How To Make Your Car Faster for Under $250!
By: Daniel Kouznetsov
Tags: Performance, Weight Reduction, Tuning, Modification, Automotive

Picture this, you just bought yourself a new car. Spent most of your savings on it, yet you feel like it’s just not as fast as you thought it might be, or as you remembered on your original test drive. Could be that you have just grown used to how quick it is? What’s the next step to make your car feel fast again? How to make my car fast, you may be considering? If you are not planning on selling your newly purchased vehicle, then your next best option is performance modifications! These modifications vary in price, with the best improvements and potential achieved with the more expensive modifications.

Well, that’s what people may tell you, or you may believe! However, below I’ll show you how you can make your car faster WITH JUST $250! (If you got more to spend, check out ‘How to make a car faster with just 8 bolt-on parts!’)

$250 might not feel like a lot, but with these $250 you spend, you’ll feel a huge difference, and your car will be considerably faster than it used to be, guaranteed! There are a couple of key ways you can make your car faster, either with performance modifications or by reducing weight. Since weight reduction in a vehicle is relatively straight forward, and the majority is free when you then combine it with spending $250 on a couple of minor performance modifications, the transformation between your vehicle now and then will be substantial!

Firstly, we’ll discuss what parts you may look into removing for weight reduction and modifying for a cut price. Then I’ll list and show the performance modifications worth looking into, to fit inside the $250 you have to spend, and still give you vast performance gains! I’m sure by now you may be itching to go make your car faster so let’s get straight into it!

**Just so you know, there are some affiliate links in this post that I may receive a commission from. Thank you if you use my links, as it will help me greatly and I’d really appreciate it!**

How To Make My Car Fast With Weight Reduction

General Weight Reduction

Weight reduction is a free and easy way to make your car faster. Why do you think athletes often train with weighted vests? So when in competition, then remove the weight and are noticeably faster! Also, have you ever noticed how stripped out race cars are compared to their standard on-road siblings? With weight reduction, your vehicle will be much faster and lighter on its feet (or tires)!

Here are the items that are worth considering to remove for weight reduction:

Spare Wheel — The spare wheel can be one of the heaviest items in the vehicle, especially if it’s a full-size spare wheel. A full-size spare wheel will weight generally in the region of 20kgs. So it’s worth removing if you are after beneficial weight reduction!

— The spare wheel can be one of the heaviest items in the vehicle, especially if it’s a full-size spare wheel. A full-size spare wheel will weight generally in the region of 20kgs. So it’s worth removing if you are after beneficial weight reduction! Any Unnecessary Tools — Often there can be a bunch of unnecessary tools that may be rolling around weighing you down. These can be certain roof bar tools, first aid kits, leftover tools from something you may have been carrying, and even your spare wheel replacement tools are worth removing if you are removing your spare wheel out of the vehicle!

— Often there can be a bunch of unnecessary tools that may be rolling around weighing you down. These can be certain roof bar tools, first aid kits, leftover tools from something you may have been carrying, and even your spare wheel replacement tools are worth removing if you are removing your spare wheel out of the vehicle! Cargo Covers — A cargo cover is another item worth removing. They can weight from 2kgs right up to 8kgs or more depending on your vehicle. Even on pick up trucks, it’s worth looking into removing the tray hard lid as they too, are extremely heavy.

— A cargo cover is another item worth removing. They can weight from 2kgs right up to 8kgs or more depending on your vehicle. Even on pick up trucks, it’s worth looking into removing the tray hard lid as they too, are extremely heavy. Floor Mats — Unnecessary aftermarket floor mats should also be removed. They may seem fairly light, however, when combining all the floor mats from the whole vehicle, they can add up to a couple of kilograms themselves.

— Unnecessary aftermarket floor mats should also be removed. They may seem fairly light, however, when combining all the floor mats from the whole vehicle, they can add up to a couple of kilograms themselves. Rear Seats — If you want even more weight reduction, and if not in use often, rear seats can be extremely heavy and worth removing! In most cases, just removing those rear seats, the driver will feel a decent decrease in weight in the car and it will feel and accelerate a lot faster!

