Mods: Why Do People Do It?
12-04-11, 02:21 PM
#1
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Mods: Why Do People Do It?
I mean this question with a dose of honest respect. Why do so many of you posting here buy bigger wheels and "drop" the car and do other mods? I totally do not get it. Yeah, I understand putting a pinstripe or a front affinity plate (for places where there is no front license plate...such as decorative PITTSBURGH STEELERS plates for the front). But the wheels/tires thing, especially leaves me totally scratching my head. 
12-04-11, 02:33 PM
#2
Moderator
It comes down to preference of each person's car. I hate the stock wheels and stock suspension. I don't like windows with no tint. Now, my car looks, drives and feels like I want it to. Simple as that as far as I'm concerned. Modding isn't for everyone, but for now its how I roll sonnn!
12-04-11, 02:33 PM
#3
Lexus Test Driver
bigger wheels less tire equals the same rolling ratio, I cant speak for others but modding is done to differ yourself from others and give the owner the feeling of adding there own touch... if you want to keep your car stock that is your own preference but adding little mods here and there is nothing wrong.
12-04-11, 03:37 PM
#4
Instructor
Personally speaking, I mod everything I own from my cars, bikes and even my home. lol. I dont like plain and I dont like to look like everyone else. Not saying that the LS is plain. Its far from it but I didnt want mines to look like anyone elses and I think I've achieved that in that, at least within my area.
12-04-11, 04:26 PM
#5
I guess the question can be asked if the tables were turned, "why not". I'm assuming this is due to the age gap that is between all owners, but the fact of the matter is that this car has depreciated and the influx of owners will inevitably be younger, and more "inclined" to mod.
12-04-11, 04:35 PM
#6
Simple answer?
"to make the car my own".
I don't agree about age gap though...
When you're thinking mods you're probably thinking rims, suspension, intakes, etc.
I see it both ways, just like the snowbirds opt for fabric roof covers on their Cadillac, IMO, i call it a 'mod', since they're making it 'their own' with that, or gold plating emblems, Chrome rims option vs. alloy - why not 'leave it' right?
"to make the car my own".
I don't agree about age gap though...
When you're thinking mods you're probably thinking rims, suspension, intakes, etc.
I see it both ways, just like the snowbirds opt for fabric roof covers on their Cadillac, IMO, i call it a 'mod', since they're making it 'their own' with that, or gold plating emblems, Chrome rims option vs. alloy - why not 'leave it' right?
12-04-11, 05:59 PM
#7
Lead Lap
bigger wheels less tire equals the same rolling ratio, I cant speak for others but modding is done to differ yourself from others and give the owner the feeling of adding there own touch... if you want to keep your car stock that is your own preference but adding little mods here and there is nothing wrong.
I also HATE the wheels Lexus places, as CJITTY mentioned, on an $ 80,000 fine auto. And they don't think we deserve AKEBONO ceramic brake pads for our hard-earned dollars ? The NERVE of them !
To each his or her own ...... and please know there are MANY modified $ 1.7 Mill Bugatti Veyrons ! Yup !
Merry Christmas to all ...... and Oh @ By the way, my next mod is an exotic Air Freshner from either World or Pep Boys. I ain't made my mind up yet ........but Heck ! I deserve it ! Isn't that the point anyways? !
Mikey Lulejian
Lake Oconee, GA
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12-04-11, 07:51 PM
#9
I didn't think I was going to mod my LS but it was too plain looking for me. I wanted it to stand out from the other LS's in my area. Pretty much any car will look and perform better with a different set of wheels and it lowered a little bit. I agree it's not for everybody though. It's all personal opinion.
12-04-11, 08:28 PM
#10
Driver
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Why do we paint the walls in our brand new homes or opt for a certain color car??? Everyone has a preference and idea of what "they" think is nice. This forum just happens to have a lot of like minded guys and gals.
Like my son says, "go big or go home!"
Like my son says, "go big or go home!"
12-04-11, 10:57 PM
#11
Driver School Candidate
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Why do I mod...the same as others mentioned above, to make it my own, stand out from others, make corrections to the vehicle the manufacture forgot :-), to simply floss, etc, etc, etc... However, honestly...car makers look forward to seeing what mods we make to the vehicles.
Many times you can find some of the mods incorporated in the next generation/model vehicle they produce. Look at the Escalade, much of the chrome on the current version was once offered as aftermarket upgrades for the previous model. The larger wheels that are placed on vehicles now. Cars use to come with 14 inch wheels with 16s considered doing it big. Now SUVs come standard with 20s or 22s and cars are coming standard with 18s or 19s.
Many times you can find some of the mods incorporated in the next generation/model vehicle they produce. Look at the Escalade, much of the chrome on the current version was once offered as aftermarket upgrades for the previous model. The larger wheels that are placed on vehicles now. Cars use to come with 14 inch wheels with 16s considered doing it big. Now SUVs come standard with 20s or 22s and cars are coming standard with 18s or 19s.
