Nearly every owner wants more force out of their car, truck, or SUV, but how can you obtain it? There are many options for increasing your car’s power, ranging from simple and affordable to complex and expensive.
Even though modern vehicles are extremely quick right out of the gate, many enthusiasts still want to get every last bit of performance from them. There are several ways to boost your car’s power, from subtle to wild. We have discussed some of the best methods for quick horsepower gains.
Streamlining Air Intake
The air inlet on your car is the ideal place to acquire more air. Modern cars and trucks have highly effective air intake systems, but they still have a lot of sacrifices that make them more suitable for the typical buyer. A high-performance intake, often known as a cold air intake, contributes to increased airflow in two ways.
It has fewer restrictions than a factory intake, which is the primary benefit. Stock intakes are made to function effectively and quietly. By removing the baffles and channels, an aftermarket performance intake allows air to flow straight into your throttle body. That could imply more force as well as a more potent sound.
The second option to add additional oxygen is by using a cold air intake, which has an entrance in a section of the engine compartment selected to receive more air directly from outside. In contrast to the warm air in your engine bay, colder air contains more oxygen, and more oxygen allows you to burn more fuel. More fuel equals greater power.
Using Performance Exhaust
One of the most common modifications for enthusiasts is a performance exhaust. A performance exhaust is made to flow better than a factory configuration, just like a performance intake. Although aftermarket exhausts frequently cost less than standard ones, they are typically noisier.
Depending on your vehicle application, additional exhaust parts (such as a downpipe or a set of headers) can maximize any exhaust system improvements.
Cleaning – An Indirect Way
Although this approach won’t offer you any additional engine power, it will help you use it more effectively. Every pound of stuff you add to the truck increases the load on the engine. According to the EPA, an additional 100 pounds of load might result in a 2% reduction in engine efficiency.
Look about your truck to see if anything needs to be removed. You don’t need all of that equipment or the additional bag of sand in your bed every day. Everything you can get rid of frees your engine to deliver more power.
Engine Computer Tuning – A Must-Have
Almost all of your engine’s functions are managed by a computer and the software that runs on it—everything, including the throttle opening width, fuel injection timing, and even starting. Your car is tuned when it leaves the factory for the typical driver and a very lengthy (and dull) life.
An inexpensive and simple option to enhance power is to tune your ECU, which entails having the software adjusted by a company that knows what it is doing. To increase power, ignition timing, including spark advance, can be altered through engine management tuning.
Additionally, it may alter the way your variable valve timing operates. A tune can also raise your boost pressure in current turbocharged vehicles. More boost increases the amount of air and gasoline that enter the engine with each rotation, increasing power.
The OEM ECU is designed to work with OEM intake and exhaust systems (and everything else). If you’ve upgraded your engine with new intake and exhaust systems and any other performance components from this list, tuning your ECU will enable your engine to produce more power and function at its peak.
In a contemporary car, installing an ECU tune is as simple as plugging in a computer cable. The OBD-II port is placed under your steering wheel and is where the majority of tuning is done. You may alter the air-to-fuel ratio (or leave it to the experts), and some vehicles even let you add or remove factory features to adjust other components.
High Flow Fuel Injector Systems
It’s time for one more simple approach to increase power if you’ve already performed all these modifications to your engine. While your engine can handle enough additional gasoline, your stock injectors cannot. We keep talking about extra fuel. Larger fuel injectors with a higher fuel flow rate are required.
A properly sized fuel injector will guarantee that your engine is spraying the right amount of gasoline at the right moment and that you have an adequate fuel flow. This increases the efficiency of your engine and ensures that you can maximize the extra air you have, giving you more horsepower when needed. For a 300-horsepower V8, stock injectors flow about 24 pounds of gasoline per hour. With that turbo upgrade, you can increase the engine’s output to 500 hp, but you’ll need far more fuel than the factory injectors can deliver—at least 46 lbs./hr.
Engine Conversion – A Complete Overhaul
When bolt-on power improvements are no longer an option, and you don’t want to disassemble your current engine to change its internals, an engine conversion can be the best option. It’s not for the weak of heart, but upgrading your vehicle’s engine can be a good method to gain more horsepower.
While some engine swaps are essentially plug-and-play, others could necessitate significant construction. To properly understand what goes into an engine conversion, it’s best to conduct some study or speak with someone who has already completed a similar engine exchange.