Speed is an important factor in cars. No one wants a slow car, but unfortunately, there are a lot of opinions about what makes a car faster. Unfortunately for drivers that want a faster car, a lot of these suggested modifications won't do anything other than waste your money.
Modifications do exist but it can be easy to mistake modifications that help a car's performance and those that hinder it. However, it is usually the modifications you don't see that have the biggest impact on making a car faster. In contrast, the modifications that are flashy are often the ones that make your car slower or have no impact on speed.
10 Will Make Your Car Faster: Nitrous System
One of the most well-known modifications that drivers can add to their car for more speed is a nitrous oxide system. Nitrous oxide has been featured in multiple movies as a tool that drivers use for a sudden burst of speed, whether to escape pursuers or get somewhere in a hurry.
Nitrous helps make a car faster by cooling the intake air. By reducing the temperature of the intake air, it allows more air in each cylinder, providing more oxygen to the combustion process. This addition of oxygen to the engine allows more fuel to be injected, giving the engine more horsepower. The biggest complaint with nitrous oxide is that the system can take up a lot of room in a car. However, for a driver that wants speed, nitrous oxide might be an option.
9 Avoid: Over-sized Rims
People usually buy nice rims to improve their cars' looks. However, large rims won't add anything to a car other than a change in its appearance. Drivers interested in making their car faster should save the money they were going to use on rims for something that actually will help their car.
Whereas large, heavy rims will have a negative impact on performance, the opposite holds true for lightweight wheels. So, if you want to improve performance and change the rims, go small and lightweight.
8 Will Make Your Car Faster: Forced Induction
Superchargers and turbochargers improve the performance of a car by forcing more air into an engine. The main difference between a turbocharger and a supercharger is that the supercharger runs on engine power while the turbocharger relies on recycled exhaust gases that are produced during combustion.
Adding a turbo or supercharger to an engine is a major modification, so it's important to do the research to determine whether you are willing to spend the money and time for this modification.
7 Avoid: Exhaust End Can
The exhaust end can is often wrongly assumed to be a piece of equipment that adds speed to a car. It would be a mistake to think that a louder car is necessarily a faster car. Although some incredibly faster cars are loud, it is not because they have an exhaust end can.
An exhaust end can adds noise to a car but it won't add any speed. If this list was looking at ways they can make their car louder, an exhaust end can would definitely be an option.
6 Will Make Your Car Faster: Full Performance Exhaust System
When choosing an exhaust system, drivers who want speed should be careful to pick the right system. Several different types of exhaust systems are available that can improve performance. For example, a cat-back exhaust system can improve performance by reducing the amount of work put on an engine. By allowing the engine to breathe more freely, the system can improve the performance of the car.
At the very minimum, a cat-back exhaust is needed for any notable power gains. A set of quality headers and perhaps a de-cat would also help free up additional horsepower.
5 Avoid: Stickers
Some people seem to think that adding a sticker from an aftermarket performance brand is worth 10hp - of course, they couldn't be more wrong! Unless those performance parts are actually fitted to the car, the stickers are worthless.
Drivers with stickers might trick others into thinking there's more to their car than meets the eye, but in reality, the opposite is true. Rather than stickers, these people would be better off purchasing parts that can actually increase speed.
4 Will Make Your Car Faster: Tires
Not surprisingly, tires can make a big difference in a car's performance. Having good tires can have an important impact on the speed and performance of a car. Not all tries are good for speed though. You'll want the stickiest and grippiest tires available to make the car handle like it's on rails.
Another important thing related to the tire is to make sure the tire is properly inflated. A tire running too low or too high pressure is not going to perform optimally.
3 Avoid: Body Kits
Body kits may make a car look faster, but they are unlikely to have any actual benefit when it comes to speed. The shape of the car is important, but body kits aren't tested in wind tunnels and most will slow down the vehicle rather than give it optimal performance due to their poor aerodynamics.
Car manufacturers have engineers and designers put in a lot of time optimizing aerodynamics, so it should be no surprise that aftermarket body kits are not likely to help when it comes to speed.
2 Will Make Your Car Faster: Coilover Suspension
Coilovers can affect a car's performance by lowering its center of gravity and stiffening up the suspension. This results in better performance, response, and handling of the car.
However, while a good coilover design can improve the performance it can require a lot of time and money. Depending on the car, other changes might have to be made to allow for the use of coilover suspension.
1 Avoid: Rear Wing
Rear wings likely have an association with speed because of their use in movies. However, although this modification might help cars drive faster according to Hollywood, it is unlikely to help any car in real life.
When cars come from the factory with rear wings, it's usually for appearance more than anything else. This situation is made even worse though when someone adds a huge aftermarket rear wing to their car, which may actually hurt the aerodynamics of the car if it's not installed at the correct angle.