5 Ways To Make Your Car Faster this Summer
Posted June 13, 2014
Maybe you’ve dreamed about owning a fast car all your life. A car that will give you some power and speed. A car that gives you an experience whenever you drive it. If you’ve finally realized that your budget won’t allow for the Aston Martin One-77 anytime soon, we’re here to tell you that there are ways to soup up the car you already have. So don’t give up on your dream just yet. Check out our top five ways to make your car faster.
1. Convert to Electrical
Many older cars contain mechanical fuel pumps which draw power directly from your engine. This pump is stealing power that could be going to your drive wheels. In general, older cars have more mechanical parts that take away from the engine’s horsepower. Converting these parts to electrical will greatly increase a car’s top speed and acceleration. Some items that can be replaced with electrical parts are spark plugs, fans, and fuel pumps.
2. Switch to Fuel Injection
Fuel injection is a must in your need for speed. In an older car with a carburetor engine, switching to fuel injection will not only improve your car’s speed, but also its gas mileage. Multi-port injection systems are available for most American-made engines. These systems are electrical, not mechanical, thus offering greater precision.
3. Add a Turbocharger
A turbocharger or supercharger will give your car a huge increase in performance, but it will cost more money than some of the other adjustments. You can add a turbocharger to any gasoline engine. These units push clean air back into the engine and are powered by exhaust. Superchargers are what you see sticking out of the hoods of drag racer cars. They not only look impressive but greatly improve the performance of your car. A supercharger manually compresses air and pushes it into your engine, giving your car a massive boost of power. The bigger the supercharger, the better your car will perform.
4. Get an Exhaust System
Getting an exhaust system for your engine is another effective way to make your car faster. Replacing your engine’s exhaust manifolds with “headers” will increase performance. This adjustment will reduce the amount of restriction in the engine. You can also go as far as putting in a dual exhaust system. Most cars have one catalytic converter with two exhaust pipes coming through the back of the car. Install the dual exhaust system in place of the converter to help with the flow of exhaust through the engine. This adjustment can increase the noise your car makes, so check into local laws to ensure you’re not in violation.
5. Lighten your load
A very simple way of improving your car’s speed and performance is to remove all unnecessary items. Take out extra seating you don’t need and remove spare tires. These items add more weight than you would think and can help speed up your car.
You might never have the ideal hot rod you’ve always dreamed of. However, with the right amount of money, patience, and assistance, increased speed and performance is attainable for your car. Whether you adjust a little at a time or all at once, there are numerous ways to make your car faster.
And, of course, give Veenstra’s Garage a call if you have any questions!