What are your required mods for a daily driver?

I would like to use this thread to point out just how incredibly awesome it is to have a hardwired inverter.

Don't skimp out. Get the biggest one you can justify. If you find yourself with the ability to plug floodlights or power tools into your CAR, as well as the usual consumer electronics, you find more and more useful things you can do.

Still need to get one for my VW, but I hardly drive it except for parts hauling and when my Mazda is broken (see previous post re: cams)

I know someone who, during an extended power outage in Columbus, plugged his house into his Legend.

Hal wrote: I always start with wheels and tires. Then from there I either go with performance stuff or the bling factor depending on the vehicle.

Same here. Also a stereo upgrade if it needs it to connect w/bluetooth and aux in. My current mustang has a Clarion head unit that allows me to do my phone w/bluetooth for both phone calls and audio, so it functions as a wireless iPod. :)

Both my DDs have custom wheels. The BMW got 19s and the Mustang got 20s that fit the style of the cars.

Tires and tunes ALWAYS come first. Then it's on to whatever it would need to start 1st time every time (battery, and tune up), then I go on to modding...where possible. To me, it's like Toyota not only makes a "generic" car with each and every Camry, but they positively discourage owners from doing mods that might keep these cars from being boring. Example? try finding one with a manual transmission. Or, how about an engine that is so fantastic, you would buy a Camry just to own the engine?

I have a habit completely gutting my DD. In my mind I'm saving fuel, tires, brakes while at the same time giving it better handling and making it more fun to drive.

My current DD only has the drivers seat and dash in it. I stripped it down to fix rust in prep for paint but I am going to have a hard time putting that stuff back in when I eventually do get it painted.

Maybe I have a sickness

My DD has 2 mods:

-A stereo that plays USB MP3s and allows for bluetooth phone calls
-A hot air intake.

Most of them end up with wide wheels, sticky tires and a stiff suspension. The current DD is an exercise in having a stock appliance beige-mobile.

Well, I'd like to say I keep my DDs stock and sensible, but....

My (now someone else's) Spitfire was my daily for one summer. It had twin SUs, headers, a very loud muffler, Koni shocks, race springs, tires and wheels, and a decent stereo with an auxiliary input.

My E30 was my daily for 3 years. It has poly bushings and mounts everywhere, sport springs, koni shocks, intake, chip, exhaust, MAF conversion, high-flow cat, stainless steel brake lines, revised fuel tank with two pumps, revised rear sway bar mounts, bigger sway bars front and rear, camber plates, tires, wheels, tucked bumpers, tint, blacked out trim, rebuilt LSD with more lockup, short shifter, CB radio, strobes all around, Hella conversions for light, a very good stereo, and a German license plate where my Florida tag should be in the rear.

My Trooper is my current daily. It has a 9,000 pound winch on a homemade mount, a 1.5” lift, a Lokka rear differential locker, a class II trailer hitch, a CB radio, a good stereo, 15x7 “Snowflake” wheels wrapped in 31x10.50 r15 General Grabber AT2 Tires, Hella driving lights, a Thule roof rack, a removable fridge, rock sliders, and a homemade drawer system in the back. Oh, and at the moment it is in pieces as I'm switching to a manual transmission and a vinyl floor.

All of them have had good wipers/ lights, a GRM sticker, and a GRM license plate frame (10 horsepower!) as well.

Essentially, I never stop modifying my DDs. I realized why the other day when I was driving the (bone stock) Fiesta– I like cars with soul and personality, whether it's the BMW's "I wanna go fast!!," or the Trooper's "I wanna tip over!"

Stainless braided brake lines. The difference in brake feel makes for for a better driving experience to me.

My DD has a newer stereo (hello it's a 1990 and came with an AM/FM Radio) Tepid air intake, ST springs and GR2 struts, front strut bar. It's kinda weak but it's moderately less biege and almost can be fun to drive.

Lower. Wheels. Stereo. Minor cosmetic and performance upgrades, but keep it mostlly stock.

Daily driver mods depend on the vehicle.

My true all-weather daily driver is a 2002 F250 crew cab diesel 4x4. All I have done to it so far is maintenance, kept it clean, and installed a nice stereo (Alpine Nav/DVD unit, Infinity speakers) I am going to put a subwoofer in it this summer and maybe tint the front windows to match the rear. Other than that its staying stock. Stock exhaust and all! If I get bullish I may put a chip on it and a 5" exhaust, lift it 4" and put some 35s on it, but I kind of like having it stock for the time being. I don't know how long I will keep it and dont want to dump a ton of non-recoverable cash into it.

