Donks are Not Terrible, and Who Are You to Criticize?

"Brian Tschiegg" (WritingInCars)
09/11/2013 at 11:14 • Filed to: Donks, Stanced, Car Culture

(Disclaimer: I do not like Donks.)

I feel like I'm not going out on a limb in saying that we all hate the Donk culture around here. The cars look gaudy and ridiculous raised up to accomodate oversized rims, slathered in ridiculous vinyls or pastel colors. Every Oppo probably looks at those cars with their brains screaming, "What an idiot! Who would ruin a Caprice like that?! He should be hung from his 36" rims."

All the while the person driving the car is probably too busy thinking about how awesome he looks and he probably couldn't hear you over the 12s banging in his trunk anyways. The point is that there are a lot of car cultures we won't understand. The style and aesthetics don't appeal to our sensibilities, and this is O.K. The problem is that every car is not our car and it doesn't have to appeal to us; it only has to appeal to the owner.

For any auto enthusiast (even Donk enthusiasts), a car is an extension of that person. Modifications help mold a car into what a person wants to drive. For some of us, that means go faster parts and subtle aero modifications. For others, it means a sick set of coil overs and some flared fenders. It all comes down to how an individual wants their car to look.

My point here is that car culture is wide and varied and that we shouldn't immediately want to burn any car that rubs you the wrong way. From Donks to Hellaflush bros to street legal race cars, there's a place for everyone. I would in fact say that these different factions are a good thing, bringing more people into the fold of car culture and bonding together those car enthusiasts with similar tastes. You don't have to like everything you see, but be careful when you criticize because a car is an extension of an owner and there's room for everyone in this tribe of ours.

DISCUSSION (38)

Party-vi > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:16

Agreed.

505Turbeaux > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:18

well said. I dislike the Donks, but still appreciate car culture in whatever form

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:19

Wow, that BMW looks great!

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:19

There is only ONE good/positive thing about donks.

JUST THE ONE.

And that is that a strange era of 80's and early 90's American cars that most people didn't really respect to begin with found a home and that home was not a car crusher.

That I am all for, I love seeing another segment of cars (deemed useless by the masses) find a way to survive. At least (for the most part) they aren't taking really kick ass cars to do this to, like thank god they aren't all donking Corvette ZR1's from the early 90's or something.

ColoradoTaco > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:20

I wish more people shared this sentiment. I can't stand people saying a car is "ruined" simply because it is stanced/donked/lifted etc

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:21

Taste is only subjective to a point.

Z_Stig > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:21

Yea, there is lotta different car cultures; some of them I like and some of them I don't.

But, I feel when the safety of the vehicle is compromised, that is going too far. Stretched tires and tippy sedans that can't properly make turns inside the city I just despise.

Brian Tschiegg > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
09/11/2013 at 11:25

Agreed. It's a bit of eye bleach for the Lemonhead Donk.

ttyymmnn > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:25

Yours is a PSA for tolerance. Toleration is sorely lacking in this world, and I think you've written a great piece.

Brian Tschiegg > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
09/11/2013 at 11:26

God you're gonna hate me for this one.

Kinja'd!!!

?87f90c

ColoradoTaco > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:27

... And 4 posts later we have someone bemoaning a stanced BMW...

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:27

Some donks aren't terrible. But there are a lot of really badly done ones.

Brian Tschiegg > ColoradoTaco
09/11/2013 at 11:28

I think what they mean to type is that it's "ruined for them." If you don't want a stanced/donked/lifted car/truck, then don't do it to your own.

Brian Tschiegg > Z_Stig
09/11/2013 at 11:28

I agree. Style is never an excuse to compromise safety.

GhostZ > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:29

Good donks are works of beautiful troll art. If they are not good donks, however, they are horrible pieces of shit .

99% of donks are not good donks.

Brian Tschiegg > ttyymmnn
09/11/2013 at 11:29

Thanks, I appreciate the kind words. Toleration is lacking, in fact it seems to be decreasing which is disappointing.

Brian Tschiegg > ColoradoTaco
09/11/2013 at 11:33

Hahahah I saw that. I don't expect the moaning to stop. I just wanted to put some perspective on it.

HammerheadFistpunch > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:35

or this one...

Kinja'd!!!

Just checking to make sure you know both are fakes.

CobraJoe > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:35

As an engineer, I'm opposed to any modification that reduces the functionality of the car.

Donks are among the best examples of functionality reducing modifications. Big wheels make the ride worse (they require very low profile tires that transmit more bumps), they make acceleration and braking significantly worse (they reduce the gear ratio of the wheels), they make handling worse (by raising the center of gravity), and often come with horrible and dangerous suspension mods to get the height to fit the wheels.

Well done Donks I have no problem with, because then it merely becomes a matter of taste, but they are rare.

CobraJoe > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:36

As an engineer, I'm opposed to any modification that reduces the functionality of the car.

Well done Donks I have no problem with, because then it merely becomes a matter of taste, but they are rare.

Michael Delaney reaches down between his legs and eases the seat back > Z_Stig
09/11/2013 at 11:36

I would add to your points about safety, that many donk pics show brakes that are inadequate for the increased loads from the massive wheels.

CobraJoe > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:36

(It's fake...)

HammerheadFistpunch > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:36

This is the original

Kinja'd!!!

