PA 28 performance mods

[Jon Elliott]

One sees a lot written concerning aftermarket performance mods for Cherokees, particurlarly wingtips on the 140. Does anyone have any first-hand experience of the "before and after" of these mods? In particular, can anyone quantify the actual improvements obtained?

[andonier]

i have a 1974 arrow II and did a lot of speed mods to it and i dont see any significant improvment, i even put a lasar electronic ignition, and see no substantial improvement, save your money

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andonier

[JTaylor]

Unless you think the mods add to safety, I think there's one primary issue to consider: how many dollars per knot. I looked into some of them for our Arrow III, and the cost was around $800 per advertised knot! This is too expensive, particularly if the benefit is inflated. About the best benefit per knot I've seen is used wheel pants for a Cessna 172 at around $100 per knot. Other issues to consider with speed upgrades are possible degraded engine cooling (some cowlings) and more difficult maintenance due to hindered access.