Car Modifications For Beginners

[kelum_wj]

The main aim in creating this thread is to educate people about performance modifications and to share the knowledge regarding them. And also to build a more performance oriented car community rather than one based on fiberglass and huge spoilers

Why do modifications?

It's done in order to improve things in various departments of a vehicle such as handling,looks,speed,braking etc. A modification can make or break a car,so it's important to choose them wisely.

What to start with?

It depends on ones preference and what one really wants from his or her vehicle. If it's just the looks a good body kit and a set of alloys would be more than enough to satisfy ones need.But if you are more of a petrol head and into performance one might take the performance path. Performance path is for those who like to feel,hear the difference and not just see it. In my opinion its the best path to take because you can enjoy it at the end of the day.

Where to start?

It depends on the vehicle one would select for modifications. To make things better the weaknesses should be treated first."Power is nothing without handling" but to start with handling one should know what the final product would be and what figures he is looking for, so for someone who hasn't got an idea about it, starting with engine modifications would be the wiser thing. But for someone who would feel that stock power is enough the brakes and handling is the way to go.

Engine Modifications

The extent of the modifications depend on what one is hoping to achieve and the amount of cash allocated. Then one would have to choose whether he is going in the NA route or the Forced Induction route.But if it's someone whose wanting to get more power from an everyday car whilst keeping its drivability and practicality it's better to go in the NA route. Some of you'll might disagree but its cheaper when compared to forced induction.

The power of an engine is mostly based on air,fueling and ignition,so in order to improve things these departments need improvements. So lets see what could be done.

Intake

The intake provides oxygen for the combustion of fuel in the cylinder. Therefore more oxygen leads to complete combustion which leads to more power. Colder air contains more oxygen, one might have realized slightly improved throttle response during a cold day or in a cold area like Nuwara eliya.

The EFi engines consist of various sensors located in the intake route in order to measure the flow,Oxygen percentage,Intake temperature etc. The values obtained by these will lead to the performance of the engine. If we could decrease the intake temperature more fuel would be added to the cylinder due to the more oxygen present in the air resulting in more power and vise versa. In order to do this most performance engines come with a cold air intake which manages to keep the intake temperature down most of the time

Cold Air Intake (CAI) and performance filters

Cold air intake is one which is directed in a manner which sucks in air which is cooler than the air inside the engine bay. Normally these intakes are routed through the front bumper or else below the engine bay. These systems have proved to improve the gains but has their down sides. The increase in pipe length will decrease the throttle response slightly and there are chances of water going into the system due to floods etc.

If one has a well ventilated engine bay (preferably one with a large front grille) a performance filter will improve the power slightly. A performance filter is one which has better flow than the stock filter whilst filtering the dust and particles. But most of the time the filtration suffers. So one should consider the filtering property too when choosing a performance filter because it would have adverse effects on engine life specially in a country like ours.

Cone intake vs Stock replacement performance filter

The cone intake would let in more air leading to a slight power gain and also will produce the induction noise which some prefer. The gains will be mostly in the high rpm range and the low end gain would depend on the car and sometimes might be negligible. Also when fixing a cone intake it should be fitted in a place where it could draw in cool air sometimes placing in the stock location of the air box might lead to a drop in power once the engine heats up due to hot air being drawn in. For better performance a heat shield could be used to prevent it from drawing in heated air. The stock replacement performance filter would improve the low end mostly and is not fancy as a cone intake. It doesn't alter the induction noise either yet quite practical for a daily driven car. The gains from these modifications depends on a lot of factors such as the displacement of the engine,compression,flow rates etc. The gain in figures would be anywhere between 2-5bhp (*subjective)

Throttle body and intake manifold modifications

Increasing the diameter of the throttle body will lead to a gain in some engines while it would kill the low end in some others. The ones running high compression would gain from this cause of the increased amount of air fed into the engine yet it might lead to a drop in air velocities in the ones with normal compression. Throttle body polishing would increase the air velocity which would lead to a slightly better throttle response.

Bigger intake manifolds will make a difference in a high compression NA engine or one which is having forced induction but will not be ideal to be used one cars with normal compression ratios.

Exhaust

The Exhaust system consist of many parts namely the Exhaust manifold,down pipe, catalytic converter,muffler.

Exhaust Modifications

Before doing an exhaust modification one should know what he wants from it. If it's just the sound a free flow muffler a.k.a Beat barell would do. But if it's performance one would have to modify the components of the exhaust. The exhaust system is based on the backpressure which is needed to some extent for a daily driven car but too much of it will hinder the performance. So the the extent of the modification depends on which rev band power is needed. If one wants to squeeze a bit of power with a tight budget a Cat back system would be ideal.

