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My midlife crisis Corolla is fast, furious, and modded

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

#111

Post by CocaKoala »

not_kurt_godel wrote: post #70
caconym_ wrote: post #51

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 e…

> It is also, believe it or not, possible to own a moderately loud car (even with a modded exhaust) Not legally in many places. California limits exhaust levels to 95 dbA or less, and I'm betting that OP's mods violate that given that "ATAK exhaust systems produce the highest dB (decibel) levels in the Borla line" [0]. Washington state prohibits modifying exhaust "in a manner which will amplify or increase the noise…

It looks like all three Borla ATAK catbacks for the GR Corolla are active exhuasts[0], so you can dynamically switch between quiet operation and loud operation.

[0]: https://www.borla.com/2023-2026-toyota-gr-corolla-exhaust-sy...

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

#112

Post by xyzzy_plugh »

CocaKoala wrote: post #67
yawnxyz wrote: post #54

I have a GR Corolla and it's great in the mountains! It's tiny light and fun and fits a car seat (barely). I wouldn't consider a loud GRC w/ catback a "sleeper" though - it's quite the opposite??

When my wife was pregnant, our garage had an ND Miata (mine), a BRZ (hers) and an Elise (also hers). We pretty quickly decided that we were going to need some kind of car that we could reasonably put a car seat in, and while the BRZ nominally had a back seat, neither of us were interested in trying to fit a car seat and child into it. We actually did consider a GR corolla, but ended up getting a used evo x that's bee…

Tell me you live in the Bay Area without telling me you live in the Bay Area.

Do you have a lift in your garage?

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

#113

Post by dmkolobov »

I think people are missing the point: the loudness and ostentatiousness is seen as a celebration of Asian American identity by the author. In Denver there is a similar culture surrounding low-riders and the Latino community on Federal St. Both are a celebration of minority cultures in America.

Judging these car sub-cultures divorced from their communal aspects, or as an expression of mainstream American masculinity is pretty off-base IMO.

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

#114

Post by AngryData »

mekdoonggi wrote: post #86
Tade0 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 modifie…

I hope that becomes more common so long as privacy is respected. Fortunately my neighborhood is fairly quiet. I don't understand either, but I don't have a problem with people doing what they want. If municipalities can regulate speed limits for safety and other reasons they should be able to. So if you want to be loud live out in the country where there is space.

Probably more likely to get harassed in the country for it because the cops gotta fish harder for their extortion money/pay.

Ive been pulled over multiple times with brand new stock exhaust on a stock vehicle cruising at 55 because the body looked old and rusted and the cops were looking for any plausable excuse. With a real excuse they could throw tickets at you when they get frusterated with lack of other possible charges.

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

#115

Post by vladvasiliu »

lefra wrote: post #109
vladvasiliu wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here in Europe, fat American-style SUVs are still somewhat rare, especially outside cities (!). People still can't corner worth shit in their "regular" sedans. And I say this as a pretty chill motorbike rider. I've lost count of the number of Golf GTIs and similar behind which I have to wait around when riding on roads that aren't perfectly straight. And these cars should have better cornering ability than my fat bik…

Counterpoint: I know my car can brake and turn much harder than I do (it's not a sports car by any mean, but that's beyond the point). I'd rather not change my tires and brake pads all the time though, and keep some margin for whatever unexpected stuff is hiding behind the corner. Also I don't like having to stop because everyone in the car got motion sickness.

I'm not saying they should drive like a rally. I most certainly don't. Just don't slow down to a snail's pace for no reason. Or if you insist on doing that for whatever reason, let other people pass you if you can see that visibility is low.

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

#116

Post by Hnrobert42 »

lapetitejort wrote: post #8

My ongoing midlife crisis vehicle swerves in a different direction: I bought a 1988 Nishiki 1207 at a yard sale for $40. Mostly stock save for a new seat. With the wheels out of true, the stickers plastered over with garbage, the brakes loose, the front tire visibly cracking, the rear cassette visibly rusted, and the rack mounts stripped, the bike needs some work. I am motivated to finally really learn bike maintenan…

Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, if you are looking for a solid resource.

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

#117

Post by arijun »

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.

I am a car person. I have a fun-to-drive car that I have modified. This guy is getting all the hate he deserves.

You don't get to be an assh*le and subject everyone to loud exhaust (I looked up his exhaust, it's 105 dB!), and be upset if people call you an assh*le.

Anyone who defends him is essentially saying "it's ok to be an assh*le to everyone around you, as long as you get yours."

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

#118

Post by tristor »

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 promise you it is not limited to the Camry/Corolla/Civic community, it's just that those cars are very commonplace so its more obvious. I had a full track build BRZ that looked nearly stock from the outside other than the wheels and hood vents, and I loved that car and still miss it. Even in the Miata and BRZ/86 communities where these are designed as cheap, trackable sports cars, most of the community is more focused on cosmetics and adding cheap plastic and chinesium parts to their cars than doing anything that improves driving dynamics.

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

#119

Post by xyzzy_plugh »

cucumber3732842 wrote: post #96
unregistereddev wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not a modern Corolla iM. The iM had about 130hp. The GR has 300. The iM had comfortable, "sensible Corolla" suspension. The GR has race suspension. This is not a "basically stock" corolla. It's actually a really cool car with a fun story behind its design. Toyota's then-CEO Akio Toyoda is a big car nerd and an accomplished race car driver. The GR Corolla was his dream car. He was directly involved in the desi…

That's a whole lot of words to say "Corrola with a bigger turbo and a hard durometer poly bushing kit".

They should not have called it a Corolla at all. It's nothing like a Corolla.

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

#120

Post by xyzzy_plugh »

cgyvbunji wrote: post #64
unregistereddev wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I guess what I don't get is the part where you broadcast that it's a midlife crisis. If I bought a super expensive computer or house or vacation I wouldn't walk into the office and announce I've had a midlife crisis. Maybe I'm being too literal, lol

Give it time.
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