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Beware the dangers of modding

A mysterious death of two kids in a “souped-up” car last year in December left investigators baffled. No, it wasn’t speeding nor was it due to a crash. Residents say that the car was running at 4.30am and when it was still running at 10.30am, they raised the alarm.

After investigations have been concluded, an inquest heard that the deceased, who was an engineering apprentice at Ford, died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Both the driver and the passenger died, the Telegraph reported.

The cause was due to the modifications performed on the car to extract more power from the car. This included the removal of the catalytic converter from the exhaust and creating two vents in the car’s hood. There was a gap between the exhaust and engine meant fumes were sucked into the car via its fresh air intakes, the inquest heard. The levels of carbon monoxide were 1000 times over the safe limits.

Detective Inspector Robert Kirby said:

“A unique set of events came together to allow this tragic incident to happen. A gap in the exhaust system where the exhaust meets the engine allowed fumes to escape.

“Compounded by the fact the car had had its catalytic converter removed (which normally dissipates harmful emissions). Vents underneath the windscreen wipers then in-took the emissions from the gaps in the bonnet.”

Both deaths have been classified as accidents. Now there are two camps when it comes to car modifications, there are those who support it and those who are against poor modifications. I know a few who only trust properly engineered solutions and modifications versus the usual hack job, at the end of the day, just be careful as shit really does happen.