TUNING & MODDING PAGE

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There are some things you can fabricate yourself such as the intake I just mentioned, which can be made out of PVC or aluminum tubes if you have access to a machine shop.  If you Google for "PVC CAI" (CAI = cold air intake), you will find many examples of what people have created and used.  Other modifications use your existing hardware such as porting and polishing the heads, (porting increases the valve openings flow volume allowing for easier flow of the intake and exhaust gases.), polishing the heads (polishing smoothes all the head surfaces further improving the throughput), boring the throttle body (widening the opening into the intake), and many others.

You can also find more generically sized parts like brake rotors that "aren't made specifically for your car" but still are the correct size to fit.  Or the other common thing people say they can't find is exhausts.  Sure there are "specific" exhaust systems sold for specific cars but you know what??  It's JUST TUBING!!  That's right folks.  It's just aluminum tubing so all you need for an exhaust is a good free-flow muffler, and a shop to cut, bend, and weld the pipes.  You should do your best to find a shop than can mandrel bend the pipes because this means the diameter remains the same through each bend yielding the maximum gains over a "crush bent" pipe which restricts exhaust flow each time it turns.  The concept is similar to drinking straws.  If you've ever drank from one of those "Flexi-straws" with the accordion neck, they are easy to drink from when you bend the neck 90º.  Now if you bend a straight straw 90º you are not going to get much through it if anything at all.  With a traditional "crush bent" cat back, each bend can reduce the inside diameter by as much as 30%!!  Which will hinder performance although you will still have a net gain in HP because if the larger tubing, the numbers will be minimal.

One of the easiest things to add to any car is wheels.  This is also where you can run into a lot of problems too.  Depending on what you goals are, if you are trying to build a fast car, less weight is better.  The less your cars ways, the better the handling becomes (to a point) and the faster the acceleration gets (also to a point).  There's a term when it comes to the wheels and suspension called "unsprung weight".  You want to reduce as much of this as possible by using lightweight rims, low profile performance tires, and even light weight lugs can make a difference.  To put it simple, the less weight the engine has to get moving, the easier time it has and the less time it takes to move the car.

Probably the most difficult thing to get if none are available are body kits.  This is something you CAN'T make yourself unless you happen to be in the fiberglass business.  The other thing is that even if you find someone to do it, the cost will be extremely high (think $4-$5K) and may exceed the price of the project vehicle!  Other times you make be able to have a kit "retro" fitted from a earlier or later model car.  This isn't as costly but you need to be careful that the body shop is experienced or the end result could be more "Frankensteined" than you imagine.

The individual tuning and modding sections are being finalized now and should be posted soon!!