View Full Version : Anyone into modding cars?
Graeme*Kustom*
08-12-2002, 15:29
A trend that was around long before we started cutting holes in PCs - surely there must be a lot of you out there with as much an interest in making cars faster / look better / sound better ... anyone got any interesting stories or projects to show?
one of my m8s is. he goes to cruises ect... even had his car on the BBC (everywhere south of birmingham). shame his car is a old cav. see his site (http://www.j-type.co.uk)
wizbongre
08-12-2002, 17:52
Have a look here (http://www.garethryan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/) and go to the photos section to see my motor.
Apologies in advance for the crap website - it was just somewhere easy for me to chuck a few piccies into! I won't bore people with the details/spec of the car - unless anyone wants to know?
In short it is a 1991 Nissan Pulsar GTi-R (Jap import)
Graeme*Kustom*
08-12-2002, 18:33
My last project (my first car!) , transformed a dinky little Citroen AX Debut into... well an AX Debut that looked a bit sweeter !
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/graeme/ax22-4.jpg (how it started, this is another one, but looks identical)
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/graeme/side.jpg
I really miss that car, but I need to make a sequel now !
Buying a silver Saxo VTR very soon. I have plans to mod it, I'll show some pics if you want :)
Originally posted by Graeme*Kustom* I really miss that car [/B]
I'm not surprised Graeme, you did make it into a great looking car. If I'd had the money I would have bought it, even if it meant a trip from cardiff to Ayr by train!!:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
Any plans for your new one?
Schvetty
09-12-2002, 14:49
my mate modded his car
nova 1.4sr with calibra 2liter turbo engine in it 250bhp
over 150mph
purple pearl colours
wizbongre there are a few gtir owners over on the skyline board have a peek one day if you havent already m8
www.gtr.co.uk
Only mods on mine is a bigger noisey exhaust and a better air filter - next mod is to get the turbo steeled up to increase the boost.
I dont bother with the looks mods Im afraid as I prefer to be subtle!
Graeme*Kustom*
09-12-2002, 19:32
Novas are ugly
If it's a got a 2.0 engine in it, you probably see it for that long tho ;)
Pffffft! :) Yea, coz the vibrations will cause the rust to disintegrate and it will fall to pieces :)
wizbongre
09-12-2002, 20:26
Originally posted by stormuk
wizbongre there are a few gtir owners over on the skyline board have a peek one day if you havent already m8
www.gtr.co.uk
Only mods on mine is a bigger noisey exhaust and a better air filter - next mod is to get the turbo steeled up to increase the boost.
I dont bother with the looks mods Im afraid as I prefer to be subtle!
I take it you have a Skyline then? GTR or GTS? I keep saying I will save for a nice R33 GTR but end up spending money on computers and other stuff (like my car!) instead. Out of interest, where do you take the car to be worked on?
For infomation (because I can be bothered to post the spec now, not like yesterday when I was being lazy!) my car has the following:-
HKS Iridium spark plugs, APEXi Super Blow off valve, APEXi S-AFC, boost set to 1bar, R33 Skyline front mount, Mongoose de-cat exhaust, Starbo turbo-timer, APEXi Super Intake, HKS organic clucth cover, Leda coilovers, Tein pillow balls front and rear, NISMO front upper strut brace, Cusco rear upper strut brace, Cusco front lower 4-point brace, Whiteline rear adjustable antiroll bar. Unfortunately I still haven't got round to sorting the brakes!
I take it you are intending to turn your boost up to 1bar with the steel internals on the turbos? I haven't bothered with the looks of mine either - I reckon Skylines and GTi-R's look good enough as is!
Oh, and to all the non-car people here - yes, the Japanese do know how to come up with stupid names for their car products!!
I have to wonder about those stats 250bhp? any proof to back that up seeing the engine alone wont produce that!
Im only just over 250 with a 2.5 turbo gts
Fireblade
09-12-2002, 20:36
and I'm 'only' 276bhp (max) wi' a Mitsubishi twin-turbo V6! Good goin' if he's managed it tho' :p
wizbongre
09-12-2002, 20:39
Have to agree with Storm. A friend has just got rid of his Nova with the NA 2.0l engine transplant. That was easily capable of 150+ but only had about 170bhp at the flywheel. The reason they are fast is simply down to power to weight ratio. Nova 2.0l owners are notorious for overstating power outputs - yet continuously down at Santa Pod they trail behind other cars with supposedly lower power outputs.
After being in the 2.0l Nova I can understand why - they feel like sloppy do-do off a titanium shovel because they are quite small and light, and don't exactly have great sound proofing. Getting 250bhp out of a 2.0l turbo car is quite difficult without it getting quite temperamental And at the end of the day I wouldn't want to be in a Nova with that sort of power! Definitely not safe.
wizbongre yeah a GTS lots of extra bits standard on mine so not alot to add really!!
my next one - wife permitting will be a GTT not too keen on the running costs of a GTR still even now.
