Honda and Acura Performance Handbook (Motorbooks Workshop) [Paperback]

Mike Ancas (Author)

Book Description

Series: Motorbooks Workshop | Publication Date: November 19, 2004

This new edition of Motorbooks' best-selling guide to Honda and Acura performance now delivers more and better information than ever before. Whether you're headed to the street, drag strip, race track, or autocross course, this new edition provides the latest information from the world of Honda and Acura tuning. All the latest engine upgrades, electronic tuning, suspension tweaks, intake and exhaust systems and more are presented here in color for the first time. More than just a glorified parts catalog, this book tells the truth about which aftermarket parts work, which don't, and how to plan a Honda or Acura buildup. Revised and updated second edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Motorbooks (November 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760317801
• ISBN-13: 978-0760317808
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #504,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Ancas started his professional life as a social worker and psychotherapist. He earned a BA in Psychology from Duquesne University, a Masters Degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a PhD (ABD) in counseling psychology from Pitt. He began racing cars with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) in 1987, and this passion led to the publication of his first book in 1999 titled: The Honda and Acura Performance Handbook. His second book, The Mazda RX-7 Performance Handbook was released in 2000. A full color and updated second edition of the Honda and Acura Performance Handbook was published in 2005, the same year he finished his fourth book titled The High Performance Dodge Neon and SRT-4 Builder's Guide. His company, Speednation.com, is a great place to buy gifts (diecast cars, model kits, books and cartoon car t-shirts) for car nuts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing change, February 6, 2000

By 

Bob A (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Honda and Acura Performance Handbook (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

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

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Informative, December 28, 1999

By 

Mark Brenden (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Honda and Acura Performance Handbook (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

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.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well organized and thought out!, September 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Honda and Acura Performance Handbook (Motorbooks Workshop) (Paperback)

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.