"Mod your GS properly!"? No one involved in this thread messed up their cars like the guy in NY. Assuming I modified my car like the guy in NY, it is still a mod and it is proper if it is not falling apart or causing problems. "Properly", as used here, has been infused with personal opinion and preference. NY guy probably thinks his mods are proper, and that is all that should matter to him. Huge wings, trashcan exhaust tips, and stickers are considered proper mods in certain circles. Though it may be gaudy to us, it is a mod and it is proper to them. "Properness", is of course, based on personal preference, and therefore, a mod should not be considered "proper" because a person's personal preference is being attacked.

It also seems that price is considered when determining whether a mod is proper, although it was stated this is not true. Here is the basis of my reasoning: a statement about getting coilovers for cheap or a free engine/tranny. Although it was obtained with a really great price/deal, the fact is, this argument is based on the original price of the mod. These mods were put into comparison with installing tint, blue lights, or special windshield wippers. It appears that the basis of a "proper" mod is its original price and its exclusiveness. Anyone can install blue lights and tint, so it is not proper. With that reasoning, if coilovers were very cheap and everyone installed them on their cars, it would no longer be a proper mod. Indeed, price is a major consideration when determining if a mod is "proper".

What people fail to take into account when making the "properness" argument is budget. Blue lights and tint is affordable for practically everyone, but anything more would exceed their budgets. Only those who can afford expensive mods consider lesser mods to be improper. This argument is all relative and subjective. Everyone comes with different circumstances from the next person and their mods should not be judged in comparision to the next person.

This thread has gone in the wrong direction because people's mods are being placed in the "proper" camp and the improper camp. Everyone here is proud of their cars and the work & money they placed in it. Let's just leave it like that and let's not be too critical of other people's mods.

 

Eric - If you think that doing ANY mod is worth doing, then I can't argue with you.

I FIRMLY believe there are mods worth doing and mods NOT worth doing. For example, a $9000 "chromalusion" paintjob is not worth doing IMO.

I believe on Lexus cars, doing some good coilovers and other supension components is worth doing. Sway bars aren't expensive and I still consider them a VERY worthy mod. I'm not saying you HAVE to spend $30,000 on mods.

Come on, let's do a little exercise...

Take PRICE out of the equation. Let's say every mod was free..make a list of what you would do to your car? Would you paint your caliper "Brembo Red" or would you get REAL Brembo brakes?! Would you put in some $8 "HID-wannabe" headlights or would you do a REAL HID kit or conversion?

If you can not afford to do PROPER mods, then don't resort to doing stupid crap to your car (DON'T BE DESPERATE TO HAVE A MOD ON YOUR CAR!).

Another example is this....you can take a $0.99 marker and make a pattern your leather seats...is that a proper mod? I don't think so...Now what if you did it with a $6000 Custom Pilot Maki-E fountain pen and did the same thing? Would that make it proper? Hardly! Like I said, price is not the main factor.

However, let's be realistic, no one said fixing up a LUXURY CAR was cheap. If you think that, you need to take a step back and look at the situation.

If you only have $500 to your name and you want to buy 20" HRE's, guess what, it's not happening. But don't buy 13" chrome Dayton knock-offs simply to say you have "rims"

If you only have a Civic budget, then FIX UP A CIVIC! I mean seriously, if $500 is going to "break" your bank, you need to FORGET about fixing up your Lexus and worry about making car payments, making gas payments, making insurance payments, and having money on hand for repairs and maintenance! If you are broke, you have NO BUSINESS fixing up a LUXURY CAR. How can anyone even argue against this?!

As far as taste, if you dye your hair bright pink and you go out wearing only a leopard-skin thong that's on backwards, you are going to get criticised. Whether you like it or not. As much as you have a right to dress like that, I have the right to be critical of that "mod"

 

See, this is what I'm trying to save people from doing. I have been in this hobby/field for a long time now. Back when 15" wheel were the shiznit! I've seen many trends come and go and I've done a LOT of research and learning. Everything I say comes from my experience, but some people are so hard head or so wrapped up in their limited experience (or lameness), they just think I'm bagging on them to put them down...

I mean look at NYWIZARD's car...then look Wei's GS....which would you take? A riced out Civic-level-modded GS or a quality VIP modded GS?

