Tuners vs Fakers

[Ayodog]

Starting this thread to see what others think are real tuners and who you would consider as a faker.

To me a real tuner is going to consider all aspects of their car. Performance will be looked at but at the same time they're going to make their car look good as well. This means not going to deep into either. For me i will tend to spend most my money for performance but i'll always be adding a little thing to make my ride look nicer from time to time.

Our car is our daily driver and we all want to look good when driving around town or taking out that certain girl. Plus though i hate to say it, most including me, want others to know that we modify our car.

I got my first si a good 19 months ago and it was probably one of the best days of my life. 6 months of working minimum wage to save up enough for a down payment had finally paid off. I'm lucky enough to have parents who were willing to make a certain monthly payment but with restrictions such as no rwd, less then 30k miles and has to be no more then two years old left me with cars such as a corolla, mazda 3 or 05 civic. Not quite the car i wanted to start off with. But after looking for a month i found a 06 civic si with navi for 17 bfore taxes with only 14k miles. That was the car i purchased after putting 4k down to meet the payments. Ever since then i have been spending all the money i make from working ( still min wage to this day ! ).

Tuners seem to have the same love for their cars and their car is most likely their most prized possession. If you dont own a house of course. But what gets to me and something i have come across so often is what i consider a faker or just wannaB. The kind of person that just doesnt seem to know what they're doing with their car and can make a beautiful car ugly. The kind of person who gives the rest of us a bad name by doing stupid things on the street and believe that the loudest car is the nicest car. The stereotype given to us civic drivers due to the reputation we have as people not knowing a thing that they do to their car and putting on a fart cannon and stickers everywhere. This is truely what i hate and despise.

Making things worse is the people whom are like this almost always act as if they really do know what they're doing and what tuning cars is all about.

I'm curious on what other people would consider a tuner vs a faker and see if my mindset is on the level with many others. After meeting some one today with a wrx and acting like it was gods gift to earth i couldnt get this thought out of my head.

[jokka]

its all relative.

[NitrousG35]

I like to think of things in terms of enthusiasts vs. wankers. An enthusiast loves cars even if he drives a cheap, inexpensive car. He aspires to make his car perform better and does so based on what is available financially. Modifications are done based on performance and styling enhancement.

Wankers are wannabe's and ricers who would destroy a perfectly good car. They are tasteless and generally ruin the appearance and performance of a car. Their cars bounce like basketballs and scream automotive vulgarity. They have always been out there, but their numbers are proliferating like mice.

[nycclaye]

some people are tuners, and some people aren't.

I wouldn't consider somebody a "faker" unless they're spouting off senseless, unnecessary, uncredible, and untrue information like it's the bible.

some newbies do not honestly know the answer to some questions, but I wouldn't consider they're lack of information or knowledge "faking"

I learned more about my car after I went boost within the first 3 months than in the first 2 years.

[Ayodog]

Well i feel teh same way about that. Theres a difference in just not knowing compared to acting as if you do. If you dont know much then thats cool, everyone starts off such as.

I'm sure you could talk to me about boost for hours and i wouldnt understand a damn thing cuz i have never delt with turbos. I just know theres a turbine spinning at 30k rpms and using exhaust fumes. And it makes a cool noise when you left off the gas lol.

But i'm talking about the people you come across every now and then that can just really get to you when they keep speaking out of their ass about how they have done so much to their car or will be in the near future.

[bossman]

tuners know how to improve on every aspect they want/need to meet their goals,Fakers will pay to have it done and claim they did it or they mislead you into thinking they have more knowledge than they do.A real life example.The guy who corner balances his car,track tunes the suspension and orders custom spring rates and has the dampers valved accordingly. vs. the guy who slams the hell outta it and they both are "improving the handling".Or the guy that buys a "vtec" controller or a performance chip vs the guy that puts the time in on a dyno and tunes for drivability and safety as well as power.

[fre$h si]

Originally Posted by nycclaye

some people are tuners, and some people aren't.

I wouldn't consider somebody a "faker" unless they're spouting off senseless, unnecessary, uncredible, and untrue information like it's the bible.

some newbies do not honestly know the answer to some questions, but I wouldn't consider they're lack of information or knowledge "faking"

I learned more about my car after I went boost within the first 3 months than in the first 2 years.

thats why im hessitant on boosting, i feel like its one of those things ur not really gonna know everything about till u do it

[bossman]

common sense and friends that are familar help out alot.don't be afraid to learn new things,but never assume you know everything about anything

[eunos]

You could also be a trackrat. The highest evolution of the order, track rats will autox/roadrace/time attack above all else. They scoff at idiots who try to race them on the street, because a track rat is the Alpha T-Rex, and Rice burners are Scooby Snacks. They know that they have braked for a hairpin at a point and speed that would make a highway roller piss themselves.

I cant afford headers and coilovers because I would rather spend my money on seat time, data aquisition and consumables only. Making yourself a better driver is priority number one and everything else comes second. Eventually you dont even give a **** anymore what your car looks like, because washing the tires and brake dust after every event is absurd and unless you have serious sponsors there is no point. I have attacked a corner at 180km/h, heel-toe, feel the back get squirrely and sideways and have my passenger tell me afterwards they saw their life flash before their eyes. Tire pressures, negative camber, caster adjustments are sexy, brake squeel is an everyday thing. Flat black is sexy, form ALWAYS follows function. You become a lateral g junkie, trail breaking and doing whatever it takes to corner as hard and for as long as possible.

