How can I increase horsepower without doing something as in-depth and complicated as adding a turbo? Is there a series of modifications that will give 5 horsepower here, 10 horsepower there, and add up to something significant?
>>28678528great post
Bumper stickersRed paintCold (hot) air intake
Meaningful increase in NA horsepower is always going to be more expensive than just slapping forced induction on
>>28678528You can get cams + headers + exhaust + throttle body + a tune. Maybe port the head.
>>28678528Supercharger
>>28678528if it has fewer than 8 cylinders, not really.
>>28678528Use higher octane fuel if you have a performance oriented engine. Get light wheels. The smallest that fit over your brakes.Extracting power out of an engine is very expensive if it's newer than 1980s.
>>28678528Switch to nitromethane fuel.But the cost will shock you.
>>28678562Higher octane fuel will only do something if your ecu is retarding your timing on what you currently use Putting 93 in a car that runs normally on 87 won't do anything
>>28678528>Is there a series of modifications that will give 5 horsepower here, 10 horsepower there, and add up to something significant?Lmao no. An intake and exhaust aren't going to add anything significant (over than noise) without tuning.
>>28678915It depends on the car. Most of the people on this board drive NA BMWs that benefit from high octane fuel.
Lower your carGet LRR tiresGet < 11lb wheelsAdd a lip to your front bumper or do the whole shebang including the lip and covering the underside of your engine bayAdd a vent (not a scoop) to your hood, closer to the radiator the better
>>28678528In an NA application, the answer will almost always be to lose weight where possible. It helps in forced induction as well but it’s much easier (cheaper) to boost power to get to your performance goals compared to NA.
>>28678528Turbocharging isn't that complicated really. If you car is decently popular kits likely exist and it's just a bolt job.Needing world class experts in acoustics and fluid dynamics for custom machined intake and exhaust headers to eke out a couple extra percent of air flow in an engine without forced induction, now that is complicated.Generally speaking, the number one most significant modification anyone can make to a car, in terms of both ultimate effect and bang-to-buck ratio, is better rubbers.I recommend the conti ecs02's.
>>28678528>long tube headers/downpipe for tarbos >remove cats >better flowing intake manifold>ethanol sensor>e85 tune depending on your engine and luck you can pick up ~50-100HP. Generally murrican vee aytes benefit a surprising amount from just longtubes and a tune, and anything already forced induction will benefit similar with a better downpipe. Outside of that its get fucked territory, gaining meaningful power out of an NA i4 without adding forced induction is gonna cost you lots of money and time, at most you'll get 10HP with the easy bolt on shit.
>>28678547I might try new headers, seems like the simplest/cheapest of these for someone with zero experience>>28678554V6>>28678562>higher octane fuelHow noticeable is this? I've always used 87 despite the manual recommending 91 because I wince every time I see the price at upwards of $4 a gallon
>>28679094>Lower your car>Add a lip to your front bumperThis has always looked ugly to me >>28679917A kit exists (for a slightly different model but same engine/chassis) but it's nearly $4000, I was naively hoping there was something that would give like half the power of a turbo in the $1000 price range >>28680179>remove catsThey check for this during emissions inspection in my state >e85 tuneI've heard this can damage rubber in older cars, how commonly does it cause issues?
>>28681541it's annoying how often people ask these kinds of questions without specifying what their actual vehicle is in the first placeobviously any answer about what can be done is going to depend on what it is
>>28681541>>28681539>How noticeable is thisno matter what you're going to have to do this. adding forced induction increases the compression ratio. to make sure your engine doesnt destroy itself you have to run higher octane ruel.If you want something cheap to increase performance, start removing shit from your car. pull out the interior panels, the back seat, delete your AC compressor, etc
>>28678528best way to increase horsepower is to buy a better car/thread
>>28678528Cams
>>28682323>Better car makes 20 more horsepower.>Also weighs 400 more lbs.
>>28681539If you can't afford premium don't bother modifying your shitbox
>>28681539>I've always used 87 despite the manual recommending 91
>>28678528remove the back seats to save weight