So you have finally decided to follow your heart. But your car isn’t ready to burn the rubber on the drag strip. A stock car is far from achieving the desired performance numbers. You will need to put some extra horsepower on the block and ensure the tires remain planted when you go hard on the throttle. You will also need performance brakes to increase your car’s stopping power. In short, you will need to find your trusted one-stop-shop for your usual 4WD like Subaru WRX upgrade kits.
Sounds like a lot of work? Yes, it is. But the results will surely be worth your time, effort and money.
So, here’s a lowdown on getting your car race-ready.
Choose the right car
When you are getting your car race-ready, you are essentially building a sleeper car that can put a 200-grand Lamborghini to shame. But choosing the right car to start with can really mean the difference between winning and losing.
Choose a rear-wheel-drive to ensure better traction and thrust when you launch. RWD cars like Subaru, Mustang, Dodge Charger, etc. make for an excellent race car. But if you want to build on your old FWD Toyota or Honda, who are we to judge?
A good example of a proper race car is the 1967 Shelby GT 500. Equipped with a 428-cubic-inch V8 engine, it produced an impressive 355 horsepower, offering thrilling speed and power for its time. Its enhanced suspension made it ideal for handling the demands of competitive racing. Even today, it stands as a symbol of racing excellence and American muscle car heritage. If you’re aiming to achieve similar performance as the Shelby GT 500 did back in the day, here’s what you need to do:
Get high-performance engine parts
Now, this is where it gets interesting. High-performance parts under the hood can give you extra horsepower and torque that you need for quarter miles.
– Turbocharger
The first thing you need is a turbocharger. Turbocharger, combined with other performance parts, can put hundreds of extra horses on the block. And you can visit a reputed online auto part store to get it for the best price. Turbochargers must be handled with care during installation, as one hard fall is all it takes to break them.
– Throttle body
A performance throttle body increases the air intake so that the engine makes more power. It also increases the throttle response, which can be felt by the driver as they press the gas. Besides increasing the acceleration, a performance throttle body also contributes to the overall horsepower.
– Air filter
This is one of the fundamental performance parts that increase the air intake and boost acceleration.
– Exhaust
A race car is incomplete without a loud exhaust. If you are looking at modifying your car to improve performance, visual appeal, and sound, the easiest upgrade you can do is an aftermarket exhaust system. Check out MBRP vs Magnaflow exhaust system. However, an exhaust does more than just turn heads. Depending on your car’s engine and the exhaust you choose, you can easily get up to 10 extra horses. These loud exhausts aren’t street-legal; you can’t drive around in the city with one of these on.
Get rid of the extra weight
No matter how much horsepower you achieve at the crank, it’s of no use unless you get the most of it at wheels. To translate the maximum power at wheels, you will want to get rid of the stuff you don’t need during a race. Start with removing the passenger and rear seats, spare wheel, stereo system, tools, floor mats and everything else that might be slowing you down.
Get the right set of tires
A drag race is won or lost in a matter of seconds. And nothing cost you precious seconds more than wheel-spins. Install soft rubbers on your car to get maximum traction, as these tires keep the car planted to give you the perfect launch. Wider tires prevent wheel spins, which means that your car is safe for you and your peers.
Change the suspension
If your car’s suspensions are on the softer side, you might want to replace them with hard shocks to hold the tires firmly on the tarmac and avoid unintentional spins.
These high-performance parts are costlier than factory parts and their availability is also an issue. However, you can easily get these parts from online auto parts stores and save significantly more than when bought from a local brick-and-mortar store.
