What's good everyone. So here's a question about cars and aftermarket mods is it really true that if you plan on changing things to your vehicle (Exhaust size, Muffler, Cold Air Intake, Headers and so forth) it decreases the engines lifespan? According to what I was told changing things from factory to aftermarket parts the engine isn't built to handle extra power which decreases reliability and wears things out quicker in the long run as you must rebuild the engine for it to handle the extra power. How true is it really?
When you add power or grip in one place, you have a choice - either you go do the right upgraded parts at the same time, or when the originals break. Performance mods usually void warranties for this reason.
When manufacturers want to make a performance version of a car, they throw top engineers at the task for at least a couple months (though sometimes a couple years). They end up with something that's fast, balanced. safe and will last through the warranty. It takes time, knowledge and skill.
But, then again life's too short to lead a boring life. There are dozens of car forums on car performance upgrades, but usually for only one model, They are good places to see what works and what fails, as well as detailed repair info. Here's an example:
You’ve finally realised what we’ve been telling you, since you first started asking questions on the forum..
How true is it really?
Completely true. Scotty isn't lying.
Depends on the car, the mods, and the amount of actual power/torque added. What it does do is make your checkbook lighter, and when you go trade the car in, all those mods detract from your trade-in amount unless you keep all the stock parts and put everything back the way it was. If you're not going to the strip or road-course don't need to do all that crap. Cold air intake and headers are over-rated for how much they cost for minimal gains unless you get a tune and then you run the risk to kiss your warranty goodbye when things go south. If you're not going to the strip or road-course don't bother. If you want a better sound do a cat-back or axle-back and call it a day and save your $$.
If you drive the car normally, theoretically, they won't really affect the lifespan of the engine, providing they don't take it seriously out of the designers' parameters. Most people don't modify their cars for speed to drive them normally. They race around, I can't tell you how many modded V8 vehicles I hear flying down my country road on a daily basis.
I've slightly modified my 2017 Mustang, putting Roush axleback exhaust, a Roush cold air intake, which probably doesn't actually improve intake Temps much (the information screen still registers air coming in around 20 or so degrees above the ambient temperature on the dash, I didn't look at it before the swap). I usually race around in my Mustang.
I had mine tuned for the intake, exhaust and to run on premium only. All together, I spent probably $1500 on mods. Mainly the exhaust and intake. The tune cost $200, and my custom vinyl cost $250.
They're really just gimmicky gains. I stopped with the modifying when $750 got me a complete classic car that I have a lot more fun working on, not a barely noticeable 20 horsepower boost on a car that's already pulling 0-60s in 5 seconds. Goofy as it is, people notice my Mustang because of the Ghostbusters theme, not because it's fast.
