About My Blog

A Need For Speed is pretty much a car blog that discusses the many possibilities of modifications/improvements that can be done on vehicles of all types. My blog discusses modifications from both the visual (including body kits, spoilers, and neon lights) and performance (such as turbochargers, nitrous oxide, suspensions, and a lot more) standpoints. In order for my blog to apply more to teenagers our age, I have chosen to include a few vehicle maintenance tips and also a few ways to help improve your vehicle’s fuel economy. Throughout the entire process, I have done my best to answer the following questions: “What makes a quality race-ready street car” and “What are some ways for people to help maintain a quality vehicle”. In conclusion, I am confident that my final product is a quality blog that addresses these two essential questions. I also feel that this blog definitely showcases my best quality work.

Turbo Charging

When it comes to increasing an engines power output, one of the first things that people turn to is turbo charging. Although turbochargers are rather hard to install, their benefits definitely outweigh their disadvantages. For one, unlike nitrous oxide systems, they create a permanent source of power that doesn’t have to be replenished every so often with use. Turbochargers work by compressing more air into the vehicle’s engine. More air being compressed means that more fuel can be burned; therefore you would get more power from each explosion of the cylinder. A turbocharged engine always produces more power than a similar non-charged engine. Another advantage to turbo charging is that it significantly improves the vehicle’s power to weight ratio. In other words, a large amount of power (usually around 50-75%) is added without having a huge negative effect on the vehicle’s weight and fuel consumption. Turbochargers can also prove to be useful in areas of higher elevation. This is because in these areas, oxygen supplies are rather low, and by adding a turbocharger, you would be able to force more air and oxygen into the vehicle’s cylinders; therefore allowing you to make the most out of your engines potential power. To get the full effect of a performance turbo, you would probably want to consider adding a performance air intake and fuel injection system to your engine.

Turbocharger and a Turbocharged Engine:

Interior Changes

Although you may not realize it, there are also many things that you can change about a vehicle’s interior. For one, you can change the carpet and seats to pretty much whatever type of design that you like. Other possibilities include subwoofers, roll cages, racing seats, racing harnesses, extra gauges, racing steering wheel, and pretty much anything else that you could possibly think of about cars. Although some of these changes (subwoofers and shaggy carpets in particular) have no real purpose but to just look or sound good, some (like the roll cage, racing seats, and harness) actually help keep the driver safe just in case something does go wrong. Roll cages help prevent the driver from being smashed inside the vehicle just in case it does roll over. Racing seats and harnesses pretty much keep the driver in his/her seat, and also provide extra support in case something does happen.

Brakes

Brakes are arguably one of the essential parts for any vehicle, regardless of what it is being used for. They effectively stop or help slow down a vehicle by converting kinetic energy into heat and also through friction. The most common types of brakes (disk brakes) work through a disk that is attached to the wheels. This disks spins freely when the car is moving, and when the brakes are applied, a clamp (known as the caliper) pinches down on this disk (this disk is known as the brake disk or brake rotor). This clamp creates friction and converts a lot of the disk’s kinetic energy into heat. These two forces work hand in hand in order to stop the vehicle. The problem with a vehicle’s stock brakes is that they are usually too small and are unable to cool down quickly enough to provide efficient braking. If the brakes are applied frequently (as in racing), then the brake rotors will eventually get to hot and will be unable to convert anymore kinetic energy into heat, therefore the driver will press down on the brakes, but nothing will happen. Because of this, performance cars usually opt for more powerful brakes, which usually include a bigger rotor and/or a bigger, more powerful caliper. With a bigger disk, there would be a larger surface area, therefore there would be more friction between the caliper and the brake disk. Performance brakes are also usually cross-drilled or vented in order to help the brake disks stay cool after braking in order for them to be effective for a much longer period of time. When you get high performance brakes however, you have to be sure that you have a suspension and tire set that is capable of handling the increased braking forces. If not, your car could prove to be uncontrollable in heavy braking conditions. For example, you could skid under heavy breaking if your tires are incapable of handling the increased friction between the road and the tires. Also if you happened to be turning and your car begins to skid, then your vehicle could possibly flip over.

