I really enjoy the back-and-forth on this subject. Both sides have solid points as I posted in #290. I'm not even sure what the argument is about, but as someone over 55, I don't remember that any of this was even an issue when I was younger.
I'm 30 years old but work with a lot of over 50s people. I definitely hear all the stories of people messing with their vehicles and just "seeing what happens. And whatever happens, happens." It sound invigorating, I get a small taste of it every once in a while, but I am jealous of the level of experimentation and freedom I have heard about people having.
Please bear with me- I'm making a point. Because, in the past, if you modified your vehicle, you assumed the risk. It was that simple. You could simply put the trans in neutral, floor the accelerator, and destroy the engine. Easy-peasy. And yet- no one did. There was a time before rev-limiters, knock-detection, etc, when an individual who wanted more power assumed the responsibility that things could go wrong.
I think this has both benefits and also creates its own issues and/or anxieties. I hear about all the modifications back in the day that were made to vehicles without having to worry about what else it could affect because for the most part, it didn't affect that much else. These days, you make a simple modification to let's say, the air intake, but it turns out you didn't know there are 13 separate sensors all going to their own separate computer programs which in turn each affect their own separate parameters of another system. That statement isn't literal but I think you can get what I am trying to say. A computer program is an amazing feature but when someone is modding what that program controls, you're taking a big risk that the program does not have the ability to work with your modification to the system. A computer program, without artificial intelligence, is stagnant and will not change without human intervention.
Now it seems there are people who want to modify their vehicles, and yet do not want to assume any responsibility for those customizations. I understand it, and truly don't understand anyone who can't. And if you're one of those people, guess what, you get 30 hp instead of 100 hp.
Accepting responsibility is scary and lame!!! Haha, just kidding! This isn't a generation argument, so please take this as more of just an observation and an opinion. I think the days of pure experimentation may be coming to an end, if not already over for the majority, because it's just not that easy anymore and it's not as cheap as it used to be. Because of the advanced computer systems and safety, vehicles are not as cheap as they used to be. They are not as easy to just jump into modifying because of those same computer systems being so integrated into everything. Also, with things like recent environmental pushes, it is again not as easy to just modify a vehicle and get away with it without huge repercussions.
Once again, look back at post #290. Because in effect, the argument is about a warranty- in effect removing oneself from financial responsibility. In that post, I tried to lay out the worst case scenario for having that custom octane tune, and not having a warranty- the chances of engine failure,engineering-wise, are pretty miniscule. But there are people I'm sure who never change their engine oil and then bitch about smoke and bearing failure at 50k miles.
So, let me just express my thoughts- if you want to spend a thousand bucks to get 30hp, go for it. But I'm not going to make that choice. No way, No how. But I get it if you do.
I really do appreciate your entire above comment and it has given me more to think about, in general, with car culture. I also appreciate that you did not come out swinging but instead gave your thoughts and opinions in a kind manner for others to think about. I will also probably not go the FP tune direction but who knows! It's great there is another option on the table for all of us.