Modified Cars, a Technicians Point of View 

+Necrodox Check out Tom's Turbo Garage for exactly that.

+Bren L Thanks for the tip, gonna go check it out now.

+Bren L cool channel, thx 4 sharing mate

***** Been watching them for a couple years, great channel! Great production value.

It's not hard. Just find a trusted brand that sells the product and stay away from any suspension parts sold on eBay that don't have a common brand labeled

while his views are decent. his views are slanted too much toward his opinion on Hondas being a Honda dealer tech. I work and an independent and love seeing and fixing all cars. and it challenges me everyday. the challenge is what the job enjoyable

Derek Williamson you must know some sneaky ones out there that would rip the customer off, warn everyone of those hoodlums!

I agree with you, good vid but too biased. One thing that is quite sad is seeing so many similar cars on the road, its nice to see different cars and things being done. :)

Steve Edwards Now that, I defiantly agree with.

Right back atcha bro. My car is stock and to be honest its a limited edition model so it looks sweet and stands out, dont even need to bang new wheels on er, but she is tuned and sounds like a beast, a sleeper if you will. Its a diesel with about 170 - 180 bhp, but when that turbo kicks in, jesus. Its a family wagon and i like her that way and i havent seen a limited model like her on the road yet. Would i modify it if i wasnt happy? Hell yes, too much talk about depreciation etc nowadays, almost as if the car isnt actually yours to do with as you wish and you just drive about like a mindless drone with about 5 of the same cars infront until its time to get rid of it then you get the latest model everyone else has and blah blah. People slowly but surely are conforming to convention, i cant believe how many people i talk to wouldnt ever attempt to fix their own cars, these people carry tampons.

Ok, that's kind of backwards. Warm air is....Oh hell forget it, Has to be a joke.

***** Yes it was lol. I have seen too many people do this and I just don't understand it.

Get some brake line and make a long skinny U out of it. Bolt it to the exhaust (not the catalytic converter) and route your fuel line post-fuel-filter to it before going to the fuel rail. You'll need to use high temperature silicon hose to be on the safe side. You will have to use a tube bending tool to flair the ports out away from the exhaust to attach the hose. Wrap with exhaust wrap to retain heat in the metal portion of the lines. Prepare to get a lot more boom in your vroom, most especially if you have a colder air intake. Hot fuel vaporizes much easier for a more complete combustion. I routed the lines to my radiator hose which gets to 190 but the lines themselves are still only around 110-120 because the FPR keeps the fuel constantly recirculating. I think you would be lucky to get just over 200 degrees on the outside of the line at the exhaust which is probably around 300-400 degrees. I watch a video where a guy got the idea to wrap his catalytic converter from a retiree at Nasa that was spraying fuel directly onto 700-800 degree heated stainless steel surfaces at atmospheric pressure to generate a more powerful fuel vapor that turned into a white foggy looking gas. He's had the mod on his engine for over 25 years successfully.

Haha! So True :D SO SO True. I was thinking that myself, like really what I'm doing is not good? Hang on, Polybush all round. better anti roll bars. Forged engine. Nah that's all good surely lmao. But then that's all the work I have done. Never a garage. True.

Nothing like working on your car after work or the weekend. Only when I'm lazy I'll take it for an oil change.... Lol

Calum A Not entirely true, I am a "true car enthusiast" as you state (your words) however the times I take it to a mec shop is when I don't have the tool for the job (say a two post lift or some obscure tool that is really hard to acquire/expensive that I know I don't need to buy because its a one time deal that I will need it) I will go to the shop that knows me personally and that I trust, of course I do the work usually my self or have the tech work with me to assist (say dropping an axle or something like that).

No, true. By the fact that you say 'know and trust' where I was agreeing about the fact I'd never take it to a 'random' garage. My mates a mechanic and I would use him, maybe. He is a bit rough so perhaps not.

***** You said it, now I don't have to.

+Kendig JL Probably one of the best, most reasonable comments yet. Thank you.

