High Performance Honda Builders Handbook (S-A Design) [Paperback]

Joe Pettitt (Author)

Book Description

Series: S-A Design | Publication Date: April 20, 1997

The best Honda tuners in the country tell you how to build a Honda engine that'll turn your competition into smoke! Instead of the usual bolt-on flogs, this book covers all the fundamentals of super-tuning your high-performance Honda engine. From intake to exhaust and everything you've ever wanted to know about fuel injection, the High Performance Honda Builder's Handbook covers it all.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: S-A Design; Revised edition (April 20, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884089631
• ISBN-13: 978-1884089633
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,092,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Much Detail About Honda, August 6, 2003

By 

Nigel F Staniland (Ashland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: High Performance Honda Builders Handbook (S-A Design) (Paperback)

While Joe Pettitt has a deep understanding of automobile tuning and performance, it appears as though he has no actual first hand wrench time on a Honda. He mentions different types of fuel injection but not which type Hondas are typically equipped with. This is a common theme throughout the book.

That being said, the background information on engine development and tuning is very useful. The information is broad and detailed and, for a tuner looking for general information and bolt on performance, the book may be useful. In the blurb about the book, a specific engine buildup is mentioned (the reason I bought the book). This engine buildup was described in two pages which did not even begin to cover the detail I was looking for. The author mentions in the beginning that the book is not just a series of ads for bolt ons but he does plug certain vendors pretty thoroughly.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This is an engine building book, December 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: High Performance Honda Builder's Handbook: How to Build and Tune High Performance Honda Cars and Engines (S-A Design) (v. 1) (Paperback)

I think that Petttit did a good job if you are looking to rebuild your engine or do some internal engine mods. There is not enough room in one book, however, to cover everything. The book by Ancas (Honda Performance Handbook) seems to pick up where this one leaves off. The Ancas book is more entertaining to read and doesn't repeat what you would find in a Honda Worshop manual. But if you want to do a rebuild yourself, you should buy the Pettit book too as Ancas doesn't go into internal engine details. I myself sent my block out to a Honda shop to have it done and don't really care to know exactly how they did it - just that they did it. But if you are serious about a Honda project, you really need both. The one thing they both avoid is the advertising-driven hype that you read in the magazines. That info is misleading and deal with pie-in-the-sky projects, not what we really drive on the street.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very informative, packed full of very insightful information, November 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: High Performance Honda Builder's Handbook: How to Build and Tune High Performance Honda Cars and Engines (S-A Design) (v. 1) (Paperback)

From the moment I opened this book I was unable to put it down. Having been a Honda lover for years, I've found this book to be extremely helpful. Especially in helping to make decissions on which parts I should/should not put in my engine. Joe Pettitt has done a great job explaining the inner workings of the late model Honda engines. In a country that's in love with the American V-8's, it's hard to find many books on the subject of import performance. That is one reason this book is so valuable to the Hondaphile. In the future I hope that more books are written on this subject. Regardless though, if a thousand books make it to the stands, I still think High Performance Honda Builder's Handbook will remain one of the best.