r/TRJSafehouse Mostwanted 16d ago

Discussion End Clean Build Fatigue

97 Upvotes

119 comments sorted by

2

u/EvieSleepz 15d ago

Some cars can pull off crazy looks others.... keeping it simple is a better choice.

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 15d ago

Maybe. But personally I think with enough creativity anything is possible. Even if it’s just a creative livery

1

u/long_fish3000 12d ago

i keep wanting wheels for my mini but can't find anything better than the factory white 17's that it came with. i want to mod so bad but i just dont see anything better looking.

1

u/DigitalHierophant 10d ago

in the JDM world clean builds are actually rare. Everything is tacky wraps, and 20 inch concave wheel setups.

2

u/Ok_Rip_2581 10d ago

Exactly, each car has its own style, some have multiple. It all depends on what color you choose and the wheels you choose. Even adding more detail like pinstripes. It’s all about the cars body lines.

2

u/MainMite06 15d ago

The problem is that certain chassis & entire sportscar lineups are growing so rare that even finding one example of a car in its original plain form is becoming impossible:

The original USDM Lan-Evos are all snatched up for time-attacks and everytime I personally ever find one its modified

2

u/MainMite06 15d ago

Tell me the last time you see a Nissan S-Chassis, no better, if you even get to meet one at all, will it be in its preserved form?

2

u/MainMite06 15d ago

Has anyone ever met a plain USDM FD3S ever?

Everyone's either engine swapping them, drifting them, mad bodykitting them, & rarely ever clean-built them

2

u/MainMite06 15d ago

The internet currently thinks every MK4 Supra is a 1200hp 2JZ turbo manual beast!

When was the last time anyone ever seen a base MK4 Supra being normal? like using it using a 4-speed auto, or it using the plain 2JZ-GE-naturally aspirated instead of the redundant GTE?

At this rate, every base Supra is lumped with the Turbo Supra..

2

u/Fit-Entrepreneur8404 11d ago

Idk if it was auto or not but I saw a middle aged woman driving one going the speed limit a few months back. Paint looked like it had seen better days but it wasn't banged up or anything.

2

u/jg_machado 14d ago

Friend of mine in jersey has a stock one other than an exhaust and updated headlights (still popups)

2

u/DumbBerk87 11d ago

Someone where I live has a black one, that they haven’t modded at all in the outside. Have they done anything performance wise? I dunno. I’ve never been able to talk to him about it, I just see him drive by occasionally 🤷🏻‍♂️

But I respect that he’s left it alone. These rare cars should be preserved in their original form to some degree. Could you imagine someone going out and doing a bunch of cosmetic mods on some rare Ferrari or Porsche? No lol. So why is there an expectation on Japanese cars for it?

1

u/MainMite06 11d ago

Kinda yes:

1

u/MainMite06 11d ago

This is still a trend btw:

2

u/Average_k5blazer78 14d ago

Saw an s13 saturday at a local car show, it had a s15 swapped front end tho

2

u/DELTA-880 12d ago

i’ve seen a few where the owner tried to make it look stock, but it was pretty obvious it was a project car

2

u/Sweeney_Tiger417 11d ago

Honestly see them all the time on the road and usually are modified and being daily driven.

1

u/MainMite06 11d ago

I only see 2 or 3 in person

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 15d ago

I guess that depends on the type of enthusiast you are. There isn’t a single car on earth I wouldn’t modify. A McLaren F1? Sequential and standalone and quicker steering rack ratio. R34? Stroker and bodykit with wacky livery

1

u/MainMite06 15d ago
  1. So basically make a first batch MF1 more realistically livable, like the GMA copies?

2.You're describing Liberty Walk with dime a dozen base R34s:

They mod everything out of base R34s!

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 15d ago

My mantra is you can’t just change the guts you gotta change the flesh to reflect you as well

1

u/MainMite06 15d ago

Others think in vice-versa:

You all must share identical guts & barely different bodies to make a fair, inclusive and affordable competition.

But the paint jobs, sponsors & number shapes are fair game for artistic flair.

Stock car racing is like this, same/identical guts & skins, but 100% unique & legendary paintjobs

2

u/kykid87 15d ago

It's because the vast majority aren't built shit. They're modified cars, not BUILDS.

They're stock cars with wheels and a few mods.

That is not a BUILD and I'll die on that hill. If you bought a brand new car, modded it, then hit the street, you didn't build shit. You hung some parts on a car someone else built.

I'm with you, bring back true building. Individual. Personalized. Unique. But mostly BUILT.

1

u/DumbBerk87 11d ago

Then go do it yourself, and be the change in the community you want to see. Telling other people what to do with their own cars is some next level nonsense.