+EricTheCarGuy I usually don't make comments on RU-vid, but I've watched so many of your videos that it was bound to happen eventually. Nice work!

Do not forget floor mats and carpet! That is heavy too!

yea and in europe its illegal to drive without rear seats

Yea lol it's all fun and games until a swapped or boosted Honda rolls up on you with your v8 and blows the doors of ya.

@@GreatBirdOfHope LOL, what? Maybe you completely misunderstood my comment, or just a troll. I don't care how fast a car is, any car, doesn't matter to me. Many slow cars are pretty cool, many fast cars are not cool at all. My V8 sounds pretty awesome, but it's not that fast and I will be the first person to admit it. Maybe it would win in a race but I've never raced it. Not what I built it for.

@@outcast9486 oh ok my fault misunderstood

haha thats why i would never lower my car that low

at the gym a few years ago , I watched a lowered Mitsubishi , tear off its front and rear bumpers at the shopping centre across the road at it pulled out .

dang

Haha I could see lowering cars for the track but roads are too uneven and then it just rips your car apart

I lowered my car only 1.5 - 2 inches and I have a hard time not scraping my damn oil pan. It's a pain in the ass man

I completely agree, and that's coming from someone with a daily on race springs (~2.5" drop) which some think is too low.

+Cody T same here. my Miata is lowered 40mm because coilovers.

I currently drive a slammed DA9, though I always said I'd never have a slammed car so far its alright. I bought it this way and its going to be raised eventually. If you can over look wheels rubbing or if you can fix that (rolled fenders etc) and don't mind having to slow right down for speed bumps, then its alright. I'm enjoying the attention as a person whos been an introvert and stayed far away from attention his entire life. That said, the ride is shithouse and its a complete pain to drive in rural areas or if the roads are bad where you live.

its your personal opinion but its also true

+Nilk Narf well I think a better thing to have said would be slammed cars are dumb for a daily driver. and I honestly believe that was the intention with this comment.

forgot the money part

Randomsongs Yes! That is the Perfect Setup!

Thanks for reading it!

supping up a VW is like putting a lit match behind a slug, ya it will go a little faster but not much. not saying i wouldn't like one. my dad had a 73 for a while but never got put together.

678friedbed Yeah, it's like putting a Cobra motor in a Pinto: a waste of time. I learned my lesson. The early bugs, Ghias and transporters are neat cars, that is it. They are not "race" cars. I was lost with no direction or mentors....

678friedbed if you know what to build and how to build they can be just as reliable as the stock vw's were. been there and done that. love those cars. when you can bring 300 hp out of a 250 pound engine...well you are there.

Bradley Campbell I started out just trying to keep my VW junkers on the road. They were 21-30 years old when I got my hands on them, so everything was worn out: brakes, steering, rubber, lights, bearings, seals..... Once I got them to a reliable status, I began souping up the motors. Eventually, I built a few motors and climaxed on a 1915 with dual IDAs.... Yeah, they are very reliable. Like you said, if done properly, they can be daily drivers... all the way up to 2.6L +++ . Actually, the race parts are more durable, stronger, longer lasting... than the stock stuff. I would like a Ghia someday. Put a stroker in it with FI and hydraulic lifters. Not race it, but have 2x stock HP, reliable, and drive 'till I die.

+WAVETUBE84 I sure hope you wiped that 1915 off "afterward."

very true dude

I wouldn't go that far, I was working on a dodge pickup I had gotten from a guy, an old 72, and after cutting out the extension cords and seeing what was under the dashboard... yeah if I met him I'd slapped him.... not everyone just ruins Hondas... morons can ruin anything if you leave them alone to their own devices....

It is hard for those outside of a trend to distinguish between different segments of that trend and I get that. A Civic that looks like something out of "Lowrider Euro" does not become "JDM" because it has a lip spoiler. Just like a 4 cyl Pinto with slicks or a 94 Caviler with hood vents and stick on louvers are not muscle cars. At the same time a B16 EF on coilovers will hold its value as well as any 302 Foxbody with a nine inch rearend... "Hellaflush/camber and tire stretching" is lowrider/mini truck culture crossing over to civics and 240's... it is not JDM

***** stance it, stretch it, and slam it.... ive transcended into the dark world of tuners recently... help me D:

I've worked on too many 4x4 abortions to buy that line, and then there are donks.....

