How can i make my car faster, without spending alot of cash!?
Ok, i just asked this same question yesterday, but turns out i need to be alittle more specific. the same basics again, i drive a 2005 chevy cobalt 2.2L 4cyl engine, manual transmission. I’m trying to get a little more get up and go from my engine, without dropping a lot of cash, like i said last time, i know those two things go hand in hand, but work with me. I’ve heard of the new air intake, i am probably going to do that, probably a K&N. But other than that, i need some suggestions.
last question, 90% of the responses were either “save your money, buy a new engine” “buy a new car” or something along those lines, if that is your answer, please don’t waste your time. I’m not trying to be jeff gordon or anything, but just go a little faster, little more acceleration, without tons of cash. i didn’t know if something like using a different type of oil in my car? if higher octane gasoline will give you moer power? maybe new spark plugs? if so examples on what is a good brand. And possibly some new exhaust, but i don’t want to sound like one of those honda civic’s with the huge muffler you can hear coming from a mile away if you know what i mean. or if new headers or something, i’m not sure how much that costs though.
any suggestions are welcome, the cheaper the better, and examples please! and again, not trying to be mean, but don’t waste your time if your just going to tell me to buy a new car, or completely overhaul my engine, i already know that i can BUY a new faster car, i’m trying to work with what i got here!
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Filed under Gas Conservation FAQ by on Feb 20th, 2011. Comment. 
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Comments on How can i make my car faster, without spending alot of cash!?
find a big hill and drive down it, other than that it all takes money.
You keep saying don’t tell me… dont tell me… dont tell me. You obviously know the answer. I am not trying to sound harsh but….
facts are facts! Its a little 4 banger chevy! Its like saying “what can i do to make it drive under water?” You can buy a sub-marine.
Look. you can open up the exhaust, run higher octane gas, install high flow filters or whatever and at the end of the day you gained about 5 horses. It is what it is. Leave it alone!
HI
here are a couple of things you can do but nothing is cheap.
1) different, performance or bigger intake
2) performance header
3) a better flowing exhaust system
4) there may be a chip for the computer.
Now you may not feel any in cress with a intake change and performance header with out changing to a free’er flowing exhaust. if you don’t change out the exhaust the better flowing intake is going to be stopped by the non free flowing exhaust. if you take it in you have to be able to let it out.
good luck
tim
Exhaust is a biggy. If you’re not in an area that requires emissions testing, you can usually gain a very noticeable amount of performance from a good exhaust system.
Research what you can about what others have put on the same car. Any exhaust that adds power will also add volume, so be sure to read as many reviews as you can and view any videos or sound bites that would give you an idea of what you’d like. To save money, usually you can buy a resonator and a muffler and have a shop weld together an exhaust for cheaper than a pre-fab unit that’s made specifically for your car.
If you want more acceleration off the line but don’t do much highway driving, get some smaller wheels. As a bonus, your tires will be cheaper, and it will lower the car! Get some low-profile, high-performance tires for better handling and to lower it a bit more, in addition to added grip.
When you add power to a car, you’re increasing the power to weight ratio. So, the same can be accomplished be removing weight and keeping the same power. Your only limit is your comfort level. Spare tire, rear seats, interior trim, sound insulation, heat shields, emissions equipment…etc. Some folks go so far as to drill holes and cut out non-structural metal. Are you fat? Lose some weight.
You will not notice any performance gains from using different oil than what the manual recommends. There are high-performance oils, but this is usually intended for engines making high horsepower, or for folks trying to eek out 1/2 horsepower. It’s not worth the cost in a “normal’ street car.
Same with high octane fuels. If anything, you most likely would see a decrease in power by switching to high octane. Lower octane fuels has a lower flash point, it ignites sooner. High octane fuel is for engines with very high compression rates, and/or turbo or super charging. Again, not worth the cost for your car.
When you mention the K&N intake, do not get the cone-type, unless you have an enclosure that separates it from the air in the engine bay. With an open cone-style element in the engine bay, it’s sucking in hot air. A factory intake getting air from outside the engine bay (there are usually plastic intake pipes leading to outside air) will provide more performance than a high-flow cone-style filter sucking in hot engine air.
K&N and other performance filter companies usually sell “drop-in” filters that replace your factory filter without changing all the plastic filter housing and intake tubes.
edit: One more thing. If you want to see people doing performance on the cheap with economy cars, find the closest SCCA autocross group in your area, and check out the cars there. Plus it’s fun, and you can race any car for cheap at autocross.
At my local group, there was a guy who raced a Dodge Neon. Inside was completely stripped, and the whole car was painted different colors. All he has was exhaust, and he would beat most of the folks there.
alright i know how you feel about spending money on aftermarket parts cause i know how expensive they can be. in my opinion here are some cheap ways to get a little more horsepower w/o breaking your wallet lol
1. Catback exhaust, bigger pipe and a better flowing muffler will run you around 300 bucks
2. Cold air intake give you horsepower and save you a little gas should run about 300 bucks also depending on manufacturer
3. some nice NGK spark plugs some people prefer the Double platinum series i myself use Iridiums IX they will go for around 8-9 bucks PER plug
4.Surge Performance chip easy install just plug it in lets you gain 4-9 MPG if you turn it halfway and you can gain upto 35 horsepower on max setting and they run you about 90 bucks
hope this helps