What happened to Modified cars?

[killerferret666]

what most want to own day to day changed.

Early 2000's
A mobile phone basic and realitively cheap (£100 or so)
internet connection where you paid per minute
playstation

today;
A smarphone costing several hundreds / expensive contract
A tablet / ipad is wanted
latest console + games + online subscription

thats alot of money difference in the average 18 - 20 yr old guy whos probably a student as well. And of course student costs have risen too.

This combined with the police really cracking down and simply a change in modifying attitude has made the scene much smaller.

[irocfan]

Dave Hedgehog said:

most of us realised that pouring money into modding cars was a total waste, best just to save your dosh and buy an M3

but then you're missing the point of modding

[E36Ross]

Gone are the Max Power Fiestas with 30 speakers and fiberglass body-kits.

It's all about the TDI now, Look up 'Felt-Spec'
Some fake wheels (Multistid Rs4/Alphrads/Sciroccos) eBay Coilovers, Straight through pipe so she boos, Usually painted white with a black roof and a massive front sun visor. Possibly found with a 'No smoke, No poke' sticker.

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

It's a fashion thing that has passed.
I guess people pointing and laughing had an impact too. And the realisation that 'a real head turner' means 'a real piece of noisy st'.

[Planet Blatark-9]

I presumed one of the biggest killers was the price of petrol now.

[Devil2575]

I think the big difference is that manufacturers now make better cars. 30 years ago it was easy to squeeze more power from your Ford CVH because it was rubbish from the factory. These days tollerances and much better and engines are much more efficient. You can't get 30 bhp out of a modern engine just by replacing the exhaust system and getting some head work done anymore because the standard bits are designed and made properly in the first place. The electronics involved also makes it a lot more complicated. It's no longer a case of getting your carb rejetted, you now need a live remap or even and aftermarket ECU fitted which is more expense. And then why bother when you can lease an M135i for £300 a month and it's actually far better than the results that you can get in your shed with a few spanners. Insurance also plays a part as doe the changing attitudes to driving like your pants are on fire.

[SuperVM]

Credit isn't so easy to come by either, insurance for those who are young seems especially expensive these days and I can only imagine it would be horrendous on a modified car and so many cars have ridiculously sized wheels, diffusers, multiple exhaust tips, etc. that there isn't much left for a young lad to do to it. I also agree with the point someone made about priorities changing a bit towards electronic gadgets.

[Falsey]

Its not dead, but not as 'mainstream' as it once was. Back in the day every 17 year old freshly equipped with a license could buy a bucket and spanner on a bunch of halfords tat. These days that sort of thing has died out due to costs of driving and insurance, it just makes it impractical to go full 'max power' on it.

What is the trend these days is buying something newish and nice on finance and then OEM+ modifications. Swap on bits from the faster models after those guys take them off for better bits, keep it looking standard-ish. If you are on the owners forums this is very common.

Then you have the more fringe groups of scene and dubbing and stancing etc, which tend to cost a lot more money but are generally more looks than driving. So rather than cruises you'll find them at static shows or on driveways.

Modding itself is still alive and well, its just moved up a price bracket and the style at the moment is a lot more subtle on the whole.

[Hol]

Id agree with the people who said that its down the ready availablity of new cars with reasonable power and dubious styling, like black wheels etc.

Also as new and second hand cars become more technologically advanced, more people were already using their credit cards and not their toolboxes to tune cars - so it was just the next evolutionary step.

[JDMDrifter]

The Modifying 'scene' is still alive its just split all around now. In the early 2000s everyone was kind of following the same direction so it was one big scene.

These days its separated around the main ones:

• Stance/Show
• Drifting
• Track cars
• Resto Mods

There's also a lot of tight knit people in the scenes who have abit of a chip on their shoulder, some aren't very welcoming and most scenes don't like each other.

Owning a Mk2 golf i met a few guys in the scene and they were really nice guys who you could talk to, but if you strayed onto Edition 38 it was a battleground of fanboys.

Moved onto an MX5 now and they seem like a friendly bunch!

It's still alive, its just abit more hidden.

[SuperchargedVR6]

bobbo89 said:

Driver101 said:

The VAG scene took over.

The VAG scene isn't all air ride and BBS! I'm into the whole vag scene and my daily is low but not ridiculous 92 Corrado G60 running north of 210bhp and I also own a 65 beetle, again its lowered but not silly! Both cars have sensible tyres with the wheels very much within the arches!

