As a 23 year old car guy, gotta say... I just like cars. Not interested in racing or arguing with people, I just like cars. Fast cars, slow cars, trucks, etc. I just think cars are cool.
every body has their own interests when it comes to cars and having that ability to respect everybody within the car community is few and far between so keep on trucking and Respect those within the car community even when you do disagree
I’m 40 now. Grew up with Hondas. The mid to late 90’s and early 2000’s car meets were different. No one did stupid burn outs and rev offs. Car clubs were actually cool and you didn’t get into a car club unless you had a sick/fast car. Everything else was regular traffic. You would never catch a stock car at a meet.
I’m 39, I agree, it’s not just the car community, everyone these days, I mean I seen a dude with a built Lexus more then 100k of extra work done to it but he couldn’t tell me a single thing about any of the specs, or how he got the carbon fiber to look like that in the trunk and dash, or how the butterfly doors actually work, or how the nitros purge was hooked up. Second, where the world he come up with that to blow on a Toyota with an L on it. 😂
A lot of the Honda forums are still around. I'm on Honda-Tech, DriveAccord, V6Performance, and FitFreak. Still plenty of good shit there on top of the archive of old builds.
I grew up in the muscle car era and have been around them all my life. Old Boomer now with a couple of Corvettes. I hope the government lets you all carry on the tradition. Be safe young men .
I am a member of the next generation of muscle car enthusiasts. Its not really a muscle car but I'm fixing up a '88 Firebird right now. Its my first project car. I admire the shit you guys had back in the day. All these cars are unobtainum for most young people now because of the prices. 69-72 Chevelles, 70 GTOs n everything. I wish we wouldn't get slowly priced out of our own hobby. Btw. May I ask what kind of Vettes you have?
@@nicksspeedshop8664 Sure. I have a nice 96 LT4 and a 13 grand Sport real 60th anniversary package. My first car was a 69 SS Chevelle and my second was a 69 ram air IV GTO. Wish I had them back.
To me, i separate “enthusiasts” into two categories. “Car enthusiasts:” people who are more into the social media presence, appearance, lifestyle, trendy mods, surface level appreciation for cars; and then “driving enthusiasts:” people who appreciate a car not necessarily for its looks or what era it’s from, but for how it makes the driver feel, people who value function over form, people who understand and appreciate the effort that owners put into their cars to build them truly for themselves and not for social media influence, people who consistently attend their respective car events whether that’s a local autocross group, grassroots drifting, Friday night cruises, drag racing, etc. Those people are the same people that can be a hardcore drag racer and show up at an autocross and be totally stoked by a 90hp Miata crushing cones because that’s where that type of car truly shines.
This makes me miss the old days of having and working on my 86 and the community that was in my area. Thing didn't run right until much later but I had and was given/gave so much help from/to my fellow 86 owners. All the old heads were just happy to see young blood be so passionate about building and working on their own cars.
i turned from a car enthusiast to a driving enthusiast overnight. when i first got my subaru i wanted to do all the dumb typical mods like slamming it, expensive 3 piece wheels, flush fitment, you know the basic starterpack type beat, but then i actually drove my car for the first time on a windy road and all those thoughts just completely dissipated. now im building my car for pure handling over power and aesthetics. first mods i did were swaybars, poly bushings, chassis bracing tires ect, because its hilarious pulling away from high hp cars in the mountains with a stock looking car lol
i don't fully agree with you. cars are much more than a driver's tool. i call myself a car enthusiast bc i like everything about cars. their history, different purposes, designs and everything that revolves around it. surface level car enthusiasts are just carclout chasers
I guess i'd be the car enthousiast i like wrenching more than driving crazy engine swaps make my monkey brain happy. Stuff like project binky on youtube is my jam.
Yeap just do your own thing man. I walked away from the whole car community and it's toxic bs. 20+ years of helping people out etc. Just get used. Jealousy etc. People in general suck. Lol Just do your thing bro. For you.
