alex s

Modding almost always costs you twice what you think it will, either in money or time.

This is why I think it's hilarious when I see people making threads saying "I'm going to spend $4-5k and go FI." I gave up the boyhood dream of daily driving a stripped out race car a long time ago.

Good luck with your build though man, hopefully things start falling in line for you!

rnye

Glad to see I'm not the only one!

Saki and Cosmos - I totally understand and agree from a "DD/practical" standpoint that mods are not the way to go. I have owned Zs my adult life and have always wanted to build the "ultimate" S30.

The car I am building is a rust free, 12/70 (series 1) car. Every aspect of the build is over the top and overbuilt - ultimately leading towards a monster drivetrain setup. I just want to use the 'best' parts - seats, harnesses, gauges, steering wheel, quick release, hub, suspension, wheels, paint, cage (that will pass every changing/strict tech NASA/SCCA/whatever) and the like.. - It's costly but I think it will end up being incredible and something I'll never want to part with.

Anyway, it goes into paint next week and I'm hoping to have it back together in time do a serious shake down for Zdayz in May.

S2020

this thread made me feel a little better.
yesterday I just wrote a check for $6000 b/c my car had (in the mechanic's words) "rough idle". A whole bunch of work and $6K later, it does idle smoother.
it's crazy how much we spend on our passion.

d1rtyc4r

Just spent $1600 to get my 335 idling smoother (well $400 of that was to flush tranny/diff fluids for the jerky auto), still doesn't have a smooth idle in cold weather, f@#king pos. Wish I never bought it.

CosmosMpower

I supercharged my Lotus for 2K turnkey including installation and tuning. I sold the kit for $2,300 when I was done.

FearlessFife

The main reason I moved away from modifying my S2000 is pure cost. To do it right, even finding used parts in good shape, you spend a lot of income on parts and modifications that do nothing but depreciate. You'll never see that money again.

Made a few minor changes, called it good. I'd rather put 'mod' money into my retirement so I can retire early and move to Hawaii.

alex s

That's a pretty rare exception, I'd say. Bet that was a lot of fun though.

myclue

ryne- in times like these, you just need to realize that these are some of hardships you will be going through in modifying a car, and in the long run it will all be worth it!

SpudRacer

I can understand the desire to create something and the satisfaction of working with your hands. But, I simply don't have the sort of time to devote to a project like that. Between the parts and the tools, it's also hugely expensive. And there is a serious investment of your time just to gain the knowledge required. More on newer cars, less on older cars. And then there's the frustration noted by the OP when suppliers screw up and/or their "custom" parts don't fit properly. Then there's old Top Gear episode where the hosts more or less proved that spending thousands on premium parts "mods" (tires, brakes, aero, shocks, springs) on a relatively new Renault basically did absolutely nothing for lap times. They got the only tangible result from doing proper maintenance on the engine (plugs, oil, filters, belts, etc).

For all of those reasons, I just choose my cars carefully to match what I want and trust in the design team to have done their homework. The only "mods" I generally do are tires. The SRT6 is an exception because it's so damned easy and cheap to "mod" the S/C boost and tune the engine. A 28% increase in boost costs about $1,200. There's one part to install (about 20 minutes). And the ECU tune can be done remotely over a wifi connection in about 10 minutes.

ZDan

Just a note: "better" and "best" are often the enemies of "good enough"! The more you try to make a car "the BEST", the higher cost and frustration levels rise. And the more devastated you'll be if/when things go bad.

What will be the car's mission? Competition in a specific class, track days, street and track?