You’re a truck owner and its performance doesn’t impress you that much. Maybe it has clocked a few years and is starting to slow down or maybe it rolled out of the factory like that. Either way, you want to give its performance a boost.
The best way to improve your truck’s performance is by adding essential performance upgrades that will lead to increased horsepower and better fuel economy. The right performance upgrades can make your truck easier to use and unleash its full potential whether you want to haul, tow or carry cargo or just take it for some off-roading adventures. With the right truck upgrades and modifications, your engine will work more efficiently, use less gas and produce more horsepower.
So which are the essential performance upgrades you need to get for your truck?
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Air filters and air intake systems
In order for your truck’s engine to run burn fuel and run efficiently, it needs a consistent supply of clean air. Unfortunately, stock air intake systems and filters just aren’t cut out for performance driving and this becomes more evident if you subject your rig to the rigors of off-roading.
To solve this problem and have your engine breathing well, you need to switch stock air filters and intake systems for performance ones. These aftermarket ones are designed to improve airflow in the engine for better fuel consumption. This, in turn, leads to better fuel combustion, giving your truck more horsepower and improving its gas mileage.
Air filters aren’t hard to replace, just remove the stock one and put in a new air filter. As for the air intake system, going for a cold intake one will do the trick by increasing both low-end torque and top-end horsepower. Low-end torque comes in handy when rock crawling or hauling or towing heavy stuff while top-end horsepower is perfect for racing, highway driving and certain types of off-roading.
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Performance exhaust system
Once you’ve changed the air intake system, you also need to find an efficient exhaust system to help expel spent gasses. The factory exhaust components that come with most trucks are restrictive and often cause backpressure to build up especially when you really start to put your vehicle through its paces on harsh terrain. Backpressure leads to engine inefficiency as it makes the pistons work harder, leading to lost horsepower and reduced fuel economy.
High-performance exhaust systems come with free-flowing mufflers, headers, exhaust manifolds, tailpipe tips, and several other upgraded components. There are two main types i.e. the pre-fabricated exhaust kits which are bolted in place and the custom made exhaust systems. The latter are excellent for high-performance driving and need to be bent, shaped or welded into place. Bring your truck to the Dixie 4 Wheel Drive off-road shop where our 4×4 truck specialists have the right machinery and we will have no problem welding on a custom exhaust system to improve your truck’s capability.
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Performance Electronics
To fine-tune your truck’s engine and really unleash its full potential, you can tune up the vehicle’s computer. Commonly known as the ECU (Electronic Control Unit), this system contains modules, programmers and chips that help tune your truck according to your driving. Toggling the settings on your truck’s ECU can result in increased horsepower and torque, better fuel economy and idling which in turn lead to better towing capability, improved throttle response and off-roading performance.
You can choose to either load pre-defined settings to the truck’s ECU or manually adjust any settings you wish while the vehicle is running. Alternatively, you can take your truck to an auto shop specializing in changing the ECU if you want to really take the engine performance to optimal levels.
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Gear Ratio
Another component that can make a significant difference in the performance of your truck is the gear ratio. As you change this, keep in mind that the gear ratio is affected by 2 things namely, the size of the wheels and tires that your truck has as well as the ring and pinion set installed in the vehicle’s differentials. When it comes to the latter, remember that the higher the gear ratio number, the more torque your truck’s rear wheels will be able to put to the pavement. The gear ratio you go for depends on the type of performance gains you’re looking to add to your truck and the fuel economy you’re willing to live with. Generally the higher the gear ratio the more you’ll have to spend at the pump.
Bring Your Truck to Us
There’s a lot more involved in getting the right essential performance upgrades for your truck. Other than knowing the truck make and model, you also need to know how different parts work together in a vehicle and how changing one of these might affect the truck’s performance.
Anytime you change a drivetrain component, you need to ensure that other factors such as the fuel economy, the ride quality and handling and the vehicle’s overall performance aren’t affected. You also need to know what you’re primarily going to use your truck for then adjust its performance accordingly. For instance, are you going to be using your truck to primarily haul and tow cargo or are you going to be taking it on trail runs to pit it against some of nature’s obstacles?
We have modified and upgraded lots of 4x4s here at Dixie 4 Wheel Drive and we love coming up with incredible custom truck builds that not only look good but are also functional. Our automotive mechanics have the requisite experience to know which performance upgrades are perfect to boost your truck’s off-road capability and performance and best of all, our services are affordable.
So don’t hesitate to visit any of our auto shops –we are located in both Moab and St. George, Utah –to speak to our mechanics and see how we can help you unleash your truck’s full potential, whether it’s your daily driver or weekend trail runner.