Just like you guys all KNOW that blue windshield "squirters" are rice, I know that "highlighted" stock calipers are rice. I know that many cheapy mods are rice. I know that neon underbody lighting is RICE.

I'm criticising some of your rides because I care. I want to see them turn out nice. I want to see ClubLexus with a nice group of well done JZS147s. I don't want to see a bunch of "wannabe civics" in Lexus form...

 

Also the most rice out thing I seen some one do to a Lexus is those stupid lighted valve caps and windshiled squiters.
Being in the Wheel and Tire buisness I sell just about every auto custom item there is. I just bite my tongue when someone calls me for some of those on there Lex/Benz/BMW...well I don't really care about the Benz owners, I give respect to a nicely modded BMW being it's a drivers car and correctly modded it can be one hell of a touring car.

You know every time I look at NYWIZARDS car I just laugh.

Think about this guys when you "mod" your car. It helps me make some important decisions on what to buy/do.

First... Would you buy the car off of the lot with some of the mods you are planning? If your not willing to buy a $40.000.00+ car new with the mods you plan to do already on in place, then why the hell would you do them.

Remember Lexus slogan "Passionate Pursuate of Perfection" We have the "highest" quality mass produced luxury car there is, treat it that way.

 

I agree with Manaray completely. I think I am the prime example of what Manaray is talking about. I love the car, I always did. I got it just purely out of love. I could never really afford to buy it out, go to school, support myself and the whole nine yards. So I'm leaving it stock instead of messing it up with some cheap crap that I can afford. And when I say cheap crap I don't mean just pricewise, but also quality and lookwise. Like APLUS said,"We have the "highest" quality mass produced luxury car there is, let's treat it that way." I hope that helps to explain Manaray's point.

 

Yes, we agree on this.

Yes, there ae a myraid of mods that can be done and some of them are in poor taste, but in no way improper. Like I said, it is all personal preference.


This exercise misses the point. Assuming everything is free and someone paints their brakes instead of getting real Brembos, the painted calipers may look right, but the person is not being fiscally responsible. If everything is free, get the best. Obviously, not every mod is free, so we have to deal with budgets. This exercise you proposed proves my point that price is major consideration when modding our cars. Limited budgets dictate that some of us buy Brembos, while others paint their calipers. Now the question is the tastefulness of the paint used on the calipers and the quality of the workmanship. Again, we are back to price because not all paints are the same and the quality of the job depends on the time invested (again, money is a factor because time is money).

Now, this is where logic was thrown out the window. Making a pattern with a marker on a seat is graffiti. I haven't heard of anyone making such an absurd mod, but I will assume it is true for sake of argument. Consider this: going to Pep-Boys, purchasing some touch-up paint, and going home and painting a pinstripe across the side of your car. Crooked lines and uneven paint coverage would be the most likely result. Now, imagine you paint cars for a living and can make a factory looking pinstripe. Now the budget touch-up paint job is just right and no one will have problems with it. Is it proper now? I think so.

Let's go to another portion of the above-quoted argument regarding price as a factor. Comparison of a marker and a Pilot fountain pen and that the price of the writing utensil used has no bearing on the propeness of the mod. The result would be the same, graffiti on the leather. But this is not true in the real world Here is a more appropriate analogy: cheap mechanic and experienced Lexus tuner. The mechanics must intall the same mod (just like marking leather with a fancy pen and standard pen), but the results would be totally different. Cheap mechanic would do a poor job, while tuner should do a stellar job. So what's the difference? Price.

Of course everyone here knows that modding a Lexus is not cheap. The market isn't big in comparison to the Honda or muscle car markets, so prices for us are higher. But, not as many people here bought their Lexus to mod it. They bought it because of its reliability, build quality, and comfort. There are numerous posts here where new Lexus owners want to know what mods can be made to their cars. If you don't believe me, you can find many threads here concerning this point.

It was stated that if you have a limited budget, you have no business fixing up a luxury car. This is consistent with the other arguments put forth which state that price is not a factor but inevitably it is. Some of us just can't afford to do the mods you consider are proper. No one here (except a handful of examples out of hundreds) did distasteful mods to their cars with their limited budgets. There are many people here, especially those with a used Lexus, who are resourceful and do the best they can with their limited budgets (me included). I don't even know why this thread was created because almost everyone here is not guilty of putting on distasteful budget mods.