I keep to myself anyways, most car shows and meets suck anymore anyways, although I always kept to myself for most part, I will talk to guys sure, but I personally no interest in going out anymore, going to shows, or anything, I just prefer to be with my family do some other hobbies like fishing.
if only those photobucket images actually still worked, I find myself nearing the magnum opus of resolving something and BAM "check the photo for the wiring"
I truly am glad to see the response of people on this video. I feel like we are all on the same page and are all into cars because we are actually enthusiasts. Remember we can be the best drivers on the touge but it only takes one major mistake to lose it all, Drive safe and Drive hard🤙
@@Teambashofficialnothing wrong with not risking your life for no reason 😭 park n chill dudes are way cooler than the dbags who think it’s cool to endanger everyone around them
@@introtosun4471 He had a picture where he parked his car on a local touge road that is a known road for driving fast on just to take a few pictures of his car so technically he is endangering people by doing that so get your facts straight bud 😂😂
@@introtosun4471 he could have parked and took pictures on one of the many turnouts that the road has but decided to park right in the middle of the road on a blind turn make that make sense
Honestly you give me drew peacock vibes, you feel the modern car scene isn’t the best and you choose to do your own thing, I respect it, I wish your channel had more subscribers, but i’ll add to the count
Hey I hope that I’m not too late to be commenting on this video! But yes I have noticed a shift within the car culture. I do remember getting into cars at a young age from being influenced by watching some auto racing and playing racing games like Need for Speed. I have also have seen both ends of the car scenes. Both ones that are chill and laid back, while also ones that are more flamboyant and sexy. Of course nothing too over the top. But as we know the more that one particular kind of culture becomes more popular, the more that shady people become a part of it from doing renegade things to general toxicity. Anything that one person would get attention on social media. Sometimes I do feel guilty of being apart of the whole culture of cars, especially when people go way over the top to get clout. But one thing is that, it never stopped me from loving cars and admiring the art from some of the builds and paint jobs some of these people spent a lot of money on to get to how it came to be. I’ll always love cars and auto racing. But sometimes I do worry about the future generation of the car culture for how it will be. I guess it’s up to our generation to make shape of it for the better. At least I hope so anyways.
I can appreciate the hustle you guys put into your content creation, so if I may I'd like to give my €0,02 on why you may be getting this backlash recentlty. This is coming from a guy who just wants people to get along. TL;DR it comes down to authenticity and community engagement. When you choose a subject to revolve your content around (in this case touge / touge battles), there's the implication that you are either highly familiar with that subject, or are interested enough immerse yourself and learn more. For touge or canyon drivers, the social aspect is a huge part of the experience, not just the technical parts. It is common practice for people to ask randoms on the mountain for a drive as a way to connect and share that experience. From word-of-mouth, you are building a reputation as the guy who declines peoples' offer to drive together. Not usually a problem for others, but as a video creator that falls into the "touge" category this will be seen as disingenuous even if your intents are good. Of course you're not expected to reply to every single person, but realize that having people reach out to you for driving is really a blessing that's taken for granted in modern era. People will have a hard time understanding why you choose not to drive with others. Connecting with and showcasing drivers who have high competency levels in their respective platforms and roads is a treat for your viewers. It also gives more introspective that you can share with your audience. And content creation aside, people are just out there to see friends and meet new drivers. With these activities out the picture, more knowledgeable viewers will assume that you're using "touge" and "touge battle" in your titles for SEO and views, rather than a celebration of a culture subset. Regardless,it does create a misrepresentation of the abilities of people deep in the culture, something that is already incredibly difficult to change public perception. Now personally I don't think you intent to misrepresent anybody. Just a little more connection with the scene is the enough to understand each other. The vibe in person is always gonna be better than on social media. You're already killing it with your consistency and creativity regardless of the touge metatags. Wishing well for y'all, Love your day 💛
You've been in the scene for years man, one of the OGs on here. Definitely understand your perspective, but can also sympathize with Seikers as well. Touge has a spectrum of enthusiasts; There is not just one way to do things. Some people race everyone and everything, while others just race friends for the fun of it. These touge battles are new, and as with time should get better, just how yours did back in the mid 2010s. So I say let them experiment and post whatever the heck they want. But I agree with not giving a clout chaser such as butterballz any spotlight, and just focusing on truly understanding touge culture. They could learn a lot from your channel!
given the popularity of car media like F&F and Initial D, it was only a matter of time until kids like butterwheelz thought they could challenge and beat car youtubers to climb a non-existent touge hierarchy. would be a cute video idea for someone to go around accepting the challenges and doing timed solo runs on closed courses to see if there's anything behind their ridiculous claims in the comment section.