Hey compu85, I have a 1999 VW Golf Cabrio but since I live in Greece and Greece is in Europe I have the European one with the 1.6l 8v AFT petrol engine. I was thinking about chipping the car. What is you opinion on that thought?

I hope you're joking XD

Of course he's joking, you're better off with an LS3

+Alex Dalziel do you think I don't know that

DJ Moon no he means an ls1 but it was a joke so it doesn't matter anyways

+Dani Kimbro Yeah he's mostly ranting about cheap parts installed incorrectly rather than high quality parts installed correctly

Most cars are built with the cheapest components available so rubber instead of steel braided brake lines, cheap rubber bushings instead of polyurethane etc. But there's a limit. For example, a thicker sway bar may improve handling but if the rest of the suspension isn't set up to take advantage of it you're not gaining anything and may actually make things worse. Think about it as a system that has to work together instead of just upgrading parts of it. You want a symphony not a jam session when you're done.

If you don't think sway bar swaps "change the engineering," you might be in for a rough ride...

MJorgy5 Actually you're agreeing with me. A sway bar will change the engineering but if the rest of your suspension is crap it can actually be worse rather than better. Stick a 1" thick sway bar on the rear end of a car with crap springs and shocks and things are not going to get better. Now your transferring load to components that can't handle it. I love suspension upgrades but I don't believe in doing them half-assed.

Quite a few FWD cars will benefit tremendously with a thicker sway bar, if they have them available for your car. Factory spec tends to lean heavily into understeer to ensure the mass public with zero driving skills don't lose control of their vehicle by going too fast. It will make your ride stiffer but reduction in body roll will be immediately evident. Only you can decide whether a 50% less smooth ride is worth a 500% increase in handling ability - on a daily driver in a pot-hole ridden city it may not be worth it at all.

If you modify it and your modification actually causes the problem, why would they warranty that?

Not true in many cases.

Becuase, going to side of the road mechanics they lie they mess up things on purpose to get you to come back, I seen and herd the stories of how the game works.

I read it wrong sorry.

its not the techs that are expensive.. its the whole dealer part.. lots of salaries to pay.. and mechanics are not the highest one

Yes, lots of mouths to feed lots of other hands in the cookie jar at dealerships and Gregk82 is correct also.

WOW you can say this about very job out there.............. It' not that parts cost more at dealership vs parts store. Both have mouths to feed but dealership part goes through far more testing. Most parts store crap is just that crap can claim there better but yet they fail faster.

wow what a guy

Motorcraft belt for my car = expensive as hell at dealership compared to Dayco belt I can get at Vato Zone. Only needed one Motorcraft belt for 80K miles before it started showing signs of needing replacement. I do less than 11K miles a year, and I've replaced my Dayco belt at least once every year. The cracking is insane on them despite the claim that they are OEM equivalent, and they start slipping about 5 months into use. Sometimes the more expensive dealer/OEM part is as expensive as it is for a reason, and that reason is the quality difference.

lowering your car or truck an inch or 2 is not bad it does help with improving steering in corners. raising any car is very bad bc if its windy or just hard cornering can tip or flip or spin out the car.

+Robert Perrigo yeah, i have a friend who loves the slammed look and she (somehow) found people who slammed the same SUV i have, and i absolutely hate how it looks

I had a buddy who lowered his car and had to replace the tires every 20,000 miles because the camber angles were all jacked.

Yeah, maybe if you use lowering springs. Coilovers should enhance your performance, not ruin it. If it did, you must have done something really wrong.

Maybe on the race track after hard use, but not on the street.

+ETCG1 I don't believe we were discussing the application though were we Eric. If you, like me, own a road car that gets occasional competition or track use then it's an important consideration. How many performance cars roll off the production line with even rear drums these days? Almost none. Next...

