We are all sinners. No matter how we try to live our lives to perfection, we will commit sins along the way. The same holds true for the path that you will follow in building your vehicle. Chances are that you will make mistakes along the way and commit sin. It's part of life. Understanding the seven deadly performance sins, we give you the upper hand in avoiding sin. Just because your god or parents may forgive you, there is still no excuse for committing sin.

The Original Seven: How they apply to performance

Pride

Pride is the excessive belief in one's own abilities. In high school, I was the proud teenager that could swap in my own camshaft. After all I had tuned up my engine myself and rebuilt my carburetor. Why would I need help? As it turned out, I spun a cam bearing in the process of the cam install. This resulted in a loss of oil pressure and subsequent engine damage. My penance was that I spent the next two weeks rebuilding my entire engine.

Chances are that you are not the best engine builder or tuner in the world. There are people better and more experienced. If you truly want to learn how to do things yourself, ask someone who has done it before to look over your shoulder. You can even ask your parents sometimes for advice. When you actually speak with your parents, they may surprise you with what they actually know. They may have never wrenched on a Honda, but they may have held a wrench many more times than you.

Envy

Envy is the desire for other's traits, status, abilities or situation. Have you ever wished that you were the rich kid, or the smart kid or the more popular kid around. That is what envy is all about.

In the performance world, envy won't get you very far. Chances are that the people you envy will help you more as an ally than as an enemy. If you don't believe this you are already committing the sin of Pride.

Understand the following and you'll go far in life: all of the people that you envy probably have just as much unhappiness as you.

When Adam Saruwatari first showed up to an import race in 1996, the envy was thick. Here was a racer that no one had grown up with. He was from Californian farm lands and had never been part of Southern California's street racing scene. Yet he shows up to an event with a full support team that was dressed in professional gear. "Who does this guy think he is?," was the buzz from the pack of envious racers in attendance.

I confess that I was one of those envious of Adam. He had a quick car, media attention, the support of his family and a level of professionalism that was unknown to the sport at that time. My envy didn't turn to respect until I witnessed Adam under his car covered in gear oil at the 1998 IDRC East Coast Finals. It was then obvious, we all sweat beneath the same sun.

Gluttony

Gluttony is the desire to consume more than one requires. Performance gluttony will have you buying parts for your car that do nothing but drain your bank account. Maybe that $10,000 engine management system does have a faster processor and a bunch of bells and whistles. More often than not, the $2000 engine management system may be better suited for your application and deliver the same level of performance.

The first thing you need to do when you begin a car project is establish your goal. If your goal is to run 11-seconds in your Honda Civic, you may calculate that you need a solid 350-horsepower. Around this criteria, purchase the parts that get the job done right at the best price possible. You won't need titanium connecting rods and a dry-sump oiling system.

For more on Lust, Wrath, Greed, and Sloth in relationship to your ride pick up a copy of DRAG Sport magazine at newsstands and tuning shops nationwide!