@@tholepin It would be a better idea for him to start titling his videos "Sunday drives" if he's sick of the unwanted attention. People cry and clamor for 90s street racing culture to come back yet they run and hide from it once someone or something threatens their idealistic and sanitized worldview of what they think it is.
I’m glad u addressed this, however I have a feeling that this video is exactly what he was looking for-attention. Regardless, the dude gained literally nothing from this discourse😭 just made everyone upset for nothing
Yep lol. I've owned 10x V8 commodores now, 8 have been SS`s. I now have a 6 speed manual, ls3 SS in black on black. Aaaand you'll probably find me on my CSL DD Sim setup with my car in the driveway. Learned how to drive I cars. Learned how to drift on AC
im part of the og import tuner generation. i pulled up to fast and furious in my red rx-7. we had to learn drifting from untranslated or subtitled jdm videos and hitting the back roads with your crew. there are rules to this game. you have to respect other people on the road. you just gave me hope for the future
Kids man, the cars and driving yall do on this channel is better than the majority. Good taste, great content and wonderful editing! People won’t let others have fun and succeed doing it. Keep it up guys!
I’m 28 born in 94 and drive a 97 accord CD5 with plenty of mods lol My co worker was 19 and bought himself a Subaru wrx from 2001 then modified it to 400hp and blew up 4 different turbos lmao I like midnight runs on the highway and mountains while he literally just wants to race anyone.. all the time and goes to takeovers haha we don’t always hang out because our cultures are different but we still share our builds progress with each other and always hang out everytime we do something new and cool to our cars 😅 Edit: I once showed him a body kit for my accord I liked and he told me and I quote “your from that generation so I give you a pass” like damn bro 😂
@@jonathanpinckney9227 nah nothing wild that would require me to run spacers, he mostly trips when I say I like the decals graphics and two tone paint jobs especially 😂
Yo! Subbed a few weeks ago because i recognized a lot of the roads you guys touge on. I've been driving those roads for 15+ years with 3 rules: 1. Dont go over 7/10 of your capability, anything more should be reserved for the track. Everyone's 7/10 will differ, so if you're slower, all good, just chill, dont chase, dont show off, be safe, and if you're faster, dont be so aggro or be an ass hole and make someone crash. 2. Dont double lane, ever, unless you have dedicated spotters 3. It's okay to just chill and cruise, especially if 3 or more cars are in the group. It's like riding motorcycles, you want everyone to live another day, you want everyone to have fun. You're completely right about ego, everybody has one, but some are too strong and some people project that shit to make themselves feel better, no matter the cost; either flexing a skill, car, money, etc. As for cheap ass cars outrunning or keeping up with $200k cars, i've personally seen it on multiple occasions on our touge, BUT everyone was humble about the interaction. Civics, S2000s, 240SXs, STIs, etc keeping up with or gapping GTRs and Porsches in the switchbacks. It happens. That guy bragging about it though, you're probably right, he probably overtook a weekend super car and thought he was bad ass, meanwhile the McLaren or Porsche driver is just like "wtf is wrong with that guy???" Lol. Anyway! Good on you addressing this, kudos for you. And here I thought the touge scene was dead in NorCal lol. Keep the content coming, be safe, stay out of trouble, and i intend to keep watching your content!
considering the Porsche GT3 comes with pro comp R2's the Porsche probably was just enjoying a "lightly spirited" drive, while the other guy was going ballz to the wall, GT3's are no joke and are practically a race car from factory. if the GT3 actually wanted to push and knew their car, not much would keep up with them. true some guys modify their cars and aero EXTREMELY well as evidenced on Misha's YT channel on the Nordschleife and can keep up with or even surpass the GT3, but it is extremely rare.
honestly id really imagine there were many types of people like this in the past too, just trying to flex their car or just trying to one up any driver driving on "their mountain". You can even argue they drove just as unsafe as butterwheelz does. its probably more touge than you think. at least thats my my opinion after watching initial D and Wagan Midnight LOLXD. Anyways it doesn't save him morally that he drives and acts in this way. Its really hard to get rid of bad apples and such, and it sucks that this situation even got to this point. You guys make some great content and it really takes me back to the kind of content i was watching years ago i.e illiminate and haggard. The Touge content is SICK AF! and its only been getting better. I see great leaps of quality driving and quality video content!
