High Quality Valves

Fit these once the car does real work. Late in a wipe your group may haul loot from a monument back to base several times an evening, and a full set of top-tier parts keeps that car from feeling sluggish on the way. The bench is the only real gate: a Level 3 workbench, and by the time you own one, 120 metal fragments hardly matter.

They also hold the most condition, 140 against 100 for medium valves. That buys longer stretches between checks, not free driving. They still wear.

Two things people miss. The blueprint costs the same 15 scrap as the low tier, so research it the day the bench goes down. And a lone high valve changes little, because the engine works off the whole set of carburetor, crankshaft, pistons, spark plugs and valves. Match the set on the engine module or the cockpit with engine before you judge the difference.

A spare from a crate is worth keeping. A red recycler returns 90 of the 120 fragments, a yellow one 48, and a fresh set later costs you the full price again.