc. Some of the best books like this I have ever read.

 

how to "balance" the car on track...not "corner balancing"...

but how to manage the momentum of the car ..i.e."the line"

and

to understand/manage the weight of the car on the tires...i.e. an "unloaded tire" vs a "loaded tire".

and the Magic "Friction Circle"...i.e,, managing the total amount of traction the car has.

All these things teach you how to manage understeer, oversteer, the "LINE", and how to "get the power down"...

 

Is the above literature ranked in accordance with skill level?

 

No. I have not arranged them in any particular order. In fact some of the speed secrets are for your friends/family to read. Forget which one, sorry.