Cost to Fun Ratio, Is It Worth It?

Having been stock to highly modified on my 2010 and now back to a stock 2014, I find myself asking this question: Was the highly modified 2010 that much more fun to drive in relation to the coin it cost to get it there? Brace yourselves because my answer is shockingly no!

When I look back, it would be safe to say the highly modded truck could go 20mph faster through the rough. But at what cost? $20-$25K ball park. So $1,000 per 1mph. Seems steep.

With a few desert trips under my belt in the mid perch 2014, I've been reminded how fun these trucks are out of the box. That's not to say 3.0s and a bumpkit are out of the picture or a worthwhile upgrade but I guess what I'm getting at, are the full kill items worth it at the end of the day. It's never gonna be a legit whoop eating "race" truck unless your budget is north of $50K so at what point does the Cost to Fun Ratio make sense?

I have about $18k additional into my truck. Most of the is eaten up by the Supercharger. I have changed springs to Geiser fronts and WSI rears, and have done slotted and drilled rotors with pads from Freedom. I have a few other things I have done that I really enjoy.
For me, if I was broke, the mods would not be worth it. However, I am not broke, so I really enjoy the ride, and power that I am able to experience. I also like the better braking.
I guess it boils down to "to each their own." For me, I find value in it.

Everyone is going to have different views and its not all about cost per mph. Adding lights gets into the thousands as we all know but allows us to drive at night and SEE. How do you put a measurement on that value? I find it extremely fun to drive at night at speed.

Did I spend to much on mods in comparison to fun, probably. Will I continue to spend, mostly likely probably. Will I still have fun, I hope so. There is also the satisfaction of building up your own raptor that for some you can't put a value on, it's priceless. The amount of information that I have learned just about an automobile and off-roading is also priceless. My life was just work, home and work, repeat. This year I've been the happiest for a long time, how to you put a price to that?

RDFTS said:

Everyone is going to have different views and its not all about cost per mph. Adding lights gets into the thousands as we all know but allows us to drive at night and SEE. How do you put a measurement on that value? I find it extremely fun to drive at night at speed.

Did I spend to much on mods in comparison to fun, probably. Will I continue to spend, mostly likely probably. Will I still have fun, I hope so. There is also the satisfaction of building up your own raptor that for some you can't put a value on, it's priceless. The amount of information that I have learned just about an automobile and off-roading is also priceless. My life was just work, home and work, repeat. This year I've been the happiest for a long time, how to you put a price to that?

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I'm interested in hearing peoples different views on the topic. Hence why I started this discussion.

It's also in the Suspension Modification section so the topic is primarily focused on that.

Having been on some dune/desert outings it's fun to run the truck and blast down the trails but (at least for me) it's a lot more fun to do the same running in a Rzr that i don't feel so bad about beating the pulp out of instead of a 50k+ truck. Not so much the money as the aspect of a truck that I go skiing/tow my boat/etc with that needs to be dependable. For the 15k I would put into the truck after a full suspension it makes more sense for me to buy a 20K Rzr.

Raptizzle said:

It's also in the Suspension Modification section so the topic is primarily focused on that.

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Whoops, on my phone so didn't see the section, sorry.

I've done a bump stop, leafs, 3.0's and UCA in relationship to suspension and a cutting horn front bumper for clearance. To be completely honest and just using my butt dyno and my wallet which for me is somewhat over $10k, I am not sure if it was worth it. Do I notice it, yeah but not as much as I thought I would for the money. But then again, I haven't had it that long to have fun yet. Will revisit in another year or two. Great discussion by the way!

SuperRaptor said:

Having been on some dune/desert outings it's fun to run the truck and blast down the trails but (at least for me) it's a lot more fun to do the same running in a Rzr that i don't feel so bad about beating the pulp out of instead of a 50k+ truck. Not so much the money as the aspect of a truck that I go skiing/tow my boat/etc with that needs to be dependable. For the 15k I would put into the truck after a full suspension it makes more sense for me to buy a 20K Rzr.

