Spending money on a nice house or a good education serves more of a purpose than on car parts. JMO.
Word to that.
A house builds equity. A car depreciates.
I understand if you're doing this a business, you don't have to worry about the car value. You install equipment, charge for labor, and move onto the next one.
I don't subscribe to threads. If you've got something to say to me, PM.
yes, I know investing 15k dollars (no labor included in that price.. because I've done _all_ the work myself) into a Protege5 is a bit ludicrous to some, but the car is a blast to drive and no new car compares (they've all gotten too heavy) to the dynamics of driving this car..
yes I know it adds no value to the car and such, but the excessive maintenance on the car doesn't hurt... the car looks positively new with 90k miles on it, inside and out
..plus it's a hobby in another way in that I use the car for racing.. autocross and track days are so fun!
yes, I know investing 15k dollars (no labor included in that price.. because I've done _all_ the work myself) into a Protege5 is a bit ludicrous to some, but the car is a blast to drive and no new car compares (they've all gotten too heavy) to the dynamics of driving this car..
yes I know it adds no value to the car and such, but the excessive maintenance on the car doesn't hurt... the car looks positively new with 90k miles on it, inside and out
..plus it's a hobby in another way in that I use the car for racing.. autocross and track days are so fun!
You spent of $15k in prepping your Mazda for auto-x!? Do you compete at a national level?
The P5 is a fun car (I had one.. search on the forums and you'll find pics!), but I don't know if I'd throw $15k on it... How well do you do in that car?
I love my car plus have a house due to my education..its a 1970 Lincoln continental mark III with hydraulics four punp setup with twelve batteries...I love working on it rather be in the garage then the house and going to shows is a blast...knocking someone on there hobby because you don't find it your niche is not right ,that's different then simply stating you would rather spend your money on a house...me I have a house car and provide for my family.
Not really. I dont see a point. I personally find car 'modding' ridiculously excessive.
That's because you're not a car enthusiast like we are, we're passionate about modding our cars, it's our hobby. Car modding is expensive when we are working on euro cars, domestic and JDM are cheaper to mod therefore cost is relative. I mod my car to stand out from all the other stock models as mine. It is an extension of my artistic endeavor and I enjoy admiring it as well.
That's because you're not a car enthusiast like we are, we're passionate about modding our cars, it's our hobby. Car modding is expensive when we are working on euro cars, domestic and JDM are cheaper to mod therefore cost is relative. I mod my car to stand out from all the other stock models as mine. It is an extension of my artistic endeavor and I enjoy admiring it as well.
That's just silly, you don't have to mod a car in order to be a car enthusiast.
The P5 is a fun car (I had one.. search on the forums and you'll find pics!), but I don't know if I'd throw $15k on it... How well do you do in that car?
really only 5-6k of that was spent for 'race prep' stuff
I spend 3k on engine work (cams, ecu, underdrive pulley, header, midpipe (catted), catback, full 95 durometer crazy motor mount set, intake) to get from the 100whp stock to.. maybe 120whp --the mods weren't at the time meant just for race use, hence slapping me into street modified (.. I know at least the cams put me in SM), then some weight reduction (fiber images carbon fiber hood + paint (yay paint adding weight lol) which cost $2000 with paint --ok that was just for looks lol
then spent over 4 grand turboing the car (included things like a wideband, boost, oil pressure, and egt gauges, a dual ball bearing turbo, callaway manifold, front mount intercooler, etc)
I probably have ~1 grand in the suspension.. but it's nothing very special (or adjustable), just s-techs, tokico HPs (koni has no love for Proteges), poly bushings for most of the front and rear suspension, racing beat rear sway bar, strengthened endlinks.
then wheels/tires.. some 17x7 wheels that are UNDER 16lbs a piece.. that I scored for $475 shipped for the set.. deal of a lifetime, and some potenza re750s --I don't even have a separate wheel/tire set for autocross, maybe next season
.. and some audio work (another 1500 or so)
crap adds up crazy fast.. it's sorta an addiction :P
And no, I don't do well in autocross. I need a limited slip.. very badly. 200+whp funneled through my current 205-width tyres = I post worse times than before I turboed the car.
Realistically, if I wanted to be competitive with my Protege5, I would have competed in stock class. My car was already modded into SM before I even started autocrossing, so it was too late. I just do it because it's a blast!
^^So you are one of those guys that just cares about having fun... Me too
You see that a lot where guys throw on a few mods and start to auto-x only to find out they in a higher class. Some guys just throw on a blow-off valve on a stock car and they have to run SM (although they may have changed that).
Ok, you're right, wrong terminology, I should have said you're not as fanatical about cars as we are.
Or it just means you like modding cars
I am willing to bet Clarkson from Top Gear is a bigger car enthusiast than anyone to have typed howardforums.com in their browser and here is what he thinks about us and modifying: http://www.topgear.com/content/featu...ries/15/1.html
Now don't think I am sour on modifying cars. I have modded in the past but found it to be quite fruitless. Different strokes for different folks, just because you need to "express yourself" by putting a hood scoop on a car doesn't make you more (or less) of an enthusiast than someone else. Than are plenty of ways to enjoy cars, not just being the cookie cutter guy (or girl) that has to be original like everyone else and mod their car.
Think of it as a canvas by which we express our art, oh and btw, I drive a euro car, no hood scoop or any of that juvenile garbage. Modding is no different than fashion, some people are satisfied with a Walmart or Target wardrobe while others prefer something more elegant and upscale from Neiman Marcus or eluxury.com. I mod my car to improve upon the stock aesthetics as well as the performance threshold, no stock car is absolutely perfect in every way, especially non-exotics. There's always a weak link on a stock car that could use some improvement.
My dream car is Porsche's 997 GT3 and eventhough I think it's the epitome of perfection, if I had one I'd definitely upgrade the wheels.
Originally Posted by perzbenz
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