There’s no shortage of people who will tell you car modifications are a waste of money. They do have a valid point, as chances are your car won’t be worth more if you sell it, and unless you find the perfect buyer, it may even be more difficult to sell.
However, standard cars are, for the most part, boring. The right mods can make it much more fun to drive, and I’ll argue that some mods are a downright necessity if you intend to do some track days.
Now, before you spend your life savings on a turbo kit and remortgage the house for a set of Work wheels, make sure your car is in good condition and not a potential death trap. That said, let’s check out some mods that will actually make your car faster.
Fit Grippier Tires
Unless your car is fitted with ultra-high-performance tires as standard, this should be the first upgrade on your to-do list. Increasing power without being able to efficiently transfer it to the road is pointless! You’ll have wheelspin when you launch, and it’ll under- or oversteer in the corners.
Wider and stickier tires provide much more grip, and even a stock everyday beater can fly through the corners just with this one upgrade. One thing to note is that the more grip a tire offers, the quicker it’ll wear out, so you may have to do some cost-to-benefit math and find a compromise.
Upgrade The Brakes
The brakes are another thing I recommend upgrading before adding power. Grippier tires help you get through the twisty sections at higher speeds, but you still need to slow down before you turn in, and an upgraded brake setup will help with that.
A good brake setup will let you brake later, meaning you can stay on the throttle longer, which will make you faster. Brake upgrades range from new pads with more bite, to grooved and drilled discs, and even big-brake conversions complete with braided lines. Also, remember to change the brake fluid and eliminate any air in the system.
Suspension Upgrades
If you want to go faster around a racetrack, improving your car’s handling is crucial. A stiffer and lower suspension setup reduces body roll, and along with increased rigidity and less flex, the car will be more responsive to steering inputs. There are several ways to achieve this.
The suspension consists of several components, and upgrading it can range from something simple, like a set of stiffer lowering springs, to changing multiple parts. A set of decent coilovers, polyurethane bushings, sway bars, and tower braces will give you race car-like handling, but at the expense of comfort, which is worth keeping in mind if it’s your daily driver. Taking things even further, you can consider a roll cage. As the name implies, a roll cage can also come in handy if you have an accident on the track. Finally, stitch-welding the chassis helps reinforce critical areas.
Lighter Wheels
Your car’s wheels and tires are what’s known as unsprung mass, which means it’s not supported by the car’s suspension. Reducing weight here will have a much bigger impact than reducing sprung weight. In addition, the wheels are also a rotating mass, and lowering it can result in better acceleration, braking, and turn-in.
Investing in a set of lightweight wheels can certainly help reduce your lap times. However, there’s no denying that the number one benefit of a set of expensive aftermarket wheels is that they make your car look cool.
Lose Some Weight
Imagine driving around with 4-5 adults and a trunk full of luggage — your car would be noticeably more sluggish, right?! So, logically, if you kick those people and their luggage to the curb, your car will be faster.
Now, if you remove even more stuff from your car, it’ll be even lighter, which, in turn, makes it even faster and more agile. While cutting weight will certainly affect acceleration, the biggest impact will most likely be on how it handles. This is exactly why certain car manufacturers go to extreme lengths to make some of their special edition models as light as possible. As an added bonus, a lighter car also uses less fuel.
Improve The Breathing
Finally, something that’s actually engine-related! Your car’s engine is, essentially, just a big air pump. It needs a mixture of air and fuel to run, so if we can get more air and fuel in, we can get more power out. Cold air is denser than hot air, so one way to get more air in is by fitting a proper cold air intake, or CAI, which will suck in cold air from the front or underneath the car. On its own, it may only free up a couple of ponies, but it does add a throaty induction sound.
A performance exhaust system perfectly complements the CAI. Many people tend to think of obnoxiously loud cars, but there’s more to the exhaust than that. There are also exhausts available that will help free up some horses without being excessively loud. Upgrading the exhaust will ease the flow of the exhaust gases, which can help improve performance. For maximum power, you’ll want a complete exhaust system, along with a high-flow cat. A cat-back system is an absolute minimum if you want to see any gains, and fitting just the rear muffler doesn’t do anything but add noise. Fitting the exhaust alongside a cold air intake will certainly release a few ponies.
ECU Tuning
ECU tuning basically means giving it a software update, as removing some factory restrictions can improve performance. Cars fitted with a turbocharger or supercharger certainly see the biggest gains, but even naturally aspirated models can benefit from it.
Along with the extra power and torque, some owners report that even the fuel economy has improved after getting their cars tuned. Those who are doing extensive engine modifications should look into standalone fuel management systems instead, and get it set up on a dyno.
Cams And Headwork
Changing the cams will definitely release more horses, but you’ll want to do your homework before you order them. A mild set won’t provide much power, but your car can still be used as a daily driver without being annoying in traffic. More aggressive cams can make the idle lumpy, and while it does add more power, it’s found high in the rev-range. Cams that offer a stronger mid-range are usually best for road-going cars.
Head porting and polishing means removing any small restrictions and rough patches in the cylinder head from when it was cast, as these imperfections can hinder airflow. Areas such as the inlet and exhaust ports, valve throat pocket, valve seat, and combustion chamber can all benefit from this.
Add Some Aero
No, slapping on a cheap ricer-style fiberglass bodykit from the early 2000s won’t make your car faster. Nor will your stock FWD car be faster with a jumbo jet-sized wing on the back. However, aero parts that have been tried and tested for track use can certainly help lower your lap times.
Splitters, canards, wings, and diffusers provide added downforce, and a sleek bodykit developed for track use will help your car slice through the air more efficiently.
Make It Cooler
Running lap after lap around a racetrack, banging your car’s engine against the rev limiter between shifts, will make things fairly hot under the hood. As a result, there are some issues to be aware of.
First, the engine’s temperature will rise, and you don’t want it to be too hot for extended periods. A larger and more efficient radiator will help keep things cool, especially if paired with bigger and better fans. An oil cooler will also help. Another issue with a hot engine bay is that you’ll lose power, so you’ll want to get some cool air circulating in there, which is easily done with some vents or louvers.
Forced Induction Or Throttle Bodies
If you want to go down the forced induction route, there are two ways to do so: turbochargers or supercharger. Many cars come standard with one of these (or, in some cases, both). Cars with standard turbochargers can get more power by fitting hybrid turbos or larger turbos. If it has a supercharger, you can change the pulley size. Intercoolers will also add a few extra ponies. Turbos and superchargers both work by forcing more air into the engine.
Individual throttle bodies is another option to consider. Basically, each cylinder will be fed by its own throttle body, rather than having one tb feed them all. One of the best things about all three options is the incredible noises they make. Unfortunately, they also cost a small fortune.
Increased Displacement
Increasing the engine’s displacement usually isn’t cheap, but it’s an excellent way to add more power and torque. On some engines, it’s as simple as swapping certain parts with those from another unit, in other cases, you can buy aftermarket stroker kits, but there are engines that require fully custom-made parts.
Some cars can benefit from a partial engine transplant, where you can take the head or block from another car (from the same manufacturer) and fit it to the engine in your car. Doing this often creates an increased displacement (as mentioned above), and sometimes increases the compression ratio as well, which means more power. If that’s not an option, there’s also a complete engine transplant, and that means you can go with whatever floats your boat. Flyin’ Miata has built LS V8-powered Miatas, and StanceWorks made a Honda K24-powered Ferrari 308.