12-05-11, 02:57 AM
#15
Driver School Candidate
It's interesting, isn't it? To each their own- obviously.
I tend to modify many of my cars: C6 Vette got wheels, tires, cold air, Bassani exhaust. My Porsches got several tweeks. My Shelby Mustang got all sorts of mods. My Jeep Wrangler has a 5.3L Gen III Chevy V8 with 460LE transmission, lift, tires, wheels, bumpers, axles, winch, lights and more. So CLEARLY I'm not opposed to reverse engineering!
But my luxo-rides? Not so much. I've done nothing with my LS460 except tint the glass. I'll probably replace the tires with Michelins one of these days, though the stock tires have only 12k on them. And while I'm at it I MAY change out the wheels but if so it won't be for 22" wheels and rubber band tires. They'll be factory size, width and offset. Why? Well- for me the ride degrades considerably and to be honest, as an "old geezer" I just don't "get" the look of rubber band tires. I see lime-gold metalflake '83 Impalas with gold 24" wheels and 1" sidewalls and I scratch my head. While 22"s on an LS460 aren't quite the same- there *IS* a family resemblance!
I think it depends a bit on WHY you bought an LS, regardless of your age.
I bought mine because I really do believe it's at or certainly near the top of the pecking order for incredibly well engineered and flawlessly assembled touring machines. I've owned Mercedes and BMW's and frankly in terms of comfort, fit and finish my LS beats them all. (Now road-feel and handling is another story for another time.) So when a company has spent a billion $ or so and had 2000 engineers investing 20 years developing the state-of-the-art in terms of comfort, ride, quiet, etc. I'm just not interested in lowering the suspension, eliminating sidewalls, changing wheel geometry, offset, etc. and compromising the very things I bought my car to do.
BUT- if I had bought my LS for it's STYLING, then I can see making significant changes if you believe it improves the looks: bigger wheels, lowered stance, etc. But I read all the reports and can't help but note that every single one says, "it certainly doesn't ride like stock, but it's not too bad" or something similar. In other words- "my new $80k LS460 now rides like a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis- but I like it this way." Ummm, no- not me.
I just don't figure I can improve on the developmental work, wind tunnel testing and engineering that Lexus put into this car if my goal is a smooth, quiet, comfortable ride.
Looks? Performance? Styling? Personalization? Those are all quite different.
So to summarize (FINALLY!
)...
For those who bought it for comfort and ride- most modifications are a significant step backwards.
For those who bought it for styling, ego, performance or any other reason- mods are subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder so go for it!!
My 2¢,
Steve
I tend to modify many of my cars: C6 Vette got wheels, tires, cold air, Bassani exhaust. My Porsches got several tweeks. My Shelby Mustang got all sorts of mods. My Jeep Wrangler has a 5.3L Gen III Chevy V8 with 460LE transmission, lift, tires, wheels, bumpers, axles, winch, lights and more. So CLEARLY I'm not opposed to reverse engineering!
But my luxo-rides? Not so much. I've done nothing with my LS460 except tint the glass. I'll probably replace the tires with Michelins one of these days, though the stock tires have only 12k on them. And while I'm at it I MAY change out the wheels but if so it won't be for 22" wheels and rubber band tires. They'll be factory size, width and offset. Why? Well- for me the ride degrades considerably and to be honest, as an "old geezer" I just don't "get" the look of rubber band tires. I see lime-gold metalflake '83 Impalas with gold 24" wheels and 1" sidewalls and I scratch my head. While 22"s on an LS460 aren't quite the same- there *IS* a family resemblance!
I think it depends a bit on WHY you bought an LS, regardless of your age.
I bought mine because I really do believe it's at or certainly near the top of the pecking order for incredibly well engineered and flawlessly assembled touring machines. I've owned Mercedes and BMW's and frankly in terms of comfort, fit and finish my LS beats them all. (Now road-feel and handling is another story for another time.) So when a company has spent a billion $ or so and had 2000 engineers investing 20 years developing the state-of-the-art in terms of comfort, ride, quiet, etc. I'm just not interested in lowering the suspension, eliminating sidewalls, changing wheel geometry, offset, etc. and compromising the very things I bought my car to do.
BUT- if I had bought my LS for it's STYLING, then I can see making significant changes if you believe it improves the looks: bigger wheels, lowered stance, etc. But I read all the reports and can't help but note that every single one says, "it certainly doesn't ride like stock, but it's not too bad" or something similar. In other words- "my new $80k LS460 now rides like a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis- but I like it this way." Ummm, no- not me.
I just don't figure I can improve on the developmental work, wind tunnel testing and engineering that Lexus put into this car if my goal is a smooth, quiet, comfortable ride.
Looks? Performance? Styling? Personalization? Those are all quite different.
So to summarize (FINALLY!
)...For those who bought it for comfort and ride- most modifications are a significant step backwards.
For those who bought it for styling, ego, performance or any other reason- mods are subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder so go for it!!
My 2¢,
Steve