Masonry drill bits are made to go through new bricks which are rather soft, if they struggle to go through old bricks I think metal will just balls them up.
Dajmin: Good idea. I added a little disclamer on the 5th line of the 1st post.
Tristan: Thank you so much. I can finally sleep at night! But the part about the complexity of adding chassis movement, CoG, and other variables does dishearten me a little bit. Oh well, I can tackle that later, I hope.
I just remembered... Is there any way to increase torque in a car? I think forced induction could increase torque but are there other ways? I began to fall in love with lightweight roadsters, especially the Honda S2000 but I heard that it's low amount of torque was a fairly big downside for it.
Tristan: Thank you so much. I can finally sleep at night! But the part about the complexity of adding chassis movement, CoG, and other variables does dishearten me a little bit. Oh well, I can tackle that later, I hope.
I just remembered... Is there any way to increase torque in a car? I think forced induction could increase torque but are there other ways? I began to fall in love with lightweight roadsters, especially the Honda S2000 but I heard that it's low amount of torque was a fairly big downside for it.
If you want to accelerate quickly from low RPM, then I suppose it could be a problem. I've driven the car before, and if you want to accelerate quickly than just g.d downshift into the power band. That's why they equipped it with the best feeling manual transmission ever created. IMO it's all blown out of proportion and just used as a memorable sound bite by internet bashers and magazine writers.
Unburnt fuel from the cylinders igniting on the exhaust. (That's why diesels save the planet. Joke.)
Cams and intake.
At the risk of sounding chav-ish I would say that a "cheap" and fast way to do it is by changing the headers of the exhaust with performance ones. Their are two types of performance headers: 4-2-1 or 4-1 (referring to the way the pipes connect). From what I have heard 4-2-1 give you a bit more torque and a bit more hp while 4-1 give you more torque but it lowers a bit the hp, I heard that you can gain from 15 to 30 Nm. I know it's not a lot but it's a lot cheaper then a turbo, the engine will be more responsive. The bad part is that it will lower your mpg.
that's not a downside, that's its character.
Bambo - for power you want a 4-1 exhaust, for torque you'd want a 4-2-1. The lenghts of the primaries, volumes of chambers and diameter of pipes is critical though, with secondary lengths also being important (in a 4-2-1), so don't just bolt on a manifold because it fits.
However, a good manifold will, in comparison with the crap that manufacturers fit to most cars (mostly because of space and cost) IMPROVE economy, power and response.
To design a decent exhaust you'll need about 10 A4 pages of maths, and need to know virtually everything about your engine. Don't assume that 'aftermarket parts companies' have done more than 1 line of maths - most exhaust places do not know anything about exhausts.
However, a good manifold will, in comparison with the crap that manufacturers fit to most cars (mostly because of space and cost) IMPROVE economy, power and response.
To design a decent exhaust you'll need about 10 A4 pages of maths, and need to know virtually everything about your engine. Don't assume that 'aftermarket parts companies' have done more than 1 line of maths - most exhaust places do not know anything about exhausts.
I knew I forgot something 
Anyway thanks for clearing a few things for me as well Tristan.
Another cheap way to get more power ,more torque ,more mpg and better response is a cold-air intake with one of those performance air filters.
An un-cheaper way of getting more torque is by getting bigger injectors and more powerful spark plugs .
Anyway thanks for clearing a few things for me as well Tristan. Another cheap way to get more power ,more torque ,more mpg and better response is a cold-air intake with one of those performance air filters.
An un-cheaper way of getting more torque is by getting bigger injectors and more powerful spark plugs .
Cold air intakes don't do a great deal. Most of the power increase is psycological and via aural differences. There is some improvment, but bang per buck it's not high on the list, surprising.
Bigger injectors just rich everything up badly and is the morons choice of tuning (unless you are really tuning the car, in which case cost won't be an issue)
Remapping the ignition (if possible) means you can use the standard size injectors.
Increasing the fuel pressure is the same horrid bodge as bigger injectors.
Spark plugs make negligable difference to power output. A better one will give slightly better flame front propogation control (essentially how the fuel burns), but again the improvments will be measured AFTER the decimal point.
Cams and/or cam timing can bring improvments, but you never get something for nothing. More low down torque = less high end torque = less power. However, some engines can benefit everywhere from increased valve overlap (cam timing) or simply fitting, say, two stanard inlet cams as opposed to a standard exhaust cam. But that's a question for specific engines and not valid as a general rule.
Bigger injectors just rich everything up badly and is the morons choice of tuning (unless you are really tuning the car, in which case cost won't be an issue)
Remapping the ignition (if possible) means you can use the standard size injectors.
Increasing the fuel pressure is the same horrid bodge as bigger injectors.
Spark plugs make negligable difference to power output. A better one will give slightly better flame front propogation control (essentially how the fuel burns), but again the improvments will be measured AFTER the decimal point.
Cams and/or cam timing can bring improvments, but you never get something for nothing. More low down torque = less high end torque = less power. However, some engines can benefit everywhere from increased valve overlap (cam timing) or simply fitting, say, two stanard inlet cams as opposed to a standard exhaust cam. But that's a question for specific engines and not valid as a general rule.
Whoa hold up there. Don't just assume bigger injectors will give you more power. How are you getting that much more air into the engine that it requires bigger than stock injectors? They are generally only needed after other modification, for example throttle bodies or forced induction.
