c/automotive-mods

6

dakota787•6h ago

Tried adding a hood scoop for looks, messed up my engine temps

Last month I bolted on a cheap universal hood scoop from eBay to my 95 Civic. Thought it would just be cosmetic, but it actually changed how air flows through the engine bay. At highway speeds my temp gauge started creeping up because the scoop was forcing air in the wrong direction. I learned that even cosmetic mods can mess with aerodynamics and cooling. Anyone else run into unintended consequences from adding stuff you thought was harmless?

21

drew_grant52•1d ago

Debate: Do cold air intakes actually help with mpg or is it just noise?

At a shop in Tucson last summer a guy swore his K&N intake dropped his truck's fuel use by 2 mpg after three tanks, but my buddy who builds off-road rigs says they only add sound and suck in hot engine bay air - has anyone actually tested this with a real data log?

11

lee_ward54•2d ago

That time I swapped my intake manifold gasket on a 2005 Mustang in my driveway last July

Spent 6 hours cussing at a rusted bolt under 95 degree heat in Dallas, but the vacuum leak is gone and the idle smoothed right out. Anyone else ever tackle a job way outside your skill level and somehow pull it off?

6

aaron197•3d ago

Debate: Did hitting 400 hp in my '92 Civic surprise me or was it a waste of $6k?

So I finally dynoed my built B18 swap in my '92 Civic hatchback at a shop in Cincinnati and it hit 404 hp to the wheels. That number blew my mind since I was shooting for 350, but now I'm wondering if it was worth the $6k I sunk into the turbo setup and forged internals vs just buying a faster stock car. Some guys tell me I'm a legend for squeezing that out of a 1.8L, others say I'm an idiot for not just getting a Corvette. What do you all think? Is hitting an unexpected milestone like that a win or a sign you went overboard?

16

eva243•3d ago

Guy at a gas station in Phoenix changed my mind about cold air intakes

I used to think cold air intakes were just for show, like putting a bigger spoiler on a front wheel drive car. Then I was fueling up at a Circle K in Phoenix last August, and this older guy in a beat up Camaro started talking to me about my stock intake. He pointed out how the factory box pulls air from right near the engine, and in 110 degree heat that air is basically preheated. He showed me a data log on his phone from his own car, and his intake temps dropped by 25 degrees just from rerouting the pipe behind the headlight. That one conversation made me look at mods differently, not as parts but as solutions to actual problems. I ended up spending 90 bucks on a basic kit and saw a real difference in throttle response on my daily commute. Has anyone else had a random stranger totally flip your thinking on a mod?

18

the_jade•4d ago

I finally measured my intake runners instead of guessing

Overheard a guy at a tuning shop say "length doesn't matter after 6k RPM" and after testing my own setup I found a 15 hp drop at redline from runners that were 2 inches too short.

6

robinson.quinn•4d ago

That old hot rodder at the local car show set me straight on my intake manifold

I was running a single plane intake on my 350 for years, thinking it was the hot setup. Some grizzled guy in his 70s comes up and asks if I ever actually drive it on the street. He pointed out my torque curve was flat as a pancake below 3k rpm and I'd get better daily drivability with a dual plane. Swapped to an Edelbrock Performer RPM last spring and the car actually pulls from a stoplight now. Lost maybe 15 peak horsepower but gained way more usable power where I actually drive. Has anyone else had a veteran builder change their mind about parts they were dead set on?

10

bettym89•4d ago

I finally had to admit my nephew was right about my engine swap

Had a long talk with my nephew last Sunday after he helped me pull the old 350 out of my '72 Chevelle. He kept saying I was wasting time trying to rebuild a worn out block when I could just drop in a modern LS for less money. After totaling up the machine shop bill at $1,200 and still needing new pistons and rings, I finally saw his point. Has anyone else switched from a classic small block to a newer crate motor and regretted it?

7

robinwalker•6d ago

My buddy in Denver swore the K&N intake would fix his gas mileage

He put one on his F-150 three months ago and his MPG actually dropped by 2. After he cleaned it twice, same result. Any of you run into this with aftermarket intakes?

16

faith_price7•9d ago

Swapped from a K&N to a dry filter on my 2015 Civic after reading about MAF sensor issues

I was always Team Oil until last month when a buddy showed me the gunk buildup on his intake tube after 20k miles, has anyone else noticed better fuel trims after ditching oily filters?

1

lunah86•9d ago

Hot take: I think cold air intakes on daily drivers are a waste of cash

Overheard a guy at the shop yesterday bragging about his $400 K&N intake, but my 2010 Civic has the stock box and still hits 38 mpg on the highway. Why drop that money for maybe 5 hp you'll never feel on your commute? Anyone else think most bolt-ons are just noise?

14

patricia_rodriguez•9d ago

My brake caliper seized on the highway Tuesday morning

I was heading to a job site in Austin around 7am when I felt the car pulling hard to the left. Pulled over and the rotor was glowing red, smoke pouring out from the wheel well. Turns out the caliper slide pins were completely rusted and locked up. Had to get it towed 30 miles to a shop and shell out $380 for new calipers and rotors. Anyone else had calipers fail on older trucks without warning?

12

jennifer_west•10d ago

Lowering springs vs coilovers on daily drivers? I think people overcomplicate it.

