Doing 'mods' to your car?

[NXcoupe]

Ok, so I have been reading around this site for quite a while now, and one term is thrown around very loosely on here, and that is doing 'mods' to your car. To me, doing a mod to your car is something that makes it faster, handle better, or just perform better. But is putting new floor matts or a chrome badge, 'modding' your car? I would think that falls under customizing personally. that is making your car to your taste, but leaving it alone performance wise.
Also, tuning, that word has finally come back to it's proper meaning, that's manipulating the timing and a/f of the engine to acquire more power and performance. It used to mean LED windshield wiper pissers and chrome hubcaps a few years back. Frustrated the hell out of me.
So what brought this question out, is I saw a car advertised on another site, and the guy put 9X Mustang, LOTS OF MODS. I open it expecting to see a built, blown, sprayed, etc vehicle, but it had a cold air kit and a bunch of customizing SH*T. And he wanted the price of a blown, sprayed, HCI car to boot. Am I the only one that thinks this way? Lets shoot the $hit a bit.

 

[Venomous96Cobra]

agreed! a visual modification should be considered as a term to be custom or customizing because you are changing the look's to suit your personal taste!

 

[NXcoupe]

Well that makes two of us! lol! I hope we aren't the only ones. I just always thought of customs as all show and no go, like having a bunch of chrome and polish and stainless and flashy lights, etc. Modified cars are just that, modified for power and performance, and handling too.

 

[CC'S95GT]

Where would this fall?
My 95 tail lights now have bulb in the 3rd bar. While this is a visual type item and your calling it a customizing, it's a little more than lipstick and mascara.

For the sake of discussion: putting on a body kit, emblems, interior is still modifying how it came from the factory.
I guess it could be considered customized to the individuals taste but so could engine/ drivetrain type mods.

 

[DropTopPony]

WHEELMAN may have a few things to say about this.

 

[greenscobie86]

Interesting but here around the NYC area no one ever says "I've modded my car" or I got plenty of mods." Everyone who is in the know just ether says "I've got _____ done to my car" or something similar...

But yea i agree that the new Type R carbon fiber dildo holder someone just installed shouldn't be called a mod lol...

 

[NXcoupe]

Where would this fall?
My 95 tail lights now have bulb in the 3rd bar. While this is a visual type item and your calling it a customizing, it's a little more than lipstick and mascara.

For the sake of discussion: putting on a body kit, emblems, interior is still modifying how it came from the factory.
I guess it could be considered customized to the individuals taste but so could engine/ drivetrain type mods.

That's the point, the original meaning of the slang word has been distorted to incorporate anything done to a car. It used to be, so long ago(6 years) that modding your stang meant you were putting hp to it. And for years, ever since I can remember, customs were all show and no go, or at least very little. But good discussion so far.

 

[adrift]

The word "mod" may have grown in meaning due to tech culture, where any personal change to software is known as a mod. Folks mod PC games, their cell phones, their Operating Systems, etc... (Heck, I just "modified" my post). One hobby I'm interested in is audiophile headphones, folks in that hobby often mod certain headphones with new cables to (supposedly) improve clarity, mod earpads for more bass or for comfort, they mod tube amps by rolling out various tubes, etc. I think the word "mod" has just grown to encompass any personal change from the manufacturers original design.

 

[Justang]

To modify is to change. While I feel the term "doing mods" should really apply to performance parts, I think any change is a modification. Now if you used the term "upgrade," I think you're getting closer to a performance only change. "Custom" can really mean anything, but to me it should mean having something that is more or less a one-off type thing. If you can order it straight out of a catalog/online then I do not think it is custom.

 

[duff daddy]

well..... im just going to put a smilie, most people know how i feel good job mike !

 

[MustangMoser]

blaim the ricers. They are ones that think adding a 3 ft wing to their FWD is a performance mod.

I can see both sides of the argument. Yes, by definition, modifiying is changing. It doesnt mean, performance only. But NX is correct that in its slang it used to mean performance. Now, customizing is something that should be 1 off, or relitily obscure in the market. Putting an emblem on isnt customizing to me, its just putting on an emblem. Cutomizing to me is a radical paint job and hand built interior pieces. Take my black Mustang emblem, its not a custom emblem, its the Mustang emblem thats been painted black to make it look better to me. I'd call it a visual modification.

