Why I'm Hesitant About Modding My Car

"TheHondaBro" (wwaveform) 11/26/2014 at 15:02 • Filed to: car modding

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We've all been there, right? Daydreaming about what mods we can get for our cars to make them either faster or to just look better, and perhaps actually doing it. It's a culture among us weirdos. I, myself, have thought of ways to do the exact same thing with my car, a 2004 Accord (Which looks exactly like the one pictured). However, now that I think about actually going through with modding my car, I'm not sure I'd enjoy the result.

I love my car. We all love our cars, and we all know the feeling. The rest of Oppo might not be partial towards my car, but I love it regardless. It's this feeling that makes me hesitant in even thinking about modding my car. It's the car I fell in love with. If I begin modding it, it becomes something else, it just becomes some car. It will no longer be the car I love, it will just be an instrument of my desires.

Sure, it would look much better modded, but I'd rather keep the car I love rather than turn it into some useless piece of eye candy.

Does anyone else on Oppo feel the same way?

sellphones2493 > TheHondaBro 11/26/2014 at 15:06

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Next week, I'm putting my car in the hands of an independent Volvo Mechanic and I'm throwing a few thousand into it to rework the suspension, a new FMIC, and a plethora of other things.

I'm beyond excited about it, but I'm also worried. I treat my car like my child. I'm scared shitless that I'll be in some sort of accident, it'll get totaled off, and I'll be left with nothing but a check that doesn't even cover or account for all the work I've done.

Margin Of Error > TheHondaBro 11/26/2014 at 15:06

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Been there, done that.

May I suggest you read my story ?

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/panther-huntin…

Decay buys too many beaters > TheHondaBro 11/26/2014 at 15:08

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Well, none of my mods are visual, but I really enjoy how my solid motor mounts massage my back when I'm stuck in traffic.

PardonMyFlemish16 > TheHondaBro 11/26/2014 at 15:10

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You can mod it without turning it into some backwards cap nightmare.

I am a big fan of Accords and if I ever find myself in one I will give it my standard round of mods.

- intake manifold upgrade (huge on the 4 cylinders)

- mild exhaust (bigger piping, header, quiet muffler)

- Koni Yellows and Neuspeed Sports (PERFECT suspension for ANY road)

- some audio stuff

- TRS projector retrofit

At the more extreme end, for this, I would probably get some bigger OEM wheels/tires, the TSX's 6 speed box, and maybe some cams. Then you will have a pretty mean car that looks basically stock.

Trust me, I know the feeling. I love to mod cars, but kept my Z stock for about a year outside of the stereo and headlights, because I just couldn't stomach cheaping out or spending the 4 figure sums necessary to do what I wanted to the right way. I am glad I held off because I'm gonna sell it next year.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > TheHondaBro 11/26/2014 at 15:10

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I think there's a strain of that in quite a few of us, but whether it's motivated by "what we fell in love with" about the car or a fear of the unknown, or a dislike of "fixing what ain't broke", I think that part varies from person to person. You could compare car modding to plastic surgery - it's easy to get carried away and lose sight of what you were trying to achieve - or even to lose what made it special in the first place. Take for a mild case, Jennifer Connelly: her nose fix makes her appearance more "generic beauty".

My hard and fast rule in counterpoint and corollary is that if you start out with something trashed, you have nowhere to go but up. If you need a moddy Honda, go find one and mess with *that*. That's more like taking a burn victim who can't be restored to normal and doing some work to better fill a niche in Hollywood monster casting instead... maybe.

daender > TheHondaBro 11/26/2014 at 15:13

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Before.

Now, 1.80 years later.

The keys are to keep the original parts around, if you ever have to sell the car or don't like the modifications, and to do heavy research on how the mods will effect the car. So far every modification to my Miata was thought ahead by weeks or months. I knew exactly which wheels I wanted (lightest out there for affordable prices) to replace the oxidized and pitted OEM units, the exhaust was picked after listening to dozens of youtube videos to nail the preferred note I desired, and the swaybar was chosen after numerous autocrosses in my stock setup and with my friend's NB with beefier bar. The hardtop was essential in order to preserve the 12 year-old soft top while it sits outside for weeks when I'm in college.

TheCraigy > TheHondaBro 11/26/2014 at 15:47

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Not worth it. You'd ruin a nice car IMO. I went through the same thoughts when I had a G35.

Performance and looks wise, at the end of the day it's still an accord, no matter how fast or aggressive-looking you make it.

I'd be happier enjoying the car for what it is and saving money to buy something else later on if you want a real sportscar.

Sn210 > TheHondaBro 11/26/2014 at 16:00

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I started to mod my civic when I had it, mostly simple things. I swapped the chrome grille for the body-color Si grille, and also threw the Si rear sway bar on it too. I did both of those for less than $200 each. I replaced the door speakers and built a sub box for the trunk; both of those were Xmas gifts. I also did a throttle body spacer and a k&n drop in filter, which were more Xmas gifts. I swapped out the stock steelies and hub caps for Honda Crosstour alloys and a decent set of Continental tires. After that, the cost to gain ratio just wasn't worth it. I thought about lowering it, or putting an exhaust on it, but spending $600-$1200 on mods on my commuter car worth <$9k just didn't seem worth it. I thought about swapping the turn signal mirrors off the hybrid model, which would have been awesome, but a pain in the ass to install.

I'm keeping my TL-S and MR2 stock. Money saved on mods is money spent on more cars! (Or Hot Wheels anyway...)