Used Cars to Avoid

I saw this on MSN Autos and had to snicker. Funny how what they think is a problem we think is a well sorted out car.

Boy Racers

Click to enlarge picture http://fp.images.autos.msn.com/Media...047a4f5e95.jpg
Caution: Haphazardly sawed-off roll cages might give you tetanus.

It doesn’t take much to turn a daily driver into a race car—just some number stickers and a roll cage, really, and we’ve seen those applied to everything from Miatas to Ferraris to Toyota Tundras. But once a car becomes a race car, it’s tough to retame it for the street.
Rock-stiff shocks, bushings harder than petrified eucalyptuses, and spine-snapping springs are among the more benign modifications made when preparing a vehicle for competition. Beyond that are the sound-deadening material that’s ripped out, the power accessories that are dumped to drop weight, and engines recammed to concentrate the power band within 100 rpm of redline. Race cars aren’t supposed to be tame or comfortable; they’re supposed to win.
That doesn’t mean you can’t gently modify your Civic Si for weekend gymkhana duty without destroying its utility. But don’t fool yourself into believing it’s easy to recivilize an animal that’s gone feral.