My "daily driver" 2002 Corvette has a few mods to it. Long tube headers, SLP cat-back, offroad X pipe, short shifter, twin disc clutch, Z06 transmission, intake, and a flash. Its also been lowered pretty far, and is tinted. Its got the factory magnesium wheels on it, which are good enough for the time being, eventually I will go with something a little fancier like some CCWs or HREs and get some 555Rs or BFG Drag T/As so it will actually hook. Also looking for coilovers, heads, and a cam sooner than later. Its got a pretty nice stereo the PO put in, Clarion head unit, Kenwood 4 channel amp, and component speakers. Its about as wild as I would want to go with a daily driver.

My last daily driver truck was a bit raw and eventually I got tired of it. It was a lot of fun driving around town in a 96 Dodge Ram Cummins with a lot of pump work, turbo work, full billet "race" transmission, lift, and big mudders, but it was not too practical (too high to really use the bed a lot, not too manuverable in town, eats up $350/ea tires every 20k).

ShadowSix wrote:

jrw1621 wrote: I have a cheap but effective cell phone holder that clips onto the AC vent. I have used the same holder in 3 daily drivers over the past 5 1/2 years.

dude, send a link, I've bought two or three useless ones!

I told you it was cheap ($7.64), but really, I have used it in my Volvo 850, Ford Escape and E30.
It adjusts to accommodate different widths as well as different thicknesses.
Does not go wide enough to place phone sideways or fit a gps unit but for everyday holding of my Android and previous BBerrys it is/has been great. The actual clips holding the vent are metal (not plastic.)
See the Amazon reviews for other opinions.

http://www.amazon.com/Type-AC01994-60-6-Universal-Holder/dp/B000CRO4IA/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_25

Shown here doing it's thang in a Subaru.
http://www.cobbforums.com/forums/showthread.php?34596-Mounting-My-Ap-Question/page2

mguar wrote: In reply to jere: Leave it stock.. daily driver isn't about anything except getting there at the lowest possible cost.. Money spent on a Daily driver won't increase it's value one cent.. and seldom if ever recover it's cost.. Save any extra money for the race car. Worst comes to worst put it away for the home you'll need or want..

Definitely a sobering thought One thing I am split on is the exception/or addition of safety, (which possibly goes with lowest cost) what is the value of health and safety? I am not sure how far this idea should really extend to though, it would be easy to get carried away with. Safety in mind is why I put wheels/tires, and upgraded lighting on my list. Better lighting/vision for avoiding hitting dear or zombies at night and better stopping/turning if need be to avoid hitting them on their daily commutes. Also you might not agree but I think aero mods might be justified under lowest cost if used as a hyper miler would. For reducing drag and gas consumption, that would be a pretty much free mod anyway.

Javelin wrote: Fix what's broken. Then: * Tires, and possibly wheels * Complete fluid flushes with better and/or just new fluids (brake fluid, clutch fluid, oil, coolant, diff oil, trans fluid/oil, washer fluid, etc) * Niceties (good wipers, good headlights/bulbs, floormats, radio AUX hookup, license plate frames/holders that aren't buzzy/rattly/look bad, etc) * Brakes (good pads, rotors if needed, check the suspension out) After that I'm usually good for awhile.

This is the point the Camry is at now just sans the good light bulbs with two beat up rusted exterior panels. Maybe I will try this plan for a while... what happens with you after awhile though?

ransom wrote: I'm surprised how much it's bugging me to leave the WRX stock. But it's absolutely off the table for resale reasons. For pretty much any car where it's viable, I want to move away from the undersprung/underdamped stock arrangement. *Everything* feels too soft and floaty to me stock. For a cheap Camry, cut coils (with a bit of math to make sure the rate changes are sane and within reason with regard to F/R rate changes) and KYBs would be a reasonable answer. Or maybe check out Mazdeuce's experiments with coil separating blocks. Of course, firmer suspension isn't the first thing I think of when I think "VIP Customer Taxi"... And I *hate* window tinting, but to each his own.

Cut coils and coil separating blocks....Hmm that might be a really good cheap solution to the marshmallows the car is riding on now...but it might get me in over my head The taxis I drive have the police package for the suspension so I think I could get away with a lot

ShadowSix wrote: In reply to jere: You're going to want some aggressive snow tires. Because you're going to rallycross that motherberkeleyer.

