For many of us, our cars are more constant companions than our spouses. We go everywhere with our cars and we spend more time with our cars than with anybody else. On top of that, maintaining our cars take up a large portion of our budget. So it is no wonder that many of us are interested in getting better performance from our cars.
Let’s start with some easy things which can be done with very little expertise.
Check your tires
When was the last time you inflated them? The correct tire pressure makes a lot of difference to how your car will ride on the road. Under-inflated tires will add unnecessary drag, slowing down your car and burning up more fuel without getting any further or faster.
Photo Courtesy of Gerd Altmann
What is the condition of the treads? Don’t wait for them to be totally worn out before you change the tires. New tires are not cheap but they definitely cost less than a blow-out at high speed on the highway. When you change your tires, consider getting higher quality ones. The extra cost will be offset by the improvement in road-holding performance and better fuel economy.
Check your spark plugs
This is a very simple thing to do. Don’t wait for the engine to misfire before you look for the cause. All moving parts have a limited working life. The trick is to change the parts before they fail. While changing your spark plugs, check your wires, too. Get new ones, if necessary.
Now to look at some other improvements which take a bit more expertise, and cost.
Photo Courtesy of Autozone
Upgrade your air intake
Your car does not live on fuel alone. It needs air as well. The more air it can get the better. The faster it can get the air, that’s even better. So look at the parts which can impede the flow of air into your car engine. Replace the standard air filters, which are usually made of paper, with something more free-flowing. Yes, it does cost a bit more but you get better performance in return.
If you want to push it up to another level, consider getting a supercharger. In simple terms, this is a device which pushes more air faster into your engine. More air equals more power.
Improve your exhaust
Just getting more air into your engine is not the whole story. You also need to get the exhaust to flow out faster. There are kits available to help you do this. Avoid exhaust enhancement modifications which only change the sound of your pipes without making any difference to the performance of your car. What you need is something called a catback. This will help your exhaust to vent better and makes your car go faster. Of course, it will also make your car sound louder but the newer models have noise dampeners which bring down the decibels without bringing down the performance.
Get strut bars
These help to keep your tires more firmly on the road when taking corners. They don’t cost very much and need little expertise to install but they do make a difference to how your car handles.
Change your brake pads
While tinkering with your car to make it go faster, don’t forget that you also need to bring it to a stop when needed. Your brake pads are key components in the stopping power of your car. Change them before they are worn out. Better yet, change to brake pads of higher quality material which can stand higher heat and are more resistant to wear and tear.
There are still lots of things you can do to add more vroom to your car. The easiest place to find more ideas is to join online groups of car enthusiasts. There will always be someone somewhere trying out something new which you may be interested in.