mods you wouldnt do again ...
- Thread starter jeffryscott
- Start date
NorthernWoodsman
Adventurer/tinkerer
That's weird. I had a Magnaflow exhaust installed as well and my truck sounds nice. It's very quiet with just a tiny, noticeable rumble to the exhaust tone. Very quiet on trips too.
irish_11
Explorer
x2, but I guess it all depends on what you were mounting it on and what exhaust you went with. I like mine, its noticeable at higher RPM's but nice on the highway.
Regcabguy
Oil eater.
X2. Helped a buddy install a 5" magnaflow turboback stainless steel exhaust on his '05 CTD. Sounded like crap and droned him to death. He ended up reinstalling his cat and going with a Shuttleworth HD diesel muffler. NICE!
He also installed an AIRRAID CAI which did nothing performance wise. He's returned to a stock airbox with the new 4" deep stock element.
Canito is1
New member
Good stuff!
brussum
Adventurer
That post is priceless. Been there, done that...and I've felt that sting at trade-in time. Ouch!
keezer37
Explorer
-K&N CAI for sale. Like new!
I tried to like it. Actually sounded pretty cool at open throttle. In hot weather, traffic, it was a dog.
-Magnaflow (JBA catback) Spare. I'll use it if and when I have to. I still think about buying their headers from time to time. Will I never learn?
I grew up listening to V8 American muscle. I think the issue is the way catbacks sound when there are catalytic converters.
I got a lot of cool stickers though!
I tried to like it. Actually sounded pretty cool at open throttle. In hot weather, traffic, it was a dog.
-Magnaflow (JBA catback) Spare. I'll use it if and when I have to. I still think about buying their headers from time to time. Will I never learn?
I grew up listening to V8 American muscle. I think the issue is the way catbacks sound when there are catalytic converters.
I got a lot of cool stickers though!
1stDeuce
Explorer
I just found this thread and read a bunch of it during lunch. Lots of good info! I'll add a few bad decisions I've learned through my own experience, or that of my friends...
(Edited to shorten it... I got carried away.)
Electric Fans. They Suck. Period. It takes just as much HP to turn that alternator to drive your electric fan as it does to turn the mechanical fan. Nothing is free, people. And whenever the fan isn't running, and you're not moving much, the underhood temps go sky-high, which causes all sorts of things to eat it. (Alternators, computers, vapor lock, brake booster even...)
Snorkel. If you're in water over the hood, you should either do a better job of checking water depth, or SLOW DOWN. My TJ has been in water just over the top of the front fenders (~36") without issue, and about the top of my 33's lots of times. Never even been able to find water in the factory airbox... YMMV depending on vehicle of course.
Lifts bigger than about 2". Shaky business, but I have yet to meet a lift kit over about 2" that was worth the tradeoffs. My TJ is 1.5" to 2" over stock, via a combination of OEM (not OME) Jeep springs and factory isolators, and I'm running stock length shocks with a few spacers there as well to get proper droop travel. It flexes like a slinky, rides and drives like it's stock, and there's no squeaking bushings, welded arms, cheap bolts, or powdercoating anywhere, and the front/rear spring rates are spot on. It just works, because that's how it was designed, by people with actual engineering degrees who could take into account things like overstreer/understeer, ride rate and frequency splits, and overall long term durability.
Heavy stuff. Anything that adds weight to a vehicle that you're trying to take offroad must be considered carefully. Adding significant amounts of weight puts undue stress on components, and causes lots of things to start going wrong. This is one of the main reasons that older Toyotas were so "strong". They were light enough that it was hard to break them with their own weight.
Dual Batteries. Ok, there is a place for them... If you run battery intense loads while camping, they're a great idea so you can burn one down, and still start the truck. Or if you're plowing snow with a 63 amp alternator... But if you have a modern vehicle with a 100A or likely higher alternator, one battery is plenty. I can melt the wiring to the motor on my winch before drawing my normal Group27 battery down. While the winch cools, the battery charges. You're just adding weight and maintenance issues with dual batteries.
Winches that don't have a "W" on the front. Been there. Done that. If it doesn't say Warn, it has let me or someone I know down.
