Ways to make your car faster without increasing the insurance.

  • Thread starter Gdog96
  • 50 comments
  • 8,013 views
G

Gdog96

766
United Kingdom
England
I'm a 17 year old boy so my insurance for my Renault Clio Mk3 is nearly unaffordable as you can probably imagine.

I was just wondering what ways there were if any to make my car faster without increasing the insurance, I think I heard once that if a part counts as a service item it wont increase it?
 
Keep your car standard for a while whilst you build up your No Claims. That way you have more money to spend on parts.
 
Remove unnecessary parts ( audio, AC, seats ), buy lighter wheels, get better shocks + increase body rigidity with sway bars, fit stickier tires, upgrade ECU, intake ( air filter ) and exhaust, spark plugs, ignition coil packs, put higher duration cams, use higher octane fuel - preferably RON 100 :), it it's manual, fit lighter flywheel, stronger clutch.
 
Less weight will certainly help.
sentrani0.jpg


0-60 before: 8.6
0-60 after: 5.8

Not too bad...
 
Ridox2JZGTE
Remove unnecessary parts ( audio, AC, seats ), buy lighter wheels, get better shocks + increase body rigidity with sway bars, fit stickier tires, upgrade ECU, intake ( air filter ) and exhaust, spark plugs, ignition coil packs, put higher duration cams, use higher octane fuel - preferably RON 100 :), it it's manual, fit lighter flywheel, stronger clutch.
Click to expand...
This.
 
Ridox2JZGTE
Remove unnecessary parts ( audio, AC, seats ), buy lighter wheels, get better shocks + increase body rigidity with sway bars, fit stickier tires, upgrade ECU, intake ( air filter ) and exhaust, spark plugs, ignition coil packs, put higher duration cams, use higher octane fuel - preferably RON 100 :), it it's manual, fit lighter flywheel, stronger clutch.
Click to expand...

That will make the insurance very high
 
Exhaust systems will work wonders. Watch what you get though. Name brands like Flowmaster don't really flow as well as they advertise. Pipe size and length is key. Somewhere a sacrifice is to be made in either torque/horsepower. Generally a shorter pipe will lessen back pressure and increase horsepower in the high RPMs, while a longer pipe will increase torque at a lower rpm. Choose a size that isn't too large for the engine. Think of the RPMs you will be driving at constantly. Learn your engines powerband, where peak power is made and shift appropriately.


Remove excess parts you don't need. Do you really need air conditioning? How hard is it to roll down your windows? You might see some gains in power with an AC compressor delete. It's tough telling how much though, this can change from engine to engine. I'd be willing to bet not a lot but enough that it's noticeable in a small car. Might even increase fuel economy as well, since there is less pulleys to turn. Removing power steering will definitely help as well. A light car shouldn't be too difficult to turn without it.

Changing an octane fuel can actually wreck performance if your car wasn't designed for it. Most cars in their owners manuals will tell you what octane the engine is recommended to run on. Do not run anything other than what the manufacture specifies. Sometimes they will run on a lower octane but the manufacturer says it will increase power a bit if you go up a little. Be sure to check into this.

Spark plugs themselves won't do much, but they can help. Make sure the car is running at it's optimal combustion by checking the ends of spark plugs frequently for foulness. Better plug wires can help a tiny bit with less resistance.

Ignition systems will definitely help. An advanced spark can bring more overall power, and a retarded spark can bring it sooner. It's your job to find the balance. You can improve your fuel economy also this way.

I'm not sure about the ECU's, but I'm sure it could be mildly upgraded to get slightly better fuel economy. That might have to do with the ignition system though. You may get an entire new ECU with the system you purchased.

Once you start breaking into engine parts themselves things start to get iffy. You might get away with headers or maybe an intake manifold, but cams is a no no, especially if you don't know what you are doing. A cam/cams brings together an engine, and if you chose something you think might be better but turns out to be wildly more radical than stock, it will hurt performance in amazing amounts.Some cams call for higher compression, aftermarket heads and overall the headache isn't worth it unless you are serious about building the engine. Camshaft selection is not something to take lightly, so stay away from that, at least for now.

Rip out anything that has power in the name. As I said earlier, power steering, but also power windows, power brakes, all that jazz. In a light car it is not necessary and just takes up space and increases over all weight.

I don't know how keen you are on music, but an option that is always there is to remove the stereo system and all it's speakers and wiring.