You know that adding horsepower is usually the most expensive and inefficient way to go faster, unless you are at the top of your class.

There are few of us my friends, but we enjoy the best of the automotive world...

[Ayodog]

I'm well aware of the track rat.

However i dont see them as the top of the evolution. You cant really put a superiority on the small branches that exist in this world of ours.

Said before, most have the car as a daily driver and turning it into a track rat is not always the best idea. I'm going to track/autox as much as $ will allow, and drive in the mountains every week where rock chips have destroyed the front of my car but i have to make sure i can go to and from work and school.

Happy to see the responses, many of you can put this thought in my mind into words much better then i could lol

[nycclaye]

Originally Posted by fre$h si

thats why im hessitant on boosting, i feel like its one of those things ur not really gonna know everything about till u do it

you wont until you do is correct. every car, driver, altitude, atmosphere, daily road terrain, and much more factors play into boosting not only our cars, but any car.

Originally Posted by bossman

common sense and friends that are familar help out alot.don't be afraid to learn new things,but never assume you know everything about anything

unless your a woman

Originally Posted by eunos

You could also be a trackrat. The highest evolution of the order, track rats will autox/roadrace/time attack above all else.

so true

[amd4me]

Originally Posted by nycclaye

some people are tuners, and some people aren't.

I wouldn't consider somebody a "faker" unless they're spouting off senseless, unnecessary, uncredible, and untrue information like it's the bible.

some newbies do not honestly know the answer to some questions, but I wouldn't consider they're lack of information or knowledge "faking"

I learned more about my car after I went boost within the first 3 months than in the first 2 years.

You mean like most E36 owners?

[Asif22]

Some people are not in performance, some are not into style, some are into both...Whatever is done, as long as it's done the right way I like it.

Like VIP cars, sleepers, or w/e

[amd4me]

Originally Posted by Asif22

Some people are not in performance, some are not into style, some are into both...Whatever is done, as long as it's done the right way I like it.

Like VIP cars, sleepers, or w/e

Speaking of sleepers on time me and my buddy were in his M3 and he revved up at this Miata at a light. The Mazda revved back and it was a monster Miata. 5.0 LMAO

[NitrousG35]

One of the greatest compliments that can be paid to a tuner car is the term "clean". Clean denotes tasteful body and motor mods. Mods that leave the car slightly understated. Mods that don't necessarily call attention to the vehicle. Remember that what we call "Rice" is actually individuals who are craving attention. They are screaming, "Look at me". They want to be noticed by their garish adornments. Maybe they have ego problems or something and somehow feel that being ostentatious will win approval from others.

[ONE2ENV]

^ So does that make CF hoods rice then? There job is to attract attention and really serve no other purpose..

Dont even get me started on weight savings.. Its so minimal its not even funny. I have a seibon, I would know.

[vf1si]

Roriz? Don't you haves a Habi FA5? You haz the only "06" FA5? lol.

I have CF hood/trunk. I painted them FBP and attached the OEM spoiler. Thought I would see significant weight savings but noone, until I posted it, ever measured the weight of the two. That was after 2 1/2 years of the car being out and 100s of people getting CF hoods/trunks. Needless to say I was disappointed with the reduction. I didn't want the attention, just the upgrade...which yes was minimal.

[Berndonfat]

good thread

[NitrousG35]

Originally Posted by ONE2ENV

^ So does that make CF hoods rice then? There job is to attract attention and really serve no other purpose..

Dont even get me started on weight savings.. Its so minimal its not even funny. I have a seibon, I would know.

Who said cf hoods are rice? Not me. You are putting words in my mouth and jumping to conclusions. I personally like the look of cf hoods. A nice hood can add to the cleanness of the car.

If you are honest, you know that I was referring to garish bodywork, coffee can mufflers and slammed cars with cut springs. I really think you did not read what I said.

[mmmken]

Originally Posted by NitrousG35

One of the greatest compliments that can be paid to a tuner car is the term "clean". Clean denotes tasteful body and motor mods. Mods that leave the car slightly understated. Mods that don't necessarily call attention to the vehicle. Remember that what we call "Rice" is actually individuals who are craving attention. They are screaming, "Look at me". They want to be noticed by their garish adornments. Maybe they have ego problems or something and somehow feel that being ostentatious will win approval from others.

I believe I fall in the subset you've identified in lower half of your paragraph. I have a good deal of parts that scream "look at me" but I can assure you that I do not have an ego problem or care religiously about how others think of me. I wanted my car to look unique and it's become a hobby - that's all.

I wouldn't call myself a real tuner, but I wouldn't call myself a faker. I'd say I'm reasonably knowledgeable in regards to cars but will admit that most of it's theoretical rather than hands on. I'd love to work on my car as much as possible (I've ripped apart my interior, changed my trunk, changed my doors, installed an intake, as well as other random things) - but I wouldn't trust myself to make any modifications that could put my safety in jeopardy.