Updated at: 26-05-2022 - By: Lucas

Here are some cheap changes you can make to your car to make it run better, look better, and be more fuel-efficient. The least expensive and most annoying mods are at the bottom of the list, and the most expensive and annoying mods are at the top. Cheap means different things to different people, so we only looked at changes that cost less than $1000.

Before you do any of these car mods, you should check to see if your car is still covered by the warranty. If you don’t, some of these changes will void the warranty on your car.

Basic tune-up

Basic tune-up

If you want to get more performance out of your car, the first thing you should think about is tuning it up. A tune-up doesn’t require you to buy bolt-on parts, so this is the easiest and least expensive mod. By giving your car regular tune-ups, you can make sure it keeps running as well as possible.

A basic tune-up is something that any car owner can do. Most of the time, you don’t need tools to check the fluid levels and air filters, and it can be done in less than an hour. In a basic tune-up, the most important parts of the car are checked for wear and the brake fluid, engine oil, and coolant levels are brought up to the right levels.

The manufacturer of your car will tell you how often you should change the oil in your car. The engine oil keeps the moving parts of the engine from rubbing against each other and carries away the extra heat from the engine. Properly lubricating an engine makes it run better, uses less gas, and lasts longer. When you change the oil in your car on a regular basis, it stays in great shape.

To make sure your car is safe to drive, you need to make sure the brake fluid is full. Your car’s braking system is a very important safety feature that must always work perfectly. Keeping the brake fluid at the right level makes sure that your car’s hydraulic brake system has the right amount of fluid to slow down or stop your car.

When running, car engines give off a lot of heat. Coolant or antifreeze is pumped through the engine to keep it from getting too hot. Over time, heat, dirt, and evaporation break down coolants. Keeping the coolant at the right level makes sure that the engine is getting enough coolant to keep it from overheating.

Checking the intake air filter and the cabin air filter is also part of basic tuning. Dust and other small particles can’t get into the engine because of filters. When dust builds up on the filter media, it makes it harder for air to move through it. This limits how much air can get to the engine. You can clean a dust filter by blowing low-pressure compressed air into the body of the filter. Make sure not to put too much pressure on the filter media because you could tear it. You can also use a shop vacuum to remove the dust from the filter. You should clean the air filter housing at the same time you clean the air filters.

As part of a basic tune-up, you should also check the batteries to make sure they are charging well and don’t have any corrosion. The sulfuric acid in lead-acid batteries can eat away at the connections on your battery. Due to the loss or reduction of electrical conductivity, this corrosion could make it so that your car won’t start.

Flashing the car computer

Flashing the computer in your car with the latest software can make it work better, just like updating the firmware on your phone. Most of the time, these software updates are meant to improve how your car burns fuel and how easy it is to drive. They do this by optimising systems like timing, air-to-fuel ratio, and others. To update the software on your car’s computer, you don’t have to buy extra parts like you do for a tune-up.

Every few years or so, car makers put out software updates for the computer in your car. It is recommended that you flash your computer with the new firmware as soon as it becomes available. This is because these updates were made to fix problems with the old firmware or to change some settings to make your vehicle run better. To flash the computer in your car, you need the help of a trained mechanic who has been approved by the car’s manufacturer. If you don’t, you could damage the computer in the car.

Premium oils and fluids

Premium oils and fluids

Using the right oil and fluid is a modification because it means using a better product than what the car manufacturer suggests. Switching from cheap oils and fluids to more expensive ones does have some benefits. Some people think that spending more on premium oils and fluids is a waste of money, but most of the time, the extra cost is worth it.

Synthetic oils, for example, are made to last longer between oil changes, stand up to high temperatures, and protect better than regular oils. Some brake fluids have higher boiling points and soak up less water than others. This is important because your car’s brakes are always exposed to high heat and rough conditions. Also, if water or moisture gets into the brake fluid, it lowers its boiling point and makes corrosion more likely.

