1) Replace Your Fuel Filter
           2) Clean your Mill
           3) Ditch the Passenger's Seat
           4) Go Synthetic
           5) Easy Breathing
           6) Clean Your Injection
           7) Flush That Cooling System
           8) It's A Warp
           9) A Clean Body Is A Goog Body

As in all sanctioned racing, the Amateur Import Racing Association has a set of rules for the welfare of all participants:

                   All vehicles must have working seatbelts
                   Vehicles quicker than 13.99 seconds require the driver to wear
                   a helmet
                   Vehicles quicker than 11.99 seconds, and convertibles quicker
                   than 13.99 seconds are required to have a 5 point
                   NHRA-approved roll cage, 3-inch shoulder harnesses (SFI
                   16-1compliant) with antisubmarine strap, and the driver must
                   wear a fire suit compliant with paragraph 3.2A-1.
                   Vehicles must have front and rear bumpers
                   You may replace the rear windows with Lexan or Plexi-Glas,
                   but "plastic wrap"is not permitted
                   Fuel cells must have filler necks vented outside vehicle
                   Nitrous bottles must be solidly mounted, with a pressure relief
                   valve and blow down tube vented outside vehicle
                   Radiator overflow catch can required
                   All rear wheel drive vehicles using slicks must have a
                   driveshaft saftey loop
                   Eliminators are one-run only
                   No alcoholic beverages in the pit area
                   Pit area speed limit: 5 mph

              Ok, now with all that said and done, let's focus on the horsepower!

          1) Replace your fuel filter! Unless yours is fairly new, or you know
              your fuel systems' pressure to the injectors is ready for hard runs,
              $20 for a new filter isn't going to hurt. Keep in mind that if yours is
              dirty and clogged, the engine will run lean. This is, naturally very,
              very bad if you are a nitrous or boost junky. On fuel injected
              vehicles, be sure to relieve the residual fuel system pressure before
              even thinking of putting a wrench to it. If in doubt, consult your
              service manual or a qualified technician.

          2) Clean your mill! A clean, degreased engine will run cooler. It may
              even get more "Oohs" and "Aahs" from members of the opposite sex,
              and last longer to boot!

          3) Ditch that passengers' seat! Take it from me, this is well worth the
              effort. And oh, what minimal effort it is. Unbolting a
              non-powered/non-heated passengers' side front seat will take you
              about ten minutes, and save a good 60 pounds from your vehicle.
              What's more, it's easy to reinstall. Where else on your car can you do
              that?

          4) Go synthetic! We've said it before, and we'll say it again. There are
              real horsepower gains to be found when switching to synthetic
              lubes. A general rule of thumb: Whatever your engine is doing, it
              will do more of when on synthetic. So if your mill is leaking and/or
              burning oil, expect the leaking and burning to increase. Also, many
              newer cars use ATF as the power steering lube. We here at Full
              Throttle have seen switching to synthetic ATF gaining a good 1-2
              horsepower, due to reduced steering pump drag! While we haven't
              seen such gains using synthetic transmission lubes in transmissions,
              the quicker shifts just might save you a tenth. For the crankcase, stick
              to OEM oil filters. They are more reliable and flow better than
              aftermarket units.

          5) Easy breathing! There are numerous ways to help your engine
              suck up as much air as possible. This is called increasing volumetric
              efficiency. It's easy enough to cut off the silencers and restrictions
              from your stock intake air box and drop in a K&N stock replacement
              air filter. These can be had from your local Pep Boys for about $45.
              Better yet, get a 360 degree intake from a speed shop. Experience has
              taught us that typically, more horsepower is to be gained from a free
              flow intake than a free flow exhaust! Better still, is to unbolt your
              intake air box altogether! Keep in mind that anything after the mass
              air sensor, on so equipped vehicles, must not be touched; this will
              not gain you anything good. We also find that putting huge bags of
              ice on the intake manifold (ie. After the MAF) has no effect on
              horsepower production, and occassionally will make a modified
              engine run dangerously lean.

