There are a number of reasons you might want to upgrade your car. Maybe you’re trying to increase its resale value. Maybe you want better performance for your own use. Or maybe you’re trying to pre-empt costly repairs.
Whatever the reasons, your budget can set a ceiling on what you’re able to achieve. Fortunately, some of the most practical upgrades you can undertake are surprisingly affordable. Here are five of the best upgrades you can do to add performance and value to your vehicle.
Furnishing Upgraded Tires
There’s no better upgrade for your car than installing quality tires. Everything your car does depends on your tires, and they impact many performance aspects of your car, from gas mileage and brakes to suspension and clutch. Adjusting your tires to your driving habits and seasonal conditions is essential for top performance.
Extreme performance summer tires are great for driving in warm weather conditions at racing events or through the mountains. However, they don’t handle rain as well as daily driver max-performance tires. By the same token, if you don’t use winter tires in cold weather, it will affect all areas of your car’s performance.
One of the best solutions is purchasing ultra-high performance all-season tires, like the Continental ExtremeContact DWS. These Continental brand tires feature built-in performance indicators, which can pinpoint what type of weather conditions your tires can handle and whether your tires are due for replacement.
Installing Sway Bars
Another upgrade that can have a big effect on performance is the installation of sway bars. Sway bars stiffen your suspension when you hit a bump, helping to reduce body roll, while also delivering more balanced weight transfers and better grip turning corners. Make sure to get a sway bar that fits the needs of your car.
Simply installing the biggest sway bar may fail to take into account other modifications that may have been made to your car, such as spring rate, change in height and changed roll center. Purchase an adjustable-rate bar so you can determine what best fits your car’s specifics.
Upgrading the Intake
Upgrading your intake is another cost-efficient way to boost your vehicle’s performance. Swapping your OEM standard airbox for a cold air intake boosts your horsepower by supplying more air to your engine. A cold air intake replaces your airbox with a long-life filter and a plastic or aluminum intake tube.
You should install your new intake and filter in an elevated portion of the vehicle’s hood rather than in an area by the wheel wells. This step will help avoid moisture getting into your engine and causing hydrolock. You should also check whether making modifications to your intake affects your car’s warranty or your insurance premium.
Improving the Exhaust System
Improving your exhaust system is another way to boost efficiency. Today’s mufflers and catalytic converters reduce emissions and noise at the cost of creating greater back pressure. This reduces your car’s ability to expel gases and thereby can waste power. Improve your car’s ability to expel waste by installing a new manifold that pushes gas from each engine cylinder through equal-length, smooth pipes with greater size and fewer bends.
Enhancing Your Brake Performance
Upgrading your car’s brakes can improve both performance and safety. Aggressive, fast driving can wear out the original brake pads that come standard with most vehicles. The heat can also accelerate the loss of brake fluid. Instead, switch to semi-metallic brake pads and synthetic fluid with a higher boiling point can give you better braking efficiency.
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