Alessia Korvessis | The Chronicle
For a group of students at Mason High School (MHS), cars have evolved from just a method of transportation into an outlet to express creativity, develop mechanical skills and connect with a community of car lovers.
Car modifications, also known as mods, have become increasingly popular among high school students. Originally gaining traction on TikTok, mods gained popularity over the controversy of lifted trucks, pickup trucks that are heightened more than their original height. Since then, mods have turned into something more, even providing job insight for the future and special communities.
Junior Mihiru Dabare mods his 1996 Nissan 300 ZX. He said he has found a special community through modifying cars. By attending car shows, Dabare said he is able to meet other people with similar interests, as well as people seeking advice or wanting to share knowledge about their cars.
“When [you] take [your] car to car shows, you meet people who want to talk about your car, have the same car and ask what you’ve done to it so they can do [the same to] theirs,” Dabare said. “There are also people who want to buy the same car you have, so you can tell them the pros and cons, and overall you can just meet great people and a great community.”
Along with finding connections in car shows, Dabare said he found a connection at a young age because of his father. He said the early exposure left a lasting impression on him, creating an interest that has stayed with him ever since.
“My dad is a huge car guy, and when I was two [years old], he showed me “Fast and Furious” and the “Cars” movie,” Dabare said. “[Cars were] pretty much cemented in my brain from that.”
But Dabare’s love of cars did not only come from early exposure, it also came from his unique family situation: his father owned a race team. Although the team may not be active currently, their love for racing is.
“[My dad] was racing for a team when I was little, and we’d always go watch,” Dabare said. “But even [though] it’s over, we still race by ourselves a lot.”
One of the biggest challenges Dabare said he had to overcome was the cost. Between school, working a job and maintaining his car, what was first a simple hobby turned into a sacrifice he had to make. In general, most car mods cost upwards of 200 dollars, Dabare’s most expensive being 2,800 dollars.
“It’s definitely not a cheap passion, so I have to have a job,” Dabare said. “I worked in a warehouse when I was 14, but then I switched into detailing, which I [prefer].”
Dabare’s knowledge and skill came from watching his father’s race team work on vehicles, and eventually, working on his own car as a father-son project. From a mix of observing and doing it himself, Dabare said he is now able to work on his car mostly independently.
“I learned from when my dad had his race team and they’d go to the shop, I would watch them work on the cars,” Dabare said. “Then when I got older, [my dad] bought a project car, and then I learned from watching him do it and helping him out.”
Like Dabare, junior Gavin Astrop was also introduced to the car world from a young age, except instead of from a racing team standpoint, it was from the view of a mechanic, his dad.
“Eventually he brought me to his work, and it just kind of lit a spark in me,” Astrop said. “I grew up around my dad always bringing in a new car so [we] would work on cars constantly.”One thing Astrop encounters frequently is judgement regarding his car. Astrop said many adults perceive modded cars as an indication of irresponsibility, but for most people who do mods, there is a bigger meaning behind it.
“Just because someone mods their car, [that] doesn’t mean they’re a reckless driver,” Astrop said. “It could be something they’re really passionate about.”
The complexities of modifying cars often call for an extra hand, so Astrop said he turns to his dad, who has a mechanical background. He said mods provide a way to spend time with his dad and receive advice. Whether helping Astrop make major decisions about a mod or determining whether certain parts are worthwhile investments, Astrop said the reassurance helps him keep his car safe and damage-free.
“I always talk to my dad about making changes to my car because he knows a lot about car parts,” Astrop said. “He helps me decide what I should do and brands work best for the car that I have.”
Modifying a car may seem like a simple way to boost its performance, but the process can prove to be more complicated than people realize. Even a single modification can require extensive mechanical work, requiring jacking up (lifting) the car, and, for some more complicated fixes, even taking apart the whole engine.
“When I added a turbo to my car I had to jack up my car and take out the engine a little bit so that I could fit the turbo in. I basically had to take apart almost the whole engine,” Astrop said. “I don’t think people comprehend how complex it is, and if you don’t do something the right way, it could lead to something very bad for your car.”
But modifying cars takes more than mechanical skill. From saving money to purchasing new parts to time consuming days working in the garage, every step of the process teaches an important lesson. For Astrop, the lesson was patience.
“The biggest thing it taught me was patience, because you need to have patience when building up money to buy new parts as well as working on it,” Astrop said. “It’s really time consuming, and it takes a lot of work.”
For junior Orion Bentley, he said patience played a large role in his modifications, too. Bentley has installed many modifications to his car, such as installing window tint, a front lip and even a new muffler and resonator delete, which are the parts of the engine that control the volume of the car. But by far, Bentley said the most complex was adding in new subwoofers (specialized loudspeakers).
“You think you can get a job done in 30 minutes, and then it’ll take you three hours,” Bentley said. “I thought I would get the [subwoofers] and then done in a night, and it took four days.”
One of Bentley’s major challenges was getting his family on board. Bentley said they realized that the hobby could turn into something more serious. Now, Bentley said having the chance to work on cars helped him decide what to do after high school.
“They were not supportive at first, but once they understood that I actually wanted to start doing stuff with cars, they were more understanding of it,” Bentley said. “My grandpa helps me out [and] my grandma will come hold tint for me. Just anything to help.”
Working on a car requires time and dedication, often forcing enthusiasts to sacrifice time with friends and other activities. Bentley said the commitment is necessary to make progress on a car project, whether something simple like an accessory or more complex.
“If you’re not willing to sacrifice spending time with your friends or going out to do other stuff, you won’t be able to work on your car,” Bentley said. “It’s not an easy process, and it takes a lot of time.”
