Unless you know how to remap a car and have a car with plenty of power reserve.
Right, that’s my point though. With my '84 Chevy Monte Carlo SS, I could drop a new engine in (started with a 305, ended with a 400 short block), do a high-flow dual carb intake, get a couple Edelbrock carbs, buy some headers, straight pipes and a glasspack muffler, and get a ton more power. (And also much, much worse fuel economy.) Now you not only need to understand wrenching, you also have to have the software and knowledge to entirely re-map the fuel, since it’s all computerized.
And while you are technically correct that you can get tons more power out of a lot of mostly stock engines, that does sharply reduce your engine lifespan. Of course, that’s always been the case, but it used to be that you could fairly easily get your block bored and sleeved to have larger pistons (“there’s no replacement for displacement”), but generally engines are running with much less material now. Oh, and they’re aluminum rather than iron, so often you’re going to have to send your block off to a specialist to get the cylinder bores coated for longevity. (I think my Honda CBR600RR had alusil or nikasil plating in the cylinders? I’m not sure now.)
I’m really, really not nostalgic for those days; yeah, hot rods are kind of neat, and it’s fun being able to do your own mechanical work, but cars now are so much more efficient, more powerful, and last 3-4x as long as cars from the 60s through early 80s.
Right, that’s my point though. With my '84 Chevy Monte Carlo SS, I could drop a new engine in (started with a 305, ended with a 400 short block), do a high-flow dual carb intake, get a couple Edelbrock carbs, buy some headers, straight pipes and a glasspack muffler, and get a ton more power. (And also much, much worse fuel economy.)
Right. But with a lot of modern cars, you don’t need to drop in a new engine at all, and for a lot of people changing fuel trim tables is easier than getting carb jets juuuuuust right. Not to mention there are premade stage1 remaps for stock engines that should “mostly” work. There are engines out there that will give you around a 30% without a single mod, though generally not on those premade remaps, as those try to err on the safe side. Stock intake, stock exhaust, stock everything. Just a remap. Oftentimes, they give you BETTER fuel economy because of the improved torque curve. Though the increased effect of the fun pedal often cancels this out.
I’d say you can get into modding with less knowledge and skill nowadays, because as long as you have the hardware, you can get someone to remap your car remotely so you don’t even need to be able to drive it to a shop after doing whatever mods you want to do to it. True, if you want to do everything by yourself, then it’s harder.
Right, that’s my point though. With my '84 Chevy Monte Carlo SS, I could drop a new engine in (started with a 305, ended with a 400 short block), do a high-flow dual carb intake, get a couple Edelbrock carbs, buy some headers, straight pipes and a glasspack muffler, and get a ton more power. (And also much, much worse fuel economy.) Now you not only need to understand wrenching, you also have to have the software and knowledge to entirely re-map the fuel, since it’s all computerized.
And while you are technically correct that you can get tons more power out of a lot of mostly stock engines, that does sharply reduce your engine lifespan. Of course, that’s always been the case, but it used to be that you could fairly easily get your block bored and sleeved to have larger pistons (“there’s no replacement for displacement”), but generally engines are running with much less material now. Oh, and they’re aluminum rather than iron, so often you’re going to have to send your block off to a specialist to get the cylinder bores coated for longevity. (I think my Honda CBR600RR had alusil or nikasil plating in the cylinders? I’m not sure now.)
I’m really, really not nostalgic for those days; yeah, hot rods are kind of neat, and it’s fun being able to do your own mechanical work, but cars now are so much more efficient, more powerful, and last 3-4x as long as cars from the 60s through early 80s.
Right. But with a lot of modern cars, you don’t need to drop in a new engine at all, and for a lot of people changing fuel trim tables is easier than getting carb jets juuuuuust right. Not to mention there are premade stage1 remaps for stock engines that should “mostly” work. There are engines out there that will give you around a 30% without a single mod, though generally not on those premade remaps, as those try to err on the safe side. Stock intake, stock exhaust, stock everything. Just a remap. Oftentimes, they give you BETTER fuel economy because of the improved torque curve. Though the increased effect of the fun pedal often cancels this out.
I’d say you can get into modding with less knowledge and skill nowadays, because as long as you have the hardware, you can get someone to remap your car remotely so you don’t even need to be able to drive it to a shop after doing whatever mods you want to do to it. True, if you want to do everything by yourself, then it’s harder.