              Other cheap 'n dirty ways to increase VE are to make your intake
              into a ram-air style system. On cars like Integras and Civic del Sols,
              this is easy! You already have 2 to 4 beautiful, big holes in the front
              of your car! On others, simply removing the appropriate headlight,
              and channeling airflow with foam rubber will give you a large CFM
              increase (exponentially) at speed. I guess it would be trite
              information to let everyone know that you can also use dryer outlet
              hose, available at most hardware stores.

              Let's not forget exhaust! The easiest way to get horsepower this way
              is by simply unbolting everything after the downpipe. Even
              "performance" exhausts will not get you as much horsepower as no
              exhaust at all! Keep in mind that technically, if your car originally
              came with a catalytic converter, you may not detach it. If you choose
              to remove/unbolt it, don't cry to us if a cop fines you $2,500 for a
              smog violation. Do you think it's worth the risk? $2,500 will buy a lot
              of go-fast goodies! (Heck, you could buy ME for $2,500!)

          6) Clean your injection! A dirty intake tract will not allow an even
              air/fuel distribution, and thus will prevent your engine from
              realizing its' full horsepower potential. Get your fuel injectors power
              cleaned. While this is pretty expensive (about $75), a good
              alternative is to run a bottle of Red Line SI-1 fuel injector detergent.
              It is not solvent-based and is fuel system friendly. Also, run a can of
              GM Engine Top Clean. This is made for carburetted engines, but
              will work on a fuel injected mill. Instead of pouring the liquid
              through the throttle body, you unplug one of your vaccuum hoses
              and stick it in the can. Pinch the hose so the engine doesn't stall,
              keeping the fluid flowing at a steady pace. GM Engine Top Clean is
              hard to come by these days, so you can subsitute water or ATF. If
              you use ATF, be prepared to change your spark plugs, which will
              foul.

          7) Flush that cooling system! A properly maintained cooling system
              will allow you to run more consistent times. You could just drain
              and refill the system, but the Full Throttle way of life would mean
              you'd also use a chemical flush or backflush. We recommend
              non-silicated/non-phosphated coolants, such as Dex-Cool. Mix with
              50% distilled water and a bottle of Red Line Water Wetter. Replace
              the thermostat with one of those newfangled high-performance units
              by Stant, Robertshaw, or your OEM, in a temperature recommended
              by the manufacturer. Using an exceptionally cold thermostat is a
              common mistake made by tuners; cold engines do not get as good a
              ring seal and will usually get worse fuel mileage. Unless you know
             for a fact that using a cold thermostat will help, (ie. Your throttle
              body coolant passages are blocked off, etc,) don't do it.

          8) It's a wrap! Wrapping your exhaust system in an insulative tape, if
              you choose to run through mufflers, will also help increase
              volumetric efficiency. Keeping the exhaust gasses hot will keep
              them nice and light-weight (cold air is denser, remember?) A
              constant exhaust gas temperature will also help keep your air/fuel
              ratio constant, and lower back pressure due to a straighter gas flow.
              Remember also that this will allow you to remove a bulk of the
              exhaust heat shields under your car, thus saving weight!

          9) A clean body is a good body. Have you any idea how dirty a
              throttle body's throttle plate can get? No, it's not dirt you can see by
              removing your intake hose and looking down the (usually)
              clean-as-a-whistle throttle bore. The dirt that hampers us is on the
              back side! I've seen up to a quarter inch of grease and dirt (usually
              from the EGR system) loaded up onto the back of a throttle plate!
              While this may not seem so bad, just remember that at WOT, the
              added thickness to the throttle plate will not allow your full,
              deserved air flow.

              Also, don't forget to follow general "Horsepower Rules". (And
              believe me, horsepower RULES!) Unless you have hot ignition
              timing, or another hot octane-hungry modification, run 87 octane
              gasoline if that's what your vehicles' owner manual recommends.
              Using higher octane will give you no benefits for drag racing, but
              will definitely make your wallet thinner. However, for daily street
              use, you may appreciate the increased quantity of fuel system
              cleaning additives. If you drive a newer, OBD-II car with a knock
              sensor, don't be afraid to run the highest octane fuel you can get
              your hands on. While most "octane boost" formulas don't work too
              well, I find that the 104+ brand actually does boost octane count.

              Also remember, if you win your bracket, you get $500! ($250 for
              trucks.) Good luck!

              Questions? Comments? Dirty jokes? Email me!
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