Changing Page Titles for Pages that Rank Well

[triumph]

I've always been wary about changing page titles for pages that are ranking well (i.e. result #3 on first page), but I can't help thinking if I removed a few extraneous keywords from the page title, I might get that top result.

Just how risky is changing a page title for a well ranked page? If there is a risk, is removing keywords less risky than an adding them in terms of over optimization?

Thanks in advance!

[tedster]

I've never had a problem (or heard of a problem) from removing extraneous words from a title - or making a change once in a while. The problems I know of come from repeated tinkering with titles, or sitewide changes.