TUNED IN: Avoiding Vehicle Upgrade Potholes BY PAUL WEISSLER The street performance market provides untapped profit opportunities for an independent shop. But unlike conventional repair work, the vehicle owner must be willing to accept at least partial responsibility for the outcome.

illions of dollars are good opportunities for the indepen- spent each year by mo- dent shop, too. torists to turn plain Jane You see a twentysomething with a econoboxes into “sports $12,000 to $14,000 car, often one he Photos: Paul Weissler Paul Photos: compact tuners,” and bought used for well under ten billions more are spent grand. It now has about $2000 in spe- Cavalier/ Sunfire. for add-ons to pickup trucks and cial wheels and tires, plus a custom The truck/SUV side of the custom BSUVs. Even through the 2000-02 exhaust system and maybe a turbo or market is far bigger, and not just for down economy, people were person- high-performance “crate” engine un- styled wheels and special tires, but alizing their vehicles. Members of the derhood—a total investment that for other things, as well. The good Specialty Equipment Market Associa- may be close to the price paid for the news is that many of them are in the tion (SEMA), who make and sell $27 car. Those add-ons you’re seeing are take-it-to-a-shop category. billion in products, are well beyond only the most visible piece of the The idea of spending thousands for fuzzy dice, hubcap spinners, under- multibillion-dollar pie, and really one add-ons, which may be close to the hood chrome and ill-concieved engine of the smallest. value of a car or truck when bought modifications that would fail an emis- That piece is getting much bigger, used, may seem crazy, so why get in- sions test. though, because the kids are tired of volved with nuttiness? But look at it If the routine maintenance and re- just doing the Honda Civics and the way the buyers do: Today’s vehi- pair jobs you’ve been doing are com- small Acuras; “Everyone’s done cles are believed to last longer, so the ing less frequently (maybe today’s ve- them” is an often-heard line. Now two-year-old econobox with these hicles are more reliable), you may there’s interest in the Ford Escort, thousands of dollars in extras give the find you can get a profitable piece of Focus and (of course) Mustang; buyer a distinctive machine he’ll be the vehicle personalization action. Hyundai and Kia econoboxes; New proud to drive for years. Just look around—beyond the bolt- Beetles and the English MINI; the The tuner market, for both cars on spoilers, decals and custom body Mazda 6, Protegé and Miata; the and trucks, has some pitfalls. Al- parts. Sure, some of that is do-it- Subaru WRX, Toyota Corolla/Matrix though you may want the extra busi- yourself, some is body/paint shop and Nissan Sentra; Chrysler’s PT ness, you don’t want to acquire a work and some is in custom sound Cruiser and Dodge Neon and even stream of unanticipated headaches. systems. But there are plenty of other the Saturn ION and (gasp!) Chevy For openers, if you want to draw cus-

34 August 2004 tomers, you have to “show the mer- ket—about $6.5 billion—with much of more common and some as large as 26 chandise,” and that means you should it for trucks and SUVs. The highly to 28 in. are on the way. Unless you’ve be prepared to start with your own styled, often oversize aluminum or bulked up in a weight room, you also vehicles as display pieces. They’ll be chrome wheels, really big wheels for need other help with these behemoths. the best way to tell people you’ve trucks and SUVs, are not only expen- They’re not only heavy, but they done this work and you’re ready to do sive, they’re definitely not DIY. In fact, must go on equipment that won’t dam- it for them. What you do on your ve- right now your shop may not even be age the bead-sealing edges during tire hicles will pretty much define the able to handle them safely. mounting and demounting, a particu- range of tuner services you can mer- Larger wheels also are becoming lar issue with aluminum wheels. And chandise. original equipment. And the larger because a wheel might cost hundreds There’s a wide range of appearance special tires that are just coming out— of dollars, you don’t want to just drop it and/or performance enhancements— such as the Goodyear Run Flats on the on the machine. from wheels and tires to suspension Corvette and Michelin Pax tires on the That’s why equipment that accepts a kits and custom exhaust systems— new Cadillac XLR—can’t be handled tire roll-on, then grasps and lifts the your shop may want to provide. Let’s safely on conventional tire equipment. tire into place is not just a convenience look at each in some depth. You’ve got to consider new equipment item. It isn’t cheap, with prices in the to work on what’s coming from the ve- $10,000 to $13,000 range. But manu- Wheels & Tires hicle makers. That same equipment, facturers who showed the equipment If conventional tires and wheels are a although expensive, also will handle during last year’s Automotive After- measurable part of your business now, the larger wheels and tires that are go- market Industry Week in Las Vegas it makes sense to look at the custom ing on tricked-out cars and pickups. found large, attentive crowds. ones: They carry a much greater Note that 17-, 18-in. wheels today of- If you’ve run a conservative tire op- markup. SEMA estimates wheels and ten are standard stuff, 20-in. wheels eration to date, you probably will tires are a quarter of the specialty mar- (popularly called dubs) are becoming want to continue with one. Tires that

