tunings

Car Tuning means getting the maximum performance out of your car. Whether you own an exotic or just drive stock, with some car tuning tips and parts, you can not only increase the performance of your vehicle easily, but make it much more fun to drive and more attractive to others.

CarTuningCentral.com is dedicated to being your ultimate resource for all your car tuning needs. We cover practically all aspects of car tuning including the following major topics.

Car Babes

Tuning cars is similar to rock and roll in which many guys get into it for the babes. Just like many girls love rock musicians, there are plenty of girls out there that are turned on by guys that work on and drive high performance cars. Car tuning almost guarantees attracting attention to your vehicle, whether through a flashy body kit or a cool sounding muffler, heads will definitely turn when you tune cars for fun. Did you ever notice that there is always a beautiful girl standing next to a high performance car- this is not a coincidence.

Exotic Cars

Exotic cars are the ultimate in tuned cars. These vehicles come straight out of the factory tuned to perfection. While we all can’t afford exotic cars, many car tuning hobbyists create their own. In fact, with the right tuning car parts, know- how and maintenance, you can easily surpass the performance of even the most expensive and rarest vehicles on the road.

CarTuningCentral.com also recognizes that the vast majority of exotic cars are also a hot bed of innovative performance engineering. Most car tuners keep track of what many exotic car manufacturers are creating, which is why some of the best tuning car technology trickles down to the aftermarket companies and to car tuning enthusiasts usually in short period of time. Within a year or two or sometimes within a few short months, your stock car can enjoy some of the high performance perks that in the past only the most expensive and rarest vehicles enjoyed.

Car Maintenance

One thing is for sure, once you have created your ultimate tuned car, you will have to keep it well maintained to enjoy it. Just like any high tech machinery that operates in an extreme environment and under extreme forces, tuner cars must be well maintained not only to ensure high performance and power, but also for safety reasons. Car maintenance can include simple products for washing and waxing your car or heavy duty procedures that border on extreme modifications. While most car maintenance can be done by car tuning hobbyists, there are definitely situations where you want a professional to help out or provide specific services.

CarTuningCentral.com can help you with information, resources and tips on many common types of car tuning maintenance, as well as less common procedures that car tuners are interested in.

Car Parts

When tuning cars, you will need at the minimum to make slight adjustments to your existing cars and preferably overhaul your vehicle with high tech, high performance car parts. In many instances, a simple car part can be the key to unlock your car’s power and achieve incredible power and performance. CarTuningCentral.com is perhaps your best resource for a variety of car tuning parts. For instance, you can easily increase the horsepower of your vehicle with the help of car tuning engine parts, high performance mufflers and new engine chip technology.

Traction is another important factor when tuning cars. All that separates your vehicle from the road is a few inches of tire rubber. High performance tires and wheels can make a huge difference not only on traction, but your vehicles response to the road. Additionally, other car tuning parts that are important to almost any car tuner includes braking systems, transmission parts, body modifications and dozens of other car tuning parts that working together helps an individual achieve ultimate performance. No matter what your budget, you can usually find great car tuning parts that can unlock your car’s potential.

Car Tires

Car tires are one of the most important parts of a well tuned car. Unfortunately, many car tuner hobbyists focus on more flashier and more prominent parts of the car. However, something as simple as a few good high performance tires on your vehicle can impact the performance of your car greatly. As stated above, the only thing that separates your car and the road at any given moment is a few square inches of rubber. Whether driving at high speeds, in the rain or even on snow, the quality and response of your vehicle depends a lot on its tires.

CarTuningCentral.com has made it a priority to focus a lot of its attention on high performance tires built for maximum response, speed and safety. Whether you use your car to drive back and forth to work or take it to the track on the weekends, Tires & Wheels play an integral part.

Car Brands

With car tuning, you can start off with almost any brand of car. Whether it is a high performance exotic such as a Ferrari or economy class car brand such as Kia – rest assured you can achieve amazing results just by modifying a few parts of your vehicle. In fact, the majority of car tuners prefer economy and moderately priced cars such as the Honda Civic, Nissan Maxima, Toyota Matrix, Ford Focus, Chrysler 300 and many others.

What makes a car great for tuning? Well, for most car tuners, usually it a number of factors including a lightweight frame, an engine that can be modified easily and a vehicle manufacturer that embraces the tuning community and the aftermarket car part manufactures, allowing it and even offering valuable information to help tuners get the most out of the vehicles that a company creates.

Once again, thanks for visiting us and make sure you check out the many great resources we provide. Car tuning is a labor of love and we not only provide information for car tuning enthusiasts, but we also consider ourselves enthusiasts as well.

Areas of modification

Audio

Is a term used to describe the sound or video system fitted in the vehicle. A stock audio system refers to one that was specified by the manufacturer when the vehicle was built. A custom audio installation can involve anything from the upgrade of the radio to a full-blown customization based around the audio equipment. Events are held where entrants compete for the loudest, highest quality reception or most innovative sound systems.