Cat back exhaust

It is a system consisting of piping with larger diameter and a performance muffler. But the changes are done after the catalytic converter. This would lead to a better mid and high end whilst keeping the stock low end power. But when choosing the pipe diameter bigger isn't always better. Therefore the piping with the correct diameter should be selected.

Exhaust manifold (Headers)

These would be changed according to the gain expected. If its a turbo conversion these would definitely need changing. The pipe diameter depends on the application its being used on but they have a gain over the stock manifold which sometimes reduces the velocity of the exhaust gas due to its size and construction. So for someone looking for more power the headers would be a good option. But they should be fabricated by professionals and also it's better to use thermal insulation to keep the engine bay temperature low.

Muffler

The muffler is used to muffle the sound of the exhaust. The choice depends on the owners preference but most of the time a proper performance muffler which is made by a reputed company sounds better than a Beat barell which is made in Sri Lanka. The free flow is said to reduce the back pressure slightly but the gain in negligible in some cases. The sound it makes depends on the size of the internal pipe of the muffler, The amount of glass wool, the size of the tip etc. A small muffler on a large engine will make is sound real bad while the other way around will hinder the performance of a small engine.

There are two types of exhaust setups that could be used in a conventional 4 cylinder engine. First one is known as a 4-1 and the other is known as 4-2-1

4-1 Exhaust

Here the 4 pipes on the exhaust manifold is fitted to one exhaust pipe which is known as the down pipe. The gains of this kind of system is mostly on the mid and top end. It is an ideal set up for racing because the engine is running in the high rev range most of the time.

4-2-1 exhaust

Here two pipes from the exhaust manifold is joined to a single pipe. This setup improves the mid and low end gain and most suited for street use.

Please feel free to share your views regarding these and to correct me if I'm wrong.

More information to be posted soon

Drive Safe

[Komisiripala]

Bloody brilliant I say. Kudos Kelum. I hope the green thumbs will read this. And take heed. You have a lot more to say no! In waiting for suspension, transmission brakes etc

[Schiffer]

Nice Work Kelum

[kelum_wj]

  On 9/14/2013 at 9:29 AM, Komisiripala said:

Bloody brilliant I say. Kudos Kelum. I hope the green thumbs will read this. And take heed. You have a lot more to say no! In waiting for suspension, transmission brakes etc

Thankx. Yup a lot more to come

[kelum_wj]

  On 9/14/2013 at 10:05 AM, Schiffer said:

Nice Work Kelum

Thank you. More to come soon

[Jaliya48]

Nice writeup, thanks.

[H.C]

Great effort Kelum!.Hope those Eg/Ek/lancer killers read these sort of information and choose the right path !.

[MasterDon]

  On 9/14/2013 at 9:17 AM, kelum_wj said:

And also to build a more performance oriented car community rather than one based on fiberglass and huge spoilers ....

. Performance path is for those who like to feel,hear the difference and not just see it. In my opinion its the best path to take because you can enjoy it at the end of the day.

  On 9/14/2013 at 2:20 PM, H.C said:

Great effort Kelum!.Hope those Eg/Ek/lancer killers read these sort of information and choose the right path !.

This "right path" you are speaking of...please elaborate for us non-enlightned car owners what exactly is the right path...

[isam]

Thanks kelum_wj. I learned a lot from your article.

[esdeez]

Great work mate

[kelum_wj]

Ignition

Spark Plugs

A Spark plug is used to ignite the mixture of petrol and air inside the Cylinder.The choice of spark plugs should be made depending on the application. A stock motor wouldn't benefit from a set of race plugs because it wouldn't be exposed to such conditions more often. The factors to consider when selecting a plug are the plug gap and the heat range. A spark plug with a small plug gap will produce a weak spark while a it would cause misfiring if its too big. Also a hot plug could lead to pre ignition causing detonation while a cold plug could lead to a loss of power in the high revs

Iridium Spark plugs

Iridium is a very rare metal which is related to platinum. It is stronger than copper yet has more resistance than copper. Copper is the best conductor but it erodes away easily. The plus side in using Iridium spark plugs is there longevity. The iridium spark plug has a thinner pointed electrode when compared to that of a conventional spark plug this could improve the ignitability slightly but will have negligible effect on performance.

Plug wires

A wire with a larger cross sectional area made out of a better metal than the conventional wires could improve the spark when coupled with a performance ignition coil. The larger cross sectional area means lesser resistance which would result in higher voltage passing through it. Also most of the performance plug wires are colored so it improves the engine bay look too.

Performance Ignition Coil

A performance ignition coil will produce a higher voltage than the stock coil which would result in better burning. And engine running a rich mixture would benefit more because more gasoline particles would be combusted during the cycle which would lead to more power and lesser emissions.

