Is every modded car unreliable?

[Bluedragondsm]

Leaving out of course extremely expensive cars that were made to be modded from the get go, is it just DSM's that have a tendency to blow up often when the mods hit, or is it just every modded car that isn't maintained properly?

The reason I ask is because it seems like DSMer's have a attitude about the cars that they aren't really something you want to mod, seems like a large amount of the community gives the "you don't know what you are getting yourself into". Maybe not this community in specific but I have seen it lately in increasing numbers.

I haven't ever owned a car besides a DSM since I bought one the week before I got my license and went from that to another DSM recently.

Is it simply DSM's that become time bombs when modded or is it every car that starts to make 100+ more HP then intended from the factory, Even though i have owned a DSM since 2001 I am getting the feeling more and more that I am missing out on some holy grail of car that accepts mods well and is a reliable daily driver and never breaks down.

 

[97-gst]

the cars wont break down if they have the right supporting mods and are drove easy. I think the reason most modded cars break is (i know mine does) because i do stuff to it then i run the crap out of it to see how much the mods help.

 

[LiquidX]

Cars break down because of age, lack of maintenance and repairs. If you beat on it constantly without taking notice to something small that needs to be taken care of, that small problem will escalate into something major that will have you broken down.

These cars run hot, they run hard, and they run fast.

 

[JRoX85]

No, they will run perfect for years when properly modded.. It's all in the mechanic or builder, and you can't go out and beat the crap out of your car everyday and expect nothing to ever go bad.. All the people that talk trash about dsm's have either had one, or known someone that's had one and screwed it up because they didn't take proper care of it or built it wrong.. Simple answer take car of your vehicle and it will take care of you.. Modding doesn't blow motors stupidity does!!!!

 

[black_gst]

No, they will run perfect for years when properly modded.. It's all in the mechanic or builder, and you can't go out and beat the crap out of your car everyday and expect nothing to ever go bad.. All the people that talk trash about dsm's have either had one, or known someone that's had one and screwed it up because they didn't take proper care of it or built it wrong.. Simple answer take car of your vehicle and it will take care of you.. Modding doesn't blow motors stupidity does!!!!

post you mods!

old car+mods=timebomb

now if you rebuild everything and have well thought out mods, yes it can me semi reliable but performance cars require alot of attention and when they get neglected it will cost you

 

[Colt4G63 also]

I have an AWD Colt with forged internals and a DSM drivetrain. I drive/beat the crap out of it at 19 psi on pump gas and it doesn't break down.

Last Sunday I drove it 800 miles round trip to the 3rd annual DSM meet at Ridley Creek State Park, and all that happened was something kicked up and tore a CV boot. I hardly call that breaking down.

I will admit, I did snap an axle in spring of 2009, but it was an inferior thinner axle, probably from a Chinese aftermarket supplier. Also I was being stupid and pulling hard in second gear on crappy pavement.

Honestly, I think DSMs respond well to mods, and you can do very little and see big gains while still being reliable. You can't say that about many other platforms.

Ps. That being said, I do check my equipment often. If I didn't, I'm sure bad things would happen.

 

[brownfinger]

I took off my chinese evo III 16g bastard 14b turbo and replaced it with a stock 14b. I also had the t-belt off, to replace a cam-seal. A few days later, the alternator belt flew off of the engine. This happened because I had put the outer water-pump pulley on inside-out. So, I un-modded my engine, and it became a time-bomb, because I was a jack-ass moron. Get the picture?

My brother used to be really good at ruining perfectly good cars. He had a really nice, clean, almost new Civic, a little over 10 years ago. He decided to boost it. He decided NOT to run bigger injectors. He warped his head. Catching on yet?

Now, the main "performance mods" on my GST include a K&N filter, the swiss-cheesed stock air-can, and a 2 1/2" exhaust. It's reliable, as long as I put all the parts on in a non-backwards orientation.

