- Everyone wants to pretend that they know how to grill a steak. Okay, listen, this is Fitment Industries, but I'm also gonna tell
you that it's a must thing that you got to know how to do. Everyone knows how to grill a steak or make a burger, or you know what actually is in Italian dressing. I have no idea. And this is basic stuff. And then you wait until no one is around, when you actually invite
everybody over to grill to figure out just how long
it takes to grill a steak and how not to mess it up, because you didn't want to tell anybody that you had absolutely
no idea what you're doing. Pro tip, 400 degrees, two minutes, then rotate 45 degrees again, okay? For another two minutes, then you're going to
flip two minutes there and then rotate another 45
degrees for another two minutes, a total of eight grilled minutes,
plus five minutes of rest. And you've got yourself a
beautiful, medium rare steak. And if you don't like it, let
it sit a little bit longer, you get yourself a medium steak. Okay, never said I never
did nothing for you, okay? There's a little bit of grilling tips, but what about cars? I'm Alex Segway, Alex@fi on Instagram. And today we're gonna be
taking it back to the basics. We're not just going to
be talking about steaks on how to make salads
and all that sort of. No, we're done, okay? Today, we're gonna be talking about the number one thing above all else when it comes down to
being a car enthusiast, the one thing that people
like you and people like me, just got to know before
we jump into everything. And ladies and gentlemen, today, we're gonna be talking about you wanting to start modifying your car. (upbeat music) (car engine roars) (upbeat music) And if you're new here, hi, don't forget to subscribe. And if you're looking for aftermarket wheels, tires or suspension, be sure to hit us up over
at, fitmentindustries.com, where we have everything you need to start building the old car, even if you don't really know how yet, because this is a learning experience and we're gonna go through it together. That's all I got for you. And we have a giveaway going on right now with Artisan Wheels, our
very own wheel company. It would mean a lot if you
could go check them out and we have 0% financing,
if you're looking to build your car now and pay for it later. Anyway, when you start modifying your car, it can be a little bit of
an unknown space, okay? But even the most experienced people get a lot of things wrong,
pretty much all the time. The only time you don't see it, is usually when they're
taking a picture of it, because you can't see what they messed up. And I get things wrong literally every single time I step into the garage. And you have to remember that
even when you enjoy cars, that's not gonna inherently
make you a mechanic. But the early days of modifying cars is about the same time the very first car actually ever hit the road, taking it all the way back
into the early 20th century. People would take their
carriages off the frame, cut, twist, shorten and modify
them, to make them unique. Some of them which are
actually shave off wood to make it lighter or
give it a wider wheelbase, because they just thought it looked cool. Give it about a 100 years, and we're still doing just
about that same exact thing as we were back then,
just with more tools, more parts, more experience and yet, we still manage to mess it
all up even more than before. Your grandpa was twisted
frames, flipping barrels, slamming things on it's nuts before you and I were ever born. As the years transitioned
from carriages to unit bodies, four cylinders to six and eight, eventually three on the
tree to seven on the paddle, the seven on the paddle doesn't
have the same ring to it. And even from the domestic only vehicles in the United States, to now access to nearly every type of
vehicle known to man, short of the Yaris GR, because Europe doesn't like to give us any fun. Modifying your car has probably become one of the most like must do
things as a car enthusiast. It's just something people do, no matter what it is, it
can be the smallest thing in the world or the
biggest thing in the world, but almost everyone that loves cars is gonna do something to it,
to modify it to their liking. And there are people like us, that haven't necessarily made it easy with doing it ourselves. Shows on YouTube, Myspace,
when that was a thing, Facebook, IG Live, TikTok,
Snapchat, and more, have now made enjoying modifying cars and learning about them
just so much easier. Back in the day, you
pretty much had to guess or you had to have a friend
that could figure it out if you messed it up and nowadays you can just go on the internet and literally have access
to millions of things that you could possibly need to know. YouTube channels have popped up teaching about what cars you should buy, what cars you should stay away from, why certain things are cool
and why others may not be. Channels like "Hoonigan"
have taught enthusiasts to just have fun with cars, while others like "Scotty
Kay", have taught us why you shouldn't like a single damn thing about any car you ever buy
in the history of the world, no matter what! I love Scotty, I just... Right. And now with most of this
information being free, people like you and people like me, have started modifying their cars, because they have access
to all of this stuff. And they think that they can actually do it without much help. People started to modify their
car on more unique platforms that would have been previously more than likely disappeared into the automotive history books, because when it actually
