You love your car, but you can’t help but feel it could do with a little more oomph. Thankfully, upgrades that can deliver that oomph are more realistic than you might think.

The sort of upgrade – or modifications – we’ll talk about here will directly improve performance. They’re not vanity mods that people often think of when they think of car modifications. (So no crazy, gravity-defying hydraulics systems here!) We’re going to be looking at practical modifications.

Maximizing fuel economy and power – The sign of a great car is that it has great fuel economy. This basically refers to how many miles each gallon of gas will give you. The more miles per gallon, the better the fuel economy of the car, and the better value you’re getting each time you top up your gas. Of course, ensuring good fuel economy and power has a lot to do with good and regular car maintenance. But there are modifications you can make to directly improve these areas. They include adding a cold air intake system and increasing the flow of your exhaust.

Getting the right parts – There are several places you could go that will see to the whole modification process for your car. Garages that specialize in car modifications can be great, but they can also be very expensive. For many, the best solution is to source the parts yourself. Sometimes you can buy the parts from these garages yourself. It’s even possible to win good car parts in Spot Big competitions. Installing these yourself will require a lot of skill, however. Still, getting the car parts yourself and just paying for installation assistance could save you a lot of money.

Underestimated features – Remember to consider all parts of your car when it comes to modifying your vehicle for better performance. A lot of people only think about the innards of the vehicle. The handling, the brakes, the engine. But the outside of your car also determines a lot when it comes to performance. Think, for example, about the tires. Many don’t think that the tires do much more than allow the vehicle to move. But they have a direct effect on the overall performance. Learn what makes a good tire and see if you can make any improvements for your car there.

Getting to grips with stronger handling – The handling of a car could very well be the more important feature. (You know, after the brakes.) If your car handles like trash, then you could find yourself all over the place when a sticky situation appears on the road. So getting the handling to be as good as it can be is a pretty important style of modification. One of the simplest ways of improving handling is to replace springs and shocks with alternatives that focus on performance. These things can determine how much your car is affected by unevenness on the road. Anti-roll bars can be installed across the undercarriage of your car to improve the rigidity of your car’s structure. This helps keep it balanced!