What most people fail to understand is there’s more to modifying your car than the other top five lists put out and there’s some crucial things they miss too! So here is what I believe to be the correct second set of five performance mods in the proper order for maximum reliability and gains!
Article 1/3 – The first 5 engine performance mods for your vehicle
Article 2/3 – How to make more power after simple bolt on modifications
Article 3/3 – Final engine mods for your engine/Where to go next?
1.Headers
Now assuming you read the last post I made, and you followed the mods I recommend for the exhaust, this is the next step for most people. If you have a full exhaust system this won’t apply to you as much but there’s still some key takeaways.
As you are increasing the air coming in and/or turning up the boost, your exhaust with its higher flow muffler and high flow cat will likely do the job but as you start to install some of these next mods you’d want to get your exhaust flowing even more. So you have two options for your next step:
-Short tube headers
-Long tube headers
Both are good viable options it just depends on your budget and how much of that budget you would be able to spend on these parts!
The best option you will be looking at for both long and short headers are clean welds and a smooth free flowing design (if the company/seller has done some thorough performance testing that is optimal). If you want power this is definitely your best option and will provide the best outlet for your engine gases.
-Short tube headers
If your state/province is a bit stricter on modifications, short headers will be the way to go often allowing you to still have a catalytic converter while also freeing up horsepower. Mainly a short tube header will reduce back pressure, in simplest terms the header will be shorter and likely need a down pipe (where your cat will likely be unless it’s located further down!).
Short tube headers are also sometimes referred to as power logs(Which is a slightly different shape and purpose principle is similar). Power logs are mostly for FWD arranged engines.
-Long tube headers
The finely tuned musical instrument of the car scene! Long tube headers are created to maximize the power of your exhaust in your engine’s stroke cycle. There is a lot of science that goes behind the creation of long tube headers and the likelihood you will pass emissions testing with a set of long tube headers is minimized substantially! But if emissions testing isn’t a necessity, your cats are located further down your exhaust or you are racing your vehicle, by all means go for it! Long tube headers are incredible sounding and well preforming part of your exhaust.
2.Throttle body
Next up is going to be getting yourself a new throttle body. Ideally you’ll be getting a throttle body with an increased diameter and a smoother flowing design.
Many throttle body’s you can buy will have a larger diameter inside with a larger throttle plate. You can do this yourself with porting and polishing and then changing your throttle plate, but unless you are very patient and skilled I think it would be much more worth while to buy a new one altogether.
The reason you should upgrade your throttle body is to increase the flow of air entering your engine to gain extra horse power. Throttle body’s often are a choking point for air and a spot you can free up lots of extra horse power from. My only caution to this comes from your sensors, either make sure that your sensors are transferable onto your new throttle body, or that if you have new sensors you can get them tuned in right away!
3.Injectors & Fuel pump
There’s a reason the saying “squirt gas to haul a….” is still around in the 21st century, and that doesn’t mean turning a screw on your carb. It means upgrading your injectors and fuel pump!
In many situations you are only going to need one or both. But for starters I would recommend checking some forums and finding out what people replace first!
For example I own a 2002 Buick regal LS and I had just supercharged my car. In my scenario I was able to use my stock fuel pump but my injectors needed an upgrade. Now as I keep upgrading my car, getting a new fuel pump is critical especially as I started turning up the boost more!
“Check some forums and find out what people replace first”
But for most cars I wouldn’t recommend doing it in that order. I would start by getting a fuel pump to supply the proper fuel to your stock injectors which can likely preform higher than the level they are at! In my situation the fuel pump happened to be the same for the higher performance model which left my injectors as the flaw.
Plus if you got a fuel pump that can run E85 gas you might be pleased if you are looking to make even more power in the future!😉
4.Forced induction
The moment that you’ve all been waiting for or at least the N/A guys😉 It’s time to get boosted (or more boosted)!
Adding forced induction of any kind will provide incredible gains even if the amount of boost you are adding is small. I’m going to touch base and talk about upgrading your stock forced induction first and then about adding a kit to your car!
Increasing the boost you have!
If you have a stock turbo or supercharger there are two things you can do:
-Upgrade your stock turbo/supercharger with a more efficient and higher output one.
-Increase the amount of boost out of your turbo or supercharger.
When it comes to replacing your stock forced induction instrument I can only guide you by saying either replace it with a full kit which will not lead to as much headache or, try replacing it with something better and prepare to spend some extra money on making it fit and work well. This route will be cheaper but will also cause you some pain in the short term trying to problem solve!
