Golden Age of Modding...will it ever come again?

[Patterson]

A few of us Tuners were talking about this recently that the field of Car tuning could be gone in the next 10-15 years

 

:dumb:

[Draco-REX]

I was wondering when you would wake up and pay attention to this thread Draco, I even mentioned the BRZ in an early post to make your ears burn.

I read some of this thread earlier, but my phone isn't conducive to the posts I wanted to make.

 

While yes I agree there are a lot of reasons things are easier now due to the ability to just "Google it" and with plug and play tuning it just seems to have taken some of the...dare I call it ART out of everything?

I don't think there's less Art. I just think there's more crap out there masquerading as Art. There's a worse signal-to-noise ratio than in the past because it's become easier. But there's still room for art both mechanical and visual.

 

On the visual side, you've seen cars that look tacky, and you've seen cars that are just "right". There's a skill to modding a car right that not many people get.

 

On the tuning side, while plug-n-play does lack "art" it only has limited effectiveness in the grand scheme of things. To get the most of an engine requires classic hands-on wrenching.

 

I'm as guilty as the next guy, I'm on forums for just about every car I own to be able to help me trouble shoot issues or gleen knowledge from people before me.

Don't feel guilty. The internet is another tool in your toolbox. Part of the changing landscape.

 

Previously that was either done at a car show (April 14th), parking lot where we stood around compairing and telling tall tales, or from trial and error in the garage. The first car I ever modified basically pre-internet-as-we-know-it I happened to have a very knowledgable friend who almost held court for local car guys.

True, but how well did that work? That same guy can now go on the internet and spread his knowledge to countless people. The whole car scene benefits instead of one area.

 

I think the big question here is, will there be another Golden Age of car meets?

 

Do we still get that feeling on Forums and Blogs? Do you still get that sense of awe when you see someone roll in driving an S4 that has no replaced equipment just a patched piece of software for their computer systems as you do from someone rolling up in a crazy modded early 90s machine with shiny pipes and turbos, custom mounted IC solution, and obvious TLC under the hood? I don't.

While there's respect for uncommon and factory-fast cars, a "chipped" car will get few repeat looks, while the built car will have people standing around it all day. I don't think that has gone away.

 

The thing is, the tuning shown in that video is an exception, not the rule. Tuning like that is just using up the "safety margin" the manufacturer engineered into the car. Most cars don't have much margin, though the Euro cars tend to have more due to over-engineering. To use my STI as an example, just a tune will net maybe 5-10hp. Get out the wrenches and free up the exhaust, and those gains jump to 60-80 depending on year/tune. But if you want to go beyond that, you'll have to upgrade the fuel system because you've used up all the overhead Subaru designed into it.

 

Another thing to consider is that cars today are capable of a lot more power than cars of old. So what used to be large gains in the past are easier to achieve, making it look like there's less skill involved. But to get the most from a modern engine, it take all the skills of old plus some new skills. There's plenty of Art out there, but the horsepower wars have made it so people can settle for less and still have an enjoyable ride.

 

It's also I think a bit of a generational issue. Are the up and coming still as interested as we were in customization and personality? I'm not THAT eld that I feel like I'm ready to say "When I was young" but, it kinda feels like that is missing...maybe thats just me.

There's a lot more vying for kids' attention these days; Social Media, Video Games, etc. But there are also more of them driving too. So while the community may not be growing as fast as it probably should, I don't think it's shrinking. It's the job of us older members of the local communities to guide those that enter the hobby and help them feel welcome. Have we been doing that lately?

 

The SCCA has been struggling with an aging membership and hasn't until recently begun aggressive campaigns to get younger members to join. But I have been seeing more and more new and younger faces at events. So I think there's room for lots of growth in all aspects of our hobby. We just need to let the kids know what options are out there. We need to show them that we'll help them learn to tune their car right, rather than ridicule them for their car choice. And we need to show them that they can take the car they have right now and go race it. It benefits everyone.

 

tl;dr: Plug-n-play tuning only gets you so far, old skool skills are still needed. Kids have less attention for cars these days, but can still be guided.

[Mallard]

It's still an art, but the tools have and will continue to evolve. As Draco said, cars today may be easier to get big gains out of with simple changes, and today's ECU's may have made it easier to mod. Then again, they are getting increasingly complex and a tuner needs to know what he's doing. It also takes an experienced coder to hack the stock ECU, which will continue to get more difficult to do.

 

In the past a guy with simple tools, a grinder, and a welder in his garage could modify almost anything on his car. But today you need a computer, as well as well designed hardware. Future tuners will have access to CAD, CFD, 3D printers, and simple CNC's. To me, that's just as much an art as the methods of the past.

[99StockGT]

For this of us that spent a ton of time in the IS field it's a similar situation to what you have seen in the computer support world. The days of knowing all the hardware ins and outs, as well as breaking down software glitches to their basic parts have largely gone by the wayside. Replaced with much more easy to use diagnostic and repair tools, largely disposable parts, and a knowledge bank thanks to the "Google Machine" that allows anyone with a basic understanding to learn their way. Not saying its a bad thing, just different and many steps removed from what it once was.

 

Younger Techs would be lost when it comes to SCSI cards and IRQ conflict errors, much like Carbs, massive amounts of vacuum tubes and EECs/Early ECUs. The newer stuff is more powerful out of the box, more robust, easily upgradable/supportable and able to do things simply that would have been hard to believe of tech just a few years removed.

 

I guess maybe it comes to an appreciation point. You don't have to know how to work on the old stuff, how to tune it all and make it work just right. As long as you appreciate and respect those that came before you and put in the hard bloody-knuckled work to get us to where we are. To Draco's point and taking the younger generation under my wing, that's a great mode of thought. Being in the parts business you see everything from the barely running to the running screaming italian and everything in between, it's our responsibility as car nuts to foster that desire in the younger generation. (/off soap box)

 

Mallard I completely agree with you on what tuners will have access too. I think it COULD possibly lead to another Golden Age of of Tuning. Imagine the customization available if you were able to 3D print body panels and interior pieces. Able to CNC your own accent pieces and basic hardware. Could certainly but a fun time to live in, as long as the desire to express ourselves in our automobiles is still around.