I use Rod Bell up near Wigan
Hmm maybe not 1 bar unless I get a boost control more like .9 full time just to be on the safe side - depends on what Rod thinks really!
Opps when I say only 250 I do sorta meet 500+ peeps so always think of mine as a baby! more godzuki though a GTS is 80 kilos lighter so Id like to see mine against a standard GTR but then finding one is the problem :)
My Integra Type R up at Knockhill. :cool:
http://www.btinternet.com/~mil1401/Pix/knockhill.jpg
What you can`t see in the picture is the smoke that was pouring off the brakes.
I`m planning to upgrade the brakes and put in EBC Green Stuff pads and Honda NSX calipers.
There are not many written-off NSX`s around, so the calipers will have to be new, so it`s gonna cost over £1,200. :eek:
I also plan to fit an Apexi VTEC Controller, which will alter the VTEC settings.
Currently, VTEC kicks in at 6,000 RPM and continues to 8,600 RPM.
The controller will increase the range to 4,500 RPM to 9,300 RPM.
Graeme*Kustom*
19-01-2003, 14:26
well, I finally got round to changing my wheels - 15s just looked a little bit small on the car :)
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/graeme/xsara2.jpg
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/graeme/xsara3.jpg
The BK Racing 604s look similar to the OZ SuperT's I used to have, but there's a little bit of extra detail on them and I'm happy with the result - I think the multi-spokes just suit the car perfect !
I was slightly tempted to get it lowered slightly, but I've decided against it as I do need the car to carry stuff about sometimes and as much as I loved my last car which was lowered 55-60mm , it was a real pain not being able to take a full complement of passengers !
Next mod - a new back bumper, new grill and get the black bits on the bumpers painted up...
cracking phrase you use there, "full compliment of passengers" you sound like the captain of the QE2, it might look like a ferry, but no need to speak about it as if it's one....
< starts running........ fast >
yeah lowering is a pain lowerd my cavy 60mm on 15s i go thro shookers like u would think
plus i have tools in the boot (u never know when ur goin to brake down)
and when i have 2 adults in the back my tyres tend to scrub:mad:
Graeme*Kustom*
19-01-2003, 16:54
I could only have one passenger in the back of my AX, and they had to be small :)
lol.. yeah i dont like goin to tesco with the wife she fills the boot up with shoppin and i scrap out the car park
master baits
20-01-2003, 00:47
kill novas and corsa , round these parts they are known as "merchant banker wagons" , cokney translator offline.
another thing i hate is the oom oom oom from a mile away , usually coming from afforementioned novaas and corsas.
yeah the bass boys last year down the shore they where crusin up and down the strip with the bass bangin out ther cars so i had to put some RAMMSTEIN on
well lets say i get respect now cus they think iam a tatooed freek
ZStation
26-01-2003, 17:34
Graham, your VTR Xsara is the only one I've ever seen. Citroen are few and far between over here in Norn Irun - the usual compliment of Saxos and Xantias, and a few C5s. Xsara seem limited to a small number of the HDi model.
That dark green really suits the Xsara - it's the same colour my 106 was, which looked damned good too. Shame the 106 failed miserably so many times in the 18 months I had it.
Sold it, losing £2495 in 18 months, and bought an Astra 1.6 8v Club. Not remotely fast, but all the mod-cons including air-con which is a major bonus. :)
Graeme*Kustom*
26-01-2003, 17:57
The 2 door Xsara's are rare pretty much anywhere you go - but I had seen the WRC rally car , thought it looked great , and fancied one of the road-going models (although obviously not to the same spec!)
I remember when I was looking, could only ever see 4 or 5 of them for sale in Scotland at any one time on autotrader.co.uk ... saw the car that became mine advertised by a local dealer and couldn't resist it :) It's nice to have a car that's a little bit rare, as I've only ever seen a couple of them before !
There's a 'WRC' bodykit for the car
here (http://www.lefrancaisconnection.com/cituning/xsara.htm) so I'm tempted to get the bumpers / spoiler / grill changed and painted up next month...
When does it end :)
Da_Rebel
28-01-2003, 12:56
Bought a Renault Clio last year and I'm planning to start modding it. However, being a student, alloys and some small cosmetic changes are all I can afford at the mo. Anyone got any ideas for what I can do (it is the Mk I Clio, green).
Graeme*Kustom*
28-01-2003, 19:29
dude, buy the set of OZ SuperT 15" Alloys I'm selling :)
£275 inc good tyres, they look good on clio's ! (same style as that new fast clio, the 172 I think it's called?)