Thats why I will forever say that being a real car enthusiast is still a small niche in a way. Does that make it cheaper in anyway? Hell no 😂 but all these “car guys” is literally just a trend. Its just dudes with fragile ass ego’s that think the whole world revolves around them and they get mad when they don’t get any attention. I really enjoy the videos because it shows a side of being a car enthusiast that is rarely shown on RU-vid and I respect you guys for that. Keep the passion alive!
when you said that people just dont wanna do research anymore is so real, almost new "enthusiast" i encounter nowadays wants to shortcut everything they can. its just oversaturated and people are getting lazier and lazier
agree, people built cars for them and for enjoyment and performance, not for clout. now half the cars have no performance mods, lowered, on mags with doodoo exhaust system running a 100% stock engine and lucky to have a tune
Im 35, was involved in my generations car scene. As a 22 year old(2010) my first car was a 2011 wrx hatchback(wrb) painted the stock wheels gold with a invidia n1 exhaust. Loved that car, but then got rear ended at 2017. I find it crazy because my subies lifespan matched up with my gens car scene timeline.
Absolutely right kid! I’ve been in the car seen since 1998 off and on Since 2010. Just got back into it in the amount of people that I see roll racing because they have all the money in the world to spend on $1000 car payment is insane. there’s one word that describes the car scene and that word is pretentious. Most people don’t follow motorsports, and at the end of the day that’s what the car scene is about the translation of motorsports into street culture. They’re not enthusiast because they have no enthusiasm for cars. And they have no enthusiasm for tuning cars. And they have no enthusiasm for customization. The access to fast cars now has made everybody pretentious. And what the hell is up with everybody being clicky. You go to the car meets and nobody wants to talk about anything unless you roll up with a supercharged muscle car or some big horsepower whip. I get just excited about a guy who does some cool stuff to his civic as I do to the Lambo that pulls up. But honestly I’m more into the dude that’s tuning his WRX than the guy that rolls through with his skyline. Because I know the kid with a WRX is putting in wrench time. Also, you can’t even talk about motorsports with anybody. Nobody knows anything people don’t even know what BTCC is… or DTM! They don’t know the difference between GTGT2 GT three GT four… It’s crazy to me. And when you go to the meet, nobody wants to talk to anybody else. They’re just looking around laughing at your build. Acting… Pretentious. Anybody that reads this look up the definition of that word and if you’re doing that and acting that way, just stop. it doesn’t matter how much horsepower you have… What matters is how you tune your vehicle to your driving style and how much you enjoy it. And all these bozos talking about how fast they drive can’t even tell you what camber is or toe or what sway bar does. Anybody can have a fast car but not everybody can drive. But more importantly, nobody enjoys the nuances of tuning. I love my 2 L turbo I could’ve got a S4 but I love the challenge and getting as much horsepower out of the 2 L as possible in the wrench time it takes to keep her running, right. Keep spreading the word…💪🏼
Agreed. Or the amount of people that have a really nice build, but did literally zero work on their "pride and joy". Just paid a shop $$$$ to build something thats 600+hp, then shitting on your 240hp budget RXi integra build.
@@blairedmonds6374 yeah it’s super annoying when you go try to talk to somebody with a really nice build and they know absolutely nothing about cars and have put in zero wrench time. They don’t watch any racing. They have absolutely no passion they just wanna have the fastest car at the meat to show off and have a social life I guess… And just look cool, like they really are living a lifestyle
The car scene has always been evolving as new generations take it wherever they want, it is becoming more diverse and that can be a great thing. I don't agree with some trends but I do admire the work and dedication to the vision they are trying to accomplish. In the end you find those groups you like and don't worry about social media and their trends. That is different from car culture and I view it as a distraction. Ultimately being a "true automotive enthusiast" is a reflection of what one puts into it and their vision.
First time watching your videos and you seem like a straight-up, polite, level-headed guy. Im part of the last-gen driving enthusiasts and the once or twice a year I check out local car meets, I hope to meet people like you, but it always seems like more of the opposite. I hope youre enjoying the journey and spread positivity
@@boss_tumyep. we got too many of those here in florida. it’s funny to see them get humbled by the $1000 shitboxes they talked smack about 5 minutes earlier
I had never seen a video of yours before but this video made me an instant fan, I’m happy to find another channel with similar views on the current car culture great vid man!
