First week mods - what do you do with a new to you car?

Skid plate, mud flaps and driving lights.

Because Rally Volunteer.

In the past, i've done an air filter and a rear sway bar (if available) and called it a day.

• Big anti-sway bars. Roll stiffness = fun to hoon!
• Change fluids

By the time I'm ready to buy I've already researched the car to the point where I run the risk of being bored of it.

Generally I just address the common weak points of the car first. In the case of the MS3 that was adding a catch can, putting in a new rear motor mount, and searching for adjustable rear camber arms.

If it doesn't have service records all the fluids get changed along with the filters. Other than that I just fix stuff as it breaks or looks worn with upgraded equipment.

• Rain-X
• GRM license plate frame
• 26.2 sticker

full fluid and filters service.including brake fluid and diff/ t case if equipped. Then fix the broken items. My first actual mod is usually exhaust, i can not stand really quiet exhaust but i also cant stand straight pipes and tractor mufflers and those seem to be stock on every DD i buy. Next on the list for the recent DD purchase is a tune up, water pump and exhaust

I've put 50k on my DD since I bought it and the only mod was a head-unit that would play from a USB drive. Well, I guess the roof-rack counts. That would probably be the first mod to any replacement DD.

Fun car? Replace all the bushings, install stiff springs/coilovers, either front or rear swaybar, wider wheels/wider 200tw tires

• Tires
• LED interior lights
• Dampers

Inflate the tires to ~40psi. Change every fluid unless it's definitely just been done to my liking. Then do what's needed to kill the DRLs.

A decent stereo is one of the first things I have to do. Any repairs are "maintainified" instead of changed out for OE parts. Tires are usually pretty high on the list, as is getting it aligned. I like my cars with ground clearance, but some cars have been lowered pretty quickly.

Anything that gets touched all the time have to be the best available, but I tend to stick with stock steering wheels out of something else instead of an aftermarket wheel. Leather shift knobs are wonderful. Sometimes I do add convenience features, like power door locks and power windows.

Lighting is high on my list as well. Fresh headlights no matter what, and any weathered lenses get polished. My current car is getting a set of fog lights and possibly a set of driving lights. Being able to see in any weather conditions and at any time of the day or night is nice.

Brakes! Who knows what el-cheapo crap is on there. A good set of Wagners gets put on every car quickly. Shocks and tires follow soon.

First thing I do is put it up on the lift and do a clean and lubricate on the brakes, 100% of the time the slides are not rust free/grime free and lubricated properly. Plus usually the pads suck so swap em for some hawks.

Then I nut and bolt the car to make sure nothing falls off and kills me and or the people I love/am scarring the e36m3 out of. I clean the wheels while they're off the car.

Then I strip the interior of all seats and trim then shampoo/detail the interior, do the interior windows, buff, buff, buff, buff and polish, wax, do exterior windows, then bosch icons go on.

I love a good steering wheel and few cars have an excellent factory wheel so depending on srs or steering wheel mounted controls/paddleshifters, I usually swap that next.

Then I drive it to work and it gets keyed

The mods I start out with are a good head unit, especially if the car has a factory one, and a K&N or other aftermarket re-useable air filter since they're almost always due. I replace the tires immediately if they're dry-rotted. Now I go with a hard compound summer tire. Sometimes, I will replace the speakers too since they usually don't sound that great, either.

For maintenance, I do the oil to get it on my schedule, and do the rest of the fluids since regular drivers will often not change those like they should. Then, I will fix any other problems. I go to a performance street brake pad when they need to be replaced, sometimes I will get slotted rotors. The rest of the mods I want to do usually have to wait.

Fix what is broken first, then usually tires/wheels and a buncha stickers on the back window. After that, I put some sort of exhaust on it.I generally don't hang onto a car long enough to modify it unless I have some extra dough in the car fund or stumble upon a deal somewhere.

Valentine One.

1. Clean it, especially the interior. You people are disgusting.
2. Clean it again.
3. Run an ozone generator for a few hours to take out any air freshener, food, or cigarette smells.
4. Tint
5. Ditch front plate and bracket.
6. Stereo, either fix what it has or upgrade. Bare minimum would be a single 10 and an amp hooked up to a line level converter. Ideally new speakers all the way around, decent sub or subs, new head unit although stock stuff these days is decent.
7. Aftermarket exhaust and intake.

Interesting.

I did none of the things the OP did. But I had a program upgrade ordered before I picked up the car, to increase power by 30 bhp and torque by 80 ft lbs., and I added three frame stiffening items, sway bars, shocks and an alignment within weeks.

I guess I care a lot more about how a car performs than whether or not it has extra mirrors or creature comforts. That stuff can come later. And even then, the mods in that regard tended to be performance oriented - a shifter with a faster ratio, a different air box to eliminate a potential weakness, a back up alert, a good on board radar system.

In reply to wspohn:

Definitely interesting to read all of the thoughts from such a diverse group.

My initial thoughts are about taking care of the stuff that I think pretty much any car can benefit from. There are usually pretty big gaps in basic function that the aftermarket can fill in without much thought or effort.

I usually do not worry about power or handling until I have actually driven the car quite a bit; especially in a safe and responsible place to get on it hard. I like to learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the chassis and engine and tailor the mods to my personal driving style and needs. There are plenty of internet knowledge specialist and tuner recipes out there to follow but for me I tend to address my specific needs for those upgrades after I learn the limits of the stock setup.

A tune for that kind of power is an incredibly tempting thing, though, but after many years I figured out that driver comfort and IS a performance mod.

I agree with the stereo thing too. I have had a few decent factory setups over the years but my wife is very picky about such things and I need to keep her happy in order to be able to keep the car!

I usually drive the piss out of it and fix whatever is broken, then adjust roll stiffness to suit.

If its actually new then nothing. I can't justify paying a new car price just to hack it up and risk warranty issues down the road.

If its "new" then its a matter of making sure all of the maintenance is current. It isn't an exciting mod but making sure it'll be reliable pays off.

I can't remember the last car I bought that I could drive back to the house.

Usually hit the car wash first to knock off the dirt, mud, moss, goat crap and flush out leftover critters, leaves, webs and wasp nests. Then comes the treasure hunt/inventory where you dig the stuff out of the nooks and crannies in the interior and truck.

Then comes the check for broken and missing parts. Fix these parts and match to inventoried parts if possible.

Get it running, safe and legal, then do all the other stuff suggested.

Now that I look at my list, I realize I have done this with every car I bought in the last 20 years!

Bruce

Maybe someone already said this but the first thing i do when i get a new to me car is usually.. get it running.

After that it's usually wheels/tires and lowering although my most recent addition needs to be lifted!

For the guys who said steering wheel, +1. I jamb a Momo Competition or Monte Carlo into every car I drive except for the truck.

Then I move/mod the pedals so I can tickle them properly.

Next is changing whatever sucks about the handling. this somehow always involves every bushing or joint on the Damn thing.

Then then, when it drives perfectly... I take the Momo wheel out and sell the car.

I'd like some suggestions for my new DD. It was my late fathers' 94 Ranger. 4.0, 5 speed, 4x4. Rumbley dual exhaust. Tires are good. Stereo is new Sony. Replaced the wipers, battery, and thermostat. This weekend if the weather cooperates I'll attack the interior to get the smoker smell out (sorry dad).

What else? On the cheap since this is GRM, just some ideas for a cute little tonka truck.

In reply to KyAllroad:

Momo Monte Carlo?