How to Gain 5 Horsepower in Your Vehicle for Almost Nothing

Want a little more zing to your car with more horsepower? Who doesn't? Here are a few tips on how to increase your horsepower for little or no cost.

∗ Increase the water ratio in your coolant - If automotive companies did not have concerns over corrosion and freezing they would use only water as a coolant. It is a fact that water is a better coolant and that an engine that is cooler performs better. Rather than a 50/50 ratio you can try a cooler to water ratio of 40/60. NOTE: Do not only use water as it can cause corrosion prematurely and it is difficult to clean up.

∗ You can index your spark plugs - This is not a new trick but it can give one more horse to your horsepower. The reasoning behind indexing your spark plugs is to point the open end on the spark plug terminal towards the side of the head with the intake. To do this you only have to make a small mark, or line, to show where the gap is and then install the spark plug normally. The best you can you should try to line up the line or mark with the intake side. In order to do this you may have to purchase two sets of spark plugs but you may be able to do this on your first try. Make sure that you are careful not to over tighten the aluminum heads as the repairs can be expensive.

∗ You can relocate the Intake Air Temperature Sensor - This modification is quite easy and will work on my fuel-injected vehicles. The Intake Air Temperature 0/0 (IAT) will tell the vehicle's computer the temperature of the air coming in. Then the computer will adjust the fuel being injected and make other minor adjustments to the timing based on the reading it gets. It can be a problem that in many vehicles the IAT sensor is located in the intake manifold, which is near the cylinder head. Because of this the air that the IAT sensor reads at 0/00 is hotter that the air, for example, in the intake arm. What you should do if this is your model of vehicle is to relocate the IAT sensor to the intake arm. Then patch up the old port for the IAT sensor. By doing this it will cause the computer to think that the air coming in is a little cooler, therefore causing it to inject more fuel and advance the timing a little bit.

∗ Use Synthetic Oil - By using synthetic oil in your vehicle it will definitely add 1-2 horsepower. By just switching to a synthetic type of oil you will reduce the friction in your vehicle's engine, which will improve efficiency and make your vehicle go faster.

∗ Insulate your fuel lines - When the fuel lines travel through the engine bay their heat increases. But fuel that is cooler will increase power in more reasons than simply cooling down the charge of the intake, even though this does help. Therefore to improve your vehicle's power output you only have to buy some refrigerator or air conditioning insulation and then wrap the fuel lines with it. To get even more power you can also wrap the intake arm as well.

By following some of these simple steps you can add a little more horsepower to your vehicle's engine.

Author: Jason Green