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WHAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT T HIS BOOK IS DESIGNED for you, the hands-on car enthusiast. It contains projects that allow you to modify the fuelling, control turbo boost, switch devices on and off on the basis of engine load, and a whole host of other things. Some of the projects are building blocks that are suitable for a very wide variety of uses. Other projects are monitoring instruments and still others allow you to tune the operation of various car systems. Although some of the projects use sophisticated electronics hardware and software that took literally hundreds of hours to develop, you can build the kits with relatively little electronics knowledge. You only have to know how to solder and be able to recognise components. And if you’re short on those skills, we have a full chapter for you on how to build electronic kits. Some of the projects can be fitted with only a cursory knowledge of how the car systems work. In other cases, to get the best results, you need access to a full factory workshop manual. In any event, the more that you know about your car, the better – and the factory manual (if available) provides very good background knowledge. But more important than any of that is something you should know: we had great fun developing the projects in this book. One of our guinea pig cars – a Nissan Maxima V6 Turbo – has ended up being fitted with the Intelligent Turbo Timer (monitoring how hard the car is being driven and setting the idle-on time accordingly); the Frequency Switch (triggering an intercooler fan at idle); the Temperature Switch (turning on the intercooler fan and also triggering the intercooler water spray); the Auto Timer (pulsing the intercooler water spray when it’s running); the Delta Throttle Switch (swapping the automatic transmission mode from economy to power when the car is being driven hard); the Voltage Switch (operating the radiator fans on the basis of ECU-measured coolant temperature); the Digital Fuel Controller (which is being used in conjunction with a huge dual-intake air-flow meter bypass to halve the intake restriction); another Delta Throttle Switch (controlling an atmosphere-venting electronically-controlled blow-off valve); and the Independent Electronic Boost Control (giving load-based turbo boost control). With all the projects mounted in the cabin, driving the Maxima is quite an experience of listening to clicking relays and watching Digital Hand Controllers! But the projects covered in this book are so broad in application that they can be fitted to a V6 turbo like the Maxima or to a petrol/electric hybrid. In just the last few weeks, we’ve used the Digital Fuel Adjuster and Voltage Switch kits to provide a hybrid Toyota Prius with altered full-load mixtures, giving a major improvement in top-end power. In fact, we doubt there’s a car on the road than can’t benefit from at least a few of the projects in this book. So have fun building them, fitting them and then driving with them. – JULIAN EDGAR ABOUT THE AUTHORS JULIAN EDGAR started working life as a secondary school teacher before moving to faster things. He has written for car magazines for more than 15 years and has been a freelance contributor to SILICON CHIP magazine since 1992. He is a major contributor to the world’s largest fast-car website – www.autospeed.com – and is the author of the car modification book 21st Century Performance. Julian and his partner, Georgina, live in Queensland’s Gold Coast hinterland with their young son. Julian’s current cars include a Lexus LS400, Nissan Maxima V6 Turbo, supercharged Toyota Crown and a Toyota Prius hybrid. Julian has just completed a Graduate Diploma in Journalism and when not studying, driving, writing or photographing, enjoys reading. JOHN CLARKE works for SILICON CHIP magazine as a full-time electronics engineer. He graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics) in 1980 and over the years has designed everything from high-power stereo amplifiers to inverters to electronic ignition systems to, well, all the projects in this book. He and wife Robyn live with their five children on 40 hectares of mostly virgin bushland near Tamworth in New South Wales. A beaten-up 1950s Landrover is used to get around the property and they also own a VW Microbus, a VC Commodore and a retired VW Beetle. In his spare time, John enjoys(?) finishing his house extensions. siliconchip.com.au PERFORMANCE ELECTRONICS FOR CARS 3