Parents mad about mods

[headrush]

Aldive, that comment really made my day, man. Thanks!

 

[psychotic]

The more i read, the more i don't see how any of this applys to me... i'm not spoiled, not rich. I got my parents old car... a 96 explorer, they didn't buy me a brand new car like a spoiled rich kid would get, i got their left overs, so what? My lowering job cost me 20 bucks cause i did it myself. Just really guys, none of what you are saying has ANYTHING to do with my original post. It was why can i lower it but not take off the roof rack... its a question of simple logic and me being baffled by it. It has nothing to do with give me my own car blah blah blah i'm rich and spoiled... you guys are way off track... I'm just assuming you're all venting your own opinions by now... because in your long and sometimes rambling thoughts most have you have never even been close to even scraping onto the original subject.
If it makes you feel any better, like i've said before i have my own job, during the summer i was working 35-40 hours a week and now with school and my 4.0 grade i still work 25-30 hours. So when you think about it, i'm at school for 8 hours, i have to get there early for marching band... thats 40 hours a week, then the 20 some hours of work, and on top of that, about an hour of homework each night keeping my 4.0 average. I'm not bragging nor complaining, simply showing that i'm not what you all accuse me of being. My parents bought my sister a new car for about 20k for graduation and plan to do the same for me. That with the money i save from work, i hope to get a ford lightning.

IMO, i'm neither spoiled nor stupid nor irresposible. I've seen some of you actually post and explain exactly what it going through my mind..... thanks those of you who actually TRY to understand what i say.

P.S. I swear some of you are rewording previous posts on this thread, making longer, and reposting it...

 

[SaleenEXP]

I support you man, thats why I said that in my first post about you lowering your truck but not being able to take the rack off, that just doesn't make sense. Do your parents have any idea how much you just affected your Ex (in a good way) by lowering than taking the rack or skid plates off. That's not an easy task to do, so that should have prove to them you are resposible, you keep your grades up and everything, take care of the truck, so I can't really understand why they wouldn't let you take a little thing like the rack off. Yeh this topic did get a little off, my first post was to support you becasue you do respect your parents and everything, and even though the others that called you spoiled or whatever for having a 96' given to you were probably venting, what about the people that I mentioned that were given Bentleys and Aston Martins for their 1st car, even if I could afford it and had kids theres noway in hell I'd ever get them an Bentley or something like that for their 1st car. Props up 2 u Psycotic.

 

[zavetsky]

See below.....


/The more i read, the more i don't see how any of this applys to me... i'm not spoiled, not rich. I got my parents old car... a 96 explorer, they didn't buy me a brand new car like a spoiled rich kid would get, i got their left overs, so what?

Check around and see what your "old car" gets on the market these days....even a 6 year old Explorer isnt cheap, believe me.....and if you consider your car "leftovers....be sure to send it my way...I'll gladly take it....I'll swap you for my first car, a 10 year old Plymouth Horizon 4 door......


/My lowering job cost me 20 bucks cause i did it myself.

This actually intrigues me.....how did you swing a drop job for $20??


/Just really guys, none of what you are saying has ANYTHING to do with my original post. It was why can i lower it but not take off the roof rack... its a question of simple logic and me being baffled by it.

If you read the responses more closely, you'll see that they apply to you perfectly......the fact that you are "baffled" by your parents' decision is just more proof that you really need to step back and look at your situation objectively...


<snip>
/If it makes you feel any better, like i've said before i have my own job, during the summer i was working 35-40 hours a week and now with school and my 4.0 grade i still work 25-30 hours. So when you think about it, i'm at school for 8 hours, i have to get there early for marching band... thats 40 hours a week, then the 20 some hours of work, and on top of that, about an hour of homework each night keeping my 4.0 average. I'm not bragging nor complaining, simply showing that i'm not what you all accuse me of being.

I don't think ANYONE was actually accusing you of being irresponsible.....at least I know I wasnt......I have been in your shoes and I know how it feels.....You feel pretty good about yourself that you work hard at school and work and that you can afford to spend your extra money (and it truly IS extra money) on toys......I think we ALL wish we could still do that (those oldtimers like me on the forum)........

But just wait til you have to work 40-60 horus at work so you can make ends meet paying REAL expenses and then have to work on your house, pick up the kids from daycare (which is $1,000 per month, by the way) and all the hundreds of other things that you hafta have......

When you work you butt off for a $1000 check and then you see that check go right back out in bills, THEN you will know truly what responsibility is about......

Your may be resposnible enough of a person, but keeping your ride in shape and modding your ride with your own money is NOT the definition of "responsible adult".........I am not saying you arent doing great...sounds like you are on a great path......but you asked folks to commiserate about your folks' deciding one way or another on what you can do on your (their) car......A lot of folks chimed in and gave you solid advice.....If you cant see how it relates to you then maybe you arent quite as "responsible" as you talk......

