10. Microwave Ovens

Working all day and then spending the next hour in the kitchen preparing dinner was at one time considered the norm for mothers and wives. Not anymore. Microwave ovens and the enormous variety of foods that can be prepared with no more skills than the ability to push a button have made it possible for the man of the house to prepare a meal. Microwaves make it possible to cook a variety of foods and reheat them later in the week to help make dinner time less stressful. The microwave has also helped make snack time easy enough for younger kids and teens to handle on their own. Many people find it hard to go back to pre-microwave times and if theirs goes on the fritz will make the trek to their local appliance store immediately to get a new one. Microwave ovens have changed the traditional kitchen with an apron waiting on the counter to a fast food, pop and go diner minus the drive-thru and check.

9. Debit Cards

People who carry cash are quickly becoming an oddity, thanks in part to the debit card. This automatic, electronic means of accessing money is slowing making paper bills obsolete. Invented in the late 1980’s debit cards have become a way of life for some people. One look around at the local convenience store proves the point. Most people don’t have the cash in their pocket to pay for a soda; instead they pull out their trusted debit card. Debit cards have made it possible for people who don’t have credit cards or are not able to get a credit card to flash the plastic anyway. Many young adults don’t know how to balance a check book simply because they don’t use them; they use their debit card and keep up with the balance on the go.

8. Hybrid Cars

Although still a relatively new invention, hybrid cars are poised to change the way the modern world looks at transportation. These vehicles use both gas and electricity for power and help decrease the demand for gas which in turn eliminates the need for oil. The invention and continued improvement of the hybrid car was born from the necessity to stop the depletion of the Earth’s resources and help families save money on their transportation bills. It is doubtful that the gasoline engine will ever go completely away. It’s hard to imagine a muscle car running on electricity; however, the day may come when gasoline engine cars are considered the exception rather than the norm.

7. Smartphones and MP3 Players

Once upon a time owing vinyl albums was the only way to listen to music. As time progressed the 8-track tape and cassette came along and started the transformation of the music industry. The digital format MP3 revolutionized the way music is listened to and stored. The IPod was not the first portable device for listening to MP3s but it was the one to change the digital music world. MP3 music files and MP3 players allow people to carry thousands of songs in their pocket, often in devices as smaller than a playing card. On one hand, these devices and files made it possible to carry music anywhere; on the other hand, these digital files quickly became easy to share and thus cause musicians to lose out on royalties. Regardless of how it is looked at, the MP3 changed the shape of the music world.

6. Cell Phone

You see them in cars, restaurants, libraries, schools, and in some cases you can’t see them at all, all you see is an earpiece. What is it that has people everywhere talking? The cell phone, of course. It seems that everybody has a cell phone and while that might be an exaggeration, it is a fact that the cell phone has taken over as the preferred means of telephone communication. Many people have given up their land lines in favor of their cell phone. These phones have made it possible to stay connected to family and friends without looking for a phone booth and digging for a quarter to make a call. Parents can check on their children no matter where they are and business deals can be strategized while on the way to the office all because of a tiny little device.

5. Text Messaging

As if the cell phone weren’t convenient enough, text messaging came along and made it possible to have conversations anywhere, anytime, even in the library or during church. Text messaging has created a generation of people who can type with two fingers on a hyphenated keyboard quicker than most people can type on a traditional keyboard. It has also made it possible for messages to be sent without other people hearing what is being said, often a frightening fact for many parents. Sadly, text messaging along with the next most popular invention, email, has also made a generation of people who would rather communicate online or by text rather than talk.

4. Email

Sitting down and writing a letter with a pen and paper then addressing the envelope and putting a stamp on it has become something of rarity in today’s modern world of electronic mail. The mailman no longer delivers sweet words of wonder from loved ones, today’s mail is mostly made up of flyers and junk mail along with the occasional bill if the resident hasn’t opted to have those sent by email. Email is simply a much faster, less expensive way to communicate with people. Email has changed the way people send messages including replacing the fax machine in many offices. Email doesn’t have the personal touch that writing a letter does but that hasn’t stopped it from becoming the means of communication for millions of people.

3. Internet

The Internet has changed the way people find and share information, shop, read, watch movies and so many more things it’s impossible to imagine not having the web. From personal communication across the globe or across the street to business meetings and contract negotiations the web has made it possible for people thousands of miles apart to interact as though they were in the same room. Doctors can collaborate online while others are researching everything from illnesses to their dogs while others are shopping for clothes and cars. It is hard to imagine a world with no Internet.

2. Computer

Even without the Internet the computer would be a life changing invention. The ability to process information in lightning speed and store it in tiny spaces has made the computer one of the greatest modern inventions. There was a time when the typewriter was considered a marvel, the computer moved the typewriter into extinction and made word processing fun rather than a chore. The computer made it possible to accomplish more in a shorter period of time than ever and also became an entertainment option for millions of people.

