Top 5 Mods On Minimum Wage
20 SEP 2024 - Jeff Willis
There are many of us who are either on a tight budget, or you may be a younger individual and work at a part-time job that may be flexible, but not enough to flex new Volks on social media. That’s okay, but good news is that better times are ahead, and like Wu Tang, race car life is forever.
There are millions of car enthusiasts across the nation and abroad. The feeling we get from the acceleration, the handling, the looks and the sound bring us an addicting feeling of happiness and accomplishment especially when we perform a mod ourselves, or when we win or best our times at a weekend track day or at the drag strip. Cars are also responsible for making us be the best versions of ourselves as people have become doctors, attorneys, business owners, or have even worked multiple jobs and put in the overtime just to afford certain upgrades or certain cars. These reasons are why companies like SubiSpeed and many other great aftermarket performance aftermarket companies exist. According to Grand View Research, the automotive aftermarket industry will reach 470 BILLION dollars in sales in 2024. This proves the staggering amount of support, demand, and value these companies add to the overall US economy. It is also the reason why so many of these companies have targets on their backs as certain agencies try to take many of their livelihoods away with impossible fines.
Numbers aside, one of the key reasons why the performance aftermarket brings in a high volume of cash flow is because the car hobby whether if you’re building a purpose-built race car or a show car slammed on air bag suspension with all the fancy parts is one of the most expensive hobbies. Yes, there are those who raise race horses, have a collection of Rolex watches, invest in rental homes, but if you’re an average guy who develops rod knock in your 2005 STI, you’re going to do everything in your will power to get your Subaru back on the road whether if you have the money or if you need to resort to a credit card or overtime.
Sounds despondent yeah? Listen, you don’t need to be the fastest driver in town. As a matter of fact, those who go from stock to race car before they even have a chance to enjoy their cars are going to have a learning experience. Most of the time it’s not a positive experience because there is a hard learning curve. The hard truth is that if you have the means to modify your Subaru to the moon but you’re not familiar on how much stress the engine can endure at those higher power levels, you’re just going to blow something up.
Point being, the lessons from modding a Subaru on a limited budget is rich. You can still enjoy your Subaru on a daily basis while enjoying simple mods that are budget friendly. And when you’re in a better position to invest more into your happiness, then you can start looking at those heavy hitter parts. Until then, let’s look at some ideas that you can consider while on a budget.
MUD FLAPS
Mud Flaps have been a staple for modified Subarus for over a decade now. Mainly because they really express that rally-inspired look that the WRX and STI emphasizes on. But more importantly, mud flaps are very considerate of your paint finish, and protect your rocker panels and rear bumper from getting sandblasted, while protecting other vehicles around you on the road from getting rock chips or a cracked windshield. The majority of our selection will be application-specific so make sure that you enter in your year and model to see what options are available for your Subaru. But in confidence, we should have an option for your model to suit your needs.
Rally Armor Red/White Mud Flaps 2015-2021 WRX/STI
Rally Armor Black/Grey Mud Flaps 2015-2021 WRX/STI)
AMS Performance Black/Red Mud Flaps 2022-2024 WRX
SHIFT KNOB
This is more for those of you with an older Subaru. And granted if you’re on minimum wage chances are that you Subaru is an older model. But not to worry we work with what we’ve got, and one of the best interior upgrades for a Subaru is a new shift knob. But not just any shift knob. See, the huge fad with Subarus from 2013 up to about a few years ago was getting a Crown Royal bag as a shifter boot while having the largest phallic shift knob. From beer taps, baseball bats, translucent ninja sword handles, and whatever else imaginations came up with.
The problem is that these shift knobs would damage or ruin transmissions by putting additional stress on shift forks, bushings, and would cause owners to mis shift all in the name of looking cool for the gram. Many of these owners then resorted to going to their local fabric shops to glue comic-book themed bed sheets to the roof liner while the interior wreaked of vape and farts. Did it kill the value? Absolutely. But with older Subarus especially for bugeye, blobeye, and hawkeye models, we are seeing an increase in value as these models for many eyes of enthusiasts, are seen as the pinnacle models. Therefor, as many of you who have grown out of that flat bill Monster Energy hat-wearing, vape juice sharing, stupid shift knob stage of life, many have moved onto the proper restorative stage for these models.
