Automotive Electrical Performance Projects - OP (Project Series : S A Design) Paperback – August 24, 2011

Like the heading states, its not a bad book for specific auto electrical work.And that's all its good for! I sure didn't find what the others did for there ratings.When its like this for the truth.Anyone who knows really knows auto electrical through out.Wont get anything out of this book.And the few who don't but have a pretty good idea.May get something out of it.Those who know nothing wont get anything at all out of it.I am a real mechanical type and overall handy type of guy.Some say Im extremely talented. I don't claim to be anything when it comes to all electrical ok.Even though Im able to completely rewire a swimming pool etc etc.And even rewired everything underneath the hood of a ten year mega project on my full custom 4wheeler.Untill I came to a problem with my alternator not charging! I know why its not its how to rewire it that has my alittle at odds.Which frankly is why I bought this book!When it states automotive performance wiring!Well anyone who seen what I already built and rewired would agree that's exactly what I built! BUT this book doesn't touch on anything at all of any help to me.What it does is basicly specific to exactly what he shows in the book period.When the truth about auto wiring is a vast world today ok! For anyone who is not at all up to speed with auto wiring.You couldn't own enough books ok.I can put this in another way quickly!You can buy a book about welding or auto painting.Two others which Im good at.But those books wont make you any welder or auto painter ether.They will just give you a better idea than you didn't have at all before.Nothing works like hands on working knowledge.I got alittle out of this book.And about the same from the other I bought for a combined cost of 60.00 with tax and shipping to my door! Which sure didn't equal what I got out of ether book.And the other I found much better than this one.But again nether at all delt with my problem or close.But the good wiring diagrams in a factory service manual in fact did.

I am in the process of restoring a 45 year old car with atrocious wiring. After looking at the burnt wiring and tangled mess under the dash I went looking for a book that would help me figure out how to rewire the car. I ultimately purchased four books on automotive electrical projects, including Tony Candela's "Automotive Wiring and Electrical Systems" and his follow-up book "Automotive Electrical Performance Projects". Candela's two books are truly superb. If you are new to automotive electrical projects I recommend starting with his first book (Electrical Systems) then read the book on Performance Projects. The two books together lead you through the simple theory you need to understand the practical application of actually installing the wiring. I'm still in the process of installing an aftermarket wiring harness, plus rewiring the battery/Alternator/Starter system and upgrading the ground system for the entire vehicle. The books helped me decide what kind of wiring to upgrade, the tools I needed, types of connectors, how to install headlight relays and numerous other factors. There are quite a few books out there that tell you about Ohm's law and other technical details about automotive electrical systems. These two books show you "what to do" with detailed photos and diagrams that can be understand by your average backyard mechanic. Whether you need a simple courtesy light upgrade or a complete wiring harness install, there's information here that will help get the job done.

Once again, Tony Candela has written a book that has earned a place in my automotive reference library.This book covers everything that most classic and muscle car guys will run into. Everything from adding courtesy lights (which most classic cars were not equipped with) to building a complete wire harness are covered in great detail with easy to follow steps and pictures. Some installation tips, such as how to properly route large cables into the interior of a vehicle, are just not found in other guides.Although the main focus of this book is performance projects, the material that is covered can also be applied to nearly all aspects of automotive electronics installations. Adding circuits, performing voltage drop tests, and giving your vehicle a charging system evaluation (to name a few) are examples of the kinds of things that can be used outside of the performance world.My personal favorite part of the book is in the introduction section where the author recalls a vehicle that came to him with a host of electrical gremlins. The problems that this particular vehicle was having are not uncommon in classic cars. The author spells out what he did to fix the vehicle, and the end result was something that every automotive electronics installer wants - a happy customer.

After reading Tony's first book "Automotive Wiring and Electrical Systems" I was very impressed with his easy to follow writing style on a subject I constantly found difficult to comprehend. I'm happy to report that this book is written in a similar format and is an excellent follow up to the first. Most of the projects in the book can easily be accomplished by a motivated beginner like myself and it covers many of the problems so many of us classic car owners face. While it does address some difficult & costly projects like installing a complete wiring harness or the chapter on upgrading to EFI, my favorite and more realistic projects to those of us who are forced to work with a budget are adding an auxilary power system and upgrading your stock headlamp output. Everything is illustrated very clearly and I believe even a more experienced enthusiast will take plenty of information from this book. Well worth the purchase price!

Very practical !