[Joe-Ker]

Please give a thought to the fact that OEMs may provide just enough safety or anything else for that matter to meet some regulations?

Having worked for an auto OEM in a safety related R&D role, most of the work we did was reduce the specs to make a strong component cheaper/weaker while still meeting standards.

While this is inevitable in the interests of efficiency as severe over engineering is no good thing, but oftentimes this results in under engineered components which meet the country's standards but does not do full justice to the true capabilities of the car.

And in case of engine mods, most people who mod are aware and willing to trade engine life for performance.
My M800 at home has travelled 130000km on the original engine and is still going strong, but cant say the same for the rest of the car. So wouldn't i be justified in enhancing the driving pleasure, with some mods? The worst that can happen is that the engine will die at the same time as the rest of the car.

Mods when performed by experienced professionals usually help to unlock the true potential of the car. Does anybody think the rally swifts have the same internals as the ones sold here? or are the rally swifts less safer?

Do not judge mods form one side alone, it can be bad or good depending on the head behind it (usually)

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by Joe-Ker

Having worked for an auto OEM in a safety related R&D role, most of the work we did was reduce the specs to make a strong component cheaper/weaker while still meeting standards.

While this is inevitable in the interests of efficiency as severe over engineering is no good thing, but oftentimes this results in under engineered components which meet the country's standards but does not do full justice to the true capabilities of the car.

Very well said Joe.

Originally Posted by Joe-Ker

And in case of engine mods, most people who mod are aware and willing to trade engine life for performance.
My M800 at home has travelled 130000km on the original engine and is still going strong, but cant say the same for the rest of the car. So wouldn't i be justified in enhancing the driving pleasure, with some mods? The worst that can happen is that the engine will die at the same time as the rest of the car.

So very true. Life of the car should be relative to the life of the heart of the car.

[Dr.Sav]

Whoa! This thread unwillingly turned out to be a battle between mod enthusiasts and opponents, a colored manifestation of the following lines:

One man's garbage is another man's treasure.
Anyone driving slower is an idiot and anyone faster is reckless.
What is vulgarity to one in films is freedom of expression to the other.

While there may be idiots who mod their cars to sore-eyes proportion (there is a thread on this site which shows unbelievably ugly mods), the general view is to better our own rides through wisely chosen ones.
Without sounding preachy, what we need to do on this forum is to respect each other's views and judgment. As I said, most mods are done for the betterment of our rides and not as a sadistic revenge on all other street users.

To clear the air, let's take a look at the many mods available for our vehicles one by one and set things right. According to me there are three categories of mods: Cosmetic mods, Performance mods and Safety mods.

Cosmetic mods:

Paint and stickers: Usually done to provide individuality to one's car so that it stands out in a crowd. Not everybody likes to be an owner of another white car on the road for instance.

Door Visors, roof-top fin, spoilers, neon: Again, these are done to make the car look different, but some may prove to be of utility value. For example door visors help you keep the windows slightly open in hot parking areas without giving it away. Let us admit that spoilers in our cars and in our driving conditions are only cosmetic and do not provide any utility value.

Body kits, skirts and grills: Usually done for looks but if done properly may reduce drag and if done without research may interfere in car safety.

Interiors: To each his own. What is gaudy to one is aesthetic to another so the lesser spoken the better.

Safety mods

Remote locking: Minimizes theft to a certain extent and is a matter of convenience. May drain the battery if the connections/settings are faulty.

Anti-roll kits: Saves tires and body roll in emergency maneuvers.

Bull-bars: Saves cost of painting in case of minor fender-benders. May prove fatal to pedestrians in mid-size crashes, but in my opinion will not interfere in the functioning of crumple zones in high-speed crashes as it will directly crash into the radiator (Source - I've been witnessing tons of accident affected cars in my garage).

Alloys/Upsizing/Tubeless: Certainly helps stability of the vehicle if done within prescribed limits. Alloys do not lose their shape as often as steel rims so have to be balanced that much lesser.

Powerful HID kits: Usually done for better visibility, but can be a menace if directed poorly.

Window tints: Helps in reducing glare through the windshield in the night, prying eyes in the day and, of course, cooling the car faster. This again better be done within prescribed legal limits.

Suspension spacers: Proves beneficial in maintaining GC if the car is retrofitted with an LPG/CNG cylinder at the rear. I've seen cars moving like cockroaches when both tanks, rear passengers and boot are full.

Better brakes: What safety hazard can that prove to be if used wisely?

Fire-extinguisher: Is like emergency drug in a medical store. You don't need it daily, but when you need it you better have it.

Performance mods

There are a host of mods under this category (air filters, FFE, headers, ECUs, tuners, weight reduction, et cetera) and going through each would be insane. But let us know that modifying the car under this category is done to suit one's liking and driving style and is not potentially or intentionally done to put anyone in danger. For example, my friend (a rally racer) had modified his DCM Cielo so that it may be fit for the races. And then I'm usually a lane disciplined driver but can also zip through traffic if need (read hospital emergency) arises. Then I wish I would have modified my car not for unsafe but for quick driving.

We also know that a host of Indian cars have the same engine but are only tuned differently by each manufacturer to capture a certain target audience. If one likes all the features of a certain car except a few, then he may mod it even if it means losing the warranty.

