Rating: 
Summary: Why Is There A Corrado On the Cover?
Review: I would not recomend this book for anyone interested in learning about the Corrado or VR6 engine. The author does not even mention the VR6 in the section on clutches. He does waste valuable space by pointing out the obvious, such as getting a part at the salvage yard is less expensive than buying something new. And if you have a Corrado VR6 the parts will be more expensive. The title for this book should be changed to "A Beginner's Guide for Sport Tuning your 4cyl. Volkswagen" and the Corrado should be removed from the cover. "European Car Magazine" and The Corrado Club of America web site are much better resources for specific information. This book does have a decent amount of general information for preparing a Volkswagen for autocrossing and exchanging older parts with factory upgrades. But if you are not a complete novice buying this book is a waste of money.
Rating:
Summary: Why Is There A Corrado On the Cover?
Review: I would not recomend this book for anyone interested in learning about the Corrado or VR6 engine. The author does not even mention the VR6 in the section on clutches. He does waste valuable space by pointing out the obvious, such as getting a part at the salvage yard is less expensive than buying something new. And if you have a Corrado VR6 the parts will be more expensive. The title for this book should be changed to "A Beginner's Guide for Sport Tuning your 4cyl. Volkswagen" and the Corrado should be removed from the cover. "European Car Magazine" and The Corrado Club of America web site are much better resources for specific information. This book does have a decent amount of general information for preparing a Volkswagen for autocrossing and exchanging older parts with factory upgrades. But if you are not a complete novice buying this book is a waste of money.
Rating: 
Summary: another book on performance tunning
Review: If you are a fan of water cooled VW's and want to make it a better ride, this book ought to be in the library. While done in the Bentley style with more safety warnings than in the shop manual, this text, along with good, crisp, B&W pictures is a good read and will pay for itself for the non working or inappropriate speed parts you don't buy. More suspension, brakes and autocross oriented than Raven's book which focuses on engines. The author has had more than a few wrenches in his hand, based on the text and the advice.
Rating: 
Summary: Want to go faster, buy this book
Review: If you are a fan of water cooled VW's and want to make it a better ride, this book ought to be in the library. While done in the Bentley style with more safety warnings than in the shop manual, this text, along with good, crisp, B&W pictures is a good read and will pay for itself for the non working or inappropriate speed parts you don't buy. More suspension, brakes and autocross oriented than Raven's book which focuses on engines. The author has had more than a few wrenches in his hand, based on the text and the advice.
Rating: 
Summary: Help you avoid costly mistakes
Review: It's an excellent book for the novice A1/A2 autocrosser or street performance driver like myself. Explains how some modifications for the track would not be the best for the street. Great info about exhausts, suspension, and engine tuning, with lots of autocrossing stuff mixed in. One of the best books around.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for beginners-- tons of tidbits for old VW drivers
Review: Some readers have complained that this book is geared too much toward the autocrosser, or that any regular reader of performance auto magazines will already know everything this book has to offer. That may be true to the reader that just looks at the pictures and reads the photo captions. But a thorough review of the text will uncover a gold mine of technical info. I found lots of tech tips that I may have already known, but the book explained the concepts to me thoroughly and technically, adding to my understanding, and thus ability to perform technical performance modifications to MY car. Schroeder explains the why and the why not, where most authors just tell you what to do. There is also tons of info on road racing, including exact instructions on how to stay within the rules of each class, both on a road course or autocross course. Overall, I would applaud this author for compiling a wealth of information for the VW enthusiast, be it the back yard race car builder or owner of the latest generation VW hot hatch. Your library (and bank of knowledge) will be incomplete without this title.
Rating:
Summary: Heavy Autocross Bias, Mixed in with A1/A2 Info.
