bass_straitener wrote:rooby wrote:I'm sure that monitoring your car to the most minute detail would provide good information to help you keep your car in tip top shape, however I think the monitoring obsession gets a bit excessive at times.
There is a factor that no one ever seems to mention in these types of discussions...
Motors, like pretty much everything else in the world, don't all come out of the factory the same.
Some motors will be weaker than others from the factory, which can lead to failure regardless of how you baby it.
It sometimes just comes down to the luck of the draw, like if I buy a new mobile phone and it stops working after a month.
Look at how most people on here look after their cars, doing maintenance constantly, changing oil every 5k, etc., yet sometimes they still break.
Then think about how many people buy a car and don't give a shit about it and don't ever get a service, or buy only the cheapest of everything they put into it, and the car does hundreds of thousands of kms with no issues.
Even in tuned cars this kind of thing happens.
Sure monitoring things can a good thing but it won't necessarily stop your engine from braking.
Also, when you start monitoring there is also a small chance that you will turn into a crazy obsessive, constantly worrying that there is something wrong with your car
Flame me all you like but it's true.
In the last month 5 TBSTI Libertys have done head gaskets. Most have had aftermarket tunes. Are you suggesting these were all just badly built engines?
When looking at buying used cars should good documented service history not mean a thing in selecting a vehicle. And in fact it's all luck of the draw?
No one's saying become obsessive, but an understanding of their tune and the basics of diagnostic tools like learning view output and their likely causes would save thousands of dollars for each of individuals who've suffered head gasket failure. Or you can believe your tuner and the hour spent on the road where miraculously your car feels a million times better with no cost to any mechanical part.
I personally, coming from background where risk management is a major consideration, can't see why you'd run 40% more boost, a heap more timing, run leaner, more aggressive AVCS settings, induce earlier spool etc and not consider a basic understanding of the principles behind it. A Tactrix cable at $200, to check the ECU for any stored DTCs, pre-emotive DTCs and how your knock management is going seems a good risk management strategy. Not to be classified for the crazy.
Your cars engine will change from the day it was tuned. The engine wears, dodgy fuel, vac leaks, failing solenoids etc will all create adverse conditions. Why are there so many tune tweak posts in the Kido tunes threads?
As for Dan, sorry mate if it wasn't the response you were looking for. I was just being realistic given the budget you have to work with. A quick breakup of costs would see no change from $3500 for a basic rebuild. You then have to consider what went wrong and mitigation. Maybe some more parts like OCVs. Then your wife will kill you.. Game over..
Thanks for the honest opinion Bruce. This is what the forum is about.!!
The only issue is that I don't even own a laptop.... It's all apple iPad/iPhone and a desktop!! Besides that, I wouldn't be confident to touch my tune!! Honest!! I understand the wideband gauge as this is a good tool to see how it's behaving at any given moment. But I would still have to go down to the tuner to get them to change it!
Maybe if we weren't saving for a bigger house and I was earning a bigger wage ( just started my own home business ) then things would be more available !! But they are not and the missis is adamant that a 3-4k budget is it!!
She also said if the motor comes out and heads are off and we find the rings are gone or the piston has a cracked ring land then it will be a dodgy fix and trade in..... Just doesn't want to spend the $10k necessary !!
I'm stuck cause i really love this car, ticks the box's for me.!!!
I think it will be a case of fix the head and just turn the tune down/fix sensors and drive it!!
Not a Subaru...... Something MUCH better
NOPE..... That's shit too. Bus anyone??