initially came to modifying cars, that platform didn't
do anything for anyone. And that's what's so neat about when you start modifying your car, especially in the 21st century. The history lies more within
the people that did it than the cars that they did it to. And nowadays, that's starting to switch, where cars are made
specifically for modification, versus in the past, you knew
people that modified the cars. But that's not to say that manufacturers have built platforms specifically
around modifiability. It's not really a word, they have, while modifying them has been
a thing for some time now, platforms truly began to
start opening this door of almost allowing people
to modify their cars, as the 90s and early 2000s came about after the explosion of interest of the JDM market and
the lift of the import and tariff laws, governing
products such as intakes, exhausts, tunes, body kits,
panels, glass, and more, from actually coming
into the United States. Once you remove the old gatekeeping that was happening there, you
were pretty much set to go. And everybody really enjoyed
modifying these cars. And because these cars were
generally a bit cheaper than the domestic counterparts from a modification standpoint,
the world blew up even more. And when I say the world, I mean the modification world, baby! (clears throat) Sorry. Really excited, it's a
little bit later in the day, I had more coffee than I did before. So, now you're sitting
here, sitting with a BRZ, FRS, 350Z, 370Z, G35,
Camaro, Mustang, Civic SI, Prelude, or S2000 or Miata, because a car manufacturer
made it for someone like you, and you just want to
make it less reliable. Not entirely sure why we get
off on that sort of thing. I just don't get it. You want it to blow up? You really truly do. I mean, you want it to be fast, but you know that you're
probably going to blow up. You want to slam it on it's nuts, because that's just seems to
be the coolest thing to do. What do we want to do with our cars? Slam it! You want your car to
sound like the equivalent of like a chalkboard and nails, because scraping and
slamming it on the ground just seems like a really cool thing to do. Plus you can get a really dope TikTok if you really needed to. Why do we want to buy more
(indistinct) box as well? Because the world is normal enough and we enjoy going through the pain. Car people, I feel like just
enjoy going through pain. And that's why we're no
longer gonna talk about the history of modifying cars, we're gonna be talking about
what it's actually like to modify a car and some sort
of tips, tricks, and mistakes, so many people actually
make when they go around starting to modify a car, regardless on whether it's a BMW E30, a Mustang, a Corvette,
or anything in between, because no matter what, you're gonna have the
same underlying issues, if you don't actually go about this right. Mostly because you're gonna mess it up and then you're gonna
get all disappointed. And then you're gonna say
that you don't like doing it. And then you're gonna
sell your project car. Then you're gonna sit on the sidelines and talk about how cool
your project car was and talk smack to anybody that
doesn't have a project car, but they have a car that actually runs and your car doesn't run, so you're actually sitting on the inside wishing that that were you, but because you sort
of have an ego problem, you're never gonna tell
anybody that you're jealous that they have a car that actually runs with minimal modifications, whereas your project car was a failure. Let's get a few preconceptions about modifying cars out of the way. No matter what, first and foremost, no matter what you do, you
will (indistinct) up your car. You will make a mistake and just plan it, because it's gonna happen, all right? Don't worry though, because it happens. And to be honest, don't
try to think you won't, because you will, you're
gonna over-torque something, you're gonna plasti dip something that you probably shouldn't have. You're gonna buy tires that rub, because you thought that you
could go with a meatier setup. You're gonna swap headlights
that burn out all the time, because you didn't realize
relays exist for a reason. You will mess up something. Because when you cut a corner, you're gonna cut an experience, all right? And everyone does it no matter what, there is never a time
where I've seen somebody that's jumped into cars that have done everything perfect right out of the gate, no corners cut, no dollar wasted, because we're car people, we got like $12. No matter how long you're
in this crazy world, they call the car community, they will never be the
smartest person in the room, especially when it
comes to modifying cars. Don't worry, again, it's
not a measurement contest of any kind of limb anywhere
and don't treat it as such. There's a lot of smart
people in the car scene, but never think that you're gonna be the smartest person on top. So many people get headstrong about a certain platform or style right when they jump into modifying a car, but they never actually venture out to enjoy something new or
outside of their experience. This is where a lot of toxic
communities can start to exist, because of the perceived feat, that if you don't know a platform you jump into, you'll be ridiculed. This happens a ton. That's why people hyper-focus
into a certain platform and never want to jump out, which is okay if you
really love the platform, but if you then use that to talk smack about another platform and you don't have
experience in that platform, you really don't know
