Mod fever is rampant on internet forums such as this one. How often do we hear of this mod or that mod, making this or that power on the dyno or running this or that time at the track?

Modding is fun for many and often brings about perceived, if not outright tangible results.

But the thing about all of the positive testimonials is, a lot of times you won't hear about some of the mishaps and misadventures.

Some of these can be quite significant, and yes, costly.

Many know what they are doing and go in with their eyes wide open and know some of what to expect. However just as many jump into modding feet first with nary an inkling of the down side of it.

****The purpose of this list is to give the readers an idea of what can go wrong, and sometimes does go wrong, with some of the modifications discussed here on the board.****

And certainly not to glamorize, or make light of anyone's misfortune. Some of these mishaps were costly and aggravating. The majority were probably non warranty covered, , and if you have ever had a modding disaster of your own, as I have, you can certainly identify with some of the posts in it.

Each instance is a thread, or a post within a thread, or a series of posts. So really, all we have, is an organized list of links of already reported incidents.

Some are quite unusual, and yes unfortunate. One member was tuning his car at the quarter mile track, ran into a problem with the tuning software which rendered the car immobile, the car would not start.

He had to leave the car overnight and returned to find it vandalized.

Unfortunately, I just added another supercharged car to the list tonight.

Here are a few that I have kept track of, on this forum mostly, but others as well, and adding to this list as some of them occur.

Some are not outright "disasters" however all were either small or large headaches. Some were easy to manage, many were not.

Bear in mind, that it is not all inclusive. No mods mishaps list could be.

For example, the 2 known C6 Z06s which have gone up in smoke following nitrous installs are not listed.

One of the two early C6s which went up in flames following a header install which burned through a clutch line, is not listed.

Not all of the "poked a hole in my condenser" threads are included either.

I have kept this list for myself for a while, refined it and add to it periodically.

The list is categorized with the attempt to isolate the type of mod which lead to the problem.

My car is not modified for increase in power. This list reminds me of why.

For me, the list serves as a reminder of why my car remains stock. And any time I get the urge to mod it, I take a look at this list and make a random click onto any one of the links in it.

I set up basic categories, or sections for the modifications, or issues which the cars in the listed threads had.

Beneath each title, I attempted to list cars which had that, or some or all of those modifications, or that issue.

***Every effort is made to put the found link into the best descriptive section, but it is best to read the whole thread in the supplied link to get the accurate idea of what most likely led to the reported incident reported in each individual link.

You may decide that a link belongs under a different section, and I have no problem with that, because I could be wrong about where it belongs. The list is not gospel, and is not held out as such.****



*****Mods Gone Bad*****


Supercharger Category

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1925468

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...t=supercharger

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2029849

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1997345

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2077213

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1757562

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1933948

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1972038

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2113193

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1990432

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1687785

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1871579

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2070527

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...p?p=1567012144

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1705445

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1782457

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2094698

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1814752

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2070527

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2099850

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1900764


Tuning, Bolt Ons, Internal Engine Modifications, Etc. Category

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2031982

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2097812

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1752167

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2066798

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1671817

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...p?p=1567083209

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2119455

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1899216

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2127230

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2034241

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2077875

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1724271

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1293691

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1754889

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2130191

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2126040

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1960950

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2050982

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1969033

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1974671

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1971074

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2076207

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1856563

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2126020

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1912615

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1908420

http://www.hptuners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18933

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2019807

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2125361

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2019939

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1757316

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2127485

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1565376004

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1872030

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1679333

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2074560

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1704984

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1837751

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2102643

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2102974

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2081240

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1922350

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1889525

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1566244166
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1566253796
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1566244307
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1566264166
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2075071
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1566164606
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2075133

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1564636015


http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2059237

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2100856

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1890618

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1986100

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2022080

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2104145

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1793699

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1761050

Turbocharger Category

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1807044

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2101384

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1564851533


Oil System Issue

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2056253


Drive Line Issues

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2068840

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2123381

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2084418

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...p?p=1564832095

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1985679

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1827742

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1565615772

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1566366490

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2087742

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1566081895

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...post1566091369

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1936453

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1947767

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2047647

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2081387

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2086485


Wide Body Issues

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1811558


Problems of Unknown Origin

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2011135


Suspension and Brake Issues

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2040318

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=2065554

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1697133


New info about tuning and if it can be discovered:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...979769&page=10

 

Thanks for the links.

