Paul M. wrote:
> I couldn't agree more. These "import tuner" kids take
> so much grief from the older generations. Why?
> Because they are hot rodding their cars in a way that
> their parents don't understand? What else is new!
I will stand firmly behind the comments already made by Chuck Renner. Maybe
10% of the tuned imports you see on the road are modified in a manner which
could be defined as hot rodding. Xenon lights, red fluorescent underbody
lights, blue windshield wiper nozzle lights and coffee can exhausts are mere
styling enhancements.
My brother and I are only separated by three years in age, but have taken
very different automotive paths of interest. I've had an MGB and two TR6s
in the past five years, as well as my daily driven VW Jetta. He has had a
Chevy S10 (now my shop truck) and now has an '01 Mitsu Eclipse. Owning an
MGB and the TR6s absolutely forced me to learn about the cars and how things
worked and how to fix them. I do not think there is one bolt-on engine mod
on either car that you can do without influencing or adjusting something
else in turn. If you want to go to 1 3/4" carbs on your MGB you better be
prepared to spend the time and money to dial in the needles and your timing.
But bolting on a 60mm throttle body onto the Eclipse is a 30 minute task and
the ECU compensates for fueling/air requirements without much trouble. Even
if really work over the motor on the Eclipse there is a plethora of ECU
chips to suit your configuration.
I understand that technology has forced hot rodding to go this route.
However, real hot rodding used to require some skill, or you would royally
mess up your car or at least it would sound like a dog everywhere it went if
it was belching on gas. There also seems to be a lot less backyard
engineering taking place as kids are more intent to just swap out stuff when
it breaks and replace it with a new item. I guess they are not too
concerned with wanting to know why it broke in the first place. Although, I
am quite confident that most of the defunct components failed under abuse or
failed as a result of improper installation.
Then there is the commercial side of this whole thing. The Fast and the
Furious is a perfect example of kids being shown what they should strive to
drive and what their cars should look like. If you work a 40 hour week as a
grocery bagger and sink all your money into your ghetto Honda, there is only
one word for you, idiot. A lot of my brother's friends fall into the idiot
category, and at times he does too, like when he tries to tell me that his
blow-mold ABS plastic cold air induction kit will give him 75 extra
horsepower. To which he and his entourage gleefully proclaim, IT SAYS IT ON
THE PRODUCT BOX!
Kai
1972 TR6 (lacking the blow mold ABS plastic front spoiler that helps me
reach 160mph)
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