— If you want even more weight reduction, and if not in use often, rear seats can be extremely heavy and worth removing! In most cases, just removing those rear seats, the driver will feel a decent decrease in weight in the car and it will feel and accelerate a lot faster! Any Unnecessary Plastics — Any plastics that have been installed for looks or comfort can be looked into getting removed if not in use. They may all seem light, but we need to focus on removing as much weight as possible, regardless if it’s a kilogram or a few hundred grams. Look at unnecessary plastics not only in the vehicle, but also on the outside, under the vehicle, and even the engine bay! Often you may find there can be a few worth considering to get removed.

— Any plastics that have been installed for looks or comfort can be looked into getting removed if not in use. They may all seem light, but we need to focus on removing as much weight as possible, regardless if it’s a kilogram or a few hundred grams. Look at unnecessary plastics not only in the vehicle, but also on the outside, under the vehicle, and even the engine bay! Often you may find there can be a few worth considering to get removed. Any Other Rubbish Stuffed In Storage Pockets — Last of all, go around and check pockets, door bins, glove boxes, and any other storage places. You might be surprised at what you may find in there and how much weight you may save! And who knows, you might find a few items you’ve been looking for too!

Further Weight Reduction

You can even look into further removing or modifying more advanced items, that are installed in the vehicle for consumer comfort but you find you have no use for them.

Note: Removing these items is a lot more difficult and may require specialized tools or experience. The labor to remove or modify these parts may cost a little too, however, they are worth investing if you want to make your vehicle a lot fast with more weight reduced!

Some of these parts can include:

Air-Conditioning Unit — An A/C unit can weigh anywhere from 10kgs to up to 25kgs. Worth looking into if you don’t use it often and need to shed extra weight. It can be fairly difficult on the more modern-day vehicles, so make sure you have done your research or have someone with experience to do it with you, as you do not want to risk damaging anything that shouldn’t be touched!

— An A/C unit can weigh anywhere from 10kgs to up to 25kgs. Worth looking into if you don’t use it often and need to shed extra weight. It can be fairly difficult on the more modern-day vehicles, so make sure you have done your research or have someone with experience to do it with you, as you do not want to risk damaging anything that shouldn’t be touched! Removing the Infotainment Unit — An infotainment unit is another heavy piece of kit! If you can do without it in your vehicle, then get it out! You can even take out the speakers in the doors and other various places for even more weight reduction!

— An infotainment unit is another heavy piece of kit! If you can do without it in your vehicle, then get it out! You can even take out the speakers in the doors and other various places for even more weight reduction! Modifying The Exhaust — Standard exhaust systems are fairly heavy with all of the noise and pollution regulations in place today. Each muffler can weight about 5kgs, and with vehicles nowadays containing on average of 5 mufflers, there’s an easy 25kgs at least that can be removed. However, best to first check the rules with your local road authorities (if you plan to use it on the road) and also make sure you weld back a straight pipe or pipes to make sure the exhaust gases exit out the rear of the vehicle. Modifying an exhaust system like this does require tools, and experience or qualification, so make sure you’re prepared. It can cost an extra $50 to $200 for the job depending on the number of mufflers that are getting removed.

— Standard exhaust systems are fairly heavy with all of the noise and pollution regulations in place today. Each muffler can weight about 5kgs, and with vehicles nowadays containing on average of 5 mufflers, there’s an easy 25kgs at least that can be removed. However, best to first check the rules with your local road authorities (if you plan to use it on the road) and also make sure you weld back a straight pipe or pipes to make sure the exhaust gases exit out the rear of the vehicle. Modifying an exhaust system like this does require tools, and experience or qualification, so make sure you’re prepared. It can cost an extra $50 to $200 for the job depending on the number of mufflers that are getting removed. Removing Any Other Interior Plastics or Trim — If you want to go a step further with your weight reduction, you can look into further removing any remaining plastics or trims in the vehicle to bring it to almost bare metal, or as far as you want! This can include door cards, roof lining, sound insulations, and all the other bits and bobs.

As you will see, and feel, your vehicle will be a lot faster with all this weight reduction, especially if you go all out! The best part? If you don’t go for the exhaust option, or you can do it yourself, all of these options are FREE! However, we recommend going for that exhaust modification option as it will not only reduce weight but improve performance for less than $70! So now you can spend the remaining $180, on all these performance upgrades below!

Here are some great video options for some great weight reduction options!