Sick Of Owning A Modified Car And The Associated Hassle

[MANWHORE]

Hey guys

A few of you would have seen my car around. Externally, it looks standard apart from a set of wheels - stock sideskirts, stock front bar with lip.

I have a fair few mods (usual stuff), but the main stuff that is apparent would be the exhaust (3.25" straight pipe with no mufflers and the pod filter). My exhaust is quite loud because of the turbo, but I like it as loud as possible.

I'm just getting sick of the hassle and worry associated with driving my car. Everytime I drive past a cop, I get worried and quickly shut the ecv. I don't want to get defected, have to waste my time clearing it, or get fined, epa'd etc. I've thought about selling my car, but then I changed my mind and said hey, I like my car and want to keep it.

I'm thinking of chucking a stock exhaust and airbox back on. It's probably going to kill power and response big time.

Any of you guys feel like how I feel sometimes? I just feel hopeless and down atm. These days it seems that the law and your legal rights are one thing, and enforcing your rights is another matter - sure, you can take it to court, but you'll have to pay for it

[Spunky Munky]

Bro.,

How you feel is exactly how I am feeling. Unfortunately the law has become much harsher throughout the years and I guess owning a modified vehicle does accompany various headaces.

I drive a GTS-T R33 - it' got full GT-R Kit, GT-Wing, frontmount, CAI, Pod-Filter, Haltec ECU, Bosch Fuel pump, Greddy BOV, 3.5 inch HKS turbo-back exhaust etc - I have been defected (canaried) 3 times inthe last 12 months - I have racked up over $2,000 worth of infrindgement notices and speeding fines. It's come to a point where on some days I really just wanna sell it and buy a Toyota Camry or something and just call it a day.

However, like you - my love my ride is very deep. The hours of work I've put it, the time-consuming effort I have spent on customising it etc really means alot to me and therefore I really cannot sell my 'beast' just like that. Let me tell you, I only bring my car out on the weekends - it'll have to be before 3pm as at that time people hardly go out and therefore less cops patrolling etc - there are certain areas I am scarred shitless to bring my car too - and when I drive, I'm always constantly checking my mirrors in fear of the cops. I am literally going "insane" and think I am now paranoid.

Look, to the coppers defense, the road toll has increased heaps in the last 10 years or so - many young people have died on Australia's roads and therefore it is extremely hard someone young driving a sports car to not be stopped and hassled. Moreover, due a minority of "dickheads" out there - the majority of descent drivers who just enjoy their rides and often drive safely on the road have been affected. Unfortunately to the cops; a Skyline, WRX or Clubsport is a top-notch Sports Car and therefore they will stop you at every corner where possible.

My only advise to you is as follows - put everything (most things that you cannot tuck away) stock back on again - you have stock bodykit so less attraction - when you see a cop, just drive normally - do not slow down nor speed as if they look at you, act normal - if you do the right thing, there's nothing to fear - fear only is evident if you have done something wrong and you know it. Good luck bro - ask youself a question - can you sell your beast??? Only you can answer this... I know for a fact that I will never sell my Skyline - not with the time, effort and hard work I've put into it.

But yeah, know exactly how you feel mate...

[braadz]

well get by one day at a time ..

or should i say, one fine at a time ( and thats if ur lucky )

[MANWHORE]

No way, i'm not selling. It'll either be written off or i'll still have it.

[Blitz]

Bro.,

How you feel is exactly how I am feeling. Unfortunately the law has become much harsher throughout the years and I guess owning a modified vehicle does accompany various headaces.

I drive a GTS-T R33 - it' got full GT-R Kit, GT-Wing, frontmount, CAI, Pod-Filter, Haltec ECU, Bosch Fuel pump, Greddy BOV, 3.5 inch HKS turbo-back exhaust etc - I have been defected (canaried) 3 times inthe last 12 months - I have racked up over $2,000 worth of infrindgement notices and speeding fines. It's come to a point where on some days I really just wanna sell it and buy a Toyota Camry or something and just call it a day.