 

[Gregsn95]

Buttt in all reality, a " mod" is any modification done to your car.. Your changing, and making it different than how it originally was. That's literally the deffinition of modification. People tend to use different words for different meanings but, your definition of "mods" are very vague. You could be changing your headlights or dumping a supercharger in, either way it's still changing your car...which is a mod

 

[Steven]

Why on earth are we discussing this. The people who typically consider it a mod generally don't turn wrenches, let alone build any real kind of cars. Unless of course, it's bought.

 

[NXcoupe]

Steven, lol.

 

[NXcoupe]

The word "mod" may have grown in meaning due to tech culture, where any personal change to software is known as a mod. Folks mod PC games, their cell phones, their Operating Systems, etc... (Heck, I just "modified" my post). One hobby I'm interested in is audiophile headphones, folks in that hobby often mod certain headphones with new cables to (supposedly) improve clarity, mod earpads for more bass or for comfort, they mod tube amps by rolling out various tubes, etc. I think the word "mod" has just grown to encompass any personal change from the manufacturers original design.

Probably the best reason(besides blaming ricers) that I have heard, very well put. But I want to point out that the mods you discussed mostly improved the performance of the headphones, games etc.

How about this? We start our own definitions. If you put something on your engine that makes it go zoom faster, it's a mod? If you put a new flashy emblem on, it's an appearance mod. Sound good? So I don't open any more threads of lots of mods to see flashy emblems lights and chrome? That's cool if it's what you're into, but I like a tasteful blend of both. Everyone has their own preferences, so I think this discussion is really openning up some dialogue that is interesting to me. I like to keep up with the changes in our hobby/obsession.

 

[Gregsn95]

The word "mod" may have grown in meaning due to tech culture, where any personal change to software is known as a mod. Folks mod PC games, their cell phones, their Operating Systems, etc... (Heck, I just "modified" my post). One hobby I'm interested in is audiophile headphones, folks in that hobby often mod certain headphones with new cables to (supposedly) improve clarity, mod earpads for more bass or for comfort, they mod tube amps by rolling out various tubes, etc. I think the word "mod" has just grown to encompass any personal change from the manufacturers original design.

Probably the best reason(besides blaming ricers) that I have heard, very well put. But I want to point out that the mods you discussed mostly improved the performance of the headphones, games etc.

How about this? We start our own definitions. If you put something on your engine that makes it go zoom faster, it's a mod? If you put a new flashy emblem on, it's an appearance mod. Sound good? So I don't open any more threads of lots of mods to see flashy emblems lights and chrome? That's cool if it's what you're into, but I like a tasteful blend of both. Everyone has their own preferences, so I think this discussion is really openning up some dialogue that is interesting to me. I like to keep up with the changes in our hobby/obsession.

Sonds good but suing appearance mod is just describing a type of mod, hell might as well say preformance mod and appearence mod( althought it's more of a hassle lol) mod has basically just become a short way to say"somethings different" you know?

 

[Venom351R]

Perhaps "mods" needs to be changed to "performance Mods" to separate the two since to many think that mods are something other then power/performance improvements.

 

[Steven]

lol, well I mean come on.. "Check out my sweet mods, look at my chrome cobra shifter knob, and fake chrome cobra floor mats, pretty sweet. Install only took me the whole afternoon"

They are the last people to build power, let alone a real performance car. Stylizing your car is great, but running around trying to make yourself the ultimate "modder" because you installed floor mats and a shift knob tells me your not a very talented mechanic.

Granted this is not aimed at anyone in particular. lol.

 

[2slo95fiveoh]

June 18th, 2001... The day that changed the car aftermarket for everyone, and ruined the use of terms such as mods and
torque. (The fast and the furious release date). It was after that movie came out, that I could be at a local car hangout
and hear a guy say, "Yeah I just put this Intake (cold air), on my civic, the box said it adds 20 Horse.." I think the "Mods"
meaning can be blamed on the import fans.. They saw the term being used around modern day muscle to describe increase in
performance/acceleration, and made the assumption that anything that was "modified" was considered a "mod". The "fast and
furious" crowd is starting to die out, but they're still out there..

 

[MustangMoser]

well..... im just going to put a smilie, most people know how i feel good job mike !

Hey, Duff is a mod too