A proper ignition system with good spark plugs, performance wires,performance coil with proper ignition timing could lead to an increased in the low end torque which would improve drivability in street

[MasterDon]

  On 9/14/2013 at 2:28 PM, MasterDon said:

This "right path" you are speaking of...please elaborate for us non-enlightned car owners what exactly is the right path...

  On 9/14/2013 at 8:10 PM, kelum_wj said:

Kelum WJ

I'm still waiting for my reply sunshine!

Oh please oh please let us know what'll make our cars "more enjoyable at the end of the day"...I never knew we were not enjoying our cars with the fiber and spoilers...but then again we are the poor stupid uneducated "eg/ek/lancer" crowd no...

Also I am wondering what makes your holiness so entitled to grant us your wisdom so generously?...Are you a professional race car tuner?What do you drive anyway?

From my point of all this "advice for beginners" looks like a load claptrap mixed with almost word for word quotes from Wikipedia...Is this a pathetic attempt at getting cyber high fives and pats on your back?

[dreamracer]

nice write up kelum got to know alot of new stuff ...keep them comming : )

[Komisiripala]

What of platinum plugs then? As opposed to iridium?

[MasterDon]

  On 9/15/2013 at 10:27 AM, Komisiripala said:

What of platinum plugs then? As opposed to iridium?

Oh yes...With platinum you can have more enjoyment at the end of the day... Iridium is not much enjoyment

[TheClutch]

good work mate...keep posting

[Hoonigan]

Nice read...I hope more people contribute and build on this thread!

[kelum_wj]

  On 9/15/2013 at 10:27 AM, Komisiripala said:

What of platinum plugs then? As opposed to iridium?

Iridium is stronger than platinum and also lesser resistance than platinum. So Iridium has better conductivity and longevity than platinum. But considering the price difference i would suggest platinums

[Komisiripala]

  On 9/15/2013 at 2:55 PM, kelum_wj said:

Iridium is stronger than platinum and also lesser resistance than platinum. So Iridium has better conductivity and longevity than platinum. But considering the price difference i would suggest platinums

so iridium is better in that sense. i thought plat was a better conductor. guess i was wrong. your knowledge of chemistry should be fresher than mine. anyways i went with iridium on the teg.

[Schiffer]

This should help

[MasterDon]

  On 9/15/2013 at 2:55 PM, kelum_wj said:

Iridium is stronger than platinum and also lesser resistance than platinum. So Iridium has better conductivity and longevity than platinum. But considering the price difference i would suggest platinums

ROFL how many hours of Wikipedia did it take to come up with this?.....platinum good enjoyment neda ah ...at the end of the day!

...LOL god help the poor saps who take the advice from these internet heroes...aney hukey

BTW I see you and your mutual ass kissing society have taken to de-repping my posts...not that I give a damn but take it like a man bro.I pointed out a flaw in your posts and this is how you respond?...typical internet poser BS...what next?t your gonna tell to mommy on me?

Edited September 15, 2013 by MasterDon

[Watchman]

edit:

a little birdie told me that I should wait and see how things unravel here before sharing my opinion on all this

Edited September 16, 2013 by Watchman

[Komisiripala]

It's a thin line he treads. Still I find this more interesting than threads on "Toyota registers" and "kmpl-omg" and buying/promoting raped rx8's.

MD has a point. All this can be found on wiki/google/wherever, but how many times have we had noobs open threads on easily googlable downright silly questions? So in essence, maybe it's a good thing to have a information registry on basic performance upgrades?

God knows I've got dozens of Messages on what to do after ppl read project R. So...

Edited September 16, 2013 by Komisiripala

[MasterDon]

I think we need to adress the other aspect of modifying for this to be a complete thread...

So starting from now Yours truly decided to add to this valuable thread by bringing you advice on how to modify your car for beginners...MD Style!

Yes over my next posts on this thread we will be looking at fiber body kits,spoilers,neons,rims,beat silencer,interiors,various paint and sticker combos and how to adapt them to your ride to make it stand out and unique.

Now unlike some 'experts' dishing out advice on this thread I do not have to pull facts out of my arse to impress you all and get 'likes' and nor do I have to pretend to be someone I'm not on the internet.Your a pal MD has a long history of modifying cars including A Honda CRX mk2 and a CRX Del Sol,Two Mazda RX7s,A classic Fiat 1100,Mitsubishi Pajero SWB...All done with ZERO performance modifications AND with my own money.

Now remember some may call this ricing and try to put you down.Whatever they call it "at the end of the day" it's your car.You have the right to do whatever you like to it.Don't ever mind these self righteous noobs trying to be internet heroes ...Infact most of the riced out cars I had would leave their so called 'performance cars' in the dust even while carrying a heavy bodykit,because it's not just about bolting on various bits with cool sounding names to the engine.

First here are some pictures of some cool modiefied cars to get you peeps all excited...more to come,stay tuned!

[Crosswind]

HOMEEGA???

is that for real???