The most popular ways to increase the power of a car

Making changes to the factory design of certain vehicle components is fraught with unpredictable consequences. If he does not know about this, then most motorists guess. After all, it is not in vain that design engineers of automakers have been developing each new model for many days and months, trying to create a balanced, stable system. Computer modeling takes into account many interrelated factors. Even experienced specialists, engaged in independent modernization, cannot take them all into account. Improvement of some nodes may affect others. Somewhere something will turn out to be unbalanced, some systems will function in abnormal mode, individual nodes may be subjected to excessive load. Tuning, as a rule, drastically reduces the working life of not only directly modified nodes, but also many others.

Nevertheless, the number of those wishing to upgrade their “iron horse” is not decreasing. Particular attention is paid to the power unit. One forced internal combustion engine is required for some special purposes - motorsport, for example. Others are overcome by a thirst to increase their prestige, having received an exclusively tuned car as a result. Still others do it for the love of art. Well, ordinary motorists pursue more pragmatic goals, simply wanting to improve the acceleration characteristics of their car. In most cases, these are owners of cars with gasoline atmospheric internal combustion engines of small and medium displacement. It is for them that the lack of “horses” under the hood does not allow them to feel confident enough while overtaking or when moving uphill.

You can make the power unit more powerful by increasing fuel consumption or using the same amount of fuel more efficiently. So, let's consider in what ways it is possible to achieve an increase in the power of an automobile internal combustion engine. We will only talk about serviceable units that do not require repair.

Refinement may affect the internal combustion engine cylinders, cylinder head, crankshaft, camshafts, pistons and connecting rods. You can upgrade both individual parts, and all together. Partial revision will give a small effect, but it will be very costly. Therefore, it makes sense to refine the internal combustion engine comprehensively. Only in this case it is possible to achieve a significant result, reduce losses, increase the power and efficiency of the unit.

Finalization of the cylinder head

Properly carried out modernization of the head can give a significant increase in power, as well as increase the efficiency of the internal combustion engine. Since the combustion chamber is located partially or entirely in the cylinder head, milling the lower surface of the head allows you to reduce the volume of the chamber, and therefore increase the compression ratio. Instead of milling the cylinder head, you can put a thinner gasket or combine one with the other. This requires precise calculation to avoid collision of pistons with valves. As an option, you can install pistons with recesses for the valves. 

It must also be taken into account that too high a compression ratio can cause detonation, that is, uncontrolled explosive combustion of the mixture. Detonation contributes to the rapid failure of parts of the crank mechanism, the destruction of pistons and damage to the cylinder walls. The use of high-octane gasoline can solve the problem, but only up to a certain limit. Although increasing the compression ratio is one of the most effective ways to increase the power and efficiency of an internal combustion engine, you should never overdo it here.

Expansion and increase in the number of inlet and outlet channels, modernization of valves can increase the efficiency of the combustion process of the air-fuel mixture, which in turn will also contribute to an increase in the power of the internal combustion engine.

Increasing the working volume of cylinders

This can be achieved by boring the cylinder or by lengthening the stroke of the piston.

The possibilities of boring may be limited by the design features of the cylinder block. BCs made of light alloys based on aluminum are of little use for this purpose. First, they initially have thin walls. Secondly, due to the high coefficient of thermal expansion, there is a high risk of deformation during overheating, which can lead to misalignment of the main bearings and destruction of the internal combustion engine. Cast iron BCs do not have this problem.

It is possible to increase the working stroke of the cylinder by installing a crankshaft with other geometric characteristics. Along the way, the maximum torque will increase, but the set will decrease the efficiency of the internal combustion engine. 

Increase in power by increasing the volume of cylinders It happens that it may not be as significant as expected. And certainly not pleased with the increase in fuel consumption. 

Lightweight details

Installing lightweight parts - connecting rods, pistons, flywheel - will help add a couple of percent to the increase in ICE power, although this will slightly reduce torque. A lighter flywheel spins faster, which means that the internal combustion engine is gaining momentum faster.

Replacing these parts separately, without carrying out other measures, may turn out to be unreasonably expensive, since in itself it does not give a significant result, but at the same time it is very laborious. 

Forged pistons

A significant increase in the power of the internal combustion engine dramatically increases the mechanical and thermal load on the pistons. In such conditions, they will not last long. The use of stiffer forged pistons solves the problem. They are not heavier than standard ones, but have a lower coefficient of thermal expansion. 

Since this is a high-tech product, you should not save on their purchase. When using cheap forged pistons, there is a high risk that they will jam.

At the same time, it is worth buying more durable special piston rings with an L-shaped section. 

Upgraded camshaft

An increase in the camshaft cams can affect the dynamic characteristics of the internal combustion engine, due to a change in the valve timing. Depending on the specific size of the cams, the power of the internal combustion engine will increase at low, medium or high speeds. After installing a camshaft with enlarged cams, you can not do without adjusting the valves.

An improperly selected camshaft for this purpose can cause an overlay of the intake and exhaust phases and, as a result, a large waste of fuel.

Reduction of mechanical losses

The greatest friction losses occur as a result of the movement of the pistons in the cylinders. To reduce them, pistons with a reduced skirt area can be used.

