Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

• Choosing a car to mod
• Considering warranties, legal, and safety issues
• Hacking the ECU (Engine Control Unit) to adjust performance-enhancing factors like fuel injection, firing the spark plugs, controlling the cooling fan, and more
• Replacing your ECU with a plug and play system such as the APEXi Power FC or the AEM EMS system
• Putting on the brakes (the faster you go, the faster you’ll need to stop)
• Setting up your car for better handling and cornering

Written by David Vespremi, automotive expert, frequent guest on national car-related TV shows, track driving instructor and self-proclaimed modder, Car Hacks & Mods for Dummies gets you into the ECU and under the hood and gives you the keys to:

• Choosing new wheels, including everything from the basics to dubs and spinners
• Putting your car on a diet, because lighter means faster
• Basic power bolt-ons and more expensive power adders
• Installing roll bars and cages to enhance safety
• Adding aero add-ons, including front “chin” spoilers, real spoilers, side skirts, and canards
• Detailing, down to the best cleaners and waxes and cleaning under the hood
• Using OBD (on-board diagnostics) for troubleshooting
• Getting advice from general Internet sites and specific message boards and forums for your car’s make or model, whether it’s a Chevy pick-up or an Alfa Romeo roadster

Whether you want to compete at drag strips or on road courses or simply accelerate faster on an interstate ramp, if you want to improve your car’s performance, Car Hacks & Mods for Dummies is just the boost you need.

Average Customer Rating:

David Vespremi really knows his stuff!

Customer Rating:

This book is great for an aspiring gear head. The content is easy to comprehend even if you are just starting off and have little or no knowledge on the subject. You do not need to know any specific background information or terminology beforehand, which is what makes this book great! This is the book for you if you want to distinguish yourself from the majority of self proclaimed "tuner experts" that don't actually know what they are talking about. David Vespremi will have you talking the "lingo" in no time, and you will feel comfortable hanging with any "tech talk."

+A for coverage but weak in How modern engines work.

Customer Rating:

review: I could post and prove 100 inaccuracies, but I will cover just one point, let me review chapter VII, p189-197; INTAKE mods. He is only trying to get you to buy expensive induction mods. He never mentions the down sides. oop's ( that is the smoking gun ) First of all, he fails to mention that these changes only improve the breathing of the engine at wide open throttle. A place that most people never reach. He make blanket statements about gaining 8HP , but he never said on what size engine, a 50HP smart car with 1000cc or 7 liter monster truck engine. Funny huh? Blank statements are almost always wrong. Consider this: messing with the inducting will most likely foul up the function of the MAF sensor. Removing the screen (a laminar air controlling device really) or any changes can cause the MAF to read incorrectly and to read wrong at different RPM.s This is really foolish. or Bad #2: Oil soaked washable open air filters will coke up the MAF sensor with oil. Greater HP is an outright fallacy. The MAF sends the AIR flow values to the ECU the Oxygen sensor brings the engine to NEAR the best combustion point 14.7 (A/F ration by weight) 15.6 is best MPG on most cars. So, no matter what you do (save damaging the MAF readings) the car will always give the same MPG if these two sensors are working to spec. Many false statements and many fibs by omission. feeding air straight in to the throttle body will defeat the purpose of the MAF. ALL MODERN ENGINES USE A MAF SENSOR. ( There are exceptions ,like a Jeep 4 Liter i6) The #1 biggest restricting device to power, is the Throttle valve ,it is restricting at 70% while drive down the highway at 60 MPH. ( in fact, that is its job, it controls power) The #2 is the Size of the Intake valves. A larger Throttle body will not increase power with out major engine changes. Nor will silly throttle plate adapters . Before you change anything, My I recommend that you review other peoples work using a dyno where they have worked hard and proven all the myths , true or false, on your exact car. You can tune for power or MPG but not both. Read the Forums of MegaSquirt (tm). (but a custom ECU can do both "the dual map trick") ( not on your ECU) An Otto cycle automobile engine is an air pump; in order to pump more air , one only needs to study where the REAL restrictions are located and there magnitude. Once that is learned , you can begin experimentation. The book is very good in its coverage of what can be done but is weak on facts. I check to Manufactures TSB data bases and found both to contain the order of not honoring the warrantee with MODS to the engine. He calls this "Scrutiny", with a light mention. Not to mention the Smog station. I have studied many TRACK tests that show no so called COld air induction kit improvements, with the exception of building a funnel box in the front of the car to scoop up air , or by taking the naturally pressurized air from the vent cowl below the windshield (if you have one). this test must be done on a track because the car is not moving on a Dyno. I hope I open some eyes on how to get to truth. ( testing , with control groups). jtgh

Faily Informative	Customer Rating:
Very Well written and informative, all basic modifications, but nonetheless well documented. So things were a little clunky and seem like instructiosn were an after thought but it was still worth the money.

How to customize your street machine.

Customer Rating:

I wasnt sure what to expect with this book purely because of the inappropriate title,which doesnt do this book any justice.However,the book is better than I had hoped.Here's why: This book is about customizing your car.Its a comprehensive-detailed book explaining how to customize your car. It covers so many things,which make this book a rarity.It tells you what to consider as well as what to avoid. There are 2 faults with this book: 1)the innapropriate title.It should have been titled something more specific. 2)These series of books dont have photographs,just drawings.And,thats the bad news. The good news is this book offers great advice on customizing your car.Its great value and a great book.Highly recommended. Ignore the title.Its a book on customizing your car.

four stars	Customer Rating:
This book has a lot of information on someone who has just read an auto mechanics book. He touches ground on a lot of things, and could possibly change the way you would like to modify a car. I have no real bad things to say about this book except that it could go a lot more in detail.