I've been away for a week, but those of you who know me on the forums, I'm a big fan of mods. It's really all about making your personal statement, whether that is flashing 20 inch chrome rims, or subtle mods that only other tuners would even notice.

Modding is a trend in the automotive world now.. any new car has accessories, or parts you can customize. Think about how you customize a new car when you buy it, using dealer available parts, choosing the "options" you want.

What's the difference between an option and a mod?

Nothing except it's either dealer offered, or aftermarket.

You go buy a Mercedes now, you can buy it with a Lorinser body kit, or if you want, just the Lorinser rims, or a Lorinser interior, whatever your heart desires. Straight from the Benz dealer. You buy a Honda, you can customize it using parts, rims, tons of stuff from DC. BMW has AC Shnitzer.

Then theres the issue of ruining a classic. Think about if you were at a classic car show. The best cars are the ones that have been modded! They've got the chrome/polished engines, aftermarket racing wheels, subtle mods that make them stand out from the "stock" cars.

You really can't knock any mod, because if that's what the owner of the car thinks looks good, well, thats their choice. Obviously nobody would mod their car in a way that they think would look bad.

Anyway, bottom line, it's all just a difference in taste, and that's what modding is. Personalizing your vehicle to suit your tastes.

 

www.ricecop.com shows us a plethora of mods gone bad

 

Hmmm, I always have noticed that the modded cars are the ones buyers stay away from when looking for a new ride. Who wants to buy a car that has been modded?

Have you ever watched the Barrett-Jackson car auction? The VAST majority of the cars that command the highest money are the ones that ARE NOT MODDED!!

In fact, the closer to absolute straight from the factory condition is what car resoration is all about. Down the paint swashes and factory stickers on all of the parts.

Try this thought experiment:

Take two Crossfires.
Mod one out.
Leave the other stock.
Stick both in a hermitcally sealed garage.
Wait 25 years.

Which one will get the most attention, praise, interest, and money? The stock one!!

Sure modding makes it unique, but worth more only to the owner and a few others, and that's it.

 

I've had long time love for the Benz SL and SLK. With these quality bones, the Crossfire may become a classic. However, it's a little early for that now. Another part of the bloodline is the Prowler, which was a no show. The PT went from cult to bargain basement overnight.

The silver stock wheels are a great match for the silver in the car. Still, chrome wheels look great on most cars.

When I compared Crossfire to other $30K+ sporstcars, the deal killer was those wheels, which I hated. I bought the Crossfire with the intention of ridding the stock wheels like a bad rash. My replacement wheels are 18"s and 19"s and I think they rock. Tasteful? Yes, in fact urbane.

Urbane2

 

I love the stock wheels.
Got any photos larger than a stamp?
Lets see those 'wonderful' replacement wheels you are talking about

 

i'm am rolling in laughter.

 

It really is funny when you go to the album, click on the pic, and you have to look all the way up to the upper left of the screen to see it.

I first thought a fly landed on my screen!

 

hmm, well im actually new to the crossfire family, and i have to say this topic pissed me off a little bit at first. i can understand old school types loving the oe styleings of the xf, but for MY tastes, the wheels are.......boring, and average at best. although i dont have any pictures of my xf atm, i just recently removed the oe wheels/tires, and upgraded to a dub trump wheel that a buddy of mine at mht drilled specifically for my crossfire (no plans to offer the wheel in our bolt pattern atm) and went with a 20x8.5 up front, and a 20x9.5 in the rear, and trust me when i say it changed the look of the car for the better. future plans also include a billet grille, painting the door-handles, and the trim piece surrounding the wind-shield white to match the car (the grey idea really sucks imo), and the blackest tint i can possibly get away with. unique>oe anyday /nod

if you would like to see the wheels before i get off my *** and actually post a pic, just go to mhtwheels.com, and select "dub" brand, and find the trump one piece, georgeous wheel......

xf_newskool

 

yeah i mean its one thing to not want to mod your car, but bitching at others cuz they do is mucho lame in my opinion. drive your own car, do with it what you want, don't bug someone else for their own. its as if someone stole the original posters car and did an mtv pimp my ride and now he's all pissed. don't understand why people would get angry about someone modifying their own car. not liking it is one thing, but picketing the whole ideal is much ghey.