I represent the demographic of viewers who were of age in the car scene predominantly from 2001-2011. Things have changed drastically. Your take on it is very mature and aware. You would've fit in during that time period just fine. I believe social media did damage to the car scene and like you said, there's a lack of effort. People want to take the path of least resistance but acquire the accolades in the end.
im 42 and back in the early 2000s you could build anything your imagination came up with and that was considered legit, when the term rice came out and internet became popular there became unwritten rules for builds and it really took alot of the uniqueness and fun away, also having jdm parts in late 90s was super hard to get and was usually big players in the game who had jdm parts which people wanted to mimic
(Old guy here) i remember the car scene before and after fast and furious came out and it was much like you described, as far as clowns on the internet they'll always be there mad props to you and your friends for having fun.
Bro the car scene is not cool anymore bro I had to Deal with the same situation in my school, I go to uti in Bloomfield and these kids all care about cutting up, flame tunes, take overs and racing, there’s no more culture to it no more bro. Like you said I keep to my own little group to we race up in the mountains and cutting the mustard up there is a no go bro, it’s s bunch of testosterone fueled meat heads
And yk what’s funny those are the same people who had no interest in it before are now trying to fit in because of the attention it gives,not for the love of it. (Talking bout cars in general),
@@johno_Wick that’s true bro preach, they do it for all the clout not even for the cars. Like the common thing now is beating up g35 coupes. Bro before when I was like 14 I loved those coupes I still do but people ruined it man 🥲🥲🥲
While Butterball is an idiot. This video literally gives him what he wants. He's been living in your head that you had to make a video about him, man. LPT for people like this. Ignore them, and just keep ignoring them. It's that simple. They will eventually move on to their next fixation, and you can continue to focus on what you care most about. Acknowledging them like this, only fuels their fire. It emboldens them to keep doing what they're doing and even start taking it up a few notches because it shows that it works. Which in turn means you get to deal with the BS longer.
This bleeds out to more than just the car community. It's brought a sense of boredom and exposure of things that used to be cool and rare. This complicates things and makes builds and people easy to brush off and say "yeah I've seen that before", then for it to lead on to inflate your standards and expectations. One of the worst things affected by this is also dating. You see so many options online, so why would you choose the average, or above average? Same goes with cars. The overly saturated things are blinding our eyes and standards.
Its possible to bring back certain parts of the old car scene in this timeframe but its most likely going to be a meets/ shows and or track days with friends who have good friends who are chill, level headed and a car enthusiasts at heart.
Car enthusiast in Japan here. I moved to Japan 3 years ago, and was blown away by the car scene here. I started off with a cheap $3k is350, later bought an ST205, and finally an MR-S. I don't make that many posts on my channel or Instagram. Looking back at the car scene in the US via Instagram/discord and holy crap I feel like everything has gone down hill. Even the touge scene has been bloated with dumbasses, especially last year's Touge Fest. Multiple of my friends back in the states have been moving away from touge and doing more track events.
I used to be a "it has to be JDM, rwd, manual and boosted or you're not a car enthusiast" I grew up. At 20 I got into Hondas, I was privileged enough to have lots of throw away money and trading cars with other car people so I've owned a lot of cars 60ish (some of these I owned for literally less than a week lmao) I've tried everything, 4x4, JDM, euro, Australian, American, from drift style cars (I'm shocking at drifting lmao) to show cars, to vintage classics, to daily beaters. I learnt to appreciate everything and found my favourite cars were Hondas. I'm 31 now and I drive a 2nd Gen crv and guess what, it's auto. My second car is a 2017 Toyota kluger glx. Both auto, both AWD, both low kilometres and fairly stock bar some minor tasteful aesthetic mods. The crv is a k24 and the kluger is a 2grfe. I love them, and as a new father they're perfect for my families needs, the Honda scratches my JDM itch while allowing me to have a practical adventure car with lots of aftermarket mods and the kluger is plenty of power etc as is. One day I'll buy another civic or Integra or prelude, manual k swapped and have that as a 'fun' car, but yeah. I learnt a long time ago what is and isn't counted as a car enthusiast and you'll find all these negative people have been there since day dot. Hell even in initial D the ae86 got shat on from the start. people love to project and be negative, you just have to ignore that and keep doing what YOU love even if others hate it, and you'll attract your own crowd. The only person that matters when it comes to liking your builds is you.
