Does anyone believe that the more mods and additives you add to a vehicle, the more you jeopardize the mechanical integrity of the vehicle and you end up doing more harm than good? Is vehicle reliability/dependability/durability and smoothness of operation diminished when you deviate from factory specs/OEM parts/fluids??? Would a lesser number of mechanical problems exist on a dealer/OEM maintained vehicle vs. an aftermarket modified/maintained one?

Opinions?

 

For mods, it really depends on what the mod does. Does it add weight, steal electricity?

I do not do mechanical mods as much, but I definitely use additives and even changed to all synthetic fluids. I changed my front brakes to Hawks, because the Toyotas would wear out after two months here in Mexico City. It really depends on what you want to use your vehicle for.

Take a look at it this way, if you want a 750 watt stereo system in your Lexus, you cannot assume that cranking up the stock or the Nakamichi is going to get you there.

 

Gekko - The factory designs their vehicles generally as a big compromise to overall performance quality. Some of this dependability & performance is sacrificed when U deviate from the OEM specs ( either seeking more mpg, power, handling, etc ). Of course if U lower your car to enhance handling ride quality will suffer somewhat. The same applies to MOST performance mods that create HP; ie, mpg will go down. Now there R exceptions to every rule - headers will yield more power AND economy, in most cases. In terms of reliability it depends on how extreme the mod is. A basic intake & muffler swap isn't gonna hurt ya very much; in fact, some Members have picked up some economy from the SRT intake. However, when U talk about forced induction ( supercharger, turbocharger or nitrous ) onto a basically stock engine, then U will be adding more stress that the engine was designed for & longevity will go down. That doesn't mean that the engine can't handle the added power but that it wasn't designed for it. Most folks accept this before they mod their cars & are willing to accept it. U'll hear both extremes here - "I blew up my motor the first time I hit the nitrous" or "I've been running a supercharger for 5 years with no problems". Alot will depend on the quality & design of the modification as well as the installation itself. More harm than good? It depends on the individual. For myself, a slightly choppier ride was worth it for the better handling afforded by my modest 1.25" drop. And it goes w/o saying that the performance of the SRT/Borla/TC/LSD package is WELL worth the measly 1-2 mpg sacrifice!!