It Gets Old Fast | Real Life: Modding a Nerf

[Synack]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

I can assume your car is street only?

It gets 3 types of driving:

Street-grandpa
Street-douchebag
Track-moderate

[Slonie]

When I had an incredibly-overspec'd-for-the-street oil cooler on my car, I just covered it with a piece of cardboard* when I wasn't at the track.

(*Did you know a certain 25-row Setrab oil coolers have exactly the same cross-sectional dimensions as a 12-pack of soda?)

[EAGLE5]

Originally Posted by Slonie

When I had an incredibly-overspec'd-for-the-street oil cooler on my car, I just covered it with a piece of cardboard* when I wasn't at the track.

Pure genius, ladies and gents. Pure genius.

[jvatter94]

After reading this thread, it really makes you think about how heavily you want to mod your car. Or, at least it does for me.

[FRSupra]

OP, do I see an s2000 in your garage as well? Be thankful for what you have.

[FRSupra]

Originally Posted by bdbx18

In my day, an Honda engineer once replied to my inquiry about an after-market header that it is ludicrous to think that my OEM NSX header was so poorly designed to restrict the same 15hp I was hoping to regain. Or the second guessing that says the manufacturer with the vast engineering force does not know as much about cost benefits and reliability of additional power.

NSX....you have lived a good life.

[Pbft Leroy]

Be wary of the C6 Z06. The LS7 is known to drop a valve and $15k for a new engine.

[Sideways&Smiling]

OP, is your S modded? If not, why did you not mod that instead?! 400hp + on stock, unopened motor being extremely common...

I'd love to own and add FI to an FRS/BRZ, but.... it's a brand new car. That's a pricey situation to get yourself into when there are so many comparable used cars out there that can be bought and modded for much less $$$...

[naticedog04]

Bottom line... If u cant turn around and look at ur car while walking away and say, "damn, she's sexy, or damn i still love her", you've done something wrong... OP had to find out the hard way.

[Ernie L]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

Never thought of that, I assume I would have to make new lines and place couplers on send and returns?

The solutions range from inexpensive oil cooler covers to aero fitting equipped anodized aluminum thermostat controlled valves.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Derale/259/25719/10002/-1
http://www.dragspecialties.com/produ...oductId=131304
with thermostat
http://www.batinc.net/thermos.htm
motorcycles have been using oil coolers and different methods to control oil flow to them for quite a while.

[1Cor10:23]

Thanks for sharing man. Many others would have just thrown their hands up and put it in the past. I'm very appreciative that you still take the time to post about your mistakes, where most others wouldn't care to admit them. This is my first tuner/mod car and due to posts like these, I'm fairly settled that I'm keeping the car close to stock, with a few bolt ons.

[Dezoris]

Originally Posted by Sideways&Smiling

OP, is your S modded? If not, why did you not mod that instead?! 400hp + on stock, unopened motor being extremely common...

I'd love to own and add FI to an FRS/BRZ, but.... it's a brand new car. That's a pricey situation to get yourself into when there are so many comparable used cars out there that can be bought and modded for much less $$$...

I have owned 3 S2000s and never touched anything on them aside from tires and alignment. I feel the car is damn near perfect, the driver being the biggest variable.

The FRS just never had that visceral feel. It's fun, but the first times on track and autox in stock form with good tires, I was always like,
"Come on, really that's it?"

Originally Posted by naticedog04

Bottom line... If u cant turn around and look at ur car while walking away and say, "damn, she's sexy, or damn i still love her", you've done something wrong... OP had to find out the hard way.

I got over doing that with cars, don't get me wrong, I like seeing it looking all nice but I save my boners for other things like hot fudge sundaes and brown women.

Originally Posted by 1Cor10:23

Thanks for sharing man. Many others would have just thrown their hands up and put it in the past. I'm very appreciative that you still take the time to post about your mistakes, where most others wouldn't care to admit them. This is my first tuner/mod car and due to posts like these, I'm fairly settled that I'm keeping the car close to stock, with a few bolt ons.

This car aint going no where, I will have for 5 years. I am committed to this platform.

Turbowski said why do you put the fuk ups in the videos it makes us look stupid. I told him because it's real. We are relatively successful smart guys and still manage to screw things up.

[FlamingRectumSyndrome]

Originally Posted by naticedog04

Bottom line... If u cant turn around and look at ur car while walking away and say, "damn, she's sexy, or damn i still love her", you've done something wrong...

Not necessarily. I felt the same way about this:


But then I needed to get a small, practical car for commuting. And made the mistake of buying this:


And found out that handling and corner speed are way more important than outright power, even with the added bonus of beauty and classic status. The pretty pony ended up sitting in the garage while I spent my weekends autocrossing and my week days enjoying my back roads commute like I'd never done before.

One thing I learned with both of these cars, and germane, I think, to the conversation, is this: Engineering involves compromises. You trade gains in performance or light weight with losses in reliability or longevity or your bank balance. All cars are the product of engineering decisions, based on the desires of the target customer. So any time you deviate in one area, you may very well raise issues in other areas. I think the OP's post documents this quite nicely. It's just part of the game.

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by Dezoris

It's been over a year and roughly 15k give or take.

For your $15k that you spent, you could have bought a Spec Miata for $5-6k, $1-2k in updates (belts, pads.. maybe tires) and the rest on half a season of road racing. IMHO, it would have been monumentally more rewarding than modifying a street car, especially with the distaste you have displayed for "garage time". Of course this assumes that racing is desirable.

SO WHATS THE POINT?

What is the point?... No seriously. I think this should have been answered before you spent your first dollar. However, usually we don't realize that until after we've spent several thousand of those first dollars.

And the truth is, there is fine print with most parts you are going install.
Some need tuning, others don't fit or just don't do what was intended. Other require maintenance or won't hold up in the cold or salt. Some cost way too much money.

Exactly! Often times an aftermarket company is using a fraction of the budget and talent to try and out-engineer an OEM with a significantly larger budget and talent pool. Not very often are they successful at this.

"But most of all, anytime you spend in the garage installing parts, fixing things or doing anything that keeps you off the road is defeating the purpose of owning this car."

That's the hard truth about modifying.

I feel that it defeats the purpose of owning any daily driver. If I wanted to spend all my time repairing my daily driver or having it repaired I'd own a BMW. Either it's a weekend toy, a project car or a track toy but constantly wrenching on a daily driver sucks.

I went through this about a decade ago. Lots of money in a street car that became a time/money pit and for what? I was tracking it and it was fast but I didn't have a clear goal, a clear reason for the money being spent. Every track day I went to I found a new target to chase that was completely arbitrary. At first it was another Honda, then a Sentra SE-R, then an M3 and so on. I was adding intake manifolds, ecus, straight pipes, stickier rubber, LSD's, big brakes.. Like drag racing an 18 second car. It's pretty cost effective to get it to 15's or 14's but going from 14's to 12's is twice as expensive!

The money pit has no bottom without specific goals.

If I was a 1 car person and I wanted to modify it, knowing what I know now, I would sit down draw up a completion plan. The "plan" will answer these questions: What's my goal? How will I know I'm done and what does finished look like? The rest of it is all about getting there in the easiest, most reliable and cost effective manner.

Another way of asking the question: How do I get "done" reliably, affordably and safely while maximizing enjoyment?

I have applied this approach to my racing pursuits and it has worked out quite well.