Why do we mod?

[chriskarel]

Ok gang, I happened upon my 01 Accord by accident. I really wanted a 7th Gen v6 coupe w a man tran, but they are nearly impossible to find. So I settled for my lil 4-cyl auto tranny. I mean, I love her. It's my first car that I ever bought with my own money and all that nostalgic ****, but it's so damn slow. It has a VTEC and I have a complete I/H/E setup, but it is what it is. I see peeps talking on here that IHE only does a little, and the only way to gain power is with a tranny swap and turbo. Ok, but then she isn't the car I bought at all anymore, is she? Besides, it's a great DD and I don't want to be tearing up the engine block and experimenting with my only car. I got bills!!

Long story short, why do we do it? I'm speaking mostly to the 4 cyl crowd here, folks. We openly admit that we'll never be fast, so why spend the dough? Why not get an STi or an EVO or at least a Civic Si? My excuse is that I'm stuck with a car payment for another year or so, and I want to make her as respectable as I can while I have no choice but to keep her. But that's a **** reason. We're supposed to love our cars, right? Somebody talk me down...

 

[dcmystery21]

Well, with most cars (sports cars aside), they arent going to be fast in their stock form. Most cars require a lot of money to become fast. The SI for example, requires a good bit of money to become as stout as some of the cars that you see.

Now as far as me modding my (our) car(s), I do it because I wanted a reliable car that I can still do the usual mods to. I have only seen 1 or 2 modded 6gens and am quite glad that I dont have an eg, s13/14, or any other extremely played out car. Our cars come good looking from the factory and i'm just doing the little touches to make it that much more unique.

Now my car isnt fast. At all. But my car can out-handle most egs, etc, that I have driven. And to finalize this, 1 or 2 grand can give you a nice motor swap with a small turbo setup to stomp on the hondas that you see driving around. I dont know if I answered your question, but im pretty much answering the title. For me at least.

Be proud with what you have. If you dont like it, sell it. Then go grab that SI that thousands of people have already. You will not be the first, and definately not the last.

 

[lifelongbread]

Well, with most cars (sports cars aside), they arent going to be fast in their stock form. Most cars require a lot of money to become fast. The SI for example, requires a good bit of money to become as stout as some of the cars that you see.

Now as far as me modding my (our) car(s), I do it because I wanted a reliable car that I can still do the usual mods to. I have only seen 1 or 2 modded 6gens and am quite glad that I dont have an eg, s13/14, or any other extremely played out car. Our cars come good looking from the factory and i'm just doing the little touches to make it that much more unique.

Now my car isnt fast. At all. But my car can out-handle most egs, etc, that I have driven. And to finalize this, 1 or 2 grand can give you a nice motor swap with a small turbo setup to stomp on the hondas that you see driving around. I dont know if I answered your question, but im pretty much answering the title. For me at least.

Be proud with what you have. If you dont like it, sell it. Then go grab that SI that thousands of people have already. You will not be the first, and definately not the last.

words of wisdom... for me it was i had a choice between a 1999 caviler or my 1998 honda accord and second i saw the accord i feel in love! and once i have some extra cash i want to make it unique as posted above. anybody can drive a 6th gen accord but how many of them do you see modded?

 

[01ULEVTW]

Ok gang, I happened upon my 01 Accord by accident. I really wanted a 7th Gen v6 coupe w a man tran, but they are nearly impossible to find. So I settled for my lil 4-cyl auto tranny. I mean, I love her. It's my first car that I ever bought with my own money and all that nostalgic ****, but it's so damn slow. It has a VTEC and I have a complete I/H/E setup, but it is what it is. I see peeps talking on here that IHE only does a little, and the only way to gain power is with a tranny swap and turbo. Ok, but then she isn't the car I bought at all anymore, is she? Besides, it's a great DD and I don't want to be tearing up the engine block and experimenting with my only car. I got bills!!

Long story short, why do we do it? I'm speaking mostly to the 4 cyl crowd here, folks. We openly admit that we'll never be fast, so why spend the dough? Why not get an STi or an EVO or at least a Civic Si? My excuse is that I'm stuck with a car payment for another year or so, and I want to make her as respectable as I can while I have no choice but to keep her. But that's a **** reason. We're supposed to love our cars, right? Somebody talk me down...

Main reason i bought this car was the low insurance cost (compared to an evo or sti), its fairly safe, and fairly "reliable". If this car lasts me at least 5 years, long enough for me to be done with all my school, i'll be happy. I never saw the point in cars like the sti or evo, but hey, everyone has their own preferences, right? I've got my own boy-racer dreams (i think its fair to presume most men do at some point in their life) but for now, the Accord is the practical choice, which is what i need if i'm going to afford a car at this point in my life.

EDIT: I actually had I/H/E at one point, but the intake/exhaust had to go. It just made casual driving so ridiculous, i couldn't stand the loudness/droning anymore. I spent money on quality **** too (Apexi and AEM), it just wore out its welcome and i realized i was turning the Accord into something impractical, which isn't what i intended to do from the beginning.

 

[likeawp]

You're modding the car the wrong way. I/H/E isn't mandatory, in fact they're not necessary at all for a 4cyl automatic.

These are the mods you should be looking at:

Coilovers
Forged Wheels
Performance Tires: example: Toyo T1R, Falken Azenis, BFG T/A KDW, etc.
Performance Brake Pads: a lot of people use Hawks HPS (me too, I love them)
Weight Reduction
Bigger Rear Sway Bar


All these mods will cost around $1600 to $2000 if you shop smartly, if not they can cost a lot more. They won't make the car fast, but they will make the car fun to drive daily. The Accord is a very sluggish car in stock form, these mods will make it feel sporty and adaptive. You also swap the motor and transmission to H22 or other alternatives thats out there. I didn't get into motor swapping/turbo because its too costly for my budget, and that if mechanical problems were to happen, I'm not technically knowledgeable enough to deal with them efficiently. I would have to rely on shops at all times and I don't want that.


Why do I mod? I understand that having fun with an Accord is a lot less extreme than with an EVO or STi. The Accord is a very reliable car. It saves money, gets great mileage, and looks great for a 10 years old car. It's not fast but getting it to be fast is not an affordable feat for everyone.


BUT!!!....You can disregard all I have said, sell the Accord, go buy an EVO/STi and call it a day lol

 

[meximan16]

come on it's our "thing" lol i love my car, and what do you do to things your love? you spend money on them one way or another.i bought an intake a while back when i didn't know anything, but never a header or exhaust. i never say the point. exhausts get annoying for a dd and as for my car, i rather just go for looks unless i get the money for boost. gets the beaches that way

 

[BadgerType]

its safer than drugs

 

[meximan16]

its safer than drugs

lol

 

[Mr.Hollow]

well i have a v6, granted its not fast, but then again its not slow... i don't intend to do any engine modifications, because i feel that the v6 has enough power(for me personally), so i feel that the suspension and handling is of more significant importance.

I've come to realize that it takes a lot of money to make a slow car fast, so my intentions are to modify the car to my aesthetic liking and have fun with it... in 2-3 years when im out of college, you'll be damn sure i'll be looking for evo 7or 8 to buy and build into my track car.

 

[RedRyder]

Sole reason? I absolutely canNOT stand to drive a car that looks exactly the same as someone else's. I want my car to be my own, and not just another generic make/model/year on the road.

I love the way 6thgen coupes look. There is no other car out there that I think looks better. There is one that is equal, but it will be my next car anyway so it doesn't count. I mod it to make up for the small compromises it has.

I would recommend you swap the transmission, it will double the fun. Ask anyone here.