Agreed. I have a remapped Edition 30 GTI to get more grunt, but the rest of the car is standard as VW did a good enough job of the basics, imo. I hate all the air ride, Bentley wheels, leather lined engine bay and Rat look scene stuff.

[BorkFactor]

I think it is mostly to do with cost, especially for younger drivers. The cost of insuring and running a "nice" car can be eye watering even before you start sticking bits on it coupled with the rising insurance cost of doing so.

It may also have something to do with changing trends - reading magazines from the 90s and looking at films of the era you would see all sorts of cars with crazy after market body kits and stickers etc. Now it seems the trend is leaning more towards OEM+, which you can spec your car with from the factory. Less effort and you still get a nice car.

As far as performance goes, cars are getting a lost faster out the box these days. People moan and groan about car enthusiasts buying diesels, but remember that a bog standard 320d will do 0 - 60 in 7.3 seconds and on to 146 mph. That is not far off what a standard Ford Sierra Cosworth will do, and they were considered to be properly fast cars in their day.

[Hol]

Opinions on what constitues 'modding' seems to be vast on this thread.

I think the older people, who did their own spannerng when they were younger view it as pretty much everything on the car, even parts of the shell itself - Bigger Engines, Uprated Internals, Cams, stronger gearboxes, bigger Brakes, redesigned 4/5linked suspension etc.

But, I think for others it's more around (bolt-on) styling tweeks to personalise the original package - remaps, exhausts, coilovers, stereo's, wheels, spoilers, seats, etc.

[BorkFactor]

Just had another thought - could it possibly be to do with the used car market in this country? We are extremely fortunate that lots of very nice cars are available cheaply.

From a financial standpoint it often doesn't make sense to modify your own car, and instead just sell it and buy something better?

[Fattyfat]

E36Ross said:

Gone are the Max Power Fiestas with 30 speakers and fiberglass body-kits.

It's all about the TDI now, Look up 'Felt-Spec'
Some fake wheels (Multistid Rs4/Alphrads/Sciroccos) eBay Coilovers, Straight through pipe so she boos, Usually painted white with a black roof and a massive front sun visor. Possibly found with a 'No smoke, No poke' sticker.

Ahh 'Felt spec' a term that originates from the town of Magherafelt in Northern Ireland. I worked there until late last year, definitely a strong whiff of red diesel in that town and a standard VAG is a rarity.

[speedking31]

I would say insurance. Move from an Impreza WRX with aftermarket exhaust, 220 bhp, to a standard STi 4 years newer, 280 bhp, insurance drops by 30%.

[007 VXR]

irocfan said:

Dave Hedgehog said:

most of us realised that pouring money into modding cars was a total waste, best just to save your dosh and buy an M3

but then you're missing the point of modding

+1.

[Digitalize]

Being very much part of 'scene' at the moment, I'm surprised people think it's dying down.

Things have changed from the past, but it's still very much alive and well. Things have got a lot more expensive, finance is everywhere, and a vast majority no longer care about performance, mainly due to things such as fuel costs, insurance, and the police.

It's all very stance/drift at the moment, and I can't see it going away any time soon, tastes are evolving, air/hydros becoming even more popular as police crack down on static cars.

There are more shows than you can shake a stick at now, in the summer it's almost one a weekend, and there's still a fair few magazines supporting it too;

Fast Car
Performance VW
Performance BMW
Audi Tuner
Fast Ford
Classic Ford
Retro Cars
Performance French Cars
Banzai
Jap Performance

And many more I can't name off hand.

[JB!]

They got subtle/ish.

Bodykits are dead on euro stuff.


You can spot the "max power" crew by looking for Paul Walker stickers and local cruise sites advertised, stupid garish colours (think lime green wheels on my black Mk4 Golf Yo!).

Ebay coilovers and bullst tyres.

My Fabia is pretty damn subtle, even the white wheels have gone, and my Mk2 was fairly OEM looking...

Oh, also alot of would-be "max power" kids have 1.2 Corsa SRI's on drip or whatever...

Edited by JB! on Tuesday 3rd March 12:53

[underphil]

I always think it's funny that here in the UK the majority of road user look down unfavourably on any obviously modified cars, whereas in the USA it's just considered a normal thing to do to any car that isn't appliance-like