High Performance Brake Parts:

Suspensions

For vehicles, the term “suspension” refers to the springs, shock absorbers, and joints that connect a vehicle to its wheels. For the most part, suspensions serve two main purposes. The first is to help the vehicle turn and handle. The next is to keep the passengers comfortable. Performance suspensions seem to focus more on the first item, but at the same time, the latter isn’t always completely neglected. For modified cars with increased power, the suspension is usually an important part for further customization. This is because the stock suspension that comes with the car isn’t designed to deal with the amounts of power that aftermarket engines deliver. Because of this, the vehicle could become hard to control, and may be rather unpredictable to drive. Aftermarket suspensions are designed to allow the vehicle to handle under increased stress conditions and at the same time do a better job applying the vehicle’s power effectively to the ground (for example less unnecessary wheel spin and “fishtailing” when going through sharp turns at high speeds). On the downside however, performance suspensions are usually designed to be stiffer than the stock ones, therefore the vehicle’s ride quality with probably be negatively affected (especially in bumpy areas). On the other hand, if all you plan on doing is normal driving, you’d probably just want to stick to the suspension that comes with your car, but you should talk to a trained technician if you want a bit more out of your ride. Performance suspensions work best when matched with high quality brakes, tires, and engine power kits.

Stock Vehicle Suspension:



One type of Aftermarket Suspension:

Tips for Maintaining the Interior

For some, interior looks are more important than the exterior. This is because this is where the passengers ride, and to them, this is the area that really matters the most. If you don’t take care of your vehicle’s interior you are making your car look dirty, while at the same time deteriorating your car’s interior. This in turn decreases your vehicle’s value (just in case you decide to sell your ride) because no one would want to buy a car with a messed up interior for the same price that they would find the same vehicle with a well maintained interior. Here are some tips to keep the inside of your car looking great:
1) Wipe off any surface dust from the dashboard and door panels on a regular basis. You can also use cleaners such as ArmorAll to help protect the surfaces from UV light damage.
2) There are also products available to help remove dirt and smudges from the vehicle’s glass. Be sure that if you are cleaning the glass from the inside you use a cleaner that won’t deteriorate your vehicle’s window tint (the bottle should say if it is okay to use on window tint).
3) Buy a shop vacuum to help remove any dirt from the carpets and seats.
4) Use floor mats to help protect your carpet.
5) You can also use seat covers to help protect your seats or to cover up a seat that is starting to get torn apart. If you choose to use seat covers, be sure that you aren’t covering up any of the vehicle’s airbags (this applies especially to vehicles with leather seats).
6) You could possibly use leather or upholstery seat cleaners in order to help protect your seats from heat damage after being exposed to a lot of sunlight.

Cars with Clean Interiors:





Interior Care Products:

Nitrous Oxide (NOS)

One rather efficient, yet cost effective, way of boosting a car’s power output is by using nitrous oxide, or NOS as it is more commonly referred too. It has to be manufactured and is stored in a pressurized tank. When under pressure, the compound is in a non-combustible and liquid state. When the substance is removed from the tank, it loses its pressure and allows more oxygen to rush into the engine in order to help it burn more fuel. This creates a temporary, but powerful surge of power.

One of the major advantages of using NOS, as I have mentioned earlier, is that it is relatively cheap and cost effective. At the same time, the amount of work needed in order to install a full nitrous set is much lower than that needed to install high performance crankshafts, turbochargers, or fuel injectors. On the downside, however, is that although these modifications provide a permanent source of power, nitrous is only temporary, and the bottle has to be refilled every so often depending on how much you choose to use it.

Stick Shift Videos

How to Drive a Stick Shift:



More Advanced Techniques:



First Time Driving a Stick:

How to Drive a Stick Shift

For many people, knowing how to drive a stick shift has many advantages. For one, cars with a manual transmission are both cheaper and have a better fuel economy than their automatic counterparts. They also offer more control for the driver by allowing him/her to choose how much power to apply to the road. Stick shift vehicles also require less transmission maintenance than automatics, but if something does happen to break, repairs are usually cheaper for manual vehicles than they are for automatics. Here are the basic steps that will set you in the right path towards properly driving a stick:
1) Start off in a flat empty area free of any obstructions such as an empty parking lot.
2) Start the vehicle by depressing the clutch (the pedal furthest to the left) and turning the key at the same time. Before you take your foot off of the clutch make sure that the car isn’t in gear (gear shifter is in the centered neutral position).
3) Familiarize yourself with the gear shifters pattern which is usually imprinted on top or near the shifter.
4) Once you are ready to start moving, depress the clutch and then put the shifter into first gear (this is usually done by moving the shifter to the left and then forward)
5) Slowly release the clutch while applying gas at the same time.
6) Once the vehicle starts moving steadily, release your foot off of the clutch.
7) When the engine’s rpm reaches around 2500-3000 change gears by releasing the gas and then by depressing the clutch and then shifting into the next gear. Once you have shifted, release the clutch and then reapply the gas.
8) To stop, press the brakes and then put the vehicle back into neutral before it stalls
9) Once you get familiar with these steps, you can begin by practicing near more people and on more hilly regions.
For future references, if the vehicle stalls (which will probably happen when you are just learning) don’t worry and just start the vehicle back up again.