The forum pages are way better than you tube, as the oldtimers are still active there and are able and willing to help you diagnose and solve specific problems. Also they seem to have a lot of detail information regarding especially older or rare and overlooked cars
Im from the 2000-2010 scene, jo social media whatsoever as far as car meets....and it was great!!! That "retro" style uoure talkimg about is what I grew up with. I still drive 90s cars. Glad you guys are into cars in your generation as well.
even tho alot has changed i went to a fairly big car meet in September of 2023 and everysingle car was modified execpt a tahoe and a alfa romeo guilia and the cars looked like they came out of Fast and furious and that got me back into cars and mainly car modding i wish to someday bring a modded car to one of thoose shows
i’ve got a base model 2010 civic which i’ve poured so much money and time into. i put a turbo in it and let me tell you that’s the best way to tell who’s a real car guy and who isn’t. every time i take it to meets the real ones come up to me and talk to me about the car, they appreciate the work i’ve done to it and the unique build. meanwhile the fake ones just look at the engine and scoff because it’s not a generic 400hp k20 build
bro social media ruined ts ill see a video of a car and the comments are like "all that just to still get gapped by my g37" like dawg i promise you nobody gaf
Ngl, I mean no hate on VW drivers. This is due to the small number of VW people who ruin the image for the whole brand. I noticed here in Australia that most times, a golf driver usually in their P-plates or in a golf R/RS goes past me or in a lane next to me at a traffic light they always rev off like as if they want to race. (I have no interest in doing any of that when I am on public roads) I don't even bother and just take off from traffic lights as I usually would do and see the golf person zoom off a little then back off till they are at the same speed as I am and proceed to constantly crackle and pop near me. In most cases against P-plater golf drivers, I barely even try to take off from a traffic light on low-mid revs and look back to see the golf back behind, a few meters down the road the golf driver will then dangerously push their car over what must be 2x over the speed limit and swerve aggressively from lane to lane to get far ahead... Again, with crackle and pop exhaust replacements. Not sure why this happens, but I only drive an Alfa Guilietta which is not flashy but I appreciate for its exceptional handling and feel while driving (In my opinion). Now when I see golf drivers I assume to know what type of person they are that are egotistical drivers who will get butt hurt over being "beaten" in a normal commute and think their car is the best car on the road. My respect for golf drivers is tarnished thanks to these hoonigans.
The car game was better before social media, I remember having to drive around and find cars and meet people. People hearing about your sick build and having to creep by your house at night in their car to see what you where up to and see if they could get a glimpse of what you were up to. Idk I kinda liked the not know of it than all the post and everyone sees everything now
I met my car group 2 years ago and there is very little social media involved in it. They were very inviting and just want the few car guys in town to come together. We have a couple really neat builds going on in the group and we just show up to each other's places to help work on them or to borrow tools.
Everything you have said in this video is so true. Forums, mods, flamewars, yes cars are fashion and tuner cars are fashion for fringe ppl that think they know cars. Its just sad af. As someone thats been in meets and clubs since 1998.. ugh today is just for the NPCs of life that just think every 2j is 1000hp... skylines are everything. Its sad.. its fancy handbag culture. So good to hear ur mature angle on things.. maybe there is hope for the 'scene'.
Funny that from your perspective information of cars is more readily available than ever. From my perspective, as one of those ‘prior generation’ of enthusiasts, it’s far more difficult to find any detailed and reliable information without active forums. One example. I recently asked on several FB groups what the size (mm) of the oem dc2 type r non abs steering wheel is. I got no hood answers. A few guesses. Then the post was quickly lost in favor of people posting pictures in front of autozone etc. In the forum days, such questions would have been met with dozens of detailed posts with pictures. So, yes, some information is more readily available than others. But my experience is that anything remotely specific is much more difficult to track down than ever. This is probably also a reflection of the interests and possibilities of enthusiasts now. As regulations become increasingly strict, enthusiasts are forced to resort to largely aesthetic modifications, leaving few relative ‘mechanical’ enthusiasts.
