'Mods' pointless?
11-22-05, 07:33 PM
#27
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Originally Posted by FormerPorscheGuy
The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long
But who really cares, these cars shouldn't be driven daily anyways.
But who really cares, these cars shouldn't be driven daily anyways.
And he who go to bed with itchy butt, wake up with stinky finga!!
11-22-05, 07:48 PM
#28
Constant threat
To answer your question, I would have to say, 'No, mods are not "pointless".
There is of course a point of diminishing returns, and a point where it makes no sense to continue. Most of us do the 'intake/downpipe/catback' mod not only for the reliability gains but also for the ~20 ponies it frees up. What you end up with here is a car that is aesthetically more pleasing, has a nicer exhaust sound (usually...not always!), is more responsive and actually has noticeable performance gains, and it less likely to suffer catastrophic failure due to heat related factors.
After that, one can start seeing some truly impressive gains by upgrading fuel delivery/ECUs, installing a larger intercooler, going single-turbo, installing even less-restrictive exhaust components, etc. but you start 'tickling the tail of the dragon' a bit here, reliability wise. Done PERFECTLY RIGHT, you are safe....but compromise a little or have some truly horrendous bad luck and you could be toasting your engine.
Beyond this, and some people take it WAYYYYYYY beyond, you get into the realm of a spectacularly incredible car more suited for drag racing, but also one that you can expect to spend far more time under the hood.
Only each person can determine and justify what mods he thinks are "pointless" or not.
I am sure that of the roughly 5000 FDs left on the road, there are a fairly significant number of them that are absolutely bone stock, and those drivers are perfectly content with their cars. Some others are only going to be content with being able to honestly own dyno bragging rights, or to have a car that will not just outrun but flat humiliate anything else on four or even TWO wheels.
There is a whole world of contentment between those two extremes.
There is of course a point of diminishing returns, and a point where it makes no sense to continue. Most of us do the 'intake/downpipe/catback' mod not only for the reliability gains but also for the ~20 ponies it frees up. What you end up with here is a car that is aesthetically more pleasing, has a nicer exhaust sound (usually...not always!), is more responsive and actually has noticeable performance gains, and it less likely to suffer catastrophic failure due to heat related factors.
After that, one can start seeing some truly impressive gains by upgrading fuel delivery/ECUs, installing a larger intercooler, going single-turbo, installing even less-restrictive exhaust components, etc. but you start 'tickling the tail of the dragon' a bit here, reliability wise. Done PERFECTLY RIGHT, you are safe....but compromise a little or have some truly horrendous bad luck and you could be toasting your engine.
Beyond this, and some people take it WAYYYYYYY beyond, you get into the realm of a spectacularly incredible car more suited for drag racing, but also one that you can expect to spend far more time under the hood.
Only each person can determine and justify what mods he thinks are "pointless" or not.
I am sure that of the roughly 5000 FDs left on the road, there are a fairly significant number of them that are absolutely bone stock, and those drivers are perfectly content with their cars. Some others are only going to be content with being able to honestly own dyno bragging rights, or to have a car that will not just outrun but flat humiliate anything else on four or even TWO wheels.
There is a whole world of contentment between those two extremes.
11-22-05, 07:55 PM
#29
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Originally Posted by montego
There is something wrong with your original graph.
The original is messed up.
lol
11-22-05, 08:43 PM
#32
Recovering Miataholic
Original owner here, stock except for Bonez S/S downpipe, a Miata Club of America gearshift ****, and all Viton vacuum hoses. Wife drives it daily (should I tell her not to?).
11-22-05, 08:54 PM
#33
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Originally Posted by wstrohm
Original owner here, stock except for Bonez S/S downpipe, a Miata Club of America gearshift ****, and all Viton vacuum hoses. Wife drives it daily (should I tell her not to?).
11-22-05, 10:14 PM
#35
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The main issue I have with mods is noise. I miss the quite RX-7 the one I could run on the street in stealth mode. Now if I get on it everyone knows it and turns. really not cool. I have more power but less that I can enjoy.
11-22-05, 11:59 PM
#36
Original Gangster/Rotary!
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Originally Posted by FLA94FD
The main issue I have with mods is noise. I miss the quite RX-7 the one I could run on the street in stealth mode. Now if I get on it everyone knows it and turns. really not cool. I have more power but less that I can enjoy.
11-23-05, 12:12 AM
#37
2/4 wheel cornering fiend
Originally Posted by ehos
Yeah yeah, I know I'm going to get flamed, but just hear me out? I hope contrarian views are allowed here as well...
I hope contrarian views are allowed here as well...
Originally Posted by ehos
My arguement is that 'mods' don't really do much for your FD. (Except for reliability mods that is).
Besides the fact that these dyno graphs are hardly representative of the entire world of modified FDs, you're also overlooking the fact that dyno graphs don't display every measure of power and acceleration.
11-23-05, 12:26 AM
#38
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You're right. I based my judgment on flawed information.
I saw all those mods and almost zero gain and jumped the gun.
However, where I live, my stock FD gets into illegal territory fast enough. Adding more power (and noise) would be really pointless. I'd like to live where you guys do. Some place where you can use that 400 HP daily!
(Not on the track, like I said, I already have a track weapon)
I saw all those mods and almost zero gain and jumped the gun.
However, where I live, my stock FD gets into illegal territory fast enough.
Adding more power (and noise) would be really pointless. I'd like to live where you guys do. Some place where you can use that 400 HP daily! (Not on the track, like I said, I already have a track weapon)
11-23-05, 11:42 AM
#39
Originally Posted by ehos
You're right. I based my judgment on flawed information.
I saw all those mods and almost zero gain and jumped the gun.
However, where I live, my stock FD gets into illegal territory fast enough. Adding more power (and noise) would be really pointless. I'd like to live where you guys do. Some place where you can use that 400 HP daily!
(Not on the track, like I said, I already have a track weapon)
I saw all those mods and almost zero gain and jumped the gun.
However, where I live, my stock FD gets into illegal territory fast enough.
Adding more power (and noise) would be really pointless. I'd like to live where you guys do. Some place where you can use that 400 HP daily! (Not on the track, like I said, I already have a track weapon)
I don't daily my rx7. I have a truck for that. I do however have a tendency to use my 430 horsies when I get the time away from the wife and kid. So again I personally don't feel that the modifications I made to the car were pointless. The point was to go faster than the next guy and for the most part I accomplished just that.
Last edited by Fd3BOOST; 11-23-05 at 11:45 AM.
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