02-26-2018, 01:23 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-26-2018, 01:23 PM by D_Eclipse9916.)
Brandon and Rj's talk about tunes and mods and the complication of aftermarket integration into newer vehicles got me thinking.
New cars are SUCH a pain to modify in traditional ways and have become more expensive to do simple "tuning" and upgrading stuff such as the exhaust and suspension (Electronic deletes). During the early 2000s and even the early 2010s, the cars became heavier, more numb, and more expensive. So screw newer cars right?
WAIT!
The past 5 years or so have been absolutely amazing to car enthusiasts. Cars have gotten louder to the point of Ford even introducing a "good neighbor tune" to quiet the exhaust on start up during start up at certain hours. No need to upgrade that exhaust! The suspensions have gotten stiffer AND more comfortable. They finally come from the factory with enough adjustability to add camber or have good enough suspensions to not need a ton to do avoid destroying tires in aggressive driving. They also have gotten LIGHTER (some not all) and got steering feel back into them vs previous iterations in the early 2000s. Huge wheel widths to support good tire and enough power stock that "why add more?"
For example, I would gladly trade up my E92 M3 for any of the above and damn near would change VERY little, heck the stock wheels themselves are gorgeous!
BMW: M2
Chevy: Corvette Grand Sport and Camaro Z28/1LE
Ford: Mustang GT350
Porsche: Cayman GT4/Porsche Boxster GTS/991S
And some that I wouldn't necessarily buy myself but are superb vehicles and I would consider pretty big upgrades from previous gens.
Audi: RS3 and RS5 models
Mazda Miata: Went down in weight by a significant margin on an already light car!
VW: Latest GTI
Am I just getting old or this truly just a "bright spot" like the early-mid 90s were for auto enthusiasts?
New cars are SUCH a pain to modify in traditional ways and have become more expensive to do simple "tuning" and upgrading stuff such as the exhaust and suspension (Electronic deletes). During the early 2000s and even the early 2010s, the cars became heavier, more numb, and more expensive. So screw newer cars right?
WAIT!
The past 5 years or so have been absolutely amazing to car enthusiasts. Cars have gotten louder to the point of Ford even introducing a "good neighbor tune" to quiet the exhaust on start up during start up at certain hours. No need to upgrade that exhaust! The suspensions have gotten stiffer AND more comfortable. They finally come from the factory with enough adjustability to add camber or have good enough suspensions to not need a ton to do avoid destroying tires in aggressive driving. They also have gotten LIGHTER (some not all) and got steering feel back into them vs previous iterations in the early 2000s. Huge wheel widths to support good tire and enough power stock that "why add more?"
For example, I would gladly trade up my E92 M3 for any of the above and damn near would change VERY little, heck the stock wheels themselves are gorgeous!
BMW: M2
Chevy: Corvette Grand Sport and Camaro Z28/1LE
Ford: Mustang GT350
Porsche: Cayman GT4/Porsche Boxster GTS/991S
And some that I wouldn't necessarily buy myself but are superb vehicles and I would consider pretty big upgrades from previous gens.
Audi: RS3 and RS5 models
Mazda Miata: Went down in weight by a significant margin on an already light car!
VW: Latest GTI
Am I just getting old or this truly just a "bright spot" like the early-mid 90s were for auto enthusiasts?
2020 Ford Raptor
2009 Z06
1986.5 Porsche 928S
2009 Z06
1986.5 Porsche 928S