By Robert Emslie
We’d all like a little more go in our cars, but a lot of modifications can be wallet-draining exercises. Forced induction, re-calibrated ECM chips and suspension upgrades all cost a king’s ransom. So, what’s a hoon on a budget to do?
If you’re tired of the factory-installed performance of your ride, what’s the best investment in go-faster or corner-quicker that you could make? Is it tires? Intake-mods? Have you made any of these mods already, or are you planning on some? So many questions, so little money. How can we hoon on the cheap?
Image sources:[thegasmisers.com, clubxb.com]
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Kamil Kaluski
straight pipes!
<img src="http://www.funkycar.co.uk/images/rexx/body_stickerhonda.jpg">
Adds 50 horsepower, guaranteed.
you're soooo wrong. It is the R type badge that adds 50 PAH!
I can have the only Type R F-150 on my street. And at 50 PAH!, I would be able to pull that stump I have been meaning to get to.
Tires have got to be up there. Good sway bars too.
<img>” target=”_blank”>http://www.saabsunited.com/upload/images2009/09/custom_saab_badges/TurboBadgesSDS.JPG
I would have to say take a performance driving class followed closely by a personal diet.
Drive around with at most 5 gallons of gas in the tank….. That saves 100 pounds, and it's by far the cheapest thing I can think of!
You also gain 2-3HP by draining a quart of oil from your engine. This is according to one of the dyno guys at Ford. Not recomended if you want to keep the car, but maybe if you have a rental or a lease.
Excellent idea! And think of all the other fluids… what the hell is that empty weight doing in the coolant overflow? Brake fluid…… there's a couple extra ounces in there… the list goes on and on!
As far as I can tell, the brake fluid serves only to slow the car down. That's a dealbreaker, ladies!
Exactly: adding lightness is the cheapest upgrade possible. Depending how much comfort you are wiling to do without you could even make money by selling the parts you remove!
I would say perhaps it would be a carburetor spacer.
Change the gears?
Remove extra parts?
In your case it's easy. Take the top and doors off the Jeep in the summer.
Tin can bumpers and the spare tire count too…
I'd also like to submit the biggest tire you want on what rims you want, with judicious body trimming.
Steal a faster car. It's free, as long as you don't get caught.
I'm not even sure that's a crime anymore.
Tighten the nut behind the wheel.
Ha! (+1)
Have to go with tires. Especially if you can squeeze shorter/wider rims on your car at the same time.
Also, a tip from my suspension design days: there is almost as much return in going to a stiffer set of sway bar bushings as there is as installing a stiffer swaybar. Stock rubber bushings allow tonnes of movement and reduce the effective stiffness of the bar.
Fail for not reading the rest of the question:
Putting Yokohama S-drives on on my Protege 5 boosted cornering prowess massively… the $600 or so bucks I paid for the tires wasn't Cheap-cheap, but the difference on a twisty road is probably more than stock tires and a turbo.
Replacing all of the stock rubber bushings on the RX-7 with urethane equivalents has tightened the car up unbelieveably. All the metal (springs, sway bars) in the suspension is stock, but with the harder bushings, lean is reduced and turn in is quicker. I think the whole car was $200 + a weekend's labour.
While we're at it, the best cheap performance mod is to remove everything:
<img src="http://www.nerocam.com/SCC_Images/image033.jpg">
http://www.nerocam.com/SCC_TAP.asp
Plus, you can sell what you take off for fun and profit!
Beat me – that was the first thing I thought of too. Maybe if I take a Sawzall to my modem, the internets will move faster.
That is clearly set up to run ovals.__
Extra points for the donut tires in back. Buncha maniacs.
Ah yes, the Lotus 7 route, works well. Anybody remember which car magazine did the sawzall trick with a malaise era Cadillac? They ran the quarter intact at some laughable time, then proceeded to unbolt, cut and torch off as much non-structural material as possible. It ran pretty quick if I remember right. MIght have been C&D.
Does that car really need ALL those lug nuts on each wheel?
What are those knobs doing on the drivers seat?
I smell additional weight savings lurking somewhere!
They left the padding on the seat, that's got to be some weight there…
I have been curious about this for a while; would the above (with roll cage et. al.) be acceptable for Lemons? I recall that the ghettocharged miata was this plus a windshield. This might allow more vehicles to run (full size vans and trucks etc.).
