Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded

zocalopublicsquare.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 456 posts

Re: My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded

#51

Post by caconym_ »

Lots of weird judgment and smugness in this thread. This guy bought a fun car that he's excited about? Well obviously he's POOR and IMMATURE because if he was RICH and OLD he would buy an ELECTRIC CAR that's WAY FASTER (in a straight line) and doesn't make nasty noises and smells!!! what an idiot!!!

I'm all for cracking down on excessively loud and stinky cars, but the GR Corolla is not that loud, and it has modern emissions controls. It is also, believe it or not, possible to own a moderately loud car (even with a modded exhaust) without subjecting your neighbors to backfires, 40 minute idling sessions, and loud fly-bys at every hour of the day and night.

The attitudes in this thread really show that people just don't get it, which is probably why the driver's car is an endangered species in $CURRENT_YEAR. How many cars are available in the US with a manual transmission these days? How many that don't cost six figures (or more)? You don't have to be excited about the same things as this guy, but there is a whole lot of projection going on in here from people who can't seem to think beyond how you're perceived by others as the main factor in choosing a car. Have you considered that maybe this guy just likes the car?

Re: My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded

#52

Post by modzu »

GenerWork wrote: post #33

You'd think that on a website that has the word "hacker" in its title, more people would be supportive of someone "hacking" their car, but I guess there's not a lot of car people here.

hacker vibes would be sharing how he learned to program the ecu with a laptop. or putting in a short throw. running linux on the headunit, etc. but no, all this guy did was put a louder, annoying exhaust on it and drives it like its a go kart. im just left wondering what stickers he will tastefully add to it? haha but its ok, its a mid life crisis after all.. if he is feeling happy and like a child again, thats totally great

Re: My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded

#53

Post by Tade0 »

brokenodo wrote: post #11

I love cars and driving them. But the modded Corolla/Civic/Accord/Camry (why) people have always driven me crazy because their mods often seem directed to inflicting their cars on everyone else, with loud exhaust, subwoofers, and (subjectively) garish cosmetics, rather than things that make it actually good to drive . I recognize this is judgmental and it's unhealthy to always be annoyed at these people on the road,…

I don't mind cosmetics, but noise is something some places fortunately started regulating and I hope it becomes more common:

https://nltimes.nl/2026/05/28/rotterdam-deploys-first-noise-...

I'm hearing someone gunning it through a neighboring road as I type this comment and I will be hearing such noise all night, because some people just can't help but make noise.

The other day I even saw a guy in a car with a modified exhaust and driver side window rolled down - apparently so that he would better hear the noise he's making. Considering the volume that had to have a negative effect on his hearing.

I don't understand and I will not understand.

Re: My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded

#55

Post by ElectronCharge »

caconym_ wrote: post #29
floatrock wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A GR Corolla goes 0-60 in 4.9 - 5.4sec. My unexotic stock electric does 0-60 in around 4.8sec, +/-. So the same performance that requires a stupid amount of wasted energy as heat and noise can be had from stock electric, with a couple hundred ms leftover. Do you care about performance, or do you just want to just fart out a bunch of noise? I get traditional car culture, but electrics embody the "money talks, wealth w…

Your "unexotic stock electric" is boring as shit to drive and corners like a boat. Stomping on the throttle and going very fast in a straight line is a big marketing point for modern EVs with an excess of power (and usually weight), but there's a reason the concept of a "driver's car" exists, and if you think it's just about making noise then you really, really, really don't understand why people buy them.

By the way, the stock Corolla GR can pull right around .95 G, just like the Model Y Performance...

Re: My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded

#56

Post by caconym_ »

ElectronCharge wrote: post #50
caconym_ wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your "unexotic stock electric" is boring as shit to drive and corners like a boat. Stomping on the throttle and going very fast in a straight line is a big marketing point for modern EVs with an excess of power (and usually weight), but there's a reason the concept of a "driver's car" exists, and if you think it's just about making noise then you really, really, really don't understand why people buy them.

I also have an EV, probably the same one as the grandparent...a Tesla Model Y Dual Motor Long Range. It's rated at 0-60 in 4.8s. It also has good handling, with very little body lean through curves, and a lateral G force of around .85 G. If I switched to the same tires as the Performance version, that would increase to .95 G. That is better than many legacy sports cars. Those who love engine noise are the modern equi…

More spec sheet flexing, more assumptions that for owners of internal combustion sports cars it's all about the noise. More projection. Another person who just doesn't get it.

I'm sorry to be harsh in this thread, but it's always odd to find these weird empathetic blind spots in people.

