This is a great conversation that takes me back to the days of hot rodding cars. There was always some new mod to try out, and the prospect of that incremental performance increase was ever-present. Having worked on engines most of my life, I can count on one hand the times when an aftermarket part or modification actually worked better overall than the factory designed part. Sure, you put in an aftermarket cam and headers and you might get a modest high RPM power increase, but now the car won't idle smoothly or produce enough vacuum to properly operate the brake booster, and your headers keep getting smashed on speed bumps! Still, it was great fun when you stomped the go pedal!
Most all mechanical design is a compromise between performance, economy and reliability. And be it an automotive engine or aircraft engine, the factory usually has it nailed after producing thousands of units. Maybe we just want to believe that a small company or an individual, with almost no R&D budget, can out-think a company with a multi-million dollar R&D budget, but that is a rare occurrence. Its in our nature to try to improve on things, but I draw the line at tampering with my aircraft engine.