High-octane fuel

There is a reason why there are high-octane fuels. If there wasn’t, the pumps would just have regular gasoline. High octane fuels burn better than regular gasoline because they can handle higher pressures before they catch fire. This is a great way to keep the engine from knocking. Because high-octane fuels burn more efficiently, they release less pollution because the fuel is completely burned. The additives in premium gasoline also help clean the fuel system in your car. Since high-octane gas is harder to light than regular gas, you might also want to change the spark plugs in your car.

High-flow intake air filters

One of the easiest and least expensive changes you can make to your car is to switch from the stock air filters to aftermarket ones. Because of how they are made, aftermarket air filters allow more air to flow through and catch more particles than stock intake filters. To burn the air-fuel mixture well, naturally-aspirated engines need a steady flow of clean air.

When it’s time to change your intake filter, you need to think about how you usually drive. How much air gets to your engine depends on how much dust the filter can hold, how dense it is, and how big it is. The best choice would be a filter with these three traits. When driving in the city or on the highway, less dense filters are enough. But when there is a lot of dust, it is best to use filters with a high dust capacity and filtration.

Performance spark plugs

Putting in iridium spark plugs is another cheap change that can make a big difference in how well your car runs. Iridium spark plugs last longer, conduct electricity better, and start the engine more efficiently than copper and platinum spark plugs. These qualities cut down on misfires, which can hurt your engine. If you use high-octane gas in your car, you should also switch to spark plugs made of iridium.

Weight loss

Weight loss

A vehicle can carry two different kinds of weight: weight that is sprung and weight that is not. Sprung weight is the weight of the car’s body, engine, transmission, seats, and people. These parts are supported by the car’s suspension. On the other hand, unsprung weight is the weight of things like tyres, wheels, brakes, axles, and other structural parts that are not supported by the suspension.

Getting rid of extra weight is often the last thing people think of when they want to improve a vehicle’s performance. Getting rid of extra weight improves performance because it makes your engine and suspension work less hard. To reduce unsprung weight, the stock car seats need to be replaced with lightweight racing seats, laminated and tempered glass needs to be replaced with polycarbonate glass, heavy interior body panels need to be replaced with lighter and lower ones, and the stock wheels need to be replaced with lightweight alloy rims.

Cold air intake

A cold air intake improves your engine’s performance by increasing the flow of air to it. This is similar to what happens when you change your intake air filters. The idea is that naturally-aspirated engines work better when the air is cold than when it is hot. But you have to be careful when you switch out your stock intake for a cold air intake.

If you don’t do it right, bolting on a cold air intake can hurt the performance of your car. Your car’s computer is set up to work with the factory intake, so this is what will happen. When a cold air intake is added, the computer can’t figure out how much air is coming in and make the necessary changes to get the right amount of air and fuel.

To make sure that a cold air intake works well with the rest of the engine, the car’s computer needs to be reprogrammed. This could make the price go up a lot, making this mod not worth the money.

If your car is old and doesn’t have a computer, that’s a whole different story. Older cars are better off with cold air intakes because you can manually adjust the air-to-fuel ratio.

Another thing to think about is where the cold air intake filter will go. The best place for the filter is somewhere where it can get cold air, like on the grille or bumper. These places are also good because the filter is put as far away from the engine as possible so it doesn’t take in hot air from the engine.

Aftermarket exhaust

Aftermarket exhaust

Not only do aftermarket exhausts make your car lighter, but they also have better exhaust flow than stock exhausts. Just as important as what goes into the engine is what comes out of it. When it comes to exhaust, car makers often take short cuts, either to save money or to meet rules.

Engines that “breathe” and “exhale” on their own need to do both well. If you change how your car takes in air, it’s also a good idea to change how it lets out air. The same amount of air that goes into your engine comes out of the exhaust. To make up for this increase in airflow, you should get an aftermarket exhaust with a design that doesn’t restrict airflow as much.

Back pressure is when the flow of exhaust gases creates a partial vacuum, which pulls the exhaust gases back into the combustion chamber. This raises the temperature in the cylinder, which can change how the fuel burns. Using bigger exhaust pipes and a better flow profile can reduce or get rid of back pressure.

