Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #230530 in Books
• Published on: 1997-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 250 pages

Review
"Maximum Boost by Corky Bell presents a wealth of knowledge on the modern turbocharger and its applications. The turbo world has long needed an up-to-date resource like this, and Maximum Boost will not disappoint."

Customer Reviews

Not really structured to my taste
The book is generally geared (excuse the pun) for the US market, therefore a lot of the examples given are for US cars. This book is probably best for people new to engine tuning/turbos. I found it a little basic after reading Dave Walker's fantastic 'Engine Management' and Graham Bell's 'Four stroke performance engine tuning'. Compared to other publications i feel that the reader is not left to make an unbiased opinion on his or her own. Therefore the same level of understanding can not be reached, because we learn a lot quicker if we figure things out for ourselves rather than being told. There are better books for the money, but if you have everything else why not.

Too much opinions, not enough facts.
This book provides some good basic information for people new to tuning and forced induction. Plus it has lots of nice pictures.
However, the author quotes too much of his own opinions as if they were facts. As opposed to the Bosch automotive books, where no opinions are expressed, only technically backed data.
He often fails to take into account important factors and many things said in the book don't have anything to back them up.
When recommending fuels or boost levels he doesn't take into effect turbocharger size, engine revs and the application. (drag racing or rally/endurance/top speed?)
He also advocates slacky and even dangerous methods of building systems, and suggests engine management should be taken lightly (when the fact is, it is one of the most important things when dealing with fuel injected engines). No performance expert would ever consider turbocharging a petrol engine without retuning the ECU or installing an aftermarket system.
He also expresses his opinion on water injection systems, and states they don't have any application. This is so far from the truth, water spray is an excellent coolant when used in small amounts, where there's limited intercooling capacity or heat soak. It also keeps the combustion chamber clean.

Overall, not a bad book but I'd really not rely on it as the only deciding factor when building a turbocharged engine.

Excellent book
This is an excellent book that goes into as much depth as neccessary without becoming boring. It is the only book recommended by Turbotechnics website, and is probably the best all round book on the subject.