Welcome to Team Zeus' Tech Stuff corner.

Here you'll find some of the experiences we've had when working on our rides and some tips and advice
that we've picked up along the way. This corner may be helpful to those of you who are thinking about 
modifying your car but don't know where to start or maybe keen for a few ideas. None of us are experts 
in modifying cars but we've had advice from the best. Our record speaks for itself, we haven't blown 
anything up YET!

Exhausts:
Replacing the factory exhaust is probably the best way to get a boost in power with a relatively
small amount of cash. Price will depend on whether you go for a standard pipe or a full stainless
job and on whether you buy a new set of extractors as well. The size of the pipe will depend on
the amount of horse power your car is putting out. The more horse power you have the bigger
the system you can get. But remember this has to be within reason. If your exhaust pipe is too
big for the amount of ponies your engine puts out you're going to loose power.

Mufflers:
The majority of after market perfomance mufflers are of the "straight through" kind like the one
pictured. The reason for this is the less restriction the exaust flow has the more power will be 
produced. However again if the muffler is too big for the application you will loose torque which is
what your car needs to pull itself. Another point to remember is if your car is naturally asperated,
with a racing muffler fitted it will be quite loud, even more so than a turboed car. But don't worry,
most mufflers come with a removable baffel or silencer which you can take out whenever you feel
like a bit more noise.

Air Filters:
Air filters are another cost effective way to get a small bost in power without a large outlay in 
cash. The more cold air your engine can get the better. When you install you air filter there are 
two additional points you should consider. The first is, if you can fit one in, a cold air induction  
pipe would help get more cold air from the front of the car into the intake manifold.The second 
should definately be done if you intend on doing further work to the engine even if well down the
track. Replacing the hosing between the engine and intake pipe with two small air filters will help
you engine breath better and can be done for a very small amount of dough.

Lowering:
Lowering your car makes your car look cool right. But there's more to it than that. Lowering your 
car gives it a lower centre of gravity which in turn directly improves the handling. Put simply the
better your car handles the better you'll be able to take corners. (Don't read better as faster) The 
problem with lowering that alot of people forget is the more you lower you car the greater the
negative camber becomes. For track use a certain amount of camber is needed but for road use
you'll want to buy a camber correction kit to bring your camber back to its normal position if you
want to avoid excessive tyre ware.

Strut Bars / Tower Bars:
These are fitted to the engine bay and in the boot where the suspension meets the car chasis.
The point of these bars is to stiffen the car so under heavy cornering loads the chasis does not 
bend and therefore increasing handling and road holding ability. Each bar is designed for a 
specific car and model so make sure you get the ones that are made for your car or they wont fit.
Like everything else hunt around for these as the prices can vary significantly but in general they 
are relatively cheap and as well as being very functional they do look mint under the hood.