What Little Mods Have You Made That Have Exceeded Expectations

I was just wondering if anyone has made that one little mod to there car that oin the surface of things may not seem like much but it turns out to be a "Why did I not do this sooner" type thing.

I am talking about the little things like adding drip rail guards. A particular type of Wiper Blade.  Maybe a backup camera, Some kind of cool stereo add on.  Maybe we can go as far as to include things like shocks / struts and or upgraded brake parts.  

Why and I asking this?  Well I remember the days when I was just starting me car modding and it was the little things that were very rewarding.  I remember changing a steering wheel in one of my Firebirds and while not that bid a deal wi was to me.  We get wrapped up in car builds and drivetrain swaps and things and I for one have lost sight of what got me started in the car hobby.  It was simple little things that I did to a car that personalized it to my taste.  Rear window louvers, a kick @#! stereo, a Hurst shifter with the pistol grip Handel.  Did anyone add in a graphic equalizer in to there car?  What about a CB.  

Anyway I was just thinking about it today and wanted to share and hear about what others have done both past and present that are simple little mods to cars that make it better, cooler and most importantly it makes the car yours.

Wheels and shift knobs are the two things you are touching constantly, your primary points of contact with the car. So getting something special there will color the whole driving experience. I'm a big believer in customizing a car in this way.

But the one thing that every one of my cars share (other than the 2019) is upgraded lighting. Not goofy light bars, but well-chosen mods that put light where I need it. 

I put Hella H4 headlights on the 310GX and it was amazing how well the lighting improved in 1981.   Sparomobile was the import parts store in Downers Grove, IL and it was fascinating to visit the place.  

Good rubber. I don't think of consumables as a modification, but it's amazing what good rubber does to the handling of a vehicle. 

Solid motor mounts. Sure the installation may be a little bit more involved than most simple modifications, but the items themselves couldn't be more basic and the difference in chassis response and dynamics is astounding. 

Replacing worn bushings, whether they being in the shift linkage or suspension. 

Sway bars. Nothing makes a chassis handle the way the chassis engineer intended it to as opposed to the person who was projecting what the insurance premiums would be for the vehicle. 

And in front-wheel drive vehicles, rear lower tie bars. 

Adding some pieces to increase the castor in the racecar made it faster around VIR full with an NA rotary than it was with the turbo rotary making about 40 hp more...

Not sure it counts as little but it was relatively cheap and only a little high effort. Fixing (lowering) the seating position in my former M roadster was a night and day difference. Definitely a "why didn't I do this a year ago?" moment. Sports cars are meant to be sat in, not on which was what the stock seat felt like.

Yup, stuff you touch: shifter, steering wheel and even floor mats. I'd add seat but we don't swap them too often. Can I feel a 3-horsepower gain? Maybe, maybe not. But the right shifter can make all the difference. 

Also wheels, tires and lightning.

And shocks. 

Found out that similar vintage Scirocco interior parts bolted right into my '80 Rabbit.  Steering wheel and console made a huge difference to my base model Bunny.

I don't know why, but I love the term "base model Bunny". Thank you.

Bending the gas pedal closer to the brake pedal to make it possible to heal & toe downshift.

I added a Recaro Orthopedic seat to my GC8 impreza when I was piling miles on to it.  Bought the seat used for a few hundred bucks, the adapter base was another $150, and I think it was ~1 hour to swap everything out. 

Huge, huge improvement to enjoyment of the car. 

The biggest return was on my Samurai. It came with factory steelies. The silver paint was flaking and breaking down. I took them all off, gave them a light sanding, and followed up with rattle can primer and steel wheel paint in silver, then replaced the bald, mismatched maypop brand tires with a fresh set of five BFG Radial All Trail T/As slightly over stock size. (Maybe 215\75-15?)  Finally, I went after all of the plastic with a really aggressive 

It drove better on tires that actually had tread, but more importantly, it made it look like something to be proud of instead of a sad beater. Not bad for a $1600 truck.

The bikini top, some assorted interior parts that were worn, and a store brand head unit and changer that I picked up for $100 were close runners up. The Samurai was very receptive to cheap improvement.

"Paddy Hopkirk" seats in my 1978 Datsun 510 and a set of four Hella replacement headlights.

Technically not a "mod", but using OEM engine/transmission mounts instead of Rock Auto specials.  It's amazing what a well engineered hydraulic mount will do to kill NVH, and it is also amazing how you don't notice that your car feels like a buzzy POS with cheap mounts until after you take the cheap mounts out and put OEM in, and it feels all grown-up-car-like.

If springs and shocks aren't too big of an item, I remember spending $400 way back when on Neuspeed Sofsport springs and matched Bilstein HD shocks to my GTI Bunny. No lowering at all and that combo did everything I asked it to. I could feel every contour of the road but never with any harshness. I did wear out the HD front struts in 20k miles, though.

Bigger rear sway bar on an '05 Legacy GT.  From understeering pig to neutralish.  Even better than a tune (which I also did). 

Adjustable vacuum modulator on a '76 Suburban. Cured the typical GM upshift-as-soon-as-possible-and-stay-there-forever problem. 

Ball bearing wheels on the front of my non-self-propelled Honda mower. 

I added Bluetooth to my truck after ~15 years of owning it.  Whole new enjoyment to starting it and just having the music come on.

Yeah I couldn't believe how different my EP3 felt with a race seat bolted to the floor in a good position, detachable sparco suede steering wheel, and my weighted shift knob. The car felt awesome and I felt secure and connected, I felt the suspension move, the numb EPS rack felt more communicative. I am doing a similar set of mods to my NC3 Miata Club and I can't wait!

Electric exhaust cut-outs.

Quiet and tame executive most of the time, boy racer loud and rowdy with the touch of a button.

I had a '74 C10 2WD long bed.  350.  Three on the tree.  I pulled the engine fan and added a universal electric dual fan from Summit.  Crazy bang for the buck.  You could feel the power that fan was sapping being returned in the seat of your pants.  I'm guessing it picked up 10 or 15 hp.

A junkyard HEI and the biggest and quietest muffler  Flowmaster made turned that truck into a great little driver.

Poly inserts for the rear subframe bushings on my BMW 128i. The rest of the suspension was fine, but the RSFBs were made of soft cheese. The inserts installed in an hour or so and transformed the car; it felt like going from two loosely connected axles to a solid four-wheeled unit.

Good leather steering wheel covers. Stitched on tightly, they made old, skinny, worn-out steering wheels feel worlds better.

More restrictive resonator added to a loud Borla exhaust. Goal was quieter sound but the real payoff was eliminating the torque dip around 2500rpm  bonus! 

Odyssey battery.

The one in my Moto Guzzi LeMans just failed after 15 years of use.

A good upgrade and would do again.

Keith Tanner said:

I don't know why, but I love the term "base model Bunny". Thank you.

That is a great name!

$75 ACR rear sway bar on my regular '95 Neon.

$75 lightly used MOMO steering wheel on the Manic Miata.