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What Are The Best Cheap Car Mods For Horsepower And Increased Performance?
You may have recently just bought a new car or are interested in improving the performance of your current car and may be wondering what are the best cheap car mods for horsepower?
There are many different ways to increase the horsepower output from your engine. When choosing what cheap car mods are best for you it really comes down to how much you want to spend.
Obviously, some car performance mods will cost more than others. But which are the best cheap car mods for added performance? And what is horsepower exactly?
What Does Horsepower Mean?
You may have heard the term horsepower and wondered what it stands for. According to Wikipedia “Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power or the rate at which work is done.”
Essentially horsepower is a rating that defines how powerful a car engine is, and how much energy potential is present in the engine. Horsepower can be used to compare the horsepower ratings of different engines to compare how powerful an engine is.
The more horsepower an engine can produce the faster the car should be able to go in a straight line, as long as both cars are the same weight. However, there are many more factors determining how fast a car can go in a straight line than just horsepower.
If you are looking for some cheap mods to help you increase the horsepower output of your engine then you are in luck. Today we will be talking about the best cheap mods for horsepower starting from cheapest to most expensive, starting with cold air intakes.
1. High Flow Engine Intake Air Filter
If you don’t want to replace your stock airbox on your car you may want to look at upgrading your stock engine air filter with a high flow air intake filter. Doing so will allow more air to pass through the air filter and into your engine intake allowing your engine to breath better. Since your engine is essentially just a large air pump the more air it can suck in the more performance it will be able to provide.
2. Replace Spark Plugs with Iridium Spark Plugs
Depending on what spark plug technology you currently have in your engine you may benefit from upgrading/replacing your spark plugs with iridium spark plugs. Depending on when your spark plugs were made they may be using outdated spark plug technology. It’s also a good idea to replace your spark plugs with new ones every 50-100k miles to ensure they are working correctly.
If you have a 4 cylinder engine then you likely would need 4 spark plugs which should come in under $40 to replace them all. If you have a 6 or 8 cylinder engine you then the cost to replace them would go up with the number of cylinders.
Most engines will use one spark plug per cylinder but there are some exceptions. If you wanted to learn more about engines that use more than one spark plug per cylinder you may be interested in checking out my other article how many spark plugs are in a V8 or how many spark plugs are in a V6.
3. Use the Correct Octane Gasoline
If your engine is designed to use higher octane gasoline otherwise known as premium fuel then that is what you would want to use at the fuel pump. Lower-grade fuel can be used in engines that require premium gas but it’s not recommended.
Lower-grade gasoline can cause issues in engines if the engine is designed to use premium fuel. At the very least it will cause your engine to run in a lower power tune, resulting in less horsepower.
Most engine manufacturers will allow the engine ECU to determine the grade of gasoline being used. If the gasoline being used has a higher octane rating it will use a tune that will optimize the higher octane fuel resulting in higher horsepower output.
4. Cold Air Intake
One of the cheapest car mods that you can start with to increase engine performance is installing a cold air intake (CAI). The purpose of installing a cold air intake is to replace your stock air filter box with a more efficient air intake system.
Most auto manufacturers will do their best to create an air intake system that is efficient while also being reliable. Auto manufacturers will do this by creating an air intake system that has an airbox that houses an engine air filter.
The key difference is that with a cold air intake the air filter is not enclosed in an air intake box. The air filter is usually exposed within the engine bay or is routed to a wheel well. Usually, the stock air intake box will need to be removed as part of the cold air intake installation.
Cold air intakes can range from $50-400 depending on which brand you go with. You can expect gains of around 20 horsepower with a tune. To check prices on a cold air intake for your car on Amazon click here.
5. Get A Tuneup
If your car is not performing up to its full potential then you may be missing out on horsepower that may have been lost since your car rolled off the factory floor. To recoup some of the lost horsepower it’s best to give your car a basic tuneup to make sure it’s performing up to the levels that it should.