Re: My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded

#57

Post by ElectronCharge »

la_oveja wrote: post #24
floatrock wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A GR Corolla goes 0-60 in 4.9 - 5.4sec. My unexotic stock electric does 0-60 in around 4.8sec, +/-. So the same performance that requires a stupid amount of wasted energy as heat and noise can be had from stock electric, with a couple hundred ms leftover. Do you care about performance, or do you just want to just fart out a bunch of noise? I get traditional car culture, but electrics embody the "money talks, wealth w…

this car is about handling in the twisties, not on straigh line. if you care about performance, you should know that its not only momentary performance what matters, but sustaining it and on repeated occasions. this car is made to be driven hard in a circuit or mountain roads. a electric car overheats its battery and its brakes due to their weight. the thing most close to electric sport car must be the ionic 5n. the…

I've yet to have any issues with the battery overheating, and most if not all of the braking is regenerative (no brake pad wear).

Re: My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded

#58

Post by caconym_ »

ElectronCharge wrote: post #55
caconym_ wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your "unexotic stock electric" is boring as shit to drive and corners like a boat. Stomping on the throttle and going very fast in a straight line is a big marketing point for modern EVs with an excess of power (and usually weight), but there's a reason the concept of a "driver's car" exists, and if you think it's just about making noise then you really, really, really don't understand why people buy them.

By the way, the stock Corolla GR can pull right around .95 G, just like the Model Y Performance...

Who cares? Static skidpad performance has very little to do with how engaging a car is to drive, and engagement is what somebody buying a GRC (or a GR86, or a Miata, etc.) is looking for.

Re: My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded

#59

Post by floatrock »

la_oveja wrote: post #24
floatrock wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A GR Corolla goes 0-60 in 4.9 - 5.4sec. My unexotic stock electric does 0-60 in around 4.8sec, +/-. So the same performance that requires a stupid amount of wasted energy as heat and noise can be had from stock electric, with a couple hundred ms leftover. Do you care about performance, or do you just want to just fart out a bunch of noise? I get traditional car culture, but electrics embody the "money talks, wealth w…

this car is about handling in the twisties, not on straigh line. if you care about performance, you should know that its not only momentary performance what matters, but sustaining it and on repeated occasions. this car is made to be driven hard in a circuit or mountain roads. a electric car overheats its battery and its brakes due to their weight. the thing most close to electric sport car must be the ionic 5n. the…

This guy's car may be designed to be driven hard in a circuit or mountain roads, but that ain't what this guy is doing:

> Now when I hit a loopy freeway interchange at night and my GR Corolla carves through the turn, it’s 1996 and I’m cruising in my CRX, getting pho in San Gabriel or rushing to a flyer party at Naga in Long Beach.

So doing the famous LA Stop-and-Go Freeway Circuit.

> We published our own magazines, built our own businesses, and for good and bad, promoted our own outlaw street racer image and our own beauty standard.

Or hitting the 4-way-intersection midnight drift curves.

Lets be honest, most people who drive these kinds of cars drive as many circuits as the average F-150 owner drives on western canyon dirt tracks.

Some do, sure, and if you do that, great, get the best tool for your job. But most people only daydream about these things and simply want the image as an escape from the existential meaningless of their suburban lives (is the op's "midlife crisis" title snark or an actual cry for meaning?)

I'm not gonna prevent people from spending their money on their hobbies, do whatever floats your boat. But if your hobbies are really just reving a loud engine from one strip mall red light to the next red light 1/4 mile down the road, well, that's not the thrill and the emotion of driving, that's a desperate display of loneliness and disconnection.

Re: My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded

#60

Post by unregistereddev »

cgyvbunji wrote: post #30

I had a coworker who one day showed up to work, pointed out the window and said look I bought a midlife crisis car very matter-of-factly, and I will never understand this. You don't need to do anything, nobody is making you do this.

I've wanted a Porsche my entire life. Doesn't have to be a track monster - actually, I'd prefer a lower-powered one. I want the handling of a Boxster, but a truly fast car is only fun on the track.

When I was young, I couldn't justify the cost. Now that I'm a bit older I could afford it, but I can't spare the time for a hobby. With kids still in child seats, I had to stick with a practical car.

When I'm 50? The kids will be old enough to sit up front. I probably still won't have a lot of time for a hobby, but I do have money now.

Buying a midlife crisis car doesn't mean that you feel it's a rite of passage. It doesn't mean someone felt like they had to. It might just mean that for the entire first half of their lives, there has always been a reason to /not/ buy the expensive toy they wanted. They finally treated themselves.

Post reply on HN