For an Acura to really stand out, it must first perform at its best. To achieve this, engine power must be increased — a task done electronically by the Acura performance chip. Also known as a power programmer or a performance programmer, the performance chip optimizes a vehicle’s fuel and ignition system to extract the maximum amount of horsepower and torque possible. It replaces the car’s standard engine control unit (ECU) chip, which is responsible for managing the internal combustion engine’s operations.

An Acura performance chip consists of lookup tables that contain fuel rate values. These values are increased according to a particular driving condition, resulting to a maximized engine performance. Normally, an Acura performance chip is situated inside a car body’s interior, where it is heavily protected from the different elements. Most performance chips, however, can be accessed through the passenger?s side glove compartment. Others are at the passenger?s side front door.

An Acura performance chip works by integrating the functions of the old-time tuners onto a single computer chip, virtually re-programming an engine system to offer increased power and higher torque. It is designed to improve the fuel/air ratio and spark map in engines to deliver the exact the demands of vehicle owner. Other benefits include greater fuel mileage,and impressively clean emissions, alongwith an engine operating at its full potential. Acura performance chips can also raise fuel injection’ efficiency, eliminate speed limiters, increase torque, calibrate the speedometer, adjust ignition timing, reset shift points, tweak shift firmness, and check diagnostic codes.

Installation of an Acura performance chip is not assiduous since all the needed tools and information are available both online and in the market. Getting an Acura performance chip is indeed, an easy and excellent way to boost automotive operation and performance.

Boosted by record sales of Acura light trucks and the TSX sports sedan, Acura posted June sales of 16,766 units, up 6.9 percent versus last year based on the daily selling rate. Year-to-date Acura sales reached 91,540 units.

Breaking the previous June record of 5,797 set in 2005, strong sales of Acura’s luxury SUVs combined to set a June record of 6,503 for total light trucks. The MDX luxury SUV continued to post sales gains, with June sales of 4,639 units, up 26.2 percent versus last year.

Aside from the RDX turbocharged crossover recording sales of 1,864 for the month, year-to-date MDX sales reached 27,027, up 9.9 percent.

The TSX sports sedan also set a June sales record, up 4.0 percent compared to 2006. TSX sales of 3,414 units surpassed the previous record of 3,162 vehicles set last June. Year-to-date TSX sales reached 17,421.

The TL performance luxury sedan posted strong June sales of 6,221 units, up 8.1 percent for the month. Year-to-date TL sales hit 31,035, making it the top-selling Acura model.

According to Dick Colliver, executive vice president of Acura, June marks the eleventh consecutive month of record Acura light-truck sales. “Our two new SUVs, combined with strong sales from a broad sedan lineup, put Acura in a strong sales position for the second half of 2007,” he said.

Meanwhile, Acura?s parent company, the American Honda Motor Co., Inc., posted record June sales of 140,935 Honda (including Acura) vehicles, up 7.3 percent on a daily-selling-rate basis. American Honda year-to-date sales totaled 766,929, up 2.1 percent.

Honda Division posted record June sales of 124,169, up 7.4 percent compared to last year. The CR-V sold 19,715, up 53.2 percent, achieving its sixth consecutive month of record sales. The Civic posted record sales of 36,512, up 33.6 percent over last June. Civic Hybrid sales increased by 20.1 percent to 3,246, also setting a new record for the month. The Fit, up 44.3 percent to 5,613, broke its all-time sales record from May, 2007 of 5,361.

“The Civic and CR-V gained an incredible amount of momentum in the first half of 2007,” said Colliver. “We expect the small car and crossover SUV segments to remain strong for the second half of the year, putting Honda on pace for a twelfth straight record year.”

About Acura

Acura is the luxury vehicle brand name used by the Japanese car manufacturer Honda Motor Company in the US, Canada and Hong Kong since March 1986 to market luxury automobiles and near-luxury vehicles. The brand was introduced to Mexico in 2004 and to the Chinese market in 2006. It is also planned to extend Acura to the Japanese domestic market in 2008. With the Acura brand, Honda ? maker of top of the line auto parts including the Acura catalytic converter, is credited with being the first to tap into a market for luxury Japanese cars outside Japan.