I was once 16 as well...and I knew it all. I am learning that there are REASONS older folks do the things they do...its called experience, and its based on being responsible for stuff.

Like I said, I dont think anyone wants to bum you out here...like I said, I dont...you seem like a good enough guy and all......

But, as was said earlier......your parents have the advantage of their years past....TRUST ME when I say, they know better than you....It may take years for you to see it (it did for me) but you will...

For now, just enjoy the truck, leave the rack in place and grin to yourself knowing your did some nice mods and saved the bucks......bounce future stuff of your folks and live by their decision....

It's JUST A TRUCK.



DZ


My parents bought my sister a new car for about 20k for graduation and plan to do the same for me. That with the money i save from work, i hope to get a ford lightning.

 

[psychotic]

"is NOT the definition of "responsible adult"........."
I'm not an adult, so i can't be one, i'm as close as i can possilby get... a responsible teenager.

"But just wait til you have to work 40-60 horus "
School + Work + Homework = aprrox. 70-80 hours. And even you can admit that teenage is when you could use free time the most. Even with all that, i still try to maintain somewhat of a social life. I get maybe 5-6 hours of sleep. Its easy to do a few nights, but after a few weeks the loss of sleep takes a toll. In a sense i probably "work" as much as many of you do, and get to relax half as much. That is in no way a mean comment or an insult to anyone, i don't know what any of your lives are really like, but in the same sense, you don't know mine.

 

[Jason_25]

I think a moderator should just close this thread because it's getting really muddled and off topic.


Psychotic, you sound like a really good and repsonsible guy, and I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavours.

 

[zavetsky]

Hah! Try getting 4-6 hours of sleep EVERY night....<grin> And hold down a 40-60 hour job where you have true stress and then come home and take care of kids, etc.....

No offense to you, but school is NOT difficult.....I WISH I could go back and be in school again......This isnt to say there arent bad days, etc, but if you think school is hard work, I gots news for ya.....School is a CAKE walk...and colleg is even better! You;ll love it! It will have hard moments but you'll love it! ANd then real life sets in.....the grind........no matter how much you think you know about it, you dont until you live it for a few years........

Like I said.....this is nothing personal...you sound like a straight enough dude..... with what seem to be modest and reasonable goals for your folks' car.....good luck with that.,.,...

But again, you ASKED for feedback and you got it....

...you're wrong....many of us (older types) *DO* know what your life is like, or at least we do if you are an average 16 year old......and you claim to be an average dude, with no silver spoon, and obviously not poverty-stricken......so, yes, we can comment. Having *BEEN* where you are now, we know well.....

This thread is completely on topic --- its just that certain folks "get it" and certain folks "dont"........

That's ok....

Just, if someone doesnt want honest answers or advice, dont ask for it.....don;t air your personal dirt laundry publicly if you don't want folks to comment on it.....Personally, I am not one who cares for bemoaning things like "I'm not allowed to take of my roof rack"...there are a LOT of more important things in life than a freakin' roof rack...........LOL.

Really----most of us were just trying to help......

 

[zavetsky]

By the way, sorry for all the typos in my (long) post.......

Mama never said I ckould spell gud. <grin>

 

[jonny 5]

Disclaimer: This thread is not directed to any one person, It is only one person's view. Take it for what it is.

Oh heck, I'm not even going to read the last couple of pages. You can call me spoiled, but I have worked the last 3 summers as an electricians, working my butt off and I turned down a NICE computer offer that would have made me more money. Why, my dad needed good help, and I still know more than half the guys that work there! I even helped run a couple of jobs with another guy (smart guy I might add!). I also had a very good grade in high school and got into a good college. So when he got me my '98 XLT I was still surprised. He's worked so hard thoughout his entire life for where he's at.

My point is, I still talk to him about EVERY mod that I have and ever will do to my Explorer. If he says no, I leave it alone. I never ask for his help. (even though he still manages to come down to the garage and help out). DON"T complain if they don't let you do a mod. Let them know that you have research the idea fully and know the consequences of what you do. (ie, lowering- cv joints and ball joints wear out quicker) You will have to pay for that. And it will always come at the time when your out of money. And you better not ask your parents for money to fix your damn problem.

NOW SHUT UP!!!!!!

Now if you wan't to flame me, my aim is Jonny5XLT and e-mail is cp_jonny5@hotmail.com don't post any more nonsense on Rick's site!

 

[prerunexp]

ok u wanna get back to the original thread then lets do that

one teen to another, parents dont give a rats a$$ about what u wanna do to ur car

a. they work all day and have enough stress that they dont want to be bothered by the mods you wanna make to ur car.

b. they dont want to take the time to hear you out and see what u wanna do and how it affect things.

c. so they just say no and its as easy as that.

so if you truly want my advice then her it goes: STOP complaining and just go to a friends house or wait till there not looking and JUST DO IT yea go remove the plates or the racks.

maybee they will be a lil bit pissed but screw 'em id bet they wouldnt even say a word i bet ur mom doesnt even know what a skidplate is.

thats the way i was forced to do things on my X i didnt ask i just did it, as it was when i got my X i wasnt supposed to do ANYTHING to it but did i listen.. NO
did i get into very much trouble... very little if any

so if thats what you want to do then do it and stop complaining about how they are saying no.

