Top Ten Performance Bolt-Ons

Performance enthusiasts are always in search of more power becuz there's never enough. Most aftermarket products tease you with subtle gains in HP and leave you begging for more. However, the correct combination of performance products can leave you satisfied. It just takes a lot of time and patience to figure out what your vehicle responds to best.

The most basic necessities of building a fast car are the most obvious ones. You need an air filter, header, exhaust, throttle body, cams, adjustable cam sprockets, and ported head. To draw more power, a turbocharger, supercharger and/or NOS can be added.

The following is a list of the top ten performance upgrades that really work
1. Headers
Aftermarket headers direct exhaust gases outward and increase the velocity at which they exit. This is accomplished through the design and size of the primary tubes. 
2. Air Filter
Air filters are designed to increase the velocity and amount of incoming air while preventing dust and dirt particles from causing engine failure. 
3. Exhaust Systems
Mandrel-bent larger piping and a free-flowing muffler lead to increased flow, which translates into more HP. Most aftermarket systems utilize factory mounting brackets. 
4. Ignition Systems
Ignition amplifiers usually feature a rev limiter and sometimes a retard unit. During low RPM, multiple sparks are used to ease start-ups while intensified sparks ignite the air/fuel mixture at higher RPM. 
5. Throttle Body
Overbored throttle bodies improve overall throttle response and increase HP throughout the entire RPM band. Match-porting the intake manifold is required in order to utilize the full potential of the throttle body. 
6. Camshafts
Camshafts can be designed to increase low-end and/or high- end torque and HP. Many cams are regrinds, so you can't get that crazy lift or duration like you can from a billet cam. 
7. Sprockets
With adjustable cam sprockets, cam timing can be advanced or retarded by a few degrees. Low0end torque and top-end HP can be realized through tuning the sprockets. 
8. Cylinder Heads
Before purchasing a ported cylinder head, be sure that a flow bench is used. If not the port could be hurting the performance of your vehicle. 
9. Forced Induction
Turbochargers and superchargers have identical objectives- -to force additional air to the combustion chambers. However, turbochargers are exhaust driven and superchargers are belt driven. 
10. Nitrous Oxide Systems (NOS)
One of the quickest and easiest ways to increase HP is through NOS. HP gains are accomplished by changing the jet size.