I've been able to find some info searching these forums, but I figured I'd give the regional boards a go to see what turns up.

I am about to take on my first (and likely, only) round of mods on my almost-new Evo 9. The mods I am looking at are:
- Ebay exhaust
- Hallman MBC
- Swaintech coated and ported stock exhaust manifold
- Boost gauge
- Tune by KevinD (who else?)

Seems opinions vary pretty widely on which of these mods put your warranty in danger, and it also seems to vary by dealership. So I guess my questions are:
1. Are any of these mods complete "red flags" where no dealership is going to do warranty work on the vehicle?
2. Are there any dealerships in TX that are more mod friendly than others (I am going to guess Don Herring...it's a little bit of a drive for me being in Austin, but it *is* where I bought my Evo)
3. Should I just call my local dealership and see what they have to say, and if so, should I omit certain details like the part about the Ebay exhaust not having a cat (planning on putting the stock cat back on if I were to take the car in)?

 

The problem with omitting details is they are going to know eventually.When they look at the car. Also dealerships are always looking for ways to void warranties.Im not saying all of them but in my experience. I would say go ahead and ask the dealership and see what they say.If thit.ey say no then you might not want to do it.

 

Well in the specific case of the cat I would put on the stock unit before taking it in.

 

well yah i understand that.But the mbc is the only big problem i see.

 

just use the factory boost control system with the modified pills. i do believe kevin can adjust the settings.

 

Yeah he and I talked about that; using the factory setup pretty severely limits the ability to crank it up. Also an MBC is not a complicated installation job -- I'd imagine it's even easier to swap out than a cat (being as you don't have to get under the car). I was mainly worried about the exhaust itself, since it's not a trivial job to remove and install, and it's also pretty darn obvious no matter what part of the car you are working on. Unfortunately I already have it sitting in the box lol

Likewise the boost gauge. Can't imagine that being too much of a problem, but it's also something I cannot remove at will.

 

Hey charles, for the warranty issues, the mods you have listed are not big, but a desperate dealer with an expensive part to replace will find any reason at all to void the warranty. this even applies to completely stock evos. they will look at things like clutch wear, tire wear, brake pad wear, etc. if anything looks "significantly" worn, they will void your warranty. honestly though, if you put up a big enough fight, they will work with you, but make sure to be on their good side. for the case of trannys/transfer cases, if you happen to break one, its not up to the dealer, its up to mistu, and they most likely wont cover it.

i would put the mods on and enjoy the car personally. i don't see any big problems arrising from the basic bolt ons. its when you start drag racing, and beating on the car that parts start failing, or pushing the power limits, and as i already mentioned, they wont warranty it usually anyway. if worse does come to worse, simply replace the parts back to stock before bringing it in, and hope they will warranty it.

 

Thanks all. I'm gonna heed Kevin's advice on this one and go ahead. I don't plan to do anything drastic to the car, nor do I plan to drag or do anything more severe than the occasional AutoX.

I have also heard stories that Kevin alludes to about stock cars having their warranties voided for capricious reasons like rock chips in the caliper paint or what have you. I'd feel awfully stupid if I forwent mods for warranty reasons only to have the warranty voided on my completely-stock vehicle.

 

That's the way you have to think about it, mod it and have fun!

 

A dealership has no motivation to void the warranty. The manufacturer pays fo all warranty repairs parts and labor.

 

Thanks for responding Mr. Herring. I had a very positive experience buying my Evo at the Plano dealership. I am tempted to make the drive up there if I need warranty repairs to be honest.