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Pinkbike's Official *!Street Tuner!* Thread

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Pinkbike's Official *!Street Tuner!* Thread
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flag Pyro011
Posted: Nov 24, 2008 at 20:43 Quote
ellisfreedman wrote:
I don't think my comment fits in this thread but there is one thing that has me confused. Mercedes-benz just officially launched the SL-65 AMG Black Series and I know this because when my mom took her car in for service there was one that had been purchased and was waiting to be picked up at the dealership. Now that this car came out what is the point to the Mercedes SLR? The Black series is faster, in my opinion more aggressively styled, sounds meaner, and is dripping with carbon (automotive diamonds in my opinion haha). The big 6.0 liter V12 it has makes the car heavier then the McLaren as it weighs at 4342 lbs and McLaren at 3732 lbs. Both cars are over 250k USD so what makes the SLR worth the extra 200k? If your answer is because it comes in a hardtop convertible you have to be joking..
All cars costing that much nowadays should be able to hit 400km/h stock, not 320.
flag thecorporatemachine
Posted: Dec 3, 2008 at 23:40 Quote
lcstay10 wrote:
laurie1 wrote:
What racing history does Mercedes-Benz have? Slim to none. Now, look at McLaren. As for the ~$500,000 price tag up north, what can I say? You have to pay to play!

what about formula 1

mclaren/Mercedes

Merc only supply the engines, so take no real part in the design of the car at all, that is all done by mclaren

However, have you ever heard of the Le mans 24 hours?

MERC have had some big cars and bigger success there!
flag lcstay10
O+
Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 6:17 Quote
thecorporatemachine wrote:
lcstay10 wrote:
laurie1 wrote:
What racing history does Mercedes-Benz have? Slim to none. Now, look at McLaren. As for the ~$500,000 price tag up north, what can I say? You have to pay to play!

what about formula 1

mclaren/Mercedes

Merc only supply the engines, so take no real part in the design of the car at all, that is all done by mclaren

However, have you ever heard of the Le mans 24 hours?

MERC have had some big cars and bigger success there!
ya i have. audi rapes shit. hahaha. they come to a track near us. Limerock.
flag ellisfreedman
Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 15:00 Quote
So when is the point when stock performance cars will stop increasing in power and over all performance? Like with each generation the cars become lighter and have more power and perform better then the previous generation. There will come a time when that will stop. like I don't see the BMW M3 having 650 ponies and weighing as much as a lotus in the year 2050 stock. That is a wild statement but what kind of numbers do you think it will have? Like that car is insane as it is and having it more power in the future will make the car not drivable for most people

Also aftermarket part companies will not be making much money if the performance cars will have retarded amounts of power in the distant future stock. People go to the performance companies to make their cars faster or more stylish then from stock. Like Renntech remaps the ECU on most Mercedes and can get them up to 750 HP or more. Will a stock 65 model Mercedes have that much power stock in the distance future? Or will it just stay at around 600 forever? What i mean is that if the car is fast enough stock then why upgrade it?

No one will ever know until it happens but its worth thinking about.
flag laurie1
Mod
Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 15:11 Quote
Dinan Performance for BMW can make a stock M5 push 611hp and 468 foot pounds of torque and that tuning option costs $40,000USD. There is a market for people to upgrade these high performance cars. People don't just want another BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Land Rover, etc. They want a Dinan BMW, Brabus or Kleeman Mercedes, Gembala Porsche, Overfinch Land Rover, and other things to make their car one off! There is a ton of money that people are pouring into their $100,000+ cars and they are ready to spend around the same in upgrades whether they are in performance upgrades or aesthetic upgrades! It is just the way things are.
flag CrankShaftYQX
Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 15:27 Quote
My next ride will be an 96 2.5RS. Nothing special until it gets the Cosworth long block and Rocket Rally diffs...
flag ellisfreedman
Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 15:37 Quote
Yes yes yes. So what is it? The point of owning an exclusive Overfinch Range Rover is for its exclusiveness or its performance or both? The average person won't even know what an Overfinch Range Rover is at a glance so what gives if your trying to appeal to a crowd? And people won't know how much it costs either. AND, for example, if the word Renntech was written on the back of a Benz most people would be like "WTF is Renntech?" My mom bought a used Cl600 with some Brabus modifications and it says "Brabus" on the back and when people ask about the car they are like "What the f*ck is a Brabus?" Hell my mom didn't even know what Brabus was when she bought it!

And I don't understand about the M5 fact you stated. If it really is about being exclusive, the only way you will actually feel exclusive is if you make it know to the public. The public will not know you have 611 ponies in your M5 unless you have a bumber sticker that says: "My car has 100 more horsepower then stock" or you race someone who thinks your car is stock.

And I can't tell if you were trying to answer my question or not..
flag laurie1
Mod
Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 15:53 Quote
There is a market for all of these performance parts. All that matters is that the owner knows that there car is different from all the others or most of the cars on the road. The aesthetic kits that are available from these performance part places make people know that someone's car is modified as the bumpers and side skirts are different than one they are used to seeing on stock cars. Almost all people generally have an idea of what a stock car looks like. When they see a billet grill, they know the car has been modified as they aren't stock. The driver likes their cars to be different from all the others so that is what's important. If they are upgrading in order to please someone else, that is just dumb as other s probably couldn't care less. A lot of car fanatics know who the major players in performance parts/aesthetic parts are. If I walk into a Mercedes dealer, nearly everyone who is in touch with the brand and who have owned a couple in the past know what Barbus and Kleeman are all about.