To remain germaine to the post, I think this was a sentra in a tuner magazine that went from 17's to 13's in the quarter.
I was looking for that!! I remember seeing it on TV
One autocross entry fee, $25-40.
If you're a member I'm looking for a referral. Hook an egg up!
Flip the air cleaner lid over. Yeah, that's right, I'm old school.
I used to do that when I drove Mom's '78 Monte Carlo. Made the gutless v6 sound a little more arrogant. Bonus points for it being easily reversible.
Tires
Gut/Bypass the Cat
Intake
chip
Wash it. It always seems run better after a day at the car spa. Or maybe I just drive it faster because it is so clean.
I am a bit scared of "on the cheap" mods to go faster. Then again having a car that scares me can be a good thing….
Buying the rental damage waiver.
Quality suspension bushings. Usually around $100 a set and can make a huge difference in handling and ride quality.
Take a hacksaw to the airbox, put a K&N filter and a good exhaust system. The sounds alone are worth the price.
For a eta BMW E30 at least, swap out the 2.91or 2.79 open rear end for a $60 junkyard 3.25 limited slip rear end out of an E28. Totally transformed the character of the car. Went from barely able to get out of its own way to sort of fun. Higher rear end gears have instant paypack on acceleration, but at a cost to fuel economy and top end.
Tires would be close to the top too.
Make the wife drive separate. In fact, take out the passenger seat and weld the door shut. It makes for a quieter ride, too. Even after you remove all the sound deadening and carpet.
I can feel my wife giving me a smack on the head just reading this….
Watch out for the wifely rage…
Haa-haa-haa! Lets just keep that between us here…
Let's try again…
<img src="http://www.traderscity.com/board/userpix4/3588-auto-spoiler-1.jpg">
My old Boss has a speech he gives to his high-school age children whenever they head out on a weekend night.
"Never get in a car with a drunk-driver, and never get in a car with a wing."
Because everyone knows cars with wingz are the fastest!
Nah, but they're often the most-poorly-driven.
No.
They are the fastest.
Until they lose control, roll over, and catch fire. Before that, though, fastest!
The performance of your headlights is mighty important this time of year. If you can't see, try washing the lenses the next time you get gas. If you are still using those $10 sealed beams, step it up to something more modern or powerful. HIDs aren't cheap at all but there are usually some good halogen options.
gonna have to step in here: HIDs ARE cheap these days. $40 will buy you a set of two "plug-and-play" ballasts and bulbs, shipped to your door from Hong Kong or wherever. Yes, quality components like Phillips still cost a grip, but that's not what you said. ;P
As a sidenote, generally speaking HID bulbs in halogen housings throw light everywhere and blind oncoming traffic, or at least according to some. Personally, IDGAF – but the socially correct among us will find it prudent to tell you how it's "not an HID retrofit" unless you're retrofitting housings/reflectors/lenses designed for use with HID components rather than halogen -it DOES make a significant difference.
Best free performance mod: toss me the keys.
If you park your car overnight in the wrong part of town, this guy comes by and removes restrictions from your exhaust system*! And it's free, unless they have parking meters.
*When I say he "removes restrictions," I mean he uses a Sawzall to steal your catalytic converter, which he will then sell to buy heroin.
Yep! That's been happening, in broad daylight, in the city closest to me… seven cars so far, I think, in two different non-sketchy places (back lot of a hospital, then behind a manufacturing plant).
Right now, for me, the best cheap performance mod would be removing and hollowing out my catalytic converter.
It's getting plugged, and legally, I can (no emissions testing pre-'96 here). So hurrah.
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Fuzzy Dice… instant analog G-force biometric.
Chip it. Made the most significant difference on my truck.
A set of wrenches and screwdrivers.
Why?
Because you can use them to remove the whole interior, making your car 200 lbs lighter.
Exactly! Why carry around a back seat when it's not being used?
They make great lawnchairs.
More comfortable than the furniture you have at home! Ask Top Gear.
<img src="http://www.car-stuff.com/images/part_image/jspspoiler.jpg">
Live in a rural area where the sheriffs are rare
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