Honda and Acura Performance Handbook

This book is an excellent place to start if you're just getting started in the Honda/Acura modification hobby. But the expert and the novice will both benefit from this book.I particularly enjoyed the brief history of the Honda automobile provided in one of the opening chapters. It covers every generation of every model, so you can get a feel for the engineering changes that were made over the course of several years.The details of car modifications are on the Internet. An explanation of the big picture is usually not out there, though. Without endorsing any manufacturers, or recommending one modification over another, Mike Ancas deals more with the WHY-TO than the HOW-TO. I learned something on every page.

This book was such a refreshing change over the typical import car magazine that tell you just about every performance product is great. I have an Integra Type R (and just visited the author's home page and bought a model of my car), and discovered that most anything I do to my car will probably hurt its performance. Unfortunately, I had already found that out the hard way. The car magazines make their $$ from selling ads and they are not about to dis one of their advertisers. But this guy tells it like it is. He can probably get any performance part he wants for free, so guess what ignition system he uses for his full-blown race car? The stock Honda ignition. Still love reading the magazines, though

This book does a good job scratching the surface. It doesn't go into a whole lot of detail but gives the reader a very good outlook on what is available to "hop up" your honda or acura. I am definately glad I prurchased it but for people who are really into the field of import performance might want a more technical book.

Ancas is an excellent writer - no falling asleep at the wheel reading this one. This is an overall well balanced approach to building a Honda project car. Excellent Honda history and an honest approach. He tell you in the first chapter to throw this book away and buy a project that someone else built. Let the other guy spend all the money and take the loss when he sell it to you. Also, it seems sincere and realistic - not the hype you find in magazines: 15 hp from an exhaust! - yeah right. Ancas comes right out and tells you that with most of the new cars (Integra R/GSR) there isn't much you can do to gain power. Most of what you do will end up robbing low end torque. You should also buy the book by Pettit since Ancas doesn't go into how to port a head or build a block - but you would be nuts to try something like that by yourself anyway.

Mike Ancus did an excellent job of giving the reader a taste of what the potential of hondas really are. A lot of people with late model civics and integras are just lowering them as low as they can, putting on the loudest muffler while calling it all performance upgrades. He shows what honda tuning is all about. Displaying everything from the mildly daily driver to the wildest racers, while showing the major upgrades as they were needed. What is exceptionally nice is that Mike includes road racing hondas (cars that just don't go in a straight line for a 1/4 mile) as well as the ultrahigh hp dragsters. He also has a sense of a real world budget a quality that most authors of these types of books lack. I am an absolute honda lover, and I think anyone interested in honda tuning should have this book.