Beadlocks. I don't know what people are doing that necessitates beadlocks on anything short of a desert racer or all out rock buggy, but I commonly run 10-15 psi on the trails, and I have NEVER had a bead come off. I run 4.5psi in the sand, and haven't lost a bead there either.
Ok, enough from me. Of course all this is from my experience, so if you've got an exception, that's fine. But I knows what I knows, and just though I'd share too.
Chris
(Edited to shorten it... I got carried away.)
Electric Fans. They Suck. Period. It takes just as much HP to turn that alternator to drive your electric fan as it does to turn the mechanical fan. Nothing is free, people. And whenever the fan isn't running, and you're not moving much, the underhood temps go sky-high, which causes all sorts of things to eat it. (Alternators, computers, vapor lock, brake booster even...)
Snorkel. If you're in water over the hood, you should either do a better job of checking water depth, or SLOW DOWN. My TJ has been in water just over the top of the front fenders (~36") without issue, and about the top of my 33's lots of times. Never even been able to find water in the factory airbox... YMMV depending on vehicle of course.
Lifts bigger than about 2". Shaky business, but I have yet to meet a lift kit over about 2" that was worth the tradeoffs. My TJ is 1.5" to 2" over stock, via a combination of OEM (not OME) Jeep springs and factory isolators, and I'm running stock length shocks with a few spacers there as well to get proper droop travel. It flexes like a slinky, rides and drives like it's stock, and there's no squeaking bushings, welded arms, cheap bolts, or powdercoating anywhere, and the front/rear spring rates are spot on. It just works, because that's how it was designed, by people with actual engineering degrees who could take into account things like overstreer/understeer, ride rate and frequency splits, and overall long term durability.
Heavy stuff. Anything that adds weight to a vehicle that you're trying to take offroad must be considered carefully. Adding significant amounts of weight puts undue stress on components, and causes lots of things to start going wrong. This is one of the main reasons that older Toyotas were so "strong". They were light enough that it was hard to break them with their own weight.
Dual Batteries. Ok, there is a place for them... If you run battery intense loads while camping, they're a great idea so you can burn one down, and still start the truck. Or if you're plowing snow with a 63 amp alternator... But if you have a modern vehicle with a 100A or likely higher alternator, one battery is plenty. I can melt the wiring to the motor on my winch before drawing my normal Group27 battery down. While the winch cools, the battery charges. You're just adding weight and maintenance issues with dual batteries.
Winches that don't have a "W" on the front. Been there. Done that. If it doesn't say Warn, it has let me or someone I know down.
Beadlocks. I don't know what people are doing that necessitates beadlocks on anything short of a desert racer or all out rock buggy, but I commonly run 10-15 psi on the trails, and I have NEVER had a bead come off. I run 4.5psi in the sand, and haven't lost a bead there either.
Ok, enough from me. Of course all this is from my experience, so if you've got an exception, that's fine. But I knows what I knows, and just though I'd share too.
Chris
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Lostmanifesto
Traveler
Being over prepared. Being prepared is smart, over prepared is cumbersome. Plus, I think it takes the "adventure" out of what we all love if you bring every single creature comfort from home with you. If you camp with a dining room table and chairs and a chandelier how do you call that camping?
Buliwyf
Viking with a Hammer
A very GOOD set of 12 point combo wrenches like Snap-Ons will only require Metric for most regular male bolts. For female allen bolt heads, usually using SAE wrenches or sockets will work better, the exact opposite.
I keep both on hand. But for regular bolts, I grab metric combos first, tighter fit. Oddly, I avoid sockets and try to use combo wrenches and gear wrenches as often as possible.
Keep in mind that the tolerances on cheap chinese wrenches can be "a bit off" sometimes.
dieselfuel
Adventurer
Body lift on a suburban. The body is too heavy to give it that much leverage on the frame mounts. That and if the 14 body mounts on a 73-91 suburban, only 10 have bolts through them. So as soon as you go off road, 4 of them fall out.
mustangwarrior
Adventurer
spending money on a custom exhaust, don't get me wrong, i love the sound of my flowmaster but the $150 i spent to have custom tailpipes bent was a complete waste
i do have a k&n CAI but to make it work properly i need to make a fully enclosed airbox for it
i do have a k&n CAI but to make it work properly i need to make a fully enclosed airbox for it