|  | Making Modifications To Your Car
Since the days of the Ford Model T, people have been making custom modifications to their cars. The modifications presented here are, for the most part, very easy to do, and relatively foolproof. Still there is the potential that you could break something. Increasing the turbo boost needs to be done with care; disregarding safe boost practices can result in a blown engine. Even doing all the right things, when you get into very high levels of horsepower, you are stressing your engine to levels that were never planned at the factory, and parts are more likely to wear out or break.
Be aware that some of these modifications may affect your factory warranty. The law says that the car company has to prove that the breakage was directly caused by the aftermarket modification in order to deny a warranty claim, and that seems unlikely for most of the simpler modifications. Still, if you pump 400 horsepower through a transmission designed to handle 227, and the transmission breaks, it’s probably not the manufacturer’s fault.
See our online article for more about warranties and your rights under the law.
Despite the law, different dealerships may vary on how accepting they are of warranty work on modified cars. Some shops are more conservative; others sponsor race cars right out of their dealerships, and are more forgiving of modified cars. We suggest you contact dealerships in your area to find out their policies. (“Hi, um, I want to…er, I’ve got this…friend…who wants to upgrade his car…”)
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