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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This unique handbook assumes no starting knowledge of car electrical and electronics systems. It begins with simple circuits and finishes with complex electronic systems that include engine management, transmission control and stability control systems. If you want to diagnose a simple alternator charging or headlight problem, this book is for you. But if you also want to fix complex electronic systems using On-Board Diagnostics, a multimeter or oscilloscope, this book also shows you how to do that. Is it best to use a series or parallel circuit when adding a horn? How do you use a multimeter to check a coolant temperature sensor against its specs? How can you add an electronic timer that will keep your headlights on as you walk to your door? When should you buy an oscilloscope - and how complex an instrument do you really need? The author has been writing about car electronic systems for over 25 years. He is also an experienced and proficient car modifier who has performed numerous electronic modifications and upgrades to his own cars, including world-first modifications. If you want a practical, hands-on book that demystifies and explains car electrical and electronic systems, this is the book for you.

The book is for everyone who likes to tinker in their home workshop In Section 1: Ideas and Approaches, the author looks at how you can develop new projects and inventions. How to think laterally, how to get advice, and when you should stop theorising and start testing In Section 2: Projects you can build, there is everything from a solar-heated cat or dog kennel - to a jet-powered scooter From a simple and very cheap seismograph that's sensitive enough to detect people walking up to your front door, to how you can build speakers into the walls and floor of your house. If you'd like to make an electric bike, you can see in detail how such a bike was achieved at home. There's also cutting-edge technology (including developing tuned-mass dampers to reduce driving light vibration); a very sophisticated, fully suspended pedal-powered recumbent trike; and an aerodynamic electric car. You'd like to make a drill press or lathe tacho? - that's covered as well. In fact, there are 19 different projects Finally, want to know how can you get a whole lot of useful parts for nothing? In Section 3: Salvaging Parts, the author looks at the good bits you can find for nothing in discarded photocopiers, microwave ovens, cordless drills and air conditioners. The Inventors and Amateur Engineers Sourcebook has hours of entertainment packed into its pages. Browse it for an interesting read - or take it out to the home workshop and start putting the ideas straight into action

If you'd love to know how to simply and effectively modify the electronic systems in your car, this book is for you. In Section 1 you'll find a step-by-step introduction to the world of car electronics. The section starts with very simple circuits but as the pages progress, you'll be introduced to volts, ohms and amps, be shown how to use a multimeter, meet analog and digital signals - and a whole lot more. And at each of these stages, there are real-world car modifications used as examples. Section 2 covers specific modifications to cars. These are wide-ranging - everything from fitting and tuning a commercial engine management signal interceptor, to adding new cabin lights, to cheaply wiring a tow-bar on a CAN bus car, to modifying electric power steering and electronic stability control. Even, the electronic modification of regen braking on a Toyota Prius Along the way you'll find a host of interesting snippets covering things as diverse as stopping turbo boost cuts, a prebuilt module that will improve your fuel economy, upgrading to LED interior lighting, what's inside poor quality relays - and lots more. The modifications that are down-to-earth, practical, cheap and achievable - this a book that should be on every car modifier's shelf.

Would you like to be able to test your car modifications without needing a flow bench, dyno and wind tunnel? You can Welcome to a series of great, down-to-earth and practical testing techniques you can carry out on the road without having to spend a lot of money. Test the flow of airboxes, airfilters, cat converters and mufflers. Aerodynamically test your car and improve the flow through intercoolers and into airboxes. Analyse handling, turbo response, cam timing changes and engine management tuning changes. And not only can you test the results of your modifications, you can also make measurements that will show you which modifications are likely to be the most effective on your car. This is a book that should be on the shelf of every car modifier.

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.