If you are really into making this a fast car, pull any carpet, extra seats, ceiling plush, foam, all of it. Get rid of it. Once it's out though, there is no going back so be sure that is what you really want.

Suspension systems can and will help. There are probably many aftermarket performance systems that will increase grip, provide better handling and numerous other changes can be made for a few hundred dollars. Definitely look into this. Sway bars, traction bars etc can come with these kits or can be purchased individually.

Grippier tires is an alternative but not permanent. Be prepared to pay extra money for them. You can get street legal slicks, but I wouldn't recommend them. Play with your rim and tire size. try to get bigger overall tires in there, but don't go too large or it will hurt your rolling resistance and ultimately slow you down.

Not really worth all the headache IMO. I guess you can do a little now, but try to save up and buy a faster car when you can afford the insurance for it. 👍
 
Conbon14
All of them put together. Even an air filter will bump it up. Spark plugs could be done
Click to expand...

Air filter in stock air box ? Lighter wheels, higher fuel octane, removing AC, audio and seats ? Fitting better shocks, sway bars, sticker tires ? Most of them would not add to insurance. Do you need to declare it when fitting higher duration cam, lighter flywheel, heavy duty clutch ?
 
Get the dead body out of the trunk/boot, remove stuff no one would notice, fix any broken crap, maintenance, etc. That's all I can think of. Also, why exactly do you want it to be faster? Last time I checked, fast and young don't mix.
 
Conbon14
Stock air box im not sure on but in england you need to declare all modifications
Click to expand...

I don't consider those modifications if the advertisement lists them as factory stock replacements 💡
 
Conbon14
Stock air box im not sure on but in england you need to declare all modifications
Click to expand...
Wow that is no good. It seems insurance in England is horribly expensive too. I was able to afford insurance for my Cobra at 18 years old here in the US no problem.
 
Last edited:
Ridox2JZGTE
Air filter in stock air box ? Lighter wheels, higher fuel octane, removing AC, audio and seats ? Fitting better shocks, sway bars, sticker tires ? Most of them would not add to insurance. Do you need to declare it when fitting higher duration cam, lighter flywheel, heavy duty clutch ?
Click to expand...

I'm assuming its different in each country.
 
Wow I didn't expect this much responce, thanks! Its good to see my options on what i could do.

I will probably wait a while before I do anything, I only passed a short while ago, I was just curios to see what could be done.

Thanks for all the effort put into the replies, I really appreciate it.
 
Tires.... absolutely 100% hands-down tires. It'll make your car safer too since your stopping distance will decrease.
 
Yes tires would be the best first investment. If you are tight on money then start with the air filter. Most people convert to a K & N air filter. Those can start around $30.00 and can be installed within 5-10 minutes depending on the car.
 
Putting a K&N Filter on your car wont make it any quicker, nothing that you'd be able to feel anyway. And if you want to do serious modding bear this in mind.... The money I have seen people (in my eyes) waste on low powered cars, could have bought them an Impreza or somthing fast 'ish to begin with and still have left over change to insure it.
Just a thought.
 
sneakypete123
Putting a K&N Filter on your car wont make it any quicker, nothing that you'd be able to feel anyway. And if you want to do serious modding bear this in mind.... The money I have seen people (in my eyes) waste on low powered cars, could have bought them an Impreza or somthing fast 'ish to begin with and still have left over change to insure it.
Just a thought.
Click to expand...

I agree. Filters don't really do much.

I also agree with the last bit. I touched that subject in my long post.
 

Similar threads

LeGeNd-1
Early Apex = Faster? (featuring Sophy & Max)
Replies
4
Views
3K
Earth
Earth
Tornado
The Battle to be Ayek- Ryoko II!?
Replies
21
Views
2K
Eunos_Cosmo
Eunos_Cosmo
GT_Vgp_00
Simple ways to improve Gran turismo 7 state of the game :)
Replies
7
Views
2K
prescription7
prescription7
B
Finally, Say Good Riddance to the (Christian Dior) Mangusta: What’s Next?
Replies
18
Views
5K
rmac923
rmac923
The_It_Jojo
The WTC 600 in Tokyo done without exploits is genuinely one of the hardest races in single player in gt7 - share your setups, tips, and cars
86 87 88
Replies
3K
Views
425K
Doncarlone
Doncarlone

Latest Posts

Back