First small mods

[mlakowicz]

I would like to make some conservative changes to increase the HP. I was thinking an air intake which I read about on the forum. My husband says it will void the warrenty. Will the dealer honor the warrenty if I change the intake? Thanks. Mary Lakowicz

[CottyGee]

Read your owner's manual, first off. Secondly, I believe (if I'm correct) that there is legislation now that requires the manufacturer to prove the modification caused any failure they are going to use to deny warranty coverage.

Lastly, I think it's a crapshoot. If you want more power, buy a different car! I think monkeying around with a car as sophistocated as is this one is foolhardy. The engineering and development that goes into the design of the modern vehicle is simply overwhelmingly complex. The interrelationships between components and systems and the integration of so many different aspect of the car make anything other than the most minor of modifications a possible cause for concern.

I know others here feel differently, but I've been down this road quite a bit, and these are the conclusions I have reached. In the end, I believe it is cheaper, safer, and results in far less heartache overall in the long run to buy a different car if this isn't the exact one you want.

Just my $0.02...

[kcrnmale]

Couldn't agree more......
(I wish I was in Arizona smoking a big fat Cuban and drinking coffee made from the beans I just roasted on my grill).

[Tibbs]

Well I'm sitting in sun drenched Arizona typing this with a Cohiba Esplendido in hand and.......ahhhhh.....it's rather nice out. No coffee on hand, but when it's 85 degrees out, this clear bottle of south o the border brew (that theoretically could contain Juan Valdez urine) will do just fine.

My Volant arrived today, so I'm celebrating....uh....because it's not like I sit out here and surf the net puffing down cigs and drinking beer EVERY evening. Just the warm ones.

[magnuman]

CotyGee and Mary,
For the most part I agree with CotyGee. There is a great article on the Hemi in Popular Hot Rodding. http://popularhotrodding.com/ on page two of the tech. articles. It's called "Hello Hemi". DCX really did a great job on the LX vehicles. There is not a lot of room for power gains without major work, i.e. head work, cam, supercharger, etc. The area I devoted most of my attention to was cooling down the intake air temperature. I made my own double wall insulated true cold air kit, but kept the existing tube length (see article on why), and added a K and N drop in filter to the stock airbox. My intake air temp. now runs at ambient on the highway and within 0-8 degrees of ambient in town. I haven't messed with the exhaust for the same reason, plus I don't want more noise. Power gain per $$$ can't justify it either, in my opinion. I've also gone to synthetic oil and run 40 PSI in the tires. All these things do is help mileage a little. I now get over 28 mpg on the highway at 60-70 mph and 15-18 in town using regular 87 octane fuel. I've also done a couple "gee whiz" mods.....my MDS "on" indicator light (which works great) and my Wide Open Throttle Fuel Mixture Control. No real testing has been done on the mixture control yet, and there is some doubt whether it will deliver anticipated results. I built it based on information about PCM mixture control outlined in the shop manual, which some people are finding may not be correct on dyno tests. So, we'll wait and see on that one. One member is going to do the mod. and then test it on the dyno. I am also thinking about getting and exhaust gas analyzer to verify whether it works or not. I am also working on a way to force the MDS to come on when I want it on. This is a sticky one and I am doing lots of research and asking all forum members for input on potential problems and will it work. I won't mess with this unless I am quite sure it will work without causing any problems with MDS, PCM or other systems. Overall though, most mods. deliver minimal gains, if any. Some have even reported loss of power, but they enjoy the noise. Go figure!! Hope all this will help you in your decision making.