what you're talking about. So you stick with your
very first JDM, 180SX, you buy some old wheels because it's cool and you learn just anything else, because how can you talk about an old 140 horsepower stock Nissan with wheels that were made by
a no-name company that existed like 35,000 years ago
and weighed 35 pounds? It's just a weird thing. So when you jump into the car scene and you start modifying cars and you start learning
about modifying your car, never be afraid to venture out
and try something different after you've finished your first vehicle. There's so many cool cars out there, that you should never just
stick with one platform. When you start modifying
your car, be open and listen. There are so many insane
YouTubers that have just built just about everything you
could possibly imagine. And watching those folks build their cars will help you actually modify yours. You'll learn what you
want to do and don't, you'll learn if the
platform is right for you and if it's truly everything
that you envisioned, because unfortunately, a lot of times, Instagram shows you the
beauty of a car build, but true YouTube series
teach you the pain. And a lot of times
people get so head stuck on Instagram photos and they
don't watch the YouTube video that led up to that vehicle
being actually built, to see just how much work, how much money, how much pain, how much just tears, cause that car to actually be built. And you're gonna want
to be careful with that, because some platforms
are easier than others. And if you see a large
community around a certain car, a lot of times, especially
when it's an entry level car, there's a reason for that. But if you find a platform
and you're ready to commit, be sure you've got a preliminary plan on what you're gonna start doing when it comes down to modifying it. If it's a daily driver,
start with the small stuff that doesn't take your car
out of commission for a week. If you want to know how
to upset your mom or dad, that's a great way to do it. And we all do it. I still remember accidentally
putting my 3000 GT on jack stands and I could not figure out how to get the ground
wires put back together. And my dad had a heyday,
even though it was July, so it wasn't like winter or anything. In other terms, doing this teaches you that the 20 minute projects
actually take about 60 minutes and the one hour project,
take you about eight hours, and the eight hour projects
take you about a month. This is the world of
car modifications, okay? It's like dog years sort of. So when you start doing small stuff, you'll learn what to
do and what not to do. You'll learn how to take things apart and how to keep them organized. Having a budget, a list
of parts and a plan, is a super good way to
keep things on track and not spiral out of control. Because a lot of times,
we get a little bit more creative than our actual aptitude of understanding how to modify cars. Budgets will always blow up, but hey, it's fun to make a little sheet with green cells and red cells to see if you're on track
and if you're overspending. In terms of difficulty, time, and money, it can really range
depending on the vehicle, when it comes down to how
difficult a car is to modify. But you can expect that
if you have more pieces to disassemble off the car,
the more difficult it becomes. And it scales exponentially, it's not really like a one-to-one thing. So, does a gauge wire
set take a lot of work? No, but does a head gasket? Yes, especially when it's your first time. That's why it's a really good idea to usually have a friend or two with you, when you start doing these
projects for your first time. It can be anything, it
could be over fenders, it can be an exhaust, it can be an intake, having two or three people to
help you through the process and at least having a
couple extra set of hands, is gonna make the difference
between that eight hour project being a three-day project, and maybe only being a 14 hour project. And that's okay, just
because you're an enthusiast, again, doesn't inherently mean
that you're good mechanic. You just need to take your time, research, find what you like and understand that you'll have very little idea on what you're doing
outside of the research that you've actually done. And you're going to look at something and not really understand
what the hell it does. And eventually, you're
gonna have to guess. It'll be okay. Buy wheels, bud, get an
intake, slap an exhaust on it that'll probably be crooked, but do what makes you happy
and try to do it right. The best bang for buck mods are the ones that you'll enjoy the most. And that's really what it comes down to. Starting with wheels, tires, intake, exhaust, tune, coils, are
a great place to start, because that's usually
what you end up seeing and hearing and performing with the most. But even window tints,
some WeatherTech mats and an intake, could be enough for you depending on what your budget is and what time you actually have available. But whatever you do, at
least start the damn build, because that is where it starts. That's where the itch begins. And if you don't start,
because you're too afraid to, you're actually never gonna get it done. But what do you think
is the number one thing you learned when you
started modifying your car? Let us know below. And of course, let us know what you want us to talk about next. I'd really like to know how
everybody's build is going. And if you're looking
for aftermarket wheels, tires, or suspension, be sure to hit us up over a fitmentindustries.com. I'm Alex from Fitment Industries, and we will see you later. Peace. (upbeat music)
