6 steps to increase the power of four-cylinder car

With today’s modern technology and advancements in transportation and engineering, automakers have finally come up with one of the most versatile components in a vehicle. That is the four-cylinder engine, and it’s widely used by the toughest producers of four-wheeled vehicles.

However, there are still vehicle owners who aren’t quite satisfied with the performance of 4-cylinder engines.

Fortunately, there are multiple ways for you to level up the power and performance of your 4-cylinder engine. You won’t only be stepping up your car’s muscle by one level, but you may also learn something new about your car. Philkotse.com listed some of the upgrades and changes that you can do to your ride below. 

Step #1. Maintaining your vehicle

Although this may seem too obvious to even say, a lot of vehicle owners actually neglect proper maintenance procedures. The best way to perform maintenance procedures on your car is by following the instructions as stated in the manual.

This will usually contain all the information you need to know about your car along with details as to when to change the oil, align the wheels, and check the brake pads and so on. To get the most out of your car, these maintenance procedures should be followed and the intervals should be adhered to.

Remember that engine oil should be changed every 3,000 miles or as stated in your manual. You should also check your fuel and air filters every now and then to make sure they’re in the best condition.

A lot of vehicle owners actually neglect proper maintenance procedures

>>> Related: 4-cylinder vs 6-cylinder Engines: Pros & Cons

Step #2. Get a cold air intake for your vehicle

Your car’s four-cylinder engine is powered by compressing air and fuel and then igniting it. The level of compression in your engine will produce more power if there is a larger flow of air to mix with the fuel.

To install a cold air intake, you would first need to remove your car’s stock intake tube and airbox that surrounds the air filter.

Then, you can replace it with an aftermarket cold air intake. You should get the type that intensifies the amount of air that surges into the engine.

A lot of the aftermarket cold air intakes have a cone-shaped filter that comes along with the package. This efficiently pulls air from outside into your engine.

When you increase the amount of air that flows into your engine, you are also increasing your gas mileage. It, therefore, gives you big savings in the long run. However, most aftermarket intakes tend to produce an obvious noise during operation. This is their only downside since stock ones are a lot quieter.

Increasing the amount of air that flows into the engine, will also increase the gas mileage

>>> You might want to read: 4 common reasons why car engines lose horsepower over time.

Step #3. Improve your car’s exhaust flow

Your engine gets a mixture of air and fuel and then ignites it and then pushes the piston downward. The cylinder chamber then serves as a cradle for the exhaust produced by the explosion.

However, this must be removed from the cylinder chamber before more fuel and air can be injected. If you replace the portions of the exhaust with pipes that have larger diameters, you will reduce the backpressure that limits the speed that the exhaust takes to exit your car’s engine.

You can opt for a catalytic converter, also named as “cat-back” exhaust, but you can also consider all the piping that leads to your car’s exhaust manifold.

The cylinder chamber serves as a cradle for the exhaust produced by the explosion

Step #4. Reprogram your vehicle’s computer

If your car is a contemporary model, there’s a high chance that the controls and a lot of activities that happen in the vehicle are controlled by a computer. Computers like these are programmed by the manufacturers so there is balanced emissions, reliability, power output, efficiency, and gas mileage.

You can have the computer reprogrammed so that power can be prioritized. This way, more horsepower will be generated without having to install anything else on the vehicle.

You can search the web or your locality for people or companies that offer replacement computer for your vehicle. You can usually do two things to avail of this service.

First is you can purchase a computer to replace your current one or you can send your computer to the servicing company so they can reprogram it for you. A lot of companies sell programs that can be plugged into the OBDII port of your car. This will change the codes that are currently in your car’s computer.

You can search the web or your locality for people or companies that offer replacement computer for your vehicle

>>> Related article: Can ECU remapping damage your car's engine?

Step #5. Get a new throttle body

Your car’s throttle body is the part where your intake meets the engine. The air is then funneled straight into the intake manifold. Installing a new throttle body on your car with a larger diameter will permit more air to surge into your vehicle’s engine. This, in turn, will give more power.

The throttle bodies are usually kept in place by four bolts. These will also require a new gasket that needs to be placed in between the intake manifold and the throttle body. Note that a throttle body is often measured in millimeters.

That means that if you swap a 65-millimeter throttle body for one that measures 75 millimeters, you will get dramatically increased levels of air surging into the engine. You can also purchase throttle bodies that have larger diameters.

These should be available at your nearest auto supplies store. Be reminded that you need to buy a throttle body that is specifically designed for your vehicle’s year, make and model.

Your car’s throttle body is the part where your intake meets the engine

>>> Worth reading: Must-know tips to clean air throttle body & idle air control valve properly.

Step #6. Upgrade to more aggressive camshafts

The camshafts are the parts in the engine that are responsible for closing and opening the intake and exhaust valves. These allow the fuel and air to flow into the engine. The stock camshafts in your car are initially designed with power, efficiency, emission and fuel economy in mind.

The camshafts are the parts in the engine that are responsible for closing and opening the intake and exhaust valves

However, you can also replace these with a camshaft that specializes in a specific area, like the power.

One of the best examples for this is Honda’s V-Tech. It has variable cam timing but its camshafts can easily be replaced if the owner wants more specialized applications. There are also pushrod motors with camshafts located inside the engine block, while modular motors have them in the engine’s cylinder heads.

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