A Formula for Affordable Performance
Jul 14 '00
So, you've got a few extra dollars to spend on your ride and you want to get the most horsepower you can right? OK, well, let's back up a minute and ask "What do you want that horsepower for - street? drag? track? autocrossing?" Depending on your answer, you'll probably take a somewhat different path. Luckily, however, if we're talking about engine and performance modifications, you'll pretty much be able to start from the same place - here's one approach:
Step 1: Tune-up
Start by simply tuning up your car. Get a Haynes or Chilton Manual and your local auto parts store and follow the (usually simple) steps. A tune-up might include: changing spark plugs, distributor cap and rotor (and points, if equipped), air filter (see Step 3 below), spark plug wires, and fuel filter. You might also change the oil and other fluids, and be sure to replace any damaged hoses or belts, to have a good starting point to begin your upgrades. This will undoubtedly result in a smoother running vehicle which will have noticeably more power. Stay away from the "Snake oil" additives, too - many will void your vehicle's warranty.
Tune-up: can add noticable increase in power and can cost between $50-$250 for parts if you do the work yourself
Step 2: Exhaust
The bottom line is, the engine is basically a big air pump - if you're not getting air out faster, it doesn't matter what else you do, the exhaust will probably be the bottleneck. If your car is equipped with catalytic converters, you better start out with a "cat-back" system. That is, the exhaust upgrade will start from the converters and go back to the tailpipe(s). These types of systems are very common and there are many aftermarket performance sites on the web geared to almost any type of vehicle.
The exhaust upgrade can include a lot of other components as well, such as headers, off-road pipes to bypass the catalytic converters (I have never used these and they are illegal in many states - buyer beware), and special performance mufflers. I do not recommend the coffee can-size exhaust tips popular with a lot of the street racing import econobox crowd. Come on - what are you thinking? All that extra weight probably kills 10 hp or more, which for some of the underpowered bubble cars, translates into about a 10% decrease in horsepower! Anyway...I digress...
Cat-back Exhaust: adds 10-25 horsepower and can cost between $150-$250 for the parts
Step 3: Intake
OK, now that you're engine can move more air out more freely with a less restrictive aftermarket exhaust, you want to get more air flowing into it. I think I am safe in saying here that the verdict here is unanimous - there is but one king when it comes to cheap and reliable air filters - K&N. Getting a simple K&N air filter with a lifetime warranty can add some horsepower and it's great on the environment because it's reusable. Each K&N kit comes with a reoiling kit which can be used to clean the filter and stick it back in the car.
K&N air filter: adds about 5-10 horsepower and can cost between $40-$60 and is easy to install yourself
There are many other options in the intake department, too. You could get ambitious here and talk about upgrading the mass air flow sensor to a larger bore, get a new intake manifold, a cold air induction kit, the list goes on and on...
Step 4: Sky is the limit
Well, once you have a good foundation with a good tune-up, upgraded exhaust and some minor intake improvements it's time to open up that trunk full of money and start throwing it at high-performance items like underdrive pulleys, aftermarket turbos and down pipes, superchargers, nitrous kits, bigger pistons...there is simply no end to the maddening variety of upgrades. It really depends on what you intend to do with the car. A drag racer may go for new cylinder heads, or a nitrous kit, whereas the autocrosser might invest in suspension components instead. Define your vision for your car, and if you're into a club racing scene, check the rules which govern your class and see what others are doing before you spend a lot.
Bottom line:
The Formula for Performance could be simply defined as $ + T = P
where $=money, T=time, P=horsepower
I've covered the basics here, but there will be a follow up epinion. I'll be doing research on some options for the super gear heads out there - stay tuned...
Happy Motoring!
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