The Easiest Ways to Add HP to YOUR Car

We want horsepower, but going fast requires a lot of moolah. And let's face it, even if we had the money, we'd probably have to buy something boring like health insurance. Well, we have the list of ways that you can add horsepower to your ride for cheap, maybe even for free. So I'm Brad Danger, and this is Ideal. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button and turn on that notification bell if you're new, because we're throwing the heat pretty much every other day. And buckle up, let's go. Now before we get into the complicated things, we got to start off with something super basic. Really, it's the first step that you should take if you buy a car or have owned a car for a while, and that's a full engine service. And I'm talking about the boring stuff like replacing filters, doing an oil change, radiator service. Just do it, because you see, every year that you drive your car, stuff is just wearing out and getting worse. And those little things just, they add up. And then boom, suddenly your car is making 15 less horsepower than it did just a couple years ago. So the easy solution, do all the scheduled maintenance. It might seem obvious to some of you, but if you've ever been to the coffee shop meetup and walked past visitor parking, you know that there's just a lot of car enthusiasts that have been neglecting the basics. And it's not fun, and it's not sexy, but it is a must do. Plus, you have to do full service if you want to do anything else on this list. So all I'm saying is, don't be that guy asking people in the forums how to add power to the car when you can't even be bothered to change the damn oil. Plus, don't be like me, learn to do the maintenance yourself. You'll save a ton of money. And plus, you'll gain a better understanding of your car. So once you feel a little bit more comfortable, feel free to take a look at the Forbidden Isle in your local Napa. You know, the one with all that chrome, where the cone filters hang out. We're going to get this awesome wheel cover. It's going to give us at least 10 more horsepower and ultimate grip. Yeah, consider picking yourself up a less restrictive intake. And I know you're already thinking, cold air intakes, they don't add any cold air. They add hot air. And you're right. So let's dispel the myth first. A cold air intake is not going to make you fast. You aren't going to slap a new pot on your motor and have a 10-second car. What it will do, though, is give you better throttle response. It also could give you a wee bit more low-end power and that beautiful cold air intake sound. Plus, it will really clean up all the garbage under your hood. Modern air filters sit in this big plastic box. And while they aren't as restrictive as the internet wants you to believe, they do take up a whole lot of space and they look awful. Swapping the stock system for a clean aluminum pipe really makes your engine bay look good. Now, a cold air intake will set you back a few hundred bucks because you really should stick to the name brands, like K&N or AM or BBK. Those cheap eBay filters might look okay from a distance, but they usually include cheap awful air filters that actually rob your power instead. So stick with the name brands. And yes, again, you're not going to get a lot of power, just a little, but I personally think that the sound is definitely worth the upgrade. Speaking of things that are more about the sound than power, once you upgrade the air going in, you got to upgrade the exhaust going out. And believe me, there are a lot of components to an exhaust system. In fact, when I straight piped my 911, which you can check out that ideal vid up here, I couldn't believe how much was under the car. Right out of the engine, you have the manifolds or headers. Those go into the catalytic converters, which thieves like to steal, and then finally, you got a muffler. If any of those components is really restrictive, it's robbing you of power. Worse, it's robbing you of that sweet, sweet noise. You know, the simplest and cheapest upgrade is the cat-back exhaust because it starts at the catalytic converter and goes back. Now, a cat-back system usually won't break the bank, making them really perfect as an entry-level mod that you can do to your car. Now, on the list of exhaust mods is a high-flow cat. The problem is that depending on where you live, you may get into trouble doing this. And the truth is that modern catalytic converters aren't really all that restrictive anyway. And you should like the earth. You presumably live on it. Finally, let's talk about headers. Stock exhaust manifolds can be really restrictive. The manufacturer has to balance noise, comfort, heat, and performance, which is a very, very tricky balancing act. And since we don't care about anything other than power, we can sacrifice all the stuff and maximize flow by installing aftermarket headers. Nothing completes the look of a motor better than a good set of headers. And so far, we've made the engine look great and sound great with an intake and headers, but we really aren't making that much more power. And that is where the next step comes in. And you're gonna have to take your car to a pro, because doing a dyno tune requires a dyno, which you definitely don't have. Now, before we go further, stop. Stop looking at performance chips or garbage flash tunes from wish.com. Don't waste your money. And if you enjoy making money, well, then check out our other channel, Ideal Money, which will help you pay for all these awesome mods. Because if you buy one of those garbage chips, you're only gonna save like 200 bucks, and your engine might just blow up on you. And you know how much power a blown motor makes? Zilch. Zero. So don't do it. Do it right. Take your car to a dyno shop and have them tune it for power. See, your car's engine has a brain, a computer called the engine control module. And this thing calculates the amount of air, fuel, and timing your motor needs to stay efficient. From the factory, cars are programmed to balance power, efficiency, and comfort. We want to tune out the comfort and tune in the power. A dyno tune at a shop can cost you as little as 400 bucks, and it's well worth it. But the reason you wanna take