One Way Thinking On The Mustangworks?

[Unit 5302]

I remember when the MustangWorks was touted as a place all Mustanger's could get together and enjoy the hobby of driving Ford's ponycar.

You didn't need to have a 10sec car to be respected and it was a place where people were welcomed because they cared about their cars. Now it seems that if people are out there making their cars look nice, or adding appearance mods they are totally reamed and made fun of because they don't have a 10 or 12 second car to back it up.

I remember putting GT rims on my 88 LX hatch 2.3L. It was the single most impressive mod you could make to that car. It looked awesome compared to how it appeared before. I like my cars to look nice, and putting nice looking wheels, or a nice paint job, or a wing, or some minor body pieces can help a Stang look good.

There seem to be two main philosophy's on what you should do to your car. One is a who cares what it looks like 10sec primermobile, and the other is an all show no go concept. I think both have merit, but if you only have money to do one and not the other, I'd probably pick to make my car look nice. Don't get me wrong, I like appearance mods, but not the super flashy gaudy stuff. I also respect the very fast car approach. I wish everybody could just understand people do what they do to their cars out of love for them.

Am I wrong in seeing this trend?

[tireburner163]

I agree with you. I would rather have a fast car, but looking good is also important too.

Aperance mods are cool, but not when they are HUGE wings, cut springs, and ugly body kits. What some people are doing isn't either. They THINK they're car is fast and they THINK it's looks awsome. I just don't see how some people can think a double stacked 3 foot tall wing is cool.

I like what I like, I cant' and won't change.

[srv1]

i dont think you are wrong, but stupidity has its price:

[srv1]

i hate that!! here you go:

[1965GTO]

Putting on some decent wheels is alright. But if you are spending money to make it look fast when it isn't what is the point. If you spend money to make it look good that's fine. If you try to make it look fast then it should be fast.

[tireburner163]

Originally posted by 1965GTO
If you spend money to make it look good that's fine. If you try to make it look fast then it should be fast.

EXACTLLY!!!!!!!!!!

[Unit 5302]

Then I would have to ask.

What makes a car look fast? How fast is fast? Is a 13sec car fast? How about a 12sec car?

If a person has 17" wheels and a ground effects kit with a minor wing, is that considered looking fast?

I can understand a car that looks like a full drag car with cage and big tach and all that running 15's being considered lame, but who says they just don't like the way some stuff looks. Since their car isnt' fast they can't build something they like. It's one thing when they are intentionally trying to be a poser, but if they are just trying to make their car look nice (staying within Mustang accepted mods, no ricer junk) I think it's cool.

[joe4speed]

Originally posted by tireburner163


EXACTLLY!!!!!!!!!!

well then, what about the sleepers, should we rag them because their cars look like 13-15 sec cars??

I could care less what people think of my car, it runs mid 13's, and that's all I can afford to do at the moment. I love the way it looks, while others may not! Just enjoy your car, and have fun! That's what it's all about!

[Rebel79]

Kell I do remember what you are referring to. We all liked each other no matter who had what car or how fast it was. i remember getting along great with a 15 year old kid on here (I forget his name now its been 2 years) who had a near stock stang and his dad was helping him mod it. Even though his car was not as impressive as say Dan's, he still got the respect he deserved.

I have noticed this alot on other sites, the people with the best looking or fastest cars get the most attention. I know for a fact that I have gotten a LOT more attention because I have a fast car rather than having my old slow-*** 89 Lx 5.0. But is the attention good, yeah, but I don't need it. I'd rather have the attention from friends who don't care what car I have.

Its not the car that makes the man... the man makes the man.

[PKRWUD]

I agree that what you suggest is happening is a bad thing, and I fully support individuality, but I hadn't noticed the trend. Maybe I just don't read those threads. Either that or I just ignore dumbass statements.

Take care,
-Chris

[tireburner163]

17's, some nice looking ground affects, a mild wing, some interior bits. These are all good. If I ever get some $$$ I plan on adding some 17's, tinting the windows, a sterio, and maybe a GT wing to my car.

But the problem is a lot of people are make what is IMO "ricestangs". Huge wings, 20"s with rubber band tires(seen it), ugly vinal graphics all down the side.

I know it's your car and you can do what ever you want, but you'll never get respect from me.

