Why Modify your car?

[Blackgtr86]

Hello Automotive forums user,

I am a student at the University of central Florida. I am writing a resaerch paper on why people feel the need to modify their cars and I need people to respond to the question: Why do you modify your car? as in does it give you some sort of personal accomplishment? Do you do it to show your personal attributes? Do you enhance the performance of your car to compete and win events? do you just have nothing better to do with all that money? reasons like that. and how did you get into modifying your car? All responses will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mack

[Musashi3000GT]

Because its fun!
its competative! why do people play sports? is it to sign a contract with a major leauge? no its because you enjoy it. and if you enjoy it do you wanna get good at it and be even more competative? of course you do. no one goes to a basketball game in the park on sunday afternoon because they enjoy loosing to the other team! you do it cause its fun and you continue to do it to be competative and as people we have a competative nature.

I started in highschool, I used to race and work on motorcycles untill I had an accident.
a few months later a buddy of mine who had a really fast supra gave me a ride. I liked it, I liked it enough to think "I should have a fun car too" and so I've been trying ever since.

[JekylandHyde]

Because I can.



Reasons:
1. Competition ~ I want more than what the factory gave me for racing purposes

2. Appeal ~ Some cosmetics changes were made for my individual style and preferences

3. General improvements ~ Cars from the factory are not designed for optimal performance. Upgrading certain OEM parts can improve the overall running condition of the car.

Maintenance Costs ~ Quite frequently it is cheaper to modify/upgrade to aftermarket parts than to use the OEM pieces.

[CassiesMan]

I dunno...I guess after helping my grandfather build an old MG, I've always been into cars. For me, I don't think what I have is enough (and never will). I want a car thats fun to drive and fast. However, I dont think that I'll ever be satisfied with the power my car has, and will always be out for more. That, and I've always enjoyed the whole culture behind modifying cars. I'll admit, I got into it after seeing The Fast and The Furious (I was younger when it came out, so I was impresionable), and after seeing it, decided to elarn everything I could about car modifications.

For me, I think a good mix of go and show is required.

[TatII]

the reason why i modify my car is becasue i bought this car for the sole purpose of modifying it. this car has soo much untapped potential. leaving it stock would be a waste.

this car was really slow from the factory ( slow to the point where a 89 4 cylinder 4 door accord beat me )

however i didn't buy this car to keep it stock. the car puts down 130whp stock, with what i've done, i've already added close to another 120whp over it, and by next week when the injectors come in, i'll add another 40whp on which will give me around 330 crank hp. i haven't even touched the inside of the engine yet.

the difference between this soon to be 280whp-400whp car from a 280whp honda is that, my car can actually put that power down becsaue its RWD has good balance, tons of upgrades found in the junkyard from the 300ZX that bolts right in. most hondas with only 220whp will spin its tires like hteres no tomorrow becsaue they're FWD.

that is why i modify it. in a very crude sentence

"my car has soo much untapped pussy left in it, even now"

[JekylandHyde]

God told me too.

[Aerowitz]

I modify my car because I simply desire more power. Sorry, but 116hp in a 4 cylinder FWD engine just won't cut it for me. I want something bigger and better, like a VR6 engine with a turbo setup (drool). I could live with 200+ horsepower in a FWD daily driver.

Don't you think it's kind of stupid to have a great looking car that can't make it up a hill?

[bad360rt]

Originally Posted by JekylandHyde

God told me too.

I was gonna say the voices in my head made me do it

I think we're all of a similar mind. What we got from the factory just wasn't enough, for a lot of us I'm not sure if even the mods that we do will ever be enough! LOL I never had any intentions of taking my truck this far when I first bought it, but here I am, and I'm not done yet! Racing is very addictive, like any competitive sport. And it's a very quantifiable sport, you can see in black and white any improvements you've made. My goal for this season is mid-low 11's (have to have a rollbar to go under 11.49 legally, so I just want to get yelled at a few times, then I'll keep it above 11.50). Then next year I plan on having a new engine built, along with a rollbar and will be running in the 10's. And that is definitely as far as I'm going, cause I'm not even gonna mess with the whole licensing thing and crazy amount of tech you have to do to run faster than 10's.

[Mr. Luos]

Hobby.

[CassiesMan]

Originally Posted by Aerowitz

Don't you think it's kind of stupid to have a great looking car that can't make it up a hill?

Thats why you shoulda bought a Bimmer instead of a V Dub....





Just playin.

[chevytrucks92]

Originally Posted by Mr. Luos

Hobby.

Agreed. And to me, its just no fun going to a track with a street car, when all the focus is on the "track only cars".

And there are rules (sometimes very strict) that you have to meet in order to compete.

So for me, its a very fun hobby. Now I've modified my truck (both looks and performance) for the same reasons: changed the looks to make it look newer then it really is; added performance to increase gas mileage and to make be able to tow that racecar better this upcoming season.

[PWRDbyUNCLEbens]

There are people who can drive a car stock , and be happy with it. Then there are people who modify their cars because they figure why live with stock when you can turn it into something even more desirable. So they modify their cars to fit their tastes wether it be exterior, interior, or performance.

[SabreKhan]

Must... go... faster... always... faster... faster is funner!

[dampachi]

I modify my car to make it go faster. People always ask me "whats the point in making your car go extremely fast?" And well..it's something you could never understand unless you've drove a fast car. This kid at schools dad has a pretty fast 69 charger..and he's drove it before and still hates fast cars/drag racing. Ya' know why? Because it scares him.

[beyondloadedSE]

Originally Posted by SabreKhan

Must... go... faster... always... faster... faster is funner!

word.