I see so many guys dropping $1200 on coilovers for a car that just commutes and hits the occasional on ramp. I ran basic Eibach lowering springs on my 2017 Civic for two years, car handled fine and I didn't miss adjusting ride height every weekend. Am I missing something or do folks just like shiny parts?

1

kelly_henderson83•11d ago

Showerthought: My buddy explained why his turbo lag felt different than mine

I was bitching about my Focus ST's turbo lag at a cookout and my friend Dave just goes 'you're spooling too slow because your downpipe is choking the flow.' He showed me his logs from his WRX where he cut out 400 RPM of lag by swapping to a 3-inch pipe. I always thought lag was just a tuning thing, but seeing his data made me realize I've been overthinking the tune and ignoring the simple exhaust side. Anyone else find a cheap part that changed how their car pulls?

6

shane_moore87•11d ago

Wasted $600 on a fancy air intake that did nothing

I bought a cold air intake for my 2015 Mustang GT because a buddy swore it added 20 horsepower. After install it actually ran worse and threw a check engine light. Took it to a local shop in Austin and the mechanic said the stock box was already pulling cold air. Dyno proved it made zero gain at all. Anyone else get burned by a mod that seemed legit but was totally pointless?

22

mia_anderson•12d ago

Old timer told me my weld beads looked like bird droppings back in 2018

He was right, I was running the gun too hot and moving way too slow. After he showed me the right speed and angle, my welds went from garbage to actually holding up, anyone else have an old school guy set them straight on something simple?

6

grant.margaret•13d ago

Swapped from rubber to polyurethane sway bar bushings last weekend

I put new poly bushings on my 04 Mustang on Saturday and the difference in cornering is nuts. Took about 2 hours with a buddy and a $35 kit from the local parts store. The old rubber ones were so worn the bar was clunking over every bump. Has anyone else made that switch and noticed the steering feel tighten up way more than you expected?

22

evan_harris14•13d ago

Spent $400 on a turbo kit before my buddy Mike said I should check the compression first

Turns out I had a blown head gasket on my 1998 Civic the whole time. Anyone else ever rush into mods without checking the basics first?

22

simoncarr•13d ago

Swapped from paper filters to a reusable oiled cotton one on my '04 Tacoma

I ran paper filters for about 3 years and always felt like my engine was a little choked up on hot days. Last fall I finally tried a K&N style reusable filter to see if all the hype was real. After a month, my highway mpg went from 18 to 21 just on my daily 30 mile commute. Throttle response felt snappier too, especially merging onto I-25. The downside is cleaning it every 50k miles is a bit messy with the oil spray. Anyone else notice a real difference swapping intake filters on older trucks?

23

dakota_fox•13d ago

Swapped out my cold air intake for a short ram last weekend

I always thought cold air was the way to go, but after 3 years of hydro-lock paranoia in the PNW rain, I finally tried a short ram... The throttle response feels snappier around town and it's way simpler to clean the filter. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a difference in daily driving?

24

anthony_wells•15d ago

Bought a cheap cold air intake kit off eBay for $45 and it melted after 3 days

The plastic tube literally warped and collapsed from the engine heat, and the filter was basically a rag. Spent another $120 on a name brand one and it's been fine for over a year now. Anyone else fall for those bargain bin intake kits?

5

lucas63•16d ago

Warning: that custom intake manifold from a buddy's buddy...

Ran into a guy named Dale at a meet in Nashville who said he almost grenaded his engine with a homemade intake because the welds were blocking airflow. He showed me the stress cracks on his old one and it hit me how easy it is to trust a cheap fab job if someone talks a good game. Anyone else run into parts that looked solid but were secretly junk?

2

smith.anna•1mo ago

Turned my opinion around on cheap cold air intakes after a dyno day at a local shop

I always thought spending $400 on a big name intake was stupid and the $60 eBay ones worked fine. Then I went to a dyno event last month at Speed Solutions in Phoenix and watched a guy run his $60 intake on a stock Civic. It actually lost 4 horsepower compared to the stock box. The temp readings showed air coming in at 15 degrees hotter than ambient. That got me looking at the design and how it just sucks hot air from the engine bay. Now I get why guys pay for a proper heat shield setup. Has anyone else had a cheap mod actually hurt their numbers on a dyno?

24

ivanb41•1mo ago

My muffler fell off on I-95 last Saturday and I had to rig it with baling wire

Driving home from my buddy's place in Richmond and heard a scraping sound. Pulled over and saw the whole muffler was hanging by one rusted hanger bracket. Grabbed some wire from my trunk and wrapped it around the pipe and frame to get it home. It held for about 15 miles until I could weld it proper at my uncle's shop. Anyone else had to do a ghetto fix like that on the side of the highway?

23

cameron318•1mo ago

Overheard some kid at the parts counter saying he's got a 700hp daily driver...

I was at AutoZone yesterday grabbing some spark plugs for my old F-150. Some teenager probably 18 or 19 is talking real loud on his phone about how his turbo build is pushing 700 wheel and he still drives it to school every day. I just kept my mouth shut but I wanted to tap him on the shoulder and ask how many transmissions he's blown through so far. I'm not trying to hate on young builders or anything but I've been at this for about 15 years now and my built 5.0 made 480 on a dyno and it felt sketchy on the highway after 20 minutes in summer traffic. You can't cool that kind of power without a serious cooling system and even then you're cooking everything under the hood. Has anyone else seen these super high power daily driver builds actually hold up for more than a few months?