10 Ways To Improve Your Car's Performance

Sep 10, 2023

These modifications and adjustments can enhance your car's speed, handling, and overall driving experience.

As a car owner, you might want to improve your vehicle's performance for better fuel efficiency, speed, and overall driving experience. Thankfully, there are several ways to boost your car's performance. From basic maintenance and upgrades to tuning and modifications, this list explores ten practical ways to improve your car's performance.

These modifications and adjustments can enhance your car's speed, handling, and overall driving experience. Therefore, whether you're looking for a slight boost or a significant upgrade, these tips can help you get the most out of your car.

One reason for properly maintaining your car is to save on repair costs and fuel. Regular maintenance procedures also help reduce wear and tear, helping increase the lifespan of your car. Most importantly, a well-maintained vehicle is a safe vehicle.

Frequent maintenance requires replacing parts like the air filter, spark plugs, engine oil, and oil filter. Replacing these parts eliminates any strain on the engine. It also guarantees that the engine can work efficiently, thus being efficient while delivering more power.

OEM fuel systems are quickly becoming the bottleneck for high-performance vehicles. In some cases, the OEM fuel systems can lead to fuel starvation. This mainly occurs in the form of pressure loss in the high-fuel system, leading to poor fuel atomization.

Upgrading the fuel system includes changing the fuel pump and injectors. A high-pressure fuel pump and injectors ensure you retain all the direct injection benefits. In addition, you can also opt for a supplemental fuel system, helping reduce the demands of the OEM fuel system.

Related: 10 Methods That Will Save You Money On Fuel

While most vehicles feature impressive suspension systems as standard, upgrading the suspension can help improve your car's performance. An aftermarket suspension system helps improve your car's responsiveness. Installing parts like control arms and anti-roll bars can help your vehicle handle tight turns.

Among the most common suspension upgrades to make will include adjustable coilovers. They help provide grip during aggressive acceleration, braking, and turning. Coilovers help dissipate extra bounce and movement, helping increase your car's handling.

An air intake system allows air to reach the engine. On most vehicles, the system includes an air box with an air filter. The system removes all impurities, giving the engine clean air for better combustion. Upgrading the intake system helps remove any restrictions on the OEM parts.

It's also an effective way of increasing performance by giving your engine enough air. An intake system upgrade helps eliminate any bottlenecks of the OEM system. It also gives the engine a more effective system, thus offering more performance.

Related: 10 Performance Mods That Actually Make Your Car Worse

Adding a performance exhaust system is among the best ways of improving your car's performance. A new performance exhaust system can boost your engine's performance by helping it run more efficiently. The function of an exhaust system is to remove dirty air from the engine.

Performance exhaust systems do this more efficiently, allowing the engine to breathe better. The systems also help maintain optimal air levels inside the engine, sometimes increasing the fuel economy. In addition, a performance exhaust system will also make your car look and sound better.

If you want a better track experience in your car, high-performance tires can help improve traction and handling response. These tires help deliver an enhanced driving experience thanks to their unique construction features, tread patterns, and rubber compounds.

Even if you want a better experience on the road, you can choose from multiple tire offerings from brands like Michelin, Pirelli, and Continental. New performance tires feature more rigid side walls and softer rubber, helping you get more traction at higher speeds.

Related: The Differences You Didn't Know Between Highway Tires And All-Season Tires

If you've ever been behind the wheel of a Mazda MX-5 Miata, you'll understand how less weight affects all aspects of the car. From braking to acceleration to handling around the corners, a light vehicle will simply do everything better.

Some of the best ways of weight reduction include buying lightweight seats, removing the spare wheel, replacing glass windows with Perspex, and replacing some body parts with aluminum, fiberglass, or carbon fiber. If you remove the spare wheel on your daily driver, you must have a tire repair kit or use run-flat tires.

Most automakers seek the cheapest components to create a complete vehicle. While automakers have specific standards for performance and quality, most of these parts aren't good enough for most enthusiasts. Brakes are a crucial upgrade if you plan to get the most out of your vehicle.

Getting a brake upgrade kit helps offer improved performance since it will last longer, perform better under extreme conditions, and decrease the stopping distance. Having good brakes also gives you confidence when pushing your car to the limits.

Related: 10 Essential Drift Upgrades For Beginners

One of the most efficient ways of enhancing your engine's performance is turbocharging or supercharging. These are forced induction methods with the primary goal of increasing horsepower in naturally aspirated engines.

Installing a turbocharger or supercharger will help increase oxygen flow into the engine, thus increasing power output. The main difference between these systems is how they work; however, choosing one or the other will vary depending on your performance expectations. For example, turbochargers are lightweight and can work even with small engines. Superchargers, on the other hand, produce more power, and they don't have any lag.

After making multiple engine enhancements, the next logical step is tuning the engine. A tune helps all parts work together more efficiently while producing more power. By making changes to your engine's ECU software, you can make all upgrades work optimally.

Engine tuning allows you to customize the engine for better performance. It also helps you keep the engine running smoothly and, in some cases, helps you save money on fuel. Engine tuning is necessary for enthusiasts looking to get the most out of their cars.

Brian is a husband, father and freelance writer. He's also a tech and automotive junkie passionate about cars and motorcycles. Brian is also an F1 fan - team Mercedes (LH). When he's not writing, Brian goes for impromptu drives and walks.