Review: This book was supposed to be the new version of a lot of old VW "tuner" books. The front cover was a rip off of European Car's(EC)article about EIP Tuning's VR6 Turbo system. That peeks big interest for those in the know. Upon finally picking up this book from New Dimensions($30 after tax, ouch), I rushed home and opened the book and found a whole lot of common knowledge. Nothing shocking here. No little horsepower secrets found by moi. Basically, if you read EC, you will probably know about 90% of the basics covered by this book. The book tends to lean toward autocrossing in every way. Nothing wrong with that, but it wears on ya. For a novice autocrosser, this is decent knowledge. But, you can find all this info and more on the web for FREE! So, don't waste the money on this book, spend quality time reading newsgroups and looking at web sites. First on my list is the Corrado Club site. Then the GTI-VR6 Online site. You can link your way around cyberspace, investigating sources of knowlegde, while getting feedback from other racers/drivers. Just about everyone will share the knowledge about what parts work, and what do not(based on their own experience). Spend the $30 on something else, like a new set of Bosch spark plugs. In closing, I want everyone to know that this book has some good info, but just doesn't cover the point spread. Great for beginning water-cooled drivers who are not aware of the basic modifications to improve power, braking, and handling. Those with the earlier A1/A2 chassis cars, will benefit the most. If you drive a Corrado like me, it would behoove you to have a friend with an A1/A2 car actually purchase the book. Then you can simply look over their shoulder and pick up a bit here or there, without the mistake of making an investment yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good starter book
Review: This is not a book for illegal street racers where anything goes, it is specific to cars running in legitimate closed-course competition. I dinged this book a couple of stars, because it did not include anything about performance rallying, or GTI Cup preparation, areas I am most interested in. Racing technology moves so fast that a book like this is partially out of date before it is printed. The "hot tire" last week is only good for a course marker this week. That said, Volkswagen Sport Tuning for Street and Competition does take you through the right stuff, and does a good job for autocrossers, solo, and time-trialists. A current rule-book and Bentley Repair manual is enough information to get you on the track - it's worth the money as a single source of information and a philosophy for preparation.I was involved with motor sports in the mid-seventies and ran out of money before I learned an important lesson - all the basic stuff has to be right before you start looking for performance modifications. I wish I had a book like this back then. No amount of chromed/polished/anodized bolt-on performance modifications will offset a worn-out motor, soft-motor-mounts, and a bad clutch. That kind of thing is basic to high performance driving. Of course when you're a kid, who can make you believe money spent on a new clutch is better than a 290degree unobtanium camshaft Overall I felt Volkswagen Sport Tuning for Street and Competition was money well spent and I would buy the book again if I lost it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference for the novice VW tuner.
Review: Water-cooled VW enthusiasts who are new to the hobby like myself can learn a lot from this book. Particularly helpful is this author's effort to explain his advice and recommendations in a broadly understandable way. While a lot of the information is generally applicable there is a focus on the A2 chassis cars. Since that's what I am interested in the more's the better. The book is also a good attempt to explain specifically for VW's the modifcation rules for the various classes in SCCA racing. I have seen articles explaining this as well or better in some of the racing hobby mags but buying the book can be easier than tracing down back issues. There is a very nice list of resources for parts and equipment in the appendix, it is the most extensive I've seen. If you have a water-cooled VW and you want to work on it to enhance its' performance this is one of the books that should be on your shelf, especially if you aren't certain of what you should/can do to it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference for the novice VW tuner.
Review: Water-cooled VW enthusiasts who are new to the hobby like myself can learn a lot from this book. Particularly helpful is this author's effort to explain his advice and recommendations in a broadly understandable way. While a lot of the information is generally applicable there is a focus on the A2 chassis cars. Since that's what I am interested in the more's the better. The book is also a good attempt to explain specifically for VW's the modifcation rules for the various classes in SCCA racing. I have seen articles explaining this as well or better in some of the racing hobby mags but buying the book can be easier than tracing down back issues. There is a very nice list of resources for parts and equipment in the appendix, it is the most extensive I've seen. If you have a water-cooled VW and you want to work on it to enhance its' performance this is one of the books that should be on your shelf, especially if you aren't certain of what you should/can do to it.
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