Top Modifications to Your Car That Are Worth It
When it comes to your car, you spend a lot of time in it so it’s worth it to upgrade it every now and then. But because upgrades aren’t always inexpensive, it’s important to know what the best investments will be. Thinking about your specific needs for your car will help you figure out which upgrades are worth it.
Winter Tires
If you live in a place with bad winter weather, all-season or winter tires can be a great investment. Winter tires are made from a stronger rubber material that resists becoming stiff in freezing temperatures. This allows the tires to better grip the road. Additionally, these tires have different groove patterns to actually move the snow and allow the tire to come in more direct contact with the surface of the road.
Window Tinting
Adding window tinting may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to making a modification to your car that you’ll be really excited about. But adding window tinting can actually make a huge difference in the comfort level of your car. In fact, you can block up to 98% of solar heat by adding tint to your windows.
Better Shocks
Better shocks are better for going over bumpy roads. If you ever hope to do any type of off-roading, getting better stronger shocks will make a big difference in the smoothness of the ride. But even if you don’t imagine yourself taking your car to remote off-road locations, having better shocks will smooth out everyday potholes, speedbumps, and other things you could encounter on the road that could result in a less than comfortable drive.
A Backup Camera
A backup camera is definitely one of the best additions you can give your car because it will help you every day when parking and backing up. Getting a backup camera doesn’t have to be super complicated either. In fact, installing a backup camera in your car can actually be relatively inexpensive. And while the installation price isn’t incredibly high, installing a backup camera could save you a lot of money in the long run.
Backup cameras have been shown to greatly increase the safety of your car. By installing a backup camera, you’ll be taking an important preventative step against possible car accidents and consequently, against huge fees and expenses when it comes to paying for the damage from those accidents.
Replace Worn Out Pieces in Your Suspension
Your suspension in your car plays a critical role in ensuring that your car has a smooth ride. It maximizes the friction between the road and your tires in order to make it easier to steer the car. When your car gets older, there are little rubber pieces that hold parts of the suspension together and those pieces can wear out over time. When this happens, pieces that aren’t supposed to move around much can start to have a little more friction. The result? Your ride will feel bumpier and the parts in your car could get damaged.
One thing you can do to counteract this wear and tear is to replace the ‘bushings’—the little rubber pieces that hold the different metal parts of the car in place and ensure that their movements are smooth. Replacing these bushings isn’t usually super expensive but can have a major effect on how comfortable your ride will feel.
Better Spark Plugs
Spark plugs are what supplies the spark to ignite your engine when you turn on your car. Having powerful spark plugs will make your engine more responsive and efficient. Specifically, when you replace your spark plugs, you decrease the chance of misfires which happen when spark plugs become worn and do not immediately create the spark necessary to ignite the fuel and to cause the engine to start.
You can tell it’s time to change your spark plugs when the engine sounds rougher or when it sounds like the engine has missed a beat. Also, when spark plugs aren’t working properly, they won’t be able to ignite all the fuel in the engine chamber which will result in creating less power and in your car feeling less able to accelerate quickly.
Remote Start
When it’s a cold winter day, there’s hardly anything worse than having to walk out to your car in the snow and then sit in the freezing cold as you drive and wait for your car to heat up. Adding a remote start to your car can allow you to start the car before you actually are ready to get in and drive. It can also be a game changer during the summer months too when your car heats up fast. Having the remote start can get the AC going before it’s time to leave.
Surprisingly, even though this feature seems like quite a luxury, it doesn’t require a total automotive makeover to make this option a possibility for your car. In fact, it can cost roughly $100-$200 to install the remote control technology in your car. And it will make a big difference.
Tire Pressure Monitor
Another feature that can make your car more functional and also more safe is a tire pressure monitor. Your tire pressure plays a huge role in ensuring that you have a smooth ride, but also that you have a safe ride. When your tire pressure gets too low, driving at high speeds on the freeway could result in damaging your tire rim or in some situations, in blowing the tire. This can also happen when tire pressure is too high.
Making sure that you carefully monitor your tire pressure is essential. Adding a tire pressure monitor can make that process much easier and automatic. Adding this feature will measure the pressure for each tire so that you know when to add air.
Figuring out which upgrades to make in your car can be difficult at first. With so many options to choose from, which are the best for you? Think about your specific environment, the situation of your car, and what features are most attractive to you in order to figure out the best upgrades to make.
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