When tuning, it is also necessary to reduce the rotational losses of the drives of additional mechanisms.

What will we get in the end

As a result of the complex of works carried out, the power of the internal combustion engine will increase by 10 ... 15, perhaps even by 20 percent. Such pleasure will cost a very large amount. But the financial costs don't stop there. Modernization of the power unit will inevitably increase the load on other components of the car, and therefore it will be necessary to refine the power supply system, brake system, suspension, gearbox, clutch. You will need to re-adjust the valve timing and reflash the ECU. 

In operation, a forced internal combustion engine will also be much more expensive, since you will have to refuel with more expensive high-octane gasoline to avoid detonation. Fuel consumption will also increase significantly - approximately in proportion to the increase in power. In addition, the internal combustion engine will be very sensitive to the quality of fuel and oil. 

In general, the resource of the internal combustion engine will be significantly less. Therefore, before embarking on such an upgrade, it is worth carefully weighing the pros and cons. Maybe it's wiser to spend money on something else - for example, on installing a turbine? 

The turbine allows more air to be forced into the cylinders. An increase in the amount of air, or rather, oxygen, makes the combustion process of fuel more intense. The turbine rotates due to the exhaust gases, and therefore its use does not affect fuel consumption.

Equipping an internal combustion engine with a turbocharger is a complex and time-consuming job, accessible only to professionals. Such tuning is not a cheap pleasure. But this method of increasing the power of the internal combustion engine gives, perhaps, the most impressive results. Using a turbine will increase the horsepower of the unit by at least a quarter, or even double. There is a set of types of turbochargers, the most efficient being centrifugal. 

The air strongly heated by the turbine should be cooled, for this you need to additionally install an intercooler. 

This will increase its density and improve the filling of the cylinders, and at the same time prevent excessive heating of the internal combustion engine. However, in some cases, it may still be necessary to improve the efficiency of the internal combustion engine cooling system.

When installing a turbine, serious improvements will be required to other components of the car, as well as a flashing of the on-board computer. 

It must be borne in mind that a turbocharged internal combustion engine needs much more thorough and expensive maintenance. In addition, a turbocharged internal combustion engine needs to be warmed up at startup, even in summer. 

If funds are limited, but you want to increase the power of the car a little, you can use relatively inexpensive methods that do not require fundamental changes to the design.

Intake system upgrade

Installing a zero resistance filter instead of a standard air filter is the easiest and cheapest way to add some power to an internal combustion engine. 

Such a filter does not create obstacles for the passage of air, since it uses a less dense filter material. As a result, the combustion chamber is better filled with air, and gasoline burns more intensively. You should not count on a large increase in power, however, two or three horsepower will be added. A dirty filter does not need to be changed, just clean it. Many are skeptical about this detail, believing that due to weaker filtration, dust can also enter the combustion chambers along with air.

There are other ways to modernize the intake system, related to its adjustment, the selection of the optimal size and shape of pipelines, and the elimination of roughness of the inner walls. Proper refinement of the intake system can give a good result by increasing the filling ratio of the cylinders.

A little more to the cumulative result can add an increase in the diameter of the throttle.

Chip tuning

This method of boosting the internal combustion engine is not by chance very popular. After all, it is not associated with troublesome and costly improvements. It can be done fairly quickly and for a moderate fee. 

The bottom line is to make changes to the engine management program or completely replace it, in other words, “flashing” the ECU. The expected result is an increase in power, improved acceleration dynamics and a number of other changes in the operation of the power unit and power system. 

Some factory settings are average and may differ slightly from the optimal ones for a particular operating mode. However, changing any parameter in the process of chip tuning causes the need to adjust other characteristics. Only a professional who understands what he is doing is able to carry out chip tuning correctly. 

The result may be an increase in the power of the internal combustion engine by 10 ... 15%, but this will have to be paid for by a corresponding reduction in its resource. Financial costs for fuel will increase, so the internal combustion engine will become more voracious and it will need better fuel. Service maintenance will have to be carried out more often, which means that this item of expenditure will also increase.

The forced mode cannot be used constantly, since the rest of the systems remain standard and may not withstand the increased loads.

If you decide to carry out such a procedure, contact a reputable company that has the appropriate specialists and the right programs from reliable software manufacturers. For artisans, firmware may be obtained from unknown sources and contain errors. 

An unsuccessful chip tuning can damage the computer or lead to malfunctions of the unit. 

Other nonsense

The use of nitrous oxide (the so-called “nitro” mode) gives a good, but very short-term effect, so there is no point in discussing it.

Fuel additives are a widely publicized way to quickly and cost-effectively improve the operation of an internal combustion engine, increase power, and reduce fuel consumption. Efficiency has not yet been proven. But those who wish can try, suddenly it works.

Magnets and other miracle cures are fairy tales for those who still believe in them.

And finally, a way to increase power, used by morons and perverts who do not care deeply about others, nature and everything in the world. The “modernization” of the exhaust system gives little or no effect, but is audible to everyone around within a radius of several kilometers. If you are one of them, do not be surprised when suddenly, for no apparent reason, you begin to hiccup - it is you who are remembered by the grateful residents of the houses you passed by.