This would include things like replacing your engine oil, engine oil filter, transmission fluid, spark plugs, air filter, and fuel filter. The better maintained your car is the better it will be able to perform and the more horsepower you will be able to get out of it.
6. Get Your Car Computer Tuned/Flashed
Another cheap mod to increase horsepower is getting your car tuned or flashed. Some people will take their vehicle to a shop that specializes in tuning cars to get their car tuned but this can be very expensive. The cheaper way to tune your engine is by purchasing a premade tune that can be customized to your car.
There are also phone apps that have been developed that can be used to flash your ECU. This is likely going to be the cheapest route to flash your engine. Check out this youtube video that shows the before and after of someone using a phone app to flash their BMW 335i.
However, it looks like this app only is designed to work with specific BMW engines. If you have a BMW that is equipped with a turbo they likely have a tune for you.
To check out the app on the google play store click here.
7. High Flow Catalytic Converters
Installing high flow catalytic converters is another way to increase the horsepower output of your engine. The purpose of catalytic converters is to filter out the toxic chemicals that are in the exhaust gases coming out of your engine. With most catalytic converters they are designed to do a good job of filtering out toxic gases but are not designed to have optimal airflow.
If you don’t plan to install the catalytic converters yourself expect to pay about another $100 to get them installed. One word of caution is that if you live in an area that has inspections your car may no longer pass the test as your NOX levels may be too high after switching to high flow catalytic converters.
In other states that don’t have car inspections, you should be fine as long as you have catalytic converters installed and aren’t running your car without any catalytic converters at all. To check out Amazon for a high flow catalytic converter that is compatible for your car click here.
8. Performance Exhaust System
Another way to increase the performance of your engine is to install a performance exhaust system. Auto manufacturers will not always create their exhaust to provide the best airflow.
That is where aftermarket exhaust systems would come in. Aftermarket exhaust systems are designed to provide optimal airflow for exhaust gases from your engine usually via increased exhaust pipe diameters and mandrel bends.
9. Have A New Camshaft Installed
If you want to keep your car naturally aspirated but want to install some engine performance mods having a new camshaft installed is usually the first step most people take. If you are not familiar with how camshafts work they determine how long and when the valves of your pistons open.
Having camshafts installed will produce a distinctive sound that is way different from the sound of 99 percent of other cars from the factory. Just be warned your neighbors may complain and expect to pay more in fuel costs if you plan to install new camshafts. If you are interested in what new camshafts in a C6 Corvette sound like check out the video above.
10. Install A Larger Turbocharger or Supercharger
If your engine already comes equipped with a supercharger or turbocharger you can likely swap them out with larger versions for a reasonable price. Usually, the larger the supercharger or turbocharger, the more boost pressure or PSI can be produced, increasing the horsepower output of your engine.
11. Add A Supercharger
Adding a supercharger can be a way to significantly increase the horsepower output of your engine. But here is where we start to get into mods that are going to significantly more expensive to get installed, which is likely what most people will have to do because of the complexity involved.
Supercharger kits will usually cost anywhere from $3,000-7,000 for the kit and around $1,000 to get the supercharger kit installed. Most people will need to have a mechanic install their supercharger kit as it’s usually not an easy install unless you know what you are doing.
13. Install A Turbocharger Kit
Another option if you don’t want to supercharge your car but want to add forced induction is by adding a turbocharger. A turbocharger acts similar to a supercharger in the fact that it compresses air before it and forces it into the intake of your engine. Turbochargers act a bit differently than superchargers as turbochargers use exhaust gases to spin a turbine which compresses the air to then force that into the engine.
Superchargers can provide boost pressure as soon as you press the accelerator. Some manufacturers have got around this by using two turbos, one small, and one big that would spin up at different intervals to create a more streamline torque curve and horsepower output.
You can expect the costs of a turbo kit to cost about the same as a supercharger kit anywhere from $3,000-$7,000 depending on the kit you get and if an intercooler is included. Expect to pay about another $1,000 to get your turbocharger kit installed on your car.