Jeez, condescending much?

I've heard people who race vintage 240zs say that while the drums can get mal-adjusted slightly by heat expansion they are otherwise highly reliable. Once you know that by lap X rear braking is going to decrease by X amount you can adjust your expectations and braking points. Its a money/effect equation that mostly favors leaving it alone.

There are older production cars that even still today can hold to racing and street, 87 Grand National, my 79 Berlinetta Camaro with frame rail connectors ladder bars wrapped around the loop bar between the frame rail connectors then wrapped around the rear end with 8.5" rear end with 4.56 gear with mini spool was drum brakes rear, oversized brakes front, and it was a consistent 13.5 second car in the quarter mile, and I know a lot of people will scoff at that but yet don't realize how much it takes to make a car that fast, I was using bone yard motors, stock cam, not bored Weiand 3" high rise and 600 dual feed Holley, 350 turbo trans 3500 stall with shift kit and headers, and was pulling 13.5 where a 5.0 production mustang only pulled a 14.96. All my money was spent in suspension and traction and gearing planting my 300 horses to the rear wheels, not spinning them off. I know the question was brakes but when your going about 100 miles an hour you want to stop it and I never had a problem with drum brakes either, nor ever overheating them, not even doing burn outs, or brake torques

What?? Why?

Its an exaggeration, but in Australia police are very strict on cars, lowering rule, turbo rules etc etc

***** Yeah Australia sounds so god damn boring. They don't let anyone have any fun. Same as California and their stupid bullshit like roadside dyno's for emissions. Fuck that shit.

thinkpad411 Oh wow that's a bitch, well in Australia you have to have yearly checks by a mechanic on your car to make sure its road worthy and passes all the road laws (tints, heigh, etc) so if you have too much tint you fail and can't register your car -.- apparently you don't have that there, but you can still modify it, to an extend.

***** Well i'm in Canada, we have the regular "safeties" as we call them here, but the leniency for mods really varies depending on the shop and mechanic who is safety'ing it. If you are friends with the mechanic and he knows it stops, is structurally sound, and nothing's going to fall off it and kill someone, generally even with lowering and stuff like that, it's going to pass. The problem with safeties is they are essentially a risk to the entire company/shop that does it. If they sign off on the safety and a month later something falls off your car and kills someone or causes an accident, the person doing the safety and by extension the whole shop is held accountable, if it can be proven by the MTO that it was a safety issue which caused the injury/death or accident. So really it's based on how much risk that mechanic/shop is willing to take on your car. It also depends on how/where the car is driven, if it's just an old lady driving around town that never goes above 60 (km/h), there's going to be alot less risk than someone who drives on the freeways every single day. There's alot of stupid gaps in the official safety guidelines here in Canada too. You can have shocks that are leaking but they can't be rusted through, you can have a max of 3 out of 5 lug nuts missing per hub and it'll still pass a safety. So there's alot of holes in the safety inspection system...

The bit about NSX mechanics isn't necessarily true. I've worked on several and I was not 'hand picked' by Honda. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TGEnxVeDfzQ.html

+Vanboneio \ | commentary gaming channel | / Correction: Ricers be like: I got ma new under glow! :D Technicians/mechanics and all car enthuisiasts be like: Facepalm O_O

Nope, leave out the car enthusiasts because ricers are not true enthusiasts. :D

+Vanboneio \ | commentary gaming channel | / Fair point

Like a boss. :D

Derp123 EDIT: I meant.... "Nope, leave out the car enthusiasts because ricers don't have any enthusiasts to bring/follow."

Al Cohalic The manufacturer has to please everyone, not just the enthusiasts. I promise you that you will want to lower a 240SX, for example.

ChrisHallett83 I specifically said the 240SX, ever driven one at stock height? Ever driven a lowered one? I've owned three.