Da_Rebel
28-01-2003, 19:51
Sounds good, but I'm currently lookin at a set of TSW sportlines on the net. They are only 14" but they are currently £50 + £25 for delivery. The auction ends on Friday. If i don't win, I will consider it. U got any pix of them?
Fireblade
28-01-2003, 20:59
See this thread (http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4813) ;)
You really need to lower that Xsara, its riding like a vitara. If you stiffen the springs at the same time as lowering it, you shouldnt have any problems with scrubbing, as long as you only do a 30mm drop or so.
Dont know much about the suspension on the Xsara, if its coils all round, it should be trivial, if you have torsion bars at the back, things get a lot harder, as Ive found out!
Graeme*Kustom*
29-01-2003, 22:32
not sure what to do.. heard the wheels scrub once with two passengers on the back at standard height, so I'm wary of lowering the car. Sure if you get decent shocks it will stiffen the ride a bit and stop the car bouncing so much, but I really don't want a repeat of the harsh ride from my AX...
I don't think most of the 30mm kits make much difference to the appearance...
I had the AX dropped 35mm and one notch on the torsion bars and it just looked normal, so changed the front springs and dropped the bars another notch so that it was 55mm. Looked amazin, but passengers were a no-no and bumps would knock your teeth out ;)
The other argument for it is that I'd rather not modify the car too much as it hurts the resale value..
but, I'll think about it ;)
What about the insurance Graeme - it'll more than hurt that!!
Graeme*Kustom*
29-01-2003, 22:56
*shudders*
I'm already paying £1500 and I've been driving 3 years without a claim !! :)
I don't suspension bothers them so much, it's engine mods that really hike up premiums
Da_Rebel
30-01-2003, 00:08
Graeme, tell the insurance company that you are modifying the suspension simply to improve comfort or something, not so it handles like a race car, lol and they should be okay. Engine mods are the real killer though, like you said. My premiums won't go up if I get alloys, thank god, but my excess will go up to a whopping £500 cuz I'm only 20 and first year on my own insurance even though I've been driving for 2.5 years. For 1.2 Clio insurance is £1350.
The Pimp
30-01-2003, 00:24
Originally posted by Da_Rebel
For 1.2 Clio insurance is £1350.
I got 2 quotes today for 2 cars and the insurance on them was a lot less than that. One of the cars was a Lotus Carlton & the other was on a Nissan Skyline GT-R R33. I only have 1 years NCB as well.
Must be a killer being a student & trying to insure or buy a car.......
Da_Rebel
30-01-2003, 00:28
It is. Although I think spinning my dad's car on black ice 2 years ago might have something to do with it. They hit me with about £500 extra just because of that. Like I said in the other thread, the only reason I got the car is cuz my Uncle left me some money in his will.
Da_Rebel
30-01-2003, 00:29
Coincidentally, that inheritance stoppe me going bankrupt this past year. Had a £500 overdraft to pay off, God know where the money goes I don't usually buy anything big. Spent £100 on a new CD-RW and USB2 card but thats been the only thing for ages.
Fireblade
30-01-2003, 07:18
Originally posted by Da_Rebel
For 1.2 Clio insurance is £1350
:eek: Why didn't ye get yer old man/old dear t' put it on their insurance... that would've lowered it somewhat!
I did exactly that for my 17yr old son, after he passed his test (first time) just before Xmas. Despite my protestations, he insisted on buying a Corsa 1.4i as his first car, such that insurance companies wouldn't touch him! It's still expensive (as you'd expect for someone who's just passed their test, and chooses a 1.4i as their first car :eek: ), but... by registering the car in my name... wi' him as the named driver, I paid £1,000 (£90 monthly) thru' CIS (Co-op) fer fully comp (£250 excess).
That ain't a bad deal at all t' insure a 17yr old driving a 1.4i fully comp methinks ;) I just gotta keep at 'im t' repay me each month :D
Dead_One
30-01-2003, 08:25
You have to remember, if there is a claim and the insurance company is being particularly anal that day, they could claim that the car is your sons, as the main driver, and not pay out for the claim.
It is difficult to disprove this, especially as they have all the cards...
Plus, that doesn't help him build up any no claims.
I got stung by an insurance comapny once for something similar, and loosing a 10 grand car to save a few hundred in insurance isn't worth it.
If they inspect the car and it has a lot of things they would expect a 17 yr old to have in it, and not an older person, or it is damaged stolen from somewhere such as a college, etc etc.. they will try to use that to avoid paying out, especially if you have a car yourself and therefore have no need of a 2nd car.
