Julian Edgar, 56, started his working life freelancing for photography magazines. He then worked as a secondary school teacher for eight years before leaving teaching and becoming a full-time technical writer.
He edited a national Australian automotive print magazine before becoming editor of an online car magazine. Along the way he wrote extensively for electronics hobbyist magazines while also contributing articles to publications in Australia, the UK and the US.
He has also worked at Executive Level in the Australian Public Service. Formal qualifications include a Diploma in Teaching (Secondary), Bachelor of Education and Graduate Diploma in Journalism.
In the automotive field he has owned cars with two, three, four, five, six and eight cyJulian Edgar, 56, started his working life freelancing for photography magazines. He then worked as a secondary school teacher for eight years before leaving teaching and becoming a full-time technical writer.
He edited a national Australian automotive print magazine before becoming editor of an online car magazine. Along the way he wrote extensively for electronics hobbyist magazines while also contributing articles to publications in Australia, the UK and the US.
He has also worked at Executive Level in the Australian Public Service. Formal qualifications include a Diploma in Teaching (Secondary), Bachelor of Education and Graduate Diploma in Journalism.
In the automotive field he has owned cars with two, three, four, five, six and eight cylinder engines; diesel, petrol and hybrid petrol/electric drivelines; front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations; and cars with single turbos, twin turbos and superchargers.
He has been electronically modifying his cars for about 30 years. Over that time he has modified engine management systems, engine cooling systems, turbo boost controls, electric power steering systems, auto transmission controls, all-wheel drive torque split controls, stability controls, hybrid car regenerative braking controls, and lighting and sound systems.
He also enjoys aerodynamic modification of cars. He was the first automotive journalist to extensively wool tuft cars and write about the results (starting in 1989), and use Magnehelic gauges to directly measure aerodynamic pressures (in 2000) - both approaches now widely used by amateurs. In 2018 he developed a technique allowing amateurs to measure car aerodynamic panel pressures on the road.
Julian has supercharged - and then turbocharged - a Toyota Prius. He has also turbocharged a Honda Insight and fitted it with programmable engine management, doing the engine mapping from scratch. The Insight also has electronically-controlled, custom air suspension that Julian developed and fitted.
He has an extensive home workshop that is equipped with a chassis dyno; lathe; mill; MIG, TIG and oxy welding gear; metal folder and other tools.
Julian lives in a hamlet 80 kilometres north of Canberra, Australia. He is married to Georgina and they have a son, Alexander, who is 16 years old. Also in the family are Victor the sheep and Ar-Chee the cat!...more
Julian EdgarI never get it! If you, as a writer, work out the key points you want to communicate *before* you start to write, then it's much easier to avoid write…moreI never get it! If you, as a writer, work out the key points you want to communicate *before* you start to write, then it's much easier to avoid writer's block. (less)
Over the last two or three decades we’ve seen just about every driver road safety campaign possible.
From overt blood and guts to more subtle psychology.
From a big stick to a plaintive plea.
From massive enforcement of laws never originally designed to be policed with such technology (technology that’s so superior to that of cars that manufacturers deliberately build in conservative speedos lest
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