Touring Car Quick Start Learning Guide
Get started on your race car project today with this Quick Start Learning Guide to help you choose books that will provide the best initial value, information and guidance.
Tips On Choosing Touring Car Books
Touring cars share some similarities to the mid and top-level Autocross/Solo cars. However, the design goals of touring cars are for high speeds over a longer circuit with larger radius, sweeping corners and longer straights than the typical autocross course. This requires a well-balanced vehicle design at high speeds and therefore we suggest that you begin with a book on vehicle dynamics to gain an understanding of how vehicles behave in motion.
We also suggest a production-based race car preparation book to help plan, design and build the vehicle along side of specialized books for areas that the more general prep book doesn’t cover. Understanding materials and fabrication (ie. roll cage) may also be helpful depending on how the car is to be built.
| Book Category | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aerodynamics |  Race Car Aerodynamics: Designing for Speed  (5 / 5)An in-depth and comprehensive guide to race car aerodynamic theory and practice. It covers everything a designer needs to know--from basic theory and aero devices (i.e. wings, venturis, diffusers, spoilers and more) to their applications on different types of race cars. Written with the non-engineer in mind, it also provides many examples and diagrams that show how to optimize the air flow around and through a race vehicle. Get "Race Car Aerodynamics: Designing for Speed":    | |||
| Bodywork |  Automotive Bodywork & Rust Repair  (4.5 / 5)Provides instruction on repairing damaged and rusty bodywork. Covers tools, preparing/cleaning sheet metals, fabricating sections and patches, welding options, fitting and smoothing, metalworking and finishing. Get "Automotive Bodywork & Rust Repair": | |||
| Bodywork |  How to Paint Your Car on a Budget (4.5 / 5)Practical instruction on equipment, preparation and painting techniques on a budget. Covers decision making around painting, bodywork repairs before painting, equipment and paints, preparation, sanding, masking, and painting techniques. Get "How to Paint Your Car on a Budget": | |||
| Driving |  Speed Secrets: Professional Race Driving Techniques (5 / 5)Provides a compact, concise guide to race driving essentials. It includes chapters on optimizing the car, reading and using the track, driving techniques as well as safety, data and communications tips. Get "Speed Secrets: Professional Race Driving Techniques": | |||
| Fasteners/Joining |  Carroll Smith's Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook (5 / 5)Teaches how to use the correct fasteners and fastener materials. This book includes extensive information on fatigue properties, joints, mounts, and vehicle plumbing. Get "Carroll Smith's Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook": | |||
| Materials/Fabrication |  Racer's Encyclopedia of Metals, Fibers and Materials (5 / 5)Provides introductory and more advanced information about metals, metal fatigue, composite fibers and the uses of a wide variety of materials in race cars. Get "Racer's Encyclopedia of Metals, Fibers and Materials": | |||
| Powertrain |  David Vizard's How to Build Horsepower (5 / 5)A guide to designing the engine as a system and constructing it to produce maximum horsepower. The design aspects use the airflow through each part of the engine as a basis for instruction. Provides detailed information on how to select, modify and tune each component to work at peak efficiency with others in the engine. Get "David Vizard's How to Build Horsepower": | |||
| Vehicle Dynamics/Handling |  Fast Car Physics (4.5 / 5)A great introduction to the world of vehicle dynamics, in language and explanations that are easy to understand. Learn basic vehicle physics, handling/dynamics, suspension types and geometry, and the latest approaches to green technologies for racing--energy recovery and storage. Get "Fast Car Physics": | |||
| Vehicle Dynamics/Handling |  High-Performance Handling for Street or Track: Vehicle dynamics, suspension mods & setup (4.5 / 5)Provides advice on planning modifications, installing components and tuning the handling characteristics of street vehicles. Includes an overview of vehicle dynamics and advice on selecting aftermarket components such as brakes, wheels, camber adjusters, anti-roll bars, springs, shocks and bushings. Also includes tire and wheel selection. Get "High-Performance Handling for Street or Track: Vehicle dynamics, suspension mods & setup": | |||
| Vehicle Dynamics/Handling |  How to Make Your Car Handle (5 / 5)Teaches how to improve vehicle handling through suspension and chassis modifications and understanding vehicle dynamics. Includes basic suspension theory on roll centers, roll axis, camber change, bump steer, anti-dive, ride rate, ride balance as well practical chassis modifications. Get "How to Make Your Car Handle": | |||
| Vehicle Dynamics/Handling |  Race Car Vehicle Dynamics (R146) (5 / 5)A comprehensive book on the vehicle dynamics of race cars (and applicable to road cars). Includes the most in-depth theoretical knowledge about vehicle handling, suspension and dynamics available in a single book. Along with clear explanations of principles there is a large mathematical component for engineering design. Can be used as a university textbook for vehicle engineering/Formula SAE/Student. Get "Race Car Vehicle Dynamics (R146)": | |||
| Vehicle Dynamics/Handling |  Tune to Win: The art and science of race car development and tuning (5 / 5)The fundamentals of race car vehicle dynamics in a clear, well-written text. Explains suspension, weight dynamics and vehicle handling behaviours in a way that permits the designer to understand cause and effect and improve their race car design, vehicle tuning and even driving. Get "Tune to Win: The art and science of race car development and tuning": | |||
| Whole Car (Customize/Upgrade) |  Detroit Speed's How to Build a Pro Touring Car (4.5 / 5)Guide to building a high performance handling muscle car--the pro-touring car. Includes chapters on chassis modifications, front and rear suspension geometry/components and modification, tires and wheels, powertrain, wiring and plumbing. Several example Pro-touring cars are showcased as well. Get "Detroit Speed's How to Build a Pro Touring Car": | |||
| Whole Car (Customize/Upgrade) |  Race Car Fabrication & Preparation (5 / 5)Production car preparation for racing. Includes information on transmission preparation, clutches, component selection, safety systems, wrecking yard parts, fabrication, welding basics, rear end setup, hardware, the cockpit, roll cages, wheels and tires, plumbing systems, electrical and cooling system. Get "Race Car Fabrication & Preparation": | |||
| Whole Car (Preparation) |  Prepare to Win: The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Professional Race Car Preparation (5 / 5)Carroll Smith's guide to preparing a race car for competition. Includes information about fasteners, riveting and welding, basic metal working, plumbing , fuel safety cells, electrical, brake system, clutch, suspension, wheels, tires, engine and gearbox and more. Get "Prepare to Win: The Nuts and Bolts Guide to Professional Race Car Preparation": | |||
| Whole Car (Preparation) |  Showroom Stock Race Car Preparation  (4 / 5)200 step-by-step technical illustrations and information on preparing a stock production vehicle for racing. Get "Showroom Stock Race Car Preparation": |
More Information
For complete information on the design and construction of the Touring Car race car type and a full listing of books and learning resources, see our Touring Car race car type article.