Modified Cars

[Dan6061]

I've modified my Mini, and I can't say it's a waste at all! I just think up what I think will look good, and do it. It's my car, and I don't ever plan on getting rid of it, so I'll do what I like with it.

I've crashed it twice now. First time the original rusty panels caved in, and I went for a fibreglass front, now I've slid into a wooden post and broke that (still driveable though!) So I'm going to get a new fibreglass front.

I'm not into bodykits, neons and all that, just subtle little things that makes the difference. Me and a group of mates usually sit at the bottom of Tescos carpark for a little social, such a chavvy thing to do, but around here there's nothing else to do! We don't dick about in the carpark, so it's alright.

[tipsy Jock]

Depends on your outlook, if you like getting your hands dirty and don't mind spending money that you are unlikely to see again then go for it. If you are more bothered about the finished result and aren't keen on getting stuck in buy a car that has been already modified. Also make sure you're not impulsive, there's no quicker way to lose money than to modify a car then sell it on and start over. The only reason i'm ploughing money into my car is that I know i'm not going to get bored any time soon.

[Tom Booth]

The only reason i'm ploughing money into my car is that I know i'm not going to get bored any time soon.

Preety much. The only reason I'm spending on the mini is the fact that car's me. It's what I've made it and it's just so much fun to drive. Makes me smile everytime I drive it so to me I'd rather have spent the £5k+ I have on it, then have £5k's worth of 04 Corsa or something that would just bore me to death on the daily commute.

I know the mini's not going anywhere for a long time yet, it'll either be used as a daily until I need a new daily commuter an then I have the space on the back garden to keep it so it's hardly causing me a burden. Until that day thou, I'll enjoy every penny I've spent on it. Plus with something like a quick mini or a quick mk1 fiesta etc, it's never going to be uncool. You'll always be able to recoup some of your money. I know for a fact I won't get all of my money back but that doesn't bother me as like I said, it isn't going anywhere.

[OD404]

Given the money I've spent on the rx-7 (buying the car, new engine, few tweaks here and there) and the fact that it will give cars of 4 times the price a good run for their money in performance (and sometimes looks) I would say it was worth it.

Depends on the car/aim though but I think there are essentially two types of modifying.

1: Those that modify to improve the cars performance, engine, chassis etc. This usually is best done to a car that has potential in the first place, so Minis, Saxo VTRs, a lot of Jap imports etc make good bases for this. Your mums 1 litre Corsa does not!

2: Those that modify purely for looks. Generally you see this more heavily on cars that won't benefit much from money spent on performance and I think people do this to stand out and get looks.

I have nothing against either, it's personal taste

And every time I look at my car, the money just seems worth it

[::CH!P::]

Not long ago I would have blindly said "Yes" but now I don't think I would.

I'm starting to prefer things a bit more classy and refined, I sold my Mk2 GTI because I got fed up with having to drive like a fanny everywhere because of how it looked or what it was. Yeah, it was quick as f**k through the back roads, and sounded mean and looked smart but thats not going to help when your sticking out of a hedge in a ditch.

Now I'd rather sit back, listen to Radio 3 and cruise along minding my own business.

Don't want an argument here, but I thought I'd quote this for irony.

Because you've got the most stereotypical Saxo in the world.

Again, not arguing. But it's in the details There's stuff on my car which seperates it from alot and has been since copied by many. Plus it isnt the usual lex-arse lights and 17's, nor is it stripped out and down 30mm like most of them at SaxP meetings. Infact, i've never once come across a Saxo with the touches i've put to mine. Not to say there isnt any out there.

Like you say, no arguing. But if you were to see my car in person, there's lots of stuff you dont notice in the photo's

[Gandalf the Yellow]

Me and a group of mates usually sit at the bottom of Tescos carpark for a little social, such a chavvy thing to do, but around here there's nothing else to do! We don't dick about in the carpark, so it's alright.

sounds so cool i want to get involved!ahaha. still a typical chavvy thing to do when you're hanging around a car park in your car dan

steve

[OD404]

Step it up a notch and meet in a pub carpark. So much more grown up

[Max Quinn]

Or just get a taxi to the pub

[Greetings]

I'd never modify a car...Never have, never will. Silly idea. ...lol

Well yeah, your current project can't be called modifying. It's making a completely new vehicle

[Simpson]

Modifying really is something I've missed out on growing up in company cars, but, it makes someone elses car yours. Like there has never been 1 modification which was said "This is my car," its just any 1.4 Fiesta Zetec 58 plate.