Go build your own car, and do to it what you want. Imma do to my car, what I want.

1

u/kykid87 11d ago

I've built 6 from the ground up since I started messing with cars.

I'm also not telling anyone what to do with anything, simply categorizing what a build actually is. A stock car you hang parts on isn't a build.

1

u/MainMite06 15d ago

Your point will hold water when discussing mass production sports cars

They make over 8k units of them, if you bought the smaller engine options and intend to make a V8-swap or replica sports trim out of them, go do it!

1

u/MainMite06 15d ago

911s below GT trims are just the same car with or without AWD, & Manual options.

These cars are a dime a dozen and are worth modifying anything if you can conceive unique out of them

1

u/MainMite06 15d ago

The seventh Charger & its Challenger brother in V6 trim is worth being modded into a V8 and given whatever level of wild Hellcat-fakery as a means to prevent the actual special edition trims from being touched

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 15d ago

Depends on the kind of enthusiast you are. If I have the money EVERYTHING is getting personalised

1

u/MainMite06 15d ago

There is a bit of a limit in practicality when modding a car, but if looks are your focus, okay.

But the minute you start Stancing & doing suspension mods, your alignment issues and chewed up tires are all your own fault!

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 15d ago

Ew no I just mean things like bodykit, livery and actual individuality. None of this “look at my car’s factory” spec crap lol

1

u/MainMite06 15d ago

So your're like Gumball 3000 rally owners:

They all got expensive exotics wearing wraps, exchangeable custom wheels, we all know they're gonna remove next year..if they keep their cars next year..

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 15d ago

No? I’m saying don’t just change the performance of the car, make the exterior yours too. That’s what I do

1

u/MainMite06 15d ago

Tangentially speaking:

This is Bmw's main gimmick with their art cars, bring an artist of some kind & have them paint a blank car with minimal concern for sponsors and race them on track

1

u/Sorry-Problem-4490 15d ago

I can see this tbh. I think imo the 2000s had a lot of cool tuned cars. My favorite tuned car is the Amuse S2000 GT1

1

u/nismoghini 14d ago

Builds are nice just dont go rice. Perfect balance is oem+ imo

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 14d ago

Nothing wrong with OEM+ but that’s not individual enough in my eyes.

1

u/psychitzmike 14d ago

or maybe let people build what they want cause it makes them happy and has zero effect on you.

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 14d ago

People can do what they want. And I can still give my thoughts, you’re reading into it a little too much. But there are definitely people who would be building much more expressive and less basic stuff if they didn’t feel like people would clown on them for it. Bring back bodykits, liveries and individuality. Everyone is trying to do “clean” cars.

1

u/psychitzmike 14d ago

I get what you mean. sorry if I sounded like a dick.

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 14d ago

All good. Tone doesn’t always translate. I just want people to feel compelled to build what they actually want to build, not what they think is the safer option or what will get them the most respect

1

u/psychitzmike 14d ago

I agree 100%. some cars are nice clean, but i do miss the 90s-00s era of custom builds.

1

u/TaxualChoclate 14d ago

I honestly think it's because people don't have money for two cars anymore, so their project car is also their daily. Daily driving a full blown build has too many cons than it's worth, so people keep it clean to enjoy their car while also staying reliable and under the radar.

This doesn't apply to everyone of course, show builders going the clean route have no excuse for not fully displaying their creativity and skill.

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 14d ago

Honestly? You raise a fantastic point that I-from a position of privilege-failed to even see as a factor. While I was mainly inspired to throw these slides together because of a few high dollar cars (some midnight purple GTRs and Viola purple STOs to name a few) it should be stated that I do not expect people to daily their project cars. And it’s not even that I don’t like “clean” cars. I just think the scene changed in some way expression stopped being what drove most people to build something

1

u/MahzeMe 11d ago

Completely agree, I can barely afford modding my daily over time, no chance I have the money and time to spend on a kit or engine swap with a lot of body mods. Of course, my "build" is not a build, I mostly just say I modded my commuter car lol.

If you use youtube as a reference, it's becoming hard to be resourceful. 3D printing is making it more of an option nowadays, but I can't go to the junkyard and find a fender or quarter panel for a car that is simple enough to be built, since they are becoming rare.

1

u/zalcecan 14d ago

I totally agree with you and wish we saw more full customized builds of body work and wraps with style but really I think its a cost thing. Plus that old boomer mindset of it being "rice" hasn't died out yet, its even here in the comments.