I'm relatively new to cars but honestly to even claim there was a car scene at all is sort of ridiculous. There are people that are interested in mechanics and then there are people that are interested in aesthetics. But both are not mutually exclusive. That being said there are communities of people that like specific models of cars that have forms dedicated to them in which most of these forms are dead and you can no longer to find any information about them. I would argue it's actually harder now because most of the members aren't there anymore to ask questions to. And it's even harder so when you're trying to do something rare that isn't a 2JZ or something that has been majorly overhyped and cost thousands of dollars to build. People like to just dump money into their cars without any taste or attempt at budgeting because whatever their building is so popular that you barely need to do any research about it. The over hype of the Japanese cars reliability and customizability is extremely accessible to the average person or most likely the mechanic shop that they have to take it to and they're more willing to work on it because they'll know that they can make more money off of it and that it's way easier to work on and they don't have to rely on dead forums for rare or obscure engine platforms. As much as people shit on V8 LS it's probably the cheapest option even compared to a Honda VTEC which people have overhyped so much to this point one of these engines costing almost $3,000. Not including all the turbos and whatnot you got to add to it to make it actually make any meaningful power.
All I know is I can build a entire 2jz or rb20 in my mind way easier than a LS because of the very specific and sometimes obscure information even though the LS is very popular there's still dead forums and links that some RU-vid channels failed to mention in their LS builds. But 2jz build videos have more detail and clarity than a medical diagram and basically endless forum support. Unless you have a fundamental understanding of universal engine mechanics it's very difficult to modify engines that are relatively obscure. Or pay big money to have someone do it for you, but because no one has really done it they're probably going to charge you more than they would if you had just bought an expensive engine that has more acclaim. I have had endless trouble finding very specific information about certain engines. Basically the cars or engines that cost a lot of money are the ones that people dedicate forums to the most because they have so much money sunk into them they that they can't afford not to for the sake of them or their mechanic ease of access. Unless the cars or engines have just sheer production numbers on their side like mustangs where so many people have them that there's so many people in the forums trying to maintaining them information is always readily available just like parts for them.
Speaking of ancient relics, a 65 yr old here. Why, back in my day, my fast car was a 1967 Cutlass with the factory high performance 330 with 325 horsepower. Fast forward to the present day and my stock Miata NC is considered slow, but it's actually faster in a straight line than the old Cutlass. Needless to say, it's better in every other way as well - well, ok, maybe not trunk space.
I hate saying. But people like that is the reason why I stepped away from the car community. I joined the aircraft community and honestly it's been the best switch (for me personally) since leaving. I wanted to and had a lot planned for my "project car". But now I just keep it running and do little things I like and enjoy. But where I live, the car community isn't the nicest and have a pride and ego issue.
yea i guess im an old head now...pushin 40 grew up on the tail end of gen x, but i watched the scene grow with social media...it used to be rly underground when i was growing up it was invite only friend of friend word of mouth shit, now its crazy and every one is clout chasing or doing take overs and all the night meets get ruined with revving and burnouts adn every so often a wreck...... you got a good head on bro, ive met alot of kids comin up who are cool and got sense and i get to pass knowledge onto them its pretty dope
I meet up with a group of older guys every Saturday. Its nice, we all have good jobs in the automotive industry. About 20-40 of us each meet and cruise. None of us post our cars on social media. We didnt buy them for acceptance and clout, we bought them for ourselves.
**Long Response** I'm pretty sure I'm the same age as your cousin, 'cause 2010-2016 was the best time of being a car enthusiast. I was in high school and early college at the time, but the community was so welcoming and informative for newcomers. Ego was always there, but it was in small forms, of sh*t talking, and you'd head to secret places to prove tough talk on the streets. whether it was drifting , dig races, or roll racing. People hated but it wasn't in a trend form like you'll see on Tik Tok, or Instagram. The early scenes of the 2000s and early to mid 2010s were just downright fun. Social media was in its early stage, and we didn't always post car content online back then, so it made it more special if you made it to a crazy meet that night, or encountered as sick build on the freeways. Even during the social media surge of 2014-2016, it was still about having fun. And that's the difference today. It's not focused on genuine, wholehearted fun- like it once was. It's about showing off, who's the coolest online, who has the most expensive parts, who knows more, etc. A flash contest, similar to those frat bro memes you'll see on skits(WHO DO YOU KNOW HERE). People need to bring the community aspect back into the scene, 'cause outside of us, nobody cares to understand our passion. I want to bring that back towards Gen Z, and so on. Just how Gen X and before did with me when I was a young kid(90s baby here). I'm glad you're already on the ball park about that stuff, too, man!! That's why I followed this channel. Shoutout to you, and everyone else who resonates with this video/mindset. Let's save the scene, I'm sure we can 'cause so many of us feel the need to do something.
