Extracting ponies out of naturally aspirated four bangers involves quite a bit of digging. Bolt-on modifications, such as a free-flowing exhaust system, unrestrictive intake, or an engine computer re-mapped for a more aggressive tune serve to free up horsepower sacrificed by the manufacturer to meet fuel economy, and emissions requirements.
To really get some ponies out involves digging into your engine, and generally outside of going with forced induction (turbos and superchargers) or nitrous, you'll have to increase displacement, increase compression (sometimes both), or get the engine to breathe better by massaging the intake and exhaust ports and using larger camshafts.
Takes a bit of doing and planning, but getting a fair out of power out of a four-banger is a rewarding experience. I cheated, however, and went straight for the turbo. That'll get you plenty of smiles too.
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Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.
-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator
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