[Ash-Kennard]

insurance wont let me touch my car. but i was only going to play with minor aethetic mods, 15" alloys, better air filter system, maybe chance my interior to a leather one if i could find it at a good price.

but no

i cant

[Simon]

I started to modify my car without knowing anyone. I stuck a set of coilovers on and resprayed it, went to a few Civic meets, and 2 years on i have contacts all the countrys, made some best friends, met some awesome people and generally turned into a better and more confident person.

My car, the scene and the people is genuinely my life, and modifying is a hobby, and if that's what you love, go for it.

Just be prepared for immense money flow problems and complete weekends of wanting to beat the living shit out of your car 'cause one snapped bolt has caused a suspension swap to take 3 days instead of 4-5 hours.

[tipsy Jock]

Just be prepared for immense money flow problems and complete weekends of wanting to beat the living shit out of your car 'cause one snapped bolt has caused a suspension swap to take 3 days instead of 4-5 hours.

haha so true!! I couldn't count the number of times i've blocked the drive with my car up on stands!

[F-Stop Junkie]

A friend of mine has spent probably £10k on his £3k MX-5, but he's doing it because he enjoys the engineering work he's doing, the design, the fabrication. He could have just bolted on a turbo and gone quick, but he's doing the work, he's taking the time to set the car up, and he's the one enjoying the work going into the car as much as driving it.

Plus he understands what he's doing.

The problem is that a lot of people don't understand. They slam the car to the deck which completely mucks up the suspension geometry so the car doesn't ride properly. The run the shocks too hard to stop the tyres rubbing which makes the ride even worse and compromises both cornering grip and traction, but they're happy as the car now "Handles like a go-kart innit!"

No, the car now handles like a ruined Saxo. The big wheels have raised the centre of gravity, the shortened springs mean you're now running massive amounts of camber wearing tyres even more quickly than if you stopped wheel spinning, and "you can now burn off 911s!!!" is no more true than how the new down pipe you bought for the exhaust has given you 35bhp!

I'm all for making a car what you want, but I'm also aware of what Colin Chapman (a man who knew a thing or two about cars) said.

"Make the suspension adjustable and they will adjust it wrong -- look what they can do to a Weber carburetor in just a few moments of stupidity with a screwdriver."

[OD404]

the shortened springs mean you're now running massive amounts of camber wearing tyres even more quickly than if you stopped wheel spinning

Not to mention it puts the car's roll-centre below the surface of the road which is a big no-no!

I'm all for making a car what you want, but I'm also aware of what Colin Chapman (a man who knew a thing or two about cars) said.

"Make the suspension adjustable and they will adjust it wrong -- look what they can do to a Weber carburetor in just a few moments of stupidity with a screwdriver."

Very true, however it is noteworthy that many of today's modern cars are compromised for the general car buying public (something that can't always be said for Lotus's). I know what you're saying, adjustability makes a world of difference in the right hands and puts you in a world of sh*t in the wrong ones

[::CH!P::]

They point your slightly missing, both of you, is that some people are more bothered about how their car looks than performs. Take, for example, myself. My car (imo) handles half decent. Not as well as it could, but its good enough for me. But im not particuarly bothered how it handles, so long as it looks good in my eyes. I have a Ducati for going fast, the Saxo is just my daily run around which i enjoy playing with. Not everyone wants a car that has to be awesome around the track. That said, not everyone would enjoy their car being scrapingly low.

[Balman]

i think it depends on what car really and why your doing it. if its in the case of a classic mini then i can see why. if its a corsa then i don't see point you might aswell save your money and get a better car thats proberly cooler and faster.

You say that buy my friend has a corsa gsi with a 2.0l redtop in it and iv acctully watched it kill scoobys although its still a corsa and id never buy one or do that hes made it his own and for not much money at all for all the mods the car and the insurance would cost only half of a scooby if that so in that respect its a pretty cool car. Personaly i think it depends on what mods your goin to do iv got plans to get a 1.6 zetec s and strip it run it on throttle bodys new cams and get it remaped. Id see that as pretty cool were as iv got other friends that just want the biggest body kit and sub woofer that money can buy it looks like they have reversed into halfords and had the cheapest shti possable stuck on there car were as id still be in a crapy fiesta im not all about body kits ect its really down to what you like and what car it is. RX7s and skylines ect people wont see you as a boy racer more of a fast car lover people like me cant afford such car so stick with what we have and make the most of it.