If the car makes an awful lot of noise, consider having the muffler replaced with an Acura muffler. One can see the tremendous change once the Acura muffler is properly installed. A muffler is a device designed to reduce the enormous amount of noise that the engine produces. Inside a muffler, one will find a seemingly simple-looking set of tubes that sports a number of holes. These tubes and chambers are actually designed to reflect the sound waves produced by the engine in such a way that the noise partially gets canceled out.

Working with a muffler that’s already in poor condition is not so very different from having none at all. The engine will still continue making such a racket. This often causes distinct annoyance to the driver of the car itself as well as end up disturbing a number of fellow drivers on the road with the noise. However, if one is the unlucky driver of the car, it?s apparent that one cannot simply run away from the noise. It?s a misfortune, indeed but one has got to fix it.

Aside from canceling out the engine?s noise, the Acura muffler is also part of the engine?s exhaust system. It is installed along the exhaust pipe and helps the entire exhaust system function. It is also important to note that a poor-conditioned muffler can also cause a car to fail the state-required smog tests. This is why it is of great importance for a car owner to make sure that the car?s muffler is checked once in a while.

Checking the condition of the muffler is quite simple. If the car makes so much noise, there must be something wrong with the car?s muffler. The noise is a clear indication to the owner to go and have the muffler looked at, then if the part looks about worn down to the bone, changed. One ought to consider having it replaced with an Acura muffler too. Acura mufflers, after all, are known for being able to effectively cancel out engine noise, giving car owners the benefit of enjoying a smooth-sounding ride.

Vehicles today are fast becoming a necessity rather than a luxury. The increasing demand for automotive vehicles has greatly affected the environment and the amount of air pollution is steadily growing. To help solve this problem, car companies, like Acura, are tapping into their resources to produce environment-friendly cars. One of the earliest solutions that worked was the installation of catalytic converters into the vehicles.

The Acura catalytic converter has contributed a great deal in reducing toxic emissions in the atmosphere. It is the stainless steel box mounted in the exhaust system. A catalytic converter contains a catalyst made from a metal such as platinum, palladium or rhodium. A catalyst is defined as anything that induces or accelerates a change. The base of the Acura catalytic converter is protected from vibration and shock by a resilient ceramic or metallic mat. Catalytic converters have been used on cars since 1975. Back then only one catalytic converter was installed; today, cars may have two or more depending on the engine configuration and manufacturer. The Acura catalytic converter changes poisonous gases to harmless carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, and water. Most cars today are equipped with a three-way catalytic converter. This refers to the three emissions it helps to reduce, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of Nitrogen or NOx molecules. This type of catalytic converter uses two different types of catalysts, a reduction catalyst and an oxidization catalyst. Both consist of a base structure coated with a catalyst such as platinum, rhodium or palladium. The purpose is to create a structure that exposes the maximum surface area of the catalyst to the exhaust flow, while also minimizing the amount of catalyst required. Inside the catalytic converter is a honeycomb set of passageways or small ceramic beads coated with catalysts. A chemical reaction takes place within to make the pollutants less harmful.

An Acura catalytic converter operates in three stages. The first stage is the reduction catalyst. It uses platinum and rhodium to help reduce the nitrogen oxides emissions. Next, it reduces the unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide by burning them over a platinum and palladium catalyst. This catalyst aids the reaction of the carbon oxides and hydrocarbons with the remaining oxygen in the exhaust gas. The final stage is a control system that monitors the exhaust stream. Produced results of this activity influences the way the fuel injection system is controlled. Still, unlike other cat-cons, high maintenance is not needed for an Acura catalytic converter. It just needs to be checked once in a while to ensure its efficiency. If vehicle performance begins to turn rough or if the car produces smoke from the tailpipe, it is recommended to have the vehicle check by a mechanic. Symptoms of a faulty or failing converter may include failing an emissions test, poor performance, increased engine temperature along with bucking of the car or hesitation. Neglecting these warning signs can cause expensive damage to the converter and may require a replacement.