In a lot of cases, modifying a car isn’t as straightforward as it seems. You might ruin the way the car drives, void your warranty or set yourself on a path where one modification causes another problem, which leads to another, which causes another problem, etc.
We asked readers what mods they thought make a car worse. These were their answers.
Because 3rd Gen (2005-09) Outbacks are cheap, young numbskulls* are buying them and lifting them up to 2”.
Axle life goes from 150k to 20k; they handle like dog doo on the road; and if you sky a front-wheel most of them are stuck.
* and some older numbskulls….
Suggested by: Dana Seero (Facebook)
I bought a Wrangler with a lift kit installed by the dealer. It was a cheap lift and the shocks they put on it were cheaper. I intended to replace it immediately, but apathy and a pandemic intervened. The ball joints took a beating and now need to be replaced at 36K miles along with some other steering components. New lift done right next month. It’s not a mall crawler: 5% town use at most. I don’t care what you say about unlifted Wranglers. They don’t look right. I assume they’re mall crawlers and never wave at them.
Suggested by: TheBlightOfGrey
Bigger tires. Without new gears, gas mileage and general driveability will worsen.
Suggested by: Peter Malcolm (Facebook)
Obnoxious aftermarket exhausts, especially true for motorcycles. Loud pipes don’t improve safety, they just add an annoying background noise to listen to while you’re driving/riding.
Suggested by: Dominic Di Girolamo (Facebook)
Snorkel for 99% of installs. So much more work needs to be done like sealing the ignition, extending the diff breathers, and more. Not to mention the exhaust...
Suggested by: @N701Gv (Twitter)
Engine mods to greatly increase HP and torque without also upgrading the drivetrain to handle the increased power. Knew someone who modded their Ram diesel and proceeded to destroy their transmission in a tug-of-war.
Suggested by: Jon Goodwin (Facebook)
Stupidly huge swaybars.
Bought by people who brag about having independent suspension, then tie it together with a swaybar thick enough for a motor home. So no independence there at all anymore.
Suggested by: XT6Wagon
Neighbor has a bright as f*** orange gold weird metallic neon wrap on his Mercedes c43 which is also strapped with the Performaster S kit and I can’t help but keep thinking “why?”
Why would you want to get pulled over more in an attention magnet wrap, and then get a tune that came with special badging and a aero kit to announce to the police and others “PLEASE HARRASS ME AT EVERY STOPLIGHT OR SPEED TRAP”
I’ve never understood people who try to draw even more attention to themselves when the goddamn vehicle itself is over the top. I am all for interesting colors, but stock, or get a decent respray? I don’t know.
Suggested by: Markoff8585
Excessively oversized low profile wheels and tires.
Like anything bigger than 20s (off roaders exempted) and anything less than 40mm side profile. Car makers develop sophisticated electronic suspensions to be able to tolerate these ridiculous huge wheels and skinny rubber band sidewalls, even though they know it degrades performance. I could perhaps give it a pass on a sports car, but a Honda Accord with huge wheels and tires from the factory is inexcusable. Customers are thrilled with the donk look until they get multiple flats and bent wheels.
Suggested by: eye-suregon
Coilovers. Great on the track, great for a look, but I don’t know a single person who’s ever taken the time to switch their settings to make them usable to drive on the street, so they’ve all pretty much hated their cars after installing them.
Suggested by: Skamanda