it to a pro is that they've already done a bunch of these, and they know the tips and tricks to make the most power out of your ride. To give you an idea of just how massively a good tune can boost your power, a box stock 335i, you know, the German Supra, has about 300, give or take, horsepower. But if you flash the ECU and tune it up a bit, you can be looking at 400 horsepower. That's a massive 100 horsepower gain just for messing around with the computer program. What a concept. Now, there are DIY-ish systems out there. The most famous is Cobb. Yeah, Cobb tuning, and Subarus go hand in hand. And just know when those Subi bros are talking about a tune on their car, they're tuning it in their garage, and they're not talking about corn on the Cobb or any weird obsession with corn. Now, before we get to the last craziest step, we have some things you can do that will make you faster, even if you won't add any power. And they are just as important, if not more important, than performance. And we'll just call them honorable mentions for the sake of a throwback, since they don't technically increase horsepower. And the first honorable mention is weight reduction. I'm not talking about going on a Jenny Craig diet, but more so putting your car on a Jenny Craig diet. Because how fast your car can go is determined by a simple equation. To go faster, you either need more power or less weight. So remove weight, and it's just like making more power. And the best part is that it doesn't cost you any money to remove parts. In fact, sell the old parts on Craigslist, and you might make money. But the next honorable mention is probably the most important thing that you can possibly do if you actually care about going fast. Buy good rubber. You don't need to go for the Potenza RE71Rs, but a decent set of shoes will really improve your braking, your handling, and even your acceleration more than any cheap engine mod will. I mean, heck, you could test it out on Gran Turismo if you don't believe me. And finally, if you are really serious about going fast, which if you're still watching this video, you definitely are because you're waiting for the last thing, you want to upgrade the bad connection between the seat and the steering wheel. Yes, the nut behind the wheel. All the power, weight, and grip in the world won't actually make you faster. That's all technique and knowledge. And the cheapest way to do this is actually just go to a go-kart track and just start doing laps. It's cheap, and the penalty for making a mistake is just a few bruises, maybe, instead of having to explain to your significant other that your insurance is about to go up again. Okay, honorable mentions over. Let's talk about the craziest and cheapest way to make your car more powerful. And I hope you're sitting down right now because, just be warned, it will require doing hours upon hours upon hours of research, and it's going to require doing a lot of extra work. But the best results can be really, really satisfying. All you got to do is head to your local junkyard. Here's the plan. Chances are that your car shares components with a car that's faster. So, first thing you got to do is do a crap ton of research. You know, you have to know everything about your motor so that you can buy the right used parts for cheap. Coincidentally, if you use the Ideal Car Strategies, which is a step-by-step process to buy your current ride and then level up with each consecutive ride, you probably already did all that. It's funny how, you know, these things line up sometimes. But if you haven't, go check out the Ideal Car Strategies up here, seven secrets that you can drive a car for free or even make money. And it's not just any old car, it's your dream car. But to go fast on the cheap, here's how you have to think. Say you have an older Civic with the B16, and you want to add a bit of power, right? Well, the B18C high-flow exhaust header will bolt right onto it. See, we just saved you maybe 30 minutes of research. So all you got to do is find a wrecked Integra and pull the parts off of it. And it doesn't even have to be from a junkyard, per se. You know, you could use Craigslist or eBay or your weird uncle's garage. Maybe not your weird uncle's garage, but those other places are all great places to find used parts. Just make sure you're not getting ripped off. Because if you shop around a bit, you might be able to get an amazing deal, especially if it's like a person on Facebook that doesn't know exactly what kind of gold they're holding onto because it was just on their old commuter, you know, their Integra. To them, it's just a regular car. So you see what I mean by having to do a ton of research? You first got to find the parts that fit, and then you got to find the donor vehicle or donor part. But that time invested could save you thousands of dollars while building an awesome engine. And here's one secret that I'm going to leave you with. Turbos, force induction, can go on any car. If you're feeling particularly crazy, like us, there's a lot of cars that have turbos and superchargers that no one expects. Like the Toyota Previa minivan, which is supercharged and one of the coolest vans ever. Or the turbocharged Mini Cooper S, which are plentiful at junkyards. So all you have to do is find some junk, and you have everything you need to add forced induction to your car. And we hope you enjoyed this video about building cheap horsepower. Do you have a project car that you're working on and want to make more power with it? Let us know what your plans are down in the comments. Or have you done any of the mods that we talked about? We'll hang out in the comments section for the first few hours after this video is uploaded. And you know, car people love talking about cars, and you might be able to get some really good ideas. So even if you don't have anything to comment, go check out the comments. And also, if you're new here, please subscribe and turn on that notification bell, and hit that like button for the YouTube algorithm. This has been such a fun video to film for you guys, and you guys are what make Ideal Cars one of the best automotive YouTube channels on YouTube. So thank you for your support, and as always, keep living the ideal lifestyle.