THIS is the reason I am perturbed with some of the responses in this thread. No one here is guilty of making distasteful budget mods (except NYguy) and no member who has responded to this thread have had their cars used as an example of tastelesness, therefore, price must be a consideration when you are critical of other members and this has been shown (see above).

You have to take fellow members as they come: those who have a small amount of money to spend and others who have more to spend. If a mod is distasteful, tell the person, but don't base the tastefulness on the cost of the mod.

If we find someone who spent a lot of money moding their car in a distasteful manner, say it is distasteful. We should guide that person in the right direction. If a person has a limited budget and makes a distasteful mod, that person should be guided in the right direction, like telling the person to spend more time to make painted calipers like tasteful. We shouldn't tell the person he is wasting his time because he can't afford Brembos. Likewise with blue headlights. Most bluelights are in the same ballpark, pricewise. So we shouldn't say your mod sucks because you couldn't afford real HIDs. We should inform that person of other, more tasteful lights for that price.

Here is my point: don't be critical of those who can't afford the "real thing" when their budgets dictate otherwise and the job they did is acceptable. I concede that there are those who make distasteful mods, but no one here has been called out on it (except of course, NYguy. I feel sorry for him for taking all this heat, but what he did was distasteful with all the money he had).

We are all members of the same Lexus community, and like I said, we all have different budgets and we must be tolerant of this fact. The responses so far have not pointed to members who have done actual mods, and therefore, is all hypothetical. But, the arguments have been based on price and not tastefulness. When using the illustrations of Dayton rims or markers, argue the tastefulness of the mod. I would say that marking on leather looks like grafitti. I would say that Dayton rims don't look good on a Lexus because Daytons were designed with Monte Carlos and old Chevy's in mind. Furthermore, I would say Daytons do not fit the style of the car. Just don't base the argument on price, like I said, we come with different budgets.

Manary, I have nothing against you because I don't even know who you. Your responses have been thoughtfully crafted and I have been responding because I am just trying to create an atmosphere here that isn't so critical on a mods price.

Take care.

 

See, to me, bad taste = improper. So yes, I guess you should say it's all personal preference. NYWIZARD is a prime example. We both agree that the mods he's done are quite tasteless. Well to me, that's the same as saying his mods were improper. They are not right for the type for car. If he was doing a Civic, it would fit right in there with what most ricers do their Civics.

It doesn't miss the point. According to your logic, you're saying that what I'm saying is that the more expensive a item is, the better of a mod it is (or the more proper). Like I said before, it doesn't matter if you spend $5000 on a REAL big brake kit or $2000 on one. A REAL big brake kit is a WORTHY mod. Painting your calipers red is NOT a real big brake kit. It's just TRYING TO LOOK LIKE ONE. How can that be "proper" on a LUXURY car? That's RICER (much like most of the mods that NYWIZARD did) no matter how you slice it!

If a limited budget is what people have, then really, what are they doing spending money to mod their car? They should be more concerned about keeping the car maintained correctly.

Now if you're a PROFESSIONAL, then it's COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. But on a Lexus, is PINSTRIPPING really a worthy mod? IMO, it's not. Pinstripping on a Lexus is just nasty. If you're a professional TUNER of some sort and you have a CNC machine and whatnot and you fabricate your own big brake kit for $100, then more power to you. However, how many of these "financially challenged" people have this skill and the machinery? I doubt they would be "financially challenged" if they could own a one million dollar CNC machine..

Let's make this easy...let's list all the "no cost" mods you can do your Lexus...I'll start

1) Clearing out your headlights/tail lights (Jmai's contribution)

What else?


Why should price be a consideration?! I don't mod my car based on price. I mod it based on the mod itself. Is the mod worth doing regardless of the price.

YES WE SHOULD because things like fake HID's are just that, they're FAKE!! They're trying to make it look like something it's NOT. Like when a Civic owner puts Lexus IS300 front end on their car...that's just LAME. Fake HID's are LAME. In most cases, the fake HID's don't even perform as well as the factory Halolgens. Again, the MOD is to get HID lights. People that can't afford to do should just leave their lights alone, not put in fake HID's to make it LOOK like HID's...that's why fake HID's are NOT a worthy mod.

