Unfortunately, you didn't read what I posted. If I needed a class on how to build a performance car I would have asked.
I said [quote] you lose reliability [unquote]. Whenever you change something that is already working just fine, you're taking a chance at allowing what WAS working fine to NOT work fine. It's a pretty simple concept to understand, and few people that actually know anything about modding vehicles will argue with that.

BTW, the people I know didn't shop through a Jegs catalogue or Summit Racing book and blindly point their fingers at what they wanted. They all have the bux to support their hobbies, and they didn't go into these things blindly. Even with great research and the assistance of professionals, things go wrong, (much more so after changing a stock engine, as is my point) so get off your high horse.

BTW, i have friends, lots of friends in the performance industry as well, and one of them has and has had several 7 second stangs, so whoopty doo. I even know a guy at one of my hangouts (he's not a friend so i won't say he is) that drives a 6 second Cuda in the OSCA. Does that make me special?

 

If you are looking to be talked out of doing mods then just don't do it. If one out of 10 says no then what does that mean. I built mine to play and work hard and do everything and more it would do stock. Also to look good and still be used as my only vehicle and I put about 25-30k on a year. Yes it will cost more to replace tires and maybe the brakes wear out a little quicker, etc. so it's a balance between extra $ and liking your truck a little more. I drove a completely stock F150 before this for 9+ years and really liked it but my new (modded) one I love and hope it's nearly as reliable. As the others said be smart about your mods, do your homework and be ready to spend the money it takes to make it right.

 

Sorry junior, but it is you who seem to have a hard time grasping what was typed onto the page you are viewing. If you do NOT do it RIGHT, then yes, you will indeed lose reliability. Again, your typical barstool mechanic/racer who bolts on some miscellaneous parts may suffer some reliability issues. If said person actually took the time to do it right though, they would obviously build the motor to HANDLE the desired HP. A stock block will indeed handle a HP level higher than what the factory rated it at, but the reliability may be compromised. If you build the motor with the intent of making 500RWHP, then it will handle it just like any other motor. Dodge has a warranty on the 600HP 09 Viper. Obviously that motor is built around parts to support the power level all day long.

Yes, **** happens, and **** happening on a high HP motor lends itself to potential reliability issues more so than low HP engines. Uhm....DUH. One can grenade a factor 4 cylinder Civic if they abuse the heck out of it too. As far as the "high horse" comment, all I can say is relax and calm your jets.

I will say this though, you are one of the few who actually have a sincere grasp of punctuation, spelling and the English language in general, so that alone makes you pretty awesome in my eyes!

 

if your worried about ride comfort buy a BMW
if you want reliability buy a honda
if you want to be a douchebag then try to convince everyone on tH3 intrawebz that ANY mod no matter what will make their ride unreliable

some people mod their rides just to mod their rides... or because they can

we've seen a few of those around here and its sad how quick one can trash a good vehicle

however most mod their ride to better suit their needs or wants....

 

or just to satisfy the addiction...

 

Amen!

 

Me too!

'Course, he is Canuckian

RMS - I respect your experience, but, please don't preach. Pretty please?

I'm sure if you two guys met, you'd hit it off famously.

This one's on me --->

Bubba

 

Aren't you "Canuckian" too? LOL. We're all on the same continent, you just happen to have a funny accent. JUST KIDDING !!

 

I am totally satisfied that I modded my truck and would do it again in a heartbeat. My only issues I have had have been with my GMS coil packs, but I do notice a seat of the pants difference when the are removed so I am willing to accept that as part of the price to play.

I have modded every single car/truck I have ever owned because I am so addicted to the Power. It is very hard for me to drive around in a bone stock vehicle

 

I think most of the times, if you properly modify your vehicle, you can actually increase the reliability. I used to have a 82 Mustang that i took out to the drag strip quite often. I built the car tomatch what i was doing. Its alot more reliable to go down the 1/4 with a properly built motor, than one straight from the factory. While the factory motor may be great, you put alot of, as you said, supporting mods into the motor that you build. If you plan things out and think about what you want the vehicle to do you should always be happy with the finished product. If i want to have a 12s daily driver mustang, im not going to go build a 1000hp motor that needs to run on race gas, im going to build something that does what I want it to. Its the same thing with a truck, i know that im going to be pulling a trailer with mine and that its my daily driver. That means im not going to be putting in a giant lift with 40" tires.

 

NO!! The few simple mods I have are great. I'll never go back. The only thing I lost is weight. I gained power and mileage is pretty much the same. Reliability isn't an issue. I know who did the work (me) so I know it'll get me where I'm going. It's already made two round trips from San Diego to Portland without a hiccup. Can't wait to get the exhaust and gears done.

 

Happy with my mods.

 

If you do any thing Half assed no matter what it is you can have issues.I like the F150 but I dont like the 255 tires they look like they should be on a mini van or some thing so I put on some 285s.I dont like people looking in my truck so I tinted the windows.And the list goes on,I do the things I like or want to change.I also make the phone calls and read the web looking for info before hand.I think the key to solid mods is not money"but it helps" but good advice and quality parts installed the correct way.I would think my truck will last as long modded as it would have stock as long as I take care of it.

 

Own a vehicle with no mods on it, I don't know if I could do that, I might have to go on the mod patch.

If you have some smarts about ya your reliability stays the same, just don't buy your performance parts from Wal-Mart and don't have them installed by guys who don't know anything. Its not worth cheaping out on some things. And know the limits of your engine. Throwing a chip and a cold air intake on a stock vehicle is one thing, but throwing half the jeggs catalog into a stock vehicle is just silly.

 

To the OP,
First off, can I clarify what you were originally getting at: "do you regret modding your rig, and if so, then why."

For me and my '05 SCrew, no regrets. Albeit my mods are minor compared to some on this forum. I have a 2" AS level kit, aftermarket 18" rims and 33" tires, EDGE programmer, AirRaid Jr. and other such bolt ons and I am pretty confident that things are not any more unreliable then stock. Since my truck's center of gravity is higher than stock, do I have a higher probablilty for rollover? Maybe, but I won't blame that on my mods per se, but on my decision to bolt them on. BTW, I went with the 2" level kit rather than the 2.5" due to CV angles so did I decrease the chance for problems? I THINK so, but the jury is still out.

However for 7 years I had a 6" lifted, 4 door, 2wd Chevy Tahoe with 33x13.5 wheels/tires. This rig saw a lot of action but experienced problems that I believe were directly related to the mods. Problems included multiple front ball joint failures, u-joint failures (rear end was properly shimmed), premature steering sloppiness (replaced all with heavy duty Moog components), increased braking distances (already had crappy undersized chevy brakes), etc. The scariest issue was I lost a front wheel bearing which tore off the passenger-side spindle. Luckily I was only doing 10mph at the time and was able to safely pull over.

Now believe me I understood all of these potential issues before lifting a 2wd truck and putting big wheels on it and the fact that it wasn't made to handle the extra rolling mass, wider track and greater stress on the front end components, etc. But the question here is, did I regret it? Well since no one was ever hurt, my answer is "no". I think the bottom line for me, and the lesson I learned from this is to echo what the others have stated:

- Research
- To live within the tolerances of the truck (in my specific case)
- Don't do things half assed
- Buy quality components from reputable manufacturers
- Install/tune/troubleshoot by someone who knows what they're doing

and most importantly,
- Understand the "SYSTEM" and not just the components. I think once someone undestands the impact to the system, they can deal with it and ensure reliability with no regrets.