Your views on cars, modifying, hardparkers and the lot

[Joey D]

I know it may sound silly to have your car just as a status symbol, but it is certainly something that people like to do, just as they like them to be able to drive them fast. But when it comes to making a show car, the parts you use are going to be just as important as in track racing. Cut springs will make the car impossible to drive on an autocross track, but they will look just as stupid and unprofessional on a show car.

Welcome to how most young males in the Western world view a vehicle. Think about it, when you turn 16 and get your license most males think they are really hot stuff with their car...even if they are driving a $500 beater. The nicer the car, the more you tend to show it off.

 

[nk4e]

Welcome to how most young males in the Western world view a vehicle. Think about it, when you turn 16 and get your license most males think they are really hot stuff with their car...even if they are driving a $500 beater. The nicer the car, the more you tend to show it off.

For example, Nick Hogan.
What comes to my mind now is the simple question" would you put 20k in a 3k car instead on buying a new Sports Car?" I try not to show off in my 240sx but some people come up to me and ask what I have in it. I tell them the truth and they seem to be disappointed.

 

[eiriksmil]

New suspension? Your old ones weren't.

They weren't what? Race spec? I had a choice between race and road spec, chose race for more settings and a stiffer ride.. It's because I had too much preload that the car would jump over anything

 

[niky]

So are we saying that it's a bad idea to improve the look of your car if it is going to have negative effects on the performance?

It's a bad idea to do anything to your car that will hamper outward visibility (coffin-tints and HIDs in reflector housings), driveability (huge mags on ultra-soft stock suspension (makes for interesting handling), cut springs) or reliability (knock-off parts that may just come apart).

Though, I do say, not all Taiwanese parts are crap. For some of us with cars that are not sold in the US, there are quite a few Taiwanese companies that produce self-researched and manufactured parts that no one else does. Need underbody bracing for your Hyundai? Or how about individual throttle bodies or a supercharger for your Protege? Stuff like this is available exclusively from those makers.

It also helps for those of us who don't have a Honda to have sources that will build copies of parts from defunct companies or suppliers who will no longer manufacture that part because they have no interest in it. Though there's a line between serving an unfilled need and piracy.

I'm on the fence about rim designs. ROTA is produced not far from my weekend place, and, yes, they do build copycat rims, but they also produce reproduction of old rims that are not being built by the original maker, anymore. People like them because they're light, relatively durable, and disposably cheap. They've strayed over the copyright lines a few times, but have recalled or amended a few designs due to copyright complaints.

Personally, I don't give a flying fig as to what name is on my parts. As long as they work well and are durable. My entire exhaust and intake is custom-made and bent (legal here, and I pass emissions), whereas my engine management and cams are brand name. I have one self-manufactured cam-gear matched with one brand-name one.

My braided brake lines are custom-built, brake pads are Hawk, but my brake discs are Taiwanese. They're not copies of anything, they're new, relatively inexpensive parts developed by a company there which sells OEM-sized slotted rotors at a price just above OEM. Works well enough for me, since I never do more than three to five flying laps, anyway.

My car is overkill for street use (noisy, stiff, jumpy on throttle and brakes), but I don't see the track more than once every three months (at least once a year). I don't see a problem with that. I do feel bad to see cars with a ton of mods that aren't even driven hard once in a while, but some people just like the feeling of a little extra power, or a little more sureness in the handling... Sure, you're not going to drive at 10/10ths on the street, but a well set-up car is infinitely more pleasant to drive at 2/10ths in traffic than a similar stock car.

Well set-up meaning it doesn't have the spring rates of a Hummer on a body the size of a shopping trolley...

I don't really care much for cosmetic modifications, beyond your typical shiny rims... but I can appreciate a well-built show car. 👍

 

[Duke]

Well set-up meaning it doesn't have the spring rates of a Hummer on a body the size of a shopping trolley...

And the ground clearance of a floor jack.

 

[Picc84]

Cut springs bad idea, They drive like crap, and as "cool" as it looks dropped, save up abit more cash and buy a good set of coilovers. Not worth the possible damage/Horrid ride they can/will cause.

Visual Mods, such as Paint, Spoilers, Body Kits, Have at it! But please... Don't put a wide body kit on a stock 1980 civic... I will put your car into a wall... with my pedal bike...

one thing I do not agree on, is CRAZY loud cars, that don't look good, Now I dont mean slapping a nice exhaust on your new-ish civic, or your v6 mustang, But I love hearing old junkers with kids in them with eather a cut pipe, or a streight pipe, glasspack? Like.. comon? your asking for trouble...

 

[Perfect Balance]

They weren't what? Race spec? I had a choice between race and road spec, chose race for more settings and a stiffer ride.. It's because I had too much preload that the car would jump over anything

Ah, so it was just what the manufacturer had called it. 👍

I thought you meant "race spec" as in something you'd see on a race car.

 

[niky]

And the ground clearance of a floor jack.

That actually helps prevent cops from towing your car properly... which could be argued as a functional advantage...

Never tried it myself, though. I like being able to beat cars with twice the horsepower of mine out of an intersection... simply because I don't need to do the ricer-boy zigzag over the next speedbump.

