Customizing. It's why most of you are reading this magazine. Some things on your car are never good enough
I'm the same way. I'm just neurotic enough about my cars to keep them in a constant state of flux. That is, they're never done. I'm always tweaking, tuning and swapping in an effort to make my rides the way I like them. But it's never good enough. They can always be lighter, stronger and more powerful.
Several months ago (September '02), I wrote this column about car geeks and bike geeks and how similar we really are. When that issue hit the stands, I was flooded with email from every car/bike geek in the country. You guys are gonna love this. However, you automotive purists out there bear with me, this is aimed mostly at you.
As I was weighing parts on the three-bar gram scale at my local bike shop recently I began thinking how cool it would be if we could build cars like we build bikes. On a bike nearly everything is standardized. The bike industry was smart enough in its infancy to create standards for hub widths, head tube sizes, bottom bracket diameters and pedal axle sizes. Everywhere parts can be installed on the frame, there's one or maybe two standard sizes and thread pitches, and every manufacturer builds parts to fit the standard.
The diversity in quality, materials, craftsmanship, weight and strength among the parts is huge, however, as are the prices. The system allows for competition, flexibility, and most importantly, choices for consumers.
Think about a system like this in the automotive world. You would first build your car on paper, adding and deleting parts as your budget and needs allow, knowing the exact cost, weight and performance potential before you ever turn a wrench. I did this recently with a mountain bike and the result is spectacular. I've got an ultra-light, screaming-fast machine that's exactly like I want it, right down to the gear ratios. Now I want a car as suited to my needs as this bike.
Here's how good it could be: Start by choosing the chassis where you'll have literally hundreds of choices in materials, strength, build quality and drive configuration-front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. From here you'd follow the formulas dictated by your chassis. Is the engine longitudinal or transverse? Does the gearbox have five speeds or six? Is it a dog box, fully sequential or a less expensive synchro tranny?
Your chassis choice has also determined what kind of suspension you'll use and, to a certain extent, its geometry. So by now you've decided whether you'll have struts, double wishbones, multi-link or some combination of these. If this were a mountain bike, however, you'd still have to choose your dampers and springs and how adjustable, rebuildable and serviceable those items are.
Next up are control arms. Perhaps you'll use forged aluminum to save some weight and increase stiffness over stamped steel. Or maybe you'll go exotic with titanium. It's up to you.
What about the engine? Hopefully, the chassis you've selected has some flexibility. Maybe a lightweight, aluminum block, turbo mill like Nissan's SR20DET or Subaru's EJ20; both are light, powerful and relatively space efficient, or maybe you want really stupid power and choose a Toyota 2JZ-GTE with a turbo the size of my iMac.
I've already designed my car on paper. My ride in fantasyland uses an FD RX-7 size composite chassis and body with a Subaru EJ20 hooked to a sequential five speed. It gets forged aluminum double wishbones all around, titanium exhaust and huge four-piston brakes with forged wheels at all four corners.
What about you? In the world of automotive nirvana, the possibilities are endless.