Some Myths about car tuning
When it comes to car tuning there are lots of sites offering bad advice and there are lots of urban myths around.
In this lens I aim to dispel the myths about car tuning and establish a common sense guide when it comes to getting more power out of your engine.
We will focus initially on the engine and handling side of car tuning although there are many other potential areas of improvement when it comes to cars.
Getting the wrong mods or parts can really wreck a car so we suggest you choose very carefully and plan your car tuning project carefully.
Myths about engine tuning
Engine tuning myths
1) Induction kits do not add power to your engine. Despite the claims made my the manufacturers of induction kits very few cars actually see a benefit from adding them. The primary reason for this is that they suck in hot air from the engine bay which carries less oxygen and therefore reduces power. Standard air filter boxes are more than sufficient and if you want to improve the airflow through this then you should add a high flow panel air filter instead. (The benefits will again only be appreciated at the top end of the rev range.)
2) Small engines are worth tuning. Sadly you will end up spending a lot of money on a small engine and see very little gain. For an average expenditure you will only see a gain of upto 10% so if your engine is only producing 70bhp this equates to a barely noticable gain of 7hp. You get a power fluctuation like this using good quality fuel in very cold weather.
Suggest links to decent car tuning sites – Read up some good car tuning advice.
In order to further your knowledge we suggest you try some of the links below to car tuning sites that have a good repuation for giving good advice.
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Car tuning
Ultimate car tuning, styling + car modification guide. TorqueCars online modified car owners club. Comprehensive power tips,best mods, parts and how to guides of modifications articles and a car tuning Forum and gallery of tuners, tuned and modded ca -
Latest car tuning performance tips.
Guide to the latest and best car tuning tips for the best performance and increased bhp and torque. Engine tuning power mods and improve your cars handling with our step by step guide. -
Custom modified cars
We take a look at the craze of custom cars and modified cars. Take an ordinary everyday car and transform it into something amazing. Ever since cars existed there has been a very active customisation scene.Back in the past panels had to be hand beaten
Exhaust myths
`We dispel a few myths about exhausts
1) The catalyst sucks a lot of power. In reality if you completly removed the catalyst you would see a power gain of around 4%. Fitting a new high flow sports catalyst will also give the same power gain. By taking out the catalyst you are breaking the law in many countries and risk fines penalties and car siezure so with this risk in mind I would urge you to fit a sports cat instead.
2) Bigger exhausts are better. The larger the exhaust pipe the lower the flow rate will be. You want the exhaust gases to exit at a high flow rate as this improve engine scavenging and as TorqueCars.com is always stating bigger really is not better. An exhaust size depends on the displacement of the engine and the amount of gases to expell. There is an optimum size and many manufacturers exhausts are already pretty much spot on.
Suspension myths
Lets look at some common suspension myths
1) Lower is better. This is only partially true, a cars suspension needs a certain amount of travel to maintain contact with the road. Roll should be eliminated by an anti roll bar rather than just fitting lower springs.
2) Harder is better. Again this is only partially true. If your suspension is too hard the car wheels will jump over the road surface and this will dramatically reduce your grip. The ride quality of the car is also severely compromised.