An interesting article regarding modifying

[TTR 509]

Take a read of this article by Matt Farah, hits the nail on the head of how I feel these days about modifying my BRZ. I'm hoping there'll be an interesting discussion around this, but threads always seem to get sidetracked 

 

http://www.thedrive.com/opinion/6208/the-5-ways-people-ruin-their-cars

[KevinA 695]

I read that article too, hopefully 86 owners do the mods they want and more importantly need for how they use the car.

[Mike 458]

Kind of agree with the article but at the same time think it's a bit useless. Only person who can say they've ruined their car is themselves as everyone wants a different use from their car, has different circumstances and has different preferences as to what's acceptable from their car. 

[rob275 1817]

I'm pretty much done and happy with my car, the only thing i'm likely to alter on it is the rear wing and better wheels down the line. Still waiting for some T66-F's. 

[Varelco 211]

That is bang on. I've fallen into alot of the pitfuls that guy has listed over the years and I'm keen to avoid doing that again. I'm very careful in what mods I do to this car as this chassis is so easy to pour money into.

[Bfranklyn86 52]

Good article that. I do think the 86 fits in to that 'ripe for tuning' category because by investing 5-8k you can (arguably) make it perform like something worth 40k as it has the great chassis and steering from the factory.

Also interesting to see that an engine build is a 'red flag' for him. I think that would really depend on at what boost level the stock engine of any particular car can take. If you are doing a build because you want to take a 200hp stock car to 500hp then it's a valid red flag for a number of reasons. But with our cars.... known weak rods, a 5k build to take it safely from 250 to 350 whp...... I think you could argue either way whether that's too much or not.

 

[Lauren 2259]

I think he makes some interesting points, once you can put aside the waffle. But interesting point about having a 'built' engine in that it is overpowering the chassis when get to that point and that is relevant I think. For example, driving two AVO turbo cars back to back, one of which was a stage 1 with around 280bhp and another which was stage 3 with apparently 330bhp (I don't think it was that much though). I found I much preferred the stage one as the stage three just felt too much for it. 

Tons of power is great fun, but to me, it quickly defines what the car is about above all else and I'm not sure that's satisfying after a time. 

I also think the point about knowing when to stop is a very relevant one. A lot of people will pretty much endlessly modify their car, but why not just get to a point where you're happy with it? The best cars out there are the ones you don't need to modify of course, though all said and done the GT86/BRZ is made for aftermarket tuning.

The point about not modifying the driver, i.e., learning how to drive and how to handle the car is a very valid one. Too often, people who only have the skill to drive in a straight line at speed, add more power to make up for their lack of ability. This just compounds the problem. If you can't drive the stock car decently fast, it makes perfect sense to get some tuition before you start doing upgrades. But IMO far too few do. 

 

[KobayashiMaru 28]

A very valid article. The 86 is just starting on it's mod journey with small stuff like lights and wheels then next year a map, exhaust, etc. I'm very keen to make it better but not lose it's 86ness. Since it's my brothers I've told him he has to get used to it first and get better with time before each upgrade else he won't feel the benefit and it may not be the right choice anyway. The 86 is a car that teaches you to drive it better and when you put the effort in it's so much more rewarding.

My Octavia vRS is at 282bhp so has the intercooler, downpipe, filter, bigger brakes, bilsteins and eibachs, roll bars etc and is just right. People keep telling me to get a diff and a bigger turbo and more power but I struggle to see the logic in it. The mods suggested could see 350bhp and the diff to handle it but do I really want a 350bhp FWD car and spend more money on what is an 8 year old Skoda. With no diff, people who aren't used to it struggle to get the power down but now I'm used to it I have no issues and have fine tuned my throttle control and run with TCS and ESP off every day, making the effort to improving myself rather than throwing money at the problem. 

[Paul 442]

I agree with the points raised but at the end of the day it's my car and I'll do whatever I want to it. Mine's nowhere near finished, I just don't have any cash.

[alucardo 55]

I think the worse mistake people make is when they goto track in their daily and then begin trying to make it quicker for the 5 track days they do a year and it becomes uncomfortable for everything else. I have done this on a couple of my cars and ended up reigning myself in putting seats back in and removing harnesses and changing suspension.

[Rich 378]

I have tried to keep mine sensible for daily driving with my mods; there's always a temptation to go nuts though. That said, doing mods is part of the fun in a way that just buying a more expensive car wouldn't be.

[Lauren 2259]

2 hours ago, alucardo said:

I think the worse mistake people make is when they goto track in their daily and then begin trying to make it quicker for the 5 track days they do a year and it becomes uncomfortable for everything else. I have done this on a couple of my cars and ended up reigning myself in putting seats back in and removing harnesses and changing suspension.

Yep, stripping an interior is the best way to totally ruin a car for the road. I did it once with one of my cars which was only used for trackdays and I did do a lot of them, but never would I do that again. 

[surrey86 352]

It's a good article. I think some people get addicted to modifying and buy shit for the sake of it, rather than it being any improvement. Catch myself nearly doing it quite often, it's very tempting with such a big aftermarket parts availability for the 86'.

[KobayashiMaru 28]

It's always good to to the research beforehand on what's needed to take it to each stage, what power are you happy with, what compromises are you willing to make or not. I've seen it on other forums where someone makes a change, brags it up, everyone gets sucked in (normally because a forum sponsor sells said part) and does it and while it's great on track it's awful for everyday use. The common one is dogbone mounts on Skoda's and polybushing with bushes that are way to stiff. While a part may suit one person it may now suit everyone. You see it all the time, even here where someone buys something on recommendation then a few months later they sell it for something else.  Personally I like doing all the research on parts and getting exactly what I want once. I do the same when building PC's. May take me longer but it's right first time.