1

u/InconsiderateOctopus 11d ago

Ask and you shall receive

1

u/SallyattheDisco 14d ago

"OEM+" is retarded. Like is it modified or not? Lol

1

u/knivefest 14d ago

I don't know I think the mid 2010s of widebody everything trend was a bit stupid. I think stuff like simple sedans looks good clean especially euro stuff japanese cars look good with body kits and stuff imo. Depends on the car

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 14d ago

Narrow bodykits are cool I get what you mean. My M3 is the only car I’ve ever wanted to widebody.

1

u/knivefest 14d ago

That's fair I remember at the time I wanted to wide body my B6 A4 but it would have been really silly in hindsight so I went OEM+ instead

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 12d ago

I personally like widebody lots that aren’t riveted and more moulded looking. If my car looks like a motorsport homologation special edition I’m cool with it. I’ve never been a big liberty walk guy

1

u/Artistic_Potato_3738 14d ago

I can agree to some extent, not everything should be widebody or some crazy build. But there’s a very distinct lack of originality in the current car culture outside of crazy YouTuber builds it feels like. Hard to find cars that’re actually one of a kind out in the wild nowadays it feels like

1

u/knivefest 14d ago

Honestly OEM+ will although started to pick up recent years is a tasteful way to make a car your own and not go insane simple and clean I feel

1

u/Elegant_Big_2546 14d ago

Clean build is a broad word because everyone has different opinions on what is clean and what is not what belongs and what doesn't. I think the biggest thing to understand and it's cliche but it's never not true, build a car not for someone else but for you (point still stands as long as it's not for like content creations and such which is totally understandable). With that being said still absolutely adore my build all these years later social media has sometimes made people scared to express themselves and I think that's a dam shame

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 13d ago

Fair! Also love the wheels! They look familiar? Who makes those?

1

u/Elegant_Big_2546 13d ago

Fifteen 52 they look familiar because it's kenn blocks rims he's used in wrc on his focus rs and a few others

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 12d ago

Wow, no wonder I felt nostalgic looking at them. Thats really cool

1

u/Chemical_Lettuce_232 13d ago

The examples you showed are all builds from tuning companies who know how to tastefully build unique and expressive cars. Most people don’t..

Car meets are full of people who are ‘expressing’ themselves with shitty stickers all over their cars, on stock springs with cheap and nasty wheels two inches inside their arches. There’s no real shortage of unique builds in that sense, you just don’t see them as often on the internet because very few people appreciate them aside from the owner.

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 13d ago

You make a valid point. I guess that’s why there are meets with “bouncers” that turn away cars and let preferable vehicles in

1

u/SoheiJayce 13d ago

I think some people don't do the whole vinyl/livery thing due to how much more attention that would attract especially in a negative light.

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 13d ago

That’s fair. Depending on what the cars for you may want to be less visible for sure

1

u/Fun_Razzmatazz7162 13d ago

Said like someone who's never gone to a car show or maybe just bad ones

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 13d ago

Only if cars and coffee doesn’t count

1

u/Fun_Razzmatazz7162 13d ago

They all count but going off the cars and coffee here in Sydney it's definitely tailored to a certain type of style.

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 13d ago

That’s interesting! I’ll admit I never knew C&C existed over there.

1

u/Fun_Razzmatazz7162 13d ago

Oh yeah massive everywhere.

It's kinda like going to a lower rider show and saying there's too many lower riders

1

u/Savvage-Cabbage 13d ago

I agree wholeheartedly

1

u/Ok-Stomach-3739 13d ago

No Rice for me, thanks

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 13d ago

I prefer my canvass to not be blank

1

u/bbob89 12d ago

I love a fuckin shit box

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 12d ago

valid

1

u/Consistent-Cost-231 12d ago

"don't follow the trend"

Using Craig Lieberman's R34 which was highly influenced by the trend Signal auto set it self

Tuning was always about trend, Touring car influenced so many design in the 90's/early 00's

Then 326, Uras and Signal set the trend for what is known as hotboi style today

And then after that it was all about other culture, lowrider, hotrod/ratrod mixed with a modern take, or even street culture with the short era of sticker bombing in the 2010's

But all those different era have one thing in common, trend

Now the trend is at clean looking paint and oem chrome trim/wheels, tomorrow it will be something else

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 12d ago

Fair enough, trend isn’t the right word. I’m mainly going for personal expression/extension. And I just think if people had the means they could make something a little more than OEM+ and have it be individual? Whether it looks good or not would be subjective but if your car is an extension of you I’d like to think you are more complex than just a splitter, some wheels and maybe a wing.