 

Holy shiznitt! That's a list. Sadly, I have done very few mods without an undesired side effect. This list is really no surprise.

 

In all honesty if a thread like this could convince you not to modify your ride you shouldn't be doing it anyhow.. To be fair, it seems many of these threads are about people who shouldn't be messing with a good thing in the first place. No disrespect to any of them but I think most of the projects were set to fail before they began.

Having been in the aftermarket/tuning industry I just can't help but laugh.. Very and I mean very rarely do things like this happen.. In most cases it's the owners fault for not putting the proper research into the given project. I'm not going to point out the issues with each thread, but if you have common sense IMO you should be able to see them for yourself.

Bottom line, for some reason this way of thinking exists in the current Corvette community.. In the end I think everyone should respect everyone's choice to mod or not to mod. Personally I'm not worried, I have confidence in both my work and the people I associate with in regards to my automotive projects.

 

I thought you were talking about Moderators

No bad mods so far, though they have been limited. The worst one I ever did was on a Firebird, put an exhaust on that I had not heard in person. It sounded much different than the recording and I was not pleased at all w/ it. Swapped it out at a significant cost.

 

You know, I was going to call this thread "Mods Gone Wild" but with all the hits it would have gotten with a title like that, you guys would have slowed the forum to a crawl like it was last week.

Oh, yes, I can definitely respects people's coices to mod or not, but like you allude to, some folk jump into some of these mods head long without a clue of what they are getting into.

Sometimes the owner may have, or thinks that he has, done his research, but lets face it, a lot of the "research part of the research and development" for some of these mods, is done by the owner of the car.


Also, in the case of locked tunes, a lot of folks don't even realize that their ECMs are even locked until they go to have them tuned again. They don't even know to ask if the tuner locks his tunes.

If someone looks at one of these mishaps and says: "Gosh, I didn't know that could happen just by doing that mod. I was just about to order it, of have it done to my car?" well then I think they are ahead in the game.

At least they can do a bit more research on it, and give it a bit more thought before proceeding.

 

Wow what a great list. An eye opener to say the least.

 

 

Why are you starting trouble again you've become the Debbie Downer of this forum? It seems like you get mad that these mod'd "regular" C6's can hang with your stock Z06. If people aren't smart enough to know that when you mod things can go wrong then they need to learn a lesson anyways.

So far for my C6 my mods have been 100% smooth.

Coilovers are great 2500+ miles on them now. Best Corvette mod I have ever done by far. Now it is real easy to outperform a lot of the over ego'd c6 Z06 guys in the twisties.
Haltech Venom the only problem I had was the person I bought it from left a part off otherwise it's great 3k + miles
Breathless shifter no issues other then I had to drill a hole on the shifter to fit the C6 ****

I will still be installing my headers and fast90 when I get some time. Just for you I will truthfully post when something goes wrong.

 

stupid post. i think we all know the pitfalls of everything we do to the car and life in general

 

I didn't bother reading the list of threads posted.

In my opinion this thread is one of the more silly, redundant and pointless threads ever created - borderline idiotic.

With regard to any modifications there is only one thing that needs to be said:

You have to pay to play, and if you can't pay, don't play - or said another way Don't screw with anything you can't afford to lose outright

If anyone is stupid enough to spend big money getting a car modded (maybe one they haven't even finished paying off yet) without considering that everything and anything can go wrong, then they deserve what ever happens.

Seriously - why would/should grown adults be hand held??

 

Didn't know that many things went wrong. It's an eye opener for me. Now I know what NOT to spend my pennies on.

 

Long time no see WickedC5.

I struggled with putting this list up, because I knew that some folks would not be happy about it. Some people actually think that everyone knows about potential issues associated with some of the mods we discuss. Nothing could be further from the truth.

People do some of this stuff to their cars, and automatically think that they are going to run like, and be as dependable as they were when stock, only with more power.

A lot of people don't know that they are going to get codes and valve train noise with headers. They think that all they have to do is bolt them on, or have them bolted on, and immediately feel the power. They don't know that they might not pass emissions.

People think they can put this stuff on their cars and not have to give it a second thought, just drive the car just as they drove it stock, without a worry in the world. Thats not always the case, and I think that needs to be put out there. BEFORE people dive in feet first.

