Slow Car? Let's Fix That

Tired of your Slow Car? Add Some Horsepower!

If you're anything like me, going slow on the road gets pretty boring. I'm not encouraging unsafe driving, but it sure is a great feeling to put the pedal on the floor as soon as the light turns green. The roller-coaster like experience produced can make your heart race. From personal experience, there's nothing more boring in a car than stepping on the pedal and continuing to go slow. Whether you have a sports car or a minivan, there are car parts out there that can make your car faster if you're willing to invest a bit of time and money!

Cold Air Intake

Alright, so here is how this works. Your engine is very similar to a person. It may eat gas, but it breathes our air. When cars are made, they come with a mechanism that has an air filter which connects to your engine. The thing is, car manufacturers limit the engine's abilities by providing an air filtration system that does not meet the car's full potential.

Air filter that comes with your car

Regardless of the idea that these companies are trying to impede our fun, we will revolt. How will we do this? It's called a "cold air intake". What do these do? They increase the flow of air to your engine. Increased flow of air then turns into the increase of power on your car. If you're still having trouble making sense of the cold air intake, imagine this scenario: Let's say you're not feeling well and your nostrils are clogged up. Think about how much more efficient your breathing is when your nose isn't clogged. That's right, these companies make us sick... With their restrictive components.

After-market air filter

More flow to your engine means that your car will produce more horsepower. Apart from making your car faster, it definitely gives your engine a sharp look.

Exhaust

If you're exhausted of your slow car, the answer lies within this sentence (twice, actually) : exhaust.

In more simple terms, your exhaust system is the set of pipes under your car from which the engine's emissions are released. Much like the situation with the cold air intake, car companies restrict the flow of air in cars using a muffler.

.

What you should be gathering from this is, the better the air flow, the faster your car will be. The exhaust that your car manufacturer provides you with will make you car run quietly and it will also steal some of your car's air flow. The main reason is: car companies clearly don't want you to have any fun. Aftermarket mufflers will take away the restriction of air flow and they will even make your car more aggressive. Take a look at the exhaust that this Mustang has for example. What better way to modify a Mustang than to give it the exhaust it deserves?

Aftermarket exhausts can be found anywhere as long as you know what kind of car you have.

All it takes is a quick search on your favorite search engine!

A Tune

I feel that this is the one that most people find interesting. As if we don't already have a grudge against car companies for restricting our fun, it doesn't stop with air intake and exhaust systems. Car companies actually restrict your car's performance simply with the software that is included with the car. How can we combat this? A tune! What's interesting about tunes is that you do not have to physically add anything to your car. You simply purchase a tuner 

If you're wondering what the tuner does, prepare to be mind-blown. A tuner connects to the car and has the ability to optimize the car for performance purposes. This means you can increase your horsepower without physically installing anything on your car. Tuners benefit you in many ways, some of which are : increase in fuel efficiency and acceleration. The irony is, your car will be going faster and saving gas more gas than before. American Muscle claims that their tuners can add 50+ horsepower to 2011-2014 Mustangs. 

If you take the initiative and take some of my suggestions, I will guarantee that you will have more fun than ever with your car!

Small Changes That Will Improve Your Car

Hello! Welcome back.

Today's post will be educating you on some of the more basic things that you can do to enhance your car's performance. You'd be surprised at how some of these minor alterations can make a big difference!

Tires

To the average reader, tires may seem insignificant. If you thought that before, you will definitely change your mind this time around. Let us take a look at what tires do. You step on the accelerator, your wheels begin to spin, and suddenly you're in motion! When your tires do not have tread (part of the tire that grips the road), you can get into big trouble. Although having no tread is excellent for doing , donuts as shown in the video. If you do not intend to do donuts, you should definitely invest in some good tires. Having tires with good tread helps you grip the road when you're accelerating at a rapid pace. More importantly, good tires are essential to your safety, as they will help you steer and stop at faster rates when needed.

If your car is rear wheel drive, it also helps to buy tires that are wider than the factory tires. It gives you an aggressive stance and these tires also provide more contact to the pavement, therefore providing more traction.

Cleaning your Fuel Injectors

Intimidating title, right? Well, I'm happy to let you know that this is actually the easiest thing I will probably ever talk about. Here's how it works. You run to your local auto parts store, you purchase a bottle of fuel injector cleaner, which will cost you no more than $6. It should look something like this:

What does this little thing do and why is it shaped like that, you may be asking yourself. Alright, here is all that you have to do:

1. Wait until your gas tank is low.

2. Open the bottle and pour the liquid into your gas tank.

3. Refill your gas tank with gasoline.

And you're done!

Here's how it works. It cleans your fuel system by removing all the junk inside of it! As a result, you can regain lost acceleration, fuel economy, power and operation of the fuel gauge sensor. 

Fuel injectors spray a mix of air and fuel into the car's cylinders in order to make the engine function. It is essential to have these bad boys clean in order for maximum performance. Techron recommends the additive every 3,000 miles or so.

 

Thank you for reading the bit of information that I am sharing today,  hope to see you soon!

 

A What in the Garage?

Aesthetics, Performance and Durability

Like every other college kid, I tend to be sarcastic at times. Sarcasm is cool and all, but I don't think I'll be using much of it, given the intention of my blog. The blog is titled "A Monster in the Garage", as you can see. No, it is not an instructional blog on how to rid your garage of the monsters that lurk in it. It is more of a metaphor on turning your car into a monster figuratively.

My optimistic side hopes that everyone feels welcome to join in on the fun, but my realistic side tells me that the potential audience is: people that like cars. I have decided to write about this because it is something that I do in my free time. I work on my own cars, I've helped others work on their cars and I work at a car dealer. If you're reading this, chances are that you own a car too. As you can see, we can already relate on so many levels.

I will be writing about many ways in which you can improve your car. This will cover aesthetics, performance and even durability.