Why are some cars more commonly modded than others? Like GTRs, Supras, Evos

Question

Some cars appear more frequently on YouTube and social media as modified rockets than others. But with skill, can’t you put any engine or any other part into any car?

Actually, if trying to maximize performance, why not build from scratch? Why is “1,800hp GTR” more interesting or common than “1,800hp car built in garage”?

In: Engineering

Answer 1

>Why are some cars more commonly modded than others? Like GTRs, Supras, Evos

Because those cars are often higher-performing cars *to begin with*, right out of the factory. So it doesn’t really take as much to modify the vehicle.

The only other cars that get modified are cheap but well-engineered and highly reliable cars, typically with engines and drivetrains that are very tolerant of abusive modifications to crank out more power. This stereotypically ends up being 90’s cars from Japanese automakers like Honda.

Edit: also truck mods, but that’s more because everyone’s pavement princess has to be unique and special and have a gun rack that is *just* so.

>But with skill, can’t you put any engine or any other part into any car?

Not…*exactly*, but I’m not sure why you’d want to in the first place.

Part of the problem is that you have to mount everything onto the frame of the car, particularly in the engine bay. The mounts for one family of engines won’t automatically work on a different family of cars, requiring you to tear up the frame a bit. That frame is a rather important part for structure, as it helps ensure the car doesn’t tear or shake itself apart under high loads.

>Actually, if trying to maximize performance, why not build from scratch?

Because it’s *really difficult* to build a car from scratch. If you use an existing car, you have all of the parts already assembled (and working together correctly), and all you have to do to upgrade it is just remove existing parts for high-performance equivalents.

The other big issue is legality; in order for the car to be street-legal, it has to pass safety and emissions tests. The big automakers already have a difficult-enough time pulling this off in the modern era, no chance that “some guy” in a garage is going to be able to do it.