The other day I was over at a neighbors while he was working on his Chevy. He was having radiator problems and was wondering why one of the fittings would screw into the top of the tank on his rad and the other wouldn't screw into the bottom. Now,he was replacing a rad that had plastic tanks with one that had steal tanks. The first thing I noticed was that the fittings on the steal tank were two different sizes. The ones on the original radiator were both the same size. He fought with it for an hour or so till I mentioned the problem. He said to me that it didn't make any sense why it would be like that. It could be any one of a number of reasons. I started to explain that there are things that auto makers do to try to eliminate the back yard mechanic to people are more inclined to bring their vehicle into a dealership or shop to get them fixed.
There are actually quiet a few little tricks that manufacturers do to make it hard on the backyard do-it-yourselfer. It just makes sense business wise to create a market. I remember my cousin asking me why wouldn't car makers put dual exhaust on vehicles if it worked so much better. Simple,it's called get the job done. Most of us know that dual exhaust on any V-6 or V-8 engine creates better flow and therefore better performance and fuel economy. How ever,it costs more money. Its the same with cam profiles,cylinder head designs and the like. Of course for the most part these days manufacturers are building for performance more and more again,to the delight of all of us so they are incorperating years of research and development. The result is more durability,better performance, and better fuel economy than in years past.
When adding computer advancements it adds even more advantages. Timing is damn near precise,fuel pulses are timed exactly to valve timing and so forth. ECM's learn how you drive your car and adapt. There are still things that automakers should do but,don't due to cost and the like because you can buy tuners and software that give even better performance. One reason is drivability and smooth operating. After all most of us are in stop and go traffic quite often. The rank profile cams and huge displacements are for the track anyways. With that said though,most cars and trucks are coming out of the factory with at least 300 horsepower anyway. And for around $350.00 you can get yourself a tuner from Hypertech or even Superchip to get more bang for your buck.
There are actually quiet a few little tricks that manufacturers do to make it hard on the backyard do-it-yourselfer. It just makes sense business wise to create a market. I remember my cousin asking me why wouldn't car makers put dual exhaust on vehicles if it worked so much better. Simple,it's called get the job done. Most of us know that dual exhaust on any V-6 or V-8 engine creates better flow and therefore better performance and fuel economy. How ever,it costs more money. Its the same with cam profiles,cylinder head designs and the like. Of course for the most part these days manufacturers are building for performance more and more again,to the delight of all of us so they are incorperating years of research and development. The result is more durability,better performance, and better fuel economy than in years past.
When adding computer advancements it adds even more advantages. Timing is damn near precise,fuel pulses are timed exactly to valve timing and so forth. ECM's learn how you drive your car and adapt. There are still things that automakers should do but,don't due to cost and the like because you can buy tuners and software that give even better performance. One reason is drivability and smooth operating. After all most of us are in stop and go traffic quite often. The rank profile cams and huge displacements are for the track anyways. With that said though,most cars and trucks are coming out of the factory with at least 300 horsepower anyway. And for around $350.00 you can get yourself a tuner from Hypertech or even Superchip to get more bang for your buck.