August 2004 35 TUNED IN: AVOIDING VEHICLE UPGRADE POTHOLES

The factory can do it all and provide a full warranty. In this Mazda Miata from MazdaSpeed’s factory perfor- mance division, the engine is IHI turbocharged and inter- cooled, boosting the 1.8L Four to 178 hp and 166 ft.-lbs. of torque (from 142 hp and 125 ft.-lbs.). The body is lowered 1 just ⁄4 in., but there are special springs and shocks and a strut tower brace, plus some engine dress-up items and Hunter Engineering’s TC3500 tire changer features a 17-in. racing wheels and performance tires. Mazda took polymer mount/demount head to protect the wheel. Au- this project in-house (made in Japan) instead of as a tomatic lifting of the wheel/tire assembly is a Power Lift dealer or field-available kit. Most owners with stock Kit option. The changer handles wheels up to 26 in. in di- models won’t want to go this far, of course. ameter, with a 28-in. adapter on the way. are too wide will bind in the wheel mend one of the tire pressure moni- sic black, the typical owner chooses a wells on sharp turns; tires that are too toring systems coming to the after- bright red, yellow, silver or black satin. large will throw off the speedometer market as a worthwhile add-on. Larger wheels can accommodate reading beyond what the customer heftier brakes, and the premium after- may have anticipated. If a vehicle still Brakes market brake systems will be no heav- is under warranty, the mileage read- High-performance brakes sound like a ier; they might even be lighter. Howev- ings will run short and that could sure winner. After all, what’s the down- er, the biggest brakes you can install are cause disputes. , side to making a vehicle stop better? not necessarily the best choice. In fact, which is starting to sell specialty And there are some well-known brand if you overdo it (and install larger rear wheels for its vehicles through its names with aftermarket bolt-on kits, brakes, too), you could upset a vehicle’s dealers, also provides dealers with such as Brembo and Stop-Tech. The braking balance. The leading makers software to reprogram vehicle com- prices of front axle kits are in the provide engineered packages that work puters to adjust speedo/odo readings $2200 to $3800 range, and four-wheel properly with existing antilock brakes accordingly. kits are $5000 and up. So it’s not pock- and vehicle stability systems, and origi- However, there are lots of stylish et change when you add your installa- nal rear brakes. The front brakes do wheels and tires that will comfortably tion charge. You’ll find the kits are most of the work; in many cases, super- fit most wheel wells without raising available for everything from a Dodge sizing the rear brakes is overkill. these issues, and the potential income Viper to a Hyundai Tiburon. While some manufacturers offer definitely is good. Because it’s an area The brakes definitely look great, and race-oriented kits, a standard sport up- that requires a lot of care, however, in most cases that’s what sells. The ro- grade is your safest choice. The brake SEMA has introduced a program to tors are cross-drilled or slotted, which shoes that go with these upgrades are train and certify technicians. continuously cleans the lining contact specific to the application, so when the Note: If you’re installing new tires surfaces, improves cooling for reduced linings wear out, the replacements with short-profile sidewalls, so the big fade and lowers weight. However, the should be the equivalent from the wheels fit the wells, the owner may reality is that slots or holes are symbols same manufacturer. You should advise not realize that a run through a pot- of high performance that show through the customer that the linings are likely hole could unseat a bead and lead to a the openings in the open-spoke pattern to be more aggressive and may not last slow leak or even a flat. To help pro- of the replacement wheels. And al- as long as the OE linings. tect the investment, you might recom- though the calipers are available in ba- If a driver doesn’t really want better

