What Have You Learned from Tech?

[77cruiser]

Krass & Bernie rule though.

[Truckedup]

All the Hot Rod type magazines taught me I didn't have the money, skill and place to work on a engine and do the stuff they did...I gotta say that Smokey Yunick's book Speed Secrets taught me several things...Don't build beyond your ability, don't be sucked in by expensive "trends" and always do dry mock ups to make sure all the parts are gonna play nice together...

[DaveMcLain]

Check out some of the older Hot Rod magazines from the early to mid 1960's and you can see an amazing difference in the writing as well as the quality of the information. Back then they didn't have TV shows and other stuff so maybe that's the source of some of the dilution..

[thatbikeguy]

I learned real stuff from Circle Track & Racing Technology and Super Stock and Drag Illustrated on the car side, and from Kevin Cameron back in his Cycle days in the late 1970s and 1980s in the two-wheeled realm. Kevin Cameron is still delivering the good stuff today at Cycle World, but the rest of that publication wouldn't serve as decent fish wrap.

[hoffman900]

I learned real stuff from Circle Track & Racing Technology and Super Stock and Drag Illustrated on the car side, and from Kevin Cameron back in his Cycle days in the late 1970s and 1980s in the two-wheeled realm. Kevin Cameron is still delivering the good stuff today at Cycle World, but the rest of that publication wouldn't serve as decent fish wrap.

Kevin Cameron writes the best technical Motorsport op-eds out there. I’ll be bummed out when he finally retires.

I’ve read some good tech in Race Car Engineering, it’s still advertisement heavy though, just higher end clientele.

[MadBill]

Race Engine Technology is my shiny pricey Tech mag of choice.

[steve cowan]

bill,
my friend pete Adema over in LA hooked me up with a two year subscription of RET
magazine just finished going to say it a excellent magazine unfortuntly
90% way over my head
i actually started surfing through speedtalk from page 695 heading towards 1
i will let you guys know how i go in 20 years or so

[MadBill]

Keeps us humble though Steve, getting glimpses of all this arcane stuff one hadn't previously had a clue about..

Keep us posted with gems from your S/T archival dives!

[n2xlr8n]

The beginning of wisdom for me was my first car, a 71 Pinto

Then came the PHR and HR mags.

I learned early on that if I wanted to be "fast" (relatively speaking), the best route was to keep my mouth shut and hang around the guys that were already there.

Much later, I joined ST and read everything I came across. It's responsible for the remaining 50% of my gearhead education.

[thatbikeguy]

Kevin Cameron writes the best technical Motorsport op-eds out there. I’ll be bummed out when he finally retires.

Being a moto guy, he's been my best source of no BS tech for decades. I too will feel a great loss when he calls it quits. I have seen a huge change in Kevin's physical appearance in the time that I have been following him. None of us are getting any younger.

I’ve read some good tech in Race Car Engineering, it’s still advertisement heavy though, just higher end clientele.

I'll have to check out Race Car Engineering.

Thanks for the tip, Bob.

Race Engine Technology is my shiny pricey Tech mag of choice.

I will have to check out Race Engine Technology as well. I have gotten some really good tech from https://www.f1technical.net
as motorcycle engine tech is becoming all too similar to F1. MotoGP now has pneumatic engine valve control as well as other arcane bits introduced in F1. Unfortunately, F1 Technical is down quite frequently of late.

Thanks for the heads-up, Bill.

[turdwilly]

I do think the magazine articles kept me thinking and in suspense though. I was thrilled when I'd be each car craft or superchevy

Same here, had subscriptions since I was old enough to wash the neighbors lawn and subscribe knowing it would be many yrs til I could have a car.
As the yrs went by the mags got skinnier, more ads then cancelled.

Learned here? Tons.

Is that a thing?

[Truckedup]

I learned real stuff from Circle Track & Racing Technology and Super Stock and Drag Illustrated on the car side, and from Kevin Cameron back in his Cycle days in the late 1970s and 1980s in the two-wheeled realm. Kevin Cameron is still delivering the good stuff today at Cycle World, but the rest of that publication wouldn't serve as decent fish wrap.

Kevin Cameron writes the best technical Motorsport op-eds out there. I’ll be bummed out when he finally retires.

Cameron also writes articles that can be understood....Gordon Jennings was/is good...Also have to include Cook Neilson and Allan Girdler for their insight...

[hoffman900]

I learned real stuff from Circle Track & Racing Technology and Super Stock and Drag Illustrated on the car side, and from Kevin Cameron back in his Cycle days in the late 1970s and 1980s in the two-wheeled realm. Kevin Cameron is still delivering the good stuff today at Cycle World, but the rest of that publication wouldn't serve as decent fish wrap.

Kevin Cameron writes the best technical Motorsport op-eds out there. I’ll be bummed out when he finally retires.

Cameron also writes articles that can be understood....Gordon Jennings was/is good...Also have to include Cook Neilson and Allan Girdler for their insight...

Being a millennial, my appreciation for tech articles is less than two decades. Jennings was before my time, but I have really liked what he has written. Albeit dated, they are way more interesting than most magazine articles.

RET is great when I get a copy.

[Truckedup]

Being a millennial, my appreciation for tech articles is less than two decades. Jennings was before my time, but I have really liked what he has written. Albeit dated, they are way more interesting than most magazine articles.

RET is great when I get a copy.

All the millennial gear heads I know have modified Diesel pu trucks...Some of them are scary fast like accelerating 6500 pounds through the 1/4 in 12-13 seconds.

[hoffman900]

Being a millennial, my appreciation for tech articles is less than two decades. Jennings was before my time, but I have really liked what he has written. Albeit dated, they are way more interesting than most magazine articles.

RET is great when I get a copy.

All the millennial gear heads I know have modified Diesel pu trucks...Some of them are scary fast like accelerating 6500 pounds through the 1/4 in 12-13 seconds.

The ones I know with them do that with their dd work trucks. That’s a problem when they break them during the weekend. D’oh.

Most of my millennial friends are into dirt bikes (if they’re into motor sports at all). They’re orders of magnitude cheaper than cars and are just barreelly still affordable enough fhat you can play with them while still paying off your student loans.