Why do people have to have technology just for technologies sake?? At triple the cost of something that works!!!

I see an alarming trend not only in Buff Magazine project cars but also in "Reader's Rides" that are featured. These cars have to have the newest and most expensive thing out there, even if it offers LESS horsepower and performance than something "Old School". # 1. Aftermarket Fuel Injection Systems. I'm not talking about larger throttle bodies or ported manifolds that Edelbrock,Trick Flow, Accel and Ford SVT offer-these are upgrades that work in conjunction with the factory system on 5.0 / 4.6 Mustangs,TBI / TPI 305 and 350 Chevys, 318 and 360 Dodge "Magnum" V8s, etc. These are all reasonably priced upgrades-usually a couple hundred bucks-that offer a 20+hp gain-a lot of bang for the buck. No, I'm talking about complete fuel-injection systems. Most of these cost over $3,000!!!. High-Performance Pontiac Magazine tested one on a hot 455 Pontiac engine. Yes, once they got it dialed in it worked great. Except-it cost $3895 and made 15 hp and 18 lbs ft of torque LESS than the $600 Performer RPM / 850 Holley combo it replaced!!!  This is not an isolated example. The Edelbrock Pro-Flow system costs $3349 for a small-block Chevy!. The Ford and Mopar systems are even more. And simply look in a Summitt Racing catalog-an Edelbrock manifold for most vehicles is priced between $200 and $350. A Holley or Edelbrock 4bbl carb, depending on model is usually between $299 and $450. So why would you spend $3,500 or more on a fuel injection system that doesn't make any more power than a $600 or $700 carb and intake combo-and requires a ton of electronics-installing O2 sensors etc, a laptop to map the fuel curve, etc-a lot more trouble than bolting on a carb and intake and maybe changing jets a couple times?  #2. Roller cams. Again-if you have a 1987 and later engine that came with a roller cam from the factory-that's the only way to fly. What I'm talking about is converting older engines. On the same 455 Pontiac that they tested the injection setup on, HPP also converted it to a hydraulic roller cam-at a cost of $1,800. Why? Especially when a Crane Energizer kit or Edelbrock Performer RPM kit is only $239??!!  And guess what-it was still redlined at 5,800 rpm-it's not like the roller setup magically allowed it to rev to 7 grand. Super Chevy tried hopping up a 454 HO crate engine that had a roller cam-and had valve float problems as low as 5,400 rpm!! The reason is the roller valvetrain is way heavier than a flat-tappet setup. That's why NASCAR runs flat-tappet cams to this day. Even for a pre-1986 Small-Block Chevy-generally the cheapest and most prevalant thing when it comes to aftermarket parts-converting one of these to a roller setup costs over a grand. And doesn't make enough power to justify the expense. Put that extra money into a carb and intake, or gears or a higher stall converter. # 3. Aluminum Heads. Don't get me wrong-these can be a great investment if your building a mega hp engine. But-for anything other than a small-block Chevy-a set of Edelbrock or Trick Flow or Brodix heads is usually priced at $2,000 or more. Let's say you have a typical '70s 351C Mustang or 400 Firebird. Assuming you can do the labor yourself-for 2 grand you can buy a set of headers, an Edelbrock carb and intake combo and matching cam,a higher-stall speed torque converter and some 3.73 gears and a pair of Drag radials to put all that newfound power to the ground. A lot more bang for the buck than bolting some expensive heads on an otherwise stock engine. And I've seen guys spend big bucks on expensive crate engines that are pretty hopped up to begin with. Hot Rod was playing with a ZZ4 Chevy 350. They experimented with different carbs and intakes and cams. Then they spent $1,400 on a set of Trick Flow heads. Why? The ZZ4 had aluminum L98 heads on it stock!!  And here's the real kicker-the "Antiquated" L98 heads were within 5 hp and 5 lbs of torque at every RPM up to 4,600!! In fact the TF's only showed a 30 hp gain in a 1,300 rpm window-between 4,800-6,100 rpm. Now think of this-honestly on your daily driver or weekend cruiser how often are you going to be between 4,800 and 6,100 rpm? And even if it's a strictly a hot rod-you only run it at the weekend drags-you can gain a lot more than 30 hp in a 1,300 rpm window for $1,400!! My first thought is you can buy a first-class Nitrous system that will give you an extra 250 hp on demand for a lot less than $1,400. Super Chevy was working on a ZZ440 454 engine. Now these are rated at 440 hp and 500 lbs of torque. They have Oval-Port aluminum heads from the factory. They put a bigger cam in it and by playing with carb jetting they got it up to 500 hp. Then "Just for Giggles" they decided to try some Edelbrock Performer RPM heads. Why? These were oval port heads just like was on the engine. I could kind of see it if they went with a huge cam and Rectangular port Victor heads-you want to rev to 7,500 and make power all the way there. Needless to say they were disappointed. The Edelbrock Heads only made 10-15 more hp than the factory heads-above 5,000 rpm. That's not a noticeable gain without a dyno. Think about it-all other things being equal is a car with 510 hp really going to go any faster than a car with "only" 500?? Dont' get me wrong, I'm not saying don't buy aftermarket heads-they are a great deal for some people and offer a lot of bang for the buck. Just not in every single case. That's all I'm saying. # 4. Aftermarket 4-wheel disc brake systems. Why does every car have to have a Wildwood or Baer brake system worthy of a Formula One car? Are the magazines saying that the front disc / rear drum or 4-wheel disc setups on most 70's, 80s and '90s cars aren't adequate to safely stop the car in daily driving or on a weekend trip to the drags? Puhllleeezzze. Even if your autocrossing it or running it at "Track Day" at a local speedway-you don't need a $4,000 aftermarket setup with six-piston calipers and cross-drilled rotors etc. I had a friend who used to autocross his '78 Trans-Am, and later his '86 IROC-Z Camaro. We found by using Bendix D52 or D154 "Police Spec" semi-metallic pads and DOT 5 fluid-that the brakes wouldn't fade. Even when doing back-to-back events with less than five minutes down time between them. The major problem was the DOT 3 fluid would boil. Ditto for a guy running a '78 Camaro in a NASCAR circle track "Super Stock" class. If we used the Police spec pads and DOT 5 fluid-even on a 50-lap main event-his brakes never faded. Some times at the end of a race the front rotors would be glowing red-but the car still stopped perfectly every time he hit the brakes. Don't get me wrong-I'm all for safety-I had a couple of harrowing experiences in my 400 powered '72 Ventura that had 9 inch drum brakes all the way around-I hadn't gotten around to installing Firebird spindles and rotors yet!!  But honestly-anything built after 1967 that has factory front disc brakes is going to fine for 99% of the people who drive them. Unless your building a 600hp monster that you intend to hammer constantly-the factory brake system on your Mustang, Charger, Chevelle, Firebird, whatever is more than adequate. That's all I'm saying. If you want a brake system worthy of a NEXTEL Cup Daytona 500 car and can afford it, by all means do it. But you don't really NEED it. Mastermind