Muscle car fan? Well, you are in august company. Muscle car fans are a widespread lot, and even though once these cars were environmental poison, today, they come highly regarded by automobile purists and the likes. And with proper modifications, they are no longer the guzzlers they were once were, and neither does emission control strangle them all that much.
So be it a new muscle car, or a classic one, there are certain modifications you can do to take it from being a zero to a hero, literally although some classic muscle cars are too gorgeous to need any. That said; modifications are not rocket science, and if you stick to the basics, things will not only be okay, but they will also turn your car into an absolute superstar.
Here are ten modifications that can really amp up an already impressive muscle car, without making you spend a mini fortune on your very cool car.
10 Superchargers: Additional Engine Power
Sometimes, the muscle cars of yore and even the lowers trims of muscle cars today come with engines that are not exactly thrilling, performance-wise. So if you feel that your naturally aspirated engine is failing to make a mark, try bolt-on superchargers.
This lets a computer decide what air/fuel mixture is ideal for your car, letting your muscle car develop better lungs. The better your car breathes, the better performance it has, and so if you add on a supercharger, you amp up the performance without emptying your wallet.
9 Aftermarket Exhausts: GIGO
Any geek will remember old computer terminology, garbage in, garbage out. In a car, it works a bit differently. If you add in better lungs, via a supercharger, but keep the same old factory exhaust, you basically defeated the entire purpose of better breathing. If the car can’t breathe out all that well, it's a goner.
So bolt-on cat-back mufflers or long-tube headers, or even a new H- or X-pipe is the way to go when it comes to your car’s behind, so that it may leave the other cars behind, period.
8 Better Air Intake: Purer Air
Think of your car as an athlete in training. Some exercise will give it better lungs, others a better heart. But the one thing every athlete needs to do, before embarking on the sport he or she plays, is to be able to breathe in a lungful of oxygen, to let the muscle work at optimum power.
So, to let your car’s engine get the best and the most amount of air, you need to dump those boxy paper air filters stock cars carry and put in a high-flow cone air filter, that comes with tubing and instructions.
7 Tuning Air Flow: Throttle Body and Intake Manifold
We seem to be stuck on the air here, but we cannot stress the importance of respiration, especially when it comes to your car, although for automobiles it's more performance-related than the life-giving thing it is for us humans.
Another place where you can improve the airflow is the throttle body which is bought bigger aftermarket. And with it, you can also put in a bigger air intake manifold, which, unlike what Fast & Furious wants you to believe, has no danger to it.
6 Smooth Operator: Shift Kits And Shifters
Do you want better pickup from your muscly ride? You need a better shifter. So if you drive stick, which means you are more of a classic muscle car fan, you can down the lag in pickup by opting for a short shifter, thereby making your car fly faster.
And if it's an automatic muscle car you prefer, you need a short-throw shift kit, which means the car enters into higher gears faster, becoming a way chirpier drive than before. Besides lowering shift time, this also makes you reach your destination a whole lot faster.
5 Performance Camshafts: Kicking It Up A Notch
Another way to increase the horsepower of a car is via a performance camshaft, which in itself can add several ponies to a bareboned stock car, minus any other modification. A performance camshaft betters the timing of the valve opening for each engine stroke thereby adding power and ponies and consequentially, increasing acceleration.
If you have no other modifications, a mild cam would do but if your car comes supercharged and has other mods, a wild camshaft is the better way to go.
4 Better Wheels: Lighter, Faster, Sleeker
Alloys and otherwise better wheels are not just there for show. From a performance viewpoint, opting for aluminum wheels as opposed to stock steel reduces weight, and thus drag, letting your car go faster, even if it’s an infinitesimal difference.
Narrower front wheels are another option, and in case you are planning to race your muscle car, it's always a good idea to use racing wheels and tires to lower traction and increase the speed of your car on the track.
3 Superior Rubber: Tires Matter
If you want your muscle car to run like the wind, you cannot have it run on cheap or underperforming tires. It's like making Usain Bolt, wear bad shoes. Or giving Michael Schumacher a Ferrari minus the engine.
If you want to race, get racing tires. Use radials for the modern muscle cars and if you live in a place that gets sun and snow, invest in winter tires as well as summer tires, to work best according to the temperature of the road. It simple but so overlooked that we have to reiterate: do not cheap out on tires.
2 Lower Control Arms: Better Traction
Unless you want to donk or stance a muscle car, most come with decent stock suspensions. But you can better the geometry of your vehicle by using LCAs, as in lower control arms instead of steel-stamped solid factory arms because these often lack stability during launch.
LCAs are adjustable and come with a better bushing that holds the car steadier for launch, giving you maximum traction as well as a far steadier, lower-flex approach for the best launch speed. If you get adjustable arms, you get the benefit of altering ride height as well depending on the track, or road.
1 Nitrous Oxide: No Laughing Matter
Nothing has taken the popularity of nitrous oxide up as the F&F franchise. Pop a button and whammo, your car goes nitro fast. Of course, F&F merely popularized an already well-known remedy for bettering horsepower.
While strapping in a nitrous kit is easy although not a long-term solution, it can get you through a few races and challenges easily. But beware, this is something best left to experts because incorrect usage can cause your engine to die, or have catastrophic brain damage at least.
Sources: GoMechanic, YourMechanic