ALT-1 How to Increase Horsepower
There are endless ways to increase horsepower in your car. All you need is a little money and time. Some upgrades are cheap and easy to install, and some are expensive and hard to install. This article will cover some upgrades to increase horsepower; there are many more upgrades that are not talked about in this article. So if you want more, do more research.
Air intake upgrades.
Turbocharger. A turbocharger is very much like a supercharger. There are only a few differences between them. Superchargers will be talked about in detail later in the article. Both turbo and superchargers are part of the air intake. They push lots of air into the cylinders increasing power. A turbo runs off exhaust gas and will give you more power at high rpm’s than a supercharger. It will give you a 200 to 300 horsepower boost. They will also increase your fuel economy. Turbos are very expensive and not easy to install. They cost about 3000 to 5000 dollars on average. Supercharger.
A supercharger is similar to a turbo; the only have a few differences. A supercharger runs off the pulley system instead of exhaust gas, because of this it reduces fuel economy. It also means it takes away horsepower, but gives more than it takes. Remember the less stuff you have on the pulley the more power you have. It will also give you power at low rpm’s unlike a turbo that gives power a high rpms. Superchargers cost the same as a turbo. They give a 200 to 250 horsepower gain. Cold air intake. Cold air intake replaces your normal air intake. Instead of using warm air from the engine compartment like a normal air intake, cold air intake use cold from outside the engine compartment. You can but a cold air intake made for your vehicle or you can build it yourself. If you live in an area that gets below freezing part of the year it is not good idea to have one. The air will get to cold. Cold air intake will increase you gas mileage a little but not much. It will give you a 10 to 20 horsepower, and will cost a few hundred dollars. Air filter. Air filter upgrades are easy and cheap. They only give you a little more power but the most expensive would be around 50 dollars.
Engine upgrades.
Boring cylinders. Boring the cylinders is drilling them out to make them bigger. Doing this requires special machines that are big and expensive. To get them bored out you have to send the engine or just the engine block to a machine shop for them to do it. It will give you a mild horsepower boost, and is very expensive. Cams. Cams are a good upgrade for your engine. They are not easy to install but you don’t need to be a professional mechanic to do it. It will give you a good horsepower boost, and a good can cost anywhere from 100 to 400 dollars.
Computer upgrades.
Chip. A computer chip is an easy way to improve horsepower. All you have to do is take out the old one and plug in the new one. They give you a mild horsepower boost, and cost about 100 to 200 dollars.
Increasing horsepower in a car is fun and makes your car plain cooler. Remember to always do it right and don’t rig stuff together because that will ruin your car.
