What adds the most HP to a car?
How You Can Increase Horsepower and Torque?
If there’s one thing we can never have too much of, its horsepower and torque in our trucks! There are plenty of ways to increase horsepower and torque and some of them, you might not have thought about. Here are the most effective ways we’ve found to boost your truck’s power.
1. Clean House to Increase Horsepower
This trick isn’t going to actually give your engine more power but it does allow your engine to use the power it has more efficiently. Each pound of cargo you add to the truck is another pound your engine has to carry. The EPA says that by adding 100 pounds of cargo, you decrease the engine’s efficiency by up to two percent. Go through your truck and see if there is anything lying around that needs to come out. Maybe you don’t need all those tools every day or that extra bag of sand in your bed. For every item you can remove, you free up your engine to focus on giving you more power.
2. Perform a Tune-Up on the Engine
Your truck’s maintenance is important to extend the life and keep all the systems running at optimal levels. Tuning up the engine isn’t going to actually increase horsepower but when your truck is suffering, so is your oomph it once had. For example, if your air or fuel filters are clogged, you could be starving your engine of what it needs to run properly. This is an inexpensive problem to correct so why wait to get it done. An oil change is also an important part of maintaining your engine. Consider using a synthetic oil for a slight boost in responsiveness.
3. Install a Turbo Kit or Supercharger
Big trucks love turbochargers. That’s because they are fuel efficient and they take your waste heat from the exhaust to boost the air intake pressure. A turbo kit will help your engine become more responsive. You will find turbocharger kits that increase your truck up to an additional 200-horsepower. The downside is that they aren’t low-cost. Some kits can cost a few thousand dollars. A supercharger offers a few advantages over the turbocharger. First, there is no delay between the throttle application and the boost of intake pressure. They also tend to be more reliable than a turbo. You can opt for a factory-designed supercharger or use an after-market universal supercharger instead.
4. Install a Cold-Air Intake
Another low-cost way to add power to your engine is by installing a cold-air intake. The stock airbox on your truck is restrictive and was meant to reduce the noise of your engine. If engine noise doesn’t bother you, then it’s time to remove this. Cooler air is denser so there is more oxygen in the cooler air which means that you can burn more fuel. You could be looking at an increase of six to eleven horsepower and improved throttle responsiveness as a result of installing a cold-air intake.
5. Install an Aftermarket Exhaust System
An aftermarket exhaust system is a quick way to gain additional horsepower. Factory mufflers are created to be quiet above everything else. Simply replacing this quiet muffler with an after-market muffler gives you an increase in power and a nice robust sound as well. You could gain as much as 20 horsepower with this little trick. Then, you might even want to consider replacing the factory exhaust manifold with after-market headers to grab some more power.
6. Buy an Engine Tuner
Your truck’s engine wasn’t designed to generate its maximum horsepower. In fact, the manufacturer set it up to shift smoothly and offer you good fuel efficiency first. They also wanted to make it as quiet as possible. By reprogramming the truck, you could see a big change in your horsepower. The downside to this step is that the handheld tuners can cost over $400. While they are easy to use and can make quite a bit of difference, you are going to have to invest in premium gas for your truck. We recommend you consider this option after the others have been completed.
Conclusion
As you can see, it isn’t hard to take steps to increase horsepower and torque in your truck’s engine. You can take the truck you love and make it even better. While you are in the process of making upgrades to your truck, it might also be time to check out how Durabak bed liners can help you. We offer superior protection for the truck you love, so give us a call today.
- Share Share on Facebook
- Tweet Tweet on Twitter
- Pin it Pin on Pinterest
What Are Bolt-On Performance Upgrades?
Living in a world with magic moving metals attached with 4 round rubbers beneath them take us to the places we want. These awesome creatures are exactly like animals, they need food to function and some attention to be in their best state. Just as a horse can get a horseshoe applied on its hooves for more durability, our cars can also get many Bolt ons, meaning customizable performance upgrades to receive more performance! Software upgrades, greater oils, better fuel choices , and solid upgrades can directly be attached to your vehicle. Bolt on performance upgrades do what its name suggests; you bolt ’em on to your vehicle! Let’s look at what these Bolt on performance upgrades are all about.
What Does Full Bolt On Performance Upgrades Mean?
Full Bolt On modification is any change that merely involves removing the factory component and substituting an aftermarket component . Specialized tools or engine tuning are not necessary for these kinds of improvements. Even though they are simple to remove if you restore your car to stock, they can increase gains from software tunings. The question “what does full bolt on mean?” gets answered by the modifications that are typically designed to increase the vehicle’s power, speed, handling, or overall performance by changing the stock parts of it. When you get a full bolt on performance upgrade, it likely refers to improving one of your car’s parts with a -conditionally- stronger, long-lasting, more durable part to get more out of your vehicle. The hp upgrade you will receive from a full bolt on performance upgrade is not that much. Bolt ons are more fundamentally used to supply the hp gains you get from chip tunings, remappings, plug-and-plays and all the software based performance upgrades. Make sure you check if the chip tuning you want doesn’t ruin your engine . While softwares grant you higher hp and performance, bolt on performance upgrades equip your vehicle with bearability to these upgrades.
