So you want some more hitch in your car’s giddyup? Here are some of the universal basics.

The idea for adding power is that you want more air and fuel present in the combustion chamber–more material in a closed space means more power can be available.  Those of you with vehicles 1996 and newer, be advised that any modification you do to your car will require computer modification by way of a chip or other form of tuning in order for you to experience the full gains of your modification. It is also true that some modifications will alter the sensors readings enough that the computers will be thrown off and you may actually lose power until the car is tuned.

Every street-legal car comes from the manufacturer with restrictions on it for emissions, noise, and fuel mileage purposes. These restrictions mean that it is not running as efficiently as possible. So the most basic modifications focus on de-restricting these areas to allow the engine to breathe better. Pretty much every street car will need a freer-flowing exhaust system from the motor all the way back, so exhaust mods are always a safe bet for more power. A higher-quality air intake is also usually a good idea if the stock intake is overly restrictive on the motor. An easy way to think of this is to picture breathing through a straw, and then taking the straw away and breathing normally, its easier without the straw. The effectiveness of an aftermarket intake depends largely on the type of car, but, it does consist of more than just a cone filter in most cases. Companies flow test their systems to find the right shape for the piping and angle for the filter among other things, so that’s what you’re paying for.

While intake and exhaust are the two basics for most cars, each specific type of car tends to have other areas where flow can be improved. These specifics can include anything from needing a spacer somewhere in the intake system to a simple adjustment in engine timing or tuning. Such specific areas are best discussed with other owners on specified forums for your type of car. A good example of this is with the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. With the 8^th generation car it is possible to gain around 40whp over stock with just a reprogrammed ECU and no physical modifications to the car whatsoever. The Evolution and other turbocharged cars are much more responsive to basic modifications than naturally aspirated cars because their factory settings are excessively conservative for reliability and durability reasons.

After basic modifications you can do more advanced things such as upgrading the engines internal parts, adding a turbocharger or supercharger to a car that was naturally aspirated, adding a larger turbo or supercharger to a car that was already boosted, running high octane racing fuel, or using air fuel mixture additives such as Nitrous Oxide to gain temporary power gains at the push of a button. The options listed are not mutually exclusive and most highly modified cars have employed a mix of techniques to both gain power and to retain reliability at a higher stress level caused by the increased power level.

At this point the sky is the limit on how much power can be made with different setups, and to keep this article rather simple we should stop here. Each type of car has its own general modification “path” that targets its weakest areas first to make the best gains for the money spent. It is best to consult a forum or other site specific to your model of car to learn more.

-Nick