Choosing the right car to meet your needs is the best way to ensure that you’re happy on the road, but over time, you can find that its performance starts to diminish a little. Nowadays, car owners choose electric vehicles, which require fewer upgrades. To support this shift towards electric vehicles, the integration of automobile commercial charging stations for businesses has become increasingly important to ensure that electric vehicle owners have convenient and reliable access to charging facilities. This accessibility not only appeals to electric vehicles but also supports businesses in contributing to environmental sustainability. By offering charging stations, businesses can draw in more people who care about the environment. Even as electric vehicles become more common all cars, electric or otherwise, eventually need upgrades to keep up with wear and tear
If you want to see its performance back at its peak, or even better, then there are a few upgrades in particular that you might want to focus on. We’re going to look at a few of those here.
Know the modifications that do nothing
Before we dive into the many ways that you can improve your car’s performance, we have to make sure that you’re not using your money on mods that are, functionally, useless. Some of these mods may have aesthetic or other kinds of value that might still be worth the investment to you, but they’re not going to manifest in any improvements to your vehicle, so you should steer away from them if that’s where you’re looking to spend your money.
For instance, any kind of lighting improvements, be it undercarriage lighting, or xenon or HID lights might well make your car look a lot cooler, but not only do they do nothing to improve car performance, but they don’t even necessarily improve visibility of the road. You should also be well aware of any local laws or regulations on what lights you can add to your cars. Similarly, spinner hubcaps are another popular choice that are purely aesthetic and again, are banned in some places as a potential safety hazard. Other practically functionless upgrades include things like hood scoops, tinted windows, and body kits.
Unlocking immediate power with a supercharger
If you’re not willing to put the money into buying a fully aspirated engine, then you might instead want to opt for adding one of these to your vehicle, instead. Turbochargers and superchargers have their differences, which are worth taking your time to research, but they both can unlock power immediately, giving your car a boost of power that’s well worth the investment.
The power of cold air
If you’re looking to add horsepower and torque in real terms, then installing a cold air intake is one of the simplest, not to mention the most cost-effective ways to do just that. Maintaining the temperature of your engine and improving the mix of oxygen and fuel can help you get more power out of it. Cold air is denser than warm air, which means that it has more oxygen in it for every cubic foot. This allows your engine to combust much more efficiently, which means more power to your car. It’s as simple as that. You need to make sure that you find the right cold air intake for your particular model of engine, of course.
Enhancing air flow on naturally aspirated engines
As mentioned, a naturally aspirated engine is going to help you get a better improvement than adding any kind of turbocharger or supercharger. However, if you already have an aspirated engine or spark ignition, then you’re going to be able to take steps to improve the amount of air that flows into your combustion engine. Adding a performance throttle body, or bodies, works much in the same way as a cold air intake. Increasing the amount of oxygen that your engine is able to burn up results in more efficient combustion. It has much the same benefit as increasing the carburetor size on an older engine.
Improving your exhaust is important, too
When your car is generating more power, then it’s going to be generating more exhaust, as well. Improving the exhaust flow of your vehicle can also increase horsepower and torque by reducing the back pressure in your vehicle. Installing upgrades such as dual exhaust systems allows your car to expel used air a lot more efficiently. If you have multiple cylinders to one exhaust, this buildup of pressure as the used air can’t all get out at once is going to rob your vehicle’s horsepower, like a traffic jam closing up your ability to simply drive off. If you’re getting more power from your engine, a dual exhaust can make sure you’re able to make good use of it.
Better disc brakes are worth considering
A lot of the improvements we look at might focus on improving the speed and power of your vehicle through its horsepower and torque, but you need to make sure that your vehicle is able to actually make use of all of those improvements as well. Adding speed to your car is one thing, but being able to handle that speed is another. To that end, if your vehicle has drum brakes, then you might want to consider switching them out for disk brakes, which are more resilient in the long term, and better able to handle wet weather driving. Take a look at some of the best disk brakes worth considering for your vehicle.
Suspension is vital, as well
The more power to your car, the better your vehicle will need to be equipped to handle the movement that comes with it. Upgrading your suspension can be vital in order to improve both your handling and stability when you’re driving at a higher performance. The shocks, struts, and springs play a key role in keeping your car stable, especially during high speeds and tighter turns. There are various ways to improve the suspension of your vehicle, whether it’s by adding anti-roll bars/sway bars, strut tower braces, or air suspension kits. Take your time to research the different kinds of suspension upgrades available and work out which is best for your vehicle, in particular.
Enhancing your computing power
Most cars that were made in the last couple of decades are going to be run, in part, by a computer system that has complete control over the various operational systems of the cars, including the components that keep them going on the road. The ECU, or engine control unit, is the core computer that is typically installed during the manufacturing process of the vehicle. You don’t typically want to replace the ECU that is designed for your car, but you can invest in ECU remapping that allows you to better program it to, for instance, improve fuel injection, airflow, how your sensors work, and more. Of course, you don’t want to make any changes that are outside of the legal requirements of your vehicle, but you might be able to eke out some performance improvements.
Switching up your tires
The tires are where your car meets the road, so, naturally, they’re going to play a huge role in how much movement you get out of all of those torque and horsepower improvements that you’re making. If your tires aren’t transferring your power to the road well, then you may as well not have that extra power. There are various sizes and profiles of tires, and finding the right ones for your vehicle is going to make the biggest difference. Take a look at some of the best performance tires and what improvements they can make to your vehicle. Note the difference between dry and wet traction, as well. The road conditions are just as important as the tires themselves.
Reuse that hot air
With the help of the power adjustments mentioned above, not only are you going to get more power, but you’re going to generate more hot air. This air needs to be exhausted from the system to decrease the back pressure that can build up, as mentioned, but some of it can also be reused. This is the central premise of the intercooler. A lot of modded cars will reuse air to shoot it into the engine and improve combustion, but with an intercooler, you can make sure that that air is cooled down, making it denser. Much like a cold air injection, this allows the air to combust a lot more efficiently, which in turn increases the power available. Just ensure that you have the right cooling system to be able to handle the additional heat that comes with burning that denser air, as well. Otherwise, all these upgrades to your combustion efficiency could result in a higher chance of your car overheating, too.
Whether you’re trying to unleash the full potential of your car, restore it to its peak performance, or simply have a little more fun driving it, hopefully, the example upgrades mentioned above help point you in the right direction. Regardless of what upgrades you invest in, you always have to make sure that you’re staying on top of its maintenance, as well, or else you’re not going to see those improvements very well.