Is it Better to Go Full Bolt On?
It would be best to initially comprehend various types of full bolt on parts when discussing bolt ons. Your vehicle measures the quantity of air (mass air flow) entering the engine using a mass air meter, or maf sensor (part of your air intake system) , matches that quantity with a predetermined amount of gasoline using greater volume fuel injectors and pumps , and completes the circuit by analyzing the chemical make-up of the gases burned after the turbocharger . All factory-installed calibrations will be off if you alter the size or flow of one of these systems and it will require tuning. A skilled and sufficient tuner will need to make considerable changes to the mapping to optimize these calibrations. Ignoring to do so could result in catastrophic problems that seriously harm your engine. The software updates for your engine computer are among the most popular auto parts. That makes sense because you would want to modify the programming if the engine computer restricted the engine’s power output. However, updating the software won’t do much good if you haven’t modified the engine’s intake and exhaust systems to allow more air and fuel to enter the engine. Also make sure to decide if you want these changes made to your car if you want to sell it afterwards . You also need to check whether your cat back exhaust is illegal or not and has a CARB certification.
Will You Get Better Performance with Full Bolt On Upgrades?
So what are these full Bolt on performance upgrades and how coherently do they improve with your vehicle’s other performance tuners?
Air Intake Systems
Replaces the stock air intake system with a higher-flowing unit that allows more cool air to enter the engine, increasing power. Air is supplied by car air intake systems, which send it to the engine. When air intake systems are functioning correctly, continuous airflow into your engine results in more powerful, more reliable force and better fuel economy for the car. When you increase your horsepower, you will need an improved air intake system to supply the correct fuel to your engine.
Charge Pipes, Intercooler Piping
An engine part called a charge pipe aids in directing exhaust via a turbocharger. By letting more air enter the engine, it boosts power and torque. The charge pipe is not utilized to reduce exhaust system backpressure like downpipes. Upgrade and pick the best material charge pipe to increase your engine’s performance.
Intercoolers
The intercoolers (Charge Air Coolers) are intended to improve engine performance and economy while consuming less gasoline. The intercooler’s job is to lower the arriving gas’ temperature to densify the necessary air and improve combustion. The intercooler reduces the inlet gas temperature from 266°F to 140°F, neutralizes the negative effects of the turbo, and adds the desired amount of power.
Catch Cans
The hose connecting the top of your engine’s crankcase to the intake manifold is where a standard catch can is plugged in. This hose relieves crankcase pressure brought on by explosions. The issue is that this pressure relief hose enables oil and other unsavory components from the crankcase to enter the intake manifold, which isn’t where it should be. These impurities have a tendency to accumulate inside the intake ; if unchecked, this accumulation can reduce fuel efficiency and horsepower and even result in misfires.
Exhausts
It adds more performance due to having a better emission elimination system going on in the catalytic converter so that your higher performing vehicle can actually easily get rid of the toxic fumes without affecting humanity. But, we all know that the most important thing is sound. How else would they know you’ve done some performance upgrades on your vehicle?
Wheel Spacers
Wheel spacers can expand the wheel’s offset and modify the bolt patterns on the wheels. The studs of the axle, as well as the unit bearings and ball joints of the front axle, are subjected to higher stress when the offset of the wheel is increased. This is why it should be done carefully and with planning beforehand. Wheel Spacers allow you to apply bigger wheels, bigger brake calipers , and increased handling while also increasing the wear on suspension components and the effort required to steer.
Exhaust System
Replaces the stock exhaust system with a higher-flowing unit that reduces restrictions in the exhaust path, allowing your engine to breathe more easily and increase horsepower. Suspension Upgrades Replaces stock suspension components with high-performance shocks, springs, sway bars, and other parts to improve handling and reduce body roll.
Turbocharger or Supercharger
Adds a forced induction system to the engine, which increases the amount of air that can be compressed and burned, resulting in significantly increased horsepower. Might be one of the most complex, risky and performance providing bolt on performance mod on the list.
The Most Efficient Bolt On Performance Upgrade for Your Car
Hey there car enthusiasts! Looking for a non-time consuming and affordable bolt on to boost the performance of your ride? Pedal Commander is a simple and easy-to-install bolt on device that enhances the throttle response of your vehicle, giving you a more dynamic driving experience. It’s a plug-and-play system that works with most modern cars, trucks, and SUVs, and it’s one of the most popular bolt-on performance upgrades on the market today. Plus, Pedal Commander is completely customizable , with four different modes and nine sensitivity settings that allow you to fine-tune your throttle response to your specific driving style and preferences. Whether you’re looking for a more aggressive response for spirited driving or a smoother, more relaxed feel for everyday commuting, Pedal Commander has you covered.