Basically, any mod that is trying to "be like" a real mod is NOT WORTHY ON A LEXUS.

1) Painted calipers to make it look like a Big Brake Kit
2) Fake HID's to look like a real HID kit
3) Sponsorship stickers when you're not even sponsored.
4) Fake Cell phone atenneas

etc., etc...

My point is that people who can't afford the real thing because their budgets dictate otherwise SHOULD NOT BE MODDING A LUXURY CAR! How can you even argue against this? How is it ok for people who can bearly afford the car to spend any soft of money on modding it?! They obivously can not afford it and there is NOTHING wrong with leaving your car stock.

Granted, if you're calipers look like hell, sure, get some high temp paint and paint it...but don't paint red/blue/yellow/etc. to make it look "special"...it's a STOCK calipers. It's not special IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM...just paint it black or silver and leave it alone.

Rover is a PRIME example of what I'm talking about. He has the SMARTS to figure out, "Hey, I don't have the funds, right now, to do it up right. I'm just going to leave it stock.". THAT is what I'm talking about! I have SO MUCH more respect for something like Rover (who OBVIOUSLY has his priorities straight!) then someone who is in the same situation as Rover but is SO DAMN DEPSERATE to have a mod on their car, that they go out and do a load of RICER mods. Highlighted color STOCK calipers ARE RICER (this is not pointed at anyone in particular as there are a few members who have brightly colored calipers).

I'll even share my own experience with you...I grew up with very little money. When I couldn't afford to an Omega, I didn't buy a fake one. I just bought a nice little Timex. When I couldn't afford to mod my car, I didn't. When I did get money to mod, I did, but I never did lame mods...there are mods I did that I wouldn't do now (like springs for lowering) but that's because coilovers didn't exist (at the consumer level) when I did springs or they weren't available for the car I had.

Today, I do H AVE the money to mod up my car. I'm sure you've seen my GS430. I also own a SC400 which I am in the *process* of modding. I HATE driving stock cars (for the most part, there are few exceptions...like the Aston Martin AMV8 Vantage...actually, I'd put new wheels on that car...never mind, there are no exceptions! )...even though I hate driving the car stock, it has been stock since April of last year. For nearly a YEAR, I haven't touched my SC outside of doing maintenance work. I bought some new interior pieces that need replacing, I change out the tranny and motor mounts, I did the 60K mile tune up, I changed the front lower A-arms because the bushing were going bad (this was before the Daizen poly bushings were available)...

I am JUST NOW starting to get all the parts to mod the car...after nearly a year...and that's WITH the money in my pocket this whole time (hehehe..what's worse? Not having the money to buy something or having the money and not being able to buy it because it's not available!?)...so what is my point? My point is that even though I had the money in hand to do all the mods I wanted, I wasn't DESPERATE. I wasn't desperate to take just any body kit or any suspension or any wheels. I wanted to do it right and I wanted to get particular items. In all honesty, even if I had no money, nothing would have changed the situation because as you can see, even with the money, the product wasn't available (plus I had some decision changes along the way).

Now there is no difference in my "problem" and the problem of not having the funds right way to do the "right" mod. There is NOTHING WRONG with extending out your mod schedule. If you don't have the money to do it right, save up. If it takes you 6 months to save up for a big brake kit, then save up and do it right! Don't paint your calipers to "look" like a big brake kit.

That's why I don't understand why people are SO DAMN DEPSERATE to have a mod on their car. If you CAN NOT AFFORD WHAT YOU REALLY WANT, then don't fake it. Just leave it alone. We're not talking about a "unobtainable" amount of cash here...I'm sure all you have good enough jobs or allowances to save up and do it right...afterall, you were able to buy a Lexus, right? I mean if you owned a '89 Civic and you wanted to put on 20" HRE, then I'd say you're just stupid (even if you had the money). But wanting 20" HRE's on your Lexus is reasonable. However, most poeple can't afford $5000~$9000 wheels nor do they want to spend that much..and that's not a problem because there are many EXCELLENT wheels that are in the <$4000 range (and some on par with HRE's quality). Some even <$2500 with tires. Just don't buy a low quality knock-off of a higher end wheel because all you have is $1200 in your hands and it's burning a hole in your pocket...

