[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/sports-performance-prestige-cars\/why-do-we-tune-cars\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/sports-performance-prestige-cars\/why-do-we-tune-cars\/","headline":"Why do we tune cars?","name":"Why do we tune cars?","description":"Tuning or modifying cars is a costly and time-consuming process that can bring joy, excitement, high blood pressure and bankruptcy to those that do it. Messing around with what car manufacturers spend a ton of money \u2018perfecting\u2019 is clearly a risky manoeuvre \u2013 so why do so many of us do it? Well, I\u2019ve built several high spec project cars over the years, so I\u2019m now going to attempt to explain why I think modifiers modify. I believe the basic […]","datePublished":"2013-05-22","dateModified":"2013-05-22","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/author\/isabelle-lawrence\/#Person","name":"Isabelle Lawrence","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/author\/isabelle-lawrence\/","identifier":30,"description":"Max Wheeler is a leading motoring journalist and classic car specialist at Smart Motoring, renowned for his sharp insight and infectious passion for all things automotive. With years of experience covering motoring news, supercars, and the enduring legacy of classic cars, Max brings stories to life with style and authority. Whether it\u2019s the roar of a Lamborghini, the elegance of an Aston Martin DB5, or the cultural impact of vintage motoring icons, he delivers expert commentary that inspires enthusiasts and collectors alike. Dedicated to celebrating the heritage and future of driving, Max Wheeler is your trusted voice for classic car news and beyond.","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d331506e3c530b5ec4930c30a01ed8cc29b0537227573ae5da98f559e681401?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8d331506e3c530b5ec4930c30a01ed8cc29b0537227573ae5da98f559e681401?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Smart Motoring","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/smart-motoring_news_logo_g-e1765846726493.webp","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/smart-motoring_news_logo_g-e1765846726493.webp","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Tuning-Cars-Feature.jpg","url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Tuning-Cars-Feature.jpg","height":"577","width":"577"},"url":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/sports-performance-prestige-cars\/why-do-we-tune-cars\/","about":["Cars","Modified Cars","Sports \/ Performance & Prestige cars","Sports, Performance & Prestige Cars"],"wordCount":847,"keywords":["gt-r","Jaguar Racing Green","modifying","nissan","Nissan Skyline","R32 GT-R","Red Hot Chilli Peppers","Sheryl Crow","tuning"],"articleBody":"Tuning or modifying cars is a costly and time-consuming process that can bring joy, excitement, high blood pressure and bankruptcy to those that do it. Messing around with what car manufacturers spend a ton of money \u2018perfecting\u2019 is clearly a risky manoeuvre \u2013 so why do so many of us do it?Well, I\u2019ve built several high spec project cars over the years, so I\u2019m now going to attempt to explain why I think modifiers modify. I believe the basic reasons are there for everyone \u2013 make it faster; cooler; individual \u2013 but there are also personal reasons why so many of us take a reasonable car and make it more expensive to own, service and insure. And don\u2019t even dare add up the money you spend!Let\u2019s use the Nissan Skyline GT-R as our tuning icon. First released in 1989 as a ground-breaking 4-wheel drive, 2.6-litre twin-turbo Porsche-smasher \u2013 the original R32 GT-R has won pretty much every race. Then came the R33 and R34 variants; both all-new cars, though still happily using that silky, torquey, 2.6-litre straight-6 engine; one of the most aftermarket tuned engines ever to turn a crank. The Skyline name was dropped for the current, R35 GT-R, but the fundamentals \u2013 with an emphasis on the mental! \u2013 remain; four-wheel drive, big turbo power and enough digital performance gizmos to see off cars twice its price.Here\u2019s my own R32 Skyline GT-R (below), shining in the sun on an Essex back lane, after a recent caning just for the fun of it. There\u2019s about \u00a325,000 in this car, with its Yanaka wide front and rear arches, full Do-Luck body kit, respray in Jaguar Racing Green, hand-built engine by one of the best in the business, new brakes; wheels; suspension; seats, etc, etc. A lovely motor with a full fat 380bhp  (and insured by Performance Direct, as it happens)\u00a0– whereas they came with around 300bhp from the Nissan factory in Japan \u2013 it goes like stink and sounds like the end of the world. So where is it? Well, the uprated electric fan on the uprated aluminium radiator packed up and it started overheating! So it\u2019s back with the builder to have the stock viscous fan assembly put back on it, which, while it nibbles a tiny bit of bhp from the engine to run from the fan belt, is super-reliable and keeps the mighty engine \u2013 just look at the size of it! \u2013 at a peachy temperature.Tuning and modifying can be a right pain in the bum. The car is always somewhere getting something done, whereas normal people in normal cars simply drive them around with not a worry for setting the ride-height of their fully adjustable suspension so the car sits mean, but still \u2013 and only just \u2013 clears speedbumps. People that don\u2019t modify look at you like you\u2019re speaking in tongues when you reel off the stuff that\u2019s been done, and all the stuff that still \u2018needs\u2019 to be done, to the wild-looking tuner car before them. Fortunes and hours spent, so what\u2019s the point?For me, I love the older Japanese turbo cars. Not so old as to be low-tech and slow, but old enough to look different to modern cars, that, for the most part, kind of all look the same these days. And, coming from a tuning back ground of many years on Max Power magazine, the R32 GT-R has long been one of the true kings of tuning and a long time dream car of mine. My green GT-R\u2019s got some pukka bits on it; it\u2019s fast yet reliable (most of the time!), and while huge power (1,000bhp!) is possible with huge money to spend; 380bhp thumping out of that roaring VeilSide big-bore exhaust will do me just nicely. For now\u2026I love how it looks; all low, fat \u2018n\u2019 mean, and I get excited like a Christmas-time kiddie every time I drive it. It\u2019s different, cool and distinctly badass, and I like the way non-modifying people shake their heads in wonder at what the hell they\u2019re looking at. Good enough reasons to spend too much money on cars? Well, as Sheryl Crow\u00a0once whined; \u2018if it makes you happy, it can\u2019t be that bad\u2019, or to put it more perfectly, courtesy of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers; \u2018if you have to ask; you\u2019ll never know\u2026\u2019Dan’s own R32 GT-R enjoying a back lane thrash. With 380bhp of tuned\u00a0power, it’s very good at this! Dirty? Better go wash it – that paint job was \u00a33,000!Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R in standard trim. The original ‘Godzilla’ Skyline is a tuning iconThe R33 Skyline GT-R, again in standard trim. Doesn’t look like it really needs modifying, does it?!The truly mighty Nissan RB26DETT engine. A full 2.6 litres of straight-6, twin-turbo heaven, and tuneable to over 1,000bhpThe final RB26-powered Skyline evolution – the R34 GT-R. Still one of the meanest -looking cars on the planet. And this one is\u00a0factory\u00a0standard! By Dan Anslow "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Sports Performance Prestige Cars","item":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/sports-performance-prestige-cars\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why do we tune cars?","item":"https:\/\/smart-motoring.com\/sports-performance-prestige-cars\/why-do-we-tune-cars\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]