No one likes to be reminded that they screwed up. And thats perhaps another reason for some of the negative posts in the thread. But as said before, thats not the purpose of this list.

But ask yourself, why are folks so up in arms about even the mention of some of these mods going wrong? Why is it taboo to talk about it???

Sure, these mishaps and misadventures are listed elsewhere in the forum. But this list puts them all in the same place for easy reference.

If a guy has an issue, he can search for the "Mods Gone Bad" thread, and check the category which matches his issue.

He may find an issue similar to his own and can perhaps get it solved quicker.

A catalog, a clearinghouse of misadventures puts everything in one place for easy reference. Indeed, they ought to have a sub forum in the C6 section, listing nothing but screw ups and mishaps, for easy reference

The other thing is as mentioned before, some of these guys have no clue about some of the things which can and do go wrong with some of the mods discussed here on the forum.

How many times do we see a new guy post up that he has already bought mods, even before he gets the car???

Or a guy asking which mods he should do just days after getting his car?

This list will give him some reading material and a few things to ponder in anticipation of his planned mods.

Finally, you know, in doing this list for the amount of time I have, and adding to it, I have almost gotten to the place to where I can make a reasonable prediction of who, or what will wind up on it next.

Or more accurately, which mod category will get the next car added to it.

A pre list if you will, I have developed a keen sense, a good idea of who will wind up on it next based on some of the announced mods or planned mods, where they live, and what tuning capabilities they have, who is doing the work, the technical difficulty, how the car is to be used, the owner's expectations, etc.

From following that list, I can just about tell when someone, the next guy, is getting ready to bust something.

So never mind, you're safe.

Supercharged cars with cast internals are of course always a safe bet. So for that reason, several weeks ago, I knew that another supercharged car would go down. It wasn't a question of if, but when.... I believe that we will have at least one more go down before Christmas.

The bottom line is, the more tampering and tinkering we have the more screw ups, mishaps and failures we are going to see. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Really, what else can happen??? The only question is who is going to be next.

 

That's why I'm content with my headers, CAI, ported intake and tune.

Anyone should know that opening up the engine may lead to problems and should be ready to deal with it.

To each his own.

 

And this list is for guys like you. Might save you some money and a whole lot of headache up the road.

 

Now a prelist would be interesting.

Just as long as I'm not in the top 10

 

Quicksilver your turning into the biased media who thrives on news stories of destruction. I am happy you have your list to remind you leave it alone and I know you had other modified corvettes that were nightmares I've had a few myself but they weren't vettes but people have to learn on there own I don't think your going save anyone by posting this stuff.

On top of it your kicking the vendors that support this free forum with post's like this. I am sure some of them are having a tough enough time in this economy and rely on people buying mods from them.

 

Damn I bet this post took a LONG time to put together. Theres always the people in this world who are pecimists. I prefer the optimist type. Make a post showing the good about modifying your car.

 

Well, the "pre list" is sort of private. But, since I started it, there have been a few cars to make it from my pre list, to the real list.

Not quite following you here. My intent here is to inform the membership about what can happen with certain modifications. In that effort, I have put together a list of threads, already present in this forum. This stuff has already been described and talked about.

Well, I wouldn't call myself a "pessimist", but I am a realist. And realistically speaking, I think that this is an informative list.

 

While I would never want to discredit any of the vendors that support this forum - it all started in the winter/spring of 1999 as an internet community of enthusiast sharing information with other enthusiasts. With that in mind - I am happy Quicksilver posted this list of links - it helps raise awareness amongst those who are perhaps less mod savvy that altering your car can have unanticipated and unwanted outcomes. This can range from no improvement in performance to the motor breaking. I don't read this thread as "do not modify your car" but rather "mod with caution". If anything this thread brings home the importance of using a good tuner.

I for one have had a bad experience with an aftermarket part that nearly killed me - and yes they are still a vendor here. The failure was the result of poor engineering and design and stupidity on my part for being a beta tester and not trusting my instincts when things didn't look right... I for one will never be the guinea pig for any product nor will I ever do anything more complicated than an air intake install on a car such as this due to liability issues. I can tear down and rebuild an engine but on a 75K car - I'll leave that to tuners who do it every day and are insured.