modification\cheaping out regrets

[zf>allison]

Brother was just reading a similar thread off of an Mitsubishi evo forum to me. It seemed very helpful being it was a sticky, warning new guys what is needed and not. What shouldn't be cheaped out on. People saying they could be faster if they did this or more reliable or streetable if they did that.

I'll get it rolling. I spend $1750 on a south bend dual disc non sfi aproved dual disc clutch kit. When I should have known to get an sfi aproved one. After a smoked clutch and shipping, rebuild\upgrading fees later I'm at almost $3000 in this clutch. When I probably could have been alot closer to 2k with alot less headache and downtime. I've learned my lesson on that and won't do it again. So let's here some of your guys opinions.

 

[CaptPhil]

Bought an SDP egr delete pipe only to pull it off 4 months later for a full 3" HSP y Bridge and piping.

Ran a Labonte Water Meth kit for about 6 months, biggest waste of money on the truck by far. yeah it added a tiny bit of power, but was a pain in the ass to keep working properly. Not to mention filling up the tank all the time got old.

 

[Yngdmax92]

i cheaped out and bought my dads truck off from him, lets just say that i am spending ALOT of money to make it normal working condition. Paint, transmission engine, and alot of stupid little electrical problems that are driving me crazy.... i am using this as a learning experience

 

[Hot COCOAL]

lol
don't "cheap out" and buy built trans tuning cuz you don't want to pay to upgrade the tunes later...
:rofl:

cuz I promise you, tune 4 is too tempting and tune 5....well tune 5 of built trans tuning is just flat out destructive to a stock trans and using either will put that built trans into your truck allot faster than you anticipated...

and...
DO cheap out on labor costs, meaning, work on your own rig....
If you're going to mod it, learn it, breathe it and love doing it...
You'll save a ton and be able to do more with your truck, trouble shoot when things go wrong and have the confidence to fix things yourself and pride of knowing you made it happen
:thumb:

Besides, more often than not, you're probably going to do a better job than most

 

[chevyburnout1]

If I would do all of this over again I would have ran proven chargers.

 

[MAXX IT OUT]

Don't join this forum, you will save a lot of money, and probably will not break anything .:roflmao:

 

[Chevy1925]

Get good tuning from a reputable tuner. If the trans does not shift like stock, something is wrong. Took me 3 years to find someone who knew a thing or two about defuel and I'm glad Steve helped me. I about twisted the hub off my planitaries from shit defuel tuning in the 3-4 up shift.

 

[56taskforce]

Don't join this forum, you will save a lot of money, and probably will not break anything .:roflmao:

Could even save a marriage!!!:roflmao:

 

[elliottw]

Don't work at a dealer fixing dmaxs :thumb:

 

[zf>allison]

Don't join this forum, you will save a lot of money, and probably will not break anything .:roflmao:

this is so true.

 

[LWATSON]

If you have your trans built, don't just get a kit installed and a 3D converter. get the damn thing built!

 

[WisconsinHick1]

Don't build your motor unless you are 110% sure you are going to dedicate it to drag racing or truck pulling. It's not worth it!

Learn a little about tuning so you know what to look for on logs and what questions to ask. I do my own tuning so I have no one to blame but myself.

 

[Chevy1925]

Don't build your motor unless you are 110% sure you are going to dedicate it to drag racing or truck pulling. It's not worth it!

Learn a little about tuning so you know what to look for on logs and what questions to ask. I do my own tuning so I have no one to blame but myself.

now that i dont agree with, mine has been to the drag strip once since the build and never been in a truck pull

 

[Big Chris]

Only modification I regret is being cheap saving $500 on having my trans built with ATS parts when I should have let Merchant build it. It works fine but it just runs too hot.

 

[hondarider552]

I regret selling my LBZ and my GMC

 

[thunder550]

Only thing I would do differently if I did it again would be to not look for a super cheap truck to start a project on. I only paid $4000 for the 99 gasser 4x4 5.3, which was significantly cheaper than anything else out there (most good condition ones were around $7k - $8k). A $1200 attempt at my own paint job, and a $3000 professional (kind of) paint job later, I'm right where I would have been (with a lot more time and effort) if I paid more up front for a really good condition truck to begin with.

 

[Vincode1]

FPR. Bought a "new" one off of eBay.......I think the ad should of said "looks new". Definitely sticking to a reputable vendor! The good thing is, I am now an expert at replacing these!

 

[zf>allison]

I bet my buddy regrets not having a shop do his head gaskets. A heli coiled block, and a few oil leaks, and bent pushrods later do to not adjusting the valves which he didn't do. I don't think he saved a dime by doing it himself. Hopefully his pistons aren't trashed I'm guessing I'll is valves aren't the prettiest.

 

[Bustedknuckles]

I bet my buddy regrets not having a shop do his head gaskets. A heli coiled block, and a few oil leaks, and bent pushrods later do to not adjusting the valves which he didn't do. I don't think he saved a dime by doing it himself. Hopefully his pistons aren't trashed I'm guessing I'll is valves aren't the prettiest.

Helicoiled block???

 

[zf>allison]

Helicoiled block???

Yes he stripped the threads putting his studs in. I believe it's because he didn't run a bottoming tap, so the studs weren't seated down all the way. So he heli coiled it.
But that's the least of his worries. Trust me if it goes up for sale I'll put up a warning on the site lol