suspension upgrades, exhaust upgrades, etc.?

Question

If you drive a car to work, do those suspension upgrades and/or exhaust upgrades, really make a difference? Or are they REALLY for race track type of driving?

Answer 1

They do nothing if youre just driving like a normal person.

Honestly, they really do pretty little on the street anyways. Exhaust doesnt add much power, and suspension upgrades are pretty pointless on a street car (they just make the ride harsher).

People will say that suspension upgrades make their cars handle better, etc, but honestly, its irrelevant on a street car. Streets are not safe enough, controlled enough, clean enough, or even the right surface type to ever even come remotely ANYWHERE close to using ANY cars full handling potential. ANY CAR. A camry has better suspension than any street car will ever need, simply because you cant drive that fast on the street (due to things like curbs, varying road conditions, cops, etc).

The only place youre going to see real benefit for most modifications are on the race track (Most people mod their cars so they look and think theyre racers (where the mods originated from), without ever actually getting onto the track.).

Many people will disagree with me, Im sure, But I guarentee you they have A: never been on a race track (a real one: with curves and turns and such), B: Arent mechanical engineers, C: havent designed and built their own racecar. They are people who THINK theyre racers because they have a modded car and drive like idiots on the street.

Answer 2

If you cherish how a car suspension controls loading and unloading of the torsion bars, leaf-springs or coil springs as you drive over uneven undulations, waving or rolling road surfaces you'll appreciate an upgrade. The standard OEM equipment is built for the masses who travel from point A-B with a 6" feather pillow type suspension.

I'll be the first to admit that most people prefer a soft mushy numb uninspiring ride.

Upgraded shocks and or struts are designed and valved differently for added suspension control. The leaf, coil or torsion bar store the restance of load energy and the shocks and struts are required to control the loading and unloading due to uneven road surfaces.

It's absolutely nonsence to state you need to drive fast tor "require" an upgraded suspension. For instance: If you were step on your front or rear bumper, step off and release your weight. The bumper you stood on ideally should return to the ride height with no additional bounces. Or traveling along a road with wavy pavement shocks and struts control the suspension movement to the chassis to a greater degree so the car takes no uneeded uncontrolled bouncing. Companies such as: KYB, Bilstein, PRO, Afco, Carrarra, Koni, Penske are heads and shoulders above OEM or Monroe "mom and pop shocks." High performance tuned struts and shocks keep the wheels on the pavement instead of dribbling along the top loosing tire patch control.

Many new car companies offer upgraded suspension piecies on certain models of everyday cars.

The differrenve between a Toyota Camry SE and LE is night and day different. The SE has increased wire size coil springs, larger diameter anti-roll bars front and rear and re-valved struts and a strut tower brace, wider wheels and lower aspect ratio tires. The SE mod is firm and tight with very little body roll. In my opinion,The LE suspension is muchy, with little road feel and a ton of body roll.


The addition a of larger diameter front anti-roll or sway bar will keep the car / truck chassis flatter during cornering redusing front wheel camber changes which induces under steer. This leads to tires rideing on their rolled tread instead of the full flat tire surface. Larger sway bars do not change up and down suspension travel (motion)

If I owned your car I'd do the above changes first.

I'm sure you've seen magazine ads. for spring lowering kits which promice a lower leaner appearance with increased handling ability. If you and your family use your car everyday. they woulden't appreciate this rather radical change. Lowering springs always have higher spring rates per inch of spring travel. This makes for a stiffer bouncy ride. Shocks and struts must be matched with these springs to control the added coil velosity (quick up and down movement.) These companies don't tell you camber curves will be changed with it installation of these springs. If you have a car with stuts, aftermarket upper strut adjuster plates are needed to align the suspension after the lowered coil spring change.

Anytime less restrictive filtered cold air enters combustion chambers a slight power increases will result. Add a more free flowing exhaust system from the exhaust port to the tail pipe to increase the total breathing velosity and efficiency of the engine.

My answer may be vastly different than the one above but for those of us who don't have novicane in out butts, there is a massive difference OEM, and aftermarket bars, struts and shocks we all can appreciate and feel.

Answer 3

in case you do not prefer to spend enormous greenbacks on it, ... Chip it Air intake finished exhaust. initiate there, no be counted if it is not adequate, then spend some money, those issues will help it out alot in case you do go with to do greater to it. I did those 3 to a ranger 4x4 4.0l sohc and grew to become it from kinda puppy to tremendously exciting for a truck. began as 0-60 in approximately 9-9.5, to now it 7.05 consistent with a meter i attempted in it as quickly as. that doesn't sound like plenty, yet for a 4x4 ranger, beating issues like tiburon gts and older eclipses, it pisses reported vehicles proprietors off. you're beginning with greater ability, your advantageous properties would be somewhat greater, different than in case you have a handbook and you chip it. using a tuner changest he shift pionts and reve limiter and a minor quantity on the timing, to benefit some ponys. the only earnings you get from using a tuner on a vehicle with a handbook transmission is the ten-15 hp and the ten lbs of torque. that's great yet somewhat important. on the different hand, it grew to become that rangers tranny into something to be rekoned with. It quite hauls a$$ for a ranger with below one thousand placed into it. You do an intake and exhaust on the minimum, you will see a distinction, not basically in the overall performance, yet you will adore the sound. additionally, they declare it facilitates gasoline mileage, which it does, yet you have a tendency to place your foot into it greater while the exhaust sounds cool, so that is arguable. The rapid or supercharger direction is often an option, despite the fact that it gets expensive quickly, sturdy luck to ya

Answer 4

All depends on the car, the exhaust will give you better performance and sometime better gas mileage, the suspension is for faster cornering and compfort.