Book Review: High Performance Dodge Neon Builders Handbook
When this book arrived in the mail, I have to say I had low expectations. It seems in this day and age of online service manuals, huge forums with thousands of members to help with questions, and of course your local car club, that a book like this is just more clutter and unnecesarry.
However, when I actually sat down and read through the book, I have to say I was quite suprised to find that it works well. Before I get into the specifics of the book I will share my background. While I do have a love for cars, and obviously enjoy the occasional romp on the track,.. I hardly know anything about why certain modifications affect a car as they do. Generally my route has been to stick to recommended mods to ensure I am getting good results. The problem with this, however, is that while you can end up with great results, having the extra bit of know how yourself is essential to squeezing every last bit of performance from your car. Sure you can get this information from forums, but in my experience you will be searching for a needle in a haystack between irrelevant and innacurate posts. For a beginner like me, this book is perfect.
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The thing I really enjoyed about this book was that the author, Mike Ancas, went beyond telling you which mods work and which dont. Rather, he uses the "teach a man to fish" method and teaches you the theories about *why* a particular mod works out better or worse. This is important because not all mods work the same for all cars or in every situation. The book is easy to read, with each system of the car receiving it's own chapter chock full of photos. Everything from transmissions, to suspension, to brakes are covered. It is important to note that this is NOT an SRT-4 specific book. It also covers first generation Neons, as well as the second generation ACR's and R/T's. For the most part, however,.. the information is universal amongst all three.
Besides covering every single aspect of the car that can be upgraded for performance, the author even briefly covers some visual mods. The final 2 chapters are probably the most important in the book. They cover modifying your car on a budget, and how to get started in racing. Yes, for many of you these are no-brainer topics, but many readers of this book may be overwhelmed by all the racing and modding oppurtunities that await them. It's for this reason that the book will be an even greater aspect to beginners.
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For more information on the High Performance Dodge Neon Builder's Handbook, contact CarTech books at 1-800-551-4754 or visit www.cartechbooks.com.
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