Hey, Jay, it's Micah. I wanted to tell you that since I have been reading your magazine-and about every other Source Interlink publication-my car knowledge has increased vastly from last time I talked to you. I thank Source Interlink very much.
i was reading the 20th anniversary issue & was browsing through your compilation of projuect cars. First of all, can you please tell me the issues in which you guys had a Ford Probe? I'd like to buy each issue that had a Probe in it from primediabackissues.com.
Second, I want to ask your advice. I still have my Probe. It's NA w/ just bolt-ons (headers, CAI, NGK Iridium plugs & MSD plug wires). But my engine failed recently. My family is fed up w/ the car (so much that my grandmother said that if I got good grades in my upcoming freshman year of college, she would get me any car I wanted; that's another e-mail) because the engine that expired had a lot of breakdowns due to having no maintenance records. And my family asked a body shop guy to install the first engine he found. (Needless to say, a bad idea.) Now that I am involved on probetalk.com, I can make a more intelligent decision. Thing is, the probetalk folk want me to keep the car. I know Probes have little aftermarket support. But there is a loyal following on that forum. I want to help my family out by getting as much $ for the car as possible. So I ask you: should I part it out, try and sell it as is (w/ a blown engine) or find someone on probetalk who can help me replace my engine and then try to sell it?
Third, did you read Peter Tarach's column in the July-I think-issue of Modified about not buying knock-off bolt-ons? Because I bought my CAI from eBay; the company is called Chrome Intakes. Did I buy a knock-off? Please tell me if I did so that I do not do so again.
Thank you very much for hearing me out, Micah
Funny you mention the Probe. As I was compiling the list of project cars over the years, I came upon what Coleman tried to accomplish with Project Probe. Keep in mind that that project was from almost a decade ago and tuning technology has changed a lot over the years. But ultimately most of the bolt on parts that we threw at the car resulted in minimal gains. The car and its engine desgin is old. Suffice it to say that bang for buck, the Probe is not as easy to tune. If you're on a budge, get something like a DSM. If you're really attached to your Probe, then be ready spending an arm and a leg on making making minor gains like my NSX.
If you are an end consumer, I don't recommend knock off parts. CAIs blow off valves, dampers are all copied without the engineering knowledge of the original designer. The copying process is also imperfect. And in this age where most cars are smarter than the people that drive them, minor imperfections that are overlooked in the copying process usually makes a huge difference in performance.
The manufacturing quality might be an issue as well, as knock off companies are trying to make as many peices for as cheap as possible. They don't care if the weld is too cold or the part warps on the welding jig. That means that putting on a knock off part usually isn't as bolt on as we all like to think.
The one up side of ebay knock off parts is that its cheap. If you know what you're doing, have the resources and are prepared for a little more work, a el-cheapo ebay turbo manifold or down pipe might be your best friend since it provides a cheap base to be modified from. You can buy a manifold and modify it for your needs without the pain of fabricating a whole manifold from scratch. But don't hold your breath, you get what you pay for.