Boosting Your Engine Performance: A step by step process 

There are those of us who are car lovers, and we all want the engine in our car to run smoothly. Whether you need more power, more fuel economy or more throttle response, the most effective method of achieving this is by improving the engine components. However, if you’re changing your engine, it’s a calculation of power, reliability, and cost. We’ll be tackling the key engine mods that will give your vehicle the edge over the competition in this all-encompassing article, from bolt-on changes to sophisticated upgrades. 

2. Cold Air Intakes Systems 

Cold air intake is one of the easiest, and most affordable, ways to upgrade your engine. The intake system feeds air into the engine and introduces it into the combustion process. There is more air to make, and more oxygen to make: better combustion, and greater power. 

The Advantages: Cold air intakes are designed to draw in denser, cooler air from outside of the engine compartment. Colder air contains more oxygen which enables the engine to burn more fuel and produce more power. This upgrade also increases throttle response and even fuel economy. 

Install: Cold air intakes are relatively straightforward to fit and often are a bolt-on installation, so it’s a great way to get started for performance enthusiasts who don’t want to do a complete engine rebuild. 

2. Exhaust System Improvements 

Installing new exhaust is another common engine performance upgrade. The performance exhaust system directs the exhaust gases out of the engine and mitigates backpressure while producing more power. 

Headers: By upgrading the exhaust headers, exhaust gases can run more freely from each cylinder, alleviating the stress on the engine and giving better horsepower. Performance headers are made with thicker and flatter piping than OEM exhaust manifolds, which allows for more effective exhaust flow. 

Cat-Back Exhaust: The cat-back exhaust system moves piping from the catalytic converter back to the muffler and tailpipe. This upgrade will increase airflow and make a harsher exhaust note along with power and torque. 

High-Flow Catalytic Converter: Using a high flow cat converter helps the exhaust system from clogging and allows the engine to breathe. It also improves performance and overall engine performance. 

3. New Throttle Body Upgrade. 

Tweak throttle body dictates how much air gets into the engine and, if you get an upgrade to a bigger high-performance throttle body, it will open up more air and accelerate. 

Pros: Bigger throttle body allows more air into the intake manifold, giving you more oxygen to burn. It makes the throttle work a little better and the engine works a bit better, at the higher RPM’s. 

Suitable for: This upgrade is best suited to cars equipped with forced induction (turbo or supercharged) as it requires extra airflow to optimize boost and power delivery. 

4. Fuel System Improvements 4. 

: if you want your engine to run a bit more power, you have to burn more fuel in order to keep up with the amount of air you are generating. Modifying parts of the fuel system means that the engine gets a perfect air-fuel ratio and has more power to pull. 

Fuel Injectors: Super performance fuel injectors pumped more fuel to the engine in a greater volume when the engine requires extra power. Upgrade injectors especially if you’ve added forced induction or increased the air intake to your engine. 

Fuel Pump: It's usually a high flow fuel pump that will help deliver the extra fuel volume required by new injectors. With low fuel pressure, your engine can idle, leading to diminished power and engine failure. 

Fuel Pressure Regulator: A performance fuel pressure regulator makes sure that the injectors have steady fuel pressure, which helps avoid engine performance issues. 

5. Performance Camshaft 

The cam rotates the intake and exhaust valves, and a performance cam can dramatically increase your engine’s power and torque. 

Benefits: Performance cams adjust valve timing to open intake valves longer so air can flow through the combustion chamber. It results in more horsepower and more torque especially at higher RPMs. 

Types: Camshafts come in several different profiles, based on what you are hoping for from your performance. A low power increase camshaft upgrade provides moderate power enhancements and a high power boost camshaft is built for high performance engines that require all of the power you can get. 

6. Forced Induction: Turbochargers and Superchargers. 

For that big punch in horsepower, turbo or superchargers are one of the best ways to enhance the power in your engine. Forced induction systems compress air before it reaches the engine, thus delivering more air and fuel to each combustion cycle. 

Turbochargers: A turbocharger generates the engine exhaust gases to turn a turbine that pulls back the intake air to inject more oxygen. The result is massive power increase, primarily at high RPMs. 

Superchargers: Unlike turbochargers, superchargers use a belt to generate instant acceleration across the full RPM range. These are great for the fanatic who wants an instant throttle lock and more power in lower RPM’s. 

Hints: Forced induction systems will require special tuning and other upgrades like intercoolers and heavier internal engines to support the extra power and heat. 

7. Upgraded ECU(Engine Control Unit): 

Engine upgrades must include an ECU upgrade (aka tuning, or remapping) to get the best performance out of it. The ECU controls key engine parameters like fuel delivery, ignition timing and boost levels. The ECU can be reprogrammed/upgraded so these values are optimized for your mods. 

Features: ECU tuning unleashes buried horsepower with the adjustment of air-fuel ratios, boost pressure for turbocharged engines, and ignition timing adjustments for optimal engine performance. This is especially crucial if you have forced induction installed or reworked the intake and exhaust systems a lot. 

8. Interior Engine Upgrades. 

For the serious performance carrer, external engine parts may need to be re-enforced to sustain the higher power of other changes. 

Pistons and Connecting Rods: Powerful forged pistons and heavier connecting rods are made to hold up to the extra heat and pressure exerted by forced induction or high-compression engines. 

Crankshaft: Installing a stronger crankshaft enables the engine to handle both higher RPMs and the extra torque added by modifying performance. 

Upgraded Valvetrain: Changing out the valvetrain with performance valve springs and retainers makes the engine capable of more high-RPM acceleration without float or breakdown. 

Conclusion 

Upgrades to engine parts are an innovative and fun way to improve the performance of your vehicle, but they should not be taken lightly. Simply bolt-on options such as cold air intakes and exhausts can deliver marginal power improvement, while more complex modifications such as forced induction and internal engine modifications can bring huge changes. Each upgrade contributes to the efficiency, horsepower and overall ride of your car. Like all mods, it needs to be tuned and reconditioned regularly to ensure long-term reliability and maximum performance.