Why do we mod?

[Sedan_Clan]

Somebody posed the question to me yesterday about why I paid for the ZCP package if I was going to sell/trade the wheels. From this particular member's perspective, "it was a waste of money" (..despite the fact that this member had no details about my transaction - my buddy who purchased the wheels paid me the price of the ZCP package, so it was a win-win). I responded that the ZCP package offers more than just a set of wheels, and that I had plans for the car before deciding to purchase it......but I digress! His inquiry led me to an even bigger question....


...Why do we mod? Why do we buy vehicles only to strip them of their OEM parts and replace them with aftermarket parts?

[MShao825]

I'll go 1st...

Improved performance, better looks cosmetically, and more personalization and individualization to make it more of my own. My mods make it more satisfying to own and drive my car than if it were stock

[Nelrock]

I do it for individuality and looks.

I don't have to deal with seeing many M3's on the road, in my area, as it is...but...there's definitely no mistaking which one is mine.

[Bob86GN]

I want to know that the more I do to the car, there are less and less cars on the road that would have similar performance. Basically, my car is faster than your car.

[kmarei]

i love how making the car more individual is a common reason
and yet about 50% of the cars on this forum are alpine white, have OEM 19" rims, probably the the same aftermarket front lip, Aib's or alpine HIDs, exhaust etc

[Brosef]

because the M engineers cater to a broader audience, and I therefore tailored my car to suit my needs / taste.

[CarbonAlpine]

^^lollol:

AW FTW

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by kmarei

i love how making the car more individual is a common reason
and yet about 50% of the cars on this forum are alpine white, have OEM 19" rims, probably the the same aftermarket front lip, Aib's or alpine HIDs, exhaust etc

I am guilty of joining the AW club, but I have an excuse. I had already previously owned two IB M3's (..so another IB or LB car didn't make sense), and I'm not a fan of blacks or reds. Space Grey is a nice color, but my buddy already has SG with FR interior, so there went that option. I didn't want to spend the money for Individual paint, so I was left with AW.

....I have LM's, but they don't look like anybody elses............so that sets me apart.

....and I do have the Arkym CF front lip, but it isn't as popular as the VRS or Challenge front lips.


P.S. I'm staying away from matte black hood/fender grills and red BBS center caps.

[///My5UV]

Because any mass produced car is going to have compromises for the masses. Like understeer.

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by kmarei

i love how making the car more individual is a common reason
and yet about 50% of the cars on this forum are alpine white, have OEM 19" rims, probably the the same aftermarket front lip, Aib's or alpine HIDs, exhaust etc

I don't care about individuality. Some people make their car uglier just to be unique. Whatever floats their boat. I mod my car based on what I want it to look like and how I want it to perform. I think the E92 M3 looks best in AW so I picked it regardless of what anyone else thinks.

[Looper]

Because were not rockers?

[persian54]

i like to be better than the avg M3 owner

and the avg M3 owner doesn't touch his/her car

[SlammedR8]

Originally Posted by kmarei

i love how making the car more individual is a common reason
and yet about 50% of the cars on this forum are alpine white, have OEM 19" rims, probably the the same aftermarket front lip, Aib's or alpine HIDs, exhaust etc

true enough. but you cant use the forum as the market. because this isnt equal to the real world.

in my area, there arent that many E9X M3s, there are even less Alpine White E9x M3s, and there are even less then that modified Alpine White E9X M3s.

So when I had my E93 M3 with the Vorsteiner front lip, that everyone and their mother has on the E9X M3. While it may be a very common mod (if not the MOST common mod on m3post.com), there was only 1 other modded E9X M3 that I ever saw with the same lip.

The forum isn't the real world, this is a group of enthusiasts who come together online, so of course you will see the same mods, colors etc.

[Edward]

If you mod right, the car ends up performing and looking better than they do from the factory. Many mod, few get it right.

[James T. Kirk]

I mod to compensate for design weaknesses due to either production cost cuts or USDOT compromises such as:

Orange reflectors
Dull incandescent interior lights
Mis-matched headlamp to angel eye color temperatures
Quiet pipes
Removal of airbag compliance stickers on visors
Tintless windows

In my mind, I'm CORRECTING as much as MODIFYING.

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by James T. Kirk

Mis-matched headlamp to angel eye color temperatures

Personally I like the contrast. I even enhanced it by going with 6000k HIDs and keeping the stock angel eyes.

[donovan]

Question should be, WHY doesn't BMW build a car that doesn't need to be modded?

Scenario one, moding makes our cars different from one another
Scenario two, moding makes our cars look better after factory performance/look.

[radiantm3]

Originally Posted by donovan

Question should be, WHY doesn't BMW build a car that doesn't need to be modded?

Standard production cars are limited by cost so there are always parts we can replace with a better part. How many of us would mod a super/hyper car? I don't think those cars were built on a budget, but purely on vision.

[auggiem3]

I mod b/c I like to watch positive tranformation be it asthetically, speed, and/or handeling.

I get the same feeling after a great mod that I get watching someone take a classic junker and transform it into a beautifully original piece of artwork (albeit less of a feeling given the addition of something like painted reflector covers represents something less awe-inspiring than a rotissrrie restoration).

[saeedg48]

to make it perfect..
a stock car is never perfect, it can always be improved.

example:
when looking at the stock cat-back exhaust it's sad how crappy it is.

[ES_TRADER]

Originally Posted by SehrSchnell

Maybe on this forum, but where I live I'm the only alpine white e92 DINAN modded M3.

pics pls

[z00m]

Mod to outperforme cars that should be faster(corners too),but.... To know that your car with proper suspension stands on the road better -so you are more garantied then you drive it to the limit. ANd it's m3!
To look mean and say - I'm not standart.Are we??!!