And a component that really enhances the interior with limited funds is a proper shift knob. Whether it be a new Subaru OEM leather unit or an aftermarket unit, a good shift knob really enhances the interior even if you have torn seats and stained carpet. Here are a few great options:
Subaru OEM STI Leather Shift Knob Subaru 6MT Models
COBB Tuning Subaru 6 Speed Know White/Red
GrimmSpeed Stubby Delrin Shift Knob 2002-2014 WRX / 2004-2021 STI
STRUT BRACE
Because Subarus are inherently AWD except for BRZ models, the design of the suspension had to accommodate the front-engine with a rear-mounted transmission design. So out of the gates in OEM form, Subaru’s handle really well. However, they especially benefit from sway bars as they reduce the body roll during high-speed cornering. But those are something you can later add to the list if your Subaru does not have these already.
But if you don’t have what it takes in terms of installing sway bars which includes a jack, jack stands to properly support your Subaru, or if the labor costs are too much for sway bars for the time being, then a Front Strut Tower Brace is an excellent choice. Strut Tower Bars will bridge both sides of your strut towers to strengthen your chassis by reducing flex during high-speed cornering at the track, and it is more noticeable for daily driving occasions as well. And for your convenience the installation is relatively easy even for the novice mechanic. Front Strut Tower Bars will typically re-use the front strut top hat nuts. Installation would require the removal of the nuts, placing the strut tower bar in place, re-installing the nuts and tighten down. Here are some examples:
Meagan Racing Front Strut Tower Brace 2015-2021 Subaru STI
Meagan Racing Front Strut Tower Brace 2015-2021 Subaru WRX
Cusco Front Strut Tower Bar 2018-2021 Subaru Crosstrek
AXLE-BACK EXHAUST
Now this will be on the expensive side of things. The reason axle-back exhaust systems are on the list is because the aftermarket sound on a Subaru is most desired. The fact of the matter is that aside from wheels, a cat-back exhaust system will be the most desired upgrade for any Subaru to further establish that flagship flat-four rumble. Because of these reasons, there is a sea of options for most Subaru models. But not all cat-back systems are created equal, and you have the several variables that account for the price differences such as piping size, materials such as steel or titanium, and single vs dual exit. Obviously aside from the sound there are the performance benefits.
Yet there are those in the market who just want the sound for now, and they don’t want to buy something used from their local marketplace because they want something new and will be confirmed to fit. So why an axle-back exhaust system then? Axle-back systems will replace your heavy factory muffler (or mufflers depending on the year), and the purpose is to increase the loudness of the exhaust system, while saving weight. If you’re in school, or only have a small budget and don’t want to quite invest in a cat-back, then an axle-back system is a great option for those of you who desire the sound, but also, axle-back systems are fairly simple to install if you have the tools, and the know-how. Check out some of the available options:
Faction Fab Axle Back Exhaust Matte Carbon Tip 2011-2014 WRX/STI GV Sedan Models
Nameless Performance Muffler Delete 2018-2021 Crosstrek
Faction Fab Axle Back Polished Tip 2019-2021 STI
And this clip will provide you with an idea of what it requires to install a cat-back exhaust.
THIRD BRAKE LIGHT
For our last item, it was a thought process between a trunk spoiler but those are a little on the expensive side especially after we recommended an axle-back which can be a little spendy if you’re on a budget. Mainly we wanted to keep the last choice fun because there are much cheaper items such as fender ornaments, wiper blades, and perhaps some detailing products. But we opted to choose an auxiliary third brake light. Now this option will be for 2015+ models only, and many of you might have a 2015+ VA WRX as many used examples are in the affordable range.
One of the key reasons why third brake lights are one of the more popular exterior mods is that they provide the exterior with that F1 styling using bright modern LED technology. Most options will be multi-functional as a brake light, reverse light, and parking light when the lights are illuminated. Most importantly, many options are relatively affordable for those of you who want to improve the exterior, while increasing the awareness of surrounding drivers. Here are some examples:
OLM Vector F1 Light Smoke Lens / Red Bar 2015-2021 WRX/STI
OLM F1 NB+R V2 F1 Clear Lens Gloss Black Base Red Bar 2015-2021 WRX/STI
Here is more info about third brake light options:
In conclusion, if you’re on a budget and want to perform some mods, these are some great ideas that you can perform yourself that are very rewarding and offer the most fun for the buck. This can also pertain to individual’s wo just don’t want to spend large amounts of money on a vehicle if they view them as depreciating assets. But for enthusiasts, cars simply make us happy, and there are more levels of happiness with mods. We are always here to help.