1. Google

This is what happened when you google too much

Google’s search engine and many other Internet applications has been the number one life changing invention in modern times for millions of people around the world. Ask a question and if someone doesn’t know the answer they will Google it. Google has even become an action word that people use to show they are searching for an answer. Go Google it is the catch phrase of the century. Google has made it possible to find practically anything on the Internet in the course of a few short seconds. From telephone numbers to archived books can be found using Google. For those who don’t believe it, go Google it and be amazed.

Modern inventions have increased the pace at which lives move. Everything is faster and easier than ever before and shows no signs of slowing down. Perception plays a big role in determining if an invention is life changing and not everyone will agree with the inventions here; however, it is a given fact the modern inventions are life changing for everyone in one way or another.

There are expensive cars and cheap cars. Fast cars and economical cars. For most American men our first cars were used and a little run down. But we always wanted to find a way to get more from our cars. Most notably almost every guy wanted more speed out of their cars.

My personal experience with building a faster car was a 1969 Chevelle. I bought it with a 307 cubic inch engine and modest transmission and rear end gear ratio. It had some power, but for a car that was built in the time when all cars had actual frames under them, it was a heavy car, and it could barely out perform an old pickup truck.

By the time that I regrettably sold the car it had a custom built 454 in it. It would almost get the front tires off the ground from a dead start and would do 0-60 in 5.6 seconds.

In my case, I was able to get my car a lot faster by investing a huge amount of money on a completely different engine. This is not necessary these days. There are hundreds of aftermarket bolt on performance enhancing products and techniques that can be employed to make any modern car faster, more powerful and more efficient with fuel.

Since I obviously don’t know what kind of car you are about to beef up, I am going to keep the items in this list as generic as possible. If your car is still under factory warranty, you will need to ask the car manufacturer if any of these items will void your warranty.

10. Electric Fans

Somewhere between your engine and the radiator is a fan. This draws air through the radiator to keep your engine cool. On older cars this is a mechanical fan. It runs off of the engines power via a fan belt. These mechanical fans draw a surprisingly large amount of horsepower directly from your engine. By removing this mechanical fan and replacing it with an aftermarket electric fan, you have freed up some extra horsepower to reach the ground. Do some research; there are a plethora of aftermarket electric fan manufacturers out there. You will easily find one that fits just right in your car.

9. Electric Fuel Pump

Pictured above is a mechanical fuel pump. It is driven directly off of your engine. Usually powered by a lobe on your crankshaft, mechanical fuel pumps are one of those things that rob power that should be going to your drive wheels. So, for the same reason you want to convert your mechanical fan to an electric one, you should do the same for your fuel pump. If you upgrade both your fan and fuel pump, you may want to keep in mind that you are now drawing extra power from your battery and alternator. These may need to be upgraded now too.

8. Air Induction

Your engine pulls in air and mixes it with fuel. This mixture is burned and produces horsepower. So if you can increase the amount of cool dense air that your engine is able to pull in, you will produce more power. The fact is that most cars are manufactured with the air it pulls in limited for various reasons. There are several companies out there that make aftermarket air induction systems to bolt directly on to your car in an afternoon. K&N is the leader in this field. A couple of hundred bucks, a few simple tools and a Saturday afternoon and K&N will guarantee extra horsepower for your car. In most cases your fuel economy will increase as well, making this an aftermarket item that pays for itself.

7. Carburetors

If you are working with an older car, chances are that you have a carburetor. This is a device that mixes the air and gasoline into a vapor to be burned inside the engine. All newer cars will have some form of fuel injection, but if you do have a carburetor on your car, this is one of the easiest ways to increase your horsepower. If you have a 2 barrel carburetor, you should upgrade to a 4 barrel carburetor. There are a lot of carburetor manufacturers out there that build the performance parts you need to make your car faster. Most notably in America would me Edelbrock and Holley. To upgrade your carburetor from 2 to 4 barrel will also require you to install a new intake manifold. Doing all of this will cost a few bucks, but the difference will be very noticeable.

6. Fuel Injection

If you have an older engine that is carbureted, and a few bucks that you can afford to invest into making your car faster, converting to fuel injection may be for you. Edelbrock and Holley both offer bolt on multi port injection systems for most American engines. Because these systems are electronic and not mechanical like a carburetor, they are more precise. They will offer your engine more horsepower and better fuel economy. As the items in this list get more complicated, the cost of the upgrades also increases. Your ability to increase the speed of your car is usually only limited to the amount of money you are able to spend on your car.

