Every guide on the site
Fourteen pieces, in four sections. This is the dense list; the front page is the edit of it.
| No. | Guide | Section | What it argues |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | A plate is the difference between a car and a modified car | A plate is the difference | Some tuning houses hold type approval and issue their own vehicle identification, which puts them in a different legal category from an aftermarket fitter. |
| 02 | Type approval: what it means that a tuner is a manufacturer | A plate is the difference | Approval covers emissions, safety and construction as a whole vehicle, and it is expensive enough to explain the shape of the industry. |
| 03 | The warranty question | A plate is the difference | Who carries the liability after a modification is a contractual matter and it decides what a franchised dealer will touch. |
| 04 | Most of the money goes on the outside | Most of the money goes on the outside | Bodywork, wheels and paint absorb the majority of a typical budget and contribute almost nothing measurable to how the car goes. |
| 05 | A wheel is the only cosmetic part that fights back | Most of the money goes on the outside | Unsprung and rotating mass are real, and a larger wheel usually costs ride and response to buy appearance. |
| 06 | A body kit is an aerodynamic decision made by eye | Most of the money goes on the outside | Most add-on aero is styled rather than developed, and the ones that were developed have the tunnel time to show for it. |
| 07 | Two weeks in a booth for a colour nobody asked for | Most of the money goes on the outside | Refinishing is labour, not material, and the schedule is set by flatting and curing rather than by spraying. |
| 08 | Aero that works, and aero that is jewellery | Most of the money goes on the outside | Downforce costs drag, and a wing that produces neither is doing something else entirely. |
| 09 | What each change takes from somewhere else | What each change takes from somewhere else | Every gain is paid for — in heat, in compliance, in durability, or in the fuel the map assumes. |
| 10 | Forced induction is a heat problem | What each change takes from somewhere else | Charge cooling and knock margin decide what boost is usable long before the turbocharger does. |
| 11 | Suspension is geometry before it is stiffness | What each change takes from somewhere else | Lowering a car changes roll centres and camber curves, and most road cars give up compliance rather than gain grip. |
| 12 | Brakes are heat capacity, not stopping power | What each change takes from somewhere else | A bigger disc does not stop harder once; it stops the same repeatedly without fading. |
| 13 | Why the factory did not | Why the factory did not | Emissions certification, warranty exposure and durability testing over a decade rather than a weekend explain most of the difference. |
| 14 | The durability difference | Why the factory did not | A manufacturer validates for a design life; a tuner validates for a demonstration. |