36 August 2004 TUNED IN: AVOIDING VEHICLE UPGRADE POTHOLES brakes, just the look, an inexpensive case the customer wants to go back to heavy loads, and so you know that rou- approach is to clean and paint the stock. If the car also needs a new cat- tine. You can get them in name brands caliper—a job you can sell as an add- alyst, some of these companies also you can trust. No problem. on to wheel/brake services. Properly sell them. But before you buy, look However, the extreme kits for all painted, a standard caliper can provide for an OBD II certification by the four wheels of a vehicle is another mat- the right look. The slotted or drilled California ARB. ter, and you should be cautious be- rotors for the aftermarket name cause ride and handling definitely will brands are not just hunks of cast iron. Short-Throw Shifters be affected. A lowering kit also lowers They’re typically two-piece designs When vehicle makers engineer the the vehicle’s center of gravity, which in with aluminum “hats,” engineered for manual transmission shifters for any- theory should improve handling. But extreme use. A conventional rotor that thing but a performance car, they set up suspension geometry rarely is a simple, simply is drilled may look just as good the geometry for a medium-length single issue. And if the vehicle has but be more likely to crack. throw or longer, probably wide neutral oversize wheels, the tires might rub on gating, etc.—something the driver is the top of the fender well, or with stan- Exhaust Systems less likely to ram into the wrong gear. If dard-size wheels, the underbody might Aside from the tailpipe, there isn’t the owner wants something tighter, bottom out and be damaged. much anyone can see in an exhaust close to race-oriented, often it’s avail- The reputable systems in the after- system unless the vehicle is on a rack. able in the aftermarket in the form of a market are engineered combinations of And you may be concerned about direct bolt-in replacement. The look is springs and shocks, with a typical emissions issues and noise regula- distinctly performance, and if the owner up/down range (vs. original equipment 1 tions. The so-called “catback” sys- has selected wisely, he’ll enjoy the short- riding height) of as little as under ⁄2 in. tems, which bolt onto the back of the er throw operation. It’s wise to save the up to 1 to 3 in. Although a kit may have catalytic converter, avoid the emis- old parts here, too, just in case he wants provision for a greater range, just a half- sions questions. And because they’re to return to the stock setup. inch, with revised damping, could pro- freer breathing, they often do im- duce substantial changes in ride and prove performance, even if not quite Suspension Kits handling. Tokico uses a cam sleeve at to the extent the owner may expect Up or down? The car tuners generally the base of its spring; Koni has a thread- (perhaps only 2% to 4%). want their cars lower, but the truckers ed spring pad to reset ride height. Some The companies that make these could go either way. In fact, while GM other kit makers who don’t produce stainless-steel, even pricey titanium is selling lowering kits for its pickups, their own use H&R dampers. systems gain their reputation with full it’s also offering a 2WD Chevy Col- The name-brand suspension kit racing setups. They know how to pro- orado and GMC Canyon with the makers give you some assurance the duce a performance tone for the raised 4WD suspension. suspension geometry and ride quality street, usually without alerting the Should you install these kits? Well, are safe, within their recommended ear of the police. But don’t throw you may have installed rear air suspen- ranges. But even within the modest away the original equipment, just in sion kits for cars and SUVs that carry ranges usually provided by some sus-

Performance brake kits provide not only better performance, but good looks, too. In this Stop-Tech design, the service brake caliper does not This “catback” exhaust from Magnaflow ends as a dual-muffler, dual-pipes include a parking brake, so it’s a design for the MINI Cooper S. Catback exhaust systems are popular, even if separate add-on (upper left). most of their visual appeal is hidden from view beneath the vehicle.