Car Care Videos

How to Change a Flat Tire



Exterior Maintenance:



Checking Engine Oil:

Automatic vs. Manual Transmission

For some people, the question of whether to buy a vehicle with an automatic transmission or a manual transmission comes up. Each of these choices have both their advantages and disadvantages. If you don’t know how to drive a manual however, don’t buy a car with a manual transmission. If you don’t know what you’re doing, chances are you won’t even be able to move the car 2 feet without it stalling on you. I recommend that you have someone who does know how to drive a manual teach you first before you buy this type of car. Depending on your situation, you should choose your transmission based on the following information:

Why You Should By an Automatic:
-Easier to operate, especially while in traffic. You simply have to lift your foot off of the brake in order to make the car move, as opposed to having to depress the clutch and having to put the car in gear each time you stop and go.
-You are able to have both hands on the steering wheel at all times.
-These types of cars are much easier to learn and get used to.

Why You Should By a Manual:
-If you know what you are doing, it can be useful to have full control over your vehicle’s gears. For example, this gives you more control while at high speeds and also while trying to negotiate steep hills.
-Vehicles with manual transmissions are always cheaper than their automatic counter parts.
-Manuals, in the hands of an experienced driver, have been proven to be around 10% more fuel efficient than automatics of the same vehicle type
-In terms of performance, manuals are also significantly quicker than automatics because you are able to choose precisely how much power you want to apply to the road.

A Few Ways to Increase Your Fuel Economy

With today’s rising gas prices, fuel economy is becoming an increasingly important subject, especially when it comes down to teens who have to pay for their own gas. Here are 5 helpful tips that will help pay less at the pump:
#5: Use only the required octane of gas on your vehicle. In other words, use the cheapest grade of gas possible. Most vehicles only require regular unleaded fuel, and by using higher octane fuels you wouldn’t be making any difference towards your car’s fuel economy or performance. On the other hand however, if your vehicle says “premium unleaded fuel only”, be sure to use only premium grade fuel.
#4: Change your vehicle’s oil and oil filter every 3000 miles or 3-4 months, whichever comes first
#3: Change your vehicle’s air filter. If your car’s air filter is clogged up, then the engine has to work harder in order to suck more air through it, therefore reducing fuel economy.
#2: Take out all unnecessary items from the vehicle. Believe it or not, all the little things that you don’t need add up to create an unnecessary amount of weight to the car. In turn, an increased weight means that the car has to work harder in order to lag that extra stuff around.
#1: Avoid making rapid accelerations. For vehicles with a manual transmission, use the highest gear that your car can handle for cruising speeds (if your speed is constant and the vehicle is not accelerating). By doing hurried accelerations, your vehicle burns extra amounts of fuel in order to get the vehicle up to speed quickly. For manual transmissions, if you are using a lower gear, your engine is moving at a higher rpm (revolution per minute). This in turn translates to more fuel being burnt than necessary.

How to Wax a Car

Another important car care detail that is sometimes forgotten about is waxing the vehicle’s paint job. Arguably, waxing a car has many benefits. For one, it helps protect the car’s body from corrosion. It can also help remove and prevent against water spots. In addition to these things, wax also protects a vehicle’s paint job from heat damage which can be caused from continuous exposure to sunlight. At the same time, waxing a car also makes it appear shinier and smoother than a car without wax. Here are the basic steps towards waxing a vehicle:
1) Be sure that the car’s surface is clean, preferably directly after a car wash
2) Put some wax on a clean rag (small ones work best and are the easiest to use)
3) Apply the wax by putting pressure in a circular motion against the body of the car
4) Wait a few minutes than remove the wax by using another clean rag (for this step you should use a larger rag)
5) Repeat these steps for the entire vehicle, but make sure that the hood and roof are thoroughly done because these are the spots that are the most susceptible from damage due to prolonged heat exposure.
Some recommended and high quality wax brands include Meguiars, Turtle Wax, and Hawaiian Island Shine.

How to Wash a Car

One of the most important skills that I feel apply to teenagers when comes down to vehicles is knowing how to wash a car. In addition to making your vehicle look better, having a clean car actually helps keep your paint job in a good condition for longer periods of time. This is because having dirt on the surface of your car actually deteriorates the clear coat of paint that comes with the car. To get this job done properly, just follow these simple steps:
1) Put some car soap (the amount depends on the size of the vehicle) and a sponge into a large bucket
2) Fill the bucket, containing the soap and sponge, with water
3) Spray the entire vehicle down with a hose
4) Using the wet sponge, cover the entire vehicle with soap (don’t forget about the wheel’s and side-view mirrors)
5) Spray all of the soap off using a hose
6) Dry the vehicle down with a shop rag
7) Don’t forget to dry inside the doors, hood, and trunk in order to prevent rusting in these areas
Extra Notes:
-Avoid getting water into the vehicle’s exhaust pipe
-You can also use a squeegee in order to help remove a lot of the water after you spray the car down for the final time
-Some recommended car wash soap brands include Turtle Wax, ArmorAll, and Meguiars.