Dinan gives you badging for their products so that is how the public will know. However, BMW fanatics know what Dinan is. However, making it known to the pubic isn't what it is all about. It is about having the performance and upgrades to a car to make it track worthy with the personality that can be a daily driver. I know that there is a guy in town with a Ferrari and a Dinan'ed M5 and he didn't Dinan his BMW for anyone but himself. He wanted the horses and exhilarating that his Ferrari gives him with the hauling capability of a sedan.

Basically, who cares what others think. A lot of people modify their cars for themselves and no one else. I buy rims I like not rims someone else likes as it’s my car not theirs.
flag ellisfreedman
Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 16:13 Quote
Meh, i'm just saying the performance market aspect will fade away of buying performance parts if cars have retarded HP numbers in the future as I mentioned in my original statement. Hypothetically, lets say an M5 in 50 years will have 1000 HP. Like what is Dinan going to do at that point performance wise? The car would already be fast enough so the demand for their products will be slim in the performance aspect. Cosmetics are different story.
flag ezekiel
Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 16:17 Quote
ellisfreedman wrote:
Meh, i'm just saying the performance market aspect will fade away of buying performance parts if cars have retarded HP numbers in the future as I mentioned in my original statement. Hypothetically, lets say an M5 in 50 years will have 1000 HP. Like what is Dinan going to do at that point performance wise? The car would already be fast enough so the demand for their products will be slim in the performance aspect. Cosmetics are different story.

So long as there are cheap slower cars on the market, there will always be a demand for performance modifications. Not everyone can go out and play with $75,000 to buy a thorough bred sports car so they'll work with what they can afford. I bet that the major manufacturers make the bulk of their revenue from people modifying economy cars.
flag CrankShaftYQX
Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 16:20 Quote
This kind of philosophy makes me beat my head off the wall.

Anyone done the GC8 STI swap?
flag laurie1
Mod
Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 16:24 Quote
The amount of mainstream cars that would hit 1000hp are slim to none. The M series, AMG series, RS series, and other performance series will never be 1000hp stock. They will always be high-powered, light, and lack the creature comforts that many buyers are looking for. Even within the past couple years, there aren't too many cars making more than 600hp that are within a reasonable price point that the upper middleclass consumer can afford. Once cars get into the $200,000 range, there aren't very many people who can afford them. Therefore, there will always be a market for performance accessories. I don’t know about you but at the rate cars’ horsepower is going, I get slightly agitated when I drive. The last thing I want to see is a young, newly licensed driver driving their parent’s car that has 300+ hp under the hood. Power plus inexperience equals fatality. As much as this sounds harsh, I have no problem if these kids are doing this and killing themselves but when they kill or hurt innocent people because of their stupidity, it is different. There is a motorcycle shop in the city that won’t sell anything over 500cc to newly license motorcyclists as the owner is sick and tired of watching kids kill themselves by purchasing high powered motorcycles right after they get their license and being involved in fatal accidents where excessive speed and inexperience were the main causes of death.
flag Quik5ilver
Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 16:26 Quote
laurie1 wrote:
The amount of mainstream cars that would hit 1000hp are slim to none. The M series, AMG series, RS series, and other performance series will never be 1000hp stock. They will always be high-powered, light, and lack the creature comforts that many buyers are looking for.
Umm, AMG's are extremely heavy cars.
They have every luxury available as well.
flag laurie1
Mod
Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 16:29 Quote
Quik5ilver wrote:
Umm, AMG's are extremely heavy cars.
They have every luxury available as well.

I know those do but but many Ferrari's and Lambo's are scarce when it comes to creature comforts. Roll down windows, no radio (some models), small gas tank, little padding on the seats and the list goes on. I should have said exotics.
flag ellisfreedman
Posted: Dec 4, 2008 at 16:36 Quote
ezekiel wrote:
ellisfreedman wrote:
Meh, i'm just saying the performance market aspect will fade away of buying performance parts if cars have retarded HP numbers in the future as I mentioned in my original statement. Hypothetically, lets say an M5 in 50 years will have 1000 HP. Like what is Dinan going to do at that point performance wise? The car would already be fast enough so the demand for their products will be slim in the performance aspect. Cosmetics are different story.

So long as there are cheap slower cars on the market, there will always be a demand for performance modifications. Not everyone can go out and play with $75,000 to buy a thorough bred sports car so they'll work with what they can afford. I bet that the major manufacturers make the bulk of their revenue from people modifying economy cars.

I understand your point but I was talking about Dinan, Brabus and those kinds of companies for expensive vehicles, not the companies Injen and Greddy for civics. No shit Injen and Greddy would never stop making money because Hondas are so slow stock. But high performance vehicles are growing in power so fast coming from the factory. I'm just wondering when it will stop. And when it does stop, I think those high end companies will lose business.

 


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