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I NEVER buy any vehicles which have been modified. Just asking for trouble!
Think about this...
The vehicle manufacturer has whole floors of engineers who design and *test* everything in a vehicle to be sure in runs good in all conditions (cold/hot weather, low/high elevations, city/highway traffic, cornering, braking in all conditions, etc.).
Then you have one non-engineer do-it-yourselfer making modifications to that vehicle?
Hint: The check engine and ABS lights are saying "Do not buy me! And Danger!"
Thanks for the feedback! Even though I didn't understand much of it; I'm not that mechanically inclined.
But largely for the bolded statement above, I'm probably going to pass on this truck. It's sort of ghetto with the stepside flare thingie running along the bottom and a spoiler attached to the back of the cab and chintzy plastic louvered shades on the rear crew cab windows. I'd be removing those immediately if I bought the truck...it might as well go to someone who appreciates that sort of look. Along with the loud exhaust system and fat chrome pipes.
And of course since I don't know anything about the quality of workmanship and parts put on this truck, as you guys have pointed out, I could have a lot of ongoing annoying problems. I'm really just looking for a basic work truck for occasional when-one-needs-a-truck use.
People who stick teenage accessories on their cars are not the smartest people in the world.
And by the way, it's true. People don't go to hell for murdering a guy or bonking someone's wife. They go to hell for the thousands of small daily hits of pain that they cause large numbers of people. It adds up to a very large amount of suffering over a lifetime.
The people cropping up lately with loud trucks cause a little bit of pain and unhappiness everywhere they go. Somewhere, somehow, they're gonna pay for it.
I NEVER buy any vehicles which have been modified. Just asking for trouble!
Think about this...
The vehicle manufacturer has whole floors of engineers who design and *test* everything in a vehicle to be sure in runs good in all conditions (cold/hot weather, low/high elevations, city/highway traffic, cornering, braking in all conditions, etc.).
Depends on the vehicle. There are plenty of performance vehicles out there that are tastefully modded that add value to a car. There are also plenty of examples of tuners that have the full backing and warranty of the factory to do these performance mods. Think Calloway, AMG, RUF, etc. RUF and AMG are basically part of Porsche and Mercedes respectively now, and make their own complete models.
Does a custom/aftermarket exhaust mess up performance?
They sure won't help it.
The issue is install competence and system balance... which rarely exist.
Quote:
Today I looked at a 1997 Ford F150 with a small block V-8 for $2500.
It was very clean and only 132K miles. It had plenty of power, no smoke and shifted smoothly.
Stock? Sure. But don't buy ANY vehicle that has been modified in any way.
How about if I help you understand what a performance exhaust brings to a stock engine. Let's take that F150 and assume it's a 4.6. just for fun. The engine has a maximum capacity of air that it can pump, and an engine is nothing more than an air pump. WE have a factory exhaust system that takes the gases from the engine and the engine has to push them the length of the piping to scavenge the gases. That's where the issue CAN be. Let's say we've been running the truck for the last 30 minutes in the summer (makes a HUGE difference as to outside temps). So the exhaust system is up to normal operating temp. We are sitting at a light and we want to race or show off by stomping the gas to the floor. With a normal factory setup, the flow of gases per foot is going to be faster than a dual performance exhaust. Because we've been sitting, the gases inside the exhaust system have cooled some inside the piping. As air cools it becomes heavier. With a factory single system, the heavier gases are blown out fairly quick because of the speed of the gases in the piping. With a dual or performance system, the flow is going to be much slower and low end performance will suffer. How much depends on the engine and how large the performance system. But low end back pressure will be higher than a stock unit.
Performance exhausts have their place. As an engine is an air pump, to get more out of it you have to push more air in it and then push more air out. A performance system on a stock engine is just plain dumb. But if the engine has been modified, then it's a good idea to also mod the exhaust.
I'm glad MrWillys...we can stop being two hammerheads and agree on something.
Modding is NOT the problem.
It's using quality parts to do it.
Any kit from a name brand source should work fine.
They have engineers just as sharp, if not sharper then the factory.
In many cases the vehicle will run better and perform even better then in stock form.
It's when people start doing a "hack job" is when they get into trouble.
For what it's worth Op...the way you describe this exhaust system and it's large chrome tips, it sure sounds like what Midas and Tuffy do from what I remember. They don't use kits from high performance racing parts sources. It's all done in house. That sucks because they don't even have a mandrel tubing bender. They are all compression benders. Thus resulting in tight, kinked, air flow restrictive bends.
If anyone is going to have them do the work, you should contact them ahead of time and ok it that you may bring in your kit you bought from somewhere else for them to install.
Even a village idiot can tighten exhaust pipe clamps and hopefully read which direction the muffler and or cat goes by the bigass directional arrow on the side.
...It's when people start doing a "hack job" is when they get into trouble...
The problems I see with vehicle modifications are when the vehicle is sold to someone else, then there is a problem with the vehicle and it needs to be serviced...
I've yet to see any of these modifications documented (what was replaced/altered). For example emissions information [timing] is located on a label under the hood. Well someone will swap an engine, but not bother to also transfer the emissions information. Nor do they bother to document what year/model vehicle the engine came from.
So now the new owner needs a part for that engine, they go to the auto parts store, and the guy there asks what year and model vehicle the engine is from.... "I don't know!"
Or set the timing / base timing... "I don't know???" (That label is still on the vehicle the engine came from.)
Or you try to read diagnostic codes... Says O2 sensor bad... Well there is no O2 sensor and just a wire dangling.
I had trouble reading diagnostic codes from a truck. Turns out the previous owner swapped the EPROM chip with an aftermarket chip and did not stick the label which came with that on the vehicle, nor did he give the OEM chip to the new buyer.
And the instructions which come with that chip say "Reinstall OEM chip before taking vehicle in for service".
It is hard enough to troubleshoot a vehicle with everything OEM. But can be impossible if modifications have been made which are not documented.
The problems I see with vehicle modifications are when the vehicle is sold to someone else, then there is a problem with the vehicle and it needs to be serviced...
I've yet to see any of these modifications documented (what was replaced/altered). For example emissions information [timing] is located on a label under the hood. Well someone will swap an engine, but not bother to also transfer the emissions information. Nor do they bother to document what year/model vehicle the engine came from.
So now the new owner needs a part for that engine, they go to the auto parts store, and the guy there asks what year and model vehicle the engine is from.... "I don't know!"
Or set the timing / base timing... "I don't know???" (That label is still on the vehicle the engine came from.)
Or you try to read diagnostic codes... Says O2 sensor bad... Well there is no O2 sensor and just a wire dangling.
I had trouble reading diagnostic codes from a truck. Turns out the previous owner swapped the EPROM chip with an aftermarket chip and did not stick the label which came with that on the vehicle, nor did he give the OEM chip to the new buyer.
And the instructions which come with that chip say "Reinstall OEM chip before taking vehicle in for service".
It is hard enough to troubleshoot a vehicle with everything OEM. But can be impossible if modifications have been made which are not documented.
Well, that makes perfect sense then and I understand your concern. People should record or document everything they have done to that vehicle if they want to sell it.
I even put the "DO NOT DISCARD" K&N air filter sticker on my air box.
And you are right, chipped vehicles can be a problem as well as other mods that haven't been matched or paired with the other needed parts.
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