If you want to keep your stock turbo/supercharger I’ve touched on how to do this in my last post Stage 1. What you will need to do for turbo guys is add a manual boost controller and then tune accordingly! For my supercharged friends, the way you increase boost is by adding a smaller pulley onto your supercharger and just like the turbo guys you’ll want to tune accordingly. For you both stay tuned for point #5.
Adding forced induction!
This is by far the most rewarding things you’ll ever do to your car. The kits you can get range but first you need to decide whether you want a turbocharger or a supercharger and if so, what kind? There are many different kinds but summed up you can get either:
-Single turbo, turbo kit
-Twin turbo, turbo kit (If you are doing more than two turbos you don’t need this post lol)
-Supercharger kit
-Centrifugal supercharger kit
The main thing to note when deciding what to get is ask yourself; your price range, what is available for your car, what power you want to make, how reliable will this kit be(how often would you need to replace parts) and what will work best with your engine and build? But from there you have a free range of what you want to pick and what will work best for you!
5.Tuning/Access port tuning
Electronic tuning is a huge part of the automotive scene in the 21st century and there are many reasons for that.
Tuning allows you to take full control of the functions of your vehicle allowing you to remove factory restrictions, turn up boost of digitally controlled turbo, adjust fuel maps and ignition timing maps, install crackle tunes and so much more. With tuning you unlock a new world of modifying, tweaking and transforming the car you have into the car you want!
Note that when I’m talking about tuning your own car I am by no means telling you to do everything on your own (especially if you do not feel comfortable enough to learn and try it) however If you do try it out I recommend you be in contact with a credible tuner specific to your vehicle and your tuning software!
The two common types of tuning most people do to their own vehicles(these methods are necessary for remote tuning):
-OBDII tuning with a re-flashing tool and computer.
-Access port tuning(Specifically Cobb which has become a market staple)
Method 1:
Using a re-flash tool and a computer is the best option for someone looking to do more in depth tuning or for someone looking to learn how to tune their vehicle themselves.
This could also be a cheaper option for many if you already have a laptop you can download and use tuning programs for. This is a preferred method becuase it allows you to travel further in depth with data and tuning but is also preferred by those who’s cars have less tuning or aftermarket support.
“Preferred by those who’s cars have less tuning or aftermarket support.”
Reflash tuning
For example 2000 Pontiac grand Prix’s who have some aftermarket support but much less compared to a, For example, 2000 Mazda 3 with virtually unlimited aftermarket support. So getting a program and re flash tool is likely gonna be easier than trying to find and use an access port tuner just because they are usually vehicle and engine specific.
Method 2:
And secondly access port tuning which has become extremely popular within these last few years because of the company Cobb releasing access port tuners for a variety of popular cars.
Access port tuning has become very popular as it is easy to use and can provide large gains for a variety of mods and cars. The concept of them is being able to download pre made tune maps for either stock vehicles as well as specific bolt on modifications to. Another great benefit is it also allows you to read data coming from your car.
For an enthusiast looking for some easy tuning to be done without having to learn an entire setup and program this is definitely a great option if your car has an access port tuner created for it!
There are a few types of tuning you can have someone do also:
-(In person)Having someone tune your car either with a dyno or by driving or doing the tweaking without your car running and just using logged data. Dyno/Driving will be your best option.
-(Shipping)Sending in your PCM/ECU to be tuned. Much like not driving although you are more likely just telling them the mods you have done and they will be making educated guesses on how much certain parts will be tuned by.
Both of these are viable options and not much more needs to be said. All I will say though is try your best to find a tuner who works on your car specifically. And again even if a tuner in your city or state/province doesn’t specifically work on your car you can definitely have them do some very good in depth tuning done if they know what they are doing, and have the right parameters and information given to them. So make sure to ask them in advance what information will be helpful to them to tune your car more accurately and effectively!
Conclusion
This brings us to the end of the stage 2 article! if you are looking for even more bang for your buck make sure to check out my soon to come article where I share the next step, Stage 3! When you are working on your car don’t forget to use your head you know what will wreak your car and if you cannot afford modifications remember “your car will always be there to dump money into when you’ve got it”. So save up, get the correct mods and enjoy your build each step at a time.
Thank you for reading this article, if there are more modifications or any other info you’d like to see here make sure you let me know in the comments down below! But also don’t feel shy to reach out VIA email or any other social media platform if you want to talk me privately!