 

[JRoX85]

post you mods!

old car+mods=timebomb

now if you rebuild everything and have well thought out mods, yes it can me semi reliable but performance cars require alot of attention and when they get neglected it will cost you

My mods are as follows
e3 16g
bs elimination kit
unorthodox pulleys
arp headstuds
mls hg
aem gears
keydiver ecu
Denso 550cc injectors
wally 255
aero fpr
act clutch
fidanza fly
mishimoto rad
pr fmic
equal length manifold
full exhaust
tokico blues with springs
ebay intake
greddy bov
egr delete
magnus heat barrier gasket

My car runs at 18lbs as my daily, and still drives great for a 13yr old car. Compression levels are perfect across the board, and just hit 75k on my car. All the maintenance was just done oem timing, all bottom end seals, new slave cyl new mstr cyl, replaced upper ball joints, and replacing lower ball joints this weekend. Only thing wrong with my car is my shifter has some play, and a couple off batt draws that I am troubleshooting.....

so in my case old car+mods= no time bomb, I get on it every now and then but never beat the living hell out of it, as I don't want crap breaking on the highway with my baby girl in the car, especially in the Fla heat...

as long as the compression levels are good, everything is in working order as it should be, and the maintenance has been kept up with I would say it's safe to mod. Every car will break eventually though as nothing lasts forever..

 

[brian9397gsx]

my car is pretty modified its been the best car as far as reliability i have ever owned. of course when i bought it i spent alot of time on maintenance and odds and ends it needed(luckily previous owner was meticulous about maintenance). the only thing ive really had go wrong was a cam sensor. i have done all the mods i am a professional mechanic by the way. any car will break down and be unreliable if things are put off and ignored or modified incorrectly.

 

[black_gst]

My mods are as follows
e3 16g
bs elimination kit
unorthodox pulleys
arp headstuds
mls hg
aem gears
keydiver ecu
Denso 550cc injectors
wally 255
aero fpr
act clutch
fidanza fly
mishimoto rad
pr fmic
equal length manifold
full exhaust
tokico blues with springs
ebay intake
greddy bov
egr delete
magnus heat barrier gasket

My car runs at 18lbs as my daily, and still drives great for a 13yr old car. Compression levels are perfect across the board, and just hit 75k on my car. All the maintenance was just done oem timing, all bottom end seals, new slave cyl new mstr cyl, replaced upper ball joints, and replacing lower ball joints this weekend. Only thing wrong with my car is my shifter has some play, and a couple off batt draws that I am troubleshooting.....

so in my case old car+mods= no time bomb, I get on it every now and then but never beat the living hell out of it, as I don't want crap breaking on the highway with my baby girl in the car, especially in the Fla heat...

as long as the compression levels are good, everything is in working order as it should be, and the maintenance has been kept up with I would say it's safe to mod. Every car will break eventually though as nothing lasts forever..

It seems you take care of your car and it has low miles most dsm are over 100k and have been abused, your car seems to be the exception to the rule. 18psi is pretty mild id say. in my experience when you start going over 20 psi is when you can start to see problems.

 

[esoteric]

It seems you take care of your car and it has low miles most dsm are over 100k and have been abused, your car seems to be the exception to the rule. 18psi is pretty mild id say. in my experience when you start going over 20 psi is when you can start to see problems.

There is really no point to run over 20psi on a street DSM, hell driving in the street I hardly even see boost unless I make a point of it.

 

[black_gst]

There is really no point to run over 20psi on a street DSM, hell driving in the street I hardly even see boost unless I make a point of it.

well this is up to personal choice. im running 25psi now and will be trying to bump it up to 30 with a new wg spring hoping my 20g can keep up. and i usually DD mine

 

[ineedagsx]

if your car doesnt break you're not going fast enough

 

[gieri002]

^^ Agree.

 

[rarest_90_DsM]

Most common mistake when buying a 15+ year old car is not unmodding it before you start to mod it.90% of the problems people have from dsm is the previous owners mistakes or half ass rig jobs I just spent a week putting a 2g back to stock before we start messing with it, and it is way faster on stock boost then it was on the previous owners 22 psi

 

[brownfinger]

Most common mistake when buying a 15+ year old car is not unmodding it before you start to mod it.90% of the problems people have from dsm is the previous owners mistakes or half ass rig jobs I just spent a week putting a 2g back to stock before we start messing with it, and it is way faster on stock boost then it was on the previous owners 22 psi

I couldn't agree more, except the previous owner of my car is a member on here, so I won't trash him. He was honest about mods/condition.

 

[-TunedDSM-]

Cheap, Reliable, Fast. You can only pick two

 

[Sirnixalot]

if you have an old car and don't take care of the maintenance items first then don't expect it to survive well operating outside of the factory parameters.


I drive my evo daily and it has 90k miles. Most of the things i have done to it have been maintenance.

 

[sag1441]

they break down because most are high mileage anyways, most people shouldnt be working on their own cars, and instead of using quality parts they use knock off chinese shit and used parts.