Search results for ""author julian edgar""

This book explores the many advantages of small-wheeled pedal machines - convenience, portability, comfort and speed. A small-wheeled bike is ideal for your daily commute, or for taking on holiday. Bikes with small wheels can be folded into tiny packages, and using small wheels allows the production of innovative machines like recumbent trikes - the most comfortable and stable pedal machines in the world. And small-wheeled bikes can be fast - the world speed record for a bike is held by a small-wheeled machine. Major brands are covered, including the Brompton - the best folding bike in the world, the Birdy - a folding bike that uses front and rear suspension, and the Moulton - the world's first successful small-wheeled bike. Want to tour the world with a bike you can fit into a suitcase? Then a Bike Friday is for you. Commuting, touring and restoration - it's all here. Discover a whole new world of cycling! Written by prolific author, Julian Edgar, who is a lifelong cycling enthusiast, and has owned, designed and built his own small-wheeled bicycles.

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This highly practical and useful book covers brilliant techniques that take the guesswork out of performance modification. Using just some low-cost tools, you can easily measure the flow restriction of your car's intake and exhaust. It's like having a huge flow-bench always available. By making some simple on-road measurements, you can plot the shape of the engine's power and torque curves - no dyno needed. This allows you to not only see if performance modifications to the engine are improving power, but also see where in the rev range those changes are occurring. Assess the worth of cams, a larger turbo, changed boost control or altered engine management mapping. But the book doesn't stop there - it also shows you how to measure your car's aerodynamics, seeing if at speed your car is developing lift or downforce. Want to make a rear wing work well? Test the angle at which downforce is greatest. You can also test the aerodynamic airflow through oil coolers, intercoolers and radiators. Interested in improving your suspension? By using a low-cost app and a smartphone, you can accurately measure suspension behaviour. If you want a practical, hands-on book that will immediately save you money, show where modifications are most needed, and can be used to assess performance outcomes, this is the book for you.

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THE complete guide to setting up, equipping and using a home car workshop. Working on your car at home saves you money and helps you to achieve the results you want. You might want to perform routine servicing, modify a car, restore a car, or even build a car from scratch, but to achieve the best outcome, you'll need a properly-equipped workshop. Whether you have a small or large space, this book covers workshop design, equipment, storage, safety aspects and much more. You will find handy tips on the safe use of tools, a guide to welding, as well as instructions for building your own storage racks and cabinets, how to build a strong workbench - even how to make your own full-length car ramps. It also gives advice on the best tools for working on the electronics of your car. The book is fully illustrated throughout with real-world examples. If you are planning to set up your own home car workshop, this book covers everything you need to know.

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A step-by-step guide to DIY air suspension for your road car. Manufacturers like Mercedes, Tesla, Audi and Cadillac choose air suspension because they can achieve the highest quality in ride and handling, but until now, there hasn't been a book that shows you how to get the best from aftermarket air suspension for your road car. This book covers both theory and practice - from the technical advantages of air suspension through to detailed coverage of the development, installation and tuning of a custom air suspension system. It looks at wiring and plumbing, covers a brilliant new low cost electronic air suspension controller, and even shows how to source low-cost components from cars originally sold with air suspension. Want to buy an air suspension kit off the shelf? That's covered as well, with the six key questions to ask before buying. Whether you're after the best ride and handling, or simply like being able to raise or lower your car at the turn of a knob, this book will show you how to do it.

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Extraordinary engineering; extraordinary places: this book takes you on a fascinating journey to visit marvellous engineering and technological achievements around the world. * From deep underground in an Arizona missile silo, to being in the pilot's seat of one of the biggest hovercraft that has ever flown. * See the world's fastest helicopter, aircraft and steam train. * Deep inside the mighty Hoover Dam - one of the most incredible structures ever built - to walking the ground where the Wright Brothers first flew. * From marvelling at the jet road cars built by Rover and Chrysler, to seeing Land Speed Record cars like Bluebird and Thrust SSC. * Fascinating sights - the suspension bridge that carried all the materials for the first atomic bomb. * The world's first turbo production car engine. * The luxury lounge of the Hindenburg airship. * The first streamlined, stainless-steel diesel train. Passionate and insightful, this is an incredible adventure through the best things the world has to offer for anyone who likes speed, technology and excitement. This book is the result of Julian Edgar's own journey around the world, seeking out the most exciting engineering and technological sights. It is packed with original photos, well-researched text and technical information, and serves as both a travel guide for the engineering enthusiast and a celebration of the engineering feats that have influenced modern life.

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Want to upgrade/update your cars electronic systems, but don't know how? Here's the solution! Cars of the 1990s and 2000s are from a golden era - they've got sufficient electronic systems to achieve great outcomes, but they're not so complex that they're impossible to modify. The missing link, until now, has been a hands-on manual on how to achieve those results. Well, here it is! This book covers everything from cheap modifications that allow you to adjust engine fuelling and ignition timing, to modifying car systems like power steering and even stability control. Easy upgrades to lighting, sound systems and the dashboard - right through to fitting and tuning programmable engine management. Photos and circuit diagrams guide you each step of the way. All the car modifications are practical, and have been tried and tested by the author. From a 660cc turbo front-wheel drive screaming to 8500rpm on standard engine management but with big injectors... to a DOHC V8 rear-wheel drive with modified traction control... to a twin-turbo all-wheel drive with a custom torque split controller. Even modifying the re-gen braking on a hybrid! This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to exploit the true electronic potential of their 1990s-2000s cars.

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This unique handbook assumes no starting knowledge of vehicle aerodynamics. It begins with simple ideas and finishes with sophisticated and effective aerodynamic modifications that work. Three major chapters cover on-road testing techniques that give you all the information you need to decide what modifications you should make - and, after you've made them, how well they work. Low-cost techniques allow you to visualise the patterns of airflow over your car so that you can actually see the problem areas that need improvement. Uniquely, you're also shown how to measure aerodynamic pressures, so you can determine which body surfaces are creating lift, drag and downforce. Want to work out where a wing should be placed? On-road testing to find that out is covered as well. The book also shows you how to measure downforce to see if that wing is actually working! If you wish to reduce drag, more than ten different areas are covered. Reducing frontal area, lowering cooling system drag, optimising vehicle ride height and rake, reducing the strength of the wake, achieving clean airflow separation and optimising wheel designs - they're all covered using the latest research findings. And if you're a performance driver, there's a major chapter devoted to reducing lift and improving stability. This chapter includes the design and development of undertrays and diffusers, wings and spoilers. The example car developed measurable downforce when fitted with an undertray and rear diffuser, something that transformed its on-road handling. The author has been writing about the aerodynamics of road cars for more than 25 years. He is also an experienced and proficient car modifier who has performed numerous aerodynamic modifications and upgrades to his own cars. The book's technical consultant, RH Barnard, is an acknowledged world leading automotive aerodynamicist. If you want a practical, hands-on guide that demystifies and explains car aerodynamics, and shows you how to make effective aerodynamic modifications to your car, this book is for you.

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