Eric, I too have nothing against you and I don't think any less of you (or anyone) as a person because you don't expensive mods (whether or not you have the money). I come from a very poor background so I know what it's like not to have all the things you want (hell, even now I don't have everything I want...but that $120 million Yacht can wait)...while sometimes I may come off as being "overly" critical, even "mean" on people who do what I feel are unworthy mods. It's not because I'm just trying to make them look bad. or because I'm just a a-hole (well I am a a-hole but that's besides the point) Like I said before, it's because I care. I care about having all of us have NICE rides...whether it's a clean stock Lexus or a heavily modified Lexus. It bothers me to see riced out Lexus cars....because those make us ALL look bad.

I just feel that being too "soft" won't get the point across. It's just like American Idol...some of those people REALLY have no talent (at least as that type of an entertainer), Simon is just straight forward...and really, haven't you watched to show and thought to yourself "WHERE IN THE HELL did this person get the idea that they could actually sing?! They SUCK!" This is the way I feel when I see some of these mods that people do...it's like, "Are you THAT clueless?!"

 

I guess we are trying to make our brakes look like Brembos. Oh come ‘on, who said that here??? No one did. No one. Okay? Painted calipers make the car look better, who wants to have rusty calipers and rotors? According to your logic, if I paint my calipers to make them look better than rusted calipers, I must have had this alterior motive to make them look a Brembo brake kit. Ya.

Ya, people are modding their cars instead of keep them well maintained. Find one person here who did it and I will call them an idiot. See, you keep missing the point. Those with limited budgets can do worthy mods, you just seem to think that if it is not the real thing installed, we are just posers and should not even think about modding cars. What kind of attitude is that? Most definitely not very inviting.

I’m surprised you didn’t accuse Jmai22 of trying to make his lights look like JDM, using the logic of painted calipers=Brembo wannabes.

2) Removing the metal plate in foglight to increase light output.

C’mon Manaray, stick to the facts. First, no one said they install blue lights because they want imitation HIDs. It is true that ricers with Civics and their ilk are guilty of this practice. People who install blue lights are guilty of not knowing the facts about blue lights: decreased light output. But do not assume people do this because they want their lights to look like HIDs. This is pretty presumptuous of CL members. Look at some of the marketing of blue bulbs. They claim they are brighter than standard halogen bulbs, so what are people to think? And let’s be real, people take ads at face value, so some ignorance is bound to happen.

As far as painted calipers, I stated above that no one here is trying to make their brakes look like Brembos, they just don’t want rust to detract from the look of the car.

Sponsor stickers- I don’t know of anyone in CL who does this mod to their Lexus, but it is common with Civics. Find me someone who has done this to their Lexus.

Fake cell phone antennas- I don’t know who does this to their Lexus, but it is common with Civics and Volkswagens. Again, give me an example of a member’s ride, but I don’t think you will find anyone here who did that. Besides, this mod was common in the late 80’s- early 90’s. Today, cell phones don’t need antennas installed on the car. Maybe you are confusing these antennas for radio antennas. That may be the case, but I don’t think they are trying to fake a cell phone, just look at the driver chatting on their cellphone, I don't think he needs another "cellphone owner" advertisement.

I’m getting tired of replying to statements like this. Who is claiming their painted calipers are Brembos??? NO ONE!!! Not only that, people here get the message that yellow, blue, and red caliper paint does not LOOK good on a Lexus. This is enough to deter CL members, your argument based on paint=fake is not needed and is extremely presumptuous. Who is claiming their blue lights are HIDs??? No one HERE. Again, another presumptuous argument.

What is this, he is telling me that people who have tight budgets have no business modding their Lexus? Oh thanks, I guess CL membership should be based on income. I guess I have to leave this forum now because my budget does not fit the requisite income requirement. Are you a moderator or some type of administrator at CL? If so, why isn’t this cardinal rule posted on “Forum Rules”? Maybe because the powers-that-be at CL look beyond income and base membership on Lexus enthusiasm and following the CL rules.

I don’t understand why you think like this, but you proved yourself wrong again with this argument. On one hand, you state that price not be a factor in the properness of a mod. On the other hand, you tell us that we should not mod if we don’t have the budget. You have to be consistent and not use one argument one time and the other argument another time.

