1. INCREASE DISPLACEMENT–Because you can burn more gas during each revolution of the engine more displacement means more power . You can increase displacement by making the cylinders bigger. As displacement is a function of an engine’s bore and stroke, you can either increase the bore (widening the cylinder chamber) or increase the stroke or both. Increasing the bore is usually easier and cheaper.

2. INCREASE THE COMPRESSION RATIO–By creating a larger “explosion,” increasing the compression ratio produces more power . However, the more you compress the air/fuel mixture, the more likely it is to spontaneously burst into flame (prior to the spark plug igniting it). The use of higher octane gasolines avoid this early combustion.

3. STUFF MORE AIR INTO EACH CYLINDER–Increasing the amount of air (and therefore fuel) into a cylinder of a given size, increases the amount of power from the cylinder (in the same way that you would by increasing the size of the cylinder). Turbo chargers and super chargers pressurize the incoming air to effectively cram more air into a cylinder.

4. COOL THE INCOMING AIR–Compressing air raises its temperature. You would like to have the coolest air possible in the cylinder because the hotter the air is the less it will expand when combustion takes place. The most common method is to draw cooler air from outside of the engine compartment, usually through the use of hood scoops. Therefore, “Ram Air” systems generally are design to draw in cooler outside air, rather than truly “ramming” the air into the engine. In addition, many turbo charged and super charged cars have an inter cooler which is a special radiator through which the compressed air passes to cool it off before it enters the cylinder.

5. LET AIR COME IN MORE EASILY–As a piston moves down in the intake stroke, air resistance can rob power from the engine. Air resistance can be lessened dramatically by putting two intake valves in each cylinder. Some newer cars are also using polished intake manifolds to eliminate air resistance there. Bigger air filters or more efficient air filters (such as K&N Filters) can also help air flow.

6. LET EXHAUST EXIT MORE EASILY–It robs the engine of power if air resistance makes it hard for exhaust to exit a cylinder, . Air resistance can be lessened by adding a second exhaust valve to each cylinder (a car with 2 intake and 2 exhaust values has 4 valves per cylinder, which improves performance). If the exhaust pipe is too small or the muffler has a lot of air resistance then this can cause back-pressure which has the same effect. High-performance exhaust systems use headers, big tail pipes and free-flowing mufflers to eliminate back-pressure in the exhaust system. Dual Exhaust systems improve the flow of exhaust by having two exhaust pipes instead of one.

7. MAKE EVERYTHING LIGHTER–Lightweight engine parts help the engine perform better. Most engine parts are made of iron – which is cheap but heavy. Switching to Aluminum parts is a bit more expensive, but can reduce engine weight by up to 100 lbs. In addition to losing weight in the best place (up front and up high), lightweight engine parts results in a more efficient engine. For example, aluminum pistons are more efficient because each time a piston changes direction it uses up energy to stop the travel in one direction and start it in another. The lighter the piston, the less energy it takes.

8. INJECT THE FUEL–Fuel injection allows very precise metering of fuel to each cylinder. This improves performance and fuel economy.

Even the most powerful engine will not perform if it is not properly tuned.

If you test-drive a car whose ride quality is borderline firm, take time to re-think before ordering a car with larger wheels if you haven’t experienced them out on the road. The same thought applies to run-flat tires, which are sometimes an option instead of having a spare tire. All other things being equal, run-flats usually ride more firmly than common tires.  Taller sidewalls don’t just protect you better from bumps in the road — they will certainly help to protect the wheels on which they ride. Hit a bad pothole with a large wheel and sporty low-profile tire, and the wheel is more likely to endure damage than would a smaller wheel. Further, if you drive up against a curb while parking, a smaller wheel will usually emerge with no more than a scuffed  sidewall.

A larger wheel, which is lower to the ground, might not survive such a close encounter. All-season tires are typically installed on most all cars; the exceptions are sports cars that aren’t meant for cold climates, some of which come only with summer performance tires.  Summer, winter and all-season tires are self-explanatory in terms of what they are intended for. What’s less obvious are the safety, efficiency and longevity issues. Though they maximize grip in warm, dry weather, the soft rubber compounds used in summer tires harden when the weather goes cold and become hazardous — and are even more so on snow or ice. Summer and winter tires aren’t your best choice if you’re a stickler for mileage — described either as fuel economy or how long they will last.  Summer and winter tires are less efficient. Likewise, they don’t last as long as all-season tires.

Even if summer or winter tires are a no-cost option when you purchase the car, they’re only truly no-cost if you live in an all-summer or all-winter climate. More often than not, owners with those tires really should switch them twice a year. In these cases there’s the added cost of a whole other set of four tires (different seasonal types cannot be mixed) plus the trouble and expense of re-mounting them twice a year. Even if you own both sets on their own wheels, mounting, balancing and storing a second set are additional expenses you’ll need to keep in mind. So, if you’re in doubt, we recommend sticking with the well known all-season tires. In addition to the longevity and efficiency advantages, all-seasons hold up well in all conditions, and the past few years, we’ve seen them creep even further into performance levels once known only to winter and summer tires.