In conclusion let me say that hypocrisy is a strong word to be used generally for all mod enthusiasts. After all, not every man with an AK47 is a terrorist (I hope the analogy is taken in the right spirit). No matter how safe the company makes the car, even a stock fitted car be misused and proven unsafe. As someone said, 'It takes 8460 bolts to assemble an automobile, and one nut to scatter it all over the road'.

PS: I don't have ABS/EBD, airbags, anti-roll kits, et cetera on my OHC but in all my years of driving I've yet to encounter even a slight pedestrian brush-off or any fender-bender on the road. I'm sure there are many out there like me.

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by mayankk

I wonder carroll shelby thinks of this?

Probably thinking he landed on Mars and is sitting in there listening to a discussion he doesn't understand

[pganapathy]

Totally forgot about this when writing about Carroll Shelby's views.

Any car is manufactured to meet various parameters. If it was purely an engineering feat then I might even think the OP had a point.

However, there are various other factors that decide how the car is built. Looks are important even if those looks are not necessarily the best engineering wise in terms of safety or efficiency. For example plastic cladding on bumpers serves no purpose other than looks. Tell me how that is perfect R&D engineering.

Price also matters. There is an article I read taken from a link here about brakes in TBHP. When Bugatti were designing the Veyron, or maybe it was the EB 110, they had the option to put in a new and revolutionary brake being designed by a Canadian company. They chose not to because the brakes cost more than the rest of the car.

Fuel efficiency is another compromise that the engineers have to make. The ideal way to make a car more fuel efficient is to lessen the weight. If you do that in a well designed and engineered way (for example like Colin Chapman did at Lotus) then it is good. A lot of manufacturers, especially here in India don't do that. But hey, the Indian's first question is "Mileage kya hai".

Also, there is no guarantee that R&D is perfect. I mean if so, there would be no need for more R&D unless one was designing a totally new car. Why is it that Toyota follows the philosophy of "Kaizen" or continuous improvement. Because they got the vehicle perfectly designed when it was launched. I don't think so.

[Joe-Ker]

Pganapathy..Agree with what you have said except for one minor point.


"For example plastic cladding on bumpers serves no purpose other than looks. Tell me how that is perfect R&D engineering."

The cladding if u notice is present in the outermost extreme of the bumpers where maximum no of minor nicks n scrapes occur. One can just change the cladding (if the scratch is visible) and not the whole bumper. No painting costs needed either. Contrast with what would happen on a smooth painted bumper.

[anaghp]

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for modifications. But I think it's necessary to draw a line somewhere. And I draw that line where I know that the modifications will be a danger or nuisance to others. There are some very obvious no's that I have, and I'd like to list them down here.

Off-road modifications
As the name clearly states, these are supposed to be for 'off-road'. The moment you bring it on-road, there are obvious threats to others.

1. Limb risers: This is one of the modifications that give me the Final Destination chills. Consider hitting a pedestrian who gets thrown onto the metal cable when you are going even at a speed of 50kmph. Even worse, a 2 wheeler rider hitting head-on.
2. Metal bumpers: Similar to the one above, my consideration here is the people outside. Pedestrians and two-wheelers mainly. There is a reason why car bumpers are plastic and wheels are covered.

Lighting modifications

1. Flashing LED lights: LED lights, especially the flashing ones have become all too common. I got stuck behind a car the other day which had a high-intensity blinding flashing brake light. I could see black spots even after 5 minutes of getting away from it.
2. Auxillary/custom lights: I understand its use when going in hilly areas or where there is a definite need for such lights. But vehicles plying in the city limits? At least turn them off when you don't need it. Of late, I see two-wheelers and autorickshaws having these lights pointed upwards that blind the oncoming traffic. When it comes to cars, it's usually an ill-fitted headlamp or foglamp that's not aligned correctly. Why even turn the fog lamps on the dry Bangalore roads?

Sound modifications
I love some exhaust notes. The sounds of in-line 4 cylinders in motorcycles, stock thumps of the Bullets, low-end grunts of diesel and high-revving notes of petrol.

But some people take it to the next level with insanely high sounds that even trigger the alarms of the parked cars on their way. Another is the insanely loud bangs that I hear primarily on squid-ridden motorcycles.

While the sound is something very relative, I still believe there definitely is a universally insane level.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by anaghp

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for modifications. But I think it's necessary to draw a line somewhere. And I draw that line where I know that the modifications will be a danger or nuisance to others. There are some very obvious no's that I have, and I'd like to list them down here.

Have to completely agree with you, I have personally removed the limb risers when the Thar was used in city and highways and installed it only for Offroad trails. Maybe it's paranoia but yes I did imagine the situation going wrong with them on. On the other hand the bumpers were metal Offroad ones, since I never got the OE ones with the vehicle that was a preowned purchase. Swapping back and forth was also not an easy option, but then I was conscious about this and mentally used to keep a large buffer in mind while driving the vehicle.

We do have an issue with modifications and its enforcements, so things are pretty vague and sometimes goes under the radar.

[Dr.Abhi]

I am getting sick of loud exhausts, horns and music systems. Why our government doesnt consider sound pollution as a menace and try to curb it?