All About Tires

Arguably, one of the most important parts of a vehicle would be its tires. They are what put the car’s power down to the road, and they are the only part of the vehicle which actually makes contact with the ground. Because of this, keeping your tires in good condition is important for both safety and performance. There are many different tire designs, each of which have a different purpose. Many performance cars use wider low-profile tires in order to increase the levels of traction and handling between the road and the car. Most other cars, on the other hand, use tires which are designed to give a good mix of comfort and handling. No matter what the design, however, there are two things which should always be remembered about your tires. The first is to maintain the proper tire pressure (this includes the spare), and the next is to be sure that the tires have a good amount of tread on them (in other words, make sure that they aren’t worn out). One generally accepted way of doing this is known as the “penny test”. It works by placing an upside down penny upright into the grooves of the tire’s tread. If you can still see the top of Lincoln’s head then it is time to change your tires, but if you can’t then your tires are just fine. Having worn out tires can severely affect your vehicles handling characteristics, and at the same time they can prove to be extremely dangerous. For example, worn out tires can lead to increased stopping distance, less grip/traction with the road, and unnecessary wheel spin especially on gravel and wet surfaces.

The Penny Test

Vehicle Maintenance Tips

Vehicle Maintenance:

In order to keep your vehicle in good condition, both visually and performance wise, over longer periods of time, some maintenance will have to be done. Here are a few basic tips that will probably save you a lot of time and money down the road:
1) Be sure to change your oil and oil filter every 3000 miles or 3-4 months, whichever comes first
2) Check your car’s oil levels at least once a month, and add oil as needed
3) Keep all of tires, including the spare, properly inflated to the manufacturer’s specified pressure
4) Wash your car if needed because dirt deteriorates the vehicle’s paint job
5) Wax your car a few times each year in order to polish your car and also to prevent against corrosion
6) Carry around a pair of jumper cables in your trunk just in case your car won’t start
7) Make sure that your tires have a good amount of tread on them.
8) Use the manufacturer’s recommended fuel type (unleaded or diesel) and octane (applicable for all unleaded gas vehicles).
9) For unleaded vehicles be sure to use unleaded fuel only. Most car’s will only require the lowest grade (also the cheapest) gas, but others (namely high performance and turbocharged cars) require the use of premium unleaded (the most expensive octane) fuel.

European Car Gallery

Proper Tire Pressure

Blog Post #8

Proper Tire Pressure
One of the most looked over car maintenance details is the importance of maintaining the vehicle’s proper tire pressure. Although some people may not realize this, keeping the car’s tires at the recommended pressure is important for both keeping the vehicle safe, and for preventing future problems down the road. If the vehicle’s pressure is not at the recommended pressure, then the car’s handling characteristics could be seriously altered. Also, without the proper tire pressure, the tires would develop an uneven wear pattern; therefore the tires would have to be replaced sooner than expected. Here are the steps needed in order to maintain a recommended tire pressure:
1) Find the vehicle’s recommended tire pressure. This can be found either on the inside of the driver’s door, or inside the glove compartment.
2) Remove the tire’s valve cover. Using a tire gauge, check the tire’s current pressure, measured in PSI (Pounds-Per-Square Inch), and then compare it to the recommended value.
3) Pump air into the tire using a pump (which can be found at most gas stations) until the recommended value is met. If too much air is added, press the stem which is located in the middle of the valve until the desired pressure is found

Tire Valve:


Tire Gauge:


Tire Being Inflated:

Changing a Flat Tire

When you encounter a flat tire, you pretty much have two options. You can either call a service company, or you can decide to fix it yourself. If you decide fix it yourself, be sure that you know what you’re doing and that you are following all of the proper safety procedures. Here are the major steps to get this job done:
1) Locate the spare tire and tool kit. For most vehicles, these things can be found in the trunk underneath the primary covering, but for some trucks and vans, these things are located underneath the vehicle near the rear of the car.
2) Set up the jack and begin to lift the vehicle to a workable height. Only lift the jack on the vehicle’s designated jack points which will be obvious when you look underneath the vehicle. When the car is supported only by the jack which comes with the car, be sure not to place any part of your body under the vehicle.
3) Unscrew the flat tire with the given tire wrench from the tool kit.
4) Mount the spare tire by first centering and then putting the wheel bolts back on.
5) Screw the bolts back on as tight as you can by hand, and then lower the vehicle.
6) With the car lowered, re-torque the bolts by stepping on the wrench.
7) Replace the spare tire with the original as quickly as possible.
For Future Reference:
1) Unless you have a full-sized spare (a spare tire which is the same size as the original), be sure not to drive faster than the speed indicated on the tire.
2) Keep the spare tire properly maintained (ex: proper tire pressure and non-rusted wheel)

