Four sections, fourteen guides
The subject divides into four. One of them is twice the size of the others, which is the argument the site is making.
A plate is the difference
Type approval is the line between a car and a modified car, and only a handful of firms have crossed it. Three guides on what the paperwork actually covers, who issues it, and who carries the liability when nobody has.
- 01A plate is the difference between a car and a modified carSome tuning houses hold type approval and issue their own vehicle identification, which puts them in a different legal category from an aftermarket fitter.
- 02Type approval: what it means that a tuner is a manufacturerApproval covers emissions, safety and construction as a whole vehicle, and it is expensive enough to explain the shape of the industry.
- 03The warranty questionWho carries the liability after a modification is a contractual matter and it decides what a franchised dealer will touch.
Most of the money goes on the outside
Bodywork, wheels, paint and aero absorb most of a budget and return almost none of it in the way the car behaves. Five guides on the visible half of the job — and on the one part of it that argues back.
- 01Most of the money goes on the outsideBodywork, wheels and paint absorb the majority of a typical budget and contribute almost nothing measurable to how the car goes.
- 02A wheel is the only cosmetic part that fights backUnsprung and rotating mass are real, and a larger wheel usually costs ride and response to buy appearance.
- 03A body kit is an aerodynamic decision made by eyeMost add-on aero is styled rather than developed, and the ones that were developed have the tunnel time to show for it.
- 04Two weeks in a booth for a colour nobody asked forRefinishing is labour, not material, and the schedule is set by flatting and curing rather than by spraying.
- 05Aero that works, and aero that is jewelleryDownforce costs drag, and a wing that produces neither is doing something else entirely.
What each change takes from somewhere else
Every gain is paid for somewhere else: in heat, in compliance, in durability, or in the fuel the map quietly assumes. Four guides on the exchange made at each corner of the car.
- 01What each change takes from somewhere elseEvery gain is paid for — in heat, in compliance, in durability, or in the fuel the map assumes.
- 02Forced induction is a heat problemCharge cooling and knock margin decide what boost is usable long before the turbocharger does.
- 03Suspension is geometry before it is stiffnessLowering a car changes roll centres and camber curves, and most road cars give up compliance rather than gain grip.
- 04Brakes are heat capacity, not stopping powerA bigger disc does not stop harder once; it stops the same repeatedly without fading.
Why the factory did not
The factory considered most of this and declined, for reasons that were rarely aesthetic. Two guides on emissions certification, warranty exposure and the decade of durability testing a tuner does not spend.