UNIT: What do I mean by fast. Well you already know about the 2.3 built to look like a drag car. What about a 96 V-6 auto, with some nasty stuff done to it(too much to list, but it's BAD). He has a windsheild banner that says Fast V-6 and a tag that says something like "ANIL8 U". He doesn't have one singel mod to the engine, yet he's always talking crap about how fast his Mustang is. That's what I consider TRYING to look fast(there are many more examples). He makes the people who drive Mustangs look bad, cause all the ricers brag about beating a Mustang. We all know who he's talking about

[Coupe Devil]

So you mean a 2.3 like this with pony's right. I dont car what you spend. If you wanna make it look fast and its not I totally agree with that but am not totally against it either. My notch looks remotley fast for being stock (other than wheels) I think but I am not flaunting that is so fast and bad. I simply drive it and enjoy the time I spend with the car.

Brad

[Crazy Horse GT]

i agree unit, hey i know my car is stock ,i just do subtle thing's to it just to make look a little different, nothing out landish, but since i wrecked the ----- out of it last night i guess none of that matters now, i love all stang's if they are fast fine, if they just look good fine also,cya

[Mr 5 0]

Unit:

You've raised an interesting issue. Here are my observations on the subject.

In a world of automotive performance - which is where most members of Mustang Works reside - it's a given that the fastest cars will always get the biggest share of attention and 'respect', although that term is ambigious and sometimes refers as much to the car as the owner.

When the ultimate goal of most Mustang owners (at least those that visit Mustang Works) is to go faster, then it stands to reason that the folks who have cars that run 12's and
below are going to garner a lot of attention and respect. We all know that it takes a lot of time, intelligent planning and cold, hard cash to get a mid-14 second stock Mustang down into the 12's or below.
If the folks who accomplish that feat don't warrant our respect - who does?

Obviously, the quality of a car's appearance is subjective and what looks 'kewl' to one person may look like a bad joke to another. There are tons of examples rolling down the street every day.

With that caveat in mind, I can say that I do find it annoying to see a six-cylinder Mustang all decked out with the accoutrement of a 400 HP car (huge tires, oversized wing suitable for a 200 mph vehicle, monster tach, etc) then hear the whine of a clearly unmodified six-cylinder engine coming out of a fart muffler with an oversized coffee-can tailpipe.

That doesn't get my respect.

Now, the Mustanger that simply adds that same tach, maybe a larger set of tires and a bigger wing but runs at least a V-8 and maybe has a few mild mods is perfectable acceptable to me. It's proportion that counts.

I respect all other Mustang owners regardless of engine size or HP. but those who bastardize their Mustang in order to 'look fast' without anything to back it up under the hood will always be ridiculed and rightly so.

As for your question; 'What is fast?' my answer would be; anything that's noticably better than stock performance. If most 5.0's run mid 14's stock, a 13-second Mustang is fast, or as my friends call it: 'quick'. We usually term a 12-second (or better) car as 'fast' but it's all subjective and a matter of semantics. To the average driver going down the road, my low-14-second LX probably seems real fast. It's all relative of course.

My response to your question of whether or not there is a 'trend' toward either having a 10-second crappy-looking car or a 14-second nice looking car is that neither is true. Most Mustang Works members have very good looking cars and most have some mods on them. That hasn't changed much at all in the five years I've been a member of the site.

Do the 12-second Mustangs get a lot of attention? Sure, but so do the fine-looking 'Stangs that only run 14's.

It's only the ricers and the guys/gals that want to put some absurd wing on their Mustang the minute they take delivery that get the negative comments. I'm not too impressed with those who buy a stock Mustang then immediately want to put an H-pipe and 1-chamber Flows on it so it'll 'sound fast'. I recommend doing some basics before messing with the exhaust and trying to sound like you actually did something to the engine to enhance it's performance.
I've beaten a lot of these 'exhaust-only' cowboys at stoplights with my very mildly modified LX and believe me, I didn't respect them for a moment. Laughed a lot, though.

In the final analysis it's doing what you think is best with your Mustang (or any other car). I would agree that given the absolute choice of either appearance or performance, the majority of Mustang owners would probably take appearance, as the stock Mustang isn't too shabby a performer, even bone-stock. That's why we buy them.

Trend? I don't see it, Unit, but thanks for raising an interesting discussion, as you often do.

[69fastback]

I haven't ever noticed a trend until u brought this up. Although there aren't very many people with 10 sec cars that post here on this thread. I do notice one thing most people on here hate the rice stangs. Nobody ever says anything when someone puts a mild wing or some rims on there car. It is when the stang gets riced out that the people of mustangworks hate it. (me included) I am defenilty gulity of trying to make my car fast and letting the looks go to the waste side. Everytime i get some money it goes straight to mods for getting it faster. I know i need a new fender and a paint job more than anything i just don't get it done. People are going to do whatever they want to the cars and always will until the end of time. It is just the way things go.