ChrisHallett83 Well, I've had three different fastbacks, and I know firsthand the difference lowering the car makes. It's not appropriate for everywhere, but the 240SX has great handling when at stock height... and _ridiculously good_ handling when lowered on good equipment, like the Koni Yellows and Eibach FRS that I had under my car. I had factory LSD also, but swapped from a Z32 NA. Same diff. And 11lb TSWs

Al Cohalic Good call on the Bilsteins, also I personally like Hellwig swaybars. Better than stock but not over stiff.

My ride doesn't use coil overs lol, the Bilsteins I have are shocks only. My ride has torsion bars in the front and leafs in the back, thanks for the suggestion though man!

thats true

Why? I love working on cars and plan on making it my full time job. (Im im high school)

Eban Pedigo Don't go into the auto REPAIR industry. I'ts very physically demanding and at the end of day will leave you without any desire to work on your car or even any of your families cars. Your gonna be working on other peoples cars all day and the last thing your gonna wanna do when you get home is touch another car. theirs a saying, "The shoemaker doesn't were shoes." trust me, go into another field and keep the cars for the weekends.

Greg25RS fuck me you make such a good point i just want to quit school imidiatelly :/ well its the choice i made and so far i love it but i guess im going to have to bite the dust sooner in life xD

diesel is where the money is

Both are pretty cool

My neighbor's blacked-out RAM that smokes out the people behind him... yeah, that don't fit in the garage anymore.

kirin347 I'm sorry you have to compensate.

TheTarrMan Or you could do it right and build it? Why keep your car stock just to keep resale high. *face palm* It's not eating food just to keep the pantry full. See my point?

If you want to have fun and race and shit, sure, mod the car. But then you must know you'll have to run that car into the ground and get every last penny out of it via using it, or sell it heavily under price. If you're at all interested in re-selling the car, keep it stock.

My car is modified, blue book value $13gs, being modified as it sits now, I get $18gs. Car is tuned in suspension for no roll over, grip, breaking quicker. No body kit. Engine is tuned for quicker and smoother throttle and it doesn't burned gas but it actually get 10 miles more than before, car is lowered 1 inch with wider rims and tires, alignment upgrade so I can align everything, steel braided lines, carbon rotors, carbon break pads, shocks are adjustable damping.

Obviously technicians are lazy and don't like the extra challenge of working on an individual engineering project to gain performance of a vehicle haha. They'd rather just work on a monotonous long assembly line of the exact same thing one after another Zzzzzzz.

Just keep the car stock. That’s the dumbest shit I read all day! It doesn’t devalue a car. I love how you people try to preach about shit you have no experience in

Denny Rachmansyah false

Honda's are for ignorant losers who try to act like they're in to cars. Uh hello you bought a honda...no respect for those bitches thinking they're fast in a farty ass 4 cylinder

+Virginia Korstange Thank you!

+EricTheCarGuy you're welcome! I've learned so much from your videos very grateful you took the time to film them.

+Virginia Korstange Glad you like the videos. It's way better than working a real job.

+EricTheCarGuy I'd say you have an ideal job then. you get to tinker with cars all day long , help people in the process. sounds like fun to me. I'm starting my first project car today, and I feel way more confident taking it on from watching your channels. do you ever work on camaros or mustangs?

+Virginia Korstange Well, there's a lot more to what I do than just tinkering on cars. The business of ETCG also keeps me very busy. As for Mustangs, you do watch my channel right? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-5wINaHUrX7o.html

+UltraLaserBlast «UltraLaserBlast» Put a dot of copper paste on the backside of your pads, problem solved.. ;)

if you're going to tune ect. to a car try not to add new parts to a stock engine, I tuned my 350z to pull 526HP and it had no issues till this day and that's because I had a engine made to handle upgrades. wear I live young adult think they can just add turbo and exhaust and don't realize there is more that comes into play to make it work rright

Yup lowering kinda sux. But regardless people will do what they do. The problem I find is that people do not discuss or decide the consequences with their mechanic or technician before the job gets started. That will certainly lead to disappointment by either party. When I go into a mechanic shop because I don't believe that I can do it myself or at the same cost, we discuss it beforehand and come to some sort of agreement on how it will happen.

Stephen Wiwchar okay okay 3 things up