Can You Make Any Car Fast?

The quest to make any car fast is a popular topic among automotive enthusiasts. Achieving speed involves a combination of engine modifications, aerodynamics, and drivetrain upgrades. Here are some common methods to enhance vehicle performance and increase speed:

Engine Modifications

Turbocharging or Supercharging: Adding forced induction significantly increases horsepower and torque. This method involves compressing air to increase the air-fuel mixture, resulting in more power.

Performance Exhaust Systems: Upgrading to a less restrictive exhaust can improve engine efficiency by allowing for smoother air flow.

ECU Tuning: Reprogramming the engine control unit (ECU) can optimize performance parameters, resulting in better power and torque output.

Weight Reduction

Removing Unnecessary Parts: Stripping out non-essential components can significantly lower the weight of a car. This not only enhances speed but also improves fuel efficiency.

Using Lightweight Materials: Replacing parts with carbon fiber or aluminum can further reduce weight, making the car more agile and faster.

Improving Aerodynamics

Spoilers and Diffusers: These components enhance downforce, improving stability at high speeds. They help to promote a more efficient airflow over the car.

Streamlined Body Kits: Modifying the car’s body to reduce drag can improve top speed. This reduces air resistance, leading to better overall performance.

Upgrading the Drivetrain

Performance Tires: Better grip can improve acceleration and handling. High-performance tires provide better traction and control, making the car faster and safer on the road.

Better Suspension: Upgrading to a performance suspension can improve handling and stability. This ensures that the car remains consistent and responsive under various driving conditions.

Braking System: Upgrading the brakes is essential for safety and control when increasing speed. Better brakes provide quicker stopping distances, ensuring that the car can be slowed down or brought to a halt effectively.

Regular Maintenance

Keeping the car well-maintained ensures that it performs at its best. Regular oil changes, filter replacements, and other maintenance tasks can help to maintain optimal performance.

While many of these modifications can improve speed, they may also affect reliability, legality, and insurance costs. Always check local regulations and consider the implications of making significant modifications to a vehicle.

Engine tuning involves adjusting or modifying an internal combustion engine or its control unit. Old school cars were all mechanical, but modern cars have internal computers. Adjustments and modifications to the engine can produce more power and torque. Cars generally arrive at the dealership with the tuning set for efficiency. Even without adding a single bolt-on, you can improve the car's performance by retuning it for performance, usually trading increased power output and torque for reduced fuel efficiency and reliability.

Increasing the air-fuel mixture into the engine, increasing the compression ratio, and removing waste products more efficiently can enhance engine performance. One of the common quips around the track is “There’s no replacement for displacement.” Bolting on performance parts can go far in improving a vehicle's performance, but if you find yourself in the admittedly undesirable position of cracking open the block, you can increase displacement and thus power by boring (increasing the diameter of cylinders and pistons) or stroking (replacing the original crankshaft with one that has a greater throw) or both. Larger and/or multiple carburetors (old school) or fuel injector adjustments (newer cars) will alter the air/fuel mixture. Larger and smoother intake and exhaust manifolds maintain the flow through the system. So can cylinder head porting.

Increasing the piping to the rear and using low back pressure mufflers or even cut-outs can keep the flow going and usually produce a deep, loud sound that can be an objective in itself, assuming that such mods can pass any emissions testing in your state. Modifying a stock 2002 Firehawk in California would not be allowed if I tried to register it, but I do love to roll down the windows to hear the reverberation when I go under an overpass.

If you want to go crazy, there are always turbochargers, superchargers, or the addition of nitrous oxide. For me, I prefer to see how far I can get on a naturally aspirated engine.

There are dozens of additional things that can be done: lighter engine components (alloy not steel), replacing the stock torque converter with a high-stall lock-up torque converter (only good for automatics), increasing the gear ratio and retuning to compensate, even stripping all and any extra weight can make a significant difference. It is said that removing 100 pounds is as good as adding 10 horsepower. Frankly, I would recommend starting with suspension improvements: subframe connectors to transfer torque to the rear wheels instead of twisting the car's frame, strut tower bracing to firm up cornering, and upper and lower control arms to eliminate wheel hop, and larger brake rotors because stopping is really important before adding the first power component.

There are always limitations. Some things can be overcome with sufficient money, but trying to tune a Mini Cooper to take on a Dodge Demon may be an exercise in futility.