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Height-adjustable struts and shocks provide the low- ered look so pop- ular at cruise nights and swap meets, with the ability to restore the height for normal use. These Tokico struts have a cam at the spring base that can be turned for up to 3 in. of ad- justment. A screw on top adjusts for stiffness.

This bolt-in replacement shifter assembly for the Mustang, from B&M Racing & Performance Products, turns a manual transmission into a short-throw design—a much sportier feel. pension kits, wheel realignment is MacPherson strut towers, reducing Performance Upgrades necessary. flex during hard cornering. Once just This is where you’d think a shop would Customers should understand that an aftermarket add-on, it’s now origi- have the best opportunity for profitable going to ride height extremes is strict- nal equipment on many cars. And you work, and it’s there. If you’ve been do- ly for parked positions at swap meets, should be able to buy ones that easily ing engine overhauls or reman installa- car shows, cruise nights, etc., and bolt into place. tions for years, then the idea of fitting warrants careful driving on the road. an aftermarket turbo or supercharger You might suggest that a prewinter Gauges kit may not throw you. However, a su- adjustment, to reset to original equip- If a customer gets a turbo or super- percharger with a new belt drive or a ment ride height, would be helpful charger, he most likely feels he “has to turbo with the headaches of aligning all for driving through snow. have” a boost gauge, too. In fact, the plumbing is not a quick buck. And Earlier this year, Bridgestone/Fire- gauges are symbolic of a performance because these kits run $2000 to $3000 stone announced two new applica- car, even if there’s nothing much be- and up just for the parts, you’ll face a tions for its Praxis line of adjustable yond original equipment. Finding a customer who’s going to be looking for air suspension systems—for 1999 to place for a single gauge should be easy, a big performance increase (and no hic- present 3-Series BMWs and 1994 to even if it’s just on the steering column. cups) after paying the bill. present Ford Mustangs. The system However, make sure you route the There are driveability issues to con- allows the driver to control perfor- wires away from sharp edges and un- sider, too. The supercharger kit that mance on the road, without the need derhood hot spots, then through the GM Performance Parts sells for the for tools or time in the shop. (A Sub- firewall. Also remember to install a 2.4L twin-cam Four (2000-02 Cava- aru WRX kit was introduced in No- rubber grommet to protect them, and lier/Sunfire) requires a specific air in- vember of last year.) use body sealer on the hole’s perimeter take system, of course, but also a new The opportunity to make instanta- to prevent wind noise. MAP sensor and reprogrammed soft- neous changes in the suspension is You’d probably be wise to avoid ware for the engine. The kit is dealer- technically innovative (and not cheap, multiple-gauge installations that are only at this time; when the dealer in- of course). Both camber and toe strictly for show, unless you and the stalls it, GM provides a 12/12 warranty change, too, so it’s probably something customer agree on their location. The on the kit and continues the engine- primarily for experienced drivers of A-pillar is a common location, but it internals warranty, too. performance cars. can affect visibility. An alternative is a There also are factory kits for the af- A handling improvement that also mask for the existing instrument clus- termarket, such as the Toyota Racing provides underhood eye appeal and ter. A mask with a performance look Development (TRD) supercharger for raises no safety issues is the strut may be all that’s needed to satisfy the the 1.8L, 180-hp engine in the Matrix brace that mounts to the tops of the driver, and it can save a lot of grief. and . GM also sells a ver-