However, like you - my love my ride is very deep. The hours of work I've put it, the time-consuming effort I have spent on customising it etc really means alot to me and therefore I really cannot sell my 'beast' just like that. Let me tell you, I only bring my car out on the weekends - it'll have to be before 3pm as at that time people hardly go out and therefore less cops patrolling etc - there are certain areas I am scarred shitless to bring my car too - and when I drive, I'm always constantly checking my mirrors in fear of the cops. I am literally going "insane" and think I am now paranoid.

Look, to the coppers defense, the road toll has increased heaps in the last 10 years or so - many young people have died on Australia's roads and therefore it is extremely hard someone young driving a sports car to not be stopped and hassled. Moreover, due a minority of "dickheads" out there - the majority of descent drivers who just enjoy their rides and often drive safely on the road have been affected. Unfortunately to the cops; a Skyline, WRX or Clubsport is a top-notch Sports Car and therefore they will stop you at every corner where possible.

My only advise to you is as follows - put everything (most things that you cannot tuck away) stock back on again - you have stock bodykit so less attraction - when you see a cop, just drive normally - do not slow down nor speed as if they look at you, act normal - if you do the right thing, there's nothing to fear - fear only is evident if you have done something wrong and you know it. Good luck bro - ask youself a question - can you sell your beast??? Only you can answer this... I know for a fact that I will never sell my Skyline - not with the time, effort and hard work I've put into it.

But yeah, know exactly how you feel mate...

Given your driving history, you are not really in a position to complain about police attention, are you?

Lets not cloud the issue here - Manwhore is talking about the attention that a modified import automatically attracts, not the attention that some idiot draws in from loosing control of his 'whip' while street racing on a public road and driving through someones living room.

[sewid]

Chuck a stock airbox on and an exhaust that isn't loud. There's a bunch of good flowing Jap exhausts which aren't loud. Fujitsubo Legalis R and Trust Power Extreme II are two off the top of my head.

An airbox is not going to affect your power at all I thought people on these forums had learnt that by now...

[Beer Baron]

lol is this a trick question? you worry about your loud exhaust all the time and it's hampering your enjoyment of the car. well it would be fairly wise then to fit a quieter exhaust wouldn't it? problem solved.

[Beer Baron]

oh, and I have owned and driven modified japanese improts for close to 6 or 7 years now. I have never been unfairly harrassed for no good reason. actually once I was pulled over and treated pretty badly/rudely. that was about 5 years ago and no tickets were writted. the worst treatment I've ever had was about 4 years ago and I was driving a BA falcon...

[jrocket]

I like nice things and nice cars. It just seems that the police want you to stay inline with all the other sheep out there.

[lingeringsoul]

wellif you like your exhaust as loud as possible then what do you expect, you are drawing attention to yourself. Just get a some quiet exhaust and an enclosed pod/stock airbox w highflow panel filter.

[Blitz]

Yeah, straight pipes and no mufflers on a street car, way to blend in and avoid attention.

[QUICKY]

being the nice and caring person i m, and due to the fact your car is giving you such heartache and loss of sleep over worrying about police. il volunteer to take it off ur hands . i know i know, ur probably thinking, why would this guys take upon himself my burden? simple, im just a nice bloke

lol now on a serious note, just get a quieter exhaust dude, and cops arent tooooo bad. Owned my car for 2 yrs now, and been defected (red stickered though ) once. but my car aint too loud. so yeh chin up there soldier, ull be right lol

[Dahtone Racing]

i dont understand the problem

how come you guys with stock looking cars cop all the shit and my car which is way way over the top doesnt

ive been pulled over 3 times going down parra rd and all i got was 3 breath tests

ive come to the conclusion that when they see a car like mine and its been built properly without cutting corners they sort of respect it and let you go with out hassle

