Raazor

Guys, before you begin randomly modding your car, get a clear picture in your head of what you want. Do research and don't be in a hurry.

What you want to try to avoid is wasting money. Most of us modders waste money at some point that could have been avoided.

For instance. When I first got my Vette I ran out and purchased chrome wheels for it, added a Corsa exhaust, then added the K&N CAI.

All those items are gone. I sold some of it and made a little of my money back... very little.

Before you get a hoodliner, make sure you aren't going to later add a Maggy that requires an aftermarket hood. If you add an Exhaust system, make sure you're not going to put on an STS turbo system. If you purchase wheels, make sure you're not going to do a wide body and so on.

Overall, I completely wasted around $2,000 that could have been avoided had I just waited and planned a little more.

MARSC6

The problem is you try to plan but then you always need more.

SlickShoes

$2k is all?

Hell, you've got it good!

landontwt

I made the mistake of going for a non-GS model in 2009. I want to do a wide body, add wider tires, deeper dish wheels, and a z06 brake kit. the problem with that is, I'll end up paying the same if I had just ordered the GS straight up. but then I go back to the fact that I only paid $43k for a new 09 with 5 miles.

need-for-speed

O, I think you'd wind up spending much more than the incremental cost of the GS.

SlickShoes

Oh, and truth be told...

Your heart is in the right place, Raazor, but unfortunately, it goes against our nature to follow your sound advice. Simply put, there is a natural progression. Nobody (almost nobody) goes out and buys a car expecting to end up with what they do years down the road.

Technology advances, styles change, and tastes mature. You acclimate to whatever image of a car you've built, and eventually, what was once your own pinnacle becomes simply mediocre to you. I've been through this more times than I care to count.

My Jeep is an example. When I bought it, a little 3" lift kit, some mud terrains, and a roof rack were all I needed for what gave me the "ultimate Jeep". Eight years, half a dozen suspensions, as many sets of wheels and tires, 3 sets of axles, multiple differentials, bumpers, winches, and modifications later, I've scrapped/sold more money worth of parts that my Jeep's net value.

You can always plan, but the plan is never steadfast. Somebody two years ago when I bought the C6 asked what I eventually intended to do with it. I said I wanted a nice reliable C6 with maybe a good exhaust, and perhaps some wheels. That was all I aspired to.

$20k later, something tells me I'm not even half way there...

gatti-man

Well if you do the carbon fiber widebody your car will be lighter and you can buy better quality wheels than the heavy oem ones. If you paint the whole car you can get rid of the nasty factory orange peel paint too!

Edit: oh yeah and better tires!

Fcars4Ever

I did this with my last car and learned the lesson dearly. Another good idea (what I am doing) is to save up for everything that you want and do it all at once. This way you can avoid what the OP and I have done. If you think you want to turbo the car eventually, save for it and do it at once. This way you can avoid spending money on mods like headers and intake when you aren't going to need them for the final plan anyway.

need-for-speed

very wise words. Seen it here many times. At least you were willing to share your experience.



p.s. a friend once tole me "knowledge is expensive"

wise words

need-for-speed

That's the way to do it.

Not only will you save a great deal of time and money - you reduce the amount of scratches in the paint, broken fasters, skinned knuckles, grease in the carpet (both in the car and in the house ) etc.

Raazor

Would have been a lot worse except I was able to sell those items to fellow CF members.

VETFEVER

Very good advice Raazor!!

I made the mistake of buying the wrong car right off the top (my NB Vert in my avatar) - it was an Auto and I loved it but really wanted a 6-speed....

I suggest spending a few months surfing this forum, lay out a plan for things like engine\power related, under hood aesthetics, exterior, interior, etc, and then slowly execute....

Much more satisfying if you have a vision and work towards it.

Patience Grasshopper

johnodrake

Yeah, but sometimes your plans change and your priorities change, or you just need a change.

Raazor

True, but in my case, had I just been a little more patient, I could have saved the money.

keyplyr

With me, modding was a huge learning experience. I had little forehand knowledge of the Corvette and its potential so I didn't know what I wanted when I bought it. All I knew was I wanted a Corvette

mongooseC6

So true. I waited a year before I even changed a thing on my 08 - that was CAI. I am very slow to change.

GotVett?

I agree and I try to plan mine out carefully. However, my patience seems to turn into "dilly dally" sometimes, since it takes so long. Maybe it's a good thing that these days I don't have the funds quickly available like I use to, otherwise I would be wasting some $$$'s.

turbolou

My Z06 is getting a pair of long tube headers, Cold air kit & some programming. Other than choosing the right parts this is entry level & requires little planning.

Raazor

Until you change out all the fenders to a "thin-body" and you need new wheels.

Joe_Planet

Hindsight as always is 20/20, but then again at the time those are the mods you THOUGHT you wanted, and then changed your mind. Which is ok... that's the nature of modding, and of course once you start modding you'll definitely be losing money, but that's not why we do it, we do it because its fun.