Manaray, I am confused also by people who are desperate to do mods to their cars, but who here in CL is desperate? Well, I think we all are to mod our cars, but not to the point of messing around with this and that just to say something was done to their cars. Any examples?

As you’ve probably guessed, I don’t have much of a budget. My calipers are painted (grey), the metal plate in my foglight is cleared out (thanks to Indy), some sound system changes, a well maintained car, and 98 GS 17” wheels (do I think I have a 2nd gen GS now? Hardly. They fit my budget, provide better performance, and look good without calling out attention. I guess when we make mods that might be considered faking, we have to provide facts to rebut the presumption that we are trying to be wannabes. I hope not.)

Okay, here is the final count:

1) no one here is trying to be a faker. This is presumptuous, especially of those on CL.

2) we should not be told that we can’t mod if we don’t have much in our bank accounts;

3) no one here is desperate to mod their car that they tinker with it just to say they modded it. Find me an example here on CL. Assuming there is someone like this, we get back to the debate whether he is faking or whether he has a sufficient budget. If you are going to argue against someone’s mod, don’t make presumptions and argue from aesthetics and functionality.

4). Factoring cost into properness of a mod. Like I said above, you are making conflicting arguments about cost being a factor and cost not being a factor.

Manaray, I hope I didn’t sound like an a-hole.

 

Things got a little out of hand on some other thread, so this is what I wrote to Manaray. Email sent to Manaray via CL:

Manaray, as you know, I am a little ticked-off because of your post under "Ricer or not?". I don't want this getting out of hand, which is where this is going. I don't know who you are, but I do know that we have differing opinions. Let's leave it like that. I want to be civil and I don't want to hate anyone in CL because we are all part of the same family.

Peace,
Eric

------------------------
I apologize to Manaray for getting out of hand (maybe this didn't get out of hand in your book, but it did in mine).

 

I am disregarding that last post because it stemmed out a mis-understanding that Eric and I have cleared up in email...now on the regularly scheduled program...


Come on, where do you think people ever got the idea to do "red" calipers. Porsche/Brembo. No Lexus ever came with STOCK red calipers. I'm not saying painting you calipers is cheezy, I'm saying painting them Red/Blue/Yellow is cheezy because come on, you honestly think people that do that aren't trying to fool people to think that they have some sort of "big brake" upgrade? If they didn't care, they would paint it black or silver or grey. Something neutral, something that doesn't stick out.

That's because it's no big deal. JDM lights aren't any better than our DOT lights, they just don't have to follow the DOT regulation of having yellow. The headlights are STILL made by Lexus. The non-yellow versions are NOT from a higher model car or from some "special edition". That's why it's no big deal

As for the foglight mod, hey, if it gets you more output, then fine...but again, like tint, that's not really such a special mod. That's like saying "Hey, I took out my passenger and rear seat so the car is lighter." Ok, that's fine, but it's not something that most people would list in their mod list.

It's like my '97+ ('99 actually, but it's all the same) tail lights in my SC...I wouldn't list that as a mod. (and that's not a cheap mod!).

As for "blue lights", come on, the #1 reason why people do these type of lights is to get a look of HID. I agree with you on the marketing end and that a lot of people get taken by the advertising but hey, it pays to do the research...if they had come on here and read about it first, they would have known better...once they find out, you would think they would remove them but how many people on still have them in their cars or are looking to buy them? A lot. The cell phone antennea and stickers were just an examples...

Now I'm not saying that ALL "blue" lights or light bulb swaps are bad...I mean I have Koito (OEM for Toyota) Whitebeam lights for my interior lights because I like "white" light as opposed to "amber" light...but again, that's not something that I list as a mod because it's nothing special. Just like I'm going to eventually change out my "white" foglights for PIAA Yellow foglights (because yellow is better for fog)...again, it's not something I'd go parading around...

I think that people on a tight budget don't have a business modding Lexus cars. That's MY opinion. It's kind of an unspoken rule that LUXURY items are usually for people WITH MONEY.

Hehehe...I don't understand why you don't understand. If you have no money to mod, then you shouldn't be modding. My point about the cost not being a factor is like I stated before, you can buy the most expensive coilovers or the least expensive coilovers (of good quality) and to me, they are EQUALLY good mods. You don't HAVE to buy the most expensive one is what I'm saying. Now this is based on the fact that you are ACTUALLY SPENDING SOME MONEY TO MOD. Not trying to mod on a GoodWill budget.