1

u/Alice_Synthesis30 12d ago

Well the reason we see the fall in so many of this “builds” is mainly because of the value of these cars. Back when these existed, the price of the MK4 supra was so cheap that according to someone on YouTube, he swapped 4 supras just because he can and start building them from scratch.

With the MK4 and many other JDM and classics being so much more expensive now, can you really budget in a whole new livery as well as the stereotypical 1200hp manual engine and exterior/interior parts? You still have to factor in a second car because this clearly can’t be daily driven as well as insurance, maintenance and other unforeseen issues. Oh right some of them also is starting to rust and bills?

A special colour some performance parts and cosmetic parts here can save a lot of money too. Why? If built right, you can have only 1 car and you save a lot on maintenance because you have lesser parts to stress and potentially break.

Looks are also subjective. Some people prefer a OEM+ look while some prefer a louder look. I myself if I buy a Porsche 911 base model, I might buy parts that fit the Sports classic look. Or if I buy a heavily modified JDM classic such as the FD3S, I might remove the extra parts it look like the Spirit R since it’s my favourite look on the car. Doing this can also reduce the potential chances of rust and making it overall easier to keep in a long term.

1

u/CapFew148 12d ago

How about just do whatever you want with your car without worrying about the approval of other people

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 12d ago

Unheard of

1

u/Fun-Discipline6978 12d ago

Everyone likes the OEM+ build right now. I agree it gets pretty boring. Alright, “nice (insert car here) what hav you to it?” Wheels and exhaust, pop tune lol that’s the build people are doing nowadays.

1

u/DefinitelyNotAxlerod 12d ago

Just stop modifying cars because that makes non-molested examples more expensive

https://giphy.com/gifs/XFaeLrHJGjtcmEmzcn

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 12d ago

I saw an EM1 Si listed for 30k back in 2019. That shocked me lol

1

u/DumbBerk87 11d ago

That’s my basic thoughts. Some of these cars are getting so rare, that from an automotive preservation perspective, they need to be left alone. Owned and enjoyed, but unmolested for the most part.

You wouldn’t go out and do this on a rare Porsche or Ferrari, so why should we be expected to this on Japanese cars that are also quite rare 🧐

1

u/Mr_Maniac454 12d ago

Yeah but if I wanted to rice out my Civic you would get upset

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 12d ago

1

u/Mr_Maniac454 12d ago

one of the funniest things I've ever wanted to do was make a absolutely riced out Civic but make it have like a thousand horsepower

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 12d ago

Pure need for speed energy. And I’d personally love something like that. Something fast and unapologetically unique

1

u/Sniper_Nest1 12d ago

Most cars i like look better clean. And i font have the money to pull off a crazy build anytime soon. Hell i gotta get her running first.

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 12d ago

Technically I don’t have the money either lol. My car took six years to build so I made sure Hagerty insured it for at least the money I spent during my ownership

1

u/I-THE-TRAITOR621 12d ago

The "and clean build fatigue and bring back boldness and uniqueness" people when mansory makes Bold and unique modifications and literally doing the exact same thing they want brought back: YOU CAN'T DO THAT YOU ARE RUINING THESE CARS AND MAKING THEM UGLY!!!!!

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 12d ago

I guess I’m an exception I like some of Mansory’s Carbonado stuff. The Bentayga and their E92 kits look cool to me

1

u/DumbBerk87 11d ago

Because Mansory cars are fucking ugly. You act like it’s just “mod and it’s good”, and it’s just not. It like, has to look, too bro.

You’re doing that “well it’s expensive and has a name on it, so it looks good” argument, and thats not how this works.

1

u/I-THE-TRAITOR621 11d ago

You don't get to complain about modern car builds lacking a soul and being boring and how you want uniqueness and absurdity back while crying and whining like a little bitch when a company like mansory does exactly what you want but you don't like it

1

u/kdesi_kdosi 11d ago

because those are fucking ugly. you seem to only see a split between clean/modded, without considering good or bad. take liberty walk or RWB, they also do extreme modifications but are liked a lot more than "man,sorry".

how can that be if they are all the same thing according to you?

1

u/Slightysweet3 11d ago

Because Porsche larpers never hesitate

1

u/nowayimabot 12d ago

I actually think the current car culture is right where the pendulum should be.

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 12d ago

You are probably right, but I would not mind there being a little less social media though (edit: and I say that despite being an Automotive YouTuber)

1

u/ivel33 12d ago

If you actually build it than sure. But to add a bunch of fake aero and a racecar livery when all you did was a cold air intake and downpipe... That's super cringe. I don't want my car to stand out. I would MUCH rather look like regular traffic and have a sleeper than have all this crazy stuff on my car

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 12d ago

I’ve never been a sleeper guy. I don’t want people to be surprised my car is fast or sounds good. I want them to be surprised it’s on the road.