The Pimp
30-01-2003, 10:41
Dead One echo's exactly what the CIS rep told me when I tried to get my father to insure my first car for me. his exact words were, "So basically you are asking me to break the law and sell you an insurance policy under false information" as he knew that I would be the only driver of the car (he wasn't stupid as there is no way my father would be wanting to drive around in a lowered, kitted up Renault 5 Turbo). What you may also find on second car policies is that a named driver is only covered Third Party on the car, even though the policy is taken out as Comprehensive (something else to look at).
Herminator
30-01-2003, 13:50
Getting insurance for young drivers is a pain in the ass, I was looking a year ago and even for a crappy old 1 litre car they were quoteing well over a grand if I was the main driver, I wass 19 at the time, never had a crash and have driven regularly since I was 17 in my parents 1.8litre ford focus.
I ended up getting an old 1litre polo and my insurance is through my father, I'm a named driver and I'm building up a no claims bonus, although not as much as being the main driver, I'm still paying about the same as the car is worth and if I crash it will be cheaper to throw the car away than it will be to claim. My father pays considerably less for his insurance on his 3litre Jag S-type, now thats one hell of a fast barge, quite scarey when you look down to the speedo and see 80 when you think you're doing a gentle 60.
I have found tescos to be pretty good, I got a quote of £1100 on my 1.6 309 (im 19 with 0 NCB and one accident), thou they wont touch me for anything fast until im 21 :(
My mates recokon theyre pretty competative as well, one was recently trying to insure his VW Scirocco (group 14), hes 22 and has 1year ncb, CIS offered him £1600 third party, wheras tescos offered £700 fully comp.
Da_Rebel
30-01-2003, 15:34
Nexy year, I was told, my insurance will drop to £700. Reasonable I guess, but still a little higher than I would have liked (by about £699). In response to earlier posts, my Dad didn't wanna risk his NCB, plus I wouldn't get any NCB of my own either. The annoying thing was that I got insured just over a month b4 my B*day so if I'd waited it might've been a bit cheaper, but couldn't keep the car where it was, had to get it on the road, so needed tax and thus, insurance.
Also, driving from Dalry to Cumnock, almost crashed into the back of my Dad's car on the night I got it, lol. Coming down a hill, braked and realised the road was partially flooded from a burst pipe. Stopped about 1.5 feet away (there were temp. traffic lights at the bottom of the hill, hence the reason I had to stop).
Graeme*Kustom*
30-01-2003, 19:58
you're best just to bite the bullet and pay up - the no claims bonus will drive your premium down.
Thing that got me - when you're 17 you can't pay on installments for credit reasons etc ! I paid £900 for TPFT on my 1.0AX back then, and got a letter 2 months letter advising me to 'make alternative arrangements' as the insurer went into liquidation and my premium got stuffed !!
Da_Rebel
30-01-2003, 20:01
Sheesh! Unlucky. Could be worse. I know a few ppl who went to a company for finance to buy their council houses. Within 2 months the company went bust.
Da_Rebel
01-02-2003, 01:10
Should also mention they lost about 2 grand each
Da_Rebel, is that pic Wubbya with a white beard?
Da_Rebel
01-02-2003, 01:46
Yup. Meant to be a cross between wubbya and bin laden
Don't blame me i didn't create it
why do u ask?
No reason really, just spotted the resemblance to wubbya.
thats the only advantage of being OLD you get very Cheap car insurance.
i dont know how you can afford such high insurance costs the insurance must be worth more than some of the cars are worth sometimes.
but still it doesnt deter the idiots down the shore and around town.(mind you i was there once in the days of 100+ down the shore ).the good old days when petrol was half the price it is now.
AH the smell of 4 star petrol ......
but one question i have always wondered with car insurance why does your occupation come into it when i previousley worked in the motor trade for years it was like waving a red flag at a bull to the insurance companies ( is it because i could mod and sort my car myself)? without them knowing!!!!!
WHAT EVER WAY YOU LOOK AT IT car INSURANCE = A TOTAL CON..
i always feel that if you dont claim you get all you years money back in full at the end they have made huge profits out of your cash.
profession seems to make a big difference, when i could list my profession as "Civil Servant", rather than "Student", it was a lot cheaper :(
Graeme*Kustom*
25-02-2003, 19:56
just another way to get money out of you...
to an insurance company, a young mechanic is usually going to be keen to modify their engine for extra performance. An actor or footballer are probably going to be a bit outlandish and probably drive fast etc
And self-employed people are likely to use their car for business, which means more miles therefore more risk.
Any way they can screw more money out of you.
Doesn't make any difference when you come to claim though, they're still not going to make easy no matter what you are :)
http://groups.msn.com/cavyrudeboyz
a link to some pics of my car
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