Foreword xxi

Introduction 1

About This Book 2

How This Book Is Organized 2

Part I: Owning a Performance Car 3

Part II: Safety 3

Part III: Rims and Rubber 3

Part IV: Stylin' 4

Part V: Slowing Down 4

Part VI: Corner Carver 4

Part VII: Let's Go! 4

Part VIII: Faster Thinking 5

Part IX: The Part of Tens 5

Icons Used in This Book 5

Part I: Owning a Performance Car 7

Chapter 1: Cool Car Basics 9

Keeping It Legal and Keeping the Warranty Intact 9

Federal regulations 10

Local regulations 11

Warranty requirements 13

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act 13

Event participation 15

Setting Realistic Expectations 16

Making It Cool 18

Not All Platforms Are Created Equal 19

Chapter 2: Planning It Smart 21

Choosing a Car 21

Defining the Scope of the Project 23

Compromises 24

Contingency Plan/Exit Strategy 26

Delays 27

So long, farewell 28

Part II: Safety 29

Chapter 3: Balanced Performance 31

The Concept of Active Safety 31

Building a Balanced Car 32

Chapter 4: Safety Gear 37

Passive Safety Essentials 37

Roll Bars and Roll Cages 39

Materials 39

Design 41

Installation 46

Seats and Braces 47

Factory seats 47

Competition seats 48

Braces 50

Harnesses 51

Straps 51

Latches 54

Installation 55

Part III: Rims and Rubber 57

Chapter 5: Tires 59

Knowing When to Say When 59

Reading a Tire Sidewall 60

Tire Shopping 63

Tire Selection 64

How tires work 65

Street tires 69

Race tires 72

Dual-purpose tires 74

When There Isn't Any Air There 75

Pressure monitoring 76

Run-flat tires 77

Chapter 6: Wheels 79

Buying Right 79

Fit 79

Appearance 84

Performance 84

Materials 88

Forged wheels 88

Cast wheels 89

Semi-solid forged and modular wheels 89

Want to Super Size That? 90

The look 91

The life 91

Part IV: Stylin' 93

Chapter 7: Fashion Is a Fickle Thing 95

Mild to Wild 95

Graphics 98

Design 99

Custom cutting 100

Installation 100

Chapter 8: Vanity? Performance? A Little of Both? 103

Aero Add-ons 103

Rear-mounted spoilers and wings 103

Underbody diffusers 105

Front add-ons 106

Bodyside styling 108

Materials 109

Fiberglass 109

Carbon fiber 110

Polyurethane 112

Chapter 9: Detailing 101 113

Car Wash Basics 113

The Weekend Detail 115

Paint 116

Wheels 120

Tires 120

Windows and lenses 121

Trim 122

Convertible and fabric tops 123

Interior 123

Under the Hood 126

Part V: Slowing Down 127

Chapter 10: Slowing Down 129

Deciding Whether to Upgrade Your Car's Brakes 130

Brake Fluid 131

Specifications 131

Maintenance 135

Chapter 11: Basic Braking Bolt-Ons 137

Wheel Components 137

Pads 137

Rotors 138

Calipers 141

Cooling 143

Brake drums 146

Control Components 148

Master cylinder 148

Proportioning valves 150

Brake booster 150

Abs 151

Lines 152

Rubber 153

Stainless steel 153

Part VI: Corner Carver 155

Chapter 12: I Just Want to Hang (Onto the Road) 157

Understeer 157

Oversteer 158

Controllability 159

Chapter 13: Basic Handling Bolt-Ons 161

Wheel Control 161

Shocks 162

Springs 163

Coilovers 165

Suspension Components 167

Sway bars 167

End links 168

Chassis Reinforcement 168

Strut braces 168

Foam 169

Seam welding 170

Suspension links 170

Performance Differentials 171

Viscous (fluid type) 172

Clutch type 173

Gear type 174

Traction Control 174

Chapter 14: Get on the Diet! 175

Dr David's Four-Step Diet 176

Balancing the Scale 177

Rotating weight 178

Unsprung weight 180

Static weight 181

Part VII: Let's Go! 185

Chapter 15: Basic Power Bolt-Ons 187

Combustion Theory 187

Air Intake 189

Drop-in performance air filters 191

Open-element air intake 191

Intake manifolds and throttle bodies 196

Camshafts 198

Exhausts 200

Header/exhaust manifold 204

Exhaust systems 208

Ignitions 213

Grounding kit 214

Amplifier 215

Spark plugs 215

Chapter 16: Building a Strong Foundation 217

Engine Essentials 217

Basic maintenance 218

Testing 218

Fuel 220

Gauges 220

Driveline Upgrades 220

Clutches 221

Flywheels 224

Axles 225

Engine and transmission mounts 226

Chapter 17: Thinking of Adding Boost 229

Do You Want Boost? 229

Forced induction 231

Turbochargers 231

Superchargers 243

Nitrous oxide 247

Supporting a Boosted Engine 249

Fuel systems 249

Timing 250

Cooling 250

Engine internals 251

Intake and exhaust 251

Gauges 252

Chapter 18: Have Boost, Need More 253

Living with More Boost 254

Cams and Tuning 256

Intake Charge Cooling 257

Intercooler upgrades 257

Water injection 260

Part VIII: Faster Thinking 263

Chapter 19: Scanning the Codes 265

On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) 265

OBDI scanners 266

OBDII scanners 267

Switching Generations 269

Chapter 20: What's inside Your Car's Brain 271

What Is the ECU/ECM? 271

Deciding to Upgrade 273

Closed and Open Interface Systems 275

Closed interface 275

Open interface 276

Selecting an Upgrade 276

Reflashes and EPROM swaps 276

Black boxes 277

Piggybacks and standalones 277

Chapter 21: Reflashes and EPROM Swaps 279

ECU Reprogramming 279

Should you reprogram? 280

Reprogramming factory ECUs 281

Chapter 22: Black Boxes 285

Mixture Control 285

Air/Fuel Controllers 286

Auxiliary Injector Controllers 288

Ignition Timing Controllers 290

A'PEXi 290

Msd 291

Turbo Boost Controllers 291

Mechanical controllers 291

Electronic controllers 292

Manifold Air Pressure Sensors (Speed Density Systems) 293

Fuel and Speed Defencers 295

Fuel cut defencers 296

Speed cut defencers 296

Chapter 23: Integrated Piggybacks 299

Piggyback Controller Functions 299

Controller Models 299

GReddy e-Manage 300

Chip Torque Xede 300

TurboXS UTEC 301

Chapter 24: Full Standalone ECUs 303

Deciding on a Full Standalone ECU 304

Plug and Play 306

A'PEXi Power FC 307

Aem Ems 308

Some Assembly Required 308

Motec 309

Haltech 309

Autronic 310

Electromotive 310

MegaSquirt 310

Part IX: The Part of Tens 311

Chapter 25: Ten Online Resources 313

Enthusiast Sites 314

Asian brands 315

European brands 318

American brands 319

General Information 320

Autospeed 320

How Stuff Works 320

Autopia 321

Babel Fish and Google 321

Grassroots Motorsports 322

Motorsport Sites 322

Scca 322

Nhra 323

[...] 323

Aftermarket Parts 324

Taka Kaira 324

Sema 325

Chapter 26: Ten Car Modding Problems 327

Budgeting Time 327

Budgeting Finances 328

Legal Concerns 329

Warranty Concerns 330

Resale Value 330

Free Advice 331

Knowing When to Stop 332

Selling Parts 332

Buying out of Desperation 333

Selling a Failed/Incomplete Project 334

Index 337