The need for speed: up the ante with high-performance tuning.

• Author: Haraldsen, Tom
• Position: Executive Living

It doesn't take much for most of us to relive a memory from our teenage years--usually that first year when we get our driver's license and have the chance to borrow our parent's cat You pull up at a stoplight, another young buck pulls up in the lane next to you, and before you realize it, you're both revving up the engines and inviting each other to drag race off the line.

Some things we just never outgrow.

The need for speed, no matter how many horses we already have under our hoods, prevails in many, many car owners--male and female, young and old, experienced and inexperienced. To prove that point, you need look no further than to specialty shops along the Wasatch Front that focus on high-performance tuning. They're almost constantly busy, and their customer base might surprise you.

Revving up the Engine

Because of the nature of these vehicles--customized to exceed both the driver's expectations and most speed limits--a couple of sources for this story spoke anonymously to Utah Business. They were, however, united in their love for both their cars and their car's maintenance experts.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"I'd have to say my [car] and I have a love-hate relationship," says a Salt Lake City business executive who is well-known in auto circles, and who we'll call Jack. "When I first bought my latest vehicle (a 2010 Mustang), it was already hot. But I wanted it hotter. Loved it, but wanted more."

Jack had friends in Las Vegas, where high-performance shops are a bit more plentiful than in Utah, and he began taking it there "to get it zooped up." What he discovered is that such an embellishment isn't a one-time process and takes more time and effort than he was willing or able to make through frequent trips to and from Vegas.

"A lot of customers aren't interested in [a vehicle] requiring a significant amount of maintenance says Joe Sim, owner of Turbo Labs in Orem and referred to by customers as "Turbo Joe." "I tell my customers that this is a commitment, kind of like a marriage. I probably turn away 30 percent of the people who come in here. It really is about commitment."

Sim tells of a customer who owns a 2010 Camaro--factory delivered with 330 horsepower. The customer wanted more--900 horses under the hood, 1060 at the tire. They've been working together for over a year. Sim says the initial buildout can take up to a year, and during that time, the car might be in the shop monthly for adjustments or new parts. It's not, he says, "a...