Performance Myths...

[GlassWolf]

The belief by anyone that fifteen grand and some parts overnighted from Japan can make a ten-second Supra.

(Joke: What does a 400HP, 600HP, and 1000HP Supra all have in common? Eleven-second Quarter-miles.)

The general lack of understanding that you usually need to upgrade the entire drivetrain to handle significantly more power. that's the differential, transmission, engine, etc.

The misconception that you can just slap a high-boost turbo or SC on a car without changing the pistons, rods, and camshaft, and reprogramming any onboard computer for the shift in powerband, MAF, etc.

the list goes on.

[GlassWolf]

The belief that there is any cheap, simple way to get large increases in performance from your vehicle.

The belief that spending money on improving your car will give better gains than spending equal amounts on driving courses to improve your own skills.
No matter how good your car is, it does you no good unless your own skills are of a caliber to fully use what the vehicle can do.

Most people think they're Corvette level, when in reality they're more Civic DX level drivers when it comes to vehicle manipulation skill.

[GlassWolf]

the belief that higher octane fuel automatically makes any car run better.
octanes are supposed to match compression ratios. more isn't always better.

[Jonathan]

The belief by anyone that fifteen grand and some parts overnighted from Japan can make a ten-second Supra.

(Joke: What does a 400HP, 600HP, and 1000HP Supra all have in common? Eleven-second Quarter-miles.)

Hehe, so true, Supras and Skylines. I wish they'd go ahead and ship a damn Skyline over here just so we can waste them and shut everybody up.

[CaptainPioneer]

those performance chip mods do do quite alot of hp gains at the wheels u know.... Hyperjet proved 40hp extra on a Mustrang Cobra on the dyno thats pretty impressive for a plug in OBDII mod!!!

[GlassWolf]

you're talking apples and oranges.
Ryan is talking about the douchebags selling a resistor on eBay that makes the MAF sensor think the outside air is always "cold" so the car runs richer, to get more power.

You're talking about an actual reprogrammer or product like the ones sold by bullydog, hypertech, the edge, and so forth.

the actual ECM reprogrammers DO add power. The resistors are a ripoff.

There is no magical cheap way to make a lot of extra horsepower. Speed costs money. This is especially true with newer, small displacement high output engines, since they are already set up from the factory to put out as much power as they possibly can while still meeting reliability and safety standards. Older, larger displacement V8s, especially those made up to and including the 1970's, weren't tweaked nearly so much, and left a LOT of room for improvements with new heads, cams, carbs, etc. making it much easier to increase output substantially with bolt-on upgrades.

[CaptainPioneer]

oh no i know what you were saying wolf... i was just saying that it is pretty incredible to gain 40hp at the wheels in under 1 minute of Reprograming on a CPU... I wouldnt mind doing that in my new Camry if i could get 40 hp out of it lol

[Jonathan]

Chips work well, you're simply altering the fuel/timing tables to gain performance. Only downside is you're going to need premium fuel to avoid detonation due to the more aggressive timing and fuel mixture. Manufacturers have fuel economy and 87 octane in mind when they program.

Highly doubt you'd get 40 out of a Camry, though. Cobra has a lot more performance potential bottled up.

[Worst Nightmare]

As far as performance "bolt-ons", I can say from vast experience this is the lowdown:

1. CAI (cold air induction) - unless your car/truck is putting out 300+ hp stock, this will only yield little results. IMO - not worth what they charge ($200-300++). If you have a supercharged mustang cobra w/300+ hp, the cai may give you another 20-30. Otherwise, think 5-10 at best. And it looks really cool, of course :) .

2. Headers, high-flow catalytic converters, larger diameter exhaust, y-pipe/x-pipe, etc. Now we're talkin' "butt-dyno" gains!. JBA headers, hi-flow cat converters and x-pipe gave me 30+ hp dyno proven. Exhaust mods WORK!

3. GEARS! - Installing 4.56 gears and Richmond powertrax no-slip netted me a FULL SECOND less 0-60 times! May not be a factor for you 400+hp turbo guys, but for a torquey V8, it WORKS! This is probably my most notable upgrade.

3. Hypertech, Superchip, etc. I had a Hypertech programmer. It allowed me to compensate for my 20'' (31'' tire size) to bring the shift points back in order. Otherwise they really aren't worth the $$$. I now have a "custom" flash from BG. Let me just say, the custom flashes WORK!.

4. Modded/larger throttle bodies. I now have a dual butterfly 52mm on my 360ci. They seem to WORK! you may lose some bottom-end torque, but once she spools up to 2k rpm, look out.

5. Lower temperature thermostat. With all my other mods, hard to tell if this one works or not. My truck runs really cool though. No chance of overheating, even in TX 100+ heat .

So much for bolt-ons. Other things that WORK and I'm considering:

1. SUPERCHARGER/TURBO - for all you guys looking for moderate hp/torque gains, forget everything mentioned above and save your money for a supercharger/turbo. You can't beat forced-induction .

2. Cams/heads/intakes (must match head/camshafts) - HUGE power gains. Also forget about the bolt-ons and change out your heads/camshaft. You won't be disappointed.

Other than that, more displacement or more boost, your choice :) .

[Worst Nightmare]

forgot underdrive pulleys. Didn't see a much gain. don't recommend, especially if you have a hi-power audio system!!