How to get extra horsepower on a naturally aspirated car without a turbo
Trying to increase engine power on a naturally aspirated petrol car without a turbocharger leaves drivers looking for alternative performance gains. However, getting meaningful extra horsepower without adding forced induction is difficult, with some suggesting it is more practical to sell the car and buy a higher-powered model instead.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Installing aftermarket camshafts
- 2Cylinder head porting
- 3Raising compression ratio
- 4Tuning for premium fuel
- 5Selling the current vehicle and purchasing a newer model that already comes with a turbocharged engine
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Hi, so I bought an opel Corsa D 2010 1.4 engine but the problem is that it runs on petrol and with no turbo (I also don't want to put a turbo in it because i plan on driving this car for a while) are there any ways to gain extra HP?”source ↗
“Anything is possible with enough time and money, but you'd be money ahead by selling it, getting a 2016+ MKX with the 2.7EB and turning up the boost.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 2Why does my car take so long to start after sitting?
- 2Turbo charge hose collapsing on acceleration