46 August 2004 TUNED IN: AVOIDING VEHICLE UPGRADE POTHOLES Photo courtesy Bridgestone courtesy Photo Bridgestone’s Praxis suspension system allows immedi- ate, even continuous adjustment of ride height, spring This Toyota Racing Development supercharger kit fills in rate and shock dampening from the driver’s seat. Praxis the low-end performance gaps in the optional 180-hp uses four air spring struts (across the top), computer version of the Toyota Matrix 1.8L Four. The Eaton super- (center left, with its wiring connector to its right), air charger is part of a kit that adds 35% more horsepower. valve block (center right) and air hose (center far right), Also available is a cold-air intake that adds another 5%. complete wiring harness (bottom left), four body height Both are “street-legal” in all 50 states. TRD also offers sensors (bottom center), electric air compressor (bottom adjustable-height struts with stiffer springs, plus front right) and air reservoir (bottom far right). and rear sway bars and a strut brace for the Matrix.

sion of this kit. Most vehicle makers driveability may surface, and if they do, charge, for they need an operating (particularly the Big Three) have huge you aren’t off the hook with “Hey, all I margin to cover the losers. catalogs of aftermarket performance said I’d do is install the engine” (or the Inasmuch as many cars have extend- parts, including a lot of bolt-ons, and as turbo or supercharger, etc.). And sus- ed powertrain warranties (5/60, up to many for trucks as for cars. pension and braking upgrades could 10/120), the average street performance Of course, the big names in turbos be important, particularly if you want enthusiast who can’t go for a factory and superchargers (Eaton, Garrett, Mit- to cover yourself. (A guy’s gotta be able crate engine or performance kit proba- subishi, Warner Ishi/IHI and KKK) are to stop his new hot rod, doesn’t he?) So bly will have more modest performance found in both factory and independent if you think you want to stop with just aspirations, too. How about a cold-air aftermarket kits. But because the con- installing the engine, maybe you’d bet- induction kit, which won’t cost a lot? tents of the kits go so far beyond just ter rethink the whole proposition. And as a result, the small performance the blower, you have to ask, “Do I want Could this reluctance to modify a boost still may be quite satisfying. to get into this?” You’ll probably decide, vehicle cost you a regular customer? Wondering about warranties? It “Maybe, some day down the road.” Not likely. When you get past some of comes down to this: If it’s an OE part If you install reman engines, you’re the more basic stuff, the people who’ll and you did a complete kit installation probably considering the idea of in- do the job primarily are specialists who correctly, there’s a gray area of accep- stalling so-called crate engines sold by do it all the time. They’re not doing the tance that says the vehicle warranty cov- the carmakers. These engines, which routine jobs most of the time, and erage is intact, unless an abuse issue are designed to provide enormous they’re not likely to be the convenient could be raised. Past that point, the af- horsepower numbers, come with neighborhood shop, either. termarket performance parts you install wiring harnesses tagged to connect to The specialty shops that install these carry only their own warranty—typically the vehicles for which they’re sold. So aftermarket performance kits and crate 12/12. There isn’t much of an issue with if everything works out right, the vehi- engines include some car dealers who a strut brace, a catback exhaust, and not cle will pass an emissions test. Howev- do it as a profitable sideline. They can much risk with brand-name suspension er, it’s never going to be the same as buy at better prices than you’ll ever kits or brakes, but the customer must just replacing a failed engine with a re- get. And they know most of the short- understand that any risk (damage, man or a new one. You may have to do cuts as well as all the places to file, shortened component life, etc.) result- a lot of finesse work to get everything grind and hammer. So they can make ing from more extreme modifications is to fit in without the kinking of hoses money and satisfy customers...most of at least partly his responsibility. and ducts, and you may also have to do the time. However, it’s a long, slow some filing, grinding and denting to learning curve, and even the specialists Visit www.motor.com to download create adequate clearances. have their losing propositions. So don’t a free copy of this article. The problems of overheating and be seduced by the prices they can

48 August 2004