Auto Performance Engine Components

When you're looking to purchase engine components to help the performance of your car, truck, or SUV, the wide variety of available brands, parts, and accessories may seem a bit overwhelming. Before you shop, it's helpful to know what you're looking for. Let's take a look at a few of the most common performance engine components.

What parts are available to enhance your engine's performance?
  • Valves: Performance valves are designed for high-performance vehicles. A good set of valves can increase the horsepower of an engine. The sizing, cut, and materials that valves are constructed of can all contribute to their success. They're frequently designed using stainless steel or titanium.
  • Pistons: Choosing the proper piston can be critical to any vehicle's performance. Pistons compress violent explosions so they need to be of high quality and premium design. This is especially true of pistons used for racing. Pistons can be cast or forged, and come in a wide variety of materials and brands. Choosing the right piston can affect how your vehicle will run. Pistons come in many shapes, sizes, and brands as well.
  • Rods: Another important component would be rods or connecting rods. A lot of factors can go into choosing the right rods, and it's important to understand how they work and why they need to work well. They will affect how your engine fits together and play a huge role in its life and functionality. The amount of stress your vehicle will be under may determine what kinds of rods are necessary.
  • Gaskets: A gasket seals the junctions between surfaces within your engine. They are responsible for containing things like liquids and serve some other important functions. Proper gaskets can really take the abilities of your vehicle to another level, and there are many types of gaskets available.
How to tell if components will fit correctly?

Consult the user manual of the vehicle you're trying to enhance the abilities of. Many parts come with part numbers, so if you have the old part that needs replacing, you may be able to find its part number on it physically. Otherwise, diagrams inside of the user's manual can also provide useful information on part numbers. This should give you the exact part that you will need to search for.