The Five Best INFINITI Parts for First-Time Performance Mods
Want to make your INFINITI luxury car or SUV an exciting ride you won't be able to get enough of? Upgrade from stock to performance parts. Believe it or not, when it comes to making big changes for power, speed, and more, even the simplest mods can help.
If you've got a customization project planned, it's a good thing you came to us at INFINITI USA about where to start it. Here are just five great places (and a couple cool updates at the end, for the enthusiasts).
1. Turbocharger or Supercharger
If the engine in your INFINITI is naturally aspirated -- say, if it's an INFINITI QX50 SUV: a 2014 model, for instance, with a 3.7-liter V6 -- it can only put out so much horsepower, driven by only so much torque. (In this example, 325 horses, backed by 267 pound-feet.)
A turbo, however, can compress the excess air flowing into the engine's six cylinders, making it so that the engine can take in more fuel. A supercharger does the same job, but with a belt-driven compressor; in this case, you don't have to wait for boost pressure from the exhaust to build (i.e., you don't have to deal with turbo lag): you can get more power sooner, at a lower rpm, meaning you can speed up more quickly.
The result, either way? An enriched air and fuel mixture; it combusts, increased power's produced (not just more horsepower, but more pound-feet of torque). Put simply, the ride gets a lot more exciting, and fast.
2. Cold Air Intake and Performance Air Filter
Want better-quality air for turbocharging or supercharging? Make it cooler and denser, and increase its flow rate. The best way to do that: swap out the factory air intake and engine air filter accordingly; the engine should then be able to get more of what it needs to produce more power.
Both are easy to install; with their help, you shouldn't need to plug an advance scan tool in to tune the ECU.
3. Camshaft
Know what a "bump stick" is? It's a performance camshaft, nicknamed because of the lobes that help optimize intake and exhaust valve opening and closure. Putting one in can mean a huge gain of tens of horses to 100 horsepower or more. Of course, that's provided you put in custom lifters with the cam, too.
4. Exhaust
You've got two mods possible with one of these. One: install a cat-back system -- one with wider tubing and a better muffler. The other: upgrade the header, replacing the exhaust manifold (i.e., put in one in stainless-steel, either a long-tube, with better exhaust flow, or a short-tube). The gases should be able to move better through straighter bends in the tubes.
Just know that, however you upgrade, you'll probably need an oxygen sensor in the factory location for the setup to be legal. Also, be warned that dropping a catalytic converter and muffler altogether, like many straight-pipe exhausts do, can mean ending up failing an inspection. Instead, consider installing a high-flow catalytic converter, and always double-check regulations to keep everything above board and avoid legal trouble.
5. Suspension
One of these needs the works, especially if, say, you're driving a sports car (think a sedan like INFINITI Q50). We're talking tougher lowering coil springs, control arms or relocation brackets that are adjustable, a larger sway bar, and performance shocks and struts, at least. They're paramount for minimizing body roll, precision cornering, reducing the impacts felt going over bumps and potholes -- everything that can otherwise put a damper on a performance vehicle's drive.
Of course, you've got plenty of other options in the way of performance customizations. For one, sport brakes -- a system with aluminum brake calipers and slotted carbon-ceramic brake rotors and brake pads, for instance, for exceptional stopping power. Secondly, a high-flow fuel pump and fuel injectors to better meet power demands. The list goes on.
Whatever the job, we've got a wide selection of the parts you need to do it. They're genuine INFINITI -- top-quality, made to fit and work right the first time, as only the luxury brand you've come to rely on can deliver. An INFINITI service center can even help with installation.
We ship throughout the US; order today -- and if you have any questions, you're welcome to get in touch with us.