Let me just say, I have over 6500 posts here (actually this post is #6660! I AM EVIL!! Damn!). I've been here for a while. I've read more threads then I care to admit. I've SEEN the desperation. I've read it. I know it exists. Of course, NO ONE is going to admit that they were SO DESPERATE that they did some lame mod. I don't expect them to...but please, don't be so blind to think that there are people on here that don't do things out of desperation for a moded car.

Did you think I was talking about people like you? I'm NOT. The mods you have are done are perfectly acceptable. You have done things that aren't ricer (grey calipers is one of my recommendation for people who want to repaint their calipers because I agree that rusted calipers look like crap!) The '98 GS wheels is fine too. I have my '01 GS wheels on my '92 SC (but that was mainly because my SC's stock tires were in need of replacement and since I was going to get wheels, for sure, I just put my GS's stock wheels on there since the tires only had like 5000 miles on them...)

Oh trust me, they're on here...enginyr was one of them.

Again, this is MY OPINION and the opinion of many others. It's common sense too.

See my comment early on...

Again, see my comment above...


Hey Eric, bro, I have NOTHING against you. Trust me, I hope you don't think I'm telling you that you're an idiot and that I know everything. That's not the case at all. I think the mods you have done to your car are fine...I just think that people need to understand that modding their car is the not the end all and be all of their life. There are other, MUCH MORE IMPORTANT things that need to done when your finances are strapped...

Basically, what I'm saying is don't do what Civic owners do (I pick civic owners because the majority of them obviously don't have an ton of spendable cash otherwise, they'd be driving something better and the majority of ricers own Civics..at least around here...not that the Civic is a bad car, it's a great little car) We all drive Lexus cars. A LUXURY car. They should be modded in a similar manner.

 

The reason why I post stuff like this is because I want the people reading this (and this is generally directed towards younger people because they are in the "zone" in terms of wanting to mod and pimp out a car) to understand that they shouldn't ricer out their car or go into crazy debt because they some sort of pimp-*** ride...my point is to do this kind of stuff when you can comfortably afford it. Not when you have choose "Exhaust or Rent"...

I wasn't able to drive a "pimp daddy" car when I was 18 (but I had a "pimp daddy" motorcycle!) so I never to fake the funk...now that I can afford to do it right, I do. And you know what, it feels just a good. I'm glad I waited to do it right because now I know what I'm doing and I have the resources to do it. I have some friend that are my age that were too concerned with being "cool" back in the days and spent all their time and money and energy into drive and owning a pimp daddy car. I just observed because I knew I didn't have the money to do it and I had to worry about other things...and now they work at some crappy job and drive a Civic...they didn't concentrate on what they should have been doing (school, work skills, etc.)...they let modding cars control their life and get them into debt...man, I just don't want to see anyone here do that...car modding isn't going away any time soon and having a fixed up Lexus in your Mid to Late 20's is just as cool as having one when you're in your late teens to early 20's...there is no need to rush...

 

Well, at least we can agree that we both have good taste (see comments regarding our changes to our cars).

Desparatism and imatation. As stated above, I personally haven't seen members display these traits in the couple years I've been here. Maybe you have. I'll extend my logic here. Ricers are desparate to mod and imitate, does owning a Lexus change these urges? No. So yes, there would probably be some people here who have those same urges. Let me know if you spot these people, I want to tell them where they've gone horribly wrong.

Well, it appears that we still disagree about the statement that if you don't have enough money, then you shouldn't mod. But there still may be hope. Budget mods can still be tastefully done. Example: I created a custom intake for my car with 3inch aluminum tubing with mandrel bends. Spent $30 instead of $200 on an aftermarket intake. Winner? Me, more cash in the pocket and more experience under my belt. Functional, yes. Professional looking? No, but looks stock. No one notices it until I point it out because it is painted black. I followed the road of tastefulness and did not chrome it and place various stickers on it.

Maybe instead of saying that something like "if you don't have enough money to mod, you should not attempt to" we should say "Warning, a limited modding budget dictates a heavy dose of tastefulness. Proceed with caution and be sure to consult with your peers." The prior statement is a little too harsh and does not cover tastefull budget mods (clear corners, grey/black calipers, etc).