Quote:
Originally Posted by ceedawg
 You pay to play! Don't think alot of these guys are too worried and one should not be surprised. But yes you list the risks. I would say do not be OCD about beating on the car. A few occasional bursts and no converter stall or clutch dumps and the car should be good to go. The meth route/advanced timing I am very leary of and stay away from. Play at your own risk! Coming from a 600 plus hp DSM guy so money to play with I know what you mean!  |
Agreed, one shouldn't be OCD. Overall, the N55 powertrain is robust by common car standards and there are many safeguards that try to jump in to keep the things alive. However, the more power you add, the harder it is for that over-engineering and safeguard net to catch you. I'm certainly not a doom and gloom person at all, but I know the risks of modding cars just as I have since the mid-1990s.
Personally, I see no point in adding more than 10-20% hp/tq to these cars as they're already faster than 99%+ of the cars on the road already and rarely can you use that power often or for much duration. If I want a much faster car, I've learned it's far cheaper and less frustrating to buy a faster stock car in the first place.
If I've learned one thing about modding cars for nearly 25 years, it's that most aftermarket parts are FULL of compromise, don't fit like OEM, have NVH issues, etc. It's often a headache, especially powertrain and suspension parts. I don't want to drive stock, but I don't want some seriously worked over car either or else you're always screwing around with it or chasing down some gremlin.