Customizing your Car

[Ko51n]

Im just posting a poll to see what people on this site are interested in when it comes to their interestes in cars. Me personally, i would prefer to buy a model that looks or is most customized from the dealership, its better for insurance.

[F1_Master]

You mean like a Saturn Ion Redline? or Redline Vue? They're good, but not as fast as they really should be.

[Ko51n]

Yeah, or something like a SRT-4 or RX-8.

[F1_Master]

Well, customized cars from dealers are merely just a very customized sport model of the original car. Chevy's Cobalt looks like a new Cavalier modified. Same with the Vue, Ion, and with Toyota coming out with a somewhat modified Tacoma.

Anyways, some are good, and some are ricers. ;)

The RX-8 isn't something I would consider a customized car. Its really just supposed to be the new "RX-7" but with 8 instead of 7.

[Ko51n]

Yes, but it is pretty fast and has one knockout interior, what i mean is you wouldn't need to put extra money into it.

[taz_rocks_miami]

My friends and I grew up customizing muscle cars from the 60's and early 70's. We concentrated on major engine mods, stripping them down, and rebuilding them with new cams, tunnel rams and even superchargers. Turbos weren't popular back then. Then we moved on to the body work, no body kits, just took all the dings out of the sheet metal and nice paint jobs. And last but not least, wheels and tires.

I still have the same mentality, killer engine in a nice (not rice) looking car, with a good set of custom wheels and tires.

[henk4]

I only changed the engine management (after the expiry of the factory guarantee period). cost me about 700 US$ to get 20% more BHP and torque. (Common rail turbo diesel engine). I don't care about external cosmetics.

[eyebrows]

My friends and I grew up customizing muscle cars from the 60's and early 70's. We concentrated on major engine mods, stripping them down, and rebuilding them with new cams, tunnel rams and even superchargers. Turbos weren't popular back then. Then we moved on to the body work, no body kits, just took all the dings out of the sheet metal and nice paint jobs. And last but not least, wheels and tires.

I still have the same mentality, killer engine in a nice (not rice) looking car, with a good set of custom wheels and tires.

yep im with u, keep the car lookin as stock as possible. Let the engine do the talking

[johnnynumfiv]

I would do as much as I can to the engine, with out using a supercharger or turbo, just cams, pistons, crank, c-rods, vavles, and headwork. And do nothing to the exterior except new wheels and tires. I would add some racing seats and belts and a rollcage.

[Blue Supra]

Let the engine do the talking

Damn Straight!

Im going severe engine mods, worry about how it looks later, i work by the phrase, "Its gotta go before it can show!" so yeh turbos, exhaust, heads, ECU the whole box and dice and then maybe a nice racing seat, some new wheels and maybe lowered a little (just an inch or so)

[IWantAnAudiRS6]

An Audi RS6 with quad turbos, re-mapped ECU, fuel management system and a large amount of NOS under the rear seats. Job done. I saw an RS4 in a magazine done this way, he bought it, only changed the wheels on the outside, and then went crazy under the bonnet with NOS, and some other massive stuff that I forgot.

[Mustang]

well its bits of all really id go for the rally look, e.g. plain interior with racing seats etc, and maybee some wide tarmac arches and lowered a bit with a few engine mode eventually :)

[jcp123]

I'm thinking of my dream car as I did this - '58 Cadillac Series 60S Special Fleetwood. I'd keep the exterior bone-ass-stock, slathered in black paint. I'm talking like 5 coats, each cut and buffed in between layers.

Engine would be lightly modded to better acomodate towing (I'd also like to restore an Airstream) - '59-'62 390ci crank, ported heads, aluminum intake and Edelbrock carb, oil and tranny coolers, small primary tube diameter headers, etc.

Exhaust would be 2" true duals with Smithy's pipes.

The interior would get a neat little black, white, and red tuck and roll scheme and a CB radio.

And that's all she wrote.

[byronleehk]

If I had the money I'll do it in this sequence...

1) kind of a stage 1 engine modification
2) upgrade all wheels/tires & suspension to handle the extra HP
3) kind of a stage 2 engine mod to gain more HP
4) exterior mods