I don't understand stock vehicles

[flatisflat]

As in, keeping them stock.
Now, I haven't had a new car in forever, nor a factory warranty that I wasn't bothered about undoing to a degree, so that likely plays a very big part in this.
But a conversation I've had on multiple occasions with my parents is about a realistic "dream car", and no matter what I choose, I always follow it up with, "and then I would modify it" and that always throws them for a little bit of a loop.
Then there's my MINI, which is supposed to be my "DD that I don't tinker with so as to keep it reliable and all that yadda yadda", but alas here's its mod list:

What are y'alls thoughts to modifying your vehicles? Everything's fair game? No touchy?

[Just Jeepin']

I never even considered modifying any of my vehicles before I bought my LJ. Literally never thought about it.

Wranglers, of course, are practically made to be modified, so that got me rolling, but now that I have my WJ and it's much less modular I'm not quite sure what to do with it.

[pos_camaro]

@flatisflat The car that I rely on to get me to work is not going to be modified. Modifying usually means less comfortable and less reliable which is not good for a daily driver. The project car is where the modifications go. If I fuck that up it’s no big deal.

[Saracen]

I always plan to modify cars, but never end up doing nearly as much as I intend to.

The 997 was the only not-stock car I ever purchased, but it was very tastefully done with TechArt goodies, and the car was so well equipped already there wasn't anything to really do short of super expensive work (4 liter rebuild, etc)

The truck is my project, and it's by far the vehicle I've done the most work to. Between repairs and upgrades I don't want to think about how much I've spent on it..

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I guess I lead a mundane existence as I'm not much of a pavement or off-pavement recreationalist/enthusiast, so mods really have no appeal for me, personally or financially. Not much to mod on a RWD truck I use for truck stuff, nor do I want to mess with my plush and increasingly obsolete cruiser.

[spacekraken]

@flatisflat depends on the limit of modding? I threw a bunch of small things at my car within a month or two of buying. Mudflaps and allweather tires for function. Also debadged it, yellow fog lights, couple other little cosmetic bits. I'd like to eventually do MOAR POWER since it's a super tuneable engine, but a big reason for the car was a 72K warranty so that'll have to wait for a while probably.

[smobgirl]

I wanted to MOAR POWER the Abarth but it probably would’ve just bricked itself sooner. I want to MOAR STOPPING POWER the van and add some more things that are useful for camping but that’s about it, because it needs to run as long as possible for as cheap as possible.

[Huzer]

I like doing little things. I tend to stay mild with dds, but am willing to dig a little deeper on a project.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

I have done a number of small mostly reversible mods and generally made my car as well laid out as I want it to be. I installed some LED interior mood lighting, routed tons of cables under the expensive Weathertec floor mats so everything is hidden and all my chargers etc are exactly in the right spot. I repainted the steel wheels to be black again and if I were planning on keeping it I'd consider used OEM wheels when it's time for new tires. I've thought about fog light kits too and I'd probably have bought one if I was planning on keeping it. I wouldn't touch anything mechanical though because that's not the point of the car. I'm open to modding but I prefer to keep things on the subtle side.

[beefchips]

@flatisflat Personally I'll modify to rectify a shortcoming that I feel impacts my drive. So like, I'm not really using all 330 of my car's hp on the regular, so swapping the intakes to get 10hp more on top of that doesn't really make sense to me. But, if I try to do something and the car fails, I'll tackle it. Like I discovered quickly that I needed more storage on my KLR for camping. Or that I now need to wire in an aux cable on my car to get spotify through the 2006-CD-only stereo. So I guess, mild modding for increased usability!

[flatisflat]

@just-jeepin yeah, I've found that I'm so fond of modding vehicles that a non-existent aftermarket can really dull the appeal of a potential 'next car'.

[flatisflat]

@smobgirl yeah, looking at my own mod list and a number of them are actually in-line with trying to make small improvements where I felt the car was coming up a bit short (chassis stiffening; oil catch can to negate carbon build-up; a spare tire; multi-gauge to keep track of engine vitals, etc.)
And I've totally been eyeballing some rooftop tents or ways to outfit the MINI so I can more comfortably sleep in it for a night or two. Camper all the things!

[flatisflat]

@whoistheleader Totally: longevity with a vehicle absolutely weighs on the "mod it or not" scale.

[flatisflat]

@beefchips Absolutely. I feel that sort of mindset drives most of my modifications. No OEM car is perfect.

[Snuze]

Its entirely about value proposition for me.

First, I wont sink money into a "lost cause" platform. For example, I had a Cobalt LS that I kept stock because why would I mod that? It was a base model car, if I wanted to go fast, I would have bought something different.

Next is intended usage. My street cars, at most, get light mods - intake, exhaust, tunes, wheels, light suspension work. Tweaking is fun, a little more performance is fun, but I've never had the luxury until recently of multiple cars. Everything I owned in the past had to be a reliable daily so I didn’t want to go too deep.

Finally, its return on investment. Is the extra speed or coolness worth the money? For example, on the Camaro I just bought, I love the way the factory exhaust sounds and the car makes plenty of power. On near stock cars, changing out the exhaust nets about 20 HP total, and most of that has been proven to be from removing the cats. So why spend $1k+ on headers and a fancy exhaust when it doesn't do much for me (until I port the heads and put a cam in it)?

[Mark Tucker]

My feelings are:

1. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
2. If it breaks, and can be fixed better with non-standard parts, you're a fool not to.

But I honestly couldn't care less about "moar power." I just don't care about going faster enough to bother. I'd rather just use what's there...