American and Muscle Car Gallery

Body Kits and Spoilers

One of the most popular visual modifications to a vehicle is an aftermarket body kit. For the most part, most people use a body kit solely to separate them visually from other vehicles on the road. Although they also increase aerodynamic efficiency, a new body kit will only make a difference at extremely high speeds. In other words, unless you are going around 150 mph, a new body kit won’t affect a vehicles performance.

Spoilers on the other hand, can actually help increase a car’s performance by adding more down force to the car’s rear. They pretty much work by forcing air upwards of the car, therefore pushing the car down. This can be effective at high speeds and sharp turning maneuvers because they keep the car glued to the road, and prevent its back end from lifting off of the ground.

Car With No Body Kit

Same Car With a Body Kit

Proper Car Tuning and Part Matching

Many novice car tuners believe that all you need is a good, powerful engine in order to create a track/race ready car. The thing is that this isn’t necessarily true. Although modifying a car’s engine is a definite advantage, many times, when you add new parts to your car, you will also have to modify other parts of the vehicle in order for you to take complete advantage of your new part. For example, you may install a new brake set thinking that it would do a great job decreasing your stopping distance. In the end however, you would later realize that you would also need new tires in order to deal with the increased traction forces between the road and the tire. Without new tires, your car could possibly skid around (and if you are turning sharply while this is happening, you could even flip the car) and lose control during heavy breaking. In addition to these new tires, you would also need high strength wheel bolts in order to properly secure the wheels to the car because the stock wheel bolts that come with the car aren’t designed to be punished with the same levels of force that a performance brake set would provide.
Also when increasing a car’s power, you have to make sure that the vehicle’s suspension is capable of handling the increased levels of torque. In other words, when you add a significant amount of power to a car, you’d probably also have to replace the car’s suspension to insure that it’s safety and handling characteristics are how you want them to be.
In conclusion, part matching usually deals with performance modifications because without it, a car could turn out to be very dangerous and unpredictable to drive.

Import Car Gallery

Increasing Engine Power

For many car enthusiasts, increased engine power is the most important thing when it comes to a race ready car. Engines power is rated in terms of horsepower (1 hp=746 watts). A typical stock car (“stock” refers to the car being completely unmodified) has anywhere from 90 to 350 horsepower. You can increase the power of a car by using one or more of the following principles:
1) Increase the Engine’s Displacement Value: Ways to do this include adding more cylinders or enlarging the size of the engine’s cylinder heads and pistons
2) Increase the Engine’s Speed: By increasing the engines speed, power is being created at a quicker pace, therefore more horsepower is being produced
3) Improve the Volumetric Efficiency of the Engine: This can be achieved by turbo charging, super charging, or through a more advanced fuel injection system. This method pretty much involves pumping more air into the vehicle’s cylinder heads, therefore increasing the reaction between the fuel and air mixture. This ultimately creates more power, without having to deal with fuel efficiency problems.
4) Increase the Air Density: This principle can also be achieved by using a performance turbo charger and intercooler. By increasing the air density, you put more oxygen into the engine, and the increased explosive reaction can add up to around 80% of the engine’s original power.

The Basics

When it comes down to it, there are many different ways to modify a car. Possibilities include modifications towards both performance and visual appearance. Although my blog will talk about both, it will be focusing on the overall performance of the car.

The first thing that most people do when they decide to do something new with their car is to give their ride a new look. This can be done with a new paint job, or a new body kit. Large speakers, neon lights, low-profile tires, and wheels are also examples of visual changes that can be done to a car. Performance and handling enhancements can include turbo charging, supercharging, racing tires, exhaust systems, nitrous oxide (illegal for the streets), performance suspensions, and brakes.

In the end, however, modifying cars can be both a hobby and a possible career. You should also be aware that some car modifications, such as lowering the ride height, can seriously affect a car’s handling characteristics. While this is true, some other modifications, like underbody neon lights and nitrous oxide (legal for actual track races), are actually illegal. But both way you should always be careful, and to leave stuff that you don’t know how to do with trained technicians.