How to begin modifying your vehicle

I often get emails from newcomers to the car scene who wish to start modifying their car. They ask very basic questions such as “How do I modify my car?” and “Is there a school or something I can go to for the tuning world?” To a person who has been modifying their car for years these questions might seem a bit silly but I’m sure many of us have wanted to start a new hobby and asked equally silly questions.

Before I say anything else I’d like to voice my dissatisfaction of the word “tuning”. Unfortunately this word has become mainstream to describe the aftermarket industry (probably due to the lack of viable alternatives.) The word stems from tuning an engine which means tweaking it to extract the best possible performance. Somehow it has been morphed to encompass non engine modifications such as tinted windows, fancy headlights and stickers but that is incorrect and it will always be incorrect. If you want to make yourself sound really inexperienced in the modified car scene then by all means use the word tuning. Otherwise, try to find alternatives such as “aftermarket” or “modified”. The other word that should never be used under any circumstance is “P-Flow” (unless of course you actually have a real Neuspeed P-Flow). P-Flow is the name Neuspeed gave to its line of performance air intake systems. Unless you paid the bucks for Neuspeed’s system you have an air intake and not a P-Flow.

Not that that’s out of the way we can discuss a little bit about how to start modifying your vehicle. People modify their rides to make them perform better, look better or simply to differentiate them from other vehicles. Because this is done according to a person’s taste people may argue there is no right or wrong. I’m going to put my foot down and squash that argument right now. There is definitely a right and a wrong if you want to command any sort of respect from anyone who knows anything in the aftermarket industry.

This is not to say any of the methods I mentioned above are wrong. Some people care the most about looks, others modify only for performance and some it’s a bit of both. There can be a lot of hating between the groups that hang out at the track trying to shave that extra .1 sec of the ¼ mile and the groups that just want a good looking car to cruise down the strip with. Whatever your flavor, try to be respectful that everyone has their own taste and like to do different things with their cars.

I have put together a few pointers on how to get started no matter what your goal is. You’ll thank me later on if you follow these tips. Let’s say you just bought a new car and its bone stock. Where do you start?

Suspension is what you want to modify first on your car. Without question it should come before any other esthetic and engine modifications. From a performance standpoint, going fast without improved handling is silly and dangerous. From a looks standpoint, having a car done up with a body kit, wheels, paintjob and spoiler that sites at stock height is simply ridiculous. Lowering the car a few inches may not give you that “wow” look from your friends right away but other modified car owners will always notice a lowered car and more importantly, they will notice its being done properly.

If your goal is performance, or better yet, to build a sleeper then you’ll probably want to start working on the motor. A sleeper is a vehicle that looks stock but is much faster than stock. It can be very amusing to see a Civic CX that looks like it was driven to the track by your grandmother blow the doors off a Corvette or some other fast car. Keep in mind however that the faster you make your car, the more important it is to have good brakes. For the safety of your self and others, make the necessary investment.

If your goal is looks, then the next thing after suspension should be wheels. Have you ever seen a car with the exterior all done up to the max, slammed to the ground with stock mages and hubcaps? It looks terrible so don’t do it. Be careful, however, because if you’ve lowered your car you have less clearance for larger wheels & tires. There is no real list of what fits and what doesn’t because there is simply too much variation in sizes. What you need to do is ask on an internet discussion forum what will fit. If this site can’t get you the answer, there are web sites for every single car make and model out there where you can ask real owners what they have and what fit.

After these two first steps are complete, you are ready to proceed in whichever area you please. Everyone has different tastes in what looks good and what doesn’t and if you like your car that is what matters most. However that being said, its very easy for newcomers to make their car look funny by modifying anything and everything just for the sake of having changed something. Stay away from this mentality because your car can end up looking tacky (or “riced” out) very quickly. If this concerns you then try to stay away from modifications like altezza taillights, re-badging your car to something it isn’t and neon lights, all of which are commonly ridiculed by enthusiasts.

One thing you’ll learn quickly is that modifying a car is very costly. It can get even more costly when you need to replace parts three or four times because you keep buying the cheap brand. Do yourself a favor and buy quality parts. OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts that come from the automakers themselves are generally the best quality because they spent big amounts on R&D so buy them when you can. An OEM skirt kit will fit your vehicle perfectly compared to a less expensive fiberglass one that will need to be modified and cut even though it was made for your car. The only downside is that there usually isn’t a huge selection of OEM aftermarket parts and chances are other people have bought them too.

These are some very basic things to get you started modifying your car. Before any purchase you should always research as much as you can on what you are buying. With so much info at your fingertips it’s easy to learn quickly get into the scene in a responsible, respected and safe way.

Discuss this article in the forums

Related posts

• Nous voulons des voitures coupé-sport
• Sloppy Driving has become a way of life
• New Mazda 6
• Hybrid Cars
• Audi Q5