practical vehicle upgrades

[mroper]

I am on a Kia Forte Forum. I bought it because it was cheap had some good equipment and had a good power train warranty. My Daughter uses it most of the time. There are countless posts about how can they improve the drag times and improve performance. I think to myself you have to be kidding me it was never designed for that.

 

[Gordo]

That's the fun of building tuner cars.
Taking something that was never built for performance, and making it something that absolutely kicks ass.
The kiddies with no money want to look fast, but end up with shinny, lowered, obnoxiously loud imports, help keep the Big Block, Pig Iron, V-Shit guys in line. They never really know who is going to hand them their ass.

 

[Brains]

Oh we had so much fun back in the heyday of street racing. All the tuner car people would come out thinking they had something and try to lock in a race with things they apparently had no clue about. The ricers were smart enough to stay away, they knew their stickerchargers and grapefruit cans weren't enough. They'd just shout from the curbs "well yeah you're faster in a straight line but I'll get you in the twisties!" While not getting anyone in the twisties because they cut the coil springs and their cars would swap ends when the body bounced off the snubbers. But oh the tuner cars, those guys supplied so many laughs and a fair bit of money. The excuses though when they'd lose. You had to get them to agree to a 3rd party holding the cash to avoid a fight, because they were notorious for not wanting to settle up. Agree to everything before the race, then claim some malfunction or that you cheated after. Back in those days (20 years ago now) some were probably feeling quick with a car in the 11's, while many of us were in the high 10's or better with our daily drivers. A good friend of mine went 10.82 in a 2000 Camaro with nothing but ET streets, a converter, and a 150 shot. I can't even imagine what the scene would look like today where you can easily make real power and bone stock Hellcats are running 10.80's on a radial.

 

[IXLR8]

I think you will find that most new cars and trucks are 4 cylinder. Sure there is a honking turbo and intercooler making 300+ hp. It is just sad that it is happening. I read new car tests and they are powerful and have decent performance. Then I nearly fall out of my chair when they have a 4 banger.
Rewind back to the late 70’s cars when they thought that turbos were the answer and like today they reduced the number of cylinders. Take a look around at how many of those cars are still on the road. The only one that I can think of is the Buick grand nationals. There is a reason they are not around. They sucked. EFI allowed cars to get the cylinders back and meet mileage and emission standards.
I don’t think we will ever recover from this. The days of 300k mile engines is over.

 

[Grumps21]

The GN is a collector car now, which might be partly why we don’t see them. That and the GMC Typhoon and Syclone. Speaking of which, there’s a Youtube video of someone buiding a budget Syclone using a clapped out S10 with the AWD system and 4.3L from an Astro van and a cheap Chinese turbo. Total spend, $6k.

 

[Axxe55]

The GN is a collector car now, which might be partly why we don’t see them. That and the GMC Typhoon and Syclone. Speaking of which, there’s a Youtube video of someone buiding a budget Syclone using a clapped out S10 with the AWD system and 4.3L from an Astro van and a cheap Chinese turbo. Total spend, $6k.

tony angelo i saw it a couple of months ago pretty cool!

 

[General Zod]

The days of 300k mile engines is over.

Nah...they're just all made by Toyota now.

 

[Sasquatch]

If it has a blue oval, horns, or a bow tie - the best upgrade is to drive it to your local Toyota dealer on the last day of the month, find the hungriest salesman there, and trade it in on a Tacoma or Tundra

 

[Grumps21]

If it has a blue oval, horns, or a bow tie - the best upgrade is to drive it to your local Toyota dealer on the last day of the month, find the hungriest salesman there, and trade it in on a Tacoma or Tundra

I was gonna suggest a set of those stick-on extractors for the fenders, but ya, this works too

 

[dsgrey]

I think you will find that most new cars and trucks are 4 cylinder. Sure there is a honking turbo and intercooler making 300+ hp. It is just sad that it is happening. I read new car tests and they are powerful and have decent performance. Then I nearly fall out of my chair when they have a 4 banger.
Rewind back to the late 70’s cars when they thought that turbos were the answer and like today they reduced the number of cylinders. Take a look around at how many of those cars are still on the road. The only one that I can think of is the Buick grand nationals. There is a reason they are not around. They sucked. EFI allowed cars to get the cylinders back and meet mileage and emission standards.
I don’t think we will ever recover from this. The days of 300k mile engines is over.

When shopping for Honda CRVs a couple of years back, engine options were a 1.5 turbo that produced under 200hp or a 2.0 hybrid with over 200hp. Granted it's not a heavy truck but I've rarely seen turbos go the distance. Yes, the hybrid has a battery to worry about but I'm covered 8 years/120k miles and she tends to get a vehicle in less time. I did have a small Mazda commuter car years back with a 1.5 non-turbo that was in excellent shape when I sold it at just under 200k miles. I just have a hard time thinking of a turbo constantly spinning up in a heavy pickup.

 

[IXLR8]

The most practical upgrade that I can think of is selling your car at less than 100k miles if it came with a CVT transmission. Everyone seems shocked when they have to come up with $7k for a replacement. Never buy a higher mile used one unless you enjoy spending ludicrous cash to fix or replace one.

 

[Tnhawk]

The most practical upgrade that I can think of is selling your car at less than 100k miles if it came with a CVT transmission. Everyone seems shocked when they have to come up with $7k for a replacement. Never buy a higher mile used one unless you enjoy spending ludicrous cash to fix or replace one.

I've read that a few Subaru owners had the CVT replaced as the approached the 100,000 mile warranty. Others are over175,000 without failure.

 

[G O B]

I recomend that any vehicle you want to keep for a long time, needs a fuelpump cutout and a 1 quart accumulator.

 

[Txdweeb]

Most practical upgrade is pay it off, if it is get all repairs needed…imho
For me a mechanical limited slip and good AT tires is my most practical.

 

[kbaxter60]

Stickers!
Even if they are not automotive stickers, they are good for more power, better braking, and more mileage!

View attachment 395816

They also prevent door dings, and makes your car easier to find in a large parking lot.

And chicks dig them. That one's a babe magnet, for sure.

 

[baboon]

And chicks dig them. That one's a babe magnet, for sure.

Oh hell I had flash back to mid 70's when you you would see Ass, Gas or Cash no one rides for free stickers.

 

[jetcycles]

Read the thread title (not the thread) and thought these very to be a very practical upgrade to almost any vehicle. Headrest hooks can be had for as little as 50 cents a piece on Amazon. My girls use them in the back seat of the 4runner and I have 4 hanging in the cargo area behind the second row seats to hold all kinds of sh!t from hats to grocery bags to slung short barreled rifles depending on the shenanigans at hand.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[jetcycles]

Running mid travel suspension and 35's on the prerunner makes it a little harder for the vertically or muscularly challenged to climb into so I have cheap grab handles on the headrests. My oldest likes hers horizontal but my youngest has hers hanging vertically and grabs it like a dangling rope.

Sent from my Pixel 6 using Tapatalk

 

[A1Oni]

remove any dead weight, floor mats, sound deadening, insulation, and the carpet from the trunk to make the car lighter, if you dont care about luxury the sound system and heater add a lot of weight too.

 

[Vaquero]

remove any dead weight, floor mats, sound deadening, insulation, and the carpet from the trunk to make the car lighter, if you dont care about luxury the sound system and heater add a lot of weight too.

What?
No heater?
You crazy.