[JD™]

You say that buy my friend has a corsa gsi with a 2.0l redtop in it and iv acctully watched it kill scoobys although its still a corsa and id never buy one or do that hes made it his own and for not much money at all for all the mods the car and the insurance would cost only half of a scooby if that so in that respect its a pretty cool car. Personaly i think it depends on what mods your goin to do iv got plans to get a 1.6 zetec s and strip it run it on throttle bodys new cams and get it remaped. Id see that as pretty cool were as iv got other friends that just want the biggest body kit and sub woofer that money can buy it looks like they have reversed into halfords and had the cheapest shti possable stuck on there car were as id still be in a crapy fiesta im not all about body kits ect its really down to what you like and what car it is. RX7s and skylines ect people wont see you as a boy racer more of a fast car lover people like me cant afford such car so stick with what we have and make the most of it.

The scooby wasn't trying.

[RobinJI]

The scooby wasn't trying.

I dunno, the do make non turbo versions, not really an acheivement to beat one to be honest, as I think they start at about 140bhp, meaning even my car would have a better power:weight ratio, but it doe's also mean you can boast lots about smoking scooby's

(not having a go at the red-topped corsa guy, fair play to him I bet it's a right laugh)

[Andy P]

The scooby wasn't trying.

You have to have driven / been in a redtop corsa / nova to believe what they're capeable of....

Partially related to this thread... LINKY

Enjoy

[JD™]

You have to have driven / been in a redtop corsa / nova to believe what they're capeable of....

Partially related to this thread... LINKY

Enjoy

I had a Redtop Astra (granted, heavier, but still...) and there was f**k all chance I was getting close to anything resembling a good Scooby. Robin brings up a fair point though, I assumed that he meant a quick Subaru, not a base model. That's just my own silliness though.

[OD404]

Depends on the car/aim though but I think there are essentially two types of modifying.

1: Those that modify to improve the cars performance, engine, chassis etc. This usually is best done to a car that has potential in the first place, so Minis, Saxo VTRs, a lot of Jap imports etc make good bases for this. Your mums 1 litre Corsa does not!

2: Those that modify purely for looks. Generally you see this more heavily on cars that won't benefit much from money spent on performance and I think people do this to stand out and get looks.

I have nothing against either, it's personal taste

They point your slightly missing, both of you, is that some people are more bothered about how their car looks than performs. .

Don't think I've missed the point at all...

....But those that slam their car to the floor and THEN claim it to handle amazingly have in my opinion.

Even my car would need its suspension pick up points changed to reset the roll centre if I lowered it any more for handling reasons. My car's chassis doesn't sit that much lower than stock (so the roll centre isn't way off), it's the skirts and bumper that have dropped the height.

[Gandalf the Yellow]

that 106 is mental. actually flicked through every page and it gets more and more interesting.

steve

[Pashley26]

Like you say, no arguing. But if you were to see my car in person, there's lots of stuff you dont notice in the photo's

Have to bring it to a down south pub run some time then

I guess, with something like a Saxo it's so hard to be original everything will look "stereotypical." Your clearly not a stereotypical Saxo owner though, because you've got a Matt Black Monster too which = double win !

The thing that annoyed me about driving a "Modified" car and made me get rid was the attention it got from other people, I couldn't stop at a set of lights without some spotty gink in an astra trying to give it the beans off the lights. And when you've got a "modified" car you normally rise to the bait of boy racers trying it on.

Also, I felt unsafe parking it out the back of work. A few people have been to my work and know its far from nice, so when I see all the kids hanging around in the car park and stuff it really used to annoy me.

Thats why I like the older Saabs like 900 Turbos and stuff, you guys think there ugly and old mans cars. But at +/-225BHP out the factory, great suspension, brakes and aerodynamics there everything a true boy racer would want but without all the unnecessary attention

But oh well, long live the only "modded" car I'll own for a while !

Edited August 4, 2009 by Pashley26

[F-Stop Junkie]

You have to have driven / been in a redtop corsa / nova to believe what they're capeable of....

I've driven a 997 Porsche 911 Carerra S, is it as quick as that?

It is noteworthy that many of today's modern cars are compromised for the general car buying public (something that can't always be said for Lotus's). I know what you're saying, adjustability makes a world of difference in the right hands and puts you in a world of sh*t in the wrong ones

A friend of mine works as a chassis engineer for Jaguar in Germany, and talking to him about how the develop cars it's made me realise just how finely adjustments are made and considered. To come up with a set up which rides well and handles neutrally is just so incredibly difficult. With a set of three way adjustable dampers I'd make a pig's ear of it so, so quickly.