The Audi A4 is a high-end executive compact car produced for over 15 years, and some versions of this model can reach speeds approaching 150 miles per hour depending on the type of engine it has installed. Despite not being branded as a sports car, many racing enthusiasts are very partial to Audi vehicles, resulting in many heavily modified versions of the A4 that you may have noticed passing you by on the highway. If you’re looking to do some performance tuning on your own A4 to jettison its stock limitations and reach higher speeds with greater operating efficiency, you can with a few key upgrades. Below, we cover three powerful upgrades, some with greater emphasis on pure power gains, and others more balanced between costs and benefits. That way, depending on your needs and your budget, you can retrofit you Audi for improved performance as you desire.

Method #1: Performance Chips

For the least expensive of the three performance upgrades, you won’t be installing any large parts. Instead, you’ll be installing a computer chip. An Audi A4 performance chip is an aftermarket add-on that reprograms your vehicle’s ECU to alter the reactive operations of several automotive systems. For example, a chip can remap fuel tables for rapid fuel delivery, disable speed limiting restrictions, and optimize the firing of the ignition for quicker response times and higher on-road speeds. Plus, an A4 chip installation can potentially add up to 60 horsepower to your car’s engine output, all the while making your vehicle more fuel efficient with up to 4-7 mpg in fuel expenditure savings. For under a hundred bucks, those are quite the gains to record.

Method #2: Turbo Kits

If you’re looking to expand upon the 60HP gains provided by a performance chip, you can move onto larger physical add-ons. Using a turbo kit, you can potentially boost your car’s horsepower output potential by several hundred HP, something a chip won’t be able to match. Unfortunately, a turbo kit also costs significantly more than a chip, usually in the low thousand-dollar range. Still, if you can spare the extra money and want an upgrade that dually improves efficiency and performance, this is the Audi upgrade to go with.

Method #3: Nitrous Kits

Nitrous kits are performance add-ons designed for specially timed speed and acceleration boosts at pivotal points during your drive. A kit uses nitrous oxide, which when heated, will release both nitrogen and oxygen. The A4’s internal combustion engine requires a continuous flow of oxygen to produce power, so the greater the available oxygen content, the more power the engine can produce. When a nitrous add-on is used, it supplies an immediate burst of oxygen to the engine, resulting in a dramatic, instantaneous rise in horsepower. So if you’re racing your Audi A4 against some rival sports cars with more powerful engines, this little booster can help you take the lead at a crucial breakaway point.