CobraJoe > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:37

As an engineer, I'm opposed to any modification that reduces the functionality of the car.

Well done Donks I have no problem with, because then it merely becomes a matter of taste, but they are rare.

HammerheadFistpunch > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:38

Here is the original

Kinja'd!!!

Brian Tschiegg > GhostZ
09/11/2013 at 11:39

Hahaha troll art. Reminds me of the picture of that red Mazda RX-8 donk that always gets Kinja'd so you can't see the wheels. It gets me every time.

I would have to point out that most peoples dreams for their cars are limited by their budget, so yes a lot of donks do not end up looking very professional. But how many of us have cars that we have modified on a budget that aren't all that pretty to look at? You love a car because it is an extension of yourself and your ability. You love it because it shows where you've come from and where you hope to go. It is a constant project that you hope will look like the cars you lust over on car blogs. That being said, there are some people that you just shake your head at because you know they didn't put an ounce of effort into making it look nice.

TurboSloth > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:43

You're right. Donks aren't "bad," they're just not for everyone. You need to remember that being a gearhead is part of a culture. And within that culture are many subcultures, which range from the hellaflush kids, to the donks, to the track rats, to the backyard mechanic., to the kids who want form over function, to the people who want function over form. We all love cars, and while our tastes divide us, we should all look at each other and say "well, I respect that you're a fellow gearhead, even if your car does look like shit, but then again, it isn't my car."

By segregating the donkers and the hellaflushers and calling them non enthusiasts leads a bad example for future gearheads, because we basically tell them that they're subject to scrutiny when trying to show an extension of themselves.

I feel that as a true car enthusiast, you can have your own tastes and biases, but you need to understand that the diverse factions of car culture is what makes it unique, and that there is no central criteria to be an enthusiast. You just need to love the machine. As Speedhunters.com says, "#joyofmachine."

Brian Tschiegg > TurboSloth
09/11/2013 at 11:48

You, sir, put that quite eloquently.

Kinja'd!!!

Z_Stig > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:52

I think light crictism is fine; it's the whole: "OMG you don't drive stick, you drive a donk, you love stanceworks, so therefore you can't be an enthusiast."

That's something I won't do.

Formula4speed > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:55

Not too long ago, I was walking through a parking lot and heard two donk owners chatting about their cars. One was apparently arguing about why his was superior: "Look at this shit, man! I got the biggest wheels, the biggest subs, the nicest paint, the nicest seats, I have all the best things, all the best things!" That was when I realized why I don't like donks.

The only reason I don't like donks is their motivation: they're almost entirely about being more conspicuous than their competitors. It's walking loudly and carrying a little stick. Is that a crime? No, it's not, but it does potentially speak to a more serious issue: a deep-seated desire to appear better than others, at literally any cost. The rims, the paint, the systems, it's all about having more than the next guy. A culture built around insecurity like that is a broken culture. It leads to people making poor choices, prioritizing their cars over their families or the rest of their lives and livelihoods. It leads to things like the new, massively popular rent-a-rim companies that mark wheels and tires up thousands of times over. It reinforces consumerism and makes the path to financial stability more nebulous. It opens people up to being taken advantage of.

I am, of course, not saying that this is 100% true—there will always be exceptions to the rule, and any man can build any car to compensate for a perceived lack of manhood—but I don't think a few statistical outliers are enough to invalidate the basic point: donk culture, at its grassroots core, is about pure conspicuous consumption, and their primary enthusiasts, lower-to-lower-middle-class Americans, are the most financially vulnerable. I can't get on board with a part of car culture that is damaging to the lives of the people that are into it.

Slave2anMG > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 11:57

I'm presuming you're referring to my post last night about the clean Caprice on my street. To clarify, I didn't say donks were bad...I don't like them but inherently not car culture? Nope. Different car culture but it's not for me.

What I will say is that I hate to see really really nice examples of older cars be the ones modified. I'd say the same thing about a super clean low miles Civic if I knew it was going to be sold to a guy who'd slathered with fart pipes and neons or a super clean low miles '85 F150 that was gonna get a huge lift kit shoved under it. It's about the originality of a particularly nice old car being lost, not the particulars of what's being done to it...that's what makes me sad. That cherry F150 or Civic or my neighbor's Caprice will never be that clean and original again...it's lost. I'd like to save cars like that.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 12:16

O GOD WHY?!

Even fake thats horrendous.

GasolineLollipop > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 12:27

I only like the themed or billboard donks. Who doesn't like a McDonalds themed donk?

Kinja'd!!!

Whoop Whoop!

Union of Smog Techs of CA > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 14:11

They just look funny without a team of horses pulling them

GreenN_Gold > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 14:45

Donks are cool, they just look unsafe.

911e46z06 > Brian Tschiegg
09/11/2013 at 16:35

True that. Peace and love man. Life is better when you can smile at a Chrysler Sebring on 28s with Barney the Purple Dinosaur airbrushed on the trunk (something I actually saw) instead of getting upset about it.

Brian Tschiegg > 911e46z06
09/11/2013 at 16:37

You have hit the nail on the head, sir.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Brian Tschiegg
09/14/2013 at 12:13

I don't get either. A friend slammed his Jetta but every bump was felt up through the frame to the seats. It's one thing to lower a track car but your DD is something that should remain functional.