how acceptable is it to modify parts on a kit?

[Chris Doughty]

just a general topic I would be interested to hear peoples views on.

how acceptable is it to have to modify, dereml, drill parts on your car to make it fit or to get it to work?

would not not buy a car because of this?
do you like to do this?

do you expect a national level competition kit to have to be finished by hand?

[frogger]

I wouldn't expect it to 'need' finishing by hand but I quite enjoying making changes or 'improvements' by dremeling and cutting the original stuff.

Mass market kits tend to be over engineered to be stronger for the general public so I think there is a lot that can be done to make them better\faster (maybe at the expence of a little durability).

[bigred5765]

i would think like any top end specialized vehicle,some modifying and or dremmeling to be done,i enjoy it,and find it hard to see any firm making competitive priced cars that don't need it,theres just to many variables,

[Chris Doughty]

another one....

if you buy a product for your car, how acceptable is it to HAVE to buy another product (from another manufacturer) to be able to fit/use this part?

[bigred5765]

depends if its in the original instructions or detail, ie (to use this u must have )

[frogger]

Yeah, agree with bigred, as long as it's stated clearly and early on then to me it's OK to buy something that also needs something else.

[Southwell]

Originally Posted by DoughtyUK.net

another one....

if you buy a product for your car, how acceptable is it to HAVE to buy another product (from another manufacturer) to be able to fit/use this part?

Depends on the part. If it's breakable and only one bit breaks i don't want to be buying a pack when i could get just one bit. I think as long as the parts are properly labled as needing more to complete i see no harm in it.

[Rick]

In answer to your first question, I think it is unacceptable.

For the basic kits made for the mass market - the people buying these do not neccesarily have the skill or knowhow to do this, therefore do not get the best from the kit which may deter them from continuing.

For the Pro/Team/WE kits - we are paying a premium for the best kit available, it should therefore not need to be "fettled" to get it together properly.

Originally Posted by DoughtyUK.net

another one....

if you buy a product for your car, how acceptable is it to HAVE to buy another product (from another manufacturer) to be able to fit/use this part?

As for your second question, unfortunately I do not understand what you mean, do you have an example?

[Chris Doughty]

thanks for the replies.

an example of my second question.

I have an AE car.

I see a new product from Toe-Racing that I really want, but to make the Toe-Racing part fit on my car I ALSO need to buy the PieSpeed part. (and it does clearly state that)

acceptable?

[super__dan]

I think I am biased on this one, well in fact I am.

I think that everyone has a choice of what to buy and that choice is based on information and personal preference. So as long as you know what you are buying, what else you need and what are options then it's OK. It is possible that you determine the best car for you is the hardest to build/assemble, becasue that will be fastest. Others will not agree.

We all chose to buy car kits that come with no eletronics, some people from outside the racing part of our hobby might think this is unacceptable, or that we buy seperate tyres and wheels and have to glue them together. We as racers see this as necessary!

[Northy]

Originally Posted by DoughtyUK.net

another one....

if you buy a product for your car, how acceptable is it to HAVE to buy another product (from another manufacturer) to be able to fit/use this part?

I think if it makes the car faster/easier to drive, racers wouldn't think twice.

G

[PaulC2K]

Interesting thread.

Originally Posted by DoughtyUK.net

just a general topic I would be interested to hear peoples views on.

how acceptable is it to have to modify, dereml, drill parts on your car to make it fit or to get it to work?

would not not buy a car because of this?
do you like to do this?

do you expect a national level competition kit to have to be finished by hand?

I'd expect (pretty much demand) that the kit went together fine without any hassles, trim excess plastic of the part-tree and no more, and it'd work fine. That IMO is the standard all kits should be built to.
I'd still expect the more enthusiastic racer would want to work on the car to try and find some performance improvements, and im sure there are plenty to be found which will be hardly noticable but can be important to capable drivers where tiny things can make a difference.
If things arent freely moving, as they are designed to be, then its not good, particularly if its not 1 or 2 items, or the odd kit from a bad batch.

Would i still buy it?
I'd buy a kit based on what its capable of, and how easy/realistic it is to acheive it. If i've got to put more work into getting it race-worthy, than the manufacture has put into designing and manufacturing it, i wouldnt be interested. If its just a case of making sure everything runs smoothly thats fine, i'd buy it.

Like to do it?
Maybe, if not doing it doesnt cause issues, excess strain, reduced performance etc then i'd probably not do it when building the kit, play for a bit and the next re-build it'd look at what could be improved.
Personally i'd prefer to do them in my own time, wouldnt say i like it, wouldnt say i hated it, but i do it if needed. If it was causing issues, i wouldnt be mighty impressed.

Originally Posted by DoughtyUK.net

another one....

if you buy a product for your car, how acceptable is it to HAVE to buy another product (from another manufacturer) to be able to fit/use this part?

As others have said, provided the other part was widely available then i think thats acceptable, particularly if its a long-term item which will last, rather than something that needs regular replacement. If i only have to make the purchase once, great. If it means messing about with multiple suppliers... i'd look at the pro's & con's and see if its worth the hassle and possibly additional costs of 2 orders/p&p's.

[Bathy]

Originally Posted by DoughtyUK.net

just a general topic I would be interested to hear peoples views on.

how acceptable is it to have to modify, dereml, drill parts on your car to make it fit or to get it to work?

would not not buy a car because of this?
do you like to do this?

do you expect a national level competition kit to have to be finished by hand?

My view...

I hate any requirements to modify a kit, I expect a car kit to be perfect out of the box, once you start hacking away they end up looking 'amateur-ville'. A good kit should be perfect before being sold to paying customers... Yokomo have this sorted, from my experience all parts are always very professionally finished.

[Welshy40]

Originally Posted by DoughtyUK.net

just a general topic I would be interested to hear peoples views on.

how acceptable is it to have to modify, dereml, drill parts on your car to make it fit or to get it to work?

would not not buy a car because of this?
do you like to do this?

do you expect a national level competition kit to have to be finished by hand?

I think the kit supplied is good, but to the general rules of course. Obviously I wouldnt expect it to be done by hand, rather the items for the prototype done by hand and tested well before the molds are made and sold (like of course your proto cars and like my old proto ZXS buggies), and like yourself there is always something after the kit is manufactured and made that you do not like or prefer to do slightly differently to better the car to your style of driving.

However the kits should have readily available items such as hubs,castor blocks etc instead of having another outfit selling for more money.

It makes this hobby more interesting. But what is your opinion? You are developing cars so you have a different angle but it would be interesting.