Even though you can’t drive faster than your car’s top speed on almost any road, a thirst for higher horsepower might awaken now and then. The safest way to deal with your need for speed is to take up karting or a similar sport. Many people want to drive their cars as fast as possible.
This drive for horsepower tends to bring car lovers to new extremes and look into various ways to increase the overall output. Luckily, there are plenty of methods to do that, and we’ll focus on them in this article.
There are multiple ways to increase your engine output. Most involve tinkering with the engine, but it’s also possible to increase fuel efficiency and consumption to achieve desired results. However, for the purposes of this article, we picked five methods that will surely help you increase the engine output.
No engine will produce lots of horsepower if a significant portion will go to overcoming mechanical losses. It’s impossible to eliminate them entirely, but reducing them is feasible. That is why engine builders have begun using lightweight pistons and rods and preserving their original dimensions. Such motor kits are often on sale, and tuning engineers willingly use them to crank the massive parts.
Without air, the internal combustion engine would instantly stall. And since it is not easy to get air into the combustion chambers, it becomes vital to preserve it. There are several ways to do it: you either install a zero-resistance air filter or polish the channels of the inlet pipe. It’s important to note that air lines are made from plastic nowadays. Also, the “zero filter” on an input plays its part. Although its resistance is less than that of a regular filter, it does not put a strain on the engine, but the filter capacity does suffer. In other words − less resistance, and more dirt.
The compression pressure of the fuel-air mixture depends on the compression ratio, i.e., the ratio of the total cylinder volume to the combustion chamber volume. The higher the compression ratio, the higher its power. The cylinder head is trimmed to reduce combustion chamber size, or a thinner gasket is used.
If you decide to increase engine power this way, you must switch to gasoline with a higher octane number. If you use standard-grade fuel, it will detonate, so instead of extra horsepower, you get potential health hazards.
But you can't just raise the compression ratio. You'll need mechanical intervention.
This method is often used to increase the power of Chevrolet Niva’s engine. Special tools are applied to bore out the inner cavity of the cylinders and install pistons with a larger diameter.
The disadvantage of this method is its high cost. It is necessary to bore all cylinders to the same value, and the accuracy should be within 0.00039 inches. Repairing pistons with a larger diameter costs considerably more than standard pistons. Such a procedure can be performed only in auto shops, and the cost will be several in the ten thousand dollar range.
In the list of factors reducing the efficiency of any mechanism, friction force always occupies the leading place. In an engine, the greatest loss of power from friction is associated with the movement of the piston in contact with the inner walls of the cylinder.
The engine oil fights friction forces, but if you seriously wonder how to increase engine power, you need special means. Today, you can easily find additives that improve the physical characteristics of lubricants on the market.
Increasing your horsepower output is both an intriguing and a dangerous propers. While you may be a car expert, all the methods listed should be left for professionals, as there’s no telling what dangers lie in a poor DIY job. However, be prepared to pay the price, as these procedures are quite costly.
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