 

Well here is what he is talking about.
As they say "To each their own" and our tastes can be very different of course. Looks very heavy, I will stick with the stock ones. (Also looks like homeboy suv wheels to me) When you post some pics we can check out the final look.


Now, although Im very happy with the stock wheels, If I just had to choose a cool wheel from this site I would choose The Neeper Bach SS : Much smoother and less complex (To me).




Also found this in the gallery on the same site :


This wheel is called : Foose Lusso

 

that neeper wheel outweighs my dub wheel substantially, and gl keeping the ugly pos clean.....
but whatever, to each his own.

ugly homeboy look my ***, its MUCH different looking in person, trust me. ill actually post some pic's, and i GUARANTEE you will change your mind

 

Im not into the rivit look on wheels but im sure you will enjoy the new look on your Crossfire 8)

 

have enjoyed it for about 2 weeks now /nod

and most of the old school car guys i talk to love the look too, its genuinely classier looking in person then it is on the website, i think the thing i like best so far is.....

"what kind of car is that? its gorgeous....."

lol

 

Looks like CHROME to me.
how do XFs feel with 20" tires and what brand tire did you get.

Myself for about $400 0r less each REAL MB 600SL 05 wheels look really nice and will fit perfect.

 

To Mod or not to Mod....ah the age old question. Like anyone needs to hear it one more time from me....to each his own. Just as long as I don't have to pay for any of it.....stick 30"s on your Xfire, hang 250lbs of light bulbs and power supplies on it and repaint any of the OE styling cues and be happy.
But just as it is perfectly fine for all Modders to post their newest mods with pride filled type set....it's also fine for those among us who feel the factory did a very nice job to begin with and Xfires don't need any visual modding.

Rims.....I like the original ones, but have played with the idea of Chrome.....problem is that would be the only chrome....so probably no go there.
Of the rims posted in this thread....I actually like the Foose Masters rims the best...come on now Chip Foose....that falls right in with Pinin and the like.

Andrew.....your lowered XFire is SWEET...I hope I'll see you again on one of our Hook-Ups and you can give me a ride so I can decide if the ride gets too harsh for daily use.

 

Of course what I posted was my opinion, and like sphincters, we all have one. As I can see, you have one too.

When one buys big giant aftermarket rims for a car, it is obvious that the owner wants to be unique. It is a quality most of us have. It is why we own Crossfires.

But the big giant aftermarket rims, like the spoilers, ground effects, and other flashy mods, add-ons, or whatever you want to call them, put you into a stereotype.

It is your job to find out what that stereotype is. If you are from an older crowd, you will know the answer to that. If you are from a younger crowd, you probably have no idea what I am trying to say, nor will you probably care.

I encourage you to mod your Crossfire anyway you want. Just realize that you are now fitting into a stereotype with those big giant look-at-me aftermarket wheels.

 

I think all those rims are big time ghetto fab. Whats next some hydraulics pumping while playing INSANE in the membrane. :lol: Some OZ supperlaggas would look good on this car. But doubt they havethe right pattern. I dont careabout wheels I WANT GO FAST PARTS! who is with me?

 

you could get the oz wheels drilled specifically for your xf, oz is great about that kind of stuff. and i just need to get a pic posted, so y'all can stop telling me how homeboy/ghetto they are, i assure you i would never ruin my car with some over-done, spinner/floater style suv wheel. im not at all into putting a park bench style spoiler on my car, or lowering onto the frame rails, or air bagging it, or neon lighting it to death. a classy looking car is all im going for, and for me personally, the white/grey look was just too understated. so instead im going all chrome (wheels/grille/side marker-vent looking thing) and all white (paint/windshield trim/door handles) if that makes me ghetto/homeboy, then so be it /glare

xf_newskool

 

im not into the bling thing at all. Maybe i was confused by the improper use of the term bolt-ons (too me parts that make your car perform better. The wheels i would upgrade to are 18's in the back that are the same width as mine, but much lighter.

 

Thanks to all for the compliments!