I can hear it now from the Prius loving, gas sipping, and bike riding crowds: a more powerful car is environmentally irresponsible. Balderdash! Not that anyone should care what others think of them, but this thought pattern is totally incorrect. Thanks to advances in automotive technology, virtually every performance part on the market will yield greater fuel mileage for your car as well as give you more power. A true win-win result; let’s take a look at four powerful performance enhancing parts for your vehicle.

1. Power chips and programmers. Whether your replace your car’s computer chip or enhance it with a power programmer, in either case you will achieve noticeable gains in horsepower and thrust. By overriding the factory limitations imposed on your vehicle you can get more power for a small amount of money.

2. Reusable air filters. Now this is a part that the tree huggers love: air filters which can be used over and over again. That’s right, no need to clog up our landfills with paper filters once a year. Instead, air filters built for race cars can be put in your car and reused. Your engine breaths better and better breathing engine sucks up less fuel. Guess what? Your fuel economy improves!

3. Cold air intakes. That growl coming from underneath your hood is your engine telling you that it loves its new air intake. Designed to suck up colder, denser air a cold air intake delivers the “fuel” that you engine wants. Again, your engine runs smoother and fuel economy increases. The best part? A cold air intake is an awesome looking addition to your engine bay!

4. Performance exhausts. Yes, your stock exhaust system just doesn’t cut it. For starters, it works against your engine and not with it. Specifically, power flow is inhibited and your engine works harder and sucks up more gas in the process. With the wider pipes found in a performance exhaust system you can get more horsepower, achieve greater torque, and watch your fuel economy rise as your engine and exhaust work in harmony.

What many motorists do not understand is that some stock parts are not the best parts for your car. Manufacturers, in an ongoing bid to save money, will often opt for those parts that cost less to hold car prices down. Unfortunately, your car is the biggest loser as power is restricted and fuel economy drops. With the right parts installed by you the trend can be reversed without significant increases in exhaust pollution; your car will still pass its emissions test and it will runner faster and more efficiently.

Of course, the big question is this: aren’t performance parts expensive? They can be if you do not shop around. Visit the web site of a trusted online wholesaler and compare prices. Do the work yourself and your saving will more than cover the cost of having someone install stock parts for you.

Copyright 2005 -- Matt Keegan is a contributing writing for PitStop Auto Parts covering Hypertech Programmer; K&N Filters; and AEM Cold Air Intake.

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