 

[homeforsummer]

I have to admit, when I was younger and by default knew nothing, I used to think the lower you went, the cooler it looked... until at roughly the same time when I was around 16/17, I discovered Euro-look cars which I thought looked awful, and in the process of learning a bit about proper performance cars realised that there is a point where going any lower harms rather than improves handling, so my tastes settled on a happy medium.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, and again, I don't intend this as sucking up to PB (it just happens to be the most recently posted car pic on the forums I found which looks just right to my tatstes), but his Civic on his buddy's wheels has pretty much the perfect stance to me - I bet it handles pretty well (well, with the same wheels all the way around ) but it looks great too. Not too low, not too high, and not compromised on handling or useability.

 

[Leonidae]

I.. I like it! all it needs is mud flaps or mud guards and it would be perfect. Oh, BTW, am I wrong if I claim that he has spacers in the front? or are the rims just that much wider?

 

[Keef]

The front track of these Civics is a tad wider than the rear. Either that or the front fenders aren't as wide as the rear. But he doesn't have spacers on it. And he used to have mud flaps, but they don't fit the CTR rear lip, so he took them off because it looks goofy to only have the fronts on.

 

[McLaren]

For example, Nick Hogan.
What comes to my mind now is the simple question" would you put 20k in a 3k car instead on buying a new Sports Car?" I try not to show off in my 240sx but some people come up to me and ask what I have in it. I tell them the truth and they seem to be disappointed.

1. Most people do not spend $20,000 on a car all at once. It's what they accumulate over the time of modifying. It's like asking a man, "Why do you live in a $300,000 home when you've made $2 million from work?" Because over time, that $2 million went into bills, food, & everything else.


2. They're disappointed because every teen as this idea that all 240's are modded in some badass way, and a lot of the owners think they're something above us for owning one & "drifting" it. Too bad for the 2 that have encountered me in the Civic & the TL who decided to spend money on the car rather than know how to drive it.

 

[Perfect Balance]

I.. I like it! all it needs is mud flaps or mud guards and it would be perfect. Oh, BTW, am I wrong if I claim that he has spacers in the front? or are the rims just that much wider?

I just took the front mudflaps off last week.

They ended up being only an inch or so off the ground, so they dragged on the ground a lot. Also, no spacers, thats just what 15x7 +21 look like.

And he used to have mud flaps, but they don't fit the CTR rear lip, so he took them off because it looks goofy to only have the fronts on.

Close. Doesn't really look that goofy though.

 

[Bram Turismo]

Can I release my rant over the import thread in here?

Daily, a massive load of images are posted in there, and 90% of all times VWs with incredibly low clearance and the rims pointing out of the bodywork. I don't know about America, but here those cars would been removed from the streets ASAP as anything that comes out of the fenders is NOT allowed. It's not safe either. I seriously cannot understand what's so badass about a 20 year old Golf that sits on its butt with the rims pointing out 5 inches from the fenders, and a rediculous amount of camber... Bleh

On that, PB's car is about my personal limit of clearance, it's just right, not as high as stock, but not rediculously low either. PB, your car looks magnificent buddy! 👍

 

[nk4e]

1. Most people do not spend $20,000 on a car all at once. It's what they accumulate over the time of modifying. It's like asking a man, "Why do you live in a $300,000 home when you've made $2 million from work?" Because over time, that $2 million went into bills, food, & everything else.


2. They're disappointed because every teen as this idea that all 240's are modded in some badass way, and a lot of the owners think they're something above us for owning one & "drifting" it. Too bad for the 2 that have encountered me in the Civic & the TL who decided to spend money on the car rather than know how to drive it.

I understand that the majority don't it spend all at once. I am still trying to get my 240 back in shape as the champ it should be. Though its really hard to get repairs done myself or by shop with my kind of wage. The majority of 240sx over here are lowered with Aftermaket parts off the back for show( as far as I know). But also, there is a SR20 Sil-80 that comes around once in awhile.

 

[eiriksmil]

I don't know about America, but here those cars would been removed from the streets ASAP as anything that comes out of the fenders is NOT allowed.

Wrong.. Wheels can be outside of the fenders, while tyre threads can't, that's why you stretch. Wrong offset and the works is another thing though, you gonna get pulled for it. And while the Norwegian DMV is a pain in the butt, all you need to do is to show the car in stock form before you go back into your garage and turn it down again

 

[Bram Turismo]

Hence why I think cars with stretch are pointless. Showing off with low clearance and wide rims, but spending an hour after the show just to be able to drive it back legally? Meh, kill it with fire in my opinion.

 

[eiriksmil]

It's legal.. Just not approved

 

[Famine]

In the UK, nothing is allowed to protrude beyond the bodywork. Wheels, tyres, exhausts etc. etc. etc.

Besides, why DO you want to drive a car that looks like the chassis is a skateboard?

 

[Leonidae]

Same applies here. Nothing is allowed to protrude outside the bodywork.. Thank god for that. you can widen the bodywork about 2cm overall, but that's it.

 

[Beerz]

Same applies here. Nothing is allowed to protrude outside the bodywork.. Thank god for that. you can widen the bodywork about 2cm overall, but that's it.

+1

Exactly the same as here in Portugal. 👍


Personally, I dont mind seeing a bit of strecth and a just-noticeable camber. More than that and it starts looking retarded until the point you look at the cars and it resembles as having balloons instead of tires and appears to have a broken suspension...