5 Car Mods That Are Sure To Upset Purists

When it comes to cars, I think I’m pretty open minded. I like JDM, Euro, American muscle, Italian. I even dig the Kia Soul though if I ever get one, you better believe I’ll be rocking a hamster suit behind the wheel. Same for engines - crazy VTEC, silky V12 or thumping pushrod V8 motor; if it makes power, it makes me happy.

As far as customisation goes, I try to be just as open minded. I don’t particularly care about big wings and body kits on teeny hatchbacks, but that doesn’t keep me from admiring the work and respecting the owners who love them. And the more time I spend in this crazy car community, the more I believe others feel much the same.

But there are some things you just don’t do. Ever.

I don’t even know where to begin here. Actually I do. If you want a specific car, buy that car. If you can’t afford it, work harder until you can. I’ve witnessed some intense moments at car meets over people with M badges on pedestrian 3-series Bimmers, S badges on regular Audis, and I’ve seen blood shed over V6 Mustangs wearing Cobra or SVT emblems. It’s the easiest appearance “mod” to do, but the folks who own the real deal will take you town for being a poseur.

Any time you drop an engine from another manufacturer into a car there’s going to be some butthurt. The only reason I single out the LS swap is because it’s freaking everywhere. That’s a testament to just how good these engines are - they make great power, they’re relatively compact in size, and there’s all kinds of support for them. I’m not opposed to people choosing a good engine as the basis for a project car, and if you’re performing a custom engine swap, you absolutely have a project car. But pick and choose your events wisely because I promise you this: show up to an import meet in an LS-powered RX-7 and you just might go home with knuckle impressions in your cheeks.

There’s no denying the popularity of this particular automotive genre. It also has more than a few critics and no shortage of haters ready to ridicule the whole scene. Big deal; such things apply to pretty much every automotive genre, but there’s another more aggressive line of opposition that face those living the stanced life. I think it has to do with the crazy camber and insanely stretched tyres that absolutely destroy performance.

It wouldn’t be so bad if the mods were done to everyday humdrum vehicles, but cars with legitimate performance cred are going under the knife and that really upsets some purists. Take a stanced E36 M3 to a BMW meet and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.

You would think all the big-time muscle enthusiasts of classic 1960s muscle cars would welcome power adders to the mix. The truth is, some of these guys are big time proponents of all motor power and get pretty upset when someone decides to “cheat” by bolting up a supercharger. That animosity gets even worse with nitrous systems, unless you’re talking about a full-on custom resto-mod using modern mechanicals. I’m certainly not saying all muscle car enthusiasts are like this, but those who get bent out of shape over such things tend to be pretty vocal about it.

Not everyone can afford an exotic car. Friends don’t let friends by Fieros with ill-fitting Countach-esque body panels, but in defence of this genre, there are some custom kits that are properly well done. That makes no difference to most exotic car owners who mercilessly trash such endeavours, and surprisingly, many non-exotic owners feel the same way.

There’s such a stigma about this that I think many people who’d really like to own an exotic replica don’t get one for fear of the blowback. It’s similar to the fake badging, but here’s the thing. Work hard and be smart about money and you can probably get an M3. It’s going to take more than overtime pay to buy a vintage Ferrari Daytona Spyder, so yeah, maybe some replicas aren’t so bad.