About fast and tuning cars
Fast and tuning cars
Chances are you’ve seen the Saturday afternoon show geared toward squeezing every droplet of power out of a 50s or 60s classic. You know—the one hosted by two middle-aged guys, one with a toupee that may as well have “this is a toupee” painted on it. They spend the entire half-hour show with a bunch of time-lapsed shots taken of them tearing the engine apart to put in highly-specialized, insanely expensive parts. Once the project’s done, they fire-up the dyno and laud the 3hp gain they received for about 4 hours of total work. If you’re like me, that’s not exactly how you want to spend a weekend, all for 3hp that you may not even notice with your rear-o-meter.
Fortunately, you’re probably also driving a computer-controlled vehicle, like most of the ones sold for the last 25 years or so. That makes tuning much easier, because a set of programming determines the way your engine performs. Replace the programming with a set geared toward performance, and you have near-instant power gains. Don’t get me wrong—there’s a lot to be said for the virtues of a computer-free classic that you have full control over. But, when it comes to getting more power in just a few minutes time without ripping your hands to shreds or spending thousands on obscure parts, a computer-controlled vehicle has a distinct advantage.
How can you make these changes in minutes? With a power programmer or performance chip, like the ones made by Hypertech or Diablosport. These programmers are built to hold performance settings tested by experienced pros for your specific engine. All you have to do is plug it into the OBD-II port beneath your steering column. With simple yes or no commands, you can adjust how you want your engine to perform, upload the new programming, and you’re ready to rock with 25hp or more extra. The maximum time this will take to complete: just 10 minutes.
Many drivers who want the extra power are leery of this tuning method. “How can so much power be had so fast, when the TV pros spend hours to get few gains?” they ask. The answer is that automakers down-tune their cars for the masses. Engines are setup to work the same for you, the budding performance enthusiast, as they are for the elderly, who like to travel half the speed limit or through the occasional farmer’s market. You aren’t the average driver, and performance programmers aren’t average settings. It’s a perfect match for you; it’s not a perfect match for your mother.
Some drivers worry about warranty when they’re considering a performance programmer. Not only to the companies that make programmers take safety into account with their settings, they often give you ways to return to stock settings for service visits at the dealership. And, as with all performance mods, you’re protected by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a federal law that basically states that your vehicle’s warranty can’t be voided by mods unless the mods can be proven as the source of trouble. In other words, there’s no reason to wait—the true potential is waiting to be unlocked, and you can do it without breaking a sweat.
Maximize your ride with performance chips, available from time-tested brands like a Hypertech programmer and Diablosport.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Bernhardt
Are you satisfied with your performance? Your car's performance, that is? If you are not or if you have wondered how you can crank more power out of your engine, then I have some good news for you: you can do it with an engine tuning programmer. Yes, within minutes you can turn your ordinary passenger car into a road warrior without having to pop the hood or by removing the dashboard. It is a quick, easy, and awesome way to unleash more power from your car's engine.
The aftermarket parts industry is constantly coming up with everything you need to enhance your vehicle’s look as well as its improve performance. On the performance side of things custom air filters, cold air intakes, and exhaust systems are much sought after options for car enthusiasts. In addition, performance chips are being installed by owners who desire to turn their ordinary cars into something extraordinary.
While performance chips are a great way to increase torque and bang out more horsepower, they are invasive. This means you must either pop the hood or remove the dashboard to locate your current chip, swap it out, and replace it with the new one. Fortunately, technicians have invented tuning modules that work by simply hooking it into your under dash diagnostic connector. Once you are "wired" all you will need to do is answer a series of yes/no questions and the programmer does the rest. When you are done, you can disconnect the programmer and enjoy your now potent vehicle.
Power programmers, including those developed by Hypertech, fit right into the palm of your hand. Each programmer is custom developed for your make/model, so you must specify the vehicle you own or it won't work for you. Popular vehicles that can benefit from tuning programmer include: the Dodge Ram; Jeep Wrangler, Cherokee, and Gran Cherokee; the Ford "F" series pick ups and Mustang; and several GM models including the Corvette, Firebird, Camaro, and many full size pick up trucks.
There are several benefits in using a power programmer, including:
--Increased horsepower
--Increased torque
--Increased fuel economy – yes, an efficiently tuned engine gets the best fuel mileage.
--Optimized tuning – tune for 87 octane or 91 octane fuel.
No you don't have to be mechanic or a computer programmer to work with a power tuner. Everything you need is stored right inside your little hand held device. What's more, if you decide that you want to return your car to its OEM specifications, you can do that in mere moments. Try swapping out a performance chip that quickly!
Of course, power tuners aren't for everyone. If you are satisfied with the status quo or aren’t looking to get the edge while driving, then you are likely to pass on the experience. For everyone else, a power tuner is an affordable and non invasive way to turn an ordinary passenger car into a true road rocket.
Copyright 2006 – Matt Keegan, is The Auto Writer, who writes about a variety of automotive products including Hypertech programmers and other performance parts.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Keegan
The quest for cheap horsepower has been the forefront of club motorsport for many years and, seeing as the gap between competitors season budgets seems to be growing wider all the time, ever more important. The low budget competitor needs to do most of his or her own work on the car to keep costs down, so how do you build fast cars on a budget? The class rules need to be taken into account as building an illegal car for a championship is helping no one!
The best way in my experience to build a fast car on a budget is to go for some serious lightening, I mean take out everything that is not used. I even go as far as to scrape all the sound deadening pads off the floor of the car and remove all underseal, you can also take out all unnecessary wiring, if you are building a race car chances are you are going to take out the airbags, but you will be surprised how many people leave the wiring in and just tape the ends.
I do all my own engine work, also keeping cost's to a minimum, many engines come out the factory very inefficient at producing horsepower and much can be done to improve this. If you plan to tune a used engine for your fast car then try to get one from a passenger car that has done low miles and hopefully never been driven hard, you would not want to buy a used engine off me for example! Much can be done to make a car fast without taking the engine block apart, for example many cars leave the factory with very inefficient air intakes with warm air feeds. This is great for economy but no so good when we want to build a cheap fast car.
The warm air feed and much of the breather system on most cars can be modified within the championship regulations to give a fair few extra horsepower. In many championships induction is free thus allowing the airbox to be drilled or removed entirely and replaced with a home made or after market item to help make that elusive fast car on a budget.
I have been competing in club level motorsport with an extremely low budget for years and I have had a fair amount of success, nothing will ever beat the feeling of beating a car that cost 10 times as much as mine!
Gavin Drake is a club level racing driver and a part time article writer, he also owns a website for like minded individuals where fellow "Petrol Heads" can go to talk, exchange ideas, share photo's and catch up with the goings on in the motorsport world. You can find his site at http://www.fastcarsinfo.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gavin_Drake