5. Performance Chips

If you are trying to increase the performance of a newer car (‘90’s and up) You are most likely dealing with a car that was built with electronic fuel injection.

Electronic fuel injection is controlled by a ‘computer’ or chip of some sort. Well, as you may have guessed, there are companies out there that have figured out ways to enhance your cars performance by simply replacing or modifying the chips that control your engine.

These chip upgrades are very versatile with their applications. You can buy a preprogrammed chip or you can buy a chip and a programmer device that will allow you to modify the performance chips yourself. You can achieve better fuel mileage, better towing capabilities, better horsepower and of course better speed either off the starting line or in the top end.

4. Exhaust System

While most of the suggestions in this list are dealing with getting more air and fuel into your engine, another way to increase performance is by looking at ways to improve getting the exhaust out of your engine more efficiently. Removing your mufflers and adding glass packs will make your car a lot louder, but generally won’t offer any real performance. For most cars the exhaust system is choked down right at the engine itself in the stock exhaust manifolds.

By replacing your exhaust manifolds with “Headers” the weakest link is improved in your exhaust system. From that point back to your tailpipe, the general rule of thumb is the less restriction getting the exhaust out of your car, the better the performance will be.

While you may have 2 tailpipes at the back of your car, in most cases your exhaust is choked down to 1 catalytic converter then split back to 2 exhaust pipes towards the back of the car. For truly improved performance you will want true dual exhaust all the way back.

There are laws governing the removal of catalytic converts and the amount of noise you are allowed to produce. So when converting your choked down car into a true dual exhaust system, check your local laws regarding noise and catalytic converters. The converters are very expensive, so if you have to have them and you want 2 of them, it is going to cost a few bucks.

3. Turbochargers

While turbo chargers are stock equipment on almost all diesel engines, most people are not aware that you can install an aftermarket turbo charger on your gasoline engine for a great increase in performance. Essentially how a turbo charger works is, it uses the exhaust gasses to spin an impellor which builds a positive pressure of fresh air and forces that air into the intake to mix with the fuel. This upgrade is an expensive one. The turbo charger itself will cost around $1000.00 and to install it, you will have to modify both the air intake system and the exhaust system of your car.

There are companies that produce aftermarket turbo chargers for just about any car on the road today. If you have the cash, you can have a turbo charged car.

2. Nitrous Oxide

The principal is very simple. If you add Nitrous Oxide to your air and fuel the mixture becomes considerably more explosive and therefore greatly increases horsepower.

NOS is a company that specializes in this concept. No matter what kind of car or engine you have, there is an aftermarket NOS system that will inject your car with a burst of extra horsepower.

There are many different systems. You can have a dose of nitrous dumped into your air intake, or for the person who really wants a punch there are also systems that inject from multiple points directly into your intake manifold. You are limited only by how much money you are willing to spend.

A couple of things that you will want to consider before adding a nitrous system to your car is that too much nitrous will blow your engine apart. Depending on the type of engine you are running you need to be very careful with the amounts of time that nitrous is injected into your engine.
The laws governing the use of nitrous oxide vary from state to state. In many cases it is legal to have nitrous oxide in your car but not legal to use nitrous. So check your local laws and regulations before you fork out the cash for this upgrade to improve the speed of your car.

1. Superchargers

You will see giant superchargers sticking out of the top of drag racers and very beefed up classic muscle cars. There is nothing more impressive looking that you can do to your car than have one of these monsters poking out of the hood of your car.

But far more impressive than the appearance of a supercharger is the performance of a supercharger. These big breathing beasts will add a huge amount of power to your engine instantly.

In a nutshell, while stock engines depend on vacuum and atmospheric pressure to get the air fuel mixture into the combustion chamber of your engine, a supercharger physically compresses the air, making it denser and shoves it down your engines throat! It is kind of like a turbo charger on steroids.

There are several different types and styles of superchargers. The monster pictured above is the cream of the crop and requires a good old American V-8 engine to handle all that extra horsepower. There are smaller versions for most types of engines available out there for a wide variety of different cars. Many of them are low profile enough to stay under the hood. In the case of supercharger’s, bigger is better.

A couple of things to keep in mind if you are considering adding a mega-blower to your car;
They are very expensive. You could generally buy and entire new engine for less than the cost of a bolt on supercharger.

They are complex. These amazing devices don’t just come out of a box and bolt right on to the top of your engine. There are a lot of modifications that you will have to do to the engine to get them operational, not to mention you will have to cut a hole in the hood of your car.

There are legal issues as well. When I was considering adding one of these to my 1969 Chevelle in Wyoming I found out that it was illegal. It turned out that they were grandfathered in for use on ’68 or older cars. So be sure to check your local laws regarding superchargers. You may be able to install a smaller version in your area.