 

[DocVijay]

Originally posted by prerunexp
so if you truly want my advice then her it goes: STOP complaining and just go to a friends house or wait till there not looking and JUST DO IT yea go remove the plates or the racks.

maybee they will be a lil bit pissed but screw 'em id bet they wouldnt even say a word i bet ur mom doesnt even know what a skidplate is.

This is exactly what you shouldn't do. True, they may not notice it, and even if they do, they may not get that angry. But, and this is a big one, every time you pull $hit like that, they trust you a little less. There's nothing easier to loose or harder to regain. You don't want to loose your parents trust. Let me say it again, as it's very important.

You don't want to loose your parents trust.

Your parents brought you into this world, and raised you. No offense, prerunexp, but you're young, you have a lot to learn. Parents are a lot smarter than you expect. They have a few years of wisdom over you. It may not make sense, but they probably know what they're doing. I didn't realize that until I was too old. I wish I could go back and change all the stupid things I did because I thought my parents were idiots. Now I know they were right. To any kids out there that think they know better, or that this doesn't apply to you, you are exactly who I'm talking to. I'm sure any of those who are reading this that have children or are at least getting ready to start a family will agree with me.

psychotic, listen to your parents. The Explorer will come and go. Do yourself and them a favor and use your head and heart. Sure you really, really want that new gizmo, but is it more important than Mom and Dad. I don't think so. Many of the posts here have some good advice, others not so good. Just do what's right. You know what it is.

 

[red96camaro]

I come back from work and there are too many posts to even read! so..

 

[jonny 5]

DocVijay you nailed it on the head! No why counldn't that be the first post?

 

[prerunexp]

hehehe my post sure did start a rucous

i simply was giving the kid what he wanted to hear ive already lived and learned that that type of $#!t doesnt fly

see at the time of my explorer i bugged my parents 24/7 and the only reason they would say no to mods was because if they said no they would actually be bugged less. and there wouldn't be a huge mess and all the parts i would remove plus they wouldn't have to listen and smell endless hours of grinding / cutting / welding

so i decided i would run the mod by them and mainly leave them alone and one day when i was home alone i would get up early and start, by the time they got home i had the entire mess picked up and all the parts tucked nicely up in the rafters of the garage so that all they could tell was that my car was different. and with that systen they didnt mind at all.

so the parents also know that the more they let you do the more you will want to do; like if they let you do this and that, then next week it will be something else etc.

also what really helps is if say ur driving in the car with ur mom and you see another car with a mod you would like to do on ur car say; hey look i want that and ur mom will say oh yea thats not bad and then she will be alot more easygoing

and i can see the skid plate thing but why do you want to remove the roof racks, the roof racks arent ugly, they dont hurt the performance of the car and i think there useful + if you remove them you will have the lines + holes from where they were

but i am in your place too and i can 100% see where ur coming from, sometimes they don't make sence and it really sucks but one thing you have to do is take a step back and say ok how much does this mod mean to me

now i can tell from the way your talking that this stuff doesnt really mean THAT much to you its just that your parents say no when they said you could lower the thing and the fact that they say no to something that is so simple and then you get pi$$ed at them and yea i know exactly what you mean

but you need to think about things and the trust thing is really big, now i am workig my way out of a very very big hole from rolling my car so keep your truck clean do what you can dont bug your parents and you should be happy

 

[jonny 5]

Now that you mention the skids, with or without lowering the skids should probably stay on, especially if you lower it. Cause the last thing you need is to rip you gas tank open and blow yourself up. Besides your won't notice the power gain by removing them anyway, seriously, how much can they weigh?

 

[psychotic]

i dunno how much they weigh, the back one is pretty heavy.... but i noticed a slight change in accel.

 

[zavetsky]

Hey Psychotic...

I was serious....

How did you do your drop?? Just wondering.....

Was the 4x4 gear a major hassle ?

 

[psychotic]

Droping was easy. 2 inch lowering blocks in the back (20 bucks at auto zone) + rear end sag. And in the front i just flipped around my torsion adjustor. I had no problems. I don't use 4x4 hardly at all... if you do, you might want to only lower it like 1 1/2 inches.

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by psychotic
Droping was easy. 2 inch lowering blocks in the back (20 bucks at auto zone) + rear end sag. And in the front i just flipped around my torsion adjustor. I had no problems. I don't use 4x4 hardly at all... if you do, you might want to only lower it like 1 1/2 inches.

Did you get an alignment after the drop?

 

[zavetsky]

Thats pretty cool that the TB adjusters can flip that way....

Thats pretty good re-engineering on your part..........

You have pics somewhere??