Well they will give you more power if you make sure the car "knows" it has bigger ones by changing a bit the engine maps. I also didn't mentioned the fact that the engine may heat up more then it has been built for.
To give you a full list of all the things you can do to get more torque without a turbo:
1. Cold air intake
2. Performance air filter
3. 4-1 exhaust
4. Oil cooler
5. Gas cooler
6. Bigger radiator
7. More powerful spark plugs
8. Bigger injectors
Their are probably a lot more, but this are the ones I remember. Please note that some of the parts are just for reliability issues.
To give you a full list of all the things you can do to get more torque without a turbo:
1. Cold air intake
2. Performance air filter
3. 4-1 exhaust
4. Oil cooler
5. Gas cooler
6. Bigger radiator
7. More powerful spark plugs
8. Bigger injectors
Their are probably a lot more, but this are the ones I remember. Please note that some of the parts are just for reliability issues.
1. Hmmm
2. Hmmm, but at least very cheap
3. Yes, but not cheap, and often not enough room
4. Only if your oil is way too hot. 140-160°C is not too hot.
5. Hmmm, miniscule difference (assuming you mean a fuel cooler)
6. Yes, but only if your engines runs at more than 80°C
7. Not really.
8. Not really unless you've spent a lot on engine mods in the first place, and remapped it.
2. Hmmm, but at least very cheap
3. Yes, but not cheap, and often not enough room
4. Only if your oil is way too hot. 140-160°C is not too hot.
5. Hmmm, miniscule difference (assuming you mean a fuel cooler)
6. Yes, but only if your engines runs at more than 80°C
7. Not really.
8. Not really unless you've spent a lot on engine mods in the first place, and remapped it.
How would 'more powerful spark plugs' have any effect? Either you get a spark or you dont; either the petrol ignites or it doesn't. You can't 'ignite it more'.
I presumed that if you get bigger injectors, then the mix will be richer thus thinking the normal spark plugs won't be as efficient and wouldn't last as much as performance ones but I can be wrong.
You have today so many things with "performance" written in front of it's name that your average Joe simply doesn't know anymore who to believe or what do to.
You have today so many things with "performance" written in front of it's name that your average Joe simply doesn't know anymore who to believe or what do to.
A 'better' spark plug might (and I stress might) cause the ignition to be more controlled by providing a better path for the combustion - electrodes to the side rather than the tip of the plug usually help here. But the differences are small on anything but highly tuned engines. A better plug will, however, last longer
Bigger injectors (with no change to injector timing/duration) will make the engine simply run too rich. This will lower temperatures, give a little more power, worsen economy and worsen emissions. But it would HELP spark plug life (slightly).
You are correct that the word 'performance' is merely a marketting tool to sell stuff to people that don't know any better, and is usually a total pack of lies. GTi is the same thing. As is using jargon (or words that sound like jargon) for normal stuff - diesel injection for example. And people - most people in fact - fall for it hook, line and sinker.
So - performance air filters - useful at all?
(extra performance on the Proton would rock but only if it's ultra ultra ultra cheap - which I doubt means i'll get anything for it!)
(extra performance on the Proton would rock but only if it's ultra ultra ultra cheap - which I doubt means i'll get anything for it!)
Performance air filters are useful but the amount of horsepower you get is relative. IT rises with your engine capacity. I believe your's a 2,0L I think you will get about 5-10 hp in the best scenario.
I have a 1.5 L 85HP engine from Mitsubishi - I have no objection to spending a tenner or so on a new air filter if it does something useful, but I can't believe that I could gain 10% more power through one.
Also - Wiper blades / Spark plugs - What do you recommend? I think my plugs are knackered and my wiper blades are...
Also - Wiper blades / Spark plugs - What do you recommend? I think my plugs are knackered and my wiper blades are...
If you bought something like a K&N replacement filter you might get about 2% increase in power on a perfect day - 1.7hp!!! But they are a bit more expensive than a Halfords one (although they are cleanable if you buy the oils), so only bother if you are going to keep the car for about 10 air filters worth of time.
Wiper blades - Bosch make good ones.
Spark plugs - get normal NGK ones that are listed for your engine. Don't mess with the heat range of the plug.
Wiper blades - Bosch make good ones.
Spark plugs - get normal NGK ones that are listed for your engine. Don't mess with the heat range of the plug.
How much is an air filter? (just wondering - not going to buy one!)
Dunno. You'll have to google yourself
I have no idea how much is one for your particular car but I would say about 50$ and an induction kit will cost you about £70-80. Tristan I guess 5-10 hp are for 2,5L and above .
.You'd need around 350 - 400 HP to get a 2% / 5-10HP gain, btw...
Seems a filter is around £15 - £20. Screw that!
Seems a filter is around £15 - £20. Screw that!
A lot of filter/exhaust performance increase can depend a lot on the car. for instance, most people with my car (using a 2.0 from the 1960's!) can get a 5-20bhp increase with just a K&N and a 4-2-1 and maybe a very light cam upgrade.
Oh and jakg, thats £15......for life. think of how many £5-£10 filters youd buy if you serviced the car regularly compared to a one off payment.
Oh and jakg, thats £15......for life. think of how many £5-£10 filters youd buy if you serviced the car regularly compared to a one off payment.
Miscellaneous Automotive Questions Thread (Please Read 1st Post)
(147 posts, started )
FGED GREDG RDFGDR GSFDG