FIT A FREERFLOWING EXHAUST

Improvement rating 3/5 Cost from £250 Difficulty 2/5

Of the car components you’d want at a dinner party, the exhaust is to be found firmly at the bottom of the Z list. Not only are they unexciting, they’ve positioned themselves in a bloody awkward place on the car and seem to have the sole aim in life to rattle, blow or rot away. If you’re going to grasp the nettle and shimmy underneath, therefore, you might as well do some homework and see if anyone’s applied some science to your system, increasing flow while retaining character.

Once you’ve done that, it’s certainly worth taking a ballpein to the piggy bank for something that won’t commit suicide while swimming about in road-salt solution. OK, so it’s not sexy, but a stainless steel exhaust and accoutrements is a worthy upgrade. Various exhaust coatings are available – ceramic for example – and while pricey will help prolong the life of the system even further.