Some car enthusiasts refuse to mod their cars, preferring to keep them completely stock and original. While others prefer to modify, customize and upgrade their cars, to varying degrees. If you’re in the latter camp, you’ll know that modding a car can be incredibly rewarding and exciting. The ability to make your cars yours, more personalized to you, can be a cool feeling. Sometimes, even the simplest of mods can make a huge difference.
For instance, maybe you have a good engine but it maybe doesn’t sound great. A new exhaust can completely change the tone, feel and excitement level of your car. Every time you drive it, it will sound that much more exciting, creating a better overall experience. Of course, a cheap, crappy exhaust can ruin the sound of your car, so you need to invest wisely but the potential to make a massive improvement is there.
Wheels are also a great way to increase the fun-factor of owning your car. A great set of new wheels can massively improve the look of your car, making it more special each and every time you interact with it. So when you walk up to it to get in, you see the new wheels. When you lock it and walk away, doing that classic glance back that all car enthusiasts do, you see those new wheels. Just those little looks each and every day and improve the ownership experience of whatever car you have. Again, bad wheels will actually make it look worse but a great set of wheels can be a huge improvement.
Even something as simple as a new steering wheel or shift knob can be hugely satisfying. Those are things you interact with constantly while you’re driving. So upgrading and improving them makes the experience of driving you car better, each and every time. What’s nice about a steering wheel or shift knob upgrade, or both, is that they’re relatively cheap yet make a huge difference. A new steering wheel can be especially satisfying, as it’s literally the way your hands connect with the car at all times.
While I personally think tires are the most important “mods” for a car, that has more to do with performance. A great set of tires can transform the way a car feels, though, especially if it’s an older can. Upgrading to modern tires can unlock a lot of performance the car might otherwise not have have.
So what’s the most meaningful, impactful or enjoyable car mod you’ve ever done?
I’ve done quite a lot and plan to do more but the most useful “best” mod I’ve done is replacing the rear view mirror in my car with an auto dimming mirror out of X5.
If is not a Custom Restoration, the car must be remained as factory standards ! Please NOT Pimps my Ride https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a36edd79079ea16a1106890e97b810fb73005a49571fb66800f02466dd08f7da.jpg
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At least on a BMW, replacing run flats and adding a strut brace. Coding enhancements can be very helpful, too. We have an S54 in one of our cars, and the Eisenmann was a sweet upgrade — I don’t notice a power improvement but the sound is incredible.
On my ford focus 1l ecoboost. As stock its tame.
So ive added a racechip. Downpipe and a set of st 17inch rims with sports tyres. Really transformed the driving experience.
On my F60 MINI Countryman: extensive coding, swapping out the stock shifter head for an illuminated one from ICT, and putting the MINI fob’s circuit board into a BMW fob shell (MINI’s is junk!).
Wide Michelin A/S3+ tires for my F80 M3. Unless the road surface is really bad, I always have traction and DSC doesn’t kick in.
Doesn’t snow here, but does get down to the 40s. These perform just as well in the winter here as during the summer when it’s 100 degrees.
285/35ZR-19 Rear
265/35ZR-19 Front
FMIC, charge pipe replacements, flash tune, M3 links and rear subframe bushings, MFactory LSD and replacing the RFT with Michelin Pilot Sports.
I’ve about 10 items modified on my F30, the most satisfying is ECU remap from 170hp/250Nm to 220hp/310Nm, next one up is xHp transmission software rewrite, it provides smoother and quicker gear shifts on the ZF. The most unsatisfactory mod is the replacement of EVO, add on Apple CarPlay to my F39 X2, the WhatsApp function doesn’t work all the time, once I get off the car with the key fob with me, the EVO keeps flashing when I get back in, I have to turn off and on the engine to go back to normal. Above all, they can’t fix it, I have to live with the broken infotainment system.