Interior tuning

Interior tuning is a term used for modifying of the interior of a car. for example; removing the back seats to make room for a sound system, or taking out the front seats and replacing them with racing seats - commonly known as bucket seats.

Another recent form of interior tuning is the replacement of the OEM Shift Knob with an aftermarket version such as a weighted shift knob for cosmetic and/or for performance purposes.

Engine tuning

Main article: Engine tuning

Engine tuning as of lately has been marketed as the replacement of basic engine components with aftermarket versions that perform the same functions as those replaced while promising an increase in power output. Car tuners usually install new turbochargers, modify the car's engine cooling unit, and replace the air filters; but they could also install a more powerful engine on the cars they modify.

For example a tuner could modify the engine control unit to gain more power. Another example is the modification and/or replacement of the OEM manual transmission stick shift (also known as a gear stick) with an optimized aftermarket design known as a short shifter. For further "fine" tuning, the driver could fit a Weighted Gear Knob.

Suspension tuning

Suspension tuning involves modifying the springs, shock absorbers, swaybars, and other related components of a vehicle. Shorter springs offer greater stiffness, a lower center of gravity, and a lowered look. Stiffer shock absorbers improve the dynamic weight shifting during cornering and normally have shorter internals to stop them from bottoming out when shorter springs are used. Stiffer sway bars reduce body roll during cornering, thus improving the grip that the inside tires have on the surface; this improves handling response. Other components that are sometimes added are strut bars, which improve the body stiffness and help better maintain the proper suspension geometry during cornering. On some cars certain braces, anti-roll bars, etc., can be retrofitted to lower-spec cars from sports models.

For offroad vehicles, the emphasis is on lengthening the suspension travel and larger tires to increase ground clearance.

Lowriders with hydraulic/pneumatic suspensions use another unique kind of suspension tuning in which the height of each individual wheel can be rapidly adjusted by system of rams, even to the extent that it is possible to "bounce" the wheels completely clear of the ground.

Body tuning

Body tuning involves adding or modifying spoilers and a body kit. Sometimes this is done to improve the aerodynamic performance of a vehicle, as in the case of some wings or bumper canards, or, to lighten the vehicle through replacing bodywork components such as hoods and rear view mirrors with components made from lighter composites such as CFRP. Cornering speeds and adhesion can be improved through the generation of downforce.

More often however, these modifications are done mainly to improve a vehicle's appearance, as in the case of non-functioning scoops, spoilers, wide arches or any aesthetic modification which offers no benefit to performance. Very rarely does an after market spoiler or body kit improve performance, the majority add weight and increase the drag coefficient of the vehicle and thus reduce its overall performance.

Increasing the wheel track width through spacers and wide body kits enhance the cars cornering ability. Lowering the center of gravity is another aim of body tuning dealt with via suspension modifications. However, similar to the addition of non-functioning body kits and spoilers, oftentimes suspension tuners unfamiliar with spring dynamics will cut stock springs, producing a soft, bouncy ride. It is also common to lower the car too far, past the optimal center of gravity, purely for appearance.

Detuning

Detuning involves returning a modified car to its original factory status. It is akin to automotive restoration. The term detuning can also refer to the reduction or decrease of performance in a particular area of tuning. An example of this could be where the engine is "detuned" to allow increased traction on a day where the track grip is not sufficient to handle the increased power of the tuned engine.

Terms

"Streeted" or "Tuner Cars" are Japanese vehicles, such as a Honda Integra DC5, Toyota Supra, Nissan Skyline, Mazda RX-7, Subaru Impreza, and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution series. These cars are most commonly modified with the more expensive mods available. The most popular modifications include suspension upgrades, exhaust systems, and turbos.

Legal requirements

Many countries have legal requirements in regard to what car owners can and can't do in relation to vehicle modifications. For example, all vehicles in Victoria, Australia, must conform to construction standards to ensure vehicles provide drivers and passengers with a maximum level of safety.^[1] There are also restrictions for P Plate drivers which can prevent young drivers from driving modified vehicles.^[2]

In the United Kingdom and the Netherlands it is illegal for any car to have blue lights as they are used by the emergency vehicles.

In Scotland and Denmark, it is illegal for any car to have neon underlights on a car as it distracts other drivers. In the Netherlands neon is allowed under the car but only when the car is on display, if the car is on a public road the lights have to be switched off. Many police officers in the U.K are unsure on the exact legislation with regards to under body neons. Most say as long as the bulb is not visible itself then this is legal.

Recently, Belgium issued a new law which describes that bodykit parts need to be approved for safety issues.

Sanctioning organizations

Many organizations involved in competitive motorsports establish safety guidelines that far exceed legal requirements placed on civilian street legal vehicles. The NHRA, IHRA and SOLO programs all require that vehicles pass inspection to ensure that all regulations are being complied with.

Clubs

A big part of car modifications are car clubs or groups. Many are specific to particular car manufacturers. Clubs often attend national shows all over the country. There are thought to be over 100 car clubs in the UK.