Engine Management: Advanced Tuning (Greg Banish)

I have bought about ten speciality autmotive books from Amazon so far. Two of those books covered engine tuning to various degrees. This is the best automotive book I have bought so far. It has given me the best understanding of the PCM/VCM modification I have received anywhere including specialty forums on the web. The author gives a excellent basic education on all the aspects of the combustion process the how different type of control systems try create the optimum burn. It also helps that the majority (but not all) of the examples used in text and pictures are of the current generation Mustang and the fifth generation Corvette of which I have one of each so it is very relavant to me. He also covers the different type of tuners; chip, hardware and software run on a PC. I highly recommend this book if you are trying to understand all the aspects of tuning your car if it has EFI and a PCM.

I've looked wide and far, and this is one of the few books that I have come across that seem like they try to address the actual subject of how to tune a car using a modern engine management system. Besides this book, I've also read another book you will find here on Amazon with "Engine Management Systems" in its name and a Ford Focus on the cover. Let me tell you, this book is far better because it gives you much more practial information. The other positive note is, this is probably the most recent book on the subject (that's worth reading) to come out. To begin with, this book is a much easier read. The word count per page is not too high, it has some nice illustrations to break things up and help you visualize different concepts, and the author doesn't ramble on and on repeating the same stuff 5+ times throughout the book(like some other book I know). This book breaks the tuning process into several different stages surrounded with concepts that an aspiring tuner needs to unders... Read more

This book is well organized and is full of pictures. I really enjoyed the clear writing style of the author. The information is given in a simple way, however, I would like to have seen a little more focus on the theoretical side. Being an American book, Diesel engines are not covered.

This is one of two books I purchased for guidance on tuning my factory PCM to accommodate mechanical changes made to the engine. I read it first because it was the thinner of the two and I thought it would a good "warm up" for the other. Having read both, I much prefer this one. Although it doesn't have as much information, it has the best (that is pertinent) information with little wasted words. No book can tell you how to tune your specific vehicle; there are simply too many variables. This book gives a basic strategy to get you started and guidance on how to proceed. It is the book I will have on hand when actually tuning the EFI in my truck. Highly recommended.

This book is basically like an introcduction for some other yet to be published book, it is by no means advanced. There is a lot of introductory info and basic descriptions. If you dont know what AFR is or what a coolant sensor does, this book will help you out...but, if you sitting there with a tuning laptop in front of you hoping to get some info that will help you tune your car, this book is of little value.