Aftermarket exhaust comes in three different types: axle-back, cat-back, and header-back. The least expensive of the three is axle-back. It means replacing parts of the exhaust from the rear axle to the muffler. Cat-back costs more than axle-back because all of the exhaust parts from the back of the catalytic converter to the muffler have to be replaced. Header-back is the most expensive because it involves replacing every part of the exhaust, from the exhaust headers to the muffler.

Alloy wheels

Just like reducing unsprung weight, reducing your car’s unsprung weight also makes it faster and easier to control. Changing the stock wheels to lightweight alloy rims is one of the most popular ways to get rid of unsprung weight. When you add up the weight of all the wheels on your car, aluminium alloy rims are 40 percent lighter than steel rims.

There are different sizes, materials, and styles of aftermarket wheels. The materials used to make aftermarket wheels are aluminium, magnesium, or carbon fibre. Aluminum wheels are the most common, and they cost a lot less than ultra-lightweight carbon fibre rims, which are very expensive.

High profile wheels are cheap and better at absorbing shock from bumps and uneven road surfaces. The wheels and tyres on a car with a low profile look more stylish, but they aren’t good for driving over rough roads and potholes. When choosing aftermarket wheels, you need to think about the type of road you drive on.

Tires

Having the right rubber on your car can help it handle better. Touring tyres can be used every day because they have enough grip, handle well, and wear out less quickly. Because of this, touring tyres are great for most cars, SUVs, and pickup trucks. Performance tyres are better for sports cars and race cars, which need more performance from their tyres than touring tyres.

It’s important to remember that the width and aspect ratio of the tyres have a direct effect on how the car handles. Low-profile tyres work well on most roads, last longer, and have enough grip and handling to get the job done. When driving on rough terrain, you shouldn’t use high profile tyres because they are more likely to get damaged because there is less rubber between the road and the wheels to absorb shocks. Wider tyres

Choose a tyre for your car that gives you a good balance between handling, grip, and tread wear.

Aftermarket Brakes

You can also upgrade your car’s factory brakes to aftermarket ones for a low cost. Drum or disc brakes come from the factory. Your car’s stock brakes are designed to give you enough stopping power and should work fine under normal driving conditions. When you drive downhill or have a heavy load on your car, the brakes are put through a lot of stress. You might want to change your brakes if you need more stopping power for rougher roads.

There are different kinds of bolt-on brake kits. Some brake kits are more about how they look, while others are more about how well they work. Big brake kits with larger callipers and brake pads work well to get rid of heat because there is more contact area between the pads and the brake disc. Too much heat causes brake fade, which is when the brakes lose some or all of their stopping power. Big brake kits not only help your car stop better, but they also make it look better.

Aftermarket suspension

Another cheap thing you can change on your car is the suspension. Whether or not the stock suspension works well enough depends a lot on you as the driver and the road conditions. If you’re driving on paved roads, the stock shocks and suspension on your car should be enough to keep the vibrations from the road from getting to you.

But your suspension system wears down when you drive off-road or with a heavy load. When driving over rough terrain, the stock suspension may not give you enough ground clearance and dampening of vibrations. If you often drive off-road, you might want to think about getting a better suspension system.

Your car’s suspension system is made up of a number of parts, such as the shocks, rubber bushings, anti-roll bars, springs, wheels, and tyres. Depending on how much money you have, you can upgrade your suspension system in parts or all at once.

Window tinting and body wraps

With car wraps, you can make your car look the way you want it to. The size of the wrap affects how much it costs. A partial wrap will cost you less than a thousand dollars, but a full-body wrap will cost you more than two thousand dollars. The size of your car will also affect how much a full wrap will cost.

Window tinting is another way to improve the look of your home. Window tinting not only gives you more privacy, but it also makes your car look better and cuts down on glare. Depending on the type of film and the number of windows, window tinting can cost anywhere from $100 to $500. Make sure you follow the laws in your state or country about tinting car windows before you do it.