[Exage03040]

I had the full Akra on the bike before it was even in model year let alone out of warranty.
#bigboypants

[SilentbutnotreallyDeadly]

@flatisflat none of our vehicles are in OEM condition but they were modified only as needs must and mostly because OEM stuff failed.

All three have been lifted due to new suspensions. All three have bull bars. Two have new stereos because the cassette tape players snuffed it (haven't changed the one in the Forester cause the radio still works). Power in all of them is sufficient - improvements are possible but none of them are drivers cars and most reduce durability, efficiency or both. General principal is that if something breaks then use OEM quality parts or better to replace it...

[derp]

I intended to have a daily driver that I wouldn't modify, but was still fun to drive, so I got a civic SI.

Fully adjustable suspension including shocks, springs, amd control arms, plus 2 sets of wheels and tires (in addition to stock) later, and I had failed. I ended up getting a pickup truck, because surely I won't want to mod that.

LED headlight conversion, yellow fogs, full set of bilsteins, different tires, and now a full bedside rack system later.... I failed again.

I just figure I'm unable to leave anything stock. I've at this point accepted it. Truck will get mild "broverland" mods so it's more useable when I go adventuring, but it's staying stock ride height, stock wheels, and I probably won't touch the engine. It's more upgrades, usability things, and recovery gear. Shouldn't hurt the reliability in any way.

The go fast mods will stay on the track car. And the supra.

[atfsgeoff]

Not all modifications will reduce reliability. Many of the mods i do to my cars are to improve reliability by upgrading various components that have proven to be deficient from the OEM.

There are also functional modifications which should have no effect on reliability, like limited slip differentials or jacking rails.

I'd also argue that a proper big brake kit modification can only be a net positive.

[chan]

It all depends on the car, but I tend to skew towards the stock end of the spectrum. My former F355 had the most aftermarket parts of all my cars, but most of them were to improve reliability and not to actually change the driving experience.

[annoying_salman]

I tend to swap car parts that are close to or already broken with better aftermarket one if possible, or to make it more comfortable and safer to drive. For example:

• Swapping the head lamp assembly with LED lights, as the head lamp use the most electricity while borderline useless in illuminating the road. This is a short time remedy, as ideally the entire wiring harness needs to be replaced as it's still original.
• Changing the front dampers from OEM to Old Man Emu Nitrochargers. The front dampers are still original and sagged, thus needed to be replaced. I considered this as a treat for my car, as the price difference is not small. I also wanted to experience whether it will make any improvement compared with the OEM one.
• Changing the steering damper with a slightly thicker one compared with the one it originally came from the factory.
• Changing the indicator and brake bulb with LED, to increase its conspicuity under the harsh sunlight. Moreover, the lamp housing in my car is small compared with newer cars.
• The only "unnecessary" mod my father did to my car was ordering a custom made bracket for CHMSL à la Jeep Wrangler with brake housing lamp from Kawasaki KLX.
• I wanted to swap the front rotor discs with ventilated one – right now it has solid disc brakes, but I don't know if the stock calipers can accommodate the ventilated rotors.

I see Cravenspeed Oil Dipstick on your list. Can you explain more about that? I don't know that there are aftermarket oil dipsticks – apart to replace your original dipstick if it's broken.

As for the rest of the list I think it's a reasonable mod for your car, especially as Mini is a sporty car to drive and what you have done are – I think – to make it even more communicative towards the driver.

[6MT_FTW]

@flatisflat I've been doing a few mods to the Mazda5, but they mostly consist of adding factory parts that I didn't get when I bought the poverty-spec model, the one I had to buy to get the 6MT. This has included things like the better stereo with the 6-disc changer (but the same discs have been in there for 5 years...), window tinting, leather steering wheel, leather parking brake handle, leather shift knob (a fancy one from an RX8), Bluetooth, etc.

On past cars, especially the BMWs, I did lots of performance mods, mostly suspension with a few power enhancements. The additional power really wasn't all that noticeable, and the suspension mods were quite uncomfortable. For the 3-series it was OK because that was being turned into an autocrosser. The 5-series looked great, all lowered with low-profile tires, but it was brutal.

As I've gotten older I've learned to appreciate taller sidewalls and decent load carrying capacity. I don't really zip around like I did in the Porsche or the scaryfast Rabbit Pickup I once had, so my modifications these days are limited to comfort and convenience items. I might change the wheels if I can find the Mazda6 wheels I like at a reasonable price, but I'll stick with the stock 16" size. Comfortable tires that are affordable are a wonderful thing, something that it took me a few decades to appreciate.

[facw]

@flatisflat Nothing much for me. On a new car, I don't want to do anything that will undermine the warranty. On an older car, these upgrades seem very expensive compared to the value of the car, especially if the stock components are working well. If something fails, I might go a little fancier (especially if I'm doing work myself), but it doesn't make sense to me to spend big money for marginal improvements. On my current car, the only better than OEM parts I've installed are some Bilstein shocks and struts, steel braided brake hoses (they were about the same price as rubber, so they may actually be crap), a Grom bluetooth adapter, and my dashcam.

[CoolMinivan.......Nobody]

@flatisflat I'm with you.
I can't leave anything alone. I always find something about every vehicle I own that isn't quite what I want it to be, then the mods start to eliminate the weakness.

My 2018 has the "short" list so far, it started with simple cosmetics, then I've started tackling some performance deficiencies. Next it'll be upgrading suspension/brakes/wheels.

My 94 has the "long" list with pretty much everything on it being upgraded, swapped, or modified.