Re: Are we hypocritical on safety? How safe are mods & accessories? Whoa! This thread unwillingly turned out to be a battle between mod enthusiasts and opponents, a colored manifestation of the following lines:
One man's garbage is another man's treasure.
Anyone driving slower is an idiot and anyone faster is reckless.
What is vulgarity to one in films is freedom of expression to the other.
While there may be idiots who mod their cars to sore-eyes proportion (there is a thread on this site which shows unbelievably ugly mods), the general view is to better our own rides through wisely chosen ones.
Without sounding preachy, what we need to do on this forum is to respect each other's views and judgment. As I said, most mods are done for the betterment of our rides and not as a sadistic revenge on all other street users.
To clear the air, let's take a look at the many mods available for our vehicles one by one and set things right. According to me there are three categories of mods: Cosmetic mods, Performance mods and Safety mods. Cosmetic mods: Paint and stickers: Usually done to provide individuality to one's car so that it stands out in a crowd. Not everybody likes to be an owner of another white car on the road for instance. Door Visors, roof-top fin, spoilers, neon: Again, these are done to make the car look different, but some may prove to be of utility value. For example door visors help you keep the windows slightly open in hot parking areas without giving it away. Let us admit that spoilers in our cars and in our driving conditions are only cosmetic and do not provide any utility value. Body kits, skirts and grills: Usually done for looks but if done properly may reduce drag and if done without research may interfere in car safety. Interiors: To each his own. What is gaudy to one is aesthetic to another so the lesser spoken the better. Safety mods Remote locking: Minimizes theft to a certain extent and is a matter of convenience. May drain the battery if the connections/settings are faulty. Anti-roll kits: Saves tires and body roll in emergency maneuvers. Bull-bars: Saves cost of painting in case of minor fender-benders. May prove fatal to pedestrians in mid-size crashes, but in my opinion will not interfere in the functioning of crumple zones in high-speed crashes as it will directly crash into the radiator (Source - I've been witnessing tons of accident affected cars in my garage). Alloys/Upsizing/Tubeless: Certainly helps stability of the vehicle if done within prescribed limits. Alloys do not lose their shape as often as steel rims so have to be balanced that much lesser. Powerful HID kits: Usually done for better visibility, but can be a menace if directed poorly. Window tints: Helps in reducing glare through the windshield in the night, prying eyes in the day and, of course, cooling the car faster. This again better be done within prescribed legal limits. Suspension spacers: Proves beneficial in maintaining GC if the car is retrofitted with an LPG/CNG cylinder at the rear. I've seen cars moving like cockroaches when both tanks, rear passengers and boot are full. Better brakes: What safety hazard can that prove to be if used wisely? Fire-extinguisher: Is like emergency drug in a medical store. You don't need it daily, but when you need it you better have it. Performance mods
There are a host of mods under this category (air filters, FFE, headers, ECUs, tuners, weight reduction, et cetera) and going through each would be insane. But let us know that modifying the car under this category is done to suit one's liking and driving style and is not potentially or intentionally done to put anyone in danger. For example, my friend (a rally racer) had modified his DCM Cielo so that it may be fit for the races. And then I'm usually a lane disciplined driver but can also zip through traffic if need (read hospital emergency) arises. Then I wish I would have modified my car not for unsafe but for quick driving.
We also know that a host of Indian cars have the same engine but are only tuned differently by each manufacturer to capture a certain target audience. If one likes all the features of a certain car except a few, then he may mod it even if it means losing the warranty.
In conclusion let me say that hypocrisy is a strong word to be used generally for all mod enthusiasts. After all, not every man with an AK47 is a terrorist (I hope the analogy is taken in the right spirit). No matter how safe the company makes the car, even a stock fitted car be misused and proven unsafe. As someone said, 'It takes 8460 bolts to assemble an automobile, and one nut to scatter it all over the road'.
PS: I don't have ABS/EBD, airbags, anti-roll kits, et cetera on my OHC but in all my years of driving I've yet to encounter even a slight pedestrian brush-off or any fender-bender on the road. I'm sure there are many out there like me. |