Tuning your car is not as complex as what we read in books or watch in movies. Just by following some basics, your car can end up giving better performance, more power, improved fuel economy and utmost safety. Oh yes, and who can forget the aesthetic benefit!
There is a gamut of improvements you can make to your car. Some of them just require few standard tools, a weekend and may be some friends to assist. But before getting your hands dirty, make sure that you know what you’re doing. Have the right tools before tearing apart your car – you certainly wouldn’t want to get stuck in the middle!
Here we present you some of the most convincing tips that will help you brush up your car tuning ideas.
You don’t need what you don’t need
It is funny how quickly the junk and crap in your trunk or backseat can accumulate. An unpleasant sight could be the immediate impact, but it also bothers your mileage, handling and braking distance, just to mention a few. So, get rid of the junk that is just piling up inside. It really serves no purpose, at all. It can be a pile with some chocolate wrappers, empty coke cans, office paper mess, the missing flower from the bouquet, or just any other thing. These things just add up clutter in your car. And when there’s clutter, you never have peace of mind, which leads to a mundane ride wherever you go.
Stereo
Today’s cars have advanced audio system layouts that are highly integrated into the master ECU. If you want to upgrade these units, you need to have enough time, fabrication skills and big dough. However, a simple know-how is enough to upgrade your car’s factory speakers. By doing this, you can add clarity and quality to your music.
If your car uses the standard single/double DIN unit then you have more options to go with. You can easily upgrade a new head unit for superior sound, Bluetooth connectivity or iPod control.
Body Work
While some aspects of body work demand the hand of professionals, there are few things that you can try by yourself – such as, sanding down a vehicle or removing basic trim pieces. If your skills level is pretty high, you can even try a bit tougher task and save a lot of money. Things like simple body replacements (replacing hoods and fenders) do not require rocket science. On the other hand, removing dent or repairing fiberglass is considered to be a complex body work. Better, leave the tricky tasks to a professional.
Engine
Over these years, engine swaps have been one of the extremely popular upgrading options. If you don’t know what that is, it’s the process of removing a vehicle’s original engine to replace it with a new one. People mainly opt for this option due to the lack of performance of the engine. As you can easily get a modern and efficient engine in the town, why rely on malfunctioning old engine? Good thing is, you can do this work by yourself.
Dynamat
You know what Dynamat is right? It’s a dense foam sheet that you stick to the interior panels of your vehicle. Its general purpose is to act as a dampener and reduce vibration in a car’s sheet metal.
So, if you want to get rid of unpleasant rattling noises throughout your journey or just want to have a peaceful ride, then you can benefit from Dynamat. This will also help in keeping exterior noises from creeping into the cabin. Dynamat is available in precut sheets for a variety of purposes. However, you can also cut a sheet by yourself, depending on your own needs.
Tint your Window
Your skin means a lot to you – no two ways about it. While you are riding, your skin may absorb the harmful UV rays coming from the sun. These rays can lead to severe health cases including skin cancer. This is when your tinted window comes in play – it can block about 99% UV rays.
Not only this, a strong glare can be extremely frustrating while riding on a bright sunny day. Window tints can solve this problem as well. And not to forget that window tinting can help big time in saving your upholstery.
However, never try to tint your car windows by yourself. It requires enough expertise and experience that only professionals have.
Headlight
Once you come to know that the headlights of your car are scratched, discolored or missing the brightness they once had, you have to consider headlight restoration right away. I am pretty sure you don’t want to miss some awesome night rides due to your bad headlights.
Headlight restoration is a process of cleaning, polishing and sanding the lights to remove marks, and maintain its condition for years to come. However, this work is not for ‘do-it-yourselfers’ – you need to hire experts to look over this issue. Apart from the obvious procedure, they will apply clear protective coating to the headlight, to bring back the original lighting performance, and make it look like a new one.
Interior
No matter how bright or shiny your vehicle is, if your cabin displays signs of frayed fabrics, excessive sun damage or different types of stain, it will certainly drop your four-wheeler’s desirability to zero. But, you can upgrade the look of your car with just a little care. Say, you can add some fresh components for the cabin’s major touch points, such as the steering wheel and seat.
Brakes
When you upgrade the brakes of your vehicle, it will not just improve the overall braking system, but will also provide peace of mind. Nicely maintained brakes can improve the initial bite and prevent brake fade over repeated stops.
Best of all, brake pads and rotors are often easily changed using just a set of wrenches. While upgrading the hard parts, go ahead and flush your brake fluid, and inspect the hoses for wear and tear. Follow these easy ideas and experience the fun of driving!
