Ahh the old car analogy, somehow makes it all true.
Horsepower? are you talking about amplifiers or speaker sensitivity?
Suspension analogies would more correctly be compared to cornering. Tell me does a car handle better on good roads with the driver alone or when loaded to maximum gross vehicle weight?
Do you think Klipsch engineers miscalculated the cabinet volume or missed the proper weight for the passive to tune the box correctly? ALK did a terrific write up on how he made a crossover of his own design the first generation forte and found the box (at least his) was tuned correctly.
the analogy was very general, wasnt trying to compare a certain component of a car vs a home speaker. it was a reply to your comment that it wasnt "designed" for extra weight, any part of a car wasn't "designed" for extra weight or power, etc etc, but it can be improved without causing any harm, to a point of course.
your weight analogy is way off, because if you want to get all technical, then tell me how many cars are designed with a perfect weight distribution for "cornering?" just adding a bunch of weight willy nilly to max gross vehicle weight would be stupid & probably hurt performance, however adding the "right" amount of weight in the "right" places will greatly improve the cars handling & cornering abilities... just like adding a little weight to the passive (or extending ports some) will retune the bass a few hz lower. simple physics.
so as for klipsch engineers miscalculating, moray james never suggested that, they built the speakers to a certain design with compromises in certain areas to meet their cost of production vs performance goals... just like any car manfacturer builds a car to meet certain design goals & limitations... you cant make a production car (or speaker) be perfect in every way (unless its an exotic expensive sports car) but you can improve on the stock design with aftermarket performance upgrades or even changing the original design somewhat. thats what aftermareket parts like stiffer springs/shocks & bigger brakes/sway bars are all about (cornering/handling), same for bolt on engine upgrades to add power or changing the original engineering of the engine all together with internal parts like cams & porting heads & higher compression etc etc... i own a 1970's GM musclecar, its engine was made & "designed" to have about 250 horsepower, i completely changed the internals & external parts to now make almost 600hp but i still use the stock engine block that has been proven to handle the added power... did GM engineers "miscalculate" the engine tuning or "proper parts"?? no, it was designed to meet a purpose & make a profit to sell to the masses. same applies to klipsch speakers in this example.
your statements are way off base about what klipsch engineered or what can be done to speakers or any product for that matter... based on that logic the entire aftermarket industry for any product is a farse or gimmick & the original products design is the best it can ever be... sorry to break it to ya but original designs can almost always be improved on. thats like saying the titanium tweeters aren't any better than the stock tweeters... did klipsch engineers miscalculate how they built their tweeters? no, but they sure can be improved on. same with the caps they use in crossovers & cheap foam they put inside the cabinets, or the volti wood horns vs stock 400 & 401 horns etc etc etc. engineers are very smart people but they are almost always limited to what the higher ups & bean counters decide they can actually do.
the KG series & others i mentioned were simply examples of speakers with better bass than the heresey, that you said the bass was sufficient on... my opinion & many others is that heresey bass is not sufficient & leaves a lot to be desired.
& i wont glue anything to the passive untill i verify it makes a worthwhile difference... ever heard of tape, or non permanent rubber cement? sorry but yours still have the same value as mine...
& if we're comparing the speakers we have for some reason, btw, i got forte ii, 2 pair of chorus ii, a couple pair of K-horns & have had fortes, 3 pair of kg 5.5, epic cf-4, cf-3, a few RF series & heresy as well as many other models of klipsch & other brands, & i still say without a doubt the heresy had the least amount of bass by far.
sorry if my comments or analogies struck a nerve, was just replying to how you suggested heresy bass was sufficient & that adding 2.5oz of weight will damage the passive... it will not.