HPOM

3 Tips for Getting More Power from Your Car

There are a lot of car enthusiasts who love DIY and cheap performance upgrades. If you are one of them, you should read on about our tips for getting more power from your car. Car tuning can be really expensive, with more and more brands and improvements being available, but they all come with a price. That price is usually so high that it would be cheaper and easier to trade in your car and just buy a model with more HP and torque. If you love the car you have and just want to get a bit more power from it, you can try some of the things listed below.

Reduce weight

Don’t get all angry, no one is talking about you. Reducing the weight of your car can get you a few HP. If you own only one car and use it to drive your kids to school, you can skip this tip because it can be too much of a hassle to put in and take out your rear seats every now and then. If you have a second car to play with, you should remove the back seats and all other things you don’t need. By reducing the weight, you get better mileage and more speed.

Chip tuning

This is the most common choice for most enthusiasts. Give your car to a chip tuning specialist, a few hours later and your car magically has 30% more power. Not one mechanical upgrade is done but your car goes faster and better. Chip tuning is actually like a software update for your car. The factory software has all kinds of restrictions which makes the car drive well, but when you remove those restrictions, you can get more horsepower. Chip tuning will work best with turbocharged and supercharged cars, while the naturally aspirated will have almost no power gain at all.

Regular service

It is very important to take care of your car the right way. This will keep your car in good condition and give you the best performance. When changing your oil, you can get better, performance motor oil which can let your engine run easier. Change or wash your air filter, depending what kind you have. If air flow is restricted, your car doesn’t get the best air-fuel ratio so it won’t run as good as it can. Change the spark plugs for better ones. Their quality deteriorates with time, so if you didn’t change them for some time, you should do that. Replace your old fuel filter with a new one. Fuel is the most important thing for driving your car, so if there is a slightest problem with the fuel filter, you will feel the loss of power.

Before you start using these tips, check the laws and regulations in your country.

The Importance of a Great Exhaust System

Many people think that exhaust systems direct exhaust gasses from the engine to the back of the car and eventually give the car sporty sound. People who think that is the only purpose of an exhaust system clearly don’t know much about cars. If you are a car enthusiast, you should know that exhaust systems have a much bigger role than this. Stock exhaust systems are built to silence the sound of a car as much as possible while reducing emission gasses from the engine itself. By doing this, airflow is also restricted so your car can’t reach up to its full potential. When you upgrade your stock exhaust system with an aftermarket one, you have better airflow, a sporty sound and a better look of the back of your car.

One of the leading exhaust systems manufacturer in the UK is FOX EXHAUST. This German exhaust manufacturer has been on the market since 1993. More than 20 years of experience and R&D have made it the first choice of many car enthusiasts in the UK. Upgrading your exhaust system with the FOX stainless steel exhaust system will give your car more power and a great sporty sound.

Aircraft-grade stainless steel exhaust systems

For the best quality, FOX is using aircraft-grade stainless steel for every component of the exhaust system they manufacture. Using the highest quality materials doesn’t mean best quality. R&D is also extremely important in these kinds of products and FOX has invested time to develop exhaust systems for almost every car on the market. Not only will these exhaust systems give you more power and a sporty sound, they will fit perfectly into the place where your old stock exhaust system used to be. Every FOX exhaust system comes with a three-year no mile warranty.

Performance and looks

Most car enthusiasts have an eye for detail when it comes to their car, especially the exterior look. FOX have taken this information and offer every exhaust system with hand-made, hand polished tailpipes. Shiny tailpipes don’t mean much for the common driver, but for the car enthusiast it’s one more thing that can significantly change the look of a car. Great looking tailpipes and a deep sporty sound make every car look better.

Available universal parts

If you already have an upgraded exhaust system and just want to change some part of the exhaust, there are tons of universal parts you can get from FOX exhausts. The most commonly changed part is the silencer and tailpipes, which change the sound of your car. They also offer pipes, flexible pipes, Y adapters, exhaust valves, gaskets, rubbers, clamps, db-reducers if you like your car to be as quiet as possible, heat protection wrap and much more.

Taming the Beast under the Bonnet

Having a car with great amounts of additional power and torque but with bad suspension can look like you’re in a bad racing game. It’s really important to cover every aspect when tuning your car, especially suspension. Many people tend to forget that additional power gain can make a car unbelievably unstable, especially in the corners. That’s the reason you need to think about the parts that keep your car on the road and your head on your shoulders. That’s why Bilstein rigorously test their products on the Nurburgring. Faster cars and tuning possibilities demand suspension parts that can handle the speed and put all that power to the wheels while enabling a comfortable and safe ride under heavy load.

Keeping your wheels on the ground

Driving fast around the track is extremely fun, but it can be dangerous. Frequent changes of direction, braking hard and accelerating will make you lose traction. Even accelerating without good traction will make you lose valuable time in a race. This is why good suspension is so important in motorsport. Tire manufacturers are constantly working on getting better traction but tires work with suspension to give the best results. To prevent losing traction, it is important to keep all your wheels on the ground. It’s the suspension that keeps the car from rocking left and right, nose-diving and keeping all four wheels on the ground for best traction.

When you choose Bilstein’s B14 coilover suspension kit, you get everything you need. This particular suspension kit was tested on the Nurburgring under motorsport conditions so it will not only make your car look better by lowering it up to 50mm, but it will give you the performance you need for the track. You can even adjust the ride height so your car can be track-ready on the weekend and ready for driving to work on Monday morning.