Cheap Mods That Increase Performance
14. Replace Your Stock Wheels with Lightweight Wheels
Replacing your stock wheels with lightweight racing wheels can have a big impact on how fast your car can accelerate and come to a stop. Your wheels hang off of your car and are what is called unsprung weight.
Unsprung weight is any weight that is attached to your car but is not actually secured down to the frame. Parts of your car that could be included as unsprung weight would be your wheels, tires, brake rotors, and your brake calipers.
Every pound of unsprung weight removed will allow your car to accelerate and decelerate faster because there is less weight to move from a standstill and less weight to bring to a halt.
15. Install New High Performance Tires
Another way to quickly increase the performance of your car is to install new high-performance tires. Most tires equipped on cars are designed to increase longevity and not necessarily grip. The more grip that you can get out of your tires the faster you will be able to accelerate and the faster you will be able to go through corners.
If you plan to drive your car year-round and still want to have high-performance tires installed it would be best to swap out the tires seasonally or have a different set of wheels and tires that you would use in the summer or winter months.
I would recommend checking out tirerack.com or going to your local tire shop to compare different tires and prices.
16. Replace Filters
If the filters in your car are old and need to be replaced it would be a good idea to replace them as your engine may not be putting out as much horsepower if it can’t breathe as well. Like I mentioned before your engine is essentially a large air pump, the easier it is for your engine to suck in the air the more efficient it will be.
If you don’t plan to replace your engine air filter with a cold air intake it would be smart to replace your engine air filter to make sure you aren’t leaving horsepower on the table.
17. Remove Any Extra Weight
Like I mentioned previously the more weight you carry in your car the tougher it will be to get your car moving from a stop and the harder it will be for your brakes to bring you to a standstill. That is why it is important to remove any added weight that you may be carrying in your truck or inside your car.
If you have any junk that you don’t really need to carry around with you it’s best to remove it from your car. Any weight savings will also translate to an increase in fuel mileage.
18. Upgrade Your Brakes
If you plan to add more horsepower to your engine it would be a good idea to also plan to upgrade your brakes at some point. Because after all, it doesn’t matter how fast your car is if you can’t bring it to a stop. Upgrading your brakes can be tricky as your rotor size is usually determined by how large your wheels are.
Upgrading the number of pistons of your brake calipers allows the brake calipers to have more force to grab the brake rotor to bring your car to a stop. The internet is your friend so I would start by researching what brake upgrade kits are available for your specific model car.
On Mustangs and Corvettes, you can upgrade the brakes pretty easily if your car is a base model as the higher trim model brake kits can usually be swapped in fairly easily. On cars that don’t have a
Related Questions
What are the downsides to using a cold air intake? While adding a cold air intake to your engine should provide added horsepower because of the increased airflow there is one downside to not having your engine air intake enclosed which is water.
With a cold air intake, the chances of water getting sucked into your engine are increased depending on how the cold air intake is designed. Stock air boxes can get around this limitation because the engine air filter is enclosed.
Some cold air intakes are designed to go into the wheel well of your car to suck cold air coming from the wheel well instead of the hot air that surrounds your engine. The theory is that the colder air that is sucked into your engine the more horsepower your engine will output as a result. One downside to this CAI design is that your air intake can potentially suck in water that could get splashed into your wheel well.
This could potentially result in you hydrolocking your engine, which is what happens when water gets into your engine cylinders. If you are looking to learn more about how an engine can become hyrdolocked check out my other article to learn more.
Is horsepower the same as torque? No, horsepower and torque are similar but are not the same thing. Horsepower is a rating designed to rate an engine based on the amount of work that it can put out.
Torque is a rating designed to rate an engine based on the twisting force that the engine can put out. Having an engine with higher torque ratings is good for trucks as they need to tow heavy loads, which is why truck engines usually have higher torque ratings.
In cars usually, horsepower and torque ratings will be about the same as torque is not as important in cars as most people don’t tow in cars.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsepower