Car owners, especially enthusiasts, treat their car as a reflection and extension of character. Enthusiasts with money to spare often upgrade their vehicles with the latest in audio, video, and navigation electronics as well as body kits. However, this is an expensive hobby for regular car owners.
While most upgrades prove to be useful in the long run, other upgrades and accessories won’t do much good for your car’s resale value, nor improve your vehicle’s overall performance.
Nitrogen-filled tires
It is common knowledge that properly inflated tires lead to an increase in fuel efficiency. Compared to regular air, nitrogen is not subject to temperature change and has little reaction to other chemicals, thus minimizing the contraction and expansion of tires. As such, nitrogen not only increases fuel efficiency by lessening rolling resistance but also prolongs tire life. As good as it sounds, there is one thing car owners must not forget: tires are designed to be filled with good ol’ regular air. Also, with the significant amount of nitrogen in standard compressed air – about 78% – there really is not much of a difference.
Custom-hinged Doors
While conventional car doors are hinged at the front-facing edge of the door, custom-hinged doors are hinged at the most unique locations. For example, a suicide door is hinged on the trailing edge located near the rear of the vehicle, while butterfly doors, often seen in high performance vehicles, enables a car door to move up and outwards. Aftermarket door conversions attract a lot of car owners, but expect that this stylish upgrade is as expensive as it can get.
High-definition audio system
Compact disks are out as compressed, digital music formats today are played in audio systems compatible with USB playback or an IPod auxiliary support. Some car owners, however, go beyond these modern audio playback devices by mounting high-definition speakers at the rear and in the front. Expensive and without contribution to a car’s performance, an audio system upgrade is a luxury you can do without.
Body Kits
A collection of exterior modifications, a body kit is a styling upgrade also designed to enclose the gap between the bottom of the fuselage and the ground. While vehicles with original ground effects reduce lift and increase control, aftermarket body kits only simulate their appearance and have no significant aerodynamic effects.
These are just some aftermarket car upgrades and accessories popular in the industry today. While all these could add impact to your vehicle, it’s always a wise investment to spend money on body parts and components that can increase its safety and improve engine or transmission performance. For a wide variety of useful, high quality components with great discounts, check out autopartsway.com.