I like to have a spirited drive every now and again, especially on my own little backroad. This one kid from my school wanted to challenge me, and I declined because I deadass thought he was gonna kill me honestly. I have respect for other people on the road and stay within my limits. Eventually, I wanna graduate to track days because I already have a basic understanding of performance driving to a degree. I also just want to further my ability to drive and learn driving techniques in a controlled scenario where I would be safer. I am working on saving for a helmet and an scca membership to run at track days at my local track. It's a super technical course, so I think I might have a slight upper hand there.
I honestly don’t even go on the touge anymore too many people drive like shit and they do it during broad daylight. I either go to the track or just hard park with friends in a parking lot now 😅
The thing I'm pretty sure of, is the fact that those people have always existed. The only difference, is the fact that social media gave them the ability to make themselves heard and gain influence using people who are just as thick-skulled as them. Much more, than they would be able to do without social media.
As someone who's only gotten into cars recently and also mainly because of initial D, it feel like the current socially media scene of who can flex the most about their car instead of just sharing their love for it, like if it aint got a "good" 0-60 time so mant people will say it like it makes the car less valid or something
Lol my first vehicle years ago was a 2wd 84 Toyota pickup. My dad got it for me for 500$. It drove great and only had like 150k on it which is low for those little 4 cylinder motors. A truck like that was seen as disposable back then. they were plentiful, reliable, but antiquated compared to a modern truck. Now that same truck would cost you a couple grand, despite whatever issues it’s gonna face down the road. About 20 years ago you could get yourself some really dope cars for super cheap and fix them up into something great while also being able to afford rent. Those days are long gone. There is no “car community” anymore. Just people who spent way too much money to have an old car. I’m not saying these old cars aren’t great, they’re among the best, but as someone who has literally fixed every issue on my 1998 4runner, this shit ain’t cheap, it took years of work slowly fixing it parts at a time, hours of labor (random weekends fixing it up). It just isn’t like it used to be. But there really is something special about drive by wire fuel injected vehicles. It was that time where modern features crept in, without losing oldschool engineering and simplicity. They really don’t make them like that anymore. 90s Toyota, Honda, some American and German cars were the best vehicles ever made. It’s only downhill from there. It just sucks that back then working on these was a doable hobby anyone with a job could do. Now it is not financially wise unless you are a trust fund kid or just stupidly spent all your income on a car. These days all the cool jdm cars I see are driven by some rich kid who got it handed to him. Back then any random bus boy or waiter could get something sick.
Here's a little list to guide how to be a respectable car enthusiast 1. Be respectful 2. Don't do stupid stuff (revving for no reason, doing a burnout for no reason etc) 3. Don't let your egos come out 4. Never call out people and modified when you have a loaner car 5. Try to learn new things from cars 6. Don't rice up your car 7. Don't do it for the internet
Just found this, sometimes I'm glad I'm 53 and just enjoy building and driving my car lol. I feel bad for you young guys, social media has F'ed up a lot of peoples brains and you guys have to deal with them, good vid good stance on the BS.
When I got my AW11 MR2 I didn't know too much about it but I did my research on it and had to dive into the forums to find stuff out about it and now im most likely about to earn a second AW11 to save from rotting out
That's my biggest issue people don't treat these cars with the respect they need, they mod them to all shit with shitty ebay parts and then you see listings on facebook marketplace of these old rotting and dead rusty integra's and Celica's and its seriously sad. I'm honestly unsure where to even look to buy a nice well kept older 90s japanese coupe anymore. I guess importing is an option but that is very expensive. and stuff like bringatrailer/hemmings/autotrader classic all of those cars are so over priced. Just feels like a really bad time to be a JDM fan. I honestly am hoping that maybe with the spike in popularity with JDM we can maybe see toyota or mazda kicking out some new cars that respike the old 90s JDM golden age.