Endless options with Bilstein

As every serious company should, Bilstein takes care of their customers. No matter what kind of car you drive, Bilstein got you covered. Products range from OE replacement parts, performance parts, parts for lowering, trackday and clubsport racing parts and even parts for professional motorsport racing. Don’t worry, there are also parts for SUVs, street rods and muscle cars, motor homes and heavy trucks.

It’s very important to choose high quality replacement parts, not only due to better performance but for safety as well. Bilstein tests products in extreme conditions so the driver gets the most out of their new suspension parts. Some roads are not as good as others, so suspension has an important role in keeping the car stable and the passengers safe. Over 7.000 parts guarantee that you will find the right ones for your car.

We often receive a remark like “Well, that is all fine and dandy, but where can I buy new affordable Bilstein products, here in the UK?” Personally, here at HPOM we buy our Bilstein shocks from a firm called Extreme-Carstyling.co.uk. They have the best prices, and trust us, we have done a lot of researching. Furthermore, the fast and most important of all free UK delivery is unrivalled.

Serious Suspension for Serious Tuners

Huge amounts of power and torque require suspension that can handle the extra power you made by tuning your car. Upgrading your suspension may seem irrelevant because you don’t get extra torque or horsepower, but you get better lap times and reduce oversteer and understeer in corners. What you get is a possibility to put all that power to the ground. Upgrading your suspension and choosing the right setup can be the difference between first and second place in a race. Like Dominic Toretto said in Fast and Furious – “It doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winning is winning”. There are a lot of manufacturers and brands that offer performance suspension parts, but there is only one brand that takes the enthusiasts serious, and that brand is Eibach.

All the parts you need in one place

Preparing a car for the track, suspension-wise, is quite complex. Car manufacturers make suspension setups assuming that the cars will be driver in normal conditions, at regulated speeds. When you take a factory car and boost its horsepower by 150%, you need serious suspension upgrades. Sway bars for reducing body roll, springs to lower the centre of gravity and get more handling in corners, shocks, spacers… There are a lot of things you should consider when setting up your car. The good thing is, Eibach offers all of the key components to make your cars suspension ready for the track. No matter if you are an amateur or pro, Eibach has everything you need.

Benefits when choosing Eibach

Eibach products offer a lot more than you could expect. All products were designed and tested for car enthusiasts. Some of the benefits you get with Eibach are better 0-60 times, much better grip with less body roll, less nose-dive when braking and better stability all around. Not to mention the million mile warranty they have on all products. If you’re just starting racing your car, you need the best suspension setup you can get your hands on. A big problem for amateur racers is oversteer and understeer. Eibachs ERS system offers a combination of shocks and springs for almost every car make and model. Combining Eibach suspension elements for your car gives you complete control of what you want from your car. If you on the other hand drive your tuned car every day, you can get Eibach’s coilover system which gives you the option of setting up the ride height of your car so you don’t drive your daily to the market scraping the road. Great customer reviews of all of Eibach products give you enough insurance that your choice is the right one. If you still aren’t sure whether to choose Eibach for your car, just ask yourself why some racing teams use Eibach suspension elements in their race cars and formulas. Audi Sport (DTM), M-sport/Ford (WRC) and Motopark Academy (F3) have chosen Eibach as well as the majority of racing teams in F1.

For most car tuners it is already obvious that Eibach is the way to go. So the question is not: do I want to purchase Eibach springs? The question rather becomes, can I buy Eibach springs? They are definitely not the cheapest option on the market. Thanks to a company that goes by the name Extreme-Carstyling, almost every car tuner can afford the high quality Eibach products. Check out the assortment by clicking this link. Note: if you live in mainland UK, delivery is free of charge.

Rolling in Style on a Budget

All car enthusiasts share a hobby that’s frankly not so cheap. When you add all the parts and their cost, the car itself looks cheap. Thankfully there are parts manufacturers that know this and make high quality parts for less money. One of those brands is AP Suspensions from Germany, which has made suspension parts with the best price-quality ration on the market. This doesn’t mean there are products only for some cars. AP Suspension offers parts for almost every car on the market.

Adjustable Height for Perfect Handling

AP Suspension’s coilover kit offers manual height adjusting in a matter of minutes using a special tool you get with your new parts. Fitment doesn’t require additional body work or drilling, you just bolt on your new part in the same mounting points. Height adjusting is a great thing if you own only one car, especially if you share it with your wife or anyone who doesn’t look out for speed bumps or holes on the road. With the AP suspension coilover kit you get great lowering possibilities, adjustable height in a few minutes and superb handling.

Fixed lowering for a reasonable price

If you, on the other hand, own a daily and a second car for your tuning & styling hobby, a great way to get a lower center of gravity and better looks is with the AP suspension lowering springs. This is more economical than using coilover kits, especially if you don’t need to change the height of your car frequently. With the AP lowering springs you can lower your car up to 60mm. If you use your existing shock absorbers you can lower your car 40mm. If you want to lower your car more that 40mm, you should get AP suspension shock absorbers to combine with the AP lowering springs for the best results. Lowering springs come in a great colored finish so the look of your car stays awesome.

Every car enthusiast wants to customize their car, but most of us don’t have the finances that will let us buy the most expensive or known brands. Also, every enthusiast that has a project car will tell you that a project car is never finished. Expensive parts may be an obstacle, so cheaper alternatives are the best way to continue working on a project car without waiting to save up enough money for a more expensive part that won’t give you anything more than AP suspension.

For less money, you get everything the same as you would with some brand that is more known than AP suspension. This is one of the reasons why AP suspensions are the best buying brand of suspension in the UK.