While I'd say that I'm somewhat proficient in motorcycles...I've never done a thing to any of my cars or really looked into it. So I have some questions as to certain car parts and what changing them out would do.

First I assume that changing out the exhaust to a bigger one would allow a faster lauch time, but possibly remove some top end power? If I change out the exhaust would I have to do anything to the FI or can it compensate on it's own. Also what kind of HP gains have ya'll seen from adding an exhaust.

Some other basic mods that I hear of are changing out the flywheel and cam shaft. I know what a cam shaft is...how would swapping it out increase performance? And what is the flywheel?

I'm basically looking to do some minor add-ons to the car to get a bit more performance. In searching through the threads I find plenty of posts on different parts, but not as much on what they are or what they do. Thanks for any info!

 

A much bigger exhaust (custom) will probably lose torque (less back pressure). Flywheel involves dropping tranny and removing clutch, etc (5 out of 10 on difficulty). Camshafts . . .lets just say 9/10 on difficulty.

You need to look at a basic intake and exhaust upgrade path. (Intake, plenum, headers, cats, exhaust) Then go to an upgraded ECU. Then decide if you want S/C or N/A. IF N/A then cams and flywheel. If S/C you better ask someone else . . .I am all about an N/A setup.

 

The flywheel and camshaft lightening is likened to a pulley lightening mod in how they make power. Smaller, lighter.

As for exhaust it's usally not a good mod as a stand alone but in conjunction with other mods like aFI and N20.

The cats are the biggest bottle neck in the exhaust.

Look at UR Crank Pulley too!

 

What's N/A?

 

N/A= Naturally Aspirated
S/C= SuperCharger
TT = Twin Turbo
FI = Forced Induction


TT and S/C fall under the Forced Induction category basically meaning boost or forcing compressed air into the chambers for more power. Naturally Aspirated engines just make power without adding another system to bring in power more like just upgrading the normal parts of the engine for more power, or bettering the parts to free up power.

 

Gotcha. I think I'd be looking more at N/A then. At least at first.

 

If you aren't sure which method you'd like to go in the long run (FI vs NA), then if possible you'd want make your short term mods compatible with either direction you go in the future.

So, keep in mind that TT and S/C mods will replace the intake, so you won't want to mod that initially (also they don't gain much anyway). NA cams are often not optimal for FI, so you probably want to stay away from those (plus they are a fairly major undertaking). NA headers will work with a supercharger, but turbos will need their own, special headers; so avoid headers if you are planning on a turbo at some point.

The flywheel is attached to the engine where it meets the transmission, and is used to help smooth the idle and make it easier to drive away from a stop. The high inertia of the stock flywheel also means that it takes a bit of power to rapidly change its rotational speed, and it means that the engine will not rev as quickly (like when you tap the throttle to rev match during a shift). A lightweight flywheel will have far less inertia, which means that the throttle response will be improved greatly and some HP will be freed up in the lower gears (when the engine is winding up quickly). It also means that the idle will not be as smooth and that it will be somewhat easier to stall when you are driving away from a stop. If you like shifting, this mod might make the car much more fun.

Basically, the mods I see as most beneficial would be the intake plenum (Crawford plenum), a cat back exhaust, and maybe some high-flow catalytic converters (depending on the emmissions laws in your area). You may want to check out a lightweight flywheel if you are unhappy with the throttle response and don't mind some of the other minor negatives. You can also focus on suspension stuff and maybe brakes if you are not happy with the stock performance in those areas.

-D'oh!