Aftermarket Parts Basics
 

Hi I'm completely new to the whole car tuning thing and i'm not really familiar with what every type of aftermarket part such as coilovers, camshafts, etc. are meant to do, and how getting upgrades on each respective part category will affect/improve the performance of my car.

so can someone please give me a brief outline of the common aftermarket part categories along with a description of what that part is meant to do?

thanks a lot for putting up with this extremely basic question.

Welcome to a world that will drain your money! :D

I'll try to make it as easy as possible. Common terms bandied around these forums are as follows:

CAI (Cold air intake): A large cone filter that replaces that "panel" shaped filter that comes stock. Draws in more air and causes that computer to add more fuel, therefore increasing horsepower.

Cat-back : Refers to the portion of the exhaust after the catalytic converter, usually replaced with an aftermarket unit that flows more air and is tuned for aggressive sound.

Coilovers are a type of spring/shock combination that replaces your stock shock and spring and allows you to fine tune the stiffness and height of each corner to make the car handle the way you want it to, i.e. less dive under braking or cornering, etc....

You'll also hear people talk about ECU's, that's the computer that controls everything in your car such as spark timing, fuel delivery, etc... This can be reprogrammed by adding a supplemental computer, commonly referred to as a "piggyback". Some units require advanced knowlege and tuning, while others (such as Canzoomer's unit) come pre-programmed and just plug on.

As far as camshafts, the Rotary engine used in the RX8 doesn't have any, so this may not be the best place to ask about those! Did you purchase an RX8?

There's obviously a lot more to it than that, but them's the basics. A lot of great information can be gleaned from previous posts, all of which can be accessed by clicking on the "Search" button. It's on the top right of all pages on this forum, in the menu bar. Type in a word or two, and read away. It's the best way to learn.

Have fun!

Hey thanks for the info!

Yeah i know the rotary engine doesnt use camshafts. I just gave camshafts as an example of a car part because it was one of the first ones that jumped into my head.

I've owned an Manual Transmission RX-8 with the GT package for about 2 months now.

I think i'll see what I can find by using the search function. thanks again.