Improving your vehicle's engine performance delivers several excellent benefits to you as a driver. You can help your vehicle to run more smoothly and you might be able to make your car more fuel-efficient too. Improved performance could mean that your engine has more power and it's more capable of the things that you want it to do. There are multiple changes that you can make to your engine and even other parts of your vehicle if you want to improve the engine performance. If you're happy to tinker around, you could even make some of these changes yourself.
Take a look at some of these ways you could upgrade your car and improve the engine's performance for more power and fuel efficiency.
Use the Right Lubricants - Oil, Transmission Fluid, and More
Simply put, friction is the enemy of speed. The smoother your engine can operate the faster it can go. Keeping your oil and other lubricants and additives topped up is an important part of maintaining your car. You could just buy any lubricant that you find, but it's worth considering which products you want to purchase and put in your engine. You can choose from synthetic lubricants, conventional lubricants, and blends. Synthetic lubricants are the option that you should pick if you want durability and longevity. They can also be used at all temperatures. They offer better performance so that you get better lubrication and ultimately better performance. Using an additive with your oil can also help to improve performance by helping to reduce friction, heat, and engine damage.
Improve Your Ignition Timing
Your engine's ignition is a key component in relation to the overall engine performance and it does more than simply start the engine. Your ignition system times the spark plugs carefully so that they ignite at the right time and get the best performance from your engine. It can be adjusted by advancing the timing to increase the high-end power that will make your car go faster, though that will also reduce the low-end power which will impact the overall lap or sprint timing in a race.
Replace the Air Filter
The air filters that come with cars straight from the factory are not necessarily the best if you want to get good performance from your engine. Aftermarket air filters can allow more airflow so that you get a more efficient use of the air/fuel combination. Installing one will also ensure contaminants and impurities are removed more efficiently so that the performance of your engine can be maintained. It's usually super easy to install a new aftermarket air filter too. You simply need to drop them into the engine's airbox and then you're good to go.
Install a Cold Air Intake System
If you want to go one step beyond just dropping in a new air filter, you can consider installing a cold air intake system. Cold air intake systems help to improve performance because air decreases in density as its temperature lowers. Denser air helps to burn fuel better so that you get better performance from your engine. A cold air intake system also provides a straighter path to deliver air to the engine. The air can reach the engine more quickly when there are no curves in the pipes. A cold air intake system is usually best installed by a professional unless you're sure you know what you're doing.
Improve the Exhaust
Making improvements to your exhaust system is another way to get better performance from your engine. Replacing your exhaust manifolds with exhaust headers is one of the best things that you can do if you want to improve the exhaust system. Manifolds can result in backpressure from hot exhaust, which reduces outflow and power. By replacing them with headers, you can remove this problem. They pull exhaust away from each cylinder individually, instead of from a single outlet, which is what happens with exhaust manifolds. If you are fairly confident in finding your way around an engine, you don't need to be an expert to do this task.
Upgrade ECM Software
What about your engine's computer? It helps to control and keep track of everything, so it's an important factor when considering the performance of the engine. You can improve performance and fuel efficiency by making changes to your ECM software. Most modern cars can now have their onboard computers tuned or will accept performance chips to boost their performance. However, it's important to check if this will have an effect on your warranty before you make any changes. This is probably something that you want to have carried out by a professional unless you happen to have any experience in electronics or computers.
Turbocharge Or Supercharge Your Engine - Forced Induction
Forced induction is also known as supercharging and turbocharging. The supercharger connects to the crankshaft using a belt and pulley system, which operates when the engine is running. The charger spins faster than the motor so that more air is pushed into the motor. This results in more fuel being burned by the engine and more power for your engine. You could increase the power of your engine by a significant amount if you use a supercharger and you could increase torque at the same time.
A turbocharger can do a similar job but uses the exhaust to power it. Unlike superchargers, a turbocharger not only boosts engine power but also improves fuel efficiency by utilizing exhaust gases that would otherwise go to waste. However, it only starts when the engine has built enough RPMs.
Larger Injectors and Throttle Body
A larger throttle body could help to increase the power of your engine. However, you need to be careful to ensure it's not too large because that could mean that your engine is actually affected negatively. Before you install a bigger throttle, make sure you research and find out whether it's the right choice for your engine. If you're installing a larger throttle body, you're also going to need larger fuel injectors. The right dyno tuner will be able to adjust the spark and fuel curves to complete the upgrade.
Make Your Vehicle Lighter
The weight of your vehicle can make a difference in the performance of the engine. This matters whether you're packing up your car to go camping or just when you're driving it around day-to-day. The more weight your car has to carry around, the more it can take its toll on the engine. By lightening your car, you can make things less taxing for the engine and boost its performance. There are various ways you might make your vehicle lighter, starting with easy stuff like removing items from your trunk or other parts of the interior. Think about whether you really need to carry something around and even if you could remove or replace the back seats for a lighter car.
Good Vehicle Maintenance
Maintaining your vehicle well is a must if you want good performance from your engine. If you don't take care of your car, it can lead to all kinds of issues that cause big problems for you. There are plenty of maintenance tasks that you can do yourself or learn to do even if you've never done them before. Some maintenance tasks are easier to get a professional to do, which can save you a lot of time. You should be carrying out regular maintenance to prevent problems from developing and to keep your vehicle running smoothly.
A number of changes to your vehicle can help to improve the engine performance so that you can get more from your car.