Now that thought is going to get me in over my head. Every time I go get some daily boring thing in that Camry I am going to be thinking I could be at a rallycross instead.

nicksta43 wrote: I have a habit completely gutting my DD. In my mind I'm saving fuel, tires, brakes while at the same time giving it better handling and making it more fun to drive. My current DD only has the drivers seat and dash in it. I stripped it down to fix rust in prep for paint but I am going to have a hard time putting that stuff back in when I eventually do get it painted. Maybe I have a sickness

I have that gutter syndrome too! I am going to try to stop at just the spare tire and jack with this one, but on the other car anything that breaks and doesn't power the car goes in the dumpster AC,heater, wipers, powersteering pump...such a good feeling when that stuff comes out

integraguy wrote: Tires and tunes ALWAYS come first. Then it's on to whatever it would need to start 1st time every time (battery, and tune up), then I go on to modding...where possible. To me, it's like Toyota not only makes a "generic" car with each and every Camry, but they positively discourage owners from doing mods that might keep these cars from being boring. Example? try finding one with a manual transmission. Or, how about an engine that is so fantastic, you would buy a Camry just to own the engine?

Funny you say that, that was the first thing I looked up. I there are a very few of the Camry coupes that had manual trans but those are it . I guess Toyota wanted an incentive for their customers to buy one of their sports cars too

Knurled wrote: I would like to use this thread to point out just how incredibly awesome it is to have a hardwired inverter. Don't skimp out. Get the biggest one you can justify. If you find yourself with the ability to plug floodlights or power tools into your CAR, as well as the usual consumer electronics, you find more and more useful things you can do. Still need to get one for my VW, but I hardly drive it except for parts hauling and when my Mazda is broken (see previous post re: cams) I know someone who, during an extended power outage in Columbus, plugged *his house* into his Legend.

This is a really good practical suggestion especially for a road trip car. What should I be looking for in a good one? Power rating?

Usually an intake, and a stereo and at least front speakers. Then I just replace parts as they wear out with better ones. Like the motor mounts...replaced them with poly ones, etc etc.

• I have put a Momo Monte Carlo or Competition wheel in my last 4 cars. Typically $60-80 on ebay w/ a $65 adapter. Much better than any stock wheel saving for the few cars that came with them back in the 80s.
• Sirius/XM
• Ez-Pass

That is pretty much it - everything else is subject to interpretation. Some get exhausts, some get wheels or full coilover suspensions. Some get full cages. Some just get fuel and maintenance.

A turbo, a bumper dumper exhaust, a gutted rear interior, and a 4" lowered suspension.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: A turbo, a bumper dumper exhaust, a gutted rear interior, and a 4" lowered suspension.

You win.

Derick Freese wrote: In reply to mguar: I can't stand most vehicles when they're stock, even to DD. I replace worn out stuff with nice parts when they wear out, but never before that. If my daily makes me fall asleep on the way to work and I crash it, it's because it doesn't have soul. Mods keep me happy with a daily longer, so I keep the daily longer.

My commute to work is boring no matter what car I am driving. Usually I drive my Saturn, which is quite boring. Occasionally I drive the S2000 on sticky rubber. Its just as boring, but now with more shifting, more noise, burning more fuel, and wasting more expensive tires. And a worse stereo.

I'll save my race car for enjoyable drives and auto-crossing. Anything else, I'll take the appliance.

"It depends."

My 89 Mustang GT was a tin can DD, 2950# with driver. Ran around on 275/50R15 BFG drag radials out back and 165r15's up front without a front sway bar with 90/10 struts.

My 96 Ranger was only a radio and tire upgrade DD until I swapped in an 8.8 for an upcoming failed V8 swap.

My F250 was probably my least modified DD. Tunes and fix whatever was broke kind of vehicle. Diesels and their parts ain't cheap.

My Dakota is probably the most modified besides the Mustang. Lowering spindles, blocks, tunes, tires, and NOT fixing what is broke because I am broke lead the mods on this one.

So again, "it depends".

MG Bryan wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: A turbo, a bumper dumper exhaust, a gutted rear interior, and a 4" lowered suspension.

You win.

To be quite honest however... i WOULD like a nice stereo.

However i'm still perfectly ok with the lack of power steering and A/C.

The sunroof works now, though, and i'm pretty psyched about that.

suspension, tires, working AC and a decent stereo. I can handle no-power if it can at least be a momentum car. I can handle cramped space if it gets great gas mileage and is dependable. I can handle loud road noise as long as I can still turn the radio up and it not be distorted.

When I started driving hte Accent as a daily, suspension, tires and radio all got swapped fast. Transformed the car from a horrific, bouncing loud obnoxiously slow car to something entertaining if slow.

As parts fail, I replace them with performance options. So far [in the escort] are breaks, clutch, exhaust manifold. Suspension modifications are always a must, though.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: A turbo, a bumper dumper exhaust, a gutted rear interior, a 4" lowered suspension and a little pocket pool.

Ftfy

Just for the record, that isn't me.

He must be eyeballing that turbo...

N Sperlo wrote: He must be eyeballing that turbo...

His was bigger.

Wait... what we were talking about again?