Easy Performance Tips

So you’ve got the “top of the line” car.   One that has a great audio system, leather seats, digital displays and controls in the steering wheel. You’ve been driving it for a few years and you’re pretty much bored with how it is. You’ve tried putting in all the gadgets available in the accessory store.  You’re very close to getting that annoying “nodding dog” to fill your boredom.   Inside your head you’re thinking, wouldn’t it be awesome if it were a bit different?  Like, a bit faster?  Or corner better perhaps? And then you’d say, “Forget it, performance parts are too expensive.”

I teamed-up with Group B Ace Car Tuner, Jed Neri and discussed a few affordable ways to bring out “the tiger from the tiger’s den.”

The first affordable performance upgrade is improving the breathing of the engine. Modern after-market high-flow exhaust system enhances the capabilities of the engine by efficiently bringing out exhaust gases.  Neri explains, “Getting those exhaust gases quickly will mean more room for more air and fuel which will relate to a few more horses under the hood”.  We are not trying to tell you to take out your catalytic converters as it is illegal. What we’re saying is that there are a lot of high performance bolt-on exhaust systems that come with high flow cats (catalytic converters). And of course exhaust upgrades should be matched with intake upgrades. The “best bang for your buck” intake upgrade should be the aftermarket high volume air filters. “What it does is very simple actually; it is high flow so it allows more air to the engine while keeping the same protection as the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) filter.”   There are a lot of filter brands to choose from but make sure these are the brands that give you performance gains like HKS and K&N. “Realistically, with all these add-ons, we are looking at a horsepower gain of about 5-10horsepower,” Neri adds. That should be good enough for the driver to notice.

The next performance modifications are the wheels and tires. Swap out your OEM wheels and tires for a set of larger wheels and wider, low profile tires. This technique is called “plus-sizing.  Wider tires will improve the over-all performance of the car by making it handle better in the turns, and improving braking distances. Sure, this will sacrifice your riding comfort a bit, but it’s a small price to pay for a few performance and aesthetic gains.  You can also “beef-up” handling with aggressive suspension geometry. This means “dialing-in” wheel alignment values like camber and caster,  toe-in and toe-out a little towards the performance side.

Reprogramming your cars ECU (Electronic Control Unit) will also give your car some considerable performance gains.  Reflashing, as it’s called, is the reprogramming of your car’s computer by changing programming values on  timing, fuel-air mixture and other inputs.  It sounds complicated because it is. This should only be done by a qualified car tuner with the proper tools.

 â€œThe benefit of a reflash is it’ll add more horsepower with just the tuning itself, around 10 to 20 horses for Naturally Aspirated engines and 30 to 40 horses for turbocharged engines,” Neri said. “The beauty of it all is that it can be re-done to factory settings,” he added. Neri doesn’t see any disadvantage except that not all modern cars can be reflashed.

Beefing up your car’s performance may not be the most practical or economical thing to do, but at least it puts a smile on your face, which in theory will make you live longer.