[mean81GT]

i can't agree more. Mr 5.0 makes a good point. I know i had to bust my butt piecing my car together and then getting it to run, fixing things here and there, and finally busting off a 12 second pass. The feeling cannot be duplicated by anything (well, almost anything ). Now the fun part for me is not necessarily running the 12, but getting the car to the point that it can run the 12. The car looked like trash, rust forming on the wheelwells, paintfaded and scratched everywhere, windows dirty. but the motor ran great. i busted my butt to get it there. that is the satisfaction. now that i am restoring the car, it is going to look great, and with a little luck, alot of planning, and even more money, i hope to run 11's when i am finished, and have a great looking car. i can't wait to work on the car this weekend!

[BearStang]

I agree with you Unit. I am fairly new to the board but have been lurking for quite some time. It seems a trend has started that if you put appearance mods on your car, the car needs to run low 12's or better. If not, you're labeled a "poser" or "ricer".

I think the trend is partially due to the advent of the compact sport market. These cars are built for excess, over-achieving motors, huge "look at me" graphics, logos, wings and exhausts. The kids of today are exposed to this, but still want the mystique of owning a "Mustang". Do you remember when you bought your first Mustang? Did you look at what others had done, thought it looked "cool", then tried to copy it? I can still remember the early and mid 90's when a lot of Stangs were running around with a monster tach, big'n'little tire combo, and draglites. These were stock Mustangs that looked like drag cars and were considered "cool" at the time.

I think the influence comes from what others see as popular, and what the media says is "in". Hence, the gawdy Mustangs that are roaming the streets. Personally, I don't care for these cars, but to each their own. At some point, reality must set in. If the car they have chosen is what they can afford with car payments, insurance, and maintenance, then I say make it what you want. If they are proud of it, good. On the other hand, if you ask for someone's opinion, expect to get just that-their opinion.

I'm sure the majority of us are in the same boat. We want it all, fast car, great handling, and killer looks. But we have other responsibilities in life and can't always make our cars what we want them to be. What we can do is make them special to us, however you choose to do it.

[Unit 5302]

I think I may have been partially misinterpreted. The post that really triggered this thread was a new GT owner putting some Cobra R stuff onto his car. Since it didn't have the same performance as a Cobra R, he was therefore, lame.

I just find an increasing number of these "Look at his clown" threads on here, and the overwhelming response seems to be distaste for almost any appearance modifications unless the car has some serious engine mod to back it up.

I don't like rice (especially so on a domestic), I don't like total posers (drag look a like with 2.3L making 88hp), but I don't like to see people getting bashed for putting sweat and money into their cars to make them look nice. Falsely advertising that your car is FAST when it's not is lame. You know "SPRAKILA" plates on a 4banger or something, but if they aren't flaunting their mAD SkILz, and they've done some minor improvements on an otherwise bland car, I give it the thumbs up.

I also give the thumbs up to performance enhancements.

[No Groc Getter]

I'm an all go and no show kind of guy. (No wings no stripes no stickers). I admit to having ponys on a car that came with 10 holes, but that is not a sin(at least not in my version of the mustang bible).

I do respect everyones attempt to be an individual, but let's face it, there are boundaries (Mustang or Not). There are basic guidlines that will always be true:

If you modify the look of your car be ready for negative feedback. No matter how tasteful you think it is.

Someones car will always be faster.

If your car sounds like a 25cc weed eater, you brag it runs 10's, but barely eeks out a high 18, get ready for some laughs.

There is no hope for you if:

-You put 13 inch wire wheels with white wall bias ply tires on your fox body mustang.
-Jack up the rear end with air shocks and paint the rearend with red Krylon.


Thumb through Hemmings Motor News at some of the untouched vehicles and their values. Those numbers don't lie and speak to the truth of the matter. I know, I know...... drive it and enjoy it, but you can't ignore the negative impact of modifications (tasteful or not).

[moc]

you have all got to bond, you no that thing
we all like this hobby sport,and like me i wish my car ran 10.00's
it doesn't but guess what people are very intimidated by my car
and after almost 30 yrs. of mustangs it's people that have the new cars and the old cars ,and the pissed off people that i learn from .we all do this together. period and we all help it's a brothership nobody has a badder car it's all are cars just think back when you did not no what a tps was or a throttle body
i do ,and i've had 3 5.0 's and 5 Mustangs so lets help each other out i got more money than all of ya so is somebody
somebody wants to build me a race car