FAST FACTS
OK, SO YOU’VE DECIDED TO CUT SOME LAPS IN YOUR CAR. HERE ARE OUR TOP FIVE WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR CAR’S PERFORMANCE WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK
FIVE — SUSPENSION TUNING
No matter how much power you’re making, it’s no good if you can’t put it all to the ground. Before even replacing anything, small adjustments in suspension alignment for things like toe, castor, or camber can make a huge impact. Shop around for a good alignment tech who knows his race craft. Replacing any wornout bushes will transform the handling before having to worry about shelling out cash for things like upgraded spring rates and shocks valved to suit your driving discipline. Cheap coilovers are rarely the key to quicker laps. Upgrading piece by piece is a great way to measure the improvements.
FOUR — ROTATING MASS
While we will touch on weight reduction later, rotating mass in particular is worth its own mention, as it will greatly affect how the car handles, accelerates, brakes, and ultimately performs. A kilogram removed from here is worth roughly three times this number, if taken off what is known as ‘sprung weight’ (anything that is held up by the suspension). You’d be surprised what wheels can weigh. If you can save only 10kg a corner, that’s the same as ditching 120kg from the vehicle’s sprung weight. This calculation applies to any of the rotating components.
THREE — GEAR RATIOS
Your engine will have a rev range where it’s most happy, and thus making the most power, so keeping the engine in this range is very important. The key to this is having the right gear-ratio combination, and, thankfully, there are plenty of online calculators to work this out (we use the Tremec Toolbox app). The easiest one to change is the final-drive ratio in the diff. With most models, you’ll be able to find different options at the local scrapyard; it’s just about doing some research to find out what sub models have what gears. The higher the division number — e.g., 4.1:1 — the lower the top speed, but faster acceleration . You want to be almost hitting your max speed at the end of the longest straight.
TWO — LET IT BREATHE
Engines are often let down by the volume of air that they can consume and the volume of spent gasses that they can expel. If either of these are choke points, then you’re robbing yourself of horsepower. Check out our intake dyno test on themotorhood.com to see the difference a proper cold-air intake can make. A complete exhaust is not cheap, but the gains are noticeable. The first point of call for most track cars is to ditch the cats and minimize the mufflers and crush bends. To really make the most of this flow, a retune is advisable.
ONE — WEIGHT
Power-to-weight ratio is where the biggest gains of all can be. If your car makes X-amount of power, the less weight each of those units of horsepower has to push, the faster your car will be. Ditch every unnecessary gram from the car; it all adds up. From the spare wheel to the passenger seat, or get brave and get the hole saw out. The next level will be to replace factory components with lightweight versions, but this is where the outlay is. Look at any top-level motorsport, and you’ll see the lengths that these people go to to save weight. Other side effects will include better braking performance and the car being more nimble and having faster acceleration.