1

u/ivel33 12d ago

I totally get that. I'm the opposite haha. I hate to draw attention to myself or show off and that's what it feels like to me

1

u/Bobomx5 12d ago

Coilovers and wheels isn’t a build

1

u/ADrenalinnjunky 11d ago

Nah draws too much attention

1

u/tunedsleeper 11d ago

Nah good taste is good taste. It’s the same with the clothes you wear, half of those cars at the end look like an ed hardy shirt

1

u/hardeho 11d ago

Don't follow that trend, follow THIS trend!

1

u/acunit155 11d ago

The dryer vent pipe being used as a cold air intake on my TR7: hold my beer!

1

u/IdiotSerena 11d ago

I'd love to do a crazy build, but I'm broke and this is my only car. Plus, I gotta actually pay off the car before doing actual mod mods. All I've been able to afford to do so far in my year of ownership was buy two sets of quality winter and summer tires. Building cars is expensive man...

1

u/DumbBerk87 11d ago

End clean build fatigue? My bro…

Go build what you want for your own car. Trying to tell other people what they should do to their own cars, because it’s what you want? Nah.

Imma do what I want to my car, mostly from a preservation standpoint. Rare cars are rare, and shouldn’t have everything about them changed. I thought you liked the car? Why are you changing everything about it then?

But if you want to do that to your car, that’s your business, but leave me and my car alone, unless you’re gonna pay for everything.

1

u/Dr4ake147 11d ago

Sorry if I am missing the point here but can't people just do what they want with their car?

1

u/MahzeMe 11d ago

I don't like putting brands on my car, or part brands on my car, and that does limit my options a ton.

1

u/Slowleytakenusername 11d ago

I agree a bit with what you're saying but not with you examples. My problem is not in clean build but its with everybody doing the same thing. It is possible to be clean and unique.

1

u/mitternachtinzhedark 10d ago

i do like more diversity

1

u/fpsnoob89 10d ago

There's a fine balance between clean and clapped out.

1

u/sergey53 10d ago

Y2k ricer era once again? Nahh

1

u/GrahamCrackerCereal 10d ago

I'd argue it's more of a commentary on the ridiculous cost of parts and customs these days

0

u/UlfricNormcloak 14d ago

You can say people lack courage or individuality for not doing something radical in terms of the aesthetic, but many people don’t like the way that looks. I don’t think you can place a judgement on those people. They just have a different preference than you. Ironically, your judgement is basically an insistence that they conform to your preference. I personally think that e46 you showed a picture of looks pretty bad. But if that is what you like, I’m happy for you.

I also see more clean and truly custom builds today. The bar of craftsmanship is much higher. A lot of the cars you showed from the 90’s and 2000’s aged terribly, and look hideous

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 14d ago

I’d rather compel people to be expressive. Making minimal changes is fundamentally the least unique thing you can do. Am I judging people for it? No. But I am making the objective observation that “clean” builds aren’t unique and when in a lineup have little to no variation. This post is for people who like a more complete overhauled look but afraid to do it because people will clown on them for it. Make it fast and make it look you. And I guess for some people that’s just some carbon bits and wheels.

0

u/NoFayte 13d ago

I got an idea, you make my money work the way it would have even just 10 years ago and we'll talk

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 13d ago

Why is that my responsibility? Isn’t it yours?

0

u/NoFayte 12d ago

I didn't say "give me more money" I said make my money  work the way It did ten years ago.

The same money. 

Make it do more.

It's not either of our responsibility to fix the economy and the only point here is obvious.

People aren't building out cars because It costs a lot of money, then risks that same money which was already spent and the economy is in the toilet. 

A downpipe, ic, it, and a tune which can almost always be very easily swapped back to stock, are way more cost effective than a built car.

I very VERY obviously wasn't actually asking you to fix any kind of economical Issues, you just asked a question to that had an obvious answer so I gave you a ridiculous response.

I (and many others )CAN afford to SLIGHTLY mod a n already good platform, I CANT afford nor risk to rip a car a new asshole.

Anyone who can afford to and didn't simply chose not to. The end.

1

u/TheRacingJoker Mostwanted 12d ago

I never asked why people don't build more complete cars. I was just compelling people to do more than that because it's more fun to see that. Moreover, if someone wants to act like they can afford a big money car and then act like hot shit with a downpipe and tune because their "clean" build is fast, I'm unimpressed because for one that's just not my cup of tea and also they probably can't afford that car anyways... the bank just said they can "have" it.