[DRD-00F]

yeah theres a certain point i think...

if you saw some lancer or hyundai with a zorst, you would probably give them a bit of shit for having that car, then trying to make it more powerful (if you were a cop), but a skyline, which already has the power, and an aftermarket exhaust, kinda makes you think that the original amount of power wasn't enough for whatever purpose you wanted it for. Which is, assumably, driving it on public roads...

either way, only time i have ever been pulled over in my skyline (stock zorst) was when they thought i was part of an armed robbery... apparently they thought it was a clubspec WRX... in their defence, both were white... what a day to drive that car to work

[hanyou]

No way, i'm not selling. It'll either be written off or i'll still have it.

well a comment like that is probaly why u get hassled by cops lol

my cars got a big exhaust (super dragger, quiet at idle but loud towards redline) and its pretty dumped and you could say it does stand out with the rims, but still cops dont even look twice.

[mesmerized]

i'm worried every time i drive that i'll get defected. but so far, i haven't been pulled over once, touch wood.

got rbt'd but the cops didn't say anything. I always check my mirrors b4 i give it some

got a full body kit, carbon fibre bonnet, zorst, FMIC, aftermarket steering whell and gear knob, pod in an enclosed box w/ a manual boost controller hidden inside.

but i guess if i get pulled over there isn't really much they can do as the bodykit isnt too low, my rims are 17's, zorst is 85db. if they spot the BC i'll just say 'i didn't know that i had one, this is how i bought it'.

thought about getting the car engineered, but they want an emmision's test done, and i doubt it'll pass that. and from what i heard, people with engineers certificates still get done.

[dead32]

you currently own the most police targeted car there is, your only gettin worried when you drive past police because you know your car isnt legal. put a legal exhaust on it and get over the worried feeling, straight pipe's sound like shit anyways, more like a tractor then a car.

[scathing]

but i guess if i get pulled over there isn't really much they can do

Wrong. Without getting it engineered, they can defect you for the FMIC and exhaust. Does your aftermarket wheel have an airbag in it? If not, there's another defect. Does the gearshift knob or the shifter surround have the shift pattern?

You're right that an engineer's cert doesn't guarantee a lack of defects (since they could say the parts appear to have degraded since the cert was signed off, or they suspect that you've modified it further, or they defect you for something not on the cert) but its a safety net that mitigates that risk. Not having one gives the cop an easy angle to "reasonably" defect you.

Also, in NSW you shouldn't be able to get defected for putting on wheels with a different diameter.

[mesmerized]

Wrong. Without getting it engineered, they can defect you for the FMIC and exhaust. Does your aftermarket wheel have an airbag in it? If not, there's another defect. Does the gearshift knob or the shifter surround have the shift pattern?

You're right that an engineer's cert doesn't guarantee a lack of defects (since they could say the parts appear to have degraded since the cert was signed off, or they suspect that you've modified it further, or they defect you for something not on the cert) but its a safety net that mitigates that risk. Not having one gives the cop an easy angle to "reasonably" defect you.

Also, in NSW you shouldn't be able to get defected for putting on wheels with a different diameter.

re: exhaust and fmic, yeah i know i can still get done due to emission etc

its a '94 model, so it never had an airbag i the first place

gearshift doesn't have shift pattern on it noob question, are there shift pattern stickers you can buy to stick on top?

nsw regulations say no more than 1 inch greater in diameter than stock

but i guess if u get pulled over by the wrong cop, he'll do u for almost anything

[Bunta]

oh, and I have owned and driven modified japanese improts for close to 6 or 7 years now. I have never been unfairly harrassed for no good reason. actually once I was pulled over and treated pretty badly/rudely. that was about 5 years ago and no tickets were writted. the worst treatment I've ever had was about 4 years ago and I was driving a BA falcon...

same! 4 years and only pulled over once...when I was doing 70 in a 60 zone