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Great point!

Great question and I believe the results probably will be skewed by the bias of those who've spent big coin on mods (ask yourself this question: When people talk about things they've spent money on and their value, are they honest about the benefits vs. cost and if they had to do it over again, would they?).

I have a slightly different take:

I love all the mods people make - they're great to look at, read about and consider doing to my vehicle.

But as I sit in front of the computer reading forums I'm always wishing one thing: That I have the time and opportunity to get off road more often.

That's it. The goal for me is to get out there and enjoy the off road world and I'm lucky enough to live in SoCal so close to the deserts, national and state parks and mountains that make off roading and camping so enjoyable.

So, will the mods make these experiences more enjoyable? Honestly, for me, not really. I'm torn between vehicle mods and purchasing products that also can make the experience more enjoyable (and safe). A better sleeping bag (a GREAT purchase I made last year), a better sleeping pad, a better stove, lantern, tent, portable barbecue, camp/kitchen box, etc., etc. In the end I've realized that given a choice I need to go for the products that I can use over and over.

Another point is that while I enjoyed running my Raptor fast it also wasn't as rewarding as just getting out there. Running at speed at times is amazingly fun (in bursts) but being out there is always fun. The reward vs. risk (personal harm and vehicle harm) and the cost for mods and repairs made it easy for me to sell my Raptor for a great price and move on to a JKU Rubicon. It doesn't go as fast but it can go more places and I can mod it a million different ways and still have money for all the other stuff I want to enjoy offloading.

So (sorry for the length of this post), to recap:

1. Are you getting off road enough to use the mods you've spent all that money on? (Or maybe you don't care because you just like the way your Raptor looks).

2. Are your mods improving your off road experience? (Or are they just making it possible for you to do it faster?)

3. Are you more into (A) spending money to modify and personalize your Raptor, (B) spending money to make your Raptor go faster off road, or (C) getting off road and enjoying that experience?

<Edit: Honesty, I enjoyed the Raptor immensely - on and off road - it was a great vehicle and experience but I don't miss it much (sometimes I could use the utility of the bed and the quiet ride but I don't miss the low MPGs and the sheer size of it especially off road). I don't have much desire to go back but I admit it'd be fun to have one again...as a 4th vehicle (HA HA and that won't be happening). I like to move on and I don't ever miss a vehicle I owned...I just look forward to the next one whatever it will be). >

So I guess I am in the mod section not suspension. I have done little to the suspension outside of the ready lift spacer.. I know some say don't some say it is going to create problems yada yada.. I have no problems and will tear everything apart at a future time when I get to more like 40k miles. My mods so far bumpers, lights, radio, GPS, rack, winches, tires and wheels. I don't think it really answers your question is it worth it? I feel, lights, radio, GPS are minimum to be safe overall in the desert. (My opinion)
I have a great time with what I have and don't think a little faster through the whoops is worth much or the risks run at injury if something goes bad. For every ten miles per hour faster you go the serious risk of injury or death increases by 2 times. So at 30 miles per hour your 6 times as likely to be seriously injured or killed. If you factor that part in then no its not worth just for that reason.. Death is fairly permanent and although your problems are over the cost benefit is a huge negative factor.. I am happy to go putt around and not beat the crap out of myself, let alone the truck..

I can't say I've pushed my truck hard enough to warrant a major upgrade like that. Would it be nice, of course! How deep my pockets are plays a big role in that though. Lol. Based on my income, within the next 12 months I'll likely upgrade leafs and bumps but 3.0s and other big items are not in the foreseeable future.

Other than ripping the fender liner out during rise of the Phoenix I haven't had any complaints with the stock suspension. I'd like the leafs because I do occasionally tow plus the added weight from in bed items for runs and day to day.

Other items are